The Sharpened Fangs Of Lupine Spirit

by H. G. Sansostri

  “Please, Mr Gregentop. Let my son have him.”

  He nodded, turning to face the prince, and knelt. He gestured for the Winter Baron and his wife to step back, unwrapping the pup from the wad of blankets.

  “If he’s not able to walk well, I’ll pass him to you. Let’s see how he is first.”

  Corsair stood there, eyes focused on the pup. The tiny ictharr scanned every face in the room, a low growl coming from him.

  “Come, Master Corsair. He’s just uncertain. Put your paw out. Let him know you’re there.”

  The prince, anxious, nodded and knelt.

  “This is safe, yes?” his mother asked.

  “I’ll pull him away if I think he’s becoming aggressive. Right now there is no reason to be fearful, Milady.”

  Corsair extended one small paw and saw the pup turn, eyes focused on him.

  “Hello. I’m Corsair.”

  The pup’s growls grew in volume. Corsair’s resolve faltered, drawing his paw back an inch. His mother gave a worried look to Mr Gregentop and, acknowledging her concern, he prepared to intervene.

  But then, as quickly as they had grown, the growls died.

  Corsair ears stood and his eyes widened, confused about the reason for the sudden change in mood. The pup was sniffing the air around him, as if he recognised him, and he felt calmer now that the growling ceased.

  The pup took one step closer. He hobbled slightly, his injured leg hindering him, but he was determined. After another cautionary sniff, he took another step.

  Corsair was entranced by the sluggish approach of the pup, shuffling forwards gently to close the distance. The pup kept advancing, the time between each step decreasing, and Corsair didn’t dare move in case he frightened him back into growling.

  He stopped right before Corsair’s paw.

  Corsair watched, enraptured as the pup leaned forwards and sniffed the black pads beneath his paw. The prince looked up at his mother and father, who smiled at him with nothing but love in their hearts, and then looked at Mr Gregentop. He had shuffled forwards silently behind the pup, still within range to snatch him if he grew aggressive, but the soft smile on his face told Corsair there was nothing to fear.

  The prince looked back down.

  A further second of silence passed. The pup sniffed his paw, making his final inspection, before he took another step forward.

  He watched the pup lean in and lick his paw. He felt the small feeble tongue touch the pads, tickling almost. He gasped and looked up at his parents, who watched in amazement.

  Following the lick, the ictharr then pushed the side of his head up against his paw and mewled. Corsair giggled and gently placed his second paw on his tiny side, feeling his frail heart patter away.

  “Well, it’s safe to say that he likes you, Master Corsair,” Mr Gregentop said, standing. “I recommend that you have him weaned by a breeder in the capital while he’s growing but, other than that, he should be all yours. Winter Baron, would you like to come through with me and confirm our transaction?”

  “I would be happy to.”

  “I’ll stay with Corsair, dear,” his mother said.

  His father strolled out of the living room with the breeder while his mother sat down and watched the pup with her son. Corsair continued to stare, thankful for his encounter in the woods, and knew that the ictharr in front of him was the one he had been looking for.

  Chapter Eleven

  “You saved his life,” Axel said. “He should be more thankful.”

  “It’s a mutual thing. I’ve saved his life, he’s saved mine.”

  “Like sliding down a death hill?”

  “Team effort.”

  Corsair noticed something move in his peripheral vision and turned his head, Axel following his gaze. At the end of the aisle stood a Krosguard soldier.

  “Training starts again in a couple of minutes! Move to the courtyard and line up against the church wall!”

  “Welp, break time’s over,” Axel said, turning to face Arwenin. “Come on, Arwie.”

  Standing, she padded out from her stall as her master shut the door behind her. Axel looked over his shoulder as he walked ahead, leading his steed by the reins.

  “You coming?”

  “I’ll be with you in a second.”

  He turned to look back at Quickpaw as the apothecary walked on. The white ictharr had been peeking over his shoulder before his master turned to face him, making the beast grumble and look away.

  “I know you’re angry with me, Quickpaw, I know. We have training now, though, and as much as you don’t want to do it, we have to.”

  Quickpaw refused.

  “I’ll take you on a really nice walk tonight.”

  Intrigued, he looked over his shoulder with one long ear standing. He gave a cautionary growl in response, asking a question.

  “No, we won’t go near any more hills.”

  Quickpaw looked away again, grumbling, before he gave in and turned around. Corsair stepped back to allow his steed room to exit before shutting the door behind him and taking his reins.

  “You ready?”

  He grunted.

  “Come on, then. Let’s go.”

  Minutes later, Corsair found himself among the cohort against the church wall, standing beside Axel and Arwenin. He couldn’t see his brother in the crowd no matter how hard he searched the vicinity and he abandoned his efforts when he saw Alpha McVarn and Lieutenant Maximus, accompanied by a growling Thornfang, walk out in front of him. Behind the leadership stood a group of Krosguard soldiers beside a large war drum. It was played by a lupine adorned with red streaks across his body and face, dressed in nothing but trousers and hind-paw socks.

  “Welcome back to training,” Alpha McVarn said. “I’m sure that 20-minute break was enough for you to all recover from this morning’s work. You’ve probably noticed that your numbers have dwindled a bit since you returned. If you maintain your high standards during training, you’ll have nothing to worry about. Any questions?”

  No one raised a paw.

  “Lieutenant Maximus, they’re all yours.”

  The alpha of the Krosguard retreated a few steps, watching on with numerous onlookers by his side. All eyes, however, were focused on Thornfang as she drew nearer.

  “Races are a rare luxury around here,” Lieutenant Maximus said. “We won’t be kicking out as many people as we did today but don’t slack. Clear?”

  “Yes, Sir,” the recruits chorused.

  “Good.”

  Lieutenant Maximus turned and climbed on Thornfang, shifting in his saddle.

  “Each of you will be fighting against me.”

  Immediately, nervous murmurs passed around the cohort, some wolves turning to exchange anxious gazes with their counterparts. They fell silent as the lieutenant looked to his superior, following his gaze to where the alpha was pointing.

  For a terrifying moment, Corsair thought Alpha McVarn was pointing at him.

  Then he saw Axel’s shocked expression.

  “Me, Alpha?”

  “You, son. Come out here and fight the lieutenant.”

  He froze. All the other recruits looked his way, both surprise and relief upon their faces. Axel stared at Thornfang.

  After that terrified moment, Axel collected himself and rolled his shoulders back. He looked to Corsair.

  “Wish me luck.”

  “Be careful, Axel.”

  With a calm and collected demeanour, Axel readied himself and stepped forwards.

  The next moment, Arwenin contradicted his fearless attitude.

  Corsair jumped as he heard Arwenin frantically scramble back away from the direction Axel was pulling, shaking her head. Pleading yelps of fear came from her as she thrashed against the apothecary’s pull, eyes focused on the snarling beast waiting for her.

  “Hey, Arwie, what the hell? Come on, we haven’t got time for this!”

  Everyone but Corsair took a step back, only highlighting the struggle Axel was having
with his steed. Quickpaw watched his friend try her best to resist fighting Thornfang, desperate to rush to her aid. Axel tried to position himself in front of her gaze.

  “Please, Arwie, we can’t be doing this.”

  “What’s the problem, Auryon?” the lieutenant called with a smirk. “Busy braiding your tail?”

  The onlooking soldiers laughed.

  “Just… having some difficulty! Give me a second, Sir!”

  “I don’t think we have a lot of time to spare. We have a tight schedule.”

  “I hear you, Sir, just one moment!”

  Arwenin sat down and Corsair knew, at that point, Axel had lost. He tugged and pulled, furiously trying to bring her into the courtyard, but she wouldn’t budge. Abandoning his physical efforts, he began to reason with her, stroking the side of her neck as he whispered comforting words.

  “I don’t think you have good control over your ictharr there, Auryon.”

  “One moment, Sir!”

  “Son, reel in your ictharr,” Alpha McVarn said.

  “She’s nervous, that’s all, Alpha!”

  Driven to do something by the sight of his friend so terrified and panicked, Quickpaw darted out of the crowd. Corsair’s grip on the reins had loosened while he was distracted by the ruckus and he turned to see his companion diving out into the open.

  “Quickpaw, hey!”

  He rushed out after him and found himself exposed. Quickpaw stood metres away from Thornfang, growling and with paws spread out in a fighting stance. Corsair stopped by his steed’s side, looking over at the terrifying ictharr.

  He made eye contact with Lieutenant Maximus and felt his ears flatten when he saw that excited expression on his face.

  “Sedrid,” he said, grinning. “How noble of you to volunteer.”

  A few of the soldiers chuckled, arms folded across their chests, but Alpha McVarn remained stern and unimpressed.

  “N-no, I wasn’t…”

  “That was an order, Sedrid. Defying a superior will get you removed from the course.”

  “Alpha, let me fight!” Ragnar yelled. “I volunteer!”

  “Shut it, Sedrid. Wait your turn.”

  Corsair looked at Quickpaw. His companion was glaring at Thornfang, a glimpse of his fangs showing. He cursed his bravery. Feeling his heart race, he climbed on his ictharr and prepared himself for combat.

  “Swords!” the lieutenant yelled.

  Two Krosguard soldiers rushed forward bearing swords with dulled blades and blunt tips. One of the soldiers stopped by his side and passed him his weapon.

  “You don’t have a chance in hell,” she muttered.

  She walked off, happy with herself, and Corsair clenched his paw around the grip of the sword. Lieutenant Maximus swung his blade through the air, pointing it at his opponent.

  “Begin when the drum sounds!” Alpha McVarn yelled.

  No one moved.

  Corsair stared at the lieutenant.

  The Butcher of Tomskon stared back.

  Then the single low thud of the drum sounded.

  “Begin!”

  Without warning, Quickpaw shot forwards as if he had no rider in his saddle. Corsair almost fell off backwards from the shock of the sudden movement, rebalancing as he rushed towards Thornfang and the lieutenant.

  “Quickpaw, stop!”

  He didn’t listen to his commands. He lunged for Thornfang, swinging a large paw at her face.

  “Back!”

  The Butcher of Tomskon yanked her back out of the way of the swing. Quickpaw came forwards again and frantically tried to hit Thornfang, missing swing after swing and bite after bite. Corsair looked up to see a flash of steel and threw his sword in the way, feeling a blade strike his own. He was unable to coordinate a counterattack, distracted and thrown off-balance constantly by Quickpaw. In a desperate attempt to defend himself, he swung wildly at his opponent, trying to get him to back away.

  The Butcher of Tomskon didn’t attack again, a grin on his face as he watched the prince flail about in panic.

  “Quickpaw, come on!” Corsair yelled.

  Quickpaw didn’t listen. Corsair yanked on the reins with one paw but he refused to obey, ignoring the command and advancing on Thornfang again. She merely observed the attempts to hit her as if she had better things to do.

  Then the Butcher of Tomskon struck.

  He swiped at Corsair and hit him in the side of his head with the broadside of the sword. Corsair yelped and felt himself lurch over one side. He reached for the saddle but was unable to do so as Quickpaw darted away from him, lost in his battle against Thornfang. World spinning and ears ringing, the wolf grunted as he landed in the snow and rolled through the mounds.

  He came back to his senses. He looked up to see Quickpaw looking back, distracted from the paw about to hit him directly in the face.

  “Watch out!”

  Quickpaw turned before Thornfang swiped him hard across the snout, knocking him down with astonishing strength. He landed on his side and yelped, scrambling to get back up on to all fours, but Thornfang rested her two front paws on his side and pinned him there. He struggled, eyes wide and yelping in terror, trying to wriggle free from her grip.

  “Get off him!”

  Thornfang craned her head down to Quickpaw and opened her maw wide, displaying the sharpened fangs ready to tear through flesh.

  “No!”

  To his relief, she was not intent on killing Quickpaw.

  But what she did instead was no less terrifying.

  She unleashed a hellish roar into Quickpaw’s ears, her open serrated maw held inches from the side of his head. He struggled and writhed, whimpering in panic, all his courage driven from him.

  “Back.”

  The Butcher of Tomskon drew back on the reins and eased Thornfang off him, allowing the white ictharr to shoot up to his paws and rush over to Corsair. Due to his sheer terror, he tripped over his own front legs and fell forwards on to his face, summoning a groan from many and a chuckle from some. Finally, Quickpaw arrived by Corsair and threw himself down into the snow, covering his face with his paws.

  “That’s enough,” Alpha McVarn told the soldiers. “Lieutenant, get him up and back in line.”

  Corsair continued to lie there, still somewhat dazed from the blow, and saw Thornfang pad over to him. She stopped a metre away, allowing Lieutenant Maximus to drop down from his saddle.

  The prince looked up.

  The lieutenant knelt.

  “You don’t belong here, Sedrid. I’m the alpha around here, you understand? Me. Not McVarn, me. Learn your place. Don’t try to show me up again or I will tear you and that thing into enough pieces to send everyone in Grand Wolf Plains a souvenir.”

  “Lieutenant, that’s enough!”

  Lieutenant Maximus, reprimanded by his superior, immediately offered a paw and helped Corsair to his hind paws. The lieutenant glared at him, reinforcing his message, before gesturing for him to return to the line.

  Corsair Sedrid, tail between legs, did as he was told.

  Chapter Twelve

  In the grand nave of the small church, the two princes sat in the middle of the pews. Corsair’s head was down and his eyes were focused on the backrest of the bench before him, his brother’s paw rested on his back. Silence filled the air and nothing stirred, everyone in their dormitory having retreated to their beds for the night.

  Corsair sighed and rubbed his face.

  “I don’t know what he was thinking.”

  “I don’t either, Corsair. It was brave.”

  “I don’t care if it was brave. I’m out. Tomorrow morning I’ll wake up, head down to the courtyard, and then that’s it. McVarn will tell me to pack my things and I’ll see that… stupid… grin on Maximus’ face. And now you’re leaving too because of me.”

  “I’m doing it because I want to. You’re never a burden.”

  “But this wouldn’t have happened if… God, all he had to do was stand there and wait and we wouldn’t hav
e been picked.”

  He paused, reconsidering what he said.

  “I mean… I know Axel was in trouble and I feel like a coward for standing there and watching but… I could have done something else other than have Quickpaw drag us both out there to get humiliated.”

  “You were like everyone else he fought. You all lost. You’re no different.”

  “I’m going to have to explain this all to Dad, Ragnee. He’ll give me that annoyed scowl he always gives me and then he’ll ask me why I’m back, even though he can guess why, and force me to answer. He’ll know it’s because of Quickpaw and then…”

  Corsair shook his head.

  “We can’t go back, Ragnee.”

  “I know Dad’s been rough‒”

  “Rough? I almost died.”

  “Trust me, I know. But we just need to be cal‒”

  “I can’t calm down, all right? I can’t stop thinking about what’ll happen when I get sent home because stupid Quickpaw decided to be a hero and get us both beaten up!”

  The ancient wooden door of the church creaked open and Corsair looked over his shoulder. He found his impending doom there, staring at the two Sedrids as it shut the door, taking a step down the aisle before stopping.

  “Ragnar, I’d like to speak to your brother for a moment,” Alpha McVarn said.

  Corsair looked back to his brother. Ragnar nodded at the alpha before patting his sibling on the back and standing.

  “You’ll be fine.”

  He turned and walked towards the stairs. Corsair watched him walk out of the pew and down the side aisle, turning left and climbing the staircase. After three steps he was out of sight.

  “May I sit, son?”

  “Of course, Alpha.”

  He slid over to allow his superior access into the row. The black wolf stepped inside and sat down, groaning with relief as he leant back.

  Not a word was uttered.

  Corsair waited for the verdict to be delivered, to be told he was no longer wanted in the ranks of the Krosguard. McVarn never spoke. He kept staring ahead in thought, helmet resting on his lap.

  Corsair decided to get it over with.