Chapter 4 – Cutter
Tyleet knew that her next challenge would be more difficult – she had to convince the rest of her Tribe to accept this human cub as a Wolfrider, and that meant convincing her chieftain, Cutter, to accept him as part of his Tribe. She hugged the cub to her chest, took a deep breath to steady her nerves, and decided that she could not put this off any longer. She decided that now was the time to confront her chief, to tell him of what she planned to do.
She found Cutter by a stream, a faraway look in his eyes. She had seen that more and more, these past few turns of the seasons. She knew that he spent much time thinking about his family – stolen away to a future time; not dead, but beyond the reaching of hand or sending – 'dead' in a sense to this time – and that had made it increasingly difficult for him to live in The Now of Wolf Thought. Tyleet knew that he had been spending more and more time with the trolls, and she suspected that he was planning something with them. Tyleet suspected that Cutter wanted the trolls to arrange for him to be suspended in preserver cocoons, while he waited out the long turns of the seasons until he could be reunited with his family once more. Although the trolls and the elves did not like each other very much, they tolerated each other, traded with each other, and had a grudging respect for each other. Shenshen was even learning about how to use herbs to heal from old Maggotty – a useful skill, as the Wolfriders now had no healer with magical abilities in their Tribe – Mender was a long way away in the Sun Village, and Leetah, Shenshen's sister, had been spirited away along with the other members of Cutter's family.
Tyleet, however, had more immediate concerns. Cutter turned to look at her, saw the human cub in her hands, stood up, frowned, and put his hand to his head. He shook his head slightly, in exasperation, as she sent to him all that she knew about this human cub, how he had been abandoned by his Tribe, and how she was now determined that he should become a Wolfrider. Once she had finished, she waited for a few heartbeats, holding her breath, unsure as to how Cutter would respond.
He shook his head again, and sent back that there would be dangers if this cub was allowed to join their Tribe. When Tyleet tried to interrupt him, he held up his hand to silence her. He continued sending, explaining that this could not be just up to him, but that a decision this great could only be made by counsel with the entire Tribe. He informed Tyleet that he would call a council to be made at moonrise the next night, so that the entire Tribe could discuss the fate of this human cub. *I have no ill will towards him* Cutter assured her, *but this is not just about me. The whole Tribe must agree, if this human is to become one of us. As chief, my first responsibility is to the Wolfriders, to our Tribe. I will not be responsible for harm coming to our Tribe for the sake of one human cub.*
Tyleet watched her chief carefully as he sent to her, and she could not help noticing, as he looked at the child in her arms, that there was no small amount of longing and sadness in his blue eyes. It was clear that he missed his own cubs dearly, and she suspected that a part of him would be glad to hear the sound of a child's laughter once more within their Holt.
Tyleet let out her breath as she left Cutter, but turned her attention back to the human cub a moment later. She smiled as he smiled back at her, "Patch," she said, very quietly, rubbing the marking just above his eye in a very gentle manner, "Little Patch, that will be your name. Cutter's concerns and need for a council are understandable, but I will not abandon you, my little son, not now, not after all that you have already been through in your short life. You will come with me to the council, and I will make them all understand that it is possible for you to be a Wolfrider, and a valuable and valued member of our Tribe."