"Just going to ignore her waving, huh?"

"-since we are going through the third loop I should stick to the left, correct? He won't be able to cut me off that way."

"Just going to ignore me too, huh?"

"I'm not ignoring anything I'm trying to focus on what's important."

"Just going to ignore the quest-"

"Mariah, please for once can you act like my mentor and give me advice?" Chris begged, fingers on his temples. He was already strained without Mariah trying to figure out why he wasn't in the mood to wave back to his friend. Her behavior had been ridiculous and now he was having trouble looking at her.

Her eyes blazed one moment but then she relaxed. "Ok Sugar."

"Really. You aren't going to make fun of me for not knowing every turn of a running loop's tree line by heart?"

"Yes really. I am not a bully. I'm turning over a leaf as they say."

He wasn't sure how to express how much he doubted that so he decided not to bother. "Where should I be looking for him to block me." He paused. "You do believe he blocked me last time, right?"

"Yeah I don't doubt it at all. Scott has always been a piece of shit."

"I don't follow you."

Mariah sighed and it looked to take a lot of effort to not be a bully. "Scott was Louise's mentor and she's now Sanjay's mentor. She was never a particularly likable creature but his influence certainly made her worse. You know, I've never cared for Scott." If this news wasn't so interesting it would have been hard not to respond sarcastically to that last part. At least someone believed Sanjay was doing all of this in purpose. "For the second turn if you are on it's heels you'll want to shift to its right side to avoid the tree line. Angela's your front?" He nodded. "Good. If you get past the haunches, the area narrows and it hits an incline. That's a good time for go for a Clip. Also-"

Mariah broke down the other options for him and although it was a lot to keep in mind it helped focus him on anything but the actual act of Clipping, cutting through the throat with his teeth."

"-but I still suggest you Jump into your Third. Even if you miss the mark no one is going to top that."

"I'm not Jumping." He sighed when Sheira motioned them forward. "Thank you for the advice, Mariah."

"No problem. Just don't mess it up or I'll stuff your tail down your own throat." She crossed her arms.

There was the mentor he was used to.

Although everyone else disrobed before the door Chris waited until the last second. The wind threatened ice on its edges. One gust went through him and he barely cared that he was about to rip out anything's throat. He watched them lead the buck to the front. The poor thing's eyes rolled white seeing it was surrounded. It stank. He watched Sanjay swallow and felt a twinge of disgust until he noticed Angela and Matt do it too. Was he the only one not excited to taste blood? At the signal each of them fell into bren. There were scattered sounds of surprise, a few of delight when he lifted his elongated face again. He'd nearly kept pace with Angela outside of a training environment.

On previous hunts the buck had been released immediately but now the entire pack was changing so their feet could have any chance at keeping up. It was painfully slow, especially with the noises the deer was starting to make. Finally, finally a fully changed Scott howled to his pack and tore into the leather restraining the animal. The deer soared forward onto the ice, apparently solidified under the wind, and nearly disappeared into the darkness. Chris and the others scrambled after it, all surprised at the speed. Without any give to the snow the animal hadn't been hindered like the other hunts. A chorus of encouragement was at their heels as they sprinted away from the manufactured warmth of the lodge and into the trackless mountainside.

Per usual Chris was able to take the lead although not by as much as before. He was distinctly faster than the other Candidates but since he was also lighter the lack of snow packing had given him an advantage. He wasn't used to being able to feel their breath on his back before they'd caught up to the prey. He wasn't bothered by it though, for some reason running together like this was more exhilarating and as they turned the first hedge line and could see the fleeing animal he felt a chill go up his spine. The urge to chase became overwhelming as a wolf. If he wasn't careful that mind could creep in and leave him a dumb animal. It was difficult not to give in to the pull of instinct and it would feel so much better- he snarled in frustration and decided to give the signal while he could still think.

As practiced they fanned out. He could see the silver coat of Angela to one side and the white-gray of Sanjay to the other. They were all close enough to get the last spray from the hooves in front of them. This was going well.

He just needed to decide which side to take. His instinct was to urge it towards Angela knowing she'd hold it in place for him, but that would require taking a position in front of Sanjay. He didn't like the idea of not being able to keep an eye on him, but if he pushed it his way Sanjay may not keep it still on purpose. There was no way he'd do that though- it would be too obvious to anyone watching. It would make him look bad. They'd already passed most the places they usually could use a natural barrier to hold it. He needed to make a choice. While they probably had the stamina to run it down like a wild wolf pack that was seen as a poor showing. Betern should be more efficient and use more than their muscles. He had to take a chance either way. Chris' paw barely moved in Angela's direction before she darted into position, the best wing wolf he could ask for. He felt Matt closing in behind him He could see the flick of Sanjay's tail. To his relief the other betern was falling into place.

Chris put on a burst of speed and found himself shoulder to shoulder with the animal. Even as a wolf he was dwarfed. The fog of its breath nearly occluded its vision but the deer still noticed the wolf by it's side. It made a low squall and tried to move away but found Sanjay to the other side and quickly continued forward, continuing the horrible noise. Chris had to block it out and not think about the animals fear. No. Like Mariah had mentioned. He needed to end it. The deer would die no matter what. Do it fast and clean. Don't make it suffer. His feet pounded below as he gauged the spot to Clip and just as he prepared his hind legs he heard a new sound. A yelp, a bark of pain. Sanjay had fallen. Before Chris had made sense of this the animal took advantage and spun away, fleeing back the way they had come with sure feet. The wolves skidded as they turned and took up chase again, this time in a disjointed sprint to try and regain the lost distance. Sanjay was holding a paw up, limping in a circle but Chris could have sworn he saw an amused flick of his ear as the group flew by.

Matt and Angela moved to flank him, it kept the back open which was specifically set up to avoid the animal turning around but it barely mattered anyway. They were losing ground after the turn. If the animal made it back to the Lodge...

Chris could see the pack was almost all able to watch now that they were forced to turn back. There were barks of confusion, some of concern. This was a worse outcome than he could have imagined. Not only was he not going to catch his deer, the entire pack, maybe even those at the lodge would see him fail. He could recognize many of the beterni even with fur as they briefly kept pace. One was able to keep up longer, even seemingly leisurely about it. Scott. Chris bristled with hostility. Was this on purpose? It couldn't be. This looked bad for everyone involved. But mostly you. You are the one who will have nothing added to your furs. All the anger didn't matter. Even with these legs it was too far away. He heard Angela growl in exasperation, panting to keep up. From behind them he heard howls start. Urging them forward. It was a nice sentiment. Then one song rang more clearly in his ears than the others. Mariah's. He'd recognize it anywhere. The one that lead him away from his human friends in the park. This wasn't telling him to return to her, though she was telling him to keep going. He could almost hear her chanting in his brain.

Jump. Jump. Jump.

He tried to envision what it would look if he attempted and failed, worse, attempted and injured himself. He could hear her voice. Worth it. Think of the expression on their stupid faces if you pull it off. He started to leave the other two behind and heard a bark of confusion from Matt, reminding him to keep form but it was too late for that. One leap. Two leaps. He focused on the rage of seeing that ear flick, of Scott trotting, of the fact that despite everything else right before he almost went for the Clip he'd felt his own mouth start to water.

The sensation was agonizing. Sharp, fierce pain not just on his skin but his viscera as well. He felt every bit of the fire that was tearing into his stomach and pulling his muscles apart and every pop of bone. He was losing blood. Everything began to scatter away and the world beyond his form wavered and tugged at his body. Terrified he began to struggle against it but caught himself. If he tried to stop now... he wondered what it would feel like to be nothing. He'd rather have the pain.

He was sliding on the ice, steam pouring off his body. He was wobbly but still moving somehow. There was a moment he tired to run on the wrong legs before he realized he'd done it. He wasn't dead. He had fully turned. The calls from behind him nearly sounded like roaring when he gathered his legs and once again sprinted forward. His fur was matted down in his own blood didn't matter. He'd done it.

Like this a deer didn't stand a chance. He was faster. And he didn't need help to take it down. In fact, he realized groggily as he once again found himself at it's shoulder, he might not need to Clip. Chris took in the image of it's exhausted face, frothing saliva streamed from its mouth. He could hear the ragged breathing. A dark, frightened eye met his. He lifted a massive clawed hand and swung. There was a crunch followed by a bright pop of bone and the animals neck swung around so its snout faced it's tail. The momentum kept it going but it lurched to the side from the blow in a horrible mock jump. Then it crashed, slapping heavily against the snow and rolling twice and came to a rest. Chris stood panting over it, gazing down at the unseeing eyes. He dropped down onto all fours, watching his arms tremble. We both can rest now.

----

The celebration had been rowdy. Or so he heard later. Chris had slept through most of it. He only managed to keep his eyes open long enough to have Sheira announce him before the pack and see Mariah laughing loudly directly into Louise's face before he curled up on the nearest sofa to nap. He woke up ravenous and disoriented just before dawn.

He was on the floor of Mariah's room, or more specifically on a mismatched island of pillows. To his relief a spread of food had been laid out next to him including multiple protein bars, a slab of fatty lamb and even a small piece of the cake he'd assisted in making. He started in without much thought, relishing the replenishing fever it caused and the clarity it returned to his brain. Unfortunately it was because of this he realized he was being watched. Gabby was still rubbing sleep from her eyes, braced against her headboard. She had a hand over her mouth, failing to hide laughter.

"Hungry?"

He nearly choked trying to swallow the absurd amount of food stuffed in his cheeks. Why. Why did she always catch him like this. He coughed until she turned on a light and offered him a cup that he nearly ended up spitting back out.

"Is this wine?"

"Apparently whatever you did was impressive enough to bring out libations for the group. It's pretty good stuff." He noticed her cheeks were a little more pink than usual.

"Where is Mariah?"

"Also wine related, she is sleeping in your bed." Gabby cleared her throat, cheeks becoming all the pinker. "You don't want to know right now."

He got the feeling he didn't want to know ever but appreciated this solution for now. "Thank you for the pillows."

"You were growling at all of us when we tried to get you into a bed. Matt convinced you to get cleaned up, at least. Oh and Mariah said to tell you, don't worry you didn't shit yourself."

"What?"

"Hey, hey, didn't you hear me? You didn't shit yourself." She gave him a thumbs up. "Nice work."

He stared down at the wine and decided to down all of it. It seemed like he's missed quite a lot in the few hours he'd slept. But he was in clean clothes and alive and had won. He grinned. He'd Jumped. He couldn't believe it.

"How was Scott's mood?"

"Poor. He didn't stay for much of the festivities, he left even before we did. You seem, pretty excited about that. What exactly happened?"

Chris tried to briefly explain what Mariah had said and his suspicions about Sanjay's injury. Gabby confirmed he seemed to be more or less ok, but that didn't prove anything. Beterni could heal quickly. Even a broken bone could be faked. He yawned. Now that he'd eaten he only felt the urge to sleep again.

"Oh Mariah did have one more thing."

"What's that."

"She wanted you to be able to name these smells by tomorrow." She pointed to a tray with bottles. Chris could only stare.

-----

"How can you possibly know that about Lui's time Roaming? I didn't even know he went on a collection tour in Florida. And I've never heard of Nana."

"Oh that's because Nana is her nickname. Her real name is London."

Chris searched his memory for a beterna named London and came up blank. "And she lives here?"

"In and out but yeah, technically. How do you not even know your own family. What's number 3?"

"Potato three to four days cut. I do know most of them but they keep the apprentices busy. And we don't get to leave the Lodge yet."

"Correct! Number 8? Well Nana was telling me about how her niece that lives just north of here was getting flyers for that awful Church. Obviously they thought it was some crazy nonsense."

"8 is a cutting of a blanket from the waiting room. You talked to her about her human life? She still has contact with people from her human life?"

"Not the carpet?"

"The blanket for sure."

"Correct! I mean she keeps tabs on them a little I guess."

"That's not allowed."

"You did amazing!"

He glared at the tray and rubbed his nose. His head hurt but not nearly as much as the first times he had to do this. Mostly he was sore from the event last night. And annoyed with Mariah for giving him one day to complete this task even after he had a hunt. And confused at how Gabby had managed to take the hour he was out doing something else to befriend half the pack. As a human.

"You're more amazing than I am."

Gabby grinned and flipped her hair and touched her mouth. She had more iron on. Rings on the other hand now. When had she put on those? "Why thank you. Means a lot coming from a king. But seriously though, how are you able to tell when a potato was cut. That's insane."

"Not really. Think of all the objects you can name by sight once you see them. I can name more smells."

"Ok but you move past identifying a potato, you can tell how long ago it was cut."

"I can smell the details. Its like... it's like, you know how you can smell a cake when its baking?"

"Yes...?"

"Well." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I can smell the individual ingredients in a cake as well. That part is easy. But I can't be completely human when I do it." He touched one fingertip to the other. "The hard part is putting the name to the smell because its like I'm combining two different types of minds and I'm only now learning how. At some point I should be able to easily keep logic and senses together."

Gabby shook her head. "That's. So. Cool! Hey- can you like do that with people too? You guys were able to smell if someone was freaking out before. Like if you sniffed my foot-" she lifted her leg to poke him in the chest with her toe. "Can you tell what I ate for lunch yesterday?"

"Gabby." He pushed her foot away. "That's ridiculous. I'm not doing that."

"Ok but is it possible?"

"Technically. But I'm nowhere near that advanced."

"Well then... what can you smell on my foot at your current skill level?"

"Nothing because I'm not going to smell your foot."

"You're no fun." She pulled the tray of bottles away. "How about a different body part then? Can you tell what I had for breakfast if you sniffed my arm or my leg?"

"I can tell what you ate for breakfast without sniffing you. We ate breakfast together, Gabby."

She huffed. "Ok, so what could you detect other than anxiety which is apparently easy."

Chris leaned back, staring at the tray. "Not that much yet. I couldn't tell what you ate yesterday, I could probably tell what you ate recently, we know of some hormones and high level emotional responses, I can recognize a few illnesses but we don't get sick much and maybe if you got enough sleep or not."

"You can tell if someone is tired by sniffing them."

"If your body changes the scent because of it, technically yes. Exhaustion has its own kind of stress scent. Its hard to isolate them sometimes but that one I was able to name."

"Do it. Do it do it do it."

"Gabby..."

"Puh-lease. I dunno if I need to take a nap or not today."

"I'm not smelling your foot."

"Ok not my foot. Dealer's choice."

Chris cleared his throat, trying to figure out an appropriate response but found himself at a loss. "Uh..."

"Armpit?"

"No. Why would you suggest there?"

"Well where then? I assume it needs to be a smelly place. Like, sniffing my hand doesn't make sense."

"Usually pulse points aren't bad but you have iron near your wrists."

"Neck?" She cocked her head. "That's one right?"

"Well... yeah but-"

"Neck! Neck or foot!" She poked him again with her toe. "Choose!"

"Gabby."

"Neck or foot neck or foot!" she chanted. She lifted her foot to poke him again. This time he caught her ankle so she'd stop poking him and dragged her sideways onto her back so she couldn't reach him anymore. She yelped and laughed. "Neck it is?"

"Ok, but you can't talk while I do this I actually have to concentrate."

She closed her lips tight but a second later snorted. It took her awhile to compose herself and gave him her best serious look. Then she burst out laughing. This went on for several rounds. He shouldn't have pulled her to the ground. He shouldn't be thinking about why he shouldn't have pulled her to the ground either. Focus you dolt.

His nose and his eyes burned mildly. He waited for it to settle and inhaled. He shouldn't have mentioned this to her. It was difficult enough on a packmate but she was going to be nearly impossible. She already smelled good. He was hoping that by doing this it might separate whatever the cause was and stop distracting him. He was wrong.

"Hold still." He warned. She was starting to laugh again, chest shaking. "I think I've got it..." Once again it was like chasing a fish. He could see glimpses of it, shining just in front of him but if he turned at all there would be something else reflected in the water. There was something else in fact. Something much more interesting. What was that?

"Chris that tickles."

"Shhh!"

What was he supposed to be looking for again? Sleep. That was it- who cares about sleep he wanted to know what this new thing was that made the hair raise on his neck pleasantly. He put his palm on her shoulder to hold her in place. He could hear the pulse along her throat quickening, her breathing pause and see the tension in her neck as she pulled her head away. He inhaled again, not caring that he couldn't remember why this was happening. He wanted-

She was saying his name.

"What?" he asked finally.

"How long will it take you to do this? We might need to try again later." She had a hand on his chest, pushing him. Her arm shook briefly.

"Try what." He felt dizzy and vaguely annoyed she was so far away now.

She was started giggling. Her face had turned bright red. Gabby cleared her throat and lowered her hand. "You ok? You're eyes are doing that weird thing again."

"Oh. Good." He didn't care about eyes. He wanted her close again.

The door to the room opened and a decidedly disheveled Mariah entered dragging along a comforter that did not belong to her. Her eyes were bloodshot. Her finger stabbed towards them. Chris was sitting back on his heels and Gabby was sitting up again though he didn't quite recall when it happened.

"You! I have news for you. As requested I spoke with London and-" she paused and gave them a once over. "What were you doing?"

"Smelling her neck." He explained thickly. Gabby gave him a wide-eyed look.

Mariah bobbed her head. "Oh, ok. Anyway, they said yes! Congratulations you get to be a rea- you get to be a spy again!"

Chris was shaking his head, trying to remove the water from behind his eyes. The more that it left the more embarrassment filled in. What happened. Did I really just hold her down? Did... did she really have to push me off her?

"Are you serious?" Gabby was standing now looking nervous but smiling. Mariah responded but he was still having trouble coming to terms with his behavior seconds ago. She seemed unbothered at least- why didn't that make him feel better? Gabby was doing some kind of happy dance and holding up more iron jewelry. He needed to focus on this conversation. "What are you two talking about? Being a spy again? To do what?"

"I literally just said." Mariah glared at him.

Luckily Gabby was more forgiving. "Remember how I told you that Nana's niece saw those flyers? Well we think we figured out where one of the church meetings are held and they are going to let me infiltrate it. They want college kids. I'm a college kid."

Chris managed to get the rest of his brain working again with the cold that filled him. The switch from feeling overheated gave him the unpleasant sensation of fever chills. No.

"Gabby. That's dangerous."

"Yes but- but Nana promised me that if I do well at it I won't have to stay at the Lodge much longer. She'll let me stay with her- she'll even help me keep tabs on my family. I won't be able to see them obviously but at least know they are ok..."

He got it. Anything was better than this. But still. "Did they explain to you exactly who these people are? They are murders- if they catch you-"

"One already did, remember?" She rolled of her pant leg to show off the scar. "I need to do this. I can't stay here under lock and key. You both tell me all the time its not safe."

He looked between the two of them. The metallic taste of panic was starting to form on the back of his tongue. "I'm going too."

"It'll be more dangerous for you than me." Gabby frowned. "If they find out what you are... I can always pretend to be brainwashed or something."

Mariah narrowed her eyes. "You aren't allowed to leave the Lodge, remember?"

"You wanted me to be Alpha, right? That's been your goal this whole time?" He said facing his mentor. "After that Jump during the hunt if I help take down some of these monsters there wouldn't be a contest anymore. If you want me to keep playing your game I'm going."

Mariah clicked her tongue thoughtfully.

"Chris I've been trained for this-"

"No you haven't." He snapped. "I know you are lying. I'm not letting you go alone."

"Letting me? Pretty sure you don't have a say in what I do. You're not a king yet."

She didn't understand the danger. She could die. Die a worse death then by teeth and she acting like this when he was trying to help her? Just tell her. Tell her you're scared for her. Why don't you just tell her that everyone though she was dead because no human before her had survived a trip to the Lodge? She'll be terrified. She'll stop taking risks. Tell her the truth.

"Well what I do isn't up to you either, Gabby."

"You think she's lying, huh?" Mariah crossed her arms. "So you think I'm lying too?"

"I know you both are."

"I've stripped fur for a lot less than that. You're an idiot. But... an idiot who has a good point about how to get a crown. I'll talk to Sheira."

"But-"

"Sorry Gabby, you're going to be sharing a mission."

**************************

Apparently sometimes when you have a stroke you lose the ability to tell where you end and the rest of the world begins. I imagine if your entire body was having that kind of massive chemical reaction that fast it would make sense to have your brain lose track of yourself. Which would be terrifying.

But he nailed it so all is well.

-Andi