The Bind

Introductions

CLAIRE POV

I may have been an owl, but my heart was a hummingbird, and it's wings beat frantically against the cage of my ribs as the forest disappeared beneath snowy wings. The sun beat at my back as summer rolled out from a clear azure sky over the dark green forest. Dry updrafts carrying burned out leaves, shriveled by the first heatwave of the year, did not help with the comparison my mind was drawing with the sinking feeling of descending into hell.

Becky I don't know if I can do this. I linked the alpha wolf guiding me through the maelstrom of introducing myself to my pack. My pack? I was still wrapping my head around being a wolf, let alone being in possession of over a hundred of them. Reality had warped into another unrecognisable shape.

The wound from Sandra must have poisoned my blood and I was hallucinating back at the surgery. One foot in the fired scape of purgatory, another in a burning fever dream.

Sure you can. Becky linked back in a monotonous mental tone. You claimed them. Without new leadership their pack will be pulled apart by the elders. Their homes, chosen community, self respect and honor will be bust. Their old packs probably won't take them back either. Her tone did not lighten, Becky was not overly fond of the creatures I was swooping in to save either.

She didn't like them. I didn't like them. They were dousing the back of my mind with death threats. What could go wrong?

Your pep talks could use a little work. I linked back, irritated by the splotchy shape her support was forming up to be.

Sally had cut a deal with Becky; That she would leave me in favor of The Glade, on the condition that Becky leant me as much support as possible. It was not a hard sell, apparently I had impressed the alpha enough for her caring instincts to extend to helping me anyway. This way everyone obtained what they needed, if not strictly what they wanted.

Not a pep talk bitch, a reality check. You should be going into this fully informed. I don't think those wolves deserve the chance you are trying to give them. At the same time, because you claimed them, you are now responsible for their actions. Her mental tone softened to include some expression of empathy. I like you, and don't want to watch the elders tear you to shreds if you fail.

Today my attention had been split between the avian court and watching through Becky's eyes as she managed a few minor conflicts within her pack. Her wits were faster and sharper than a surgeon on speed. They needed to be when conflict could dissolve into flying fur and irreversible consequence at the speed it takes to shed one's clothing.

I watched her cut to the heart of any issue within the second sentence of any conversation. Then go on to convince the involved parties that her resolution was really the only possible solution by the end of that very breath. It was a thing of beauty to watch and saved more time than you would believe.

The owls were all weighty silences and subtext, stone in the face of a storm. These wolves seemed to project themselves on their surroundings, thunder and lightning and the sunshine after a squall.

It was refreshing, to say the least.

Becky explained that most conflict is based around fear of loss. Listen to the subtext and discern out what it is they fear losing (respect, property, love, an opportunity...etc). Then either show them that their fear is invalid, or that losing something isn't the end of the world. You can give more people your undivided attention for less time.

The weight of her words held more gravitas than words alone; She had explained this with two pack members in matching headlocks, that were back to being wary friends a few minutes later.