I stared up through the trees at slivers of the late morning sky, nodding off to the rhythm of Crab’s footsteps. I was only brought back to reality when the gate passed over me, indicating we were back in the village. I slowly moved my body upright inside my pocket home, in time to see Crab lay the dead snowtail down next to a local butcher’s table, apparently sensing my mood towards my prey.

We left the corpse behind as we slowly made our way through the village, only stopping at the sight of a large crowd of murmuring people at the entrance of the village hall. Crab pushed his way through the knot of villagers, ignoring complaints about his bloody hands as he moved forward confidently.

I eventually made out the wispy voice of the Chief over the rest of the whispering humans, and could make out only a few words about holding a meeting before he seemed to wrap up, and head inside the hall. Crab quickly walked up to join the Chief as the door closed behind him, shutting out the voices of the rest of the villagers.

“What’s this about?”

“Hmm… It seems we have a troubling situation on our hands,” the Chief rasped back, before eyeing me and turning towards the end of the hall, “I’ll let those involved inform you.”

We quickly marched to the circular table, where the Chief unsteadily took his seat. I looked around as Crab claimed a seat, seeing a few faces I recognized, including Donnie and the other elders I had been introduced to. Standing out from the dull colors of the elders were three weary men. The clothes they wore indicated that they were at least from the area, but their sunken eyes and the red stains covering their gear piqued my interest, and apparently Crab’s too.

“What in the hells happened to you?” Crab asked, leaning forward against the table, and then directed his glance at one of the men. “Willin?”

An older man with mud-colored hair looked up from the table at Crab, responding with a sorrowful voice, “Still not sure ma’self, to be honest.”

I looked towards the other two men; a scrawny kid who seemed around Donnie’s age sat completely still, eyes planted in the wood of the table, with his arm and head both wrapped in slightly red stained bandages. The other stared directly at me with two unwavering black eyes, just as still as the scrawny kid. I shrunk into the pocket instinctively, but quickly correctly myself and stared back at him. This sudden bravery was caused, of course, by the fact that I was indeed too big to completely fit in Crab’s coat pocket; my head stuck out no matter what I did.

I met his eyes for a moment longer before averting my attention to the Chief, who was speaking, “Just tell everyone what you told me.”

This Willin glanced at the Chief for a moment, before starting, “We were out huntin’ snowtails like usual. S’far as we could tell, nothing out of th’ordinary. We shoulda known somethin’ was wrong though, the snowtails were way too careful. We could barely get any of the lil’ bastards.”

Willin shifted back in his seat, and as he continued I noticed the scrawny kid rubbing his wrapped arm furiously, “The five of us were out at one of the usual spots near Kenner Village, when we started hearin’ all this howlin’. In no time there was a wolf on Bowles, nothing we could do. One jumped on Ense ‘ere as well.” Willin then nodded at the dark-eyed man before continuing, “Lucky Mord fought it off, and we bolted.”

Silence descended over the table, and I could feel Crab’s chest tense up even through his coat, but it was the Chief who eventually broke the silence, “You said five?”

Willin seemed to lose composure for a moment, but it was Mord who answered instead, “Edel was with us, but I don’t have a clue what happened to him.” He shifted his heavy gaze from me up to the Chief, “I’d guess he’s dead by now.”

Ense continued to rub the bandages on his arm with a trembling hand, as the Chief sat back in his chair and took a deep breath. Again the weight of silence fell over the table. This time Crab was the one to break it, “What about these wolves? What can you tell us about them?”

“They were Silver Wolves, no doubt. And organized too,” Willin replied, regaining composure.

The older men around the table grimaced almost in unison, and as I looked around I could tell that Donnie was just as confused as me. I waited only a moment before Donnie asked the question for me, “Is that bad?”

“It means, most likely, that there is an Alpha somewhere. And if there is an Alpha, then the Silver Wolf pack has found a new den nearby. Yes, it’s bad.” The Chief receded into his thoughts after this, before speaking up again. “Alright, we’ve dealt with this once before, and we can do it again. Donnie? Tell Arik what happened, get a message to Caramill, in case we cannot handle the situation. Elmer? Take your hunting squad and get to Kenner Village immediately.” Donnie and an older human with a receding grey hairline both nodded and briskly walked off.

The Chief turned back to the men at the table, “Willin, Mord, can either of you lead us back to where you were attacked?”

The two men nodded consent, as the Chief looked at the shaking Ense, “Get Ense back home, he needs to rest. When you go, I’ll have fifteen men from the guard come with you. You need to find the Alpha’s lair before dark comes today. Got it?”

Both men nodded once again and stood up to leave, half supporting and half dragging Ense away with them. The Chief proceeded to give concise instructions to the other elders, and each went to follow them with a sense of determination. Eventually only the Chief, Crab and I were left at the round table, and the hall in general.

The Chief slouched into the wooden chair he had stood up from to give the orders, and rubbed his eyes several times before speaking to Crab.

“When we need to exterminate the Alpha, I need you to lead the men.”

I glanced up at Crab’s face, seeing surprise surface briefly.

“Surely someone more skilled should lead-“

“There is no one more skilled, Crab. There hasn’t been a Silver Wolf Alpha in these parts in almost twenty years. Everyone who fought then is either dead or too old to wield a weapon. And have you seen the village guard? They aren’t real fighters, just boys with sharp sticks. I need someone who knows what they’re doing to lead this, and you’re my only choice.”

Neither men spoke for a few moments. I stared at the Chief’s face, his expression pleading Crab to agree. I was slightly startled when Crab’s hand rubbed the top of my head, petting the short fuzzy feathers growing there.

He eventually responded, saying, “If the villagers aren’t skilled, are you sure we should do this at all?”

The Chief replied with disgust in his voice, “Silver Wolves are parasites. If left alone, they will increase their territory, killing us in the process. Many good men died the last time this happened, and it’s now my job to prevent that from occurring again.”

“…Fine.”

The Chief sighed in relief, visible thankful.

“With any luck, Willin and Mord can find the den. Prepare to leave tomorrow, early.”

Crab slowly rose from the table, still rubbing my head. As he turned to leave, the Chief spoke out.

“Thank you, Crab. Thank you.”

Crab grunted in response, walking away and out of the hall.

I was sitting on Crab’s cot in our one room cabin, watching him organize the gear on the table for the third time. He checked his knife one more time, for reasons unknown to me. Maybe he thought it could run away? I glanced through the window at the fading light. I suppose it was natural to be nervous. Mord and Willin’s group had found the Alpha’s den fairly easily, so we’d be going over the plans once more in the morning before heading out.

Crab finished his check and lounged back on the cot next to me. As I thought about his nervousness, I wondered at why I wasn’t that scared of this mission, even to the point that I had gone out of my way to be included. I mean, I understood his nervousness; the starving Silver Wolf alone was a terrifying and rabid beast, and I couldn’t even picture something considered its Alpha.

Whatever the case, my thoughts were interrupted by a shadowy form slipping through the window. Captain slinked up and jumped onto the desk, directing his one eye towards us. I had gotten used to his presence, but something felt off about his stare.

His single green eye, normally languid and smug, showed a very distinct and recognizable emotion.

Fear.

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Sorry this came out so late... pls forgive me <3