Running With Wolves

It was a long time before Lukas and Mia finally reached their destination, the majority of their long trek was draped in a heavy accusatory silence.

“I swear to god if you two don’t work your shit out…”

Mia griped as she paused in her steps. Lukas tried to step ahead of her but her hand struck out quick as a cobra to catch his wrist. He turned to her questioningly but her eyes only flickered to him mutely before gazing out at something Lukas’s eyes were blind to.
Lukas could feel Razvan in the back of his mind, agitated by Sage/Salvie’s absence.

Then, materializing from seemingly nowhere appeared a small band of men; seven to be exact, each with their eyes trained on Mia.

“Miakoda.” The leader bowed his head curtly and Mia pursed her lips together in a thin hard line.

“Really?” She questioned flatly, her annoyance with Lukas mixing with her agitation to be back home. “He sent a hunting party to greet us? Where is Father exactly? Dealing with more pressing matters than that of his daughter?” It had been the running theme of her life; everything else taking president over her.

“Yes actually,” His tone echoed her own. “A particular white She-wolf is causing quite the stir.”

Lukas bristled and his shoulders squared. The man finally turned his gaze on Lukas and his eyebrow quirked, “Have I said something to upset you?”

“If you harm her-“

The dark eyed man’s eyes glittered, “Are you her mate?”

“Quit it Tate.” She snarled. “He’ll eat you alive.” She brushed past the man, Tate, and dragged Lukas along with her. “Ignore him,” She grunted. “He enjoys a good fight about as much as Salvie. Keya gave him the nickname Tate when he came here as a teenager.” Her eyes met his briefly. “Tate means, he who talks to much…he loves nothing more than running his mouth to get the other guy going.”

Lukas’s lips pursed.

“If they’ve hurt her-“

“You insult me, Lukas. Have a little faith in the place that I come from. Trust me if anyone is hurting anyone it is Sage doing the harm.”

Out of nowhere the dark dense thicket of trees gave way to a large open area where the sun shown through.

It looked peaceful and quiet and grudgingly Mia accepted the fact that somewhere deep inside her something finally settled at the sight.

“Welcome to White Bear Creek of the Sans Arc,” Mia murmured with a sigh. “…my home.”

“Your father would-“

“This isn’t my home anymore,” Her voice was not bitter but it was stern. “I don’t have the abide by what Father says.”

Lukas glanced over his shoulders to see the men behind him shift uneasy on their feet. Clearly they knew little of what to do in the event that Mia refused to cooperate.

“Sage Wolfe is reading at the moment.” The men parted like the red sea and a woman appeared amongst them.

“Reading?” Mia questioned doubtfully.

“Yes,” She replied easily as her eyes turned on Lukas. “You will see her shortly Lukas, only first wish for a moment of your time.” She took several steps closer. “My name is Keya,”

She had a heart shaped faced, tanned skin from the constant sun and hair the color of fallen leaves with grey streaks running through it and crows feet from the plagues of middle age. For a moment Lukas was momentarily surprised that Keya was not Native American but then remembered something Mia had told him about her tribe; it was less like a real tribe these days and more like sanctuary for wondering souls.

“Hello,” Lukas said uneasily. There was something about the way she was looking at him, as though she were looking at an old friend she could not believe she was seeing again—and it made him uneasy. “I’m Lukas.”

“Yes I know,” Her smile was warm as she reached for his arm gently. “Would you mind coming with me for a moment. I promise our talk shall not take up much of your time and then you may see our dear Sage.”

Lukas glanced Mia apprehensively. Why did he feel like he was suddenly standing on the edge of a cliff with this woman that he did not know?

But Mia nodded to him silently and suddenly Lukas felt silly. What harm could a middle aged woman, Were or not, cause him?

So Lukas allowed her to guide him through the heart of their clan. It was a mismatched concoction of cabin houses, camping tents, RV’s and even one or two teepees. It was hard to make sense of this strange place but somehow it seemed perfect in its own way. Most of the people were going about their business unconcerned with Lukas’s arrival but he couldn’t help but notice many of the older folk had their hawk eyes carefully trained on him.

“I suppose this place is not quite what you are used to,” Keya commented conversationally.

“You’ve been to Blackwood?”

“No,” but then she shrugged. “I’ve just heard stories over the years. A modernized tribe that consists of nearly 90% if not all of the town.” She glanced at him for moment. “Believe it or not the way you live is more uncommon than the way we live here. In most places there are very few Weres or are singularly alone. Most packs most dwell within the woods just to feel like the don’t have to ever hide who they are.”

Lukas had not thought about it that way, Blackwood had always been his home and he had never known life any other way and he told her as much.

“Yes,” Keya mused as the camp fell away behind them and opened up to a wide lazy creek with slow moving water that glimmered against the sun. “You have been very sheltered haven’t you?”

Lukas turned to her questioningly.

“I’m sure you are now coming to realize that your elders have been, how should I say, disclosing information from you and your precious Sage.”

Lukas frowned. “Nothing is as it seems.”

Keya made a noise of agreement. “Yes I suppose you are right about that. Having known so little true information nothing would quite be as it seems would it?”

“Forgive me,” Lukas spoke up. “But how is it that you think you can help Sage and I with anything if you don’t even know us?”

“Because that is were you are wrong Lukas, I do in fact know you and Sage.”

Lukas’s brows furrowed in confusion but said nothing.
Keya’s gaze turned out to the brook with a soft smile on her face that left Lukas wondering if they had traveled all this way for a crazy woman who would leave them more confused than ever.

“Close your eyes,” Her eyes glanced to Lukas’s doubtful eyes and she nudged him. “Do it.” With a sigh Lukas complied. “I want you to concentrate on Razvan.” Lukas’s eyes snapped open momentarily surprised that she could know his Were’s name, but she continued on phased by the remark. “On how differently Razvan and Salvie can act apart from you and Sage. I want you to concentrate on Razvan and the things that he feels instead of how you feel.”

Behind Lukas’s closed eyes he could feel Razvan’s presents on his brain and if he concentrated on it hard enough the pressure would grow to a heaviness one might associate with the need for sleep. Razvan was quiet on his mind, even contemplative if Lukas really thought about it. Razvan was still as he listened to Keya.

“Do you ever feel like Razvan and Salvie have their own separate issues with each other that have little to do with Sage and yourself?”

The question was odd to Lukas’ ears. “That isn’t possible, we are our wolves.”

“Ah yes, generally speak you are correct. But do you really feel as though that statement refers to Salvie and Razvan, you and Sage?”

Lukas hesitated, though he already knew the answer, and quietly he admitted. “No…no I don’t think that.”

“Okay,” Keya stated rather cheerfully. “So, how would you describe Razvan and Salvie, if you could describe them in one word.”

Lukas thought about for a long moment. There were many words to be used for them, many of them whispered unwelcomingly by townspeople. But to some up everything in one word? Lukas was not sure he could. He thought about nearly identical his feelings for Sage/Salvie were but also that there were moments when they were completely separate.

Razvan’s tail twitched as he paced back and forth across Lukas’s mind. He could sense Razvan’s agitation and worry to find Salvie but also that a part of him seemed to calm soberly at this creek beside Keya. For a moment Lukas couldn’t understand that and for a moment he abandoned the medicine woman’s request to describe them in one word and his eyes snapped open suddenly looking at Keya slightly lost.

“Its like he isn’t me. The way they describe Weres is that it is just us in Wolf form but Razvan…Razvan takes over like a separate being and I have no control.” He had never admitted that before and part of him felt weak for the revelation but Keya somehow seemed pleased yet unsurprised by his words.

“Because Razvan is a separate identity but you knew this already didn’t you?”

Lukas just appeared wary.

“Let me ask you this: you, yourself, have never been here before and yet if you concentrate hard enough you feel almost as though you have been here before?”

Lukas did not understand this woman in the least but it seemed every word out of her mouth now was startling him just a little bit more by how much she knew.

He ran a shaky hand through his hair. “I don’t know why, but I feel like Sage is safe. That she is okay here and I don’t understand why I feel that way. I don’t know any of you, why would I trust you with her?” He questioned absently. “I know if I was anywhere else I would fight every single person here to get to Sage and yet…”

“Yet you aren’t.” Keya smiled softly. “Because Razvan somehow is not perturbed by this place.” Lukas nodded mutely. “That is because Razvan has been here before.”

Lukas’s face contorted in confusion, “That isn’t possible.”

There was a glint in Keya’s eyes now. “Tell me, what is it you think you know about the first Were’s who settled here from Romanian?”

“They were two friends, one a prince, sent by the king to settled the area. It is not unlike how many settlers arrived to America.”

“Ah, you say that and yet…something doesn’t feel quite right about the statement you just made does it? It is information fed to you by text books and elderly words but yet feels as though there is more.”

Lukas looked apprehensive now, maybe this had been a mistake. Maybe it was better to deal with the complications they had on hand than deal with ones he was sure Keya would reveal.

“Tell me, what were the names of these two friends?”

“Christof Wolfe and Razvan Canis.” Common Romanian names but also openly known to be Sage and Lukas’ ancestors.

“And this Lukas, is where I tell you the true story of Christof and Razvan. A story as bleak as a tale of the Brother’s Grimm yet some how polished away clean to turn into a children’s movie…but this, this is no children’s tale but a terribly tragic one in which elders changed and polished up over the years because the real truth of Christof and Razvan is not one that makes people comfortable.” She peered at Lukas. “Perhaps you would like to sit down for this.”