"Your Majesty, the Felines have refused our

request," the military officer said. "They want nothing to do with us in a war against the Humans."

The scrawny, reporting officer waited for a rebuke to his gloomy report. As he paused, he gazed at the Grey Wolf King through his white scarred eyes. Staring-off in an oblong direction, the Canine wondered if the King was even paying attention. The officer went up and down on his toes a couple of times and rapped his fingers on an electronic tablet that he was carrying. Hesitating further, he snorted. He scrubbed his snout against the charcoal fur from his upper arm, then scratched the large, starburst mark at his forehead. He cockled his lips and cleared his throat.

"Ah-hem... "

Gevaudan the Wolf King, however, said nothing in return. He lounged in his room with his legs kicked up high on an oversized, wooden table. One hand rested behind his head, while the other held a book in his lap. He broke from his posture of comfort and reached for a metal mug on the table. He took a longer-than-expected gulp from the drink, then finished the frothy beverage in one extended throwback. He belched in equally extended fashion until his eyes bugged out. Scowling, the King smacked his lips as if he had just burned the innards to his throat. He blinked and set the mug down. Then, he went back to reading.

"Did you hear what I s-a-i-d, Sire?" The officer spoke with an extended drawl. "The large cats have refused... "

"Have I told you," Gevaudan interrupted, "about this story I've been reading? It's called The Call of the Wild."

"Uh, no, Sire," the soldier said. "Another human story?"

"Yes, a very clever one."

"But Your Majesty, why do you care about human literature? It's not part of our library or schooling!" He pointed to his tablet. "We don't have time for long tales and fables!"

"It's 'tall' tales, you imbecile -- not 'long' tales -- and of course we have time! Consider it your enlightenment for the day! Sit down! Sit down!"

The canine officer raised his hands, but then slouched in a seat next to the King.

"You see, the story is about survival," Gevaudan said with excitement. "Our survival! Every dog must have its day!"

The report officer looked to the heavens and sighed.

The Grey Wolf continued. "Our kind is meant to dominate the land. We rule over everyone, because we don't let our intelligence domesticate us. We hold onto our wild!"

"What does that mean, Sire, to domesticate?"

"It means that we don't have anything to worry about! As smart as the Humans think they are, they'll never dominate us again because they've lost their cunning. Ha-ha! They've lost their wild! You see? Now they're nothing but a bunch of weak, scaredy cats!"

"Speaking of cats, Your Majesty, we really need the large cats to join us for battle."

"No, we don't need them! They're not worth the trouble. They always want to be 'Kings of the Forest,' but when it's time for real work, they act like a bunch of cowardly lions! We need to remind those felines that 'Dogs Rule Cats!' "

"But Your Highness, without them, the pack is not

large enough! We've lost too many members! We need more canines!"

"We've never needed to outnumber our enemies before... "

"But Humans are like foxes!"

The Wolf King pounded his fist on the table, "Don't you dare compare humans to our kind!" He leaned forward, pointing a finger.

The officer fell out of his seat, placing his head to the ground in prolonged submission. "I'm sorry, Your Highness! Apologies!"

Gevaudan ground his teeth in disgust.

"Stop that! You know I hate it when you try to appease me like that. Get up!"

"Yes, Your Majesty," the officer complied and promptly stood up.

The Mongrel King shook his head. "Haven't you been listening to anything I've said?"

The officer opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.

"Don't let the Humans intimidate you!" Gevaudan explained. "They may be a bunch of smarty-pants, but they don't know everything!"

"Yes, Sire."

"We cannot be lulled into apathy!"

"Yes, Sire!"

Gevaudan paused to frown at the docile officer.

"Now speak to me with true Canine intellect!" the Wolf King enthused. "What has brought you to my chambers here so concerned and bothered?"

The officer hesitated and scratched his neck. "Uh... Master, I was just saying... we need more soldiers, that's all. We cannot afford another deficit, like what happened last time."

Gevaudan was still.

The soldier shifted in his stance.

"You really think we need support from another species?" the King questioned.

The officer's eyes widened. He straightened himself and raised his head.

"Yes, Sire!"

The King scratched his sturdy jaw.

"But if I wanted to attack tomorrow, we would have to align with another species today... "

"It's impossible, Your Highness! What species would agree to join us by tomorrow? We cannot fight a war with raccoons and opossums!"

The Grey Wolf King paced away, growling.

"What if," the reporting officer continued, "what if we approach another wolf pack? Maybe one of the northern packs?"

"No, that would cause a different set of problems... "

"Please, Your Majesty! Give us more time! Maybe I could meet with representatives for the, the bears, or, or the... "

" 'Lions, tigers and bears, oh my!' " the Wolf King mimicked in a high voice. He reverted in tone, "Why didn't Dorothy even mention us wolves?"

The officer dropped his jaw.

"Well, at least Dorothy had Toto... "

The Wolf King growled.

"Grrr, what about the horned animals?" Gevaudan roared, referring to the deer and goats. He knew he was reaching for straws. The hooved ungulates were not known for having brains or being warriors.

The soldier looked at the King with wrinkled brow. "Sire, they don't trust us! Not after you ate their ambassador!"

Gevaudan burst into laughter and pounded the table, bowling over. "Ha ha! The look on his face! Ha-ha, when we told him what was for dinner! Ha-ha-ha!"

"Sire!"

The Mongrel King rolled in amusement, grabbing at his belly. He passed gas and hooted some more, snickering and snorting.

The lower-ranking officer stared in disgust.

With time, the King composed himself once more.

"Ah, whatever happened to the whole 'Circle of Life' thing, you know? We eat the deer, we become the grass, and then they eat the grass kind-of-thing? Doggone it, sometimes we just have to eat! True sustenance! Real canines cannot live on squirrels and rabbits!"

"Sire, we're going to war! You must stay focused! We're trying to prepare for a major battle! We can deal with foreign relations later!"

The Wolf King pounded the table with his paw and got up from his chair.

The reporting officer countered, "What about the human slaves? Maybe we can put them to, ah, to task?"

"What?" the Mongrel King yelled. "And give them arms? To use against us? No, that is sheer stupidity! They are not fighters in the first place, the weakest of their kind!"

"What about the other animal slaves then?"

"No, no! They don't know how to fight. We can use them for transport, but we can't give them guns or armor. This is strictly a dog fight now!"

Gevaudan walked to a large treasure chest at the other side of the room and began to pull at its contents. He yanked out a royal blue cloak and some black breasted armor.

"All this begging is useless," the King murmured. "Sometimes we just gotta do things ourselves!"

"I can approach the reptiles... " the lesser soldier offered. "Or, or... the amphibians? "

"I said, we don't need them!" the Wolf King roared. "Don't you get it?"

He locked his armor around his torso and flung a cape around his back.

"We cannot wait for bird-brains! We only need our wild! Every minute we waste gives the Humans more time to prepare! Our time is now! Now! Order the soldiers to move out! Today we make our own call for the wild!"