The Story of Lily & Rowen: Amarusa

Chapter XII: The Exodus

Some hours earlier...

Lily watched Rowen and his compatriots as they made their escape away from the battleground. With a racing heart, she kept her eyes peeled on the black male for many minutes until he seemed to join the indiscernible mass of different colored wolves as they started to disappear on the horizon. Her ears had been angled towards the group of wolves that remained several yards from her to alert her to any sudden movements. To her surprise, there had been nothing of the sort. It afforded her additional time to, perhaps in vain, watch Rowen.

The female directed a paw up to her face as she sat, feigning an irritation near her eye. In reality, she was feeling for something entirely different. Indeed, her fur was quite damp near her ducts. It would have been impossible for the wolves near her to notice the tell-tale glossiness of crying eyes. Lily whimpered as she realized just how many tears had been shed for Rowen. Tears couldn't be seen or heard from such a distance, but in the soundless expanse, any noise could. Lily quickly turned to the other wolves and attempted to adjust her gesture to appear strong and confident again.

"We complied. Call off your attack." the leader wolf suddenly demanded.

"There is no call except to attack. An absence of a call will culminate in an absence of an attack." she spoke efficiently and plainly.

"It is difficult to know your intentions Akaru, but why meddle in our affairs?" he asked after a moment of contemplation.

"Fer reasons, boss. These Akarus'r sneaky n' it's hard tuh know where their mind is. Playin' with our males, fer one." came an atrociously familiar dialect from the wolf known as Bryce. "Rowen done deserved it. Dumb pup. Fell right for this sedu...seduct..." he struggled, to the clear embarrassment of his peers.

Lily's lips curled back in disgust before averting her gaze to the leader wolf. "I have my reasons, Ama...Amarusian." she said thoughtfully, quietly considering what Rowen had briefly said regarding the matter.

"Amarusian? What?" he shot back, angry and confused.

"Figure it out yourself." she spoke dismissively. "Though I realize history might not be your strong suit, as I remain certain it is something you'll be summarily erased from. Angelo did not seem the type to tolerate an insignificant little rebellion."

The leader wolf stepped forward in apparent anger, though the distance wasn't of much consequence. Lily didn't move a centimeter.

"You look peculiarly like how an Akaru alpha was once described to me. White fur. Colorful eyes. Eccentric. Odd. An alphess wouldn't expose herself to such danger, but maybe one such as you would." he mocked.

"There wasn't no danger. Bet she worked 'er way right around that Rowen. Stupid pup probably didn't even know what tuh do." Bryce interjected again before being silenced, by show of teeth, by the leader.

"I have seen one such wolf on the border." another wolf – a female – came up alongside the leader. "I do believe this she-wolf looks a little young to be her, though. A familial relation would be my guess."

Lily observed the wolves with wide eyes. She was stunned by their words, and could only wonder what they were referring to. Was a white wolf so uncommon? At the mention of family, her thoughts drifted to her parents. Yet it wasn't worth considering. It simply wasn't possible.

"You are most certainly thinking of someone else. You insinuate I am the daughter of somebody living, yet I assure you I am the daughter of someone who has passed." Lily corrected them.

She sighed. The last conversation she had had about her mother was with no one other than Rowen. It was a particularly special conversation, though to call it as such would discredit many of their other conversations. Even so, she recalled the interaction. Indeed, there was not much to tell. She didn't know her mother, and any memory she had of her was due to her father's recollections. She had simply disappeared one day, and her father, Riku, had feared the worst. Torn between wanting to locate his mate and caring for his daughter, the new father prioritized the latter. Though she couldn't recall the events as she was a mere pup when the events transpired, there was a deeply seeded grief in her that had been cultivated from very early on. She had been so young that she couldn't see or comprehend, but a pup could feel. The grief of her father could not evade even a puppy.