My eyes opened, and I felt movement underneath me. "Where... am I?" I croked.

"We made it Wolf. We caught up to the waggons. You passed out and have been out of it for two days." Katja whispered stroking my face. I groaned as I tried to sit up. Katja helped me up. I saw the boy sleeping in the sling around Katja. "He's fine. He has an infection and we have medicine."

I looked over my shoulder at the person driving the wagon. "Gorilla... you're here."

He sighed. "Lay down Wolf, you're still confused."

Katja pushed me to the bed again. "We are heading for a village, and when we get there, we will need to separate from the group." She said looking at Gorilla

"If you well enough Wolf." He growled.

I frowned at the ceiling. I'm used to being pushed away. I don't like them pushing us away right now but.. it is what it is. "I'm fine." I grumbled.

Katja sighed as she sat there. "They don't like you do they?"

I chuckled. "I told you they would be like this. I committed the worst sin you could."

"I disagree, Wolf. You did what you had to." Gorilla said over his shoulder.

I sat up again and moved closer to Gorilla. "I did what I did out of vengeance. Not because I had to. My family is dead, they wouldn't care if I killed the bastard that took their lives from them. I did that for me. Anyway, what's done is done."

Katja took my hand meeting my eyes. "They would be proud of you."

I smiled at her as the wagon stopped. "What is going on?" I asked looking at the wagon slightly in front of us.

"I think the scouts have come back. We are close to the village. I will go and see what is going on." Gorilla said climbing down.

I moved over the seat and jumped to the floor. Gorilla looked surprised. "Stay here Pup." I said calling to Katja.

"I will Wolf." Katja said as we walked away.

"What happened Gorilla?"

He frowned. "When?"

"Why did Dragon fly after that wagon?"

He nodded. "The queen of Spiders tried to kill Rat, Dragon spends all his time with her now. Well now that Spider is wounded and more hated than you."

So she pushed it further than I would have done. At least I was wronged by the person that I killed. Although she didn't kill Rat. We stopped at a group just as the two wagons that had gone off came back. "It looks like a trap and we need more scouts to see if there are humans in the houses."

I saw Rat on the wagon watching me. "I will go. I have a good nose." The group looked at me and the objections started.

"Let her do it." Rat said.

She was still looking at me with an odd look on her face. The man on the other wagon nodded. "Work out who else will be going with the scouts." He called and we walked away to work out who else should go.

The group pushed me out with their looks and sneers. So I ended up walking away from them. I found Rat sitting alone on her wagon, staring out towards the village that you could just see in the distance. "Your Duha aren't you?" She asked without looking around at me.

"I am."

She sighed. "I wish I had known that before. Dragon has gone to get supplies and Bear is off with the others. You could have been a good person to have at their backs."

I have never been told I would be a good person to have watch someone's back. "I don't think anyone trusts me to watch their back without the expectation of me putting a knife in it."

She looked at me. She was holding her side and watching me with her kind brown eyes. "I have seen many people be pushed out, but we need people. I think you did what you needed to do for the good of everyone. A beast that could gather humans and watch as they slaughtered yaspilrmeth." She shook her head sighing softly. "That life needed ending."

"Did he do it to you?" I asked feeling surprised. She shook her head. "Then why think like that?"

She looked at the village. "Humans are crawl. They can be nasty for no reason, but they have to be led by someone and+ they need someone with an equally black heart to kill with that much effectiveness."

Sighing and looking back at the group behind me I saw them moving about seperateing horses to use. "They are not that different to us Rat. There is good and bad in them just as there is in us. They swing one way then the other."

"That is why you have Pup?"

I chuckled turning back to her. "Even the Lone Wolf needed company in the end. I saved her from bandits when her village was burned to the ground. The boy comes from the same place. I found my pack, and if yours can't accept us, then we will move on." My words seemed to pain her in a way I could almost smell.

"I don't want you to leave Duha. You are a good fighter and you are not what they think you are."

I watched the scouts gather the others they had picked. "Are you sure of that Rat?"

"I'm sure. I have a nose for these things."

I fidgeted next to the wagon and then turned to face her. "I came at Pup's urging. She thinks Dragon will be able to make them accept me. I'm not so sure... after what happened with you..."

"Dragon only did what he did to the queen of Spiders because she hurt me. He will listen to you if you need him too. I can talk to him if you want."

I shook my head. "No thank you. I feel this must come from me." She nodded rubbing her side again. "I find pressing mint leaves into the dressing makes the wound feel less itchy."

She smiled. "I will try that."

I nodded and walked off to the other scouts taking the horse I had stolen from the soldier from Michi. We mounted. "We split into three groups. The first group is..." The man called the groups out and I was in a group with mostly other predators.

I pulled my stave out, ready for attack, and the group moved away from me like I was going to go for them. The first group moved out to the west of the village as I looked back at Rat. She still watched me even as the leader of this pack walked back up to her. The look on her face was hard to read but I knew she watched me for something.

The second group moved out to the east of the village. "We will go south." The leader of this group said coming over and gripping my quarterstaff. "You will go unarmed." He pulled it from my hand.

I let it go without argument. He held it across his saddle as he led the group away from the caravan. Two large predators rode either side of me. I see so this is how it will be. Will they try for me or will they just guard me? They will see I need no weapon to kill if they attack.

Michi came back and climbed in. "Wolf is going with the scouts."

"Is she... will she be alright?"

He smiled as he grabbed some food. "Oh, yes. Rat vouched for her so no one will try anything." Rat.. Dragon likes Rat, so maybe if I talk to her, she will back us up when we talk to Dragon. I stood. "Where are you going?"

"I want to talk to Rat."

He sighed as I climbed over the seat and down to the ground. Michi's head appeared from behind the wagon curtain. "Be careful Pup."

"I will!" I called running off to the other wagons.

I looked for Rat's wagon heedless of the looks from the others I got. I saw Duha and Rat talking. Duha walked away and I watched as she took her horse from Michi. I watched as each of the groups rode out. When I turned back to watch Rat's waggon, the man Tiger was talking to Rat, and when he left, she went inside her wagon.

This is my chance to talk to her. I thought moving forward. "Pup?" I Froze at Tiger's voice. "What are you doing walking through the wagons? You know you should stay away from the others."

"I need to talk to Rat." I said smiling sweetly.

Tiger looked at her wagon and then back to me. "She is not in a good mood."

"I saw that but... I need to talk to her before you send us away."

He nodded and looked at the people around us. "Do what you need to. As soon as that village is ours you two will need to go."

"I know.... thank you for not leaving us while Wolf was sick." He grunted and walked away.

I took a breath and walked to Rat's waggon. "Rat.... I'm sorry to bother you but..."

"Come up." Her voice was quiet and pained.

Steeling myself I climbed into the wagon. The inside was nice. There were boxes tied down in the corner and a bed that looked comfortable Rat sat there with her shirt off. She was unwrapping her bandage. I got closer and took the bandage from her, slowly unwinding it. "Was there something you needed Pup?"

I saw the mint leaves on the bed and smiled. "I see that Wolf told you about mint leaves."

She put her finger under my chin and lifted my face so I met her eyes. I could see she was not in the best of moods. There was a tightness around her eyes and she watched me I saw that they held anger, but she didn't let any of it in her voice when she had spoken. "I will tell you but first let me do this for you."

She nodded and watched as I tucked the leaves into her bandage then re-wrapped it around her. When I was done she put her shirt on and laid on the bed.

"So what did you need?"

"Do you know when we take the village me and Wolf will be sent away?"

She frowned and turned her head to look at me. "Tiger is sending you two away?" I nodded, and she sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "I can't help you yet. When they push you out, stay close. I will talk to Dragon and he will talk to the others, or Wolf will show herself to be valuable to us." She said covering her eyes with an arm.

"Thank you, Rat... I will leave you alone now."

I stood and she stopped me with her hand out. "You said the two of you will be kicked out but there are three of you."

I looked down at the boy sadly. "Gorilla will look after him. We can't take him with us as he is ill. We won't be able to get what he will need from your group, and no one out here is willing to, so... we have to leave him behind."

Rat grunted as she sat up. "That I can fix. I will tell Tiger that he is sick and you are his family.."

"I don't mean to be rude, Rat, but we already told him this, and he said I could stay. The problem is Wolf will accept that and walk off into the woods alone. She is ill too, and if she goes alone, we may never see her again." She nodded. "I know that there are some people after her, and if I don't go with her, she will have to face them alone."

Rat looked out of the wagon at the village. "There are people after me and Dragon. I will see what I can do. If they insist on making you leave then stay close to us. I know your human nose can't smell what is coming but I can. There is death in the air and I'm sure that is why Wolf put herself forward for scouting. She knows it's coming too." I moved towards the way out and she added. "If you have to leave the boy then... bring him to me. I will make sure he is cared for."

"Thank you. I will try and do that. They may want us out of here quicker than we can do that though." She nodded and I slipped back out of the wagon.

A sound had me look over my shoulder. Rat had climbed over the seat and sat watching me walk away. Tigger approached her again and they chatted. I sighed at them feeling alone. After a moment longer watching them I turned away. There was a strange skittering accompanied by the rhythmic creak of a cart. I ignored it wanting to get back to Gorilla.

I started walking back. I saw the glares and anger in people this time I passed them. A large man stepped in front of me. "You need to leave now!" He said in a deep voice full of threat.

Stepping back I looked up at the face of this mountain of man in front of me. He looked angry. I tried to back up and was tripped by someone. As I hit the ground the baby started to cry.

I looked at the village. Rat's estimate of how many there are in there was spot on. "There are 50 people in there."

"We are meant to take your word on it?"

I frowned at the buildings. "She is right. I smell the same." A small man who rubbed his hands together said. He smells like a rabbit.

"If we are going to fight them I think..." The leader of this group hit me with my quarterstaff cutting off my words.

"Shut up!" I looked at where he struck me and then to his face.

I want to walk away but... I can't. "I think we could be attacked and we would suffer only one casualty." He said grinning.

"No one would believe you if it was me. I'm here as a scout and so I am scouting. If there will be an attack I will fight, alone if I have to. I will not fight back if you attack me. I have no grudge against you. If my Pup cries, I will run to her, though. So let us hope you haven't got some of your friends back with the others to attack her. That would make me want to hunt you." I said narrowing my eyes.

They looked at each other. I could smell the fear rolling off her. I knew it. They have got others to attack her when she is alone. I will listen to her howl. If I hear it then I will run as fast as I can.

The leader threw my quarterstaff at me and I caught it. "You might need that then."

That was when I heard it. The distant howl of Katja imitating me. I turned my horse and galloped for the caravan hearing a chorus of laughter behind me.

I rounded the village, giving it a wide berth, and galloped the horse towards the crowd of wagons. As I got closer to them I saw a man in front of Katja with an axe held over his head. Katja lay on the floor with the boy screaming in his sling on her chest. I flattened myself on the horse and forced more speed from it.