Banished

3

Banshee

"Frost, get your lazy butt up and get going. I refuse to be late to work again because you want your beauty sleep." Banshee snapped as he kicked his brother in the side where he lay, curled on the ground, at the foot of his bed, half naked. He stirred at the sharp jab and his inner wolf let out a small whimper in protest.

"It's not my fault you were running all night and it's not going to be my fault that you're jobless either so get some clothes on and get out of here before both of our bosses are mad at us." Banshee demanded with a final, quick kick to Frost's side that had him bolting straight up.

Frost growled furiously as he rubbed his exposed side and glared up at his elder brother. "Jeez Banshee, that hurt." He whined, earning him an unsympathetic eye roll from his brother. Banshee grunted and threw an old shirt at him before walking out of their shack of a home. 

His senses told him that Frost was moving and ensured him he would be getting to his carpentry job in time. As for Banshee, he'd have to book it in order to escape his boss' wrath. Banshee could come in an hour early and Popper would still have something bad to say about what Banshee was doing or had done. Popper had hated Banshee with a passion since his parents were banished. She couldn't see how he could be any different from them and she made that very clear every time she handed out work assignments. 

Banshee's wolf growled at the thought of Popper and he had to take a few breaths to calm himself as he dodged through the trees to make it to the village square. Normally it would be peaceful so early in the morning but with the upcoming migration of the Birds the residents were in full swing attempting to make the village look more permanent than the tents and flimsy shelters suggested. 

While the Canine Souls had been living in the same place since the Weres had been split over a hundred years before Banshee had been born they had done little to make their permanence known to their surroundings. Even with all of this time where Weres like the Fowl and Feline Souls developed large stone structures and fancy buildings to reside in permanently the Canine Souls had spent more efforts focusing on their community. While they possessed the ability to build and settle, they never liked to commit to one place, no matter how long they may stay there. They're fighters at heart and always ready for a war.

The majority of the Canines stayed in tents. The only stable structures in all of the Canine Soul territory was the ballroom, the elderly home for the former Weres who's animal side died, the Judge hall, and the medicine ward. The ballroom was the only one built in stone, much to the disapproval of the community, for the Birds. 

The Birds have controlled almost everything since they found a way to stay informed about what happened to the banished. This information was valuable to those related to the banished which many Canine Soul's were. All Weres allowed the Fowl Souls to reign as long as they continued to feed the public the information on their loved-ones whereabouts. Many hoped for a way to bring some of them back but there had yet to be a solution to that. 

At one time many doubted if the Birds really had the ability to see the banished but they were all convinced when the Birds began to reveal secrets about each of the families that only the banished would know. No one knew how they received this knowledge until their secret member was revealed.

Banshee shook himself out of his thoughts as he neared the Guard Post at the center of the village. He pushed back the flap to be greeted with shouts from his two friends and fellow Guards Viper and Trix. 

They all wore their uniforms of camouflage pants, a flimsy button-up shirt with their names sewed in the front, and an equipment belt strapped around their waists  that contained poisons used to stun a Were, should one attack. The majority of Canines go shoe-less and the Guard was no exception.