A deep shudder ran through the crazed werewolf that was Taryn, and she fell still, except for the harsh breaths that she inhaled through her wide nostrils and mouth. Her eyes rolled, and then closed, and then her entire body relaxed. Her breathing slowed, and the ropes holding her fell slack as she no longer fought against them. Staring at her, Faolan realized she was not a very large wolf… yet she had seemed larger than Morgan in those moments when she raged with the anger and emotion of true madness. Now she looked so small…

"Taryn?" Faolan asked, her voice gravelly as she was only half Changed, and she dropped to her knees near Taryn.

The werewolf licked her lips slowly… and then started Changing back. The fur slipped off her body and her legs lengthened. Her tail disappears, and her snout slid back into her face. She became Taryn once more- wearing nothing but the ropes that had bound her. Red marks wound around her wrists and ankles, and the other places the ropes had chaffed. Faolan reached over and grabbed one of the furs that she had been wrapping herself in, and draped it over Taryn's body.

"Taryn?" she whispered- but the girl seemed to be unconscious. Taking the girl's arms, she carefully untied the ropes, freeing her from the bonds. Then the Commander stepped over and gathered up the girl, blanket and all, and carried her over to the cot at the back of the tent- the Commander's cot, and the one Faolan had woken in after having her mind read by Dashiell. A soft, gentle snore issued from the girl as she was laid down, and Faolan wondered how long she would be out. She followed the Commander over to the cot, then knelt down by the cot, going back into wolf form. She didn't have anything to say anyway. She rest her head on Taryn's side and watched her face, felt the soft breath brushing against her face every moment or so. She barely noticed anything going on around her- didn't think of anything at all, in fact.

A gentle touch on her shoulder brought her out of her reverie what felt like ages later. Faolan jumped, and snarled- but she quickly noticed it was the Commander. She also noticed that the tent had gotten strangely light… dawn had come, bringing day with it. Taryn still slept.

"Faolan," he said gently, staring at her- he was kneeling on one knee beside her and his expression was almost… awed?

She stared at him, then realized what he was probably going to say, and then all that had happened in the last day washed over her, along with grief. She stared at the Commander mournfully, not wanting to hear him say that she wasn't to be killed- listen to him speak of true control, of the saving of the werewolf race… So she turned, and ran, slipping out of the tent and through the werewolves that all milled around, in wolf and human form, waiting for word of what had happened in the Commander's tent. Well, she wasn't going to be the one to tell them. She ran from the camp and into the woods. It was cold, and a thick layer of snow was on the ground. Outside the camp it was thick and untrodden, and Faolan's paws sunk in deep, slowing her as she ran. The forest was silent; few animals inhabited it at this time of the year.

She stopped after about a mile, panting, her breath coming in puffs of steam. She turned and looked back, but the only thing following her was her paw prints, deep in the snow. The sun glistened on the freshly fallen snow. Fao heaved a huge sigh and sank into the snow, shivering at the cold even through her warm fur. She licked at some of the snow, then dropped her head on her paws.

After a few hours Faolan was disturbed by the sound of a horse moving through the woods and she leaped to her feet, sniffing the air and staring through the trees. There was a low snort and a white shape appeared, mane lightly dancing along her neck as she trotted, tail floating along behind. Raul stopped in front of Faolan and bowed her head. The two creatures touched noses, and neither made a sound. Then Fao stepped closer and pushed her head against the Companion's shoulder, fur against fur, and closed her eyes with a soft whine. Raul curved her head around and rest her nose on Faolan's back.

:Happy New Year, Faolan…: she said.

OOO

Raul and Faolan went back to the werewolf camp later that day. The entire camp was in an uproar, enough so that none objected to the appearance of a Companion, especially not if that Companion happened to be Faolan's. Taryn had woken up, and there was no doubt she had gained true control. Werewolves were running around in wolf form howling and playing, some fighting. General chaos had ensued after the Commander had announced that Taryn had gained true control through a previously undiscovered method and that Faolan, a Valdemaren spy and a werewolf, had been the one to create this way.

It was a few days before things settled down, and Faolan managed to explain the process of inducing true control. Messengers were sent out to the other camps, telling them to pull back and negotiations were being made with Karse. They had a contract, as mercenaries, to continue fighting for another year- but this far into the war there were more werewolf soldiers than actual Karsites, so the Commander didn't think Karse could really object if they wanted to stop fighting. Faolan was quickly put into contact with the Queen, and a peace treaty was arranged between werewolves and Valdemar, as the new method for true control spread throughout the werewolf camps and villages. There was some rebellion and fighting within the werewolf camps and villages- not everyone believed or wanted to believe in the new method- which hardly surprised Faolan, considering war had been their way for hundreds of years.

After about a week of hectic negotiations and discourses on true control- and the use of the drug to help it along, Faolan went back to the werewolf village where she had grown up, where she found Skylar and the others just as she had left them. Most of the werewolves followed her, dispersing back to their villages, abandoning the war camps and the war. The villages were breaking up as well as the individual werewolf clans starting making their own decisions as to where they wanted to go.

To Faolan's deep regret, Skylar's pack, the Harailt pack, chose to go back to their homeland farther south near the edge of the Pelagirs, beyond Karse. Faolan doubted there would be many werewolves in Karse for a long time to come. Other packs did choose to live in Valdemar though- the treaty negotiated with the Queen allowed for werewolf settlement and citizenship, if they so preferred- though both she and Faolan were aware of the fact that it would probably be a while before werewolves were accepted in Valdemar. These were all deep regrets of Faolan's… but as a Herald she was not free to leave, as the rest of the werewolves were.

So Faolan eventually returned to Haven, back to Raleigh, leaving Skylar and Taryn and the other werewolves she had grown up with the go home, far away from Valdemar. She returned a hero in Valdemar as well as among the werewolves- for most heralded her as the one who single handedly ended the war- and peacefully as well. Faolan didn't really think of it that way- she knew without the help of Christopher Alaska, Morgan Derry, and most importantly of all, Taryn- she wouldn't even be alive, let along had given the werewolves an excuse to stop fighting.

It was months before things were even organized back at the Collegium, and years before the country started to return to it's old self. Faolan married Raleigh, but even in the heart of Valdemar, she was not entirely happy. Her heart still roamed with the werewolves, wild in the Pelagirs… and her pack, far away and gone from her. It seemed there were so few werewolves in Valdemar, even with the war over, and in Haven Faolan had hardly ever felt so lonely, even with Raleigh and Raul and the Sommers and Christopher Alaska. On the full moons, there were no answering howls to the moon as she called out over the city for her pack…