Wolf Among Sheep: Awakening (Part 1)

Part 1

         Iturri opened his eye as the last rays of sunlight poured over the clearing that his people had begun to build upon. He couldn't help and smile at the progress they were making. It had been almost two years since he had liberated his wolf kin from the castle town and reunited with his brother Aner. It had taken time to chase the bandits from the lands but it had finally paid off. Iturri had spent the better half of his time going to the far corners of the land to liberate and bring his kin here where they would be safe, but his second in command nearly demanded he take some time to rest.
         The wind blew through the leaves of the tree he sat under, the shade making it a perfect place to rest, and its spot on the hill made it a perfect view point to watch over his pack. He perked up when he heard someone coming up behind them. One sniff of the air and he smiled. "Marz, how are you doing?"
         The woman was Marz, the couple he had met when at the castle. She was a natural born werewolf, and her husband Arbitio had decided to join their pack soon after. She smiled at him as she placed the two year old child next to Iturri. "I am doing fine, but the little one missed you while you were gone."
         The young boy cried out in joy as Iturri smiled and pulled him into his lap. "Is that right Ivo? I have been gone for quite a while haven't I?" He said to the child as he put his hand on Iturri's scarred eye. "Just can't get over the fact I have one eye can you?"
         "He is growing into a healthy child. We were worried about him at first seeing how old we both were when he was born." Marz said.
         Iturri just laughed. "You may be twice my age but you have sharper teeth then any of us here. How is Arbitio doing with the fields?"
         Marz just smiled and sighed. "Since you gave him the task of growing crops for the village he has been at it almost none stop. He had always been full of vigor, but after I turned him he acts like a man a third his age. Should be a fine harvest this year I assure you that." She said as she took the child from Iturri. "And what about you, mister so called alpha male? When are you are going to find yourself a mate and settle down?"
         Iturri just smiled and huffed. "When all our kin are safe within our border."
         "Have you even started to build yourself a home yet?" Marz asked. Iturri just looked away and blushed. "Some leader you are, you're never around and don't even have a roof over your head!" She teased.
         Iturri just held his chin high and snorted. "My work is far more important than lingering around here, and I have no problem sleeping under the stars."
         Marz just shook her head with a sigh. "Well if you ever find yourself sleeping in the rain you should know our home is always open to you Iturri. We don't share blood but you are kin to us." She knelt down and patted him on the head. "Take care of yourself young man." She said in a stern motherly voice before she left him alone to his thoughts.
         Iturri just sighed as he stared up at the cloud. "Maybe next year mother...I will start building our clan again." He said to himself as he let the wind blow over him. He stood up as he heard a howl come from the far side of the village. Iturri had sent a group of his strongest wolves to bring back some refugees, the howl meant they were just about to enter the village. He brushed himself off as he went down to greet them.
         As Iturri walked through the village he was happily greeted by the many people who had come to live there. Most were wolves but some of them were people who either lived in the area before they moved in, or family of those who left the city with Iturri. Iturri offered the gift to all who lived among them but some preferred their normal lives and he respected that. Some of the wolves were pulling wagons full of timber while others proudly carried fresh kills in their teeth. His pack was slowly adapting to incorporating their powers into their daily activities.
         Iturri met the incoming group in the middle of the village and the one leading them gave him a dirty look as he stormed up to him. "What are you doing here you mangy mutt?"
         Iturri just shrugged. "I guess I wanted to make sure you didn't get lost, or hurt yourself doing something stupid."
         The young man grabbed him by his shirt and glared at him. "I should knock you on your ass!"
         Iturri glared right back at him. "Then why don't you? You fangless pup!" He shouted back at him.
         The young man held the glare for a moment before he laughed and threw his other arm around Iturri. "Good to see you are well my friend! I am surprised you haven't run off on some suicide mission by now." The young man was slightly shorter then Iturri and had a long hair past his shoulders and it was a grey color that opposed Iturri's dark brown hair.
         Iturri couldn't help but laugh. "Well Lasos, I would have but this pesky litter mate of mine insisted I stay home after a minor battle injury. I didn't want to upset him." He said mockingly.
         "The only thing upsetting me is your foolishness. That 'minor injury' you spoke of was half a dozen arrows in your hide. Besides our leader should be watching over his pack not running all over the country." Lasos was his second his command, they were both raised in the same pack and grew a near inseparable bond. Lasos was two years younger than Iturri but didn't keep him from doing everything he could to surpass his friend. "Any news on the borders?"
         Iturri crossed his arms and shook his head. "The more our numbers grow the fewer men try to attack us. Trade with the city to the west has gotten its share of harassment, but a couple of strong hands put an end to that." Iturri looked to the new faces that came in behind Lasos. "So I assume your mission was a success?"
         Lasos ran a hand through his hair with a growl. "Rumors of our home have begun to spread, so many have tried to make their way here, but they are running into near constant obstacles. Also the bandits posing as our allies to fool our kin into following them. We save as many as we can, but I fear our enemies will not give up so easily."
         Iturri took a moment to think with a huff, but then felt a tugging on his arm. He looked down to see a young boy, no older than ten, looking up at him with one eye bandaged over. "Are you the one eyed wolf?" The child asked. Iturri had been very active lately and picked up the nickname from all the hunters that were after his head.
         Iturri knelt down and put a hand on his head. "That I am, and what is your name?"
         The boy started to fidget a bit under Iturri's gaze. "Taino...my name is Taino. And I want to be a strong warrior like you!"
         Iturri tussled his hair with a smile. "You look like a strong young wolf, I am sure you'll be a great hunter one day." He looked out to the field where the other children were playing. "I bet you didn't have many chances to play with children your own age, but I assure you those young ones would love to have you join them." The boy smiled as he ran off to join the other children. Iturri sighed as he watched him go. "Those bandages look fresh."
         Lasos cursed under his breath. "We heard about a group promising to escort wolf refugees to our lands. We were suspicious so we went to scope them out."
         "And what happened?" Iturri asked.
         "Damn bastards killed eight of our kin. It was so fast they had no time to fight back. Only the boy managed to avoid the surprised attack. When we arrived we found the boy in his wolf form with his teeth wrapped around the bastard's leg. Took us less than a minute to tear them to shreds." He heaved a big sigh before continuing. "Before we managed to get there they managed to maim the boy's eye with a broken bottle, but he didn't cower or cry. Instead he fought with all his might."
         Iturri half smiled. "The boy has got spirit."
         "After it was all over we bandaged his eye and he wept over his family, but after we left the city all he could talk about was the great one eyed wolf." Iturri looked up as Lasos laughed. "Seems you have made quite the name for yourself my friend, even the youth aspire to your example."
         Iturri snorted through a laugh. "Let us hope it doesn't end with them pleading their case on the chopping block. Come walk with me Lasos, I think it is time we discuss future plans." As they walked Iturri lifted his head high. "Our dream is finally coming true, but the closer we get to it the more I think we need to ensure our long term stability."
         Lasos nodded as they walked. "The young ones are already getting the cravings to hunt, but we have to be careful or they will kill every last animal in these woods." He said with a laugh.
         "I feel we need to bring livestock into our lands. It was fine when our clans were scattered across the land but now that we are more condensed we can't all feed off the land. Among the livestock I want to bring in sheep so we have a constant supply of wool." Iturri explained.
         "A near independent land...I love the way you think Iturri!" Lasos exclaimed thinking of the possibilities. "I will look into bringing in some cattle and some sheep when we next go to market."
         Iturri laughed. "All we need now is to make sure we have enough lumber to make homes for our whole pack. This clearing we made is fine, but I do not wish to expand it too far since the forest acts as our shield from invaders."
         "You are becoming quite the leader my one eyed friend!" Lasos said with a smirk.
         "Enough of that talk, I am merely a dreamer and a warrior. Soon as we are stable again and some of our clans reformed I will have the leaders of each clan vote on who they want to lead us." Iturri told him.
         "And then when they vote you as leader you will have no choice but to settle down and lead us." Lasos teased him. Iturri just shot him a dirty look.
         "Iturri! We have humans at our border!" One of the warriors yelled running up to them.
         "Then chase them off, why bother wasting our time with such unimportant news!" Lasos scolded him."
         "We were going to Lasos, but they said they had a message for Iturri." He said. Lasos and Iturri looked to each other and nodded as they took wolf form and followed the warrior to the edge of the forest where five men on horseback were waiting opposite three snarling werewolves.
         Iturri ran up to them and took human form. "Stand down men, I will deal with them." The three backed up as Iturri walked up to the men. Recognizing the royal emblem on their cloaks Iturri knew they were members of Aner's army. "I take it you do not approach our territory without reason." He tried not to sound hostile, but with tensions running high Iturri couldn't risk uninvited guests within their forest.
         The man got down from his forth and pulled a roll of parchment from his bag. "King Aner requests an audience with you. He says it is urgent."
         Iturri perked up a bit, he was interested but not convinced. "King Aner knows he is welcome within our home. If he wishes to speak with me he should come see me himself."
         "King Aner is currently engaged with guests from another kingdom."
         Lasos walked up to Iturri and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know you and the King are on...good terms, but I do not think it is wise to just walk into the kingdom."
         "We were told to inform you that the results of this meeting will concern you as well, but he wouldn't say more than that." The man told them.
         Iturri groaned as he rolled it up the message. "Tell King Aner that I will be there by tomorrow." The men nodded and rode away from the forest.
         The wolves were keeping watch went back to their patrol leaving Lasos and Iturri alone. "Are you sure you should be doing this? We can only guess what kind of guests your brother is hosting for." Lasos said to Iturri
         Iturri just sighed. "I cannot simply ignore my brother's call, he may need my help. Besides if what he says is true this involves us as well."
         "Will you at least bring some of our warriors with you?" Lasos asked.
         "I will go alone. We need as many warriors here as we can to ensure we stay focused on our task." Iturri explained, he turned to Lasos and smiled. "As usual I entrust you to take care of our pack while I am gone."
         Lasos just sighed and shook his head. "I'm not happy about it, but I can't stop you. Tread lightly Iturri."
         "I will be careful." Iturri looked backed to the forest and a strange feeling overtook him. "We have built quite the home haven't we?"
         Lasos didn't like that look in his eyes and patted him on the back. "Yeah we have...now make sure you come back to it." Iturri nodded and then ran off without another word.

         Iturri only stopped twice on his way to the castle, once to hunt and another to sleep. As he walked up on the castle the sun was beginning the rise. He could feel the barren dirt under his paws where people had traveled daily and hated the feeling. As he neared the gate he could see almost twenty tents baring a foreign kingdoms symbol. As he got near he could see the soldiers moving about. As he got close they spotted him and quickly reach for their weapons. Iturri quickly bared his teeth, the fur on the back of his neck standing on end.
         "Stop right there!" Someone called over them. The soldiers parted and Aner walked past them with ten of his guards. "This man is my guest and I would ask you show him respect." Aner walked up to him and sighed. "It is good to see you again Iturri."
         Iturri stayed in his wolf form and groaned. "I was not expecting a welcome, but this is a bit deterring."
         Aner sighed and waved to the gate. "Please come with me and I will explain." Iturri followed him through the soldiers, and some of them looked ready to jump at him at any moment. Once they were inside the walls Iturri took his human form and pulled up the hood of his cloak. "Forgive me brother, but maybe now you see why I called you here."
         Iturri crossed his arms. "Perhaps you're having second thoughts on taking out your dear brother?" He said sarcastically.
         Aner just sighed. "Few people are still open to the idea of peace with wolves. It isn't easy to overcome over twenty years of prejudice. I hope that having you hear for this meeting may help the case."
         Iturri laughed. "What am I to do, balance a bone on my nose and bark on command?"
         "If you came all the here to mock me then maybe we are both wasting our time." Aner huffed at him.
         Iturri rolled his eyes. "Come now, I have not heard from you in almost two years. Do not blame me for having fun at your expense."
         Aner sighed with a smile. "I have done my best to try and maintain the peace between humans and werewolves. I have even banned werewolf hunting within the borders and turned away traders of wolf fur. Believe me when I say it hasn't gone over well with our neighbors." Aner explained.
         "I expected as much...if there is something I can do to help ease the strain on your kingdom I will offer it, but may pack is spread thin defending our land and bringing in stragglers." Iturri said. "So what did you need that you couldn't have sent with your message?"
         "Well you see..." He began to say but a soldier ran up to him in a frenzy. "What is wrong soldier?"
         "Your highness, we just received word of wolves attacking a village outside the city!" The soldier cried.
         Iturri quickly stepped up with a frown. "Impossible, there shouldn't be a wolf anywhere near the city!"
         Aner cursed as he grabbed Iturri's arm. "Come with me, I will explain on the way to the village!" Iturri groaned but followed him without question.