4.
The Outsider
“That’s the depraved stranger Captain was talking about? I tell you, Palva, he doesn’t look like he’s capable of much, does he?”
“Well, I told Leron he was injured.”
“Injured? Moon on fire, isn’t that an understatement? Hah! You sure it isn’t dead?”
“Of course I’m sure. What do you think?”
“Well, I dunno. The way Captain told it, he was some mad, diseased savage and you were an idiot.”
“You know how Leron is.”
“Oh, you know I know. Always eager to turn a twig into a tree, so long as it’s to his advantage.”
“You shouldn’t talk like that. He’s your captain.”
“He’s your captain too. And you don’t like him anymore than I, don’t go pretending that you do. Anyway, you should’ve seen him last night—came into the new redoubt in a right little huffy, all boiled up over your impudence and his not being able to do anything about it. The stranger, he says—well, he doesn’t like there being a new stranger. To hear him talk, you’d think this stranger was a nice fish you’ve caught and won’t let him gut. And you won’t. Drives him insane, see.”
“I don’t care. It isn’t in his place to order me around, and if that bothers him, then it’s his problem. Besides, it isn’t up to him to decide what becomes of Tir. There are things that Leron does not know.”
“Oh, yes, yes, I heard you two had a row. A great big one. Kesol’s going on about how you’re going to poison him some day. He says—”
“You know not to listen to anything that little yellow burr says.”
“I know. Just thought I’d tell you. But really, if you have any yew berries lying around, I could—”
“Nerasa!”
“No, no, just kidding. Ha ha. Er, here, I brought over a bit of your mahonia and poppy seed—at least, that’s what Alpha said they were. A bit withered, but they’re still in working condition, I suppose. That’s all I could carry. Alpha said she’d send another wolf down with more of your herbstuff as soon as she can spare someone. We’re awful busy.”
“Oh, thank you. Speaking of which, how is the move coming along?”
“Well enough. Captain decided to set the new redoubt near this area, up against the cliff. He says it would be easy to defend; we’ve got one side covered for us by the wall. It wouldn’t be any use, though, to keep out strangers who fall from the sky. That’s what Kesol says, at any rate. He says—”
“And the redoubt?”
“Oh, it’s great. There are lots of good dens among these big boulders, with nice, sandy floors—dry, too. Alpha’s taken one already, but you’ve probably been up there—a higher den up on the boulders, she’s got to climb up to it every day! Alpha says you can use this little hollow if you want; it’s close enough to the main redoubt. And the grass will be nice and shady from the sun—good, huh?”
“But Liyra hasn’t even seen the hollow yet. How does—?”
“Kesol told her. He says you like this place.”
“I do. Well, everyone likes this place—it’s such an improvement from where we’ve been. I never imagined we would be lucky enough to find somewhere like this.”
“Yeah. Any bit of the whole plain would work for a redoubt, if we wanted to use it; it’s all so much better than that stupid marsh. But as I said, this little area here is good enough—and it’s close enough to the deer, too. Deer!”
“It’s settled then?”
“Uh huh. We’re still working on the move, but it shouldn’t take so long. There aren’t any pups, unless you count behavior, so we should be set in by nightfall.”
“Has anyone decided how long we’re planning on staying here?”
“Well, I dunno. This place seems fine, but you never can tell. There could always be something dangerous nearby—poisoned water, hostile neighbors, you know. Alpha’s sending me to head a patrol out ‘round dusk. But really, I’m just glad to be leaving the marsh. And perhaps this’ll be it. Not a temporary set-camp, but a place to live for seasons to come. I heard Captain and Alpha talking about it last night.”
“Eavesdropping?”
“Me? Come now, would I eavesdrop?”
“Oh, of course not; I apologize for ever imagining—”
“Yeah, fine then, maybe they didn’t know I heard, but it doesn’t matter. They probably wouldn’t care that I know anyway. And it’s not as if it was a secret, they were out in the open—anyone could have heard.”
“Never mind that, Nerasa. You’re a hopeless case.”
“That’s not funny.”
“Suit yourself.”
Tir lay in the grass, listening to the voices talk. The sharp pain that had been burning through him had boiled down to a steady throbbing, and he had a terrible headache.
He was trying not to move, not wanting Palva to know he had awakened. If she saw he was no longer getting the rest he needed, she would take advantage of the moment to put more garlic juice in his cuts. Garlic was used as an antiseptic, to prevent his scratches from growing infected. Palva had grown sharp with him when he had protested—the garlic stank, and it burned in raw wounds. She told him it was good for him, but he didn’t think he could take the sting right now.
The voices continued to talk, now discussing a lake that had been discovered somewhere in the grassy fields. From what he could gather, Palva’s visitor was another wolf from her pack, having been sent down to deliver a few of Palva’s healing herbs. No doubt, they would soon be bringing something for his burns. If the garlic on his cuts stung, whatever she put on his raw, flamed skin would be agony. Tir wondered how long he could get away with pretending to sleep. For the moment, Palva was distracted by her guest. But despite his best efforts, Tir didn’t doubt that the Gatherer would know he was awake as soon as the distraction of her packmate left. He was beginning to wonder if she could read minds.
“…been hunting already. Simetra says the prey here is great. You should’ve seen the rabbits they brought back—Great Guidelights, those things could’ve hunted us! Alpha’s sending Captain off on a full patrol of the land, I suppose he’ll come back sometime tomorrow or so.”
“Improvement from the marsh, I see.”
“Oh, you can be certain. I swear, this place is even better than our old territory.”
“Even before the humans and thunder-sticks?”
There was a long, awkward silence.
“Well, no. That place was always home for us. But we had no choice, Palva. They would’ve killed us. When we left, it was a death land. We’ll be safe here, and not so bad off as it is. Kesol says we’re a proper pack now.”
“There haven’t been quite so many fights, if that’s what he means. He may be right. That’s one good thing to come from the journey.”
“Yeah, also when Karvo died. That was—”
“Nerasa! You shouldn’t disrespect the dead. He was your alpha.”
“Not if I could’ve helped it! Liyra’s got her problems too, but he…Guidelights, Palva, you don’t know. He was a regular burr.”
“What would that make Leron, then?” Palva’s voice was amused.
“A greasy burr.”
“How perceptive of you.”
“Yes, yes, and shame the journey’s over now. I was hoping we’d go on at least long enough to see him lose a leg or two—or more. Hard to drown when we’re not in a marsh anymore, see?”
“You’re a sadist.”
“That’s Karvo’s fault. Told you I—hey, Palva, I think it moved.”
Tir stiffened. The tip of his tail itched, but he didn’t dare twitch it again. He could feel Palva’s pale gaze burning into his pelt, and he tried to make his breaths soft and even. She watched him for a few tense moments until she turned away. And when she spoke, her voice was tinged with faint amusement—almost mocking.
“Are you going back up to the redoubt, Nerasa?”
“Yeah, but Captain’s in a foul mood. I’ve been trying to put it
off, see.”
“When you do, please tell the next wolf to be sure to bring down a bit of my comfrey. It would be just what we need for his burns. See them?”
“Moon up a tree, it looks like someone tried to boil him.”
“He was in a forest fire, to be exact. But no matter, a bit of comfrey will do him good. You will remember, won’t you?”
“Yeah, Palva, sure. Just hope you have enough, though. I swear, you’re gonna need a lot.”
“Don’t worry, I just need a bit for the worst burns. The less severe can heal themselves.”
“Right-o, will do. I guess I’ll just go—hey!”
There was a loud rustling followed by a muffled thump, and something large came stumbling out from the tall grass, barreling straight into Nerasa. Tir had opened his eyes in tiny slits, but his vision was still too fogged by the smoke to be able to make out anything but the watery, blurry forms of Palva and Nerasa. He shut his eyes as Palva whisked around, and kept them closed even when she turned back to face the newcomer.
“Excuse me,” said a flat, neutral voice. “The tunnel was slick from the rain.”
“Oh, was it?” Nerasa muttered. “Are you sure you didn’t just want an excuse to kill some—”
“Did Alpha Liyra send you?” Palva interrupted. The smile was gone from her voice; she sounded cold. “Have you brought some more of my herbs?”
“Yes, of course. She told me it was plantain and poppy seed. For the outsider.”
“The outsider’s name is Tir, and you may leave the herbs on the boulder over there.” There was a pause, and then Palva lowered her voice; Tir strained to make out the words she growled. “Tell me the truth: did Liyra send you? Or was it Leron again?”
“The Captain has no interest in the outsider whatsoever,” the newcomer said, his voice light with scorn. “I follow the alpha’s orders.”
“Of course you do,” Palva said. “But you can tell Leron that I’m no fool. Tell him if he wants to see the outsider, he may do so himself. And it may also be wise to add that the outsider is under Liyra’s protection. It isn’t for Leron to judge who may stay and who must leave, and tell him that he would do well to remember his conversation with me last night.”
“I will guard the message with my life,” the voice said sarcastically. There was a soft rustling as he spat the herbs into the grass. Grass rustled and swished as he went back up the tunnel, and in the silence of his departure Nerasa had begun to growl.
“Captain’s taking an interest,” she said. Her voice was low and sharp, quite different from her laughing tone of before. “You’d better watch him, Palva.”
“I’ve been expecting him to take an interest. He disappoints me; I was hoping for something more subtle than that.”
“Really? You think subtle is Captain’s style?”
“It really should be,” Palva said. “If he hopes for any sort of success.”
Nerasa made a startling snarling sound in the back of her throat. “There’s a good deal of things he’s hoping for,” she said in a low voice. A chill ran down Tir’s spine at the change in her tone. “And maybe it’s wrong of me to say so, but Liyra’s a fool to think she can keep his feet out of other wolves’ blood, just ‘cause he’s captain now. I don’t trust him, Palva.”
“As his fellow Council member, I’m required to disagree with you.”
“Yeah, but you don’t. I know it. Palva, his pack didn’t even have a Gatherer.”
“They were starving, Nerasa. A Gatherer was the least of their problems. I disagree with Leron on many things, but he does deserve some amount of credit for keeping them alive.”
“I wouldn’t call Xelind ‘alive’. Besides, there’s more than one way to keep yourself alive and running—Liyra knows it, and so do I: Karvo was competition, Palva. And Karvo didn’t lead himself into the thunderstick’s path.”
Palva’s voice was flat. “Accidents are common,” she said, and Nerasa made a snorting sound.
“’Course they are. And Captain knew that well, didn’t he? I bet he still remembers it, too.”
There was a long silence. The fur around Tir’s neck was prickling, as though it were still full of hot ashes. He did not know this wolf that they were speaking about—but he could hear the serious caution in Nerasa’s voice, and he could feel the burn of Palva’s pale glare as it filled the hollow and rested between his own ears.
“There will be no more accidents,” Palva said, her voice soft and so deathly-cold that ice water trickled down Tir’s spine. “Not in this territory. I’ll be watching the good Captain, as you said—he may have never had a Gatherer, but he will learn that this pack isn’t run the same way he ran his own. Kesol wasn’t all wrong in what he told you, Nerasa.”
And Tir did not dare open his eyes, but he could have sworn that she was smiling.