Blister in the Sun

Pegasus lounged on the briny plane, his ears turned back as he thought of how far he had come in a short year. He had traveled all over the continent save the frozen north and had found his family, more or less convincing them to stay and join him in his fight. He had raised a pack although it had more been handed to him than won fairly. That train of thought disquieted him slightly. The former alpha had called the lands cursed and he was beginning to see why. The Shrine was an eerie place and unsettling in its absolute stillness. Perfect for the ominous Abraxas if there was even a shred of truth to what he had learned of them.

He yawned hungrily and turned onto his back, letting the sun beat against his stomach. He had a thought for what he planned to do with his pack originally but now he thought it might be best if he took them in a different, more permanent direction. He thought of his home and while a shadow of his former country’s system had been implemented he wanted to bring more of his homeland’s structure into Olympia. But how? He groaned softly

He had made his mother one of his advisors, giving her the seat on the senatari that had been denied to her from birth, but she was only one wolf, she couldn’t be expected to advise him alone. He thought that if he could find more older wolves to join his pack he would have a better council to advise him, but where would he find them while overseeing his pack. He sighed restlessly and turned on to his side, twisting his head so it rested on his now crossed paws. Decisions decisions. Who knew running a pack would be so frustrating?

He yawned again and licked his nose, his mind wandering over the small group he had collected. His brother, his sister, Célestin and Philomena. Then of course there was the other woman. The strange woman with a mane- how many wolves in Boreas had manes? – she had looked a sight, a truly pitiful creature that was all bones and thin fur. He made a note to meet with her eventually and learn more about her in the future.

Célestin was another matter entirely; He never could think straight around him, and just the thought of his name left his heart racing. He wanted to give him a higher rank than Civilian, and thought he had more than earned it with the time they had spent together. He thought of Philomena then, and how he always seemed to weigh the two in his heart with her always seeming to come up short. He knew she was who he wanted to mother his children and had they been in Aythepios there would be a marked agreement that she would be a suitable match for him, but he felt none of the light heartedness or love for her that he felt for Célestin. He wanted so badly to tell the mottled wolf how he felt; how he truly felt, but knew his family would never understand. Would Philomena even understand? He wondered desolately. He was sure he couldn’t last another day without telling the other male how he felt, even if it meant tearing his own pack asunder. He squeezed his eyes tightly, it was lust, pure lust, not love, he told himself, rationality winning over in his mind. He would promote the mottled man to a higher rank but keep his emotions under control. It was settled.

He stretched out his limbs his mind wandering again to his sister Medea. She was a hard worker and he supposed if he were going to promote Célestin he should promote her as well, along with his brother. They had been the few that had formed his pack, the foundation of Olympia, surely they deserved some recognition for that? He would have to meet with them all and confirm that they were to be promoted to higher more suitable ranks in the future. He knew in time he would also need a master of whispers to bring news of the Abraxas’s movements throughout the continent. Perhaps there would be an opportunity there for the maned stranger. She was unassuming enough and was new enough to the pack to keep her affiliation hidden. Maybe she could infiltrate the pack and bring him news of what they were doing and planning. He added that to his mental notes and stored it away for later. Self assured he rolled onto his back again and basked in the sunlight. This would work, he was sure, Olympia was only just beginning but they were already steadily on their way to victory, and from there they would expand into an empire.

Talking Thinking You