A/N: Alright everybody first of all my apologies, it's just come to my attention that I've been spelling Lycans wrong. Sorry! Also I'm sorry this chapters so short. On a happier note, I'm glad you guys find my take on things interesting at my concepts different. I hope I can keep your attention. Oh and please do review.
Chapter 8
Amy's mind was a tangle of questions as she mulled over all Rouge had said. "If the werewolves were made slaves then...how did there come to be so many free werewolf clans?"
"Werewolves were made to be slaves, but many of them wish to be something else."
"Lycans?" Amy blinked.
"Free." Rouge said softly. "Most werewolves hate Lyicans and wish to be nothing like them." Rouge lifted from her sitting position. "Come on." She motioned for her to follow. "You should learn how to tell the difference between a Lyican and a werewolf with your eyes." Amy followed Rouge out into the center of the camp. Rouge called out for Marine and Ebony.
"What is it Rouge?" Marine asked as she and Ebony came to Rouge's call.
"It's time to teach this pup how to tell a Lyican when she sees one." Rouge said with her hands on her hips. Marine and Ebony nodded in agreement. "Now pay attention." Rouge said as she motioned to the she wolves, and upon that command the two began to transform. Amy felt a shiver run down her spine as the two grew large and dropped to all fours. Their humans face grew to a large snout and great clenching jaws. When the transformation was complete Amy closed her eyes tight remembering her last meeting with them in their wolf forms. But before she knew it, she felt something on her face. Her eyes opened and she found Marine was by her side licking her cheek playfully, and Ebony was nestling her head up under her left arm so that her hand rested on top of her head. Amy giggled as Marine continued to lick her cheek lightheartedly.
"See." Rouge smiled. "We're not so terrible, even in our wolf form."
Amy smiled defeated. "You're right, there actually, kinda cute." Amy said as the two left Amy's side and stood in front of her wagging their tails and heads tilted to the side.
"Now," Rouge nodded to them and the two stood stock still with their heads raised high. Suddenly they looked like wolves instead of dogs. "First of all Amy, a pelt is always your first tell."
"The pelt?" Amy said looking at the coats of the she wolves.
"Yes," Rouge brought her closer. "Always remember that a Lycan will have a solid pelt." She motioned for Amy to look at the socks on Ebony's paws, they were gray, and then to Marine's chest, it was acorn brown. "Werewolves will have some form of secondary color against the black."
"Does this mean Lycans will be solid colors only?" Amy asked as she observed each wolf's coats.
"You catch on quick." Rouge smiled. "Yes, in Lycans you only find one of two colors. Most Lycans will have solid black fur, but there are a few, only a handful mind you, of Lycans who have silver fur. This color only appears on Lycan elders and leaders. It's a natural symbol of age and leadership."
"Rouge." Amy looked up from the wolves she'd been observing. "Why do werewolves posses secondary coloring?"
"It's from the human genes a werewolf posses. Most werewolves are originally human, mixing them with the bite of a Lycan turns the human into a half breed. They aren't full Lycans so they cannot posses the appearance of one. For Lycans, the werewolves secondary color is used to mark them as slaves and tell them apart from pure bloods." She felt a slight growl in her throat. "Truly, they took a part of the werewolf that makes it unique and turned into something shameful. There's nothing wrong with werewolf markings, their quite beautiful. Werewolves and Lycans have different scents, they didn't need to turn their fur into a disgraceful thing, they were jealous and so they made it into something they could mock." Rouge was standing between the two great wolves. She shook away her anger, and returned her mind to the lesson. "There are a few other differences as well. The biggest difference is control." Amy's head tilted slightly to the side as if already trying to figure out what that meant. "Lycans can control there transformations at will. There are no restraints on their power. Whereas a werewolf though due to the human element, posses a small amount more of brute strength, has less control. Loss of temper, desperation, sadness, rage, any of these things can cause a transformation, but above all the moon."
"You mean the whole moon and werewolf thing is true?" Amy asked.
"Yes, that is something that is very true. It is said that because the bite took place under a full moon that that is why the first werewolf was able to undertake and survive the Lycans bite. but there is a little more to a werewolf than only a full moon. Yes, a full moon is the worst for werewolves. Many lose all control and become mindless beasts, a few are able to abstain from this, but not many. However, it is during a new moon, that the opposite occurs."
"The opposite?" Amy didn't understand this at all, was it something worse than the full moon perhaps?
"Yeah," Marine popped in. She was in her human form again as she stood between Amy and Rouge. "During the night of the new moon and until the next night we turn totally human."
"Human?" Amy said with surprise.
"That's right." Ebony put a hand on Marin's head. "For a night and a day we turn totally human. Even those of us who weren't bitten." She grinned as she rubbed Marine's ahead a little harder in a playful manner.
"Not bitten?" Amy questioned.
"Some werewolves are born." Rouge pointed out. "Most are humans who are bitten and changed, but there are a few that are born werewolves."
"Why only a few?" Amy asked.
"Because Lycans kept male and female werewolves separated." Rouge looked to the side.
Ebony nodded with a disgusted look. "It's true, they were afraid that we would breed to the point of over powering them."
"Then how are there any born werewolves at all, if the Lycans were so afraid?" Amy looked from Ebony to Rouge.
"Because there were only a few Lycans that kept more than one werewolf, and of those even fewer kept male and female werewolves together." Rouge looked at Ebony, her eyes full of sadness.
"Lycans looked down even on their own kind if they allowed their 'slaves' to have children." Ebony's sadness turned to anger. "They can be so cruel..."
Rouge nodded in agreement. "It was again, jealous that drove Lycans, jealous and fear. They were afraid what breeding werewolves together might bring. Maybe it would be something weak, like a werewolf stuck in its human form, or perhaps something dangerous." Rouge looked to Ebony and Marine. "Something even stronger than Lycans or werewolves."
Marine's ears and nose were the first to go up into the air, but a happy expression soon followed. "Hey Shadow's back!" Marine yelled happily as she turned from the group and ran to meet their leader.
Amy smiled, she thought Marine was very cute. "Rouge," Amy asked as the other members of the pack went to greet Shadow, and now only she and the bat were standing together. She had realized that Rouge had never answered her original question about how werewolves had escaped from the slavery of Lycans, but a new question was at the forefront of her mind now. "Are there any born werewolves around here?"
"Our pack is unusually blessed." Rouge was staring at the rest of the pack. "Marine is a born werewolf." She then turned to look at Amy. "And our leader Shadow is also a born werewolf."
