The Lord ✔️

Chapter 6

Chapter 6: What An Age!

It was hard to not pay attention—to think—about Carol. Not in a good way, obviously: Hunter had always despised his second-eldest sister, more and more each passing day. Today, though, her stares unnerved Hunter. She seemed to be plotting something, yet it was unclear what. And it was scary.
Hunter didn't understand what had changed her so much. From her father's stories, Carol had been quite sweet, when she was a young pup. But something had changed her, and it wasn't a small change. It was dramatic. However, Hunter pushed that thought away. He had to concentrate on training.
In Findrut, each wolf, when they turned one year old, was assigned a older wolf to teach them how to hunt, live, and be a wolf. They would have that mentor until they were three—Andromeda was past three, (and was nearly four), so she had stopped being taught by a she-wolf who was black with amber eyes. (Hunter couldn't recall her name).
Hunter's teacher was a female, too; she was light grey with some faint dapples on her legs, and blueish tinted eyes from when she was a pup. Hunter knew she was younger that most of the assigned teachers, and her name was Ruby. Hunter quite liked Ruby, who he assumed was around four, but she acted more like she was 2. She looked pretty young, too. He decided to ask about her age.
"How old are you, Ruby?" he asked, when Ruby and himself were eating a rabbit he'd caught. Ruby looked up, startled by the question, and ducked her head shyly. Hunter's day seemed to be quite weird, because from all the time he'd known her, Ruby had never acted embarrassed about anything at all.
"Oh," she said, and Hunter was even more startled to hear a note of shyness in her usually proud and friendly voice. "I turned three four months ago."
Hunter gaped, the meat nearly falling from his mouth. Three? She's three? That means... she became my teacher when she was two! He stared at her long and hard, finally realizing how pretty she actually was. He shook that aside. She's my teacher! He thought. "But—" he stammered, "but—how did mother make you a teacher when you weren't even properly trained for the job yet?" he babbled.
Ruby laughed. "Oh, she didn't. Well, she did, sort of, but she said someone else made her do it, or something, which was quite silly, because she could easily say no: she is the queen after all," Ruby looked around thoughtfully, and then added, "well, we should go now, Hunter, it's nearly nightfall."
Hunter nodded, still dazed as he followed Ruby back towards the dens of royals. Three years old? Three years old?! Why would anyone suggest a teacher who is only a year older than me? Hunter thought, shocked to the core. Of course, he did like Ruby, and he was glad that someone had requested, or more likely forced, his mother, Queen Cora, to make Ruby his mentor.
It was still slightly puzzling, but Hunter knew there were many odd wolves across Findrut and the whole continent, Xonar. And anyway, he thought, I shouldn't complain about fortune.