Talarine: Ally to the Angels

Chapter 32

The pack howled as their Alpha stood above them. Training had began and not one was left alone as they drove off in teams to battle demons here and there. Tal had fought a demon before when she had still been a new wolf. Tal bared her fangs as Treian led a group away, then Dorn and finally she lead a small group to hunt down a nearby demon.

Remember: United we stand, Divided we fall. Keep together as a group as members of this pack and none will fall to the demons this day. Tal raced through the forest with the selected wolves. They raced through the branches which tugged and pulled at their fur; through thorns that were snagged upon their thick coats; they leapt over or zipped around boulders, large roots and fallen trees that blocked their path with ease. Tal avoided any inhabited towns where the people had yet to see the rumored 'Olympic' sized wolves and she heard growls and snarls as they flew over the ground. Shade had come this day and was leading several wolves about Tal's height towards a powerful demon. Xypherius was getting the Angelic mates ready for anything that could possibly go wrong.

Tal growled and silence was quick to follow. The demon is close. I can smell him. She told the young wolves who each flattened their ears and bared their fangs. Tal snarled and once more silence echoed through the forest as they spread out in ambush formation. The demon was attacking a random home and stopped when the snarls from Tal and the small group echoed around him he turned to face the large wolves. A teenage girl watched with horror and amazement as the wolves chased him away with Tal stopping to look at the girl. Her ear flicked back and then she raced after the demon to bring it down. Once it was gone Tal returned to the girl to find her shivering sighing Tal had one of the wolves vanish and come back to explain what was happening. The girl understood and saw Tal's eyes watching her closely.

"Where am I to go? My parents are dead and I have no other family."

"With us to our town. Our Alpha has sensed that the Light within you is strong and you will be openly welcomed among us." With that he explained that she was to ride upon the back of the wolf who walked up and together they left the carnage behind.

*****

The teenager found his words to be true and was openly welcomed. She was given a house that was quickly furnished to her liking and she felt safe once more now that she knew everyone. "A teenager?"

"Yes." Tal looked to Xypherius from the forge. "Just as young as I was when I lost my parents. She is not aware of it yet but she is a shifter."

"Wolf?"

"Don't know and won't until she transforms. Though it would be interesting to see the cat clans make a comeback."

"Cat clans?"

"Wolves, Bears, and birds were not the only things Druids used to shift into Xypherius. There was a cat clan but they vanished sometime before or during the Sin Wars."

"Really? And how did Tyrael not know?"

"The cats are or were a very secretive lot. They would hide away in ancient temples to do some odd things but eventually they just disappeared." Tal sighed then she pointed towards her desk. "The other day, however when I was cleaning up I found a secret door in the basement. I opened it and to my surprise, as it was unusually easy to open, I found a corridor that led to a circular room filled with items and maps and more!"

"You sound excited about that." Xypherius noted.

"More then excited. I discovered a journal that describes what this place used to be and why we as wolves feel so at home here. This town used to be a forest town but it was soon abandoned as the Sin Wars came around. The people who lived here were Wolf and Cat shifters and the best part is there is a whole area down there covered with plants that haven't been seen for hundreds of years. I think you may want to get Tyrael and a few of his Horadric followers to this town. They may want to see this for themselves." With that Xypherius left to get Tyrael.