A Biography of a Human.

Chapter Fourteen:

“Dahlia In Summer”

“Right Deputy Iota, Chu He’ge, my friend”

“I regret to inform you that I can not make it for our gathering in the dahlia park. My duties with the Crown Prince take up much of my time. It is such a pity, it being summer when the Dahlias are in full bloom and it is always fun to drink and try our hand at composing meager attempts at poetry in their presence”

“But do try and enjoy yourself without me, as I know Titus and the others are sure to be there.”

“Prime Beta, Gernan Koff”

Standing up, I examined my work on the letter, setting down my brush. All the wolven characters were neat and orderly in their vertical lines.

Master was standing nearby, having finished dictating his words for the letter.

Picking up the paper, I gave it a quick blow to make sure the ink was dry before handing it to Gernan, who proceeded to look over it, his eyes darting top to bottom as he went along.

“Good! Good! Very good! I am very pleased, Iskander!” Gernan said as his long muzzle opened and closed in an excited fashion and his tail stood high, showing his confidence.

“Thank you, Gernan!” it always felt so good to receive praise from my master like this.

Gernan had been so busy with Prince Ulric, he thought it was the perfect time for me to start practicing with writing replies back to the more mundane correspondence like this invitation to the gathering that Gernan’s other friend, Chu He’ge was holding.

This was not my first attempt at this though, before he would ask me how I would respond to letters such as this as a way to prepare me for doing the actual writing.

Master was in no way giving me the right to respond to all of his letters. He would still deal with the bulk of them, but for minor things like this he would let me handle them. I was becoming his secretary, almost exactly like how Gyles was for Abrarron back in the slave facility.

Ever since the wolves became much more civilized with the founding of the Kutlar Alphate, human slaves are increasingly trusted more and more with important tasks like this. This trend is what Titus was disgusted with and why he was so nasty. Even poets were writing poems about humans now, many of them having humans slaves as their muses and companions when they travel the countryside for inspiration for their next work.

Though we were still treated as inferiors and many times given condescending treatment from wolves, it was a hell of a lot better than how it was in the distant past where we were treated no better than dirt!

I feel extremely fortunate to have been born in this era when the wolves looked fondly on humans as loyal helpers and companions.

“Iskander, your brush strokes and composition of the characters has improved exponentially! I am very pound of you!” I blushed and looked down slightly at his compliment. This was my first serious task with formal writing done with a brush, rather than informal which was done with a quill.

“Thank you, Gernan” I said meekly as I was quickly taken off-guard by him patting me on my back, like what a proud father would do with is son. It really touched me.

“Don’t be so humble! You make me proud! This letter will be sent to Chu immediately!”

Chu He’ge, he was another friend of Gernan and also of Titus’s as well. Master would talk about him and he would sometimes visit. I never really had any personal encounters with him, but I did know he was not like Titus at all, thankfully!

He was a wolf of lowly birth who rose from humble backgrounds due to his merit and skill. Master told me he was born from the Kappa class of society of the crescent moon badge. There are four levels of society: full moon, half moon, crescent moon and no moon. It's called four phases, eight classes. We humans and non-wolf anthros are classed into the no moon badge, as we are untouched by the light of the eye of Canis.

But Chu came from the Kappa class, just above the lowly Omega class. His father was a butcher and yet he managed to rise through this and now is in the court. That's about all I knew of him from what my master told me, but I also knew he was into wolven calligraphy and was quite good at it due to Gernan possessing few of examples of his work that were hanging on the walls of his study. They were not the only written articles hanging in his study, for they now have company in the form of the Alpha’s decree which now held prominence on the wall behind Gernan’s desk, so it would be one of the first things a person would see upon entering.

“Good old Chu won’t believe a human could write this well with a brush! Pup, give me a quill, I want to add a post script!” I nodded my head and, leaning over, grabbed a simple wooden quill from a small vase of writing pens and brushes. Before handing it to my master I gave it a quick dip in the ink stone where I ground the ink for the letter itself.

After he took the loaded pen, he put down the letter on the desk, pushing me aside a little bit and began writing while I spied the content he put down.

“Chu, I did not write the above at all, my human did! Iskander! I have spoken of him to you before. Every time I said he could do formal writing with a brush you would laugh and say I was lying! Well, here is your proof!”

“Now, I believe we had a wager on this, fifty gold claws if I recall?”

“Gernan Koff”

I could not help but to feel smug reading what he wrote! I had to really try and hide my growing grin!

“Man fell, for he lost the mandate given to him by heaven to rule the earth. They lost touch with the world and the universe, they sought the power of the gods so heaven withdrew its mandate.”

“The gods punished them by forming the chimera and they took up the mandate of rightful rule from humanity, thus the new order was ordained.”

The Way of Hierarchy.

State philosophy of the Alphate.

Days came and went and formed into weeks; days and weeks of what I would term as domestic bliss. Albeit a strange and unusual bliss, considering my new life. It never ceases to amaze me, even now well into my ninth decade upon this earth, how quickly and smooth my assimilation into the culture and life of this truly magnificent Empire of wolves was.

I know many humans would accuse me of being a traitor and condemn me for being so content with my new lot, and even I often thought that way myself, feeling horribly guilty for finding happiness. Like when I would go to the human ghetto and see the poor and destitute humans living in cramped apartments. It would hit me like a blade to the gut!

But then I would got around other parts of Lupercal during my outings to get items for myself and see that poor wolves were living almost exactly the same and realized that poverty is not just a human thing.

Such is the way of life, such is the way of life.

“Suffering is inevitable and in suffering, one finds the heavens and the very pulse of the cosmos, for without suffering how can one recognize happiness?” that's how one up and coming wolven school of philosophy, “The Way of Air and Water,” would put it.

I really enjoyed being with the wolf prince after I got past his facade of royal arrogance. Every night when everybody else was in bed or when Gernan was off tending to government duties, the two of us sat together in master's study and I would help him with his studies, going over things that Gernan was teaching him.

The two of us were sitting on the floor in master's study at a low student's desk which was currently piled with musty open books and charts.

To my right was the little wolf prince, Ulrich. Every time I saw him I couldn't help just grinning like a fool with glee and forget all about the pain in my gut every time I thought of that fox, Elyk, who was always off nowadays out and about trying to catch himself “A pretty vixen” as he would put it. Most the time he would come back dejected, his bronze-black tipped tail stiff and pointed downwards like a pillar, with his head down in an attempt to not be noticed. But he forgot that everybody, even myself, the human; could see it in his tail and ears just how unlucky his night was.

Only while putting out the lights in the manor with Panta did he tell me what happened. Apparently he found a vixen around his age, and being Elyk, he barraged her with flirts which I can only imagine how dumb they must have sounded to every one but Elyk. Well, he ended up getting a few paws across the face and a knee in the groin, which was bad in and of itself, but it was made even worse by the fact this all happened out in the open of the always bustling non-wolf sector, in front of every one from fox traders and their customers to dancing ursine street performers! He just about gave me a paw across the face to match his when I couldn't constrain myself from laughing, though it would not be necessary for I gained a sharp pain in my side from giggling too long and I lost sleep, breaking out once again whenever I imagined the scene.

But it was good for me to get my mind off him after he made me feel weird after I had given him the book of tales and the way the fuzzy wolf pup looked up to me made me feel so needed and filled me with a strong paternal love.

Today though, after our lessons came to a conclusion, he looked up to me with a glimmer of mischief in his eyes, not unlike the kind Elyk would have when he was up to something or was about to try and convince you into doing something. No doubt he learned it from the fox himself and so I waited for the inevitable.

“I want you to show me Lupercal, Xan!”

“Why ask me? Ask Gernan and have the guards take you!”

“Awww! But that's no fun! They won’t let be go where I want!”

“Well that's for good reason! You are the crown prince!”

“But I want to see the city for real though! I want you to take me alone!”

“Alone!? NO! NO, NO, NO!”

“Awww, why not!”

“Because that's downright crazy! And not to mention dangerous!”

“Oh, well it looks like I will just become an Alpha that does not know how his subjects live and thus not care for them!” he said this all in a faux melodramatic way and using words that I highly doubt he even knew what they meant. I'm not sure who taught him that rehearsed line, but it wasn't me!

Then he followed it up with an even more powerful trick: staring at me wit ha pitiful look of sadness, as if I had just slapped him across the face.

“Oh, Canis no! He is trying to make me give in!”

“Little wolf, I know what you are getting at and it almost worked!” crossing my arms and giving a smug look, I thought I had won.

“Well, I am going to tell Prime Beta you bullied me in the garden!”

“YOU WOULDN'T DARE!”

“Oh, yes I would! And you will be in trouble!” he got the upper hand on me, a five year old wolf puppy! I knew the chances of him going through with such an act would be slim but still, I was just not certain considering how demanding he could be in the past.

“But I like you though, so I will beg them for mercy!”

“You little brat!”

“Oh, another thing to say you called me!” he said with puffed up arrogance. I was getting tired of all this, really tired!

“Oh, fine! You win! I will take you and show you the city!”

“That's a good hum-”

“Don’t push it, little wolf!” I cut him off as I shot daggers at him with my eyes that made him freeze and act like it never happened.

“I want to see everything! I want to see the non-wolf and human areas and also the markets! Oh, this will be so fun!”

“I am going to take you, but you are going to listen to me! Okay?”

“Listen to you!?”

“Yes, and if anything goes wrong, or I say we're heading back, you have to listen!” I ordered, “Those are my conditions!”

“Oh, fine!”

“Okay, good! Now I will take you the day after tomorrow when master is at court and most of the staff are in their dwellings.”

“Oh, goodie! I can’t wait, this will be so much fun! You are the best human ever, Xan!” the wolf jumped up and down excitedly and was making my growing headache even worse. Looking at the light in the room, I could tell it was early afternoon and I got an idea to get a small break to relax.

“Calm down, calm down! Also it’s nap time!”

“No! I want to play more!” at my wit's end, I fell to my knees, desperate to have a moment to relax after our lessons and bargaining with him. I just wanted to lie down.

“Please! Please, your highness! Take a nap! If it makes you feel better I am also taking a nap!”

“You are?”

“YES!”

“Okay then! I shall allow you to take a nap!” the wolf pup spoke like it was him alone that could allow or disallow what I do and I would've fought back and told him otherwise. but I was exhausted after today’s dealings with him. I loved the cub a lot but I now know what my parents went through now and why they would look like they were always tired.

“Oh, thank you, your highness, thank you for permitting me to sleep for a bit!” I said this, reeking with sarcasm while bowing. Ulric seemed to not pick up on this at all and I left the study, leaving Ulric to hopefully do some of his own learning.

Finally reaching the guest bedroom where masters now slept, I just collapsed face down onto his bed, not caring about using my own that was moved into the room and was to the side. I just fell onto the closest soft surface I could find.

“Oh, Xander, you really have it cut out for you now, don’t you...” I moaned out, drained of energy.

The mid-afternoon breeze kissed my face as we talked along the paved streets of Lupercal. The sun was radiant and warm, and the wolf pup was holding my hand as we walked among the bustling populace of mostly wolves.

We had been through most of the city already and only had the human sector left to show him before he would head back to Master’s manor.

It was a beautiful day, the weather was perfect, and Uric was being very good as well! Over all, this outing was turning out to be so much easier than I had first imagined.

The little wolf kept his end of the deal. He must have listened and took to heart some of the lessons about respect from my lessons. That or he just was too happy to cause me problems! Either way, this was turning out much better than I had feared and honestly, rather pleasant.

The two of us left the manor at mid-morning and I was was just a bundle of raw nerves with everything that could go wrong playing out in my head over and over again. As for Ulric, he was without a care in the world as he bounced ahead of me as we left, his tail wagging as I trailed behind, fidgeting my hands nervously while thinking how I should have never agreed to this.

Once we were on the open street I made Ulric hold my hand, which at first he refused but then I reminded him of our deal and threatened to drag him back into the manor. After that. he stopped his complaints.

We were heading down the road when I heard a shout commanding me to stop. Turning around, I saw it was a puffed out patrol guard and it hit me I did not have written permission to be out.

He came up to me asking if I had permission and all I could do was just stutter like a babbling fool, which caused the patrol wolf's brows to raise with intense suspicion.

Before I could think, the wolf grabbed me by the wrist saying my master will be very upset with me.

“Hey, stop!” it was Ulric’s little voice. The wolf guard turned around to face the young upstart wolf.

“And who might you be?”

“I am that human's master and it was I who ordered him to take me out!” after this, I finally managed to find my voice and piped in.

“Yes! That's right! This is my master! He is the um…the nephew of Prime Beta, German Koff and he ordered me to take him out!” the patrol wolf’s eyes darted between the two of us, looking for any hint of deception which he found none, but I was worried that my scent my give me away if this was not cut short soon. Luckily, the little wolf jumped in again, saving me from doing that.

“Now, I would like it if you took you paws of MY human! Or else I will tell my uncle about this!” immediately, the wolf dropped my hand on cue and assumed a meek nature.

“I-I-I am sorry! Forgive me!”

“Good! Now I will not tell uncle about this! Now, may we be on our way or do you have any thing else to bring up?” the wolf shook his head as his ears went flat against his skull.

“Oh, no! Oh, no! Please, go on your way!” Ulric quickly took my hand back and we were on our way, leaving the patrol wolf quite an embarrassed mess.

“I should bring you along more often!” I said to Ulric, quite happy at his fast acting even though I was on the brink of a nervous breakdown as it happened. He looked up and gave me a childish wink.

After an hour of casual walking, we made it to the non-wolf area and were about to walk in when I spotted a familiar visage among the countless foxes and bears.

Elyk!

I did a complete turn about with Ulric in tow the moment I caught sight of his muzzle among the crowd.

“Oh! Look, there's that fox guy! Hey, why are we turning around? Hey! Hey! El-” I cupped my hand around the wolf cub's muzzle, cutting him off. If Elyk saw us here he would blab, I knew he would!

“Let's go to the human sector first instead!” I said while dragging the poor wolf pup, all the while I had a firm grip on his muzzle so he would not try to call the fox’s name out again.

Screams! Shouts! Cries!

The thunderous sounds of carts being upturned and the sharp shattering of jugs breaking!

“DEATH TO THE WOLVES! DOWN WITH THE WOLF OPPRESSORS!” a chorus of chants rang out!

It was all so strange. Ulric and I were just minding our own business and I was showing him around the human sector when this explosion of chaos just erupted around us! Turning around, I saw a mob of humans in full riot! I recognized a few of them, but couldn't quite put my finger on who they were and they were surrounded by several strangers.

They were causing utmost chaos! Cloth shades burst into orange flames from the crimson tips of torches and clubs smashed pots and windows alike without heed for who owned them. The whole while, a strange chorus rang out from the masses:

“OUT YONDER WAITS THE WOLVEN FOE!

THE FIENDISH CURS, THE HOUNDS OF WOE!

REYNARD WILL LEAD THE WAY!”

For a moment, my mind went back to that horrible, final night on Safehaven!

“XANDER! GO RUN AWAY! RUN!” It was my Grandpa! He was yelling at me to run!

I saw my father on the ground, his entrails hanging out in front of our burning homestead. My mother screaming as I was being dragged away to the black ships.

“Xander! Xander! I’m scared!” my horror was broken by the sound of a young voice full of fear and frantic tugging on my arm.

Ulric was by my side, eyes wild with terror. I put the past aside for now and pulled the frightened wolf cub close to me.

What was happening? Was the world ending!?

The riotous mob marched passed us and I was hopeful that they would go away, but one among them saw us, or rather, saw Ulric the wolf.

He stopped and yelled out:

“A WOLF! A WOLF IS HERE!” my heart stopped, I felt the blood drain from my face and wondered if I would faint! But I could not, I had to hold strong for Ulric!

The mass of humans stopped after his shouts and turned to us. A circle of rabid men formed around us, a mass of eyes full of rancid hate!

Ulric buried his muzzle deeper into my side like he wished he could just get inside me and hide.

I just stood there frozen, until one of the mob lunged forward and grabbed the poor whimpering wolf pup by the scruff and tried to pry him away from me.

“NO! NO! NO!” I screamed like I had never done before as I flinched backwards. My reaction was so quick even the man was caught off guard.

Soon the crowed exploded into shouts of “WOLF LOVER!” “KILL THE WOLF AND THE TRAITOR!” and they all soon started encroaching on us even more. We were totally surrounded, like prey caught in a pack of predators. I looked around for a weapon, anything I could find, but there was nothing. It was just us, a human child and an even younger wolf cub against a pack of armed humans crying out for blood and finding us to be an easier target of their hatred than the Alpha's palace. With all hope looking to be lost, I had no choice but to take a bold step forward.

“No, no! You're wrong!” I shouted out, confidence overflowing in my voice which caused the commotion to stop abruptly, even Ulric looked up with surprise at my change of tone.

“He's not a wolf!” the crowed murmured among itself for a moment until one jumped forward.

“He sure looks like a wolf to me!”

“A wolf!? This is no wolf! Why would wolf dare show his muzzle in the human sector! This is a gray fox!” the human who I rebutted looked confused.

“A gray fox!? What is that!?”

“You do not know!? He is a fox! A gray one! And is from the land across the far western sea where he was taken as a slave by the wolves!” I could see by their faces that their resolve was wavering. I had their attention and their sympathy, now it was time to close the deal. I forced tears to well up in my eyes, something I didn't know I could do until now and cried out, “He's my best friend! Please don't hurt him! He's all I have since the wolves killed my father!”

The human mob was changing from open hostility to us to being convinced in what I was was saying. I was doing it and I couldn't believe how easy it was to do. A few of the rioters at the front, hard men who looked like they lived hard lives, looked like they were on the verge of weeping.

“FORGET ABOUT THEM! LETS MOVE ON!” one of the men at the front shouted back to the crowd, shouldering a vicious-looking club and waving them to leave.

“BULLSHIT!”

Of course, my crocodile tears didn't work on everyone. It would seem that some of the rioters at the rear were a bit more bloodthirsty. Thinking back on it, perhaps they were radicals organizing the riot, hiding at the back while others do all the crimes; or perhaps, being at the back, they couldn't see the tears of a child, perhaps they just didn't care.

“HE'S A CUB OF REYNARD!”

“HE'S A WOLF!”

The man with the club was suddenly struck in the head with a cobblestone and I realized this was our cue to flee as the mob began to break out into a brawl. I broke free, ducking between the legs of a tall man that was choking a smaller man with a cudgel, darted past a woman furiously waving her flaming torch around, and collided head-first into the back of a massive rioter. He turned around and, upon seeing us, made a grab for Ulric, pulling him by the scruff of the neck away from me. I screamed and kicked him in the shin as hard as I could and he let the cub go, kneeling to the ground in agony. His shrill, pained voice yelled out to rally the mob:

“THE CUB HAS THE EYES OF A WOLF! GET HIM!”

Spotting an escape route, we slid into a small alleyway, one far too narrow for an adult human to slip through, which was a major relief as the rounds of clubs banging against the side of the alley rang out behind us, and emerged on the other side into a larger alcove that exited onto another street. We hid behind a barrel desperate to catch our breath. Peering out from the barrel, we saw another crowd of humans storm past the alleyway, torches raised high.

I collapsed backwards, drained of my strength and exhausted beyond belief. I did not even want to confront the thought of what would've happened if I had failed! I don't know how long I sat there, spaced out in sheer exhaustion and still clutching the wolf prince by my side, but I was soon interrupted by another person.

“Xander!? Xander!?” looking up, I saw familiar red-haired man! Robert!

“Oh, Canis! Robert! Its you! What's going on!?”

“It's that damned fox cult! They're starting a revolt!”

“Oh no! Master!”

“You need to get back to his manor! It's not safe out here for you! They shouldn't...they won't be able to get that far into the city!”

“Are you sure!?”

“Absolutely! The moment the mob runs into the troops they'll drop their sticks and go home! I'm willing to bet claws on it!”

Robert caught sight of the small wolf pup buried in my side.

“Who's that?” I trusted Robert, but even I wasn't sure how he'd react if I told him I was carrying the Prince. I dodged the subject.

“Robert, do you know any way out of this place!?” I quickly got up.

“The way out? Of course! I know of a little hole in the wall where you can sneak out into the alleyway and get back onto the main street!”

“SHOW ME NOW!” I screamed as I grabbed Robert by the shoulders and gave him a furious shake.

He was taken by surprise and quickly pointed to a small alleyway between two shops and without a second thought, I sprinted to it with the wolf cub in tow.

Going down a dark alley way, I found a large board and moved it, finding a hole in the walls that lead to another alleyway

Picking up the wolf pup, I threw him onto my back with his furry arms locked around my neck and went through the opening.

What happened next is a blur to me, running, just running through endless streets. I wasn't the only one running, there was tons of people, humans not wanting to get caught in the reprisal and wolves who were unlucky enough to be in the area, running away from the mob of people that was so close by.

I swear, I have never run as much or as fast as that in my life. After a long, dangerous sprint, we soon reached the familiar and comforting sight of Gernan’s manor and decided to enter via the back way instead of the front door.

The back way lead to the garden and it was much easier to explain to anybody inside that we were just in the garden the whole day. At the back of my mind was the fear that Harold had boarded up the door, as word of the riot should have spread to the manor by now. If it was, that was it for us. I'd have to go through the front door and accept whatever punishment endangering the Prince would entail. Whatever it was, it was not going to be something that Gernan could protect me from, but I needed to get Ulric to safety above all else.

The cacophony of the riot echoed through the distant streets, reminding me of the more immediate danger. I breathed in, shoved, and the door flew open effortlessly and I sighed with relief, shutting it behind us and slamming the board in place.

The rest of the day was like a haze and I have trouble remembering a lot of it. Gernan came by to check on us in the garden, none the wiser that we had been outside and left without a word.

I remember Pantaleon and Iahel were going crazy over where Elyk was and I believe Panta even fainted. As for Iahel, the big ursine Harold had to restrain her as she was for sure going to leave and go out looking for her kit. The household was in as much in chaos as the human sectors was when we were in it! Servants running all around the place, rushing about both upstairs and downstairs.

And meanwhile some of the more level headed ones of them were smart and made sure the front gate to the manor was closed and bolted shut, as well as the other entryways.

I thanked Canis and just about every deity in the anthro pantheon for the door being unlocked.

After some time, there was a loud banging on one of the side doors followed by a familiar yappy voice. Elyk was safe! Iahel rushed to the side door, unlocked it and pulled the teenage fox in to a tight embrace.

I remembered Robert and how I had left him without a word. I felt terrible leaving him behind, but I could not wait, I had the future of the Alphate in tow! I could not afford to have him get hurt! I was sure he will be fine, he, after all is like a mouse and has countless places he can hide, but I will have to explain myself to him when we meet up again.

Unable to cope with all this stuff in the household and worn-out, I took Ulric and went to the study where we were sure to find some peace from the chaos.

The poor pup said nothing and only would whimper and hug me. After a while he finally said something.

“Xander, I am sorry I made you take me out...”

“Understatement of the century!” was all I could think after hearing that. But I just pulled him close and told him it was okay.

Later that evening I carried the little wolf up to bed. The poor thing was still in shock, of course so was I. Carrying him up to his bed, we passed a window that gave us a view of the street outside the manor and I turned his head and covered his ears away from the sight. Torches were still furiously dancing in the streets, the guards, I hoped; and although the shouting had stopped, I didn't really know if the riots had ended and didn't want him seeing or hearing it. Entering his room, I laid him down upon the mattress and pulled the covers over his little body.

I was going to leave when all of a sudden I felt something grab my wrist. Turning around I saw it was Ulric, his blue eyes still full of fear and whimpering.

“Please don’t leave!” I couldn't blame him, today was really rough. I merely nodded my head and went to the other side of the bed and got in with him. I was taken by surprise when he immediately latched onto me, pulling me into a tight hug.

I gave him a few strokes on the head and soon we both fell asleep finding safely in each other presence.