Helping Terra

As Scout Viktor bid them farewell, Yurik called, “Wait! What planet are we on?” He hoped they could figure out how far off course they were and contact either their pack or a nearby post.
“Terra.” He replied simply.
Yurik looked at him confused. He had never heard of a planet called ‘Terra’ but perhaps it was a new planet? “What galaxy?”
“The Milky Way.”
Yurik’s pupils dilated in disbelief as he muttered, “Thanks.” The man left as he turned to his pack mates. “Did he just say Milky Way?”
Morgana looked equally as shocked and replied, “Yes, yes he did.”
“If we are then do you know what planet we are on? Terra was the Old Latin name for Earth.”
“But Earth doesn’t exist!” Anxiety coursed through all of their systems.
“Apparently it does.” Yurik looked at Tearnyn and Morgana and the same thing went through their minds: If they were on a planet that doesn’t ‘exist’ then how were they going to get home?
“Are we sure this isn’t some joke or a system named after our ancestral solar system?”
“I don’t know.”
“We can research.” Tearnyn suggested, finally regaining composure after the initial shock. “I have a feeling we will be here a while.” She ran her fingers over her lips as she thought aloud, “Morgana, is the shuttle salvageable?”
“I don’t know.” She replied as she bit her lower lip. “I didn’t get a good look at it after the crash.”
“When we can, we’ll return and figure out what we can do with it. Hopefully we can fix it up and find parts we need either here or at a nearby village or city. Yurik, how’s your old English?”
“Okay, why?” He asked hesitantly.
“We are going to do some research about this planet, see if it really is Old Earth. The way they speak suggested they are heavily English which is in our favor, but some of their words are hard to understand.”
“That is because they have a mix of Latin, Greek, Old German, and other mash ups of languages you don’t hear much anymore. We are Old Icelandic based, while they are a hodge-podge of different languages. I’m able to understand the basics of most of their words, but I have never heard it spoken before.”
“Yeah. You are able to read it though?”
“Yes.”
“Good, we’ll be doing a lot of reading or at least you will be. I’ll help when I can, but that isn’t my area of expertise. Morgana if you need my help, just ask. I’ll try to get as much out of the locals as I can. Sound good?” Tearnyn’s friends nodded, put a little at ease by Tearnyn taking charge. They all had their strong suits. While Morgana was an amazing mechanic and Yurik kept any misunderstandings from occurring on new worlds, Tearnyn excelled at making sure no one panicked in stressful situations. Now that there was a plan, the werewolves were able to sit back, a little more relaxed because they had assignments that would help get them home. In the back of her mind, Tearnyn knew there was a good chance that they would never get off of Terra, but she held on to the small hope that they would. It would take a while, she knew this too, but she worked just fine with a slow pace. Although there were times where fast paced thinking was necessary, she was more comfortable working at her own speed where she could think things out and keep others busy. Even when she was younger, she was able to handle her brothers and adjusted accordingly to each temperament and personality. She would not let her friends think they were not getting back until she was sure there was nothing they could do.
But Tearnyn was scared. Although she held on to the hope of getting off Terra, the planet did not exist. Technically it did, her not being dead was testament to that fact, but her pack, unit pack, and government would not come looking for them on a planet that disappeared millennia’s ago. Eventually they would give up and the three of them would be pronounced dead. Her family would be heartbroken and she feared for her mother the most. Rai was a strong woman, one of the strongest people Tearnyn knew. However, Rai also had been through so much in her life and lost so many that losing Tearnyn may send her over the edge. She was a fragile person that could tear a person apart by just looking at them. Tearnyn had seen once her mother look absolutely hopeless. She had gone to visit her uncle’s plaque at the Cimeterium when she noticed her mother at a particular plaque that was not Jayce’s. Her mother touched the cool stone and broke down. She slid down and crumbled into herself, sobbing. Tearnyn whimpered as Rai’s despair and guilt hit her like a door slammed into her face. She had immediately gone to get her father and watched as Zane comforted his wife about a man that Tearnyn knew only through stories. It was not until she was older that her brother Kayden told her that their mother had been the one to kill W Unit 13’s old Theta, Marco Kay. Kayden also told her that Rai blamed herself for his death even though it was a mercy killing. Usually Rai accepted the killing as merciful, but she did have her bad days where the guilt and sadness was too much and she would cry. Tearnyn never saw her mother fall apart like that again, but she had a feeling that it happened more often than she knew. Maybe not as often as the suns on a planet being a bright yellow or red color, but not as infrequent as a shuttle being thrusted onto a planet that no one knew existed.
Tearnyn gently shook the thought from her mind and focused back on the present. The rest of the day consisted of doctors and nurses tending to them and not much else. The next day consisted of a round of tests and being released to talk to the Alpha about their situation. They spend the evening talking and making plans, going over rules of the territory and what it would mean to be part of the pack even just temporarily. They would have the freedom to walk around the town and work on their ship if it was not too damaged, but they would have to have at least one pack wolf with them. They agreed, Yurik unhappy being watched but understanding it was necessary. They were allowed to stay in a room in the local inn, but would eventually have to find a way to pay for it. After a long day, they stumbled into their room and passed out for the night.
It took another two days before the three wolves were ready to enact their plan. Once they were sure that everyone was fine health wise, the three Scouts walked to their crash site. Morgana inspected the entire shuttle carefully since she was the one who knew the most about it. Once she gave the thumbs up (“The shuttle can be fixed!), Yurik and Tearnyn walked back to the village to start the reading.
The library was not big. They had a little bit of everything, but ‘little’ was the operative word. Because the reading would be light, Tearnyn left Yurik to his own devices while she walked the village to get to know other wolves. They were hesitant at first to talk to her. She was strange and at times hard to understand due to some of the words she used to describe things. Most of her conversations ended up with both party members laughing as they gestured to describe things. The pups of the village found it hilarious every time she paused or stumbled over a word to help them understand what she was saying. Over the course of a week, she learned that Terra was an all werewolf world that had been that way for hundreds of years. Tearnyn nearly fell over when she was told.
“Why are you so surprised?” The barkeeper Coral asked.
“This is the first world I have heard of that is purely werewolves. Usually they are a minority on a planet, not the dominant population.” Tearnyn shook her head.
“Humans left us long ago and after what they did to us, well good ridden.”
“Are you talking about when they hunted our kind?”
“Of course. Nearly wiped out werewolf kind and the founding family.”
“Werewolves seem very… protective of the Tunglþræll family.” Tearnyn had observed this many times throughout her life, even if it was only overhearing it in conversation.
“Damn straight we are, without them we wouldn’t exist. This whole planet thinks they died, imagine the surprise when we saw your lovely eyes.” Coral smiled as she slid a glass down to a wolf. “How did the Tunglþræll bloodline survive after all these years?”
Tearnyn’s finger traced the mouth of her cup as she remembered back to when she first heard the story. “It survived through a werewolf turned human. I don’t know how it was done, but the lycanthropy was reversed and my ancestral Alpha, Alpha Genevieve, and her last remaining relatives lived on. The eye color was passed down through the human bloodline until my mother married my father. Lycanthropy like the heterochromia, is usually a dominant gene and at last the Tunglþræll bloodline is wolf again.”
“Do all your siblings have the silver and amber?”
“No, my twin brothers have my father’s green eyes. Only my eldest brother and I have the two different.”
“Seems like the eye color is a hit or miss.”
“Possibly, but with my mother’s generation two out of the three children had the silver and amber.”
“That is so interesting.”
“It is, although it can be scary. If my dad’s angry you freeze and know that you better have a good reason for what you did. When my mom’s mad and stares you down, you freeze and your heart stops. Scariest thing ever. And don’t get me started if they double team. I have never had that happen to me but I’ve watched many humans and werewolves receive those stares.”
“Sounds like you have some intimidating parents.”
“They’re definitely unique.” Tearnyn took the last gulp of her drink. “What’s it like here? Weather wise.” She clarified.
“Depends on the season. Right now we are heading into the autumn season so it’s getting cooler. You just missed the extreme heat. Soon it’ll be cooler, crisper and wet. It rains a lot and then snows and it’s cold. I hope you run warm or your wolf has thick fur because it can get in the negatives.” Coral informed. “Around April, it’s a bit warmer and then May is wicked wet and then we get back to the warm weather. The trees are about to look pretty as they change color.”
“Sounds like you get just about everything.” Tearnyn smiled. “I don’t often see the changes.”
“If you stay long enough, you’ll definitely see it. You’ll need warmer clothes. Do you have any in the shuttle of yours?”
“We might. We tend to be stocked for every type of weather because of all the traveling we do but since we were only suppose to be charting space we may not.”
“Then best find a job soon if your shuttle will take a while.”
“Looking for help?” Teanryn smiled at the bartender.
Coral laughed and replied, “We’ll see. Ever waited before?”
“Nope. I’ve been an ambassador and Scout, that’s about it.”
“An ambassador?”
“Yeah, family business you could say. Oh and I’m okay at first aide and some mechanical work.”
“Anything else?” Coral looked at the young woman amused.
“I can shoot a gun.”
“Useful.” She teased. “Well, if you are desperate then we’ll talk. For now, try to find a job in a field you have experience in.”
“Solar advice. Well, I best be off and check on the other two. Thanks.” Tearnyn stood and headed out to the shuttle. As she walked she noticed how they took a very specific trail through the woods. Turning to her guard, she asked, “If this is your territory, why do we never stray from the path? You even discourage us from doing so.”
“Like most wolves, we only have so much land that is ours. Beyond Alpha Sierra’s territory is the Silver Back Pack. We don’t cross into their territory and they don’t cross into ours.”
“Are you not friendly with them?”
The guard made a face, “They’re…. different. We learned long ago to leave them alone.” Tearnyn nodded, looking into the forest. Although she could not see anyone, she felt eyes one her and could hear at least five heartbeats she did not know.