Chapter 15

"Readiness"

"It is time," Alpha said.

Which meant we must say goodbye.

The pack divided its forces between the hunting party and those that would lead the Rivers into the heart of the grasslands. I was one of the few that lived through warring times before, so it need not be said that my experience was needed in the upcoming battle. I stood on the line that divided us, watching the pups rally around Prima with excitement and anticipation. They knew something important was happening. They were also excited to be in the shadow of their true mother again. The pups from the riverlands had taken to her just as easily.

They knew their own Prima was not coming back and attached to her quickly to fill the void they felt in their hearts. I was a bit jealous. It was Mother who should do such things, but my way with the Spirit was too strong for just protection. It compelled me to seek out this so called Shaman and destroy it. As long as it lived, the pups would never be safe. The pack would always be under threat no matter where we went. This was my true purpose. And I did not regret it. I must let go, just as I do every year during the naming ceremony when the pups become young ones and leave with the hunt to find themselves.

But Omega had not experienced such parting. He licked and nuzzled the pups one last time, making sure to remember their scents and faces and colors. He too would leave them for the hunt for it was just as unspoken that he would continue to follow me. And I would admit that I needed him beside me as my apprentice, facilitating the Spirit throughout the pack. His presence was crucial to keeping us connected. I looked around at the others. Many of our strongest were leaving with the Rivers. They were chosen for their strength as much as their personalities in order to maintain balance within this newly formed pack.

Hunter had assumed the role of Alpha and already favored the company of Diving Dog who he met at Council. Their interest was no longer restricted, and luckily, there was no rivalry from Prima. She had followed my footsteps and immediately took up the role of Mother. She cared not for Hunter's affections. As for the others, Biter and Digger were gifted in ways the river Blessed were not. Tired Eye would watch the day for them and the young ones quietly filled in the gaps. Those who had joined us at Castle Rock easily bridged the differences between our packs for they had already assimilated into the hierarchy of the grasses, yet still remembered the rivers strongly.

Guardian, as tired as he was, dutifully assisted Diving Dog and Hunter as their Beta, and Father of the Rivers was content with what he saw although the loss in him was still heavy. When he looked at me standing with the hunting party, I saw a different type of grief in his eyes. Despite my experience and the power of my Spirit, he and I both knew that I was not as young as I used to be, and in him, I saw the look Ezekiel Doom Seer gave me up on the mountain above Castle Rock.

My answer was still the same.

"March along pups," I said, more so for Omega who struggled to separate himself from them.

The time to leave had come.

Prima ushered the pups into motion, and when they moved, the rest of their party followed. Prima glanced back at me one last time and the understanding between us was clear. She knew what to do should I not return. And so they left us without another word. Omega returned to my side and we joined the rest of the hunting party. We traveled long and quick, but with reservation. Speaking only when we must. Never wandering far. And following in lines when the grass became thick and long to make the path easier for the next. We drew closer to the Branching Waters where the soil was rich and fertile and the waterways frequently parted, slowing and shallowing the current so that we could easily travel across them. These acted as the boundaries between the grasslands and the riverlands.

We kept to the night to keep our travel secret and I was reminded what it was like to be at the forefront of the pack. Constantly herding the pups had sustained my strength and endurance, but the reservoirs of the Blessed seemed endless. I stayed to the rear, and some would claim I did it for Omega, but they did not know what I knew. That Omega was training himself on the footwork Alpha had taught him and remained at my side only to practice this with every single step. But my position was best from the rear. The others felt my presence as a tide that pushed them forward with great purpose and caution and confidence. It created just enough tension to keep them mindful of their surroundings without speeding them down the trail. A trail which was just as easy for us to find as the enemy, soaked in fear and blood and ending where we expected it to.

Just not when.

It was day and I stood watch as the others rested when I heard movement in the grasses. It came like the wind and stopped just as quickly. There was no breeze to match it, so my hair stood on end. I got to my feet and looked around, but there was very little to see. The vegetation here was lush and thick, giving us shade and concealment at the cost of our sight. I called to the others with the Spirit, waking them with the tense silence of caution. I felt each one wake and grab the invisible thread that connected us. With the knowledge of our circumstances, the placement of our party, our preference to where we stood, the smell we each created, the strategy we already memorized, and the Spirit in each of us which was just as unique as our markings, we were able to keep track of one another without sight or sound.

Those that had been sleeping crept out from their resting place and positioned themselves close enough to call but with plenty of room to maneuver. I heard the rustle again. It was closer this time. Longer too. But it ended just the same. It reminded me of the Striking Beasts and the way they moved in quick bursts which meant speed, and speed, a powerful but highly calculated and specially timed attack. Precise, but easily missed or blocked. If one could see it coming. I sent another signal, this time, by hardening my mane and fur with a glossy shine that flashed like a rainbow in the daylight. It was a protective shield of sorts made of energy in preparation of an attack I might not be able to avoid or withstand.

It warned the others of the danger we were in and those that could did the same. Some of the others used different techniques. If they could not protect, they hardened their hair to buffer an attack. At the very least, they made themselves as small as possible. The grasses became still then as if to mimic our tension. We listened and waited. Something buzzed in the sky. Grass Hoppers, three of them, hovered about the grasses. They were dragon flies, bugs constantly darting about the grasses with long thin bodies, four clear wings, and large bulbous eyes. It was common for them to take to the sky when disturbed, but these seemed different. They hovered about, low in the sky, moving in unusual ways.

Almost as if coordinated.

The rustle came again. This time, in front of me. From left to right. I was sure now that it was a creature. One without a strong smell or footfalls. That quickly narrowed down the list. One of the Grass Hoppers floated over to my hiding spot. It easily spotted me from the grasses in the daytime. I did not dare shoo it away for the risk of revealing myself. But it continued to hover above me in a jerky motion as if to see all angles of me all at once. And then the creature came in a rush, a whirlwind of waving grass. Sharp and quick and deadly. It slashed me as it passed. An attack in the blink of an eye, aiming to slice off my head. But I was already crouched. The attack whistled above me. But the creature now knew where I was, so I leapt off to the side to reposition myself. The enemy could not see any better than I.

Yet it came again.

This time, from the side. I braced myself and curved in with the hit as it cut across my shoulders, shattering the protective shield coating me. An otherwise critical hit. In the glittering dust, I caught a glimpse of the creature. It was green like the water reeds engulfing us. Perfectly camouflaged with the surroundings. Such speed and precision, with a slash powerful enough to shatter my shield in one hit, it had to be a Cutting Mantis. A bug with sickles for hands. Sitting still was a death sentence. I rushed through the grass, but jerked to a halt when I head the Mantis in motion again. This time, farther away. It struck. Another shield shattered and a rustle of grass followed, indicating that whoever was hit also realized the threat. One of the dragon flies nearby flinched with the hit, but continued to hover above the grass.

A third strike rang out. This time, with a grunt and a sharp inhale. Someone who could not use protect, but hardened their coat, was hit. Their thick mane saved them. Otherwise, there would have been a squeal. Strangely enough, there was a dragonfly there too, darting away only to come back in. That's when I realized that the one above me was still there, hovering diligently without turning away when it should have scattered and relocated with such commotion going on nearby. And wherever they were, the Mantis followed. They weren't just watching us. They were marking us. So this was what the River Hena meant.

"The Hoppers!" I warned. "The Hoppers!"

At once, a Mighty Hena with smooth skinny legs and a ruffled coat leapt out of hiding at the nearest Hopper. He seemed weightless as all four feet floated above the tops of the grasses. He bit down on the dragonfly's tail, plucking it out of the sky with aerobatics unthinkable for a Mighty Hena. Jumper, the pack's most aerial member, landed with ease, shaking the grasses with the most gentle of landings. He dropped the Hopper in the grass for the two young ones, Ume and Watepei, to finish off as he went for the next enemy.

Nearby, Maw Mouth tried the same maneuver, but he was far too heavy. He never got more than a few inches off of the ground. Without height, he had repetition, and he jumped at the Hopper nearest him with teeth that clapped with the sharpness of a dozen Iron Mouths. Empty every time. Not only did he fail to catch the Hopper, but he fell for its taunts, revealing his position over and over again. The Mantis rushed him, splitting the grasses, but it wasn't the only one watching. The bug suddenly jerked to the side as something deflected its attack. It was Keen Eye. He saw the disturbance before anyone else and was near enough to block it.

Maw Mouth kept trying. The next time he landed, Jumper went ahead of him. The thinner, lighter Mighty Hena jumped from the ground onto his back and into the sky with a great leap, tongue lolling and eyes shining. The reckless Hena! He crashed into the Hopper, bringing it down only because it became trapped within his legs so high had he gone. Jumper rolled back to his feet, careless enough to release it, but now the Hopper was within reach. Maw Mouth crunched down on it so violently that its wings bent sharply between his teeth. Jumper took off again, using cues from Keen Eye to find the last Grass Hopper.

Mine.

I looked up at the Hopper. It hadn't moved even when it witnessed the assault on its comrades. Surely, it was not so dumb to think we would not come after it. Not unless that was what it wanted. I looked around me. The grasses were quiet. Where was the Mantis? The Hopper flew forward on a collision course with Jumper.

"It's a trap!" Omega screamed, hearing what I saw, the Hopper working in tandem with the Mantis. "Don't!"

But Jumper could not contain himself. The exhilaration of his gift and the power of near flight was too good to keep him on the ground, especially in the heat of a battle already in his favor. He leapt up to meet the Hopper. That's when the Mantis leapt out of the grasses just the same. Aiming for the dragonfly, Jumper couldn't change his path. I was sprinting towards him when I head the squeal. The thud when he hit the ground and the whisk of the Mantis as it came charging back to finish him off. But I reached Jumper first. He lay on his side, throwing his head up in a daze. I tackled him back down, smothering him in place by covering his upper half with my own. I lowered my head and squeezed my eyes shut, flattening my ears, as a sickle cleaved the grasses down around us. It hit my shielded forehead, up my bent neck, and off of my shoulders.

The second sickle struck much harder. It caught me in the side of the face. Crystalized energy sparkled in the light. But I did not move more than my head. I would not abandon Jumper in his vulnerable state. My eyes turned up at the Mantis. It stood before me now, arm already reeled back for another blow. It traded quality for quantity because it knew my shield couldn't last forever. It learned nothing from its so called comrades. Where there was one Mighty Hena, there was a pack. Alpha's great black shadow launched from the taller grasses at the Mantis' side. He blocked the light as he leapt, jaws wide, eyes furious, and body stretched at full extension.

His mane trailed behind him, seeping black shadows like smoke. He seemed twice as large then, red eyes burning in the perpetual dark of his face. Maw Mouth was with him, leaping over us with iridescent bits of Hopper wing flying from his mouth. I paid them no more thought. Not as they crunched and ripped and bit and thrashed, flattening the reeds around us. Omega had followed them. He drew up beside me, panting and terrified at the blood he saw beneath me. It was not mine.

"Rest now," I told Jumper as he continued to kick against me. "Rest."

It was not just to soothe, but to heal. With the right focus and technique, Mighty Hena could accelerate the healing process in a meditative sleep like state. Jumper was poor at this, so I also performed the technique and channeled my Spirit into him. He began to relax, submitting underneath me, and when he finally relented, I felt his heart and breathing slow. He needed to focus on healing and he would need me to help him. I glanced up at our audience, the Grass Hopper still hovering above. The battle with the Mantis must still be taking place, or worse yet, another might be on its way to join the fight. Either way, if the Hopper lived, it would ultimately make its way back to wherever it came from, and if these were scouts for Exile and his pack, it would destroy our advantage of surprise.

I looked sharply at Omega. He was already following me, my faithful shadow, and met my gaze with understanding.

"Do not let it escape!"

Omega leapt up at the bug and missed. Not from a lack of skill. The Hopper had been watching and understood the tactic. It flew away. Omega gave chase. And he wasn't the only one. To my pride and pleasure, Ume and Watepei hurried after him to join the hunt. The hunt Omega had no idea he was leading. But I had no time to enjoy the moment. Jumper needed my full attention. While keeping my paw on Jumper's neck, I shimmed away enough to evaluate the extent of his wound. I had already felt its slick wet heat when I laid on top of him, so I knew the cut was deep. It was also long, but thin. If enough blood clotted within it, he may survive just yet. I repositioned myself to lay close to him again. This time, with more of my neck and chest draped over the wound. I laid it heavily over him to keep pressure on it. Our fur would help the clotting, soaking up more blood so less of it could freely escape.

I calmed myself and slipped deeper into the rest. It was an internal technique that had to be taught by another and normally could not be shared between creatures, but I was not like other creatures. I was Mother of the Grasslands, the embodiment of the pack, and I would channel everything I could from me to Jumper to strengthen his own rest by leading him to an even deeper sleep. I closed my eyes and focused my breathing into long slow drafts that pressed into Jumper's, gently guiding him into rhythm with my own. Once we breathed the same, I eased our heartbeats closer and closer together until they too were the same. With our physical bodies aligned, the bridge between our Spirits opened even wider and I filled it with potent but slow coursing energy so it would not overwhelm him.

Soon, there was nothing but the rest, the importance of healing, and a heavy black curtain fell over us.

I struggled to raise my eyes when it finally came time to wake again. A grey form filled my vision. It was blurry and anxious, but patient as I slowly opened my eyes and returned to the realm of the waking. I was still on top of Jumper. His heart and breathing separated from mine as I woke, but it was a groggy, heavy thing I had to fight in order to win. Jumper continued to sleep. The grey shadow swept his tail back and forth.

"Mother, you're awake!" Omega said, trying to keep his voice at a calm controlled statement and failing.

I winked against the pale grey light around us.

"Is it dusk already?" I groaned unintentionally.

Even my voice failed to wake as it should.

"It is dawn," Omega corrected, more amazed than worried. "Your rest took you through the day and the night." He grew excited at this. "I never thought a rest could be so powerful during the time when we are most awake, but when the moon rose, you fell even deeper and we could not wake you."

"We knew better than to try," Alpha revised.

I never saw him standing beside Omega. My rest clung heavily to me and refused to let go. I had not gone so far in a very long time. But that also meant, if I was awake, there was nothing left that I could do for Jumper. I winced against the stiffness of my body as I shifted my paws and raised my head. The others immediately looked down to my throat and neck and chest. It was dark with blood. A wave of fear rippled out across the grasses and I knew the pack was watching. They'd been keeping watch over Jumper and I all this time. My bones creaked and joints popped. I tried to stand and a shroud of dizziness descended upon me. I knew then that our rest had fallen close to death in order to find life.

I faltered, but did not go far. The sturdy side of Maw Mouth pressed up to catch me. From there, he was first to see Jumper's wound. As long and as raw as it was, it had stopped bleeding and closed. In fact, only a marginally small rim of blood surrounded it. Alpha looked at it to me and the dark stains that wrapped my belly, my neck up to my chin, and around my shoulders. Black from head to tail, above and below. For some reason, I thought I must look like Exile, back when he was still Dark Star. And the Xiuhcoatl in my thoughts turned to look at me with blood in his eyes.

Alpha frowned.

I mistook it as concern for Jumper's state.

"He will wake when he is ready," I said, standing on my own. "We will know nothing more until then."

Omega hurried around Jumper to my side, and to my surprise, Maw Mouth let him take his place.

"Mother, you do not look well," Omega whispered, as if my ill health was taboo.

"I have rested, but I have not slept," I explained, because while I was under the rest, my Spirit and mind and body were hard at work. My rest was not truly rest at all which always explained why I was so exhausted afterwards. I had been awake since last night when we traveled, then through the day's watch, and with the rest, it was as if I had sprinted a game trail for hours only to just now come to a stop.

"A walk will set me right again," I said, moving to wander not far into the grasses.

I needed my blood to flow and legs to straighten before I laid down again. A little stretch to rid myself of the groggy rest and remind my body what it meant to be truly tired. My Spirit also needed to settle. Entwining it so deeply in another kept it from reaching the others in the pack and I needed to reestablish a more even relationship before falling asleep. Omega stayed with me as we moved into the grasses. The others were glad to see me, but once they looked at Omega, they respectively kept their distance. I needn't worry about leaving Jumper. He was in good company. Maw Mouth would take my place and dutifully watch over him. We walked into a patch of flattened grass where the Mantis had long since been slain. Its body was scattered into pieces. Each wing was torn from its socket. Both arms and legs had been ripped off, first at the trunk, then the joints. Its light shell was no match for the power of the Mighty Hena's bite. Especially Maw Mouth's fury. The scene reminded me of the other enemy. The one I could not account for.

"What of the Hopper?" I asked of Omega.

"It is taken care of," he answered.

I thought to say "very good" but it would have been unjust.

"Well done," I said instead and the knotted Spirit within me immediately loosened and rushed out to the others, connecting us all once again. The tension I felt amongst us instantly dissipated. Every role we played. Every action we took, built off of one another. Our cause was more obtainable now than it was before the battle. Fighting together joined us in ways we could not explain. Omega swelled with it and I finally relaxed into his care.

"Take me back," I told him. "I am ready."

And just like how we once traveled to the waters of the Yawning River from the dusty burrow of the Bone Takers, he lead the way back to the spot where Jumper lay fast asleep. Only now, he did not need me to guide him.

This place would be our sleeping grounds for the day. It was not ideal to remain in one spot so long, but moving Jumper now risked his recovery. Besides, I was not sure I would make it much further. It was the first time I had ever felt so old. Mothers weren't meant for hunting parties, but I had a sturdy shadow underneath me, so I knew my foundation was still strong. I just needed sleep. We all did. So I laid down and Maw Mouth wagged his tail at me to say he welcomed my company. He would watch over us as he did the pups and it gave me great comfort to be reminded of them.

Just as I lowered my head and put my chin on the ground and closed my eyes, I felt Omega lay beside me. It was not unusual for him to be close, but this time, he carefully crept in beside me, trying not to be suspicious. I opened my eye, but he lay behind me. He waited until he thought I would not notice before slowly placing his head on my back in a poorly kept secret. He never did such a thing before. I was curious, until I felt a warmth come from him. Small and unimposing, but comforting, like sharing body heat on a cool day, but more. It felt good and made me tired without feeling heavy. It was as if his good will had presented itself to me. That his thoughts of healing could be made manifest.

Is this what another's rest felt like?

I smiled and closed my eyes with a sigh.

"Well done," I mumbled to him again, letting his rest course through me. He had been watching again. "Well done."

That dusk, I was awake when Jumper left us. As much as I had helped heal his wound, the cut was too deep. The injury too fresh. He awoke, but he limped when he walked. A slow uneven gait that would never keep up with the hunt. He might never be able to hunt again. There could be damage we could not heal. We could not protect him if he followed in our wake. If he left us to rejoin the others, he may not survive the journey alone. If he did, he may live a scavenger's life at the bottom of the pack, ashamed that Jumper would never jump again and Omega would not be Omega anymore. Because of this, his future was uncertain.

But that was the way of the wild. It was a risk we took every day. In fact, my support of his healing may have tipped the scales of balance and this was its' way of righting itself again. And so, Jumper left. We did not know why. We Mighty Hena spoke little when our hearts were full to bursting. Sometimes, we Mighty Hena left the pack to die. I did not want this, but we creatures of the wild could not dwell. We could only send him off with one last thought and quietly move on. Maw Mouth watched the longest. Jumper walked with his head and tail low. He accepted his fate and traveled slowly to ease his pain. I waited a little longer because, as the rest of the pack left, I saw a Brown Owl in the sky. It followed Jumper from above, quietly watching, and I remembered the owls at Castle Rock. I was sure they were following us now.

Was it an omen or a sign?

I was no Doom Seer, so I would not worry about the future. Not Jumper's fate or if more would end up like him in the battle ahead. It was not the Mighty Hena way. Instead, I would steel my heart and prepare for the worst because I must do everything I can to ensure the pack's survival.

No matter the cost.