* * *

The Black Crescent Circle territory had spanned out fairly well after hitting the first-week mark—The clan had managed to work together efficiently, there were no more bitter comments from the wolves towards the witches.

Not when both species managed to carry their own weight, and if one spoke out of turn—Sage didn't hesitate to reprimand either one of them in accordance with their rules.

In the first few nights, Sage established a first few laws. Something that Blake had mentioned very early on in their Mentor and Charge relationship. Without rules, there would be no order. And thus, these were created to keep the peace and everyone safe--

-No leaving the territory without telling someone, which includes hunting or gathering alone. Which left room for a curfew of when to go to bed and when the fire pit should be put out.

-No bad-mouthing or using supernatural powers on one another, though that was more for the wolves to feel at least indifferent.
Especially considering Holly could move things with her mind.

-Eating together as a clan.
Sage explained in a handful of words that it expressed unity and togetherness. And the songs and chants at the end of each dinner were quite festive and fun, especially when the witches taught the clan certain dances to skip around the fire with.

-There was communal supplies and personal.

As Sage quickly realized that these females were having a very difficult time getting an understanding of ownership. Nearly everything was shared. Yet the level of disputes regarding this rule had caused Sage to have her first meeting with the higher-ups.

Course Maeve didn't hesitate to point out Sage's bear coat, claiming that if she had one, then the entire clan should have one. But Elena scoffed, as did Isla.
There was always meant to be a visible difference between who the Alpha of the pack is or the Mistress of a coven.
Thus leading to another argument that a Rogue wouldn't know anything about politics or things of that nature.

Sage wasn't giving up her coat, nor did she expect people to give up willingly what they worked hard for. So the offer of sharing until better items were in place was meant to hold the masses until later, which usually meant deer-skinned beddings and those of the sort. Though Sage simply used the better half of her bearskin to make up her bed.
It was well worth it considering the pups managed to share with her every night.

It wasn't until the second week that Sage had almost forgotten what the pain of separation felt like. Having been out in the wild and so disconnected from her pack and family, she started to feel the downfall of what her projection meant.

How long did they need to stay here before moving on?

She frowned and continued to grip the spear far too tightly in her grasp, causing Maeve to pucker her lips. "You'll snap the spear before you get the—" Her voice was interrupted by the Alpha's attempt to dart into the water.
The she-wolf motioned up her prize and huffed towards Maeve.

"You do this a lot before?" The Delta nodded silently to the Alpha's question. It made her downright furious that Sage could be good at every little damn thing in the—

"I remember the first time I see the water, brothers took me swimming...I was scared of it, had to climb on his back to understand that I was safe." Sage's dialect improved with the constant need to communicate her thoughts back and forth to the other females throughout their territory.
As had her knowledge of the witch lore, it was a beautiful teaching that she made sure to listen in on their conversations once in a while.

Hoping to keep her studies up.

"Why wouldn't you be safe?"
"Bad memory with tubs and showers, I don't remember word, but scientists try to see how long I can hold breath underwater for." Maeve hadn't realized that her Alpha would've been horrified by a simple body of water purely on the instinct of being drowned again, and thus the Delta prided herself in remaining silent.
Her bitterness got the best of her. Again.

"How old are you, Maeve?" She questioned, not taking her eyes from the water below. But the silence caused her to glance up for a moment, she didn't find it disrespectful—Sage was the one to have to take time to separate her thoughts and place it correctly.

That and she was patient.

"I think I'm in my twenties, maybe twenty-two?" Sage hummed. "Can find a Mate then."
"I—I guess, yeah..." She flustered, and once more Sage caught the sudden redness sprout from the she-wolf's cheeks.

Ditching her action, she came towards Maeve with her hand extended.
"Are you okay?" The soft-touch Sage had given her was a blessing and a curse, especially considering that she was the reason her face was red as a damn tomato. Yet the expression of worry and confusion swirled around the Alpha's face, making Mae even more embarrassed than before.

"I'm—I'm alright...Yeah, fine." Sage nodded, though it was clear from her side-eye that she wasn't truly convinced. So she turned over towards the given bucket and huffed. "We have enough. Let's go back." The Delta was visibly relieved, grabbing the Alpha's spear while she had free hands to carry the basket.

There had been an array of different types of fish in this body of water. They were some very large ones that Sage could easily identify as Trout. Aurora had taught her better than that of course. It was the she-wolf's favorite dish.

Sage requested that she try to grill the trout instead of making a stew, and with the amount that was collected—Neither of the cooks nor the gathers had a problem with it.

"Alpha! Alpha! Look, we spelled our names in the sand!" Poppy cheered, her voice having gone miles with the way she would scream. But it was such a happy occasion that nobody dared say anything against the young pup, not when her personality was shaped for the better.
Both hers and Clementine's.

"Did you learn something new from everyone today?" Sage questioned, and Maeve smirked behind the Alpha. The pups had one task set by their Alpha every day, and that was to ask each member of the clan something about their culture or just a habit. Anything really, as it was meant to act as school and teach them about the ways of both witch and wolf.

The first day, it was very pack and coven-oriented. The next had a human twist, ranging from conversations about school or television. Today was something a little different.

"Misty said we might get our wolves soon!" Both Sage's and Maeve's eyes widened, that was certainly a step up from previous facts the two brought back to them. "Oh? And what else did Misty say?"
"That it hurts," Poppy grumbled back, her face pouting up a storm—But Sage knew all too well what that look was.

Fear startled to trickle in, and thus Sage bent down onto her knee and gripped either pup lightly by their chin. "Shifting is new, that's why it hurts. But you are strong pups. When you shift, it won't be forever. You trust your beast up there, listen to her, agree with her. When you do that, she will come out easier." Mae watched firsthand how the pups were soaking up the Alpha's words, and they soon nodded eagerly.

Though it did worry Sage that the two wouldn't be waiting on a shifting ceremony, instead it'd be their own nature and will. "What else did you learn?"
"A witch gets their familiar when they're seventeen!" Clem announced, but Poppy shook her head. "It's eighteen." The two bickered and growled at one another, and while the others found it humorous—They weren't the ones in need of breaking it up like Sage was.

Yet it only took one growl for them to separate the two on opposite ends of her arms. "No fighting, or I take bunnies away. Witches can get familiar late too, after seventeen—There's a ceremony, just like shifting ceremony for wolves." She dwelled, and thus the debate was settled as the two went on their merry way.

"That was pretty cute, Alpha. Hopefully, they shift soon. We can start training them." Sage's Beta said, but that had sparked a new lesson to learn every day. To train them? To help them prepare for their wolf?
"They can start training soon anyway. Too skinny. They grow stronger, and shift will be easier." Elena's brows widened, not having expected that type of response from her Alpha.

With that being said, Sage had taken the time to go and talk to Cecil—Who she knew in an earlier conversation had previously worked in training those younger than her. It had just been to see if the she-wolf would be interested in giving a few lessons to the pups.

Truthfully, a whole clan filled with she-wolves was at more of a risk than most Rogue packs. Even with magic on their side, the charms and enchantments surrounding their territory would not be enough to settle an attack from another Rogue group.

The pups started in the next coming of days, only to round out the week that Sage made it mandatory that everyone takes part in it at least a few times a week. To gather energy and formality, the witches learned defensive spells from one another—While also learning how to block and throw a punch if need be.

Sage would walk around the area and critique, though when she stepped into a spar, either wolf or witch truly didn't take more than a second or two before being thrown into the dirt.

After all is said and done with training, the habit of undressing and enjoying half an hour in the river was just as mandatory.
Especially when the weather was getting warmer, the nights were confusing to Sage—The coldness was so brutal that she'd need to keep a small fire going in the center of the cave to allow some heat.
The next course of action was to up the blankets each person gets, though the witches weren't too shy about sleeping with one another.

It happened more than Sage realized, though, when she saw Calla and Leah together one night after coming from patrolling.
She recalled quite easily what Remus had said about Joe and Ian being together.

That same-sex couples were always frowned upon, but Sage thought it adoringly sweet.
She learned right away that a leader had no business being involved with a relationship that wasn't hurting or offending anyone, so when either of them approached her in embarrassment at thinking that they had been caught, Sage simply shrugged it off and held either of their hands, as she was sitting down on a rock, skinning one of the many deer's the hunters brought back.

"I met a male and male couple before. They're very sweet and nice. I help them adopt a pup, I don't see it as wrong. Love is love." Calla squealed. Having a blessing from their leader was enough. And goddess, it was surely a rise in character to see them no longer hiding it, though of course, Sage had to remind them a few times about curfew—Otherwise, they were being respectful.

The downfall happened when a storm brewed without much warning. Not only did they lose their blooming crops—The pups had received a cold.

It wasn't all that strange, considering Sage herself had battled one much like theirs. However, they didn't have Kenzie or the means to create the same medications or vaccines.

The rest of the clan was susceptible to the same, and Sage was the first of the group to manage to hunker down with the pups. As miserable as she felt, the combined leadership of both Maeve and Elena made her smile through the haze.

While she didn't think of herself as being as great of an Alpha as her father or mate, she thought she was doing well enough to keep the peace—Or influence the peace for having it continue without her position of Alpha.

The pup cold found itself cycling throughout the pack. It started with four days of extreme sweats and chills. And when Sage had finally overcome it, the other few had suddenly caught the cough. They were prepared by the third week, and before Sage knew it—Her calendar didn't feel right.

"Here...Drink. Lycia says you didn't get your cup at breakfast." Sage turned to see Maeve offer it for a moment, though didn't hesitate to bend down and forcefully put it in her hands. "Drink."
"Careful...You're not Alpha anymore." She warned, and Mae shook her head.

"No...I know I'm not. I could never do this—Any of it." The Delta knew that she had received a side-eye, however, Sage didn't say anything more than hum into her mug.

"What are you doing?"
"Fixing calendar. Doesn't feel right." It had taken Sage a few days out of the army base to truly understand that she was back in the same situation as after the plane crash.

"A-Alpha? Where are you going?" The abrupt movement of Sage caused Mae to scramble to her feet to follow and it received a huff.

"Isla! Come with me please!" She shouted, addressing her Gamma over the crowd after not being able to see her properly, course she popped her head up and called that she'd follow in a moment.

"Are you going to tell me what you're up to? Goddess, we should all be taking it easy, Alpha. We've—" The firm steps that Sage was taking into the edge of their base were daunting, Maeve hardly ever found herself leaving without a group of maybe three or four females.

Though the addition of Isla aided her growing anxiety, it wasn't enough to handle the confusion of Sage knocking on a tree. However, touching the base of the bark and roots, she noted the Alpha's frown.

"What is it? What are you looking for?" The huff was in pure annoyance, though it earned her one right back; Yet Sage was not dealing with another bout of disrespect.

"Nymphs...We haven't seen any in these parts, Alpha, I think the facility cleaned out any magical presence in the area." Isla explained, causing the Alpha to sigh further.

"Would Nymphs really help us?" It was the first time since Sage had this idea that she looked off towards her Delta. The young she-wolf looked rightly confused about what was happening. Sage could recall a time when she too, didn't know anything, and relying on others only prompted more questions than she had words to form them.

"Nymphs are nice tree ladies. They help make forests grow. Isla's right, I don't feel them. But the forest still grows. I think bear and facility make them leave." The mention of the bear caused either woman to smile at the sight of said bear around their Alpha.

Hardly a day goes by when she isn't wearing it. Though now, with the warmer weather having approached, Lilith managed to help make the head of the bear into a sort of hood—Meaning when it was off, it simply fell off her shoulders.

Making it still wearable in the heat.

"The forest doesn't feel evil. We would've felt it before." Isla stated, and Sage could only agree. There was nothing dark about this forest, or perhaps they didn't take enough time to realize that before Sage had taken the demon bear out of the equation.

"Could Nymphs help us?" Maeve asked shyly now, and Sage nodded. "After the plane crash I ask a circle of Nymphs where Humans are. They give a direction. We can't stay here forever. There's a war." Sage reminded, it hadn't been long since the last time she said that—But the longer they stayed here, there was worry that the war might've changed a lot more than what they could recall.

Most of the she-wolves had stayed in the facility or others like it for years, which is why their bodies hadn't allowed a shift at the same time. Everyone had been different, though the steam was the perfect way to combat the unknown.

"Are we leaving soon then?" It was clear that the weariness of the question was there. Of course, it would be, to go on the move again was bringing back the memories of their endless travel to get here.

"Can't stay here forever," Sage promised that everyone would get home. She couldn't be the only one who was starting to feel homesick.
Had the years in solicitude made everyone content with just being free?
Did they not want to return home?

"We start planning a move. Scout further out—Find some Nymphs." Isla held her breath, not knowing how she felt at the moment about discussing this or how it would pass with the rest of the pack. But the eyes of determination of the Alpha were nothing to argue with, which caused her to nod and continue back towards the cave.

Sage brushed past further, leaving Maeve stuck in the middle of following the Alpha or returning to the community. The female chose the latter, but it was perfect—Since Sage needed some time alone.

The time to mourn her losses, because somewhere deep down, she felt that this was not just a fabricated death. Something was speaking to her—Screaming at her that Remus was gone.

Being around so many females and their thoughts and emotions were starting to become overwhelming to the point of putting their needs and ignoring her own.

So she continued without another word, hoping that this time alone would give some sort of clarity.

______

Date: 03/07/24

Time: 11:25 AM (German time lol) 

Words: 2995

Author's Note:

Between jet lag AND fighting with my grandparent's internet, I can't tell if this chapter is late or not anymore, so, here we go!

Once we re-meet a certain someone, there will be more obvious chapter edits, and also new scenes!

So excited for you to see them!

I hope you all have a fantastic week, and I'll see you next Wednesday (Hopefully)!