If anyone were to question what running a sizable, diverse pack complete with equally varied opinions was like, Orion would tell them it was a lot of hard desicions that led to even more sleepless nights tossing and turning in a cold sweat. The greatest pillow was a clean conscience and she didn't have that at all. Sure she tried her best, but ones' best wasn't always enough and there were handfuls of people to remind her of that. To scream with hatred, carve into her already battered skin, that the many sacrifices she'd made to maintain the ideal Lucy and herself felt as strongly as the beating hearts in their chests was in vain.

Pointless.

One person in particular being an older fellow, an ex-convict that had sought refuge behind their lines by the name of Damien. He was a die hard traditionalist who abhorred her packs progressing advances in therapeutic programs, recoiled at the continuing immigration of wolves with 'abnormal' abilities and attributes. Despite his distaste for their laws however, he still remained a prolific information broker trapped by the bridges he'd burned and the the amount of kill orders to his name.

Damiens skills, his damning knowledge, were invaluable to their cause. Which is why on days like today when his personality grew beyond his lacking filters, she didn't knock his teeth out. Not even when he began his usual tirade during a private briefing.

Inhale and exhale, she instructed herself as his smarmy voice increased in volume. Beating the crap out of him for wasting her time would only give the man more ammunition for future meetings.

Orion was not a patient person by any means. She much preferred dealing with problems right away rather than letting them fester and eventually agitate her more. Damien had been an ironic lesson in letting her mind win over her horrible temper, he couldn't leave and she wouldn't let him. He was far too important an asset.

"Damien." She really tried to keep the bite out of her tone but the headache she was now sporting made it hard. "Get. To. The. Point."

Wrinkled face a mess of sores from nervous picking and an unkept mass of snowy white hair he refused to brush, Damien looked like a madman. He couldn't sit still for the life of him and his eyes darted around the room, scanning for threats.

An ingrained habit he wasn't ready to let go.

"Fine. You remember that request for some representatives of the larger packs we sent in?"

"Yes, it got denied."

"Exactly." He agreed furiously, throwing an opened envelope down onto her desk that he'd hidden somewhere in the many pockets of his purple tunic. "Read this."

Sometimes Orion wondered why people bothered communicating through writing anymore with the technology they'd had at their disposal for so long. But put pen to paper they did. Often. It was part of the job that came with being in charge.

As soon as she grabbed hold of the paper the nauseating scent of iron filled wafted out, its copper-like tinge almost overwhelming her gag reflex. Looking to Damien, he wasn't faring much better, turning a sickly shade of green.

The paper was an ancient variety, reserved explicitly for important communications between packs. True to its nature the flowing script was a dark red, and for the best of her Orion seriously hoped whoever had provided the 'ink' was still alive and kicking.

Using blood to transcribe notes was not uncommon in the distant past, supposedly intentioned to relay the urgency of a message traveling across boundaries. Which was a load of absolute horse shit. It was a way to intimidate, to prove one party was more fearsome than the other, willing to go to any lengths.

Subtext was a crucial thing.

Orion read the what was scrawled across that note, unable to keep her brows shooting upwards, wether in disbelief or agitation was anyone's guess. She didn't have the luxury of being patient and methodically taking apart the words. And it seemed unecesarry considering... how succinct it was.

'Dear Orion

Our prior decree has been promptly rescinded and it has been decided that, after much careful consideration, that we will be sending aide. However, as it is a big process, we will begin a trial period by sending two of our people to take temporary residence in order to catalogue what needs to be done. Our men will be arriving promptly.

Best wishes,

The council'

"Damien," She spat like a curse, surprise abating and giving way to anger. "Has anyone else read this."

He shook his head with fervor, so forcefully that Orion briefly wondered if his neck would snap.

"Just me."

Rubbing her forehead, she grew quiet. This was sudden and, to the untrained observer, gracious of the dear council. But she had dealt with these people for hundreds upon hundreds of years, studying her predecessors and looking, scanning for any soft spot in their seemingly impenetrable armor. Orion knew them more than she would have preferred, intimate in the way only a snake in the garden could be.

Sometimes it seemed she was more familiar with them than herself, like a book she'd memorized from cover to cover and everything in between. She would call it a healthy hobby, one she'd developed to stand her own in a ring of wolves with a millenias of sheer experience more than her own measly centuries.

Yes, a habit. Though Lucy, with much discontent, would label it a toxic obsession. Needless to say it was the source of many arguments between the two.

Her habit however, gifted Orion with an overflowing well of knowledge on the councils actions and inactions. A small whisper at the very back of her mind, beneath the cobwebs of the past and lurking under those rotted floor boards, now shrieked at her. Fueled the bright flames of paranoia that burned holes in her lungs.

"They know."

It was a simple statement that permeated the room, robbing the words from their mouths and stealing the very floor beneath their feet. They knew. The council knew of their carefully secured secret and the importance of what it entailed.

"They know Muzaka is coming." She whispered, the breathy quiet scratching at her ears. "They are going to get involved and we can't say no. God damnit."

Damien for once was still, but fear emanated from him in waves. The intensity louder than any logical argument he could make.

"We need Muzaka, Damien."

"I know but...if they get involved and-and somehow kill him...then not only is our only trump card gone, but they would have legitimate claims for taking you out. Taking out everything we worked for. And not just that, but if they know then that means we have a rat. That needs to be dealt with before anything else."

In the considering silence, Orion knew Damien was right. From the rat to everything else.

Now that Madukes ilk we're aware of Muzakas arrival there were too many unknowns, dangerous variables. Their taking in of Muzaka, who Maduke had at least legally cemented as the traitor of werewolf kind, could start problems. Such being he would have 'legitimate' claims to organize one half of the council and extort the other to either dethrone or kill her. Or, it could be an explosive catalyst that started yet another bloody civil war against the split sides.

And we're that the case then it was more than likely they wouldn't win, even with Muzakas help.

But if, if, they were to do what was originally planned and use Muzaka to ally those of the council who still viewed him as their true leader, so many of the common people despite Madukes propaganda, then they could win. They could actually change things for the better.

They could do what Orion continued to fight so hard for.

"All this means," She viciously ripped the letter, determination ruling her actions. "Is that the stakes are higher. Makes things more exciting."

Damien couldn't keep the shock and disgust off his face even if he tried.

"We'll convince Muzaka to work with us, show him the atrocities our race has committed under Madukes rule and his responsibility in that, and then we will tear this corrupted foundation apart from its very base." Orion snarled. "We need Muzaka. If we let this opportunity slip through our fingers then who knows when something like this could come along again."

"You can't be serious Orion!" He shouted. "The cost is too much, its not worth it. No matter what you say and you know this. Use your head not your damn heart. You get stupid when you do that."

Orion stared at him, unfazed by his show of emotions. Did she know this was stupid, yes. Did she care, doubly yes. But as she thought about it, she thought about Lucy. The small trembling girl in her arms crying as she realized everyone she cared about despised her for something she couldn't change. Or how she wanted to make a world where people could be accepted, or at the very least not turned into a science experiment.

"If this works Damien, you could see your family again. You wouldn't have to hide here. Tell me that's not worth it."

He recoiled as if burned, hurt evident in his figure. With another scowl he shook his head at her, grappling for words to thrust right back at her. To stab her like she had just done him.

But there was none, so with silence in his wake, Damien left. Making sure to slam Orion's door.

She knew it was a low blow and what she had done churned her gut, but at the same time, she knew the ends justified the means.

That it had to be.

-oo0oo-

Lucy was a woman of few words, the scope of which were limited to bitingly sarcastic remarks. Falling in place behind the two, Muzaka striding alongside Lucy while regaling tales of the human world, M-21 found he couldn't keep the annoyance off his face. That woman rubbed him the wrong way for whatever reason, like polished nails on a chalk board.

He supposed that though he may not exactly like her or her seeming holier than thou attitude, M-21 could try to be civil. Try being the relative word.

There were tons of people he wanted to punch in the face that he refrained from doing so. This wasn't that different.

It was unexpected that they calmly walked rather then ran to their destination, somehow he had built up this expectation that all werewolves wanted to be insanely powerful at all times and deemed simple things like just walking around and not running at high speeds too mundane. Or that wolves just generally had more energy to expend.

That's what being in the company of Muzaka had taught him at least. Sure, the man could sit still when he wanted too, but the werewolf lord was easily enticed to running around and exploring. Preferring not to stay stationary in the majority of situations.

Muzaka laughed heartily, snapping M-21 out of his quiet contemplation. That's when he noticed their changing destination; at first it was a sparse culmination of cottages and houses, dotted over meadows and farmland and situated beneath a pearly blue sky. From there, roads formed, some admittedly more worn than others.

As the time ticked by and the sun sluggishly sunk into the horizon line, filing the sky with a blazing orange fire that bled out into harsh purples, more houses seemed to appear in closer range to one another. He saw that the many neighborhoods, a suburban sprawl with shops haphazardly thrown in the mix, was chock full of people. Wolves, his senses told him.

It reminded him exactly of human towns, mirrored almost. Save that the majority of houses were reinforced with ludicrous amounts metal, painted bright colors that clashed with one another in an endearing way. But all in all, the striking similarities served to reassure him.

M-21 had no clue what he was supposed to expect, he'd truly thought it would've been huts and tents that celebrated the ancient ways of life. This was as far from that as anything could get, hell they even had cars.

They halted at what appeared to be a community building, winding sidewalks cutting through perfectly trimmed lawns and ornate fountains leading up to a metal mass that reached a good three stories, doused in a culmination of varying oranges. People filtered in and out of the large front doors, crowds of young teens amassing along the grass. As they found their way up the steps, he studied the lettering above the doorway, a strange language he couldn't decipher.

"What does that mean?" M-21 pointed upwards. "I can't read it."

Muzaka paused mid sentence in his exaggerated exchange with Lucy, attention drawn to the alien lettering. "You can't read that?"

"...no."

A strange frown rippled across his features almost to quick to catch, silver brows furrowing in confusion before understanding bubbled to the surface. Lucy however continued to stare at M-21 in what could be described as purely condescending, even snorting with amusement at his lack of understanding.

Distantly, and perhaps a little bit spitefully, he wondered if the considerable effort in holding back her sarcastic comments was going to give the poor woman an aneurism with how hard she was trying not to say anything.

"Ah, you can't understand our written language."

M-21 was intrigued by the sudden revelation that what he was looking at wasn't just some inane scribbles but an actual language. Sure he was a tad annoyed at his illiteracy in this new mystery writing, but his interest ultimately outweighed his indignation.

"You guys...no you werewolves, have your own language?"

"Of course we do." Lucy stated, passing through the open doors and moving the two men along. "Did you just expect us to communicate through wolf grunts and pissing matches?"

He narrowed his eyes at her back and decided it best to stay silent.

"You can probably understand our speech most likely through your bond with Muzaka, either that or you have the ability to read minds."

"I don't."

"Then it's the bond." Lucy looked to Muzaka then back to him. "You two really are fascinating."

It was brief, but when their eyes met he couldn't suppress the shiver that coursed down his spine, the small hairs on the back of his neck involuntarily standing up. The way she considered him reminded M-21 of the cold, apathetic eyes of a curious scientist, entranced by the mysteries of a pristine new toy they could take apart piece by piece.

Before he'd even had the chance to register the context of what had transpired, they made a sharp left at the end of the grandiose hallway, the high pitched noise of arguing ringing throughout the corridor. It was coming from behind one of the more average looking doors towards the end of the hall.

"Looks like Orion has company." Lucy sighed more to Muzaka than anyone.

"Yup. Sounds about right."

Suddenly the door was ripped open from within, forcefully flung to where the hinges creaked in protest, a seething teenager with a scowl that could give Regis a run for his money stomping out. He reminded M-21 of some of the more angst ridden teens back at Ye Ran, black hair slicked back complete with dark eyeliner and an intricate tattoo of intertwining snakes adorning his pale neck.

Despite his appearing fragility the kid was shaking in barely contained rage, and when he spotted them it only seemed to worsen. A sharp call from behind him however had his small face morphing into a mask of indifference.

"Barnabas, leave. My word is final."

"Understood." He bit out, bowing awkwardly before leaving, his voice a coarse hiss that didn't suit his child like body.

From within sat a woman behind a cluttered desk, reclining in her seat and facing away from the door. He couldn't see her face but the bared shoulders he make out were broad, powerful. That chocolate skin was heavily marked with scars, pale pink lines that ran rampant.

Passively, M-21 wondered how exactly she had gotten so battered.

"Orion." Lucy spoke with an odd fondness in her voice. "I've brought our guests."

The chair swiveled without any hurry, slowly revealing the shocking figure that was Orion famed by the afternoon afternoon glow leaking through the large window. She was tall, predatory, like a hungry tiger on its haunches. Her face was stern, and morbidly, M-21 took note that the carnage spilled across her flesh wasn't limited to just her shoulders.

The right side of her face, partially hidden by thick curls, was mauled by faded burns that ran down her cheek, still viscous looking. A scar much like his own ran through her full lips, dripping down her chin and falling into the high neckline of her tank top. But what drew him most was her eyes.

They were a rich brown and seemed filled with life. Though her expression was cold, he could see the warmth and humor that failed to disappear no matter how much she scowled.

"Holy shit! Orion!" Muzaka exclaimed with excitement, pushing past M-21 and Lucy to pull the woman into a bear crushing hug. "You're seriously alive!"

M-21 felt sympathy for Orion, he had been the subject of many the mans hugs and it tended to hurt like hell. He had next to no clue how to not put his abundant strength into everything he did. Considering the wince on her face, M-21 knew that not even she was safe from his affection.

"Did you think I was dead or something?"

Setting her down, Muzaka shot her a toothy grin. "Well I didn't know if someone else had taken over and was trying to imitate you. Cuz they did a shit job."

"Shut up idiot." She socked him. "Your ruining the perfectly good moment."

"He tends to do that."

The smile on Orion's face didn't disappear at M-21's voice, in fact as she boldly strode toward him and gathered him up in a hug, it was the opposite. She seemed genuinely happy to see him.

Even if she was crushing his ribs with this embrace.

"You must be M-21, I'm Orion. Nice to meet you."

"Thank you." He breathed out once she released him. "It is... nice to meet you as well."

"That lady over there is Lucy and this is one of my many, beautiful offices."

M-21 took his time surveying the cramped space, surprised at its upkeep or lack thereof. What is it Tao had once said? Tore up from the floor up? That pretty much described this room to a tee.

Its walls were lined with bookcases that seemed as if someone had just haphazardly shoved things in them then forgot they were there, claiming the majority of the already small room. Knick knacks, some more strange then others, filled the rest of it. Walls littered with faded posters and strange ornaments lying about and practically absorbing the desk.

Frankenstein would've had a kaniption if he were here.

"It looks like shit."

Orion blinked before roaring with laughter, Muzaka joining her. Jesus, M-21 winced, she was even louder than Muzaka.

"Ohhhhh." She wiped comically at her eyes, her boisterous laugh dying to a wolf like chortle. "I like you. I like you a lot. I can already tell we're gonna be great friends."

"Thanks?"

"Lucy, why don't you take these two to their cabin. I'm sure they could use the rest before introducing them to our humble pack. Plus I have some other guests I need to meet."

Lucy shot her a nod and gestured for the two to follow as she left the office, Muzaka giving his friend an enthusiastic wave as Orion shut the door behind them. M-21 felt strangely comfortable at their interaction with the pack leader, she was certainly a character but then again so was he.

The tiled floors clicked beneath their feet, some straggling people chattering away in the spacious hall and filling the place with life. By his side, M-21 felt Muzaka, a strong presence that served to keep him grounded even in this new situation. There weren't any words or touches exchanged, only silence as they followed the red headed wolf.

A quick, soft smile crossed his lips. Faint and fleeting.

He was unsure as to what laid ahead, what fates would unravel and stories would be told. But as long as he had Muzaka there...he figured it would be okay. They would be okay.

He had to watch out for Muzaka after all didn't he? Watch his back like he had watched his.

Yeah, he could do that.