Among The Wolves

Water Eta

Ty'Mee and I were sitting on the bleachers watching the two girls turn the overflow training base into their personal sandcastle station. I was taking it easy, too much activity had me winded, but I was determined to get fresh air and spend as much time with Lins. It was the day after the reunion and Ty'Mee left her duties with her Iota. She said she'd spend the day with me just to make sure I was okay.

I was fully entertained watching Duo’Lae show off her sand building materials to my sister and all the tricks to making a good castle. It made me so happy to see Lins so carefree. In Vakusi we were always in the city and with working so much I hardly had time to take her to the park. Grandma did a few times but I did not think that she had ever played in a sandbox.

On the other side of the box was a larger group of kids or pups, as they called themselves, but they were a fair bit younger than Lins and Duo’Lae. The mothers sat at the opposite end, making Ty'Mee and myself the only occupants of this side. Even Duo’Lae's mother sat over there, so far away. Then, walking toward the main training base, was another group of kids, yet they looked nearly teenagers if not already. I had not seen many pack members or been here long but I did notice that there was an age disparity. Either that or all the pups that were Duo’Lae's age were simply off in a unseeable location. She always seemed alone, except now she clung to Lins.

I turned to Ty'Mee, “Are there any special considerations I need to take for Lins’ care?”

Ty'Mee leaned back a little. “Her kidney function is not a hundred percent. It's enough to work but if the degenerative disease is still present the function would only continue to get worse. I am not sure if there is a way to completely eradicate it, especially if it's genetic. I plan on doing another infusion of your blood but not for a while yet. Maybe I will even wait more than two months because I want you to be at the top of your health before I go draining you again.”

I nodded, “How long do you think it will be before her kidney function gets to a point where it's detrimental?”

Ty'Mee waved a hand, “I haven't had a good time to compare to see how it is, but the four days she's been here I see no negative changes so after a month I should be able to tell for certain how much the degenerative disease affects her. Needless to say, I would like you to note diet, environment, stressors and things that could contribute to a quicker decline in her function. Hopefully in a year or two we can have it managed to a point she won't need infusions anymore.”

Take notes, I nodded, I could do that. Easy peasy.

“Now, down to the real business.”

I raised my eyebrow at Ty'Mee's solemn tone.

“You done ran off before I could introduce you to my mate!”

I averted my eyes and bit my lip to hold in a giggle.

Ty'Mee tossed her hair, “What was that for? I practically had a party planned and we were going to have cake and ice cream, but no. You just had to disappear like vapor. Poof gone. You owe me one Vae'Lee. In fact, you owe more than one. I expect a koshpah party with streamers and silly string now.”

I could no longer hold my giggle in. “Sorry about that. I was sworn to secrecy.”

Ty'Mee playfully poked my shoulder. “Are you saying that Alpha M’est’r and Zeta Hem’Lar are to blame for the fact that my party had zero attendance?”

I smirked, “You said it, not me.”

“Ha! I see what you did there.”

“Cheetah! Look at the castle!” Duo’Lae waved her arm in the air to get our attention.