Chapter 2: Into the Woods
Confusion reigned in the moments after the intruders' departure. Beloved was angry, Grey and Light were dumbstruck, and Blue was trying to figure out how she should react.
More than two years, and only now do they encounter more of their own kind.
She wondered, back in the beginning, what she'd do if she found others. She wondered what would happen to her, to Beloved. Before she bonded herself to him, she wondered if she'd ever find a mate that was more like her, and less like the big white raptor that had killed her sisters.
If she found more of her own kind, more like herself, would she have ever allowed herself to truly look past those similarities?
She'd never had to answer those questions, and she'd been grateful for that.
But now? Now that those questions were null and void? Now she had no idea what to do.
Those raptors were foreigners and intruders, and she led a pack with territory that needed to be protected. Their land needed to be kept, her family preserved.
But were these strangers threats?
Beloved continued growling even after they were gone, and Blue had to nudge him to get him to stop. There wasn't anything to growl at anymore, there wasn't any sense in what he was doing.
Still visibly upset, he silenced himself.
With that settled, Blue turned her attention to her children. They were shaking, scared of the strangers.
Blue purred, nuzzling them, calming them. The foreigners had been driven off, they didn't need to be worried.
They recovered, but only slightly. The intruders had threatened them, and facing a threat they could understand and at the same time not understand terrified them. They feared fighting their own kind, having believed themselves to be nearly invincible their entire lives.
Only the horned predators had been able to challenge that notion, and not even they were able to defeat the pack.
While they were afraid, Blue was curious. She wanted to see these raptors, see if they had a home in a place that they'd missed, or if they were just wanderers.
Blue turned to Beloved, stating her intentions.
He snarled, stomping on the grass. He wanted to be as far away from those foreigners as possible. He had no intention of finding them for any reason whatsoever.
She growled, reminding him of what happened last time they fought like this. She'd been right, and he was being paranoid.
He growled in response. Not this time, this time he was right. They didn't need these strangers for anything, they'd lived just fine without them.
So would he stop her?
He blinked, caught off guard.
The moments passed in silence, startling them both. There'd never been a question like that, it'd never been needed.
Would he stop her?
He didn't want to, no matter how much he disagreed with her. But, she could get hurt. If he didn't stop her, and something happened, would he ever be able to sleep again?
If something happened to her, he'd never be whole again.
Now it was her turn to be pained. She was sure that she could take care of herself, and she was certainly willing to take risks, but she had her family to worry about.
He didn't want to let her go, not where he couldn't protect her and guard her. But she wanted to take a risk, one that she didn't think would go sideways.
She purred, hoping to put him at ease. She was just going to look around, everything would be fine.
Could he go with her?
She stepped closer, moving into a gentle embrace. No, the children needed to know that they were safe. They needed him.
He grunted reluctantly, closing his eyes.
She nuzzled him, purring softly. She'd have to leave soon.
He was silent, but she could see him trembling.
They lingered only for a few moments, then she broke away, walking, and then running, in the direction of the unknown raptors.
The strangers had run off in a hurry, but they'd evidently slowed down when they realized they weren't being followed. Good, easier to catch up to them then.
It had been a long time since she'd been in this part of the forest, a year at least. This area didn't have anything interesting when they explored it first, and it had been ignored ever since.
Apparently they'd missed something.
The trail was easy enough to follow. The strangers didn't even try to hide their path, obviously believing that nothing would follow them. Strange, they must not have encountered the giants yet.
They were rare, very rare, but they were still out there.
Perhaps that's why they never found more of their own kind? Maybe they were naturally spread out over a massive area, and they'd just been unlucky.
Whatever the case, they were here now, and she wanted to see them.
Hours passed, but she refused to be discouraged. She knew this area, even if only vaguely. She just needed to keep going.
Through the grass, through the dirt, past the trees, over the hills, all the way she could go.
She was starting to get tired now, so she slowed her run. She was making good time, but she needed to pace herself.
The sun was beginning to lower, and she became worried. Not for herself, but for Beloved and their children. They were scared, she could just tell. She didn't want them to be scared, they might try to find her, search for her in order to find comfort.
She needed to find the strangers.
But, despite the fact that she was definitely moving faster than them, she still hadn't caught up.
How much of a head start did they have?
Finally, she saw them, if only from afar. They'd slowed to a walk, and by the look of it, they were just about to where they wanted to be.
Where exactly that was, she couldn't yet tell.
She slowed her own pace, keeping them in sight the whole way.
She felt like she was hunting, with the way she was stalking them, following them. She thought about what she'd do when she got to them, and wondered what they'd do.
They seemed hostile when they were in the territory, but they could have just been defensively aggressive. It had been all growl and no bite so to speak. Perhaps they'd be less inclined to revert to hostility if she made a peace offering of sorts, a friendly start.
But what if she just left them alone?
If she'd never accepted Beloved, she wouldn't have hesitated. She'd give up any rank, any comfort, if it meant not being alone. She was a social creature, to be alone was unthinkable, tortuous even.
But, she wasn't alone, and she needed to remember that she had a family that looked up to her. She needed to do what was best for them.
But what would that be?
The trio of strangers were calling out now, startling her out of her thoughts.
Her heart leapt when their calls were answered.
Soon, she saw the main pack. Dozens and dozens of adult raptors, more than she'd ever dreamed of seeing, and even more young raptors and even hatchlings walking alongside them. They were a caravan of sorts, and the trio must have been scouts.
She couldn't hear what they were communicating to each other, but she saw the deference the trio showed to the one they were addressing, and so identified the leader. The leader looked mad, and the other raptors looked agitated. Probably scared of the notion of possible rivals.
So she watched, and in the relative silence of the dawning night, she wondered what she would do now that she'd found them.
She already knew what Beloved would do. He'd avoid them like he avoided her surrogate father and his kind. If they ever got too close, he'd kill them.
And he probably could, too.
But he wasn't here, she was. So what should she do?
She wanted most of all to keep her family safe, but she also wanted her children to be happy.
The opportunity that the strangers' presence had introduced intrigued her. It made her think, contemplate.
Could her children be truly happy if they remained as they are?
They'd never know what they'd be missing, but she knew that the family was finite as long as new blood wasn't added into the mix. Inbreeding doesn't age well.
Her children needed mates, and plain friends for that matter. They were sheltered more than they knew, and she knew that they'd be angry if they realized what she had the power to withhold from them.
But was expanding their social circle worth the risk? Those raptors could kill her, easily if they wanted to. She'd be leaving her family without a mother, and they'd be so devastated that they'd never be able to live again, especially Beloved.
And what about Red? And Precious? And Beautiful? They were so young, so small, too young and small to be without a mother. She loved them, and they loved her. If she died, they'd lose a piece of themselves.
They needed her.
But they also needed this.
So, what to do?
Either way made her feel sickeningly nervous, and her stomach felt like it was dropping even as she stood still.
She made her choice, and laid down to sleep.
When the morning came, she went away from the strangers, looking for some breakfast.
Her nerves were still making her jittery, and that made hunting slightly more difficult. But, eventually, she was able to snag one of the antlered creatures.
But, the kill was too good to spoil prematurely.
So she took it apart, separating one of the back legs from the body. After putting the leg aside, she ate what she could, abandoning the rest soon after.
With the leg in her jaw, she approached the pack. Luckily they hadn't started their trek yet, and many of them seemed to be missing. Probably hunting.
When the sentries noticed her cautious approach, they didn't hiss like she'd expected them to. They seemed to be more dumbfounded than anything, surprised that a stranger would actually approach them.
She warbled calls of peace, and the sentries, not knowing what to do, called for their alpha.
Blue, meanwhile, braced herself.
The alpha was there soon enough, flanked by two of her subordinates. She introduced herself as the leader, and asked what she was doing.
Blue, swallowing nervously, tossed the severed leg in the alpha's direction, gesturing to it as a gift.
Hoping to alleviate the tension, she renewed her placating statements. They seemed to have the desired effect, and the alpha ordered her sentries to disperse.
Blue decided to step forward, and the alpha stepped forward as well.
Blue once again gestured to the sitting gift, but the alpha dismissed it, much to her surprise. The alpha then asked what her name was, and Blue answered.
And having answered, she asked the alpha the same question.
Scarface?
Scarface.
Blue would remember that name.
Scarface asked her what she was doing, who she was, where she was from. Blue answered that she was there to get to know the pack, and that she was the 'leader' of a small pack a ways away.
Scarface then asked an unusual question. Would her territory support a larger pack?
Blue paused. Things were moving along fast, very fast. Unusually fast. Extremely fast.
She didn't know what she thought about that.
But she replied good naturedly, inviting Scarface and her pack to see for themselves.
Scarface, also good naturedly, accepted the offer, and asked when they'd be leaving.
Blue, caught off guard, stated that they could leave whenever she wanted to.
The alpha nodded, then turned back towards her gathering pack. The hunting parties were returning, so she invited Blue to join them for their meal.
This was a test, a preliminary.
This was the beginning of friendly relations.
This was perfect.
