Ten Days Time

What they Heard: Day One

"Rial! You lazy ass get up!" I woke up to Aether calling me out of my dream.

"Hey, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost," she laughed as I lazily got up from my slumber. It had all been a dream. Just a horrible nightmare. My heart was still beating fast and I was breathing hard. Once I got my composure I looked up to see Aether looking genuinely worried. Once she saw I was okay however, she laughed and told me to get ready quickly. Though she was the oldest, she was also the least responsible, often getting easily distracted and finding clever ways it get out of work. Her personality matched very well with her outward appearance. She had a brilliant orange coat and eyes like pools of crystal clear water. I was in stark contrast. Having fur as black as a night sky and eyes no brighter. I was the responsible one, and often had to take care of Aether for her carelessness but I didn't mind. I was lean from all my days of hunting and she was a bit heavier set from eating. But despite our differences, no one knew a better pair than us. We had been best friends almost since birth and, when it came down to it, we could be trusted with the most important tasks. This was one of those days.

"It's about time," she said smirking at me. I just padded right past her and huffed. She turned to walk with me.

"Well someone's grumpy," she snickered, "Then again, when are you not?"

"I'm happy sometimes," I told her still looking forward.

"Really? When?" I greeted her smirk with one of my own.

"When you're not around," she burst into tears laughing and fell flat on her back. I chuckled at how cute she was, making such a big fuss over a joke that was mildly funny. We talked for the rest of the way, the nightmare still lingering in the back of my mind.

Ten days time.

What did that mean? And the other things the mysterious voice said. Betrayal and murder were two things I didn't do, especially to the ones I loved. And who, or what, was that voice anyway? My thoughts were broken when Aether shouted, "We're here!" at the top of her lungs.

"God damn it girl, are you trying to make my ears bleed?" I asked.

"Well you put up with me for this long," she said matter-of-factly. We were at the meeting place. It was surrounded by tall, lush, trees for shade, and just enough light to see. The circle we stood in was said to be over 100 years old and carried some of the greatest heroes known in all of history. Did I believe it, of course not, but it was a nice little folk tale. The tall grass guaranteed we wouldn't be seen from anyone outside. The council came. From the grass and before us. All of them looking salom. They were the elders, the experienced war veterans, scholars, and healers. The one known as North came from the group and walked toward us.

"We have received word from outside that troubles us," he told the both of us.

"What is the troubling news," I asked. Aether seemed rather excited.

"There is . . . an uprising happening, the pack to the South are in talks of . . ."

"A major pack war," another elder, Simeon finished. That wasn't good. There were many small packs but they all served under one of the major larger packs. One for each direction, and a fitting name for each. North Pack was also known as War, as forward thinking creates conflict. The sun rises in the East, so East pack was Famine. The beginning of shadows was at nightfall, therefore West was plague. That left one last category for the South. Aether's smile diminished and her ear twitched.

"So-so Death is . . .," she stuttered. My fear quickly returned. If Death was causing an uprising, the nightmares from that night were very possible.

Ten Days Time.

Betray, Murder, and Run.

"So what are you asking us to do?" I asked, trying to keep me cool as best I could.

"We need you two to find if it's true, so we can know if we have to prepare ourselves," North said. I nodded and turned to leave with Aether right behind me.

"What are we gonna do? This job is way too big for us! They should have gotten someone else, anyone else! I feel like I'm gonna cry," Aether had been going on like this for hours. Worried about every tiny detail. I, on the other hand, remained strangely calm. I know what I had to do, granted it was horrible, but there was no choice. I had to follow the voices instruction. I looked over at Aether, her legs were shaking horribly and she looked like she was going to be sick. I felt bad for her. She had know idea, she didn't need to know, she was too fragile. Finally she just collapsed and laid on the ground wailing. I went over to her and laid down next to her.

"Aether, calm down it's not the end of the world," she looked up at me from the ground sniffling.

"Are you sure Rial? We've never done a job this big before,"

"We can, all we need to do is confirm information that's all," that seemed to comfort her somewhat, her bright personality would do the rest eventually. She got up looking determined.

"Alright, let's go get that info,"