Ravens of Eternity

Chapter 479: Bonus - 2

This Chapter occurs in the middle of Arc 8, between Chapters 330 and 331. I meant to write it back then, but completely forgot. Whoops! Here it is now, as a bonus. Please enjoy!

~@~

It was within Central Park on the Unnamed Cruiser of the Corvus Republic that the shapeshifting wolves made their home. Scattered all over the lush park were numerous hilly mounds covered with fallen logs and large rocks, all of which were cozy dens where the wolves themselves resided.

Amarok padded all around the park itself as she surveyed the homes of her people, and ensured that they had absolutely everything that they wanted or needed.

Sure, they were offered more modern structures to live in, furnished with the most advanced technology the Republic had to offer. But they found they were most comfortable in these burrows and dens. It was there that they were most at peace with who they were and how they lived.

Not that they didn’t have the trappings of modern features and amenities. Each was multi-leveled, spacious, climate-controlled, and had ample storage. More than that, but they also had electronics and furnishings designed specifically for their biological needs.

All felt most themselves in that kind of habitat - for one thing it was the perfect contrast to a lifetime spent in labs and cages. More importantly, they simply felt right.

Inside one of those incredibly cozy burrows, one of the mother wolves watched as a handful of her pups roughhoused with each other just outside. All of them tumbled and bounced as they nipped and snapped at each other with absolute delight.

They were among the first of the wolves to be born outside of their experimental lab, and were perhaps the first to experience a truly carefree life.

Watching them grow and play without any worries gave her a deep sense of contentment that she had never experienced before.

One of her smaller pups however wasn’t quite as enthusiastic about play. He was simply still too small and weak to handle such excitement. So instead, he curled up in a ball next to her, comforted by her warmth.

At one point, the mother wolf stood up and stretched her legs, which the young pup immediately attempted to follow suit. He stood up, stretched out, and yawned.

But before he could settle himself back down into a comfortable ball of fur, the mother wolf nudged him with her snout. She effectively goaded him over and over to get up and explore outside the den, to leave the comfort of their home to see the larger world around him.

Of course, he protested at first with a few sharp yips, though he was completely overridden once she picked him up by his scruff.

Mother wolf padded out of the den with him in her jaws, then plopped him down a meter away, on the soft grass. Afterwards, she nudged him more forcefully, to the point where he stumbled around as he tried to maintain his balance.

Ultimately, he found his footing, then raised his snout into the air and took a few good whiffs. There, he found various scents as they wove through the air, some sweet, some salty, some bitter, some woody, some fruity.

And despite his siblings roughhousing nearby, he was clearly disinterested in whatever play they were into. In fact, one of those random scents caught his nose and his attention, and for some reason his curiosity simply wouldn’t let it go.

He turned around to look at his mother, as though asking for permission to go investigate. She easily gave him her resounding approval with yet another nudge of her snout. And so, he took his first few wobbly steps away from the den.

Whatever trepidation and fear he felt initially slipped away with every step he took. He became less and less cautious, and more and more curious as the seconds ticked by.

Driven by the strong scent, he found all sorts of people along his merry trek through the park itself.

A few individuals sat in the grass and leaned on the trees as they read their books and datapads. Others simply snoozed under the shade, free of worry. Some snacked and picnicked alongside friends and family, while some simply enjoyed being free to live their lives as they wished.

The pup came to a small group of human and drogar children, who much like his own brethren were running around and playing with each other. They laughed and giggled as they chased each other gaily through the park.

Unlike his brothers and sisters however, the pup found some excitement and enjoyment with the kids. He quickly ingrained himself into the group and chased after them, or was chased back in return. He yipped and barked even as the kids laughed and yelled happily.

He tackled one of the children playfully, licked his face frenziedly, then went and chased after another. Their antics resulted in such raucous laughter and enjoyment that they all lost themselves in the sheer joy of the moment.

But after a few minutes of unbridled fun, that unique scent once again caught the pup’s nose. Driven by that primal smell, he left his playmates and continued on his journey. And although the kids all pleaded for him to stay, he was undaunted in his quest.

Something deep inside told him to go chase after whatever quarry he was after.

He passed even more groups inside the park, but found that no-one he ran into was the source of the tantalizing scent. It wasn’t long before he made his way out of the park itself, and crossed one of the many avenues out to the greater city surrounding.

Out there, even more smells bombarded his nose - that of countless people, their homes and businesses, the food they ate, and the sweaty toils they bore.

Saliva dripped out of his mouth as the sweet smell of freshly baked bread filled his nose. They wove down the street and around corners with such potence that he had absolutely no choice but to follow it.

He followed after it dutifully down the street, past crowds of people walking, and finally into the bakery where it originated.

His appearance immediately resulted in countless oohs and aahs from everyone inside. Bakery patrons were absolutely taken by his sheer wolfy cuteness and couldn’t help but give him an abundance of pats. On top of that, those who worked at the bakery itself melted as he yipped for attention.

One of them picked him up in her arms and cuddled him tightly as she talked to him like he was some kind of baby. Which in a way, he was.

A few of the other workers crowded around and cooed as they pet him and lavished him with attention. One even broke off a piece of bread from a sweet loaf and fed it to him. And of course, he predictably chowed it down with toothy aplomb.

Everyone in the shop was completely smitten by the wolf pup and wanted to absolutely smother him with affection (and treats). And of course, the wolf pup ate up all of the attention like a furry glutton.

But after a few minutes, that tantalizing and unique smell once again caught his attention.

He wriggled out of the woman’s embrace and leapt back down to the floor happily. And before he left, he spun around, gave them a yip goodbye, then carried on his way.

The pup once again traveled down the streets and passed numerous curiosities and onlookers. Although many caught his attention, he was sure that none were the source of his calling. It certainly wasn’t any one of those playful kids, or fawning adorers, or delicious breads.

No-one he passed along the streets certainly matched the scent that tugged him along by his nose. It didn’t matter how friendly or welcoming or disinterested or unconcerned they were.

At some point, he eventually came to a small neighborhood filled with rows of cozy habs. Each one was home to groups of friends or families, though a few only had one or two people living in them. Most were simply going through their lives as normal, and were customizing their living space, or were in the process of moving in, or were merely enjoying the privacy of their home.

The pup passed by almost all of them, at least until he came to one of the habs.

It was there that the scent that drew him was strongest. Finally, he found that which he was truly looking for and padded his way through the open doorway.

The hab itself was sparsely decorated and seemed barely lived-in. There was a small pile of personal things in bags and boxes in a corner of the large living room, which appeared to be the effects of the small family that had moved in.

It seemed that they had just taken possession of the hab itself, and hadn’t fully moved in quite yet. In fact, the only customizations that they had performed to it was the presence of the semi-circular couch in the living room itself.

The couch was situated in front of a holoprojector, which was currently deactivated. On the couch was the family - a young mother and father, along with a small girl seated between them. Both parents looked absolutely exhausted and worried and out of sorts, as though they had just gone through a wholly traumatic and taxing experience.

Dark, heavy bags were under both their eyes, and their appearance was rather disheveled. Not only were their clothes messy and in disarray, but they appeared to be unwashed and unkempt.

It seemed as though they had literally just gone through the door after an extremely long journey and sat down. Perhaps, they did.

Although the little girl seemed mostly unaffected, her parents looked incredibly sad. Both held bittersweet looks on their faces, a stark contrast to the smiling girl between them.

“What’re we gonna do now?” asked the father. “We just about lost everything due to that disaster... Our whole lives, ripped away, just like that.”

“I know, I know,” the mother replied. “We put everything into that homestead. Those fire storms really did a number on the whole township.”

“We put all our life savings into it, and now... we got nothing to show for it. I’m just... I don’t know what to do now. Don’t even know what choices we can even make. Got nothing left in the ledger to start again, even if we wanted to.”

The mother sighed deeply as she leaned back on the couch. It was perhaps the first time she had gotten to simply relax. But even then, her body was tense with anxiety.

“Well, we’ve got a few options,” she said. “Like those friendly people said, there’s House de Jardin. They’ve got a good refugee program for people like us. Or we could go back to House Felrahn and try to pick ourselves up back there.”

“Back to Felrahn? I don’t think so,” the father scoffed. “All the House does is take more and more out of our earnings. Taxes for protection, they say. But it all goes to the top, where it stays. Nah, that’s not a real option.”

“So we go to de Jardin, then.”

“As if they’re any better. All them Houses are the same. It all goes to the highborn, never to anyone like us.”

“Well, what choice do we have?”

As the father exhaled deeply, the wolf pup padded into their living room. Though they were alarmed greatly at first, his friendly face and fuzzy cuteness completely overwhelmed their little daughter.

She squealed with delight as she hopped off the couch and ran straight for the pup. She wrapped her arms around him faster than her parents could whisk her back up. But once they saw that the pup was far from dangerous, they immediately let their shoulders down with relief.

“Lookie here! Sooooo cute!” said their daughter.

The pup yipped in response. His tongue lolled out as he panted happily. He had finally found the scent that drew him so strongly.

“I wanna stay here!” the daughter said after a few more moments of cuddling. She and the pup immediately began playing and laughing, as though they had known each other since birth.

Her little laughs filled the living room so easily and so quickly that the two parents were immediately disarmed. They watched the two in awe for many minutes in silence.

“I think, maybe, we oughta stay here after all, in the Republic,” said the mother. “Maybe this is the place where we belong. I mean, there’s really no better sign than what’s in front of us right now, honestly.”