Among The Wolves

Train

“First you train.”

Zeta Hem’Lar's words continued to leave a sour aftertaste in my head as I was standing in front of the pack's oversized sandbox. There was no rationalizing out of this one. I was going to have to train under another wolf-blood's guidance. To “prepare” me for my future pack duties.

Hem’Lar seemed to indicate that even this was not a normal part of Psi-ship but because there was some sort of time crunch… well… Here I am.

Ty'Mee gave me a loose top. I recognized it as her purple “HOWL IT OUT” shirt. She also gave me a pair of sports pants.

Today was warm, with the sun almost at noonday. I was grateful that it was not at the peak of summer. If I had to train in that kind of heat, I would surely pass out.

“Hello werewolf.” I rolled my eyes as I turned around. At the Moon Dust pack, I was referred to as “human” and now here it was going to be “werewolf”? Come on, even Vae'Lee is better than werewolf… please?

A he-wolf was walking up to the training base. He had on a sleeveless tee and basketball shorts. His bright blond hair was wavy and shaggy, although it did not cover the narrowing hairline down the back of his neck. I could tell by his biceps that training was a frequent activity for him.

Despite the unfavorable first impression, I remained as courteous as possible. “Hello nie.”

The wolfblood smiled, “I have to say, I am excited about this. I've never interacted with a human before.”

Now, it was just confusing. First werewolf and then human? Even Ty'Mee's said I am technically human but still werewolf, so… what am I exactly?

“Are you my trainer?” I asked the young wolf-man, taking my thoughts away from myself. The less I thought about myself, the less demoralized I probably would be.

I studied the person in front of me a little more intentionally. He looked younger than me yet far, far more capable than I, and looked like he had a naturally happier disposition.

“Yes and no, I am one of Zeta Hem'Lar's apprentices. I help him on and off with training the rookies.”

Rookie? I didn't think I'd make it up to that distinguished level already, haha.

The sudden urge to laugh came along with a hum in my chest. It seemed to be stronger than usual.

Calm down… My hand hovered over my pocket, where I kept two CWp27 injections. For half a second, I could pinpoint the level of intensity of the buzz. Targeting my emotion, the particular one that the hum seemed to feed off of and then winding that emotion down, I could then feel the hum calming down as well. It almost seemed as if I could physically feel the emotions, almost like feeling distant temperatures and which one was setting the werewolf off.

I also could feel the itching. Ugh.

When the coast was clear, per say, I tucked a flyaway hair behind my ear and stepped into the sand. “That's cool.”

The wolfblood stepped next to me, “Since we will have a lot of interaction, perhaps we can be informal with each other. You can call me Wey’Don.” He held his hand out to me. “I believe this is how Vakusians greet each other.”

I looked at Wey’Don's extended hand in wonderful shock. Other than Ty'Mee and Bal’Tiq, no Wos’Theian had really treated me normal. A very genuine smile spread across my cheeks. I took his hand and shook it.  “It is a pleasure to meet you Wey’Don, my name is Vae'Lee.”

My Wos’Theian name was starting to roll out a little easier.

Wey’Don's smile grew so he was showing off his teeth. “Shall we get started? Zeta Hem’Lar can join us later.”