Lacking Humanity|Half Crescent

Chapter Five (Rewritten)

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"A is for...?" Sage questioned, and Poppy instantly replied with 'apple sauce,' as it was one of the many foods they were provided daily. And it earned her a proud nod, "B is for...?"
"Belly!" Clementine claimed, and the little bit of laughter and chuckles on the other side of the room indicated the audience was listening in yet again.

Though it was no use, their morning routine of the lesson had been rudely interrupted by the impending ring dictating the actions of those with '2's stitched in their breast pocket. This meant the pups would be alone for the next few hours and would spend it in the company of the witches, yet this morning was different.

"No! Hera, don't go!" Poppy called out, wrapping her arms around the female's leg and going as far as to sit on her foot. "I have to. I come back."
"No...Sometimes wolves don't come back after they get sick!" Clementine argued, causing her to turn in question towards the rest of the wolves.

"That happens?" With the other she-wolves in the room completely unresponsive, a female from the opposite end of the room had come storming over. "You didn't tell her?!"
"Quiet, Isla. We don't have time for games, Hera will do fine." Yet Sage could only blink at the two going at it.

"Tell me what?" Darius hadn't taken full reign, but he certainly reminded her of what the decided course of action would remain to be. And so she huffed impatiently.
"Isla," Sage tested on her lips, having identified the first she spoke to in the bathroom. "Tell me what." She offered, though it wasn't phased as a question.

"There'll be a fake mate bond in the gym or training room. They'll expect you to—"

"Hera's stronger than that. It doesn't work half the time."
"And you didn't think her bond would hurt her as much as it did! She almost died, we all heard it!" The two leaders had found themselves at a crossroads and Sage huffed once more and pushed her arms between them both.

"No fighting. I don't mate with my male right away. I wait months before...I can take—handle it." That was all Hera offered into her private life, allowing the Witches to start withdrawing, but then gripped the likes of Maeve's t-shirt. "You don't keep secrets from me. Understood?" The other she-wolves had caught sight of the argument now that it involved two of their own kind.

Yet a measly growl stopped them in their pursuit to sort out the differences. "Hera—I didn't—"

"I don't care. What do lab coats want me to do?" She questioned, firming her grip on the issued clothing and Maeve saw no opening, nor was anyone going to help her.

"They want you to make pups with the males, and if not them, then Master will see it as a challenge." The smirk was not at all what the wolf was expecting, and neither was the look back towards the witches with an approving nod.

"What is your familiar?" Sage called out, keeping eye contact with Isla and it was surely the correct use of the term that caused the witches to straighten their backs.
"I uh...A bobcat." While it was strange and out of the blue, Sage returned back to standing in her regular position and allowed the rest to follow. Though Maeve was now wary of Hera, and nobody wanted to say it out loud or confirm how obvious the power struggle was teetering back and forth.

Knowing that Isla has a feline familiar, there was a sense of loyalty that Sage understood from the get-go. If the female had already put herself on the line to give warnings—multiple warnings. Sage would go the same length.

Although, she couldn't recall what else it meant to have a feline familiar, as she had only been introduced to the birds and the occasional fox or two. But Sage would think this through in the meantime.

As she eyed Maeve and the rest of the wolves, she returned to the designated position and waited for the bell to call them at attention. But it was clear from then on that the room knew what Hera was. The higher blood was too easy to dictate over the rest. And with Maeve's Delta blood not being enough, their minds went wild into thought as to who Hera was.