Silver Moon: Bk. 02 Ch. 05

He blinked at that and actually looked shocked. Wolves were looked down on along with most other-beings as the leadership called anyone that wasn't human. "By your command Milady and General." He turned to his squad and called out names. "Go to the barracks and get your gear and be back here in ten minutes." That was said in a proper Sergeant voice. He stepped off to the side and waited.

Maric and the officer continued what they had been doing while they were waiting. There were a few that he would need to speak to the General about after the sorting and before they were released. *Ma'am I am assuming you will be needing transportation? Do you need me to arrange it?*

*No, we have transports outside that we acquired from the idiot who tried to arrest Dan and the pack.* The flaming man had been taken when the others vanished as well as the man who had attacked Dan.

Meztli looked around at the mess and couldn't help the low whistle he let out. *Ma'am to be honest just looking at the carnage almost scares me. How many wolves did this?* It must have been a heck of a pack.

Pam gave him a wintery smile. *Since the pregnant woman and pups were separated and taken to the Clan Estates that left about thirty wolves and fourteen Kitsunes.*

He looked completely shocked. *Good god how did that few make it this far?* He was faster and stronger and all that but looking at the carnage there were at least fifty men though it was hard to tell. There were parts of bodies scattered everywhere including over the officials that had been in there. Actually it looked like some had made the point to cover them with as much blood and offal as possible.

Pam smiled even more. *I have a very determined mate. He can be totally loving and cuddly with the pups but even I didn't realize just how much damage he could do when he is pissed off. Ah, here come your troops. Form them up in front of us and lead us to the main entrance to the palace. That is where the transport is.*

Meztli called out a number of commands and led them out of the room by one of the side doors.

~~~

As they were leaving Pam sent a thought to Xipil, *Have someone find a section of the palace to house seventy or eighty wolves including children. They are going to become the foundation of your new palace staff.*

The truck seats weren't all that comfortable and the roads were a mess as well since many were dirt. Others were paved but with stones and they had some missing, potholes, and were uneven. Eventually they arrived at what looked like a rough handmade compound. Streets had been blocked by handmade adobe stones and various rocks. They eventually parked in front of a set of rough gates that led inside.

Meztli looked at Pam. "Lady let me go in first and talk to them. They are most likely going to be terrified seeing the trucks." By now it was very possible that the women and children were hidden away as best possible and the men were preparing to fight.

Mari stood up and smiled at him. "I will go with you. I am pretty sure that little ol' me won't scare them very much." Considering she was probably the same size as many of the women or even smaller there was a grain of truth to that. Her clothing and having a number of bodyguards following her around might though. *Keep the weapons put away gentlemen unless we need them. From what I understand they are going to be already scared and I don't want to scare them any further.*

Meztli stared at Mari for a moment. "I don't know about that ma'am. You look like a great lady and that is going to make them worry that you are here for a servant." Having a wolf as a servant was considered a sign of prestige in some aspects of the court. He didn't argue about it and climbed out and offered Mari a hand down.

Several of the Kitsunes joined the two of them as Meztli led them to the gates and knocked on a small door. "It is Meztli and I have some interesting news for the elders and senior wolf. Open the gate please."

There was some muffled conversation in their native language before Mari finally rolled her eyes and walked over. "I am Marissa Logan and a submissive wolf from the Pack Alucian. We come in peace and simply want to talk to you. There have been changes at the Palace that will impact on you. I have also come to offer you honorable work if you wish."

She could see the eyes from the other side studying her and sniffing in her direction as well. "Why you smell of Kitsune?"

Mari couldn't help but grin slightly. "My mate is Clan Heir Lord Geoffrey Logan of the Silver Kitsune Clan. They are north of New Cascadia where I am originally from. Leader of the Clans Lord Alpha Danilo Legarith was my Alpha before Geoff came and snitched me from under Dan's nose." As she was talking she was playing with the fox tail in her hair.

There was utter and complete silence when she said that. It was so improbable that it had to be true. "I will let you in but stay in the courtyard. I will gather the pack." He unlocked the door and moved back.

Meztli rolled his eyes and pushed the door open and walked in. "The troops are mine and I am now a sergeant in the Clan Leaders Own. I vouch for all who came with." He didn't bother waiting for an answer before waving the rest in.

His men went in first and formed up off to one side. The Kitsune guards went in next and carefully checked the area before allowing Mari to come in. Following her were the rest of the wolves except for the one who was keeping an eye on the drivers.

The men inside the gate who was prepared to fight looked at the other wolves and froze. One was heard to say, 'Holy cow they are frigging huge'. Most of the wolves inside the warren were somewhere between five foot eight inches and six foot tall. All of them tended towards the slender side as well. The wolves that Maric had sent were all six plus feet tall and looked massive.

Mari snickered and patted one of the males on the bicep. "They are just big puppies unless irritated." That got her a mental grumble but the wolf did smile slightly. With a glance at Pam Mari moved forward. "As I said I am a submissive wolf. If you don't know what that means I am the most junior wolf in the pack and have no urge to climb the ladder. Senior wolves know that they are safe around me since I won't fight except to protect the pups or pack."

One of the wolves was obviously fairly young, not that Mari was that much older, and looked rather scared. She walked over to him and could almost look him in the eyes. Mari reached up and stroked his cheek and gave him a warm smile. "You will be fine son. Let me give you a hug before I ask you to go and get your parents." She gave him a warm hug and pressed a bit of her power as a submissive against him.

The boy tensed when she came over and even more when she touched his face. When he looked at her eyes his wolf relaxed and settled down. They were warm and gentle though he could sense a hint of steel behind them. He carefully returned the hug and settled his head on her shoulder. After a moment he jerked back. "Sorry Lady, my clothes are dirty so you shouldn't hug me. Don't want to make your fine cloths dirty."

Mari snorted at him. "I hugged you son and not you me. As far as these cloths I was cleaning the bathroom and kitchen in them. If I am willing to do that they why should a bit of dirt bother me? Now please go and get your parents please."

Pam was simply smiling slightly as she watched Mari gently manage the new wolves. This was one of the reasons she brought her along. Pam was still enraged at what had happened to Sammie and Dan and she would have settled for commanding them to come with. Mari would gentle the crowd and settle them down so Pam could talk to him. As of now Pam knew that the boy was wrapped around her little fingers and shortly most of the pups, young and old, would be seated around her as she talked to them.

It wasn't but a few minutes later when several men and women came out from a doorway. They looked at the scene and paused before coming forward. Several of the women headed towards Mari along with the boy. The rest approached Pam and one spoke. "I'm a blunt sort so if'n you pardon that what exactly do you want? Anyone from the palace is bad news since it is usually some new way to take what little we have. Or it starts a pogrom against us or the other-beings." He turned his head and spit when he said that.

Pam actually grinned at the old wolf. He was well younger than Dan but she had a feeling that they didn't live as long down here. "Oh hell you should meet my mate. His middle name is Stubborn and Blunt." When he spat on the ground she didn't even blink. "The short answer is there has been a change of leadership in your country. Due to this I have come to offer you an honest day's work for all of you that are of working age. There won't be any dishonorable demands on you and especially the females. Anyone who tries something like that will be killed by my wolves."

She fanned her face. "Now we are going to need to have a talk and something to drink and eat would be appreciated." She wrapped one of her arms around his and led him to some benches in the shade of an overhang. Once she sat down she sighed. "It has been a long day and it is going to be a while before it is finished."

Yaotl honestly wasn't sure what to make of this fine lady. She exuded power and determination yet there was a kind of down home to her. She also smelled of deep anger, sadness, loss, and other scents he couldn't quite place. One that was very heavy around her was blood. "Boy go get some drinks for everyone. Tis only water but is clean and safe."

"As far as food we don't have a great deal. Anything that we could make right now would be a poor offering." He looked down at the dirt when he said that.

Pam looked at one of her Kitsunes. "Akio do you happen to have some copper and silver on hand or whatever they use for money here?" When he smiled slightly and pulled a handful out to hand to her. "I have a feeling that is probably a bit more than we need but thank you." She took the money and looked over at the wolf.

Yaotl was staring at the pile in her hand in awe. That was more money than he had ever seen. "That would definitely be way too much. With that much I could feed my pack for a year or longer." His hands shook for a moment before he clenched them to still them.

Before she did anything she dumped most of the money in a pouch. As she was doing that she glanced around and had to smile. Mari was working her magic and had a number of youngsters gathered around her. She was seated as well and sipping on a plain pottery cup. "Well let us do this then, since I have a feeling if you went to get food by yourselves it might get ugly." She looked up and called Metzli over.

"Metzli I want you to take your troops and two Kitsunes and two of my wolves with the Alpha to get some food. We are going to have a small feast to celebrate changes in leadership before we discuss any other business." She looked at Yaotl. "If you wish to go with fine or choose some men and women to go with and get what you need." She picked out a number of silver pieces and bronze pieces and handed them over. "That should be enough but if you need more ask Akio and he will take care of it. See about getting some drinks as well for both the adults and pups."

He stared at the money in his hand and almost cried. Nobody outside the family had ever done something like this before. "I'll stay with you. If'n I tried going my mate would surely laugh at me, pat me on the head, and tell me to stay out of the kitchen."

Pam started laughing as she took a cup of water and drank it down. It was a younger girl about ten that had brought it over. "Will you please get me some more? I am parched and not used to this heat. Thank you."

Yaotl looked at her. "I knows it business but what do you mean by change in leadership and why do you smell of loss, fury, and quantities of blood?" This was important and he needed to know.

Pam let out a low Kitsune snarl before composing herself. "The Red Kitsune spirit lord ordered Dan and me to his estates before this coming moon. When we arrived at the airport some mangy son of an ape tried to arrest us. In the process one of the pups was hurt..." She told the tale as concisely as possible.

As she was talking she was doing her best not to show her emotions but that was virtually impossible. Pam was still in her mid-form and as she was telling the story flickers of fox fire could be seen flickering across her tails. When she got to the part about Dan being hurt the loss and despair hit and she couldn't continue.

Several of the older women came over and gathered around her. "Go be senior wolf elsewhere. This be for women to deal with." Yoatl didn't even bother speaking and left. As the women were comforting her one young girl came up and handed her a cup of tea. "Here ma'am, this is wild silifax tea which is to help with calming."

Pam took the cup from her and gave her a hug. "Thank you hun, I really appreciate it." About then Amarish and Kasai appeared.

Amarish settled on her shoulder and gave her a good hug. "I's take care of yous while Danny is helped." His little tails were twitching in agitation at her emotions. He was very upset as well and a good mouse hunt might help.

Kasai settled in her lap and stared at the girl who was staring at her. She was in her fox form so she tilted her head and clearly spoke. "Boo!" When the girl twitched she curled her whiskers towards her and grinned. "I's Kasai. The stinky boy there is Amarish and we's to be mates when we's grow up." She wrinkled her face up in disgust when she said that.

Amarish didn't even think and kicked one of her tails. "Yous stinky Kasai and are silly." He hopped down at her and they rolled off Pam's lap and ended up having a little tussle in front of everyone.

Pam covered her face and sighed. "Now I know why Red was willing to let her stay. I might just find a corner to hide in." When she looked up both was standing there facing each other and there were a number of pups gathered around.

Amarish had yipped when Kasai had nipped a bit hard and the fight stopped. She came over and licked his nose. "Sowwy, didn't mean to nip hard."

Amarish changed to his mid-form and petted her ears for a moment before pulling one of his swords. "I's going to find a mousy. Who wants to come?" He charged off with half a dozen of the children trailing behind him.

The women were snickering and the one that had told Yoatl to go away patted her shoulder in sympathy. "Kids be kids." She had to glance at Pam. "Mousy? What is that about?"

Pam snickered though it was strained. "When we arrived back at the pack house Dan told Amarish to keep his sword sheathed unless he wanted to hunt mice. Amarish took that as an important duty and has been very diligent in finding them. Once he skewers them he takes them to Angie to be put in a bin just for him. He shares them with the pups and some of the adults." After taking a good sip of the tea which was pretty good she shook her head. "It was cute till he came to my office and was cooking one over his fox fire and then offered it to me." Pam shuddered at that.

Everyone started laughing at that. "I have been a Kitsune for barely a month and before that all my meat came from the store I worked at. I have never been offered a lightly cooked furry mouse before. My fox snapped it up before I realized it. Once Amarish left I had to go and brush my teeth."

That got more laughs from the women and they seemed to be starting to relax around her. "So why are you actually here talking to us? You are not from here so why the interest?" She was paying a great deal of attention to Pam when she asked that.

Pam took another sip and debated on the best answer since to be honest she wasn't totally sure herself. "That is a rather hard question to give you one solid answer to since there isn't one. One reason is my Spirit Lord told me to look to the wolves and take care of them. Another is that if my mate was here he would take one look and roll his sleeves up and as he put it make you proud to be a wolf. That isn't an insult but the way he looks at wolves in general. We aren't better or worse than anyone else but we should be proud of whom we are and not let anyone say differently."

One last sip of the tea and she handed the cup back to the girl. "Thank you that did help." She looked back at the woman. "To me though the most important reason is I trust my pack and clan to take care of me even as I take care of them. Since we have been tasked with helping your country recover I want wolves at my back since I know once they have given their loyalty they are rocks. I want all of you to come back to the palace with me. I want you to start working for the new leader and myself to clean that pigsty up. I am offering you honest employment that has no expectation of sex."

The women looked at her and gave her a hard look before discussing it in their native language. "Oh, and one more thing, for any who accept I am having a wing of the palace set aside for the wolves who start working for me. It is going to have a secure courtyard so you can hang your laundry out, the kids will be safe, and a safe place to relax."

That got even more conversation. When Amarish popped up in her lap he was nibbling on a lightly cooked mouse as he was listening. Kasai popped up and was nibbling on one as well though she had what looked like a ladies hair pin instead of a sword. It was about six inches long with a jeweled handle and was pointed. The two were sitting there companionably munching while they were listening to the women. A few minutes later the pups came running up and yipped at them. Amarish grinned and started pulling mice out of somewhere and tossing them to the pups.

One of the older girls came hurrying out and glowered at the pups. "You know there is no running inside. Once you are done with the mice you are eating go clean the mess you made up."

It was all Pam could do not to laugh since she sounded like Dan when he growled at the pups. "Amarish, Kasai both of you should know better than that. I have a feeling that part of it is the pups aren't used to kits that can go poof and disappear and they wanted to find you. Next time think about your actions a bit more."

Amarish sighed and after wiping the blade clean he hopped down and walked over to the girl. "I is sorry for causing problems. I's go help clean mess. Kasai go help with as well." He was standing in his robes and gave her a very proper bow before changing into his shorts and shirt. Kasai sighed and tucked the hair pin away and hopped down. She did pretty much the same thing and her tails were hanging slightly as she followed after the others.

Pam managed not to snicker at Amarish. When he had changed to this form he had a little sword over his back the way Dan carried his. It even looked a great deal like Dan's as well. When the girl crossed her arms and pointed towards the door all the pups headed in with Amarish in the lead.

That was watched with a close eye as well and the woman turned back to Pam. "We are willing to give it a try. I will talk to my mate and the senior wolf's mate about this. For now we need to go and prepare for the feast. If you would like it is cooler inside and we can just talk or you can relax out here." She glanced at the guards and rolled her eyes. "Well as much as you can with all the silent stones watching you."

One of the Kitsunes had to smile. "We can speak ma'am but it is more intimidating if we don't. Reduces our work load if you know what I mean. Shall we Lady Pamela?" He helped her up and signaled one other guard to follow. He looked at the females. "Nothing personal but if something happened and we weren't there Lord Danilo would probably make us no tail Kitsunes. I rather like my tails were they are."