Gita, Griselle, and Goldwyn were silent as they looked back at the horrified look on Joseph Running-Bear's face. Gita at first thought of blamming the lupman for the attack. After all, they didn't use fire arms and the people of Glendale did, and at present th lupman didn't wield the economic power that Jensen would in the future. The people of Glendale tolerated the lupman, but could be prompted into attacking the lupman...
But he fact that the attack occured on the Pack's land killed that idea. For the most part the lupman remained on their hunting grounds and the area around their estate. There was interaction with the rest of Glendale, but it was fairly rare. Mr. Running-Bear would not believe that the lupman attacked without warning, and would then ask them why Goldwyn had been on the Pack's lands in the first place. Goldwyn shuddered silently at this, as it seemed that Running-Bear had been broken by all the rules the Puritans had forced on his people, not knowing that the native tribes didn't live in anarchies. Their rules were merely different from those of the European colonists.
And even if Running-Bear did believe it, Gita feared that the townspeople might not attack the lupman... at least not without following their own rules first, and then the male lupman that Goldwyn had tortured and the female what knocked Goldwyn out would reveal them to be witches... which would arouse the paranoid superstitions that forced them to flee what would be Germany in the first place. They had to think of something...
"Goldwyn... what happened?" Joseph Running-Bear asked as he came and knelt before her, and placed his hands on her shoulders.
Goldwyn did see concern on his face. That was a sign that maybe he could be saved... but they still had keep him the dark on the truth. Once they were strong enough to remake the world, then they'd tell him.
"We were hiking," Griselle spoke up, "Gita and I came back, but Goldwyn wanted to look at something."
"Hiking?"
"Yes, Mr. Running-Bear," Goldwyn answered, "and well, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and tripped over a fallen log. My head caught the dead lower branches of a spruce tree and tore out my eye..."
"You should have told me you were hiking," Running-Bear spoke, "You shouldn't be that far from here without an escort."
"Is that a rule?" Goldwyn asked.
"It is common sense," Running-Bear said softly, "For right now you are vulnerable. There is great beauty in nature, but it is a beauty that must be expected. Deer, be they the White Tailed ones or the Gold ones can be just as dangerous as any preadory animal. My people have stories of the foolish being gored by Gold Deer bucks. And predators must be respected for obvious reasons."
"We didn't want to bother, Mr. Running-Bear," Gita spoke.
"It is no bother, dears," Running-Bear answered, "I promised your grandmother I would look after you and help you learn what you will need to be good. If you come with me, Goldwyn, I'll see what I can do to help your face heal... it may not be much, but it will be better then nothing."
+++++++
"Gita really wanted to trigger a war between Glendale and the Pack?" Maddex asked.
"And if succesful, would have destroyed the Pack," Marie nodded, "Lupmen and Leomen have always relied on their great strength to do things, partially because unlike humans, Lupmen and Leomen retained all the natural weaponry of strength, fangs, and claws that our mudane cousins have. We are smart like humans... but we do not need the technological weapons, spears, swords, bows and arrows, and guns to be dangerous, so Lupmen and Leomen have largely scoffed at using such weaponry... which when these species have had conflicts with humans, humans have usually won."
"But we are stronger..." Lawrence began.
"But not bulletproof," Marie countered, "in conflicts between Lupmens and Humans, the Humans brought forth their armies and attacked over long range, avoiding the Lupman's great strength. Conflicts between Humans and Leomen went much the same... though they are fewer and far between, largely as the Leomen for the most part are much less combative then Lupmen are."
There was a short pause for a moment before Marie continued.
"Gita hoped that the people of Glendale would gather up their militiamen and go and shoot all the Lupmen," Marie finished, "but backed down when she realized that legal proceedings would slow everything down, and that legally speaking, John and Victoria did nothing illegal... and that Gita, Griselle, and Goldwyn didn't want to reveal themselves to be witches to people who might turn on them in force as well."
"Why couldn't they be good?" Lilly asked.
"They thought they were being good," Marie sighed, "and their use of magic was beginnig to have an affect on them."
++++++
As Kaylee returned to bed after glancing down at the "gallery wolves" in the yard. She would love them forever... It wouldn't be the same as her love for her mate, for her sister-wives, and for her children, and for Alice, Abbey, and Samantha (her only "nieces" so far). She was certian that Jensen would be uncomfortable with it after what had happened with Megan and Margot, but they had said it was willing on their part, so it wasn't like anyone could say it was bad...
She also silently decided that if Michelle, Leslie, Kira, Helen, Nelson/Nessie wanted to be the Pack's gallery, it would be a favor for Lawrence who probably didn' want to lose his mates and Roger who wouldn't want to lose his sister... and once everyone was healed Julie would finally have the time to do the breast reduction surgery for the Japanese females, which Kaylee thought was the real reason that they had offered themselves as statues to her.
"Not that I'd really want to stop them if they really want to... but after everything the curse did in its attack, I'd probably prefer it if it's ended quickly," Kaylee thought as she began to doze back to sleep, "even if it means less souled art..."
++++++++
"We're back!" Mary called as she lead Gretchen, Giselle, Laura, and Zulema back to the gathered wolves and lions.
"And everything is fine," Giselle said, "daddy is back."
"So is mommy," Laura nodded.
"So I guess the "war" will be on again?" Pence commented.
"Since Nane and your brother have made their bet, I would guess it should," Moja shrugged, "but a short truce to reload and regroup wouldn' be a bad idea."
"The water pistols are over here with me," Amethyst called from where she stood beside Whitney and Mr. P, though still a safe distance from where Kirk and Penny were laying.
Penny and Kirk watched the twin pups and Zelipe and Mary and the pride's quadruplets went to retrieve their weapons and reload with water. Only Mbili, Toni, and Jay stayed there.
"Aren't you playing?" Kirk asked them.
"We lost already," Mbili shrugged, "once they get back to soaking each other, we'll go to our makeshift scoreboard and keep track."
Penny then felt a tap on her other shoulder. She turned to see Saba there with Paula standing nervously behind her.
"Would you like to be our referee, Aunt Penny?" Saba asked, "Paula's caught on well... it'd be cool to have a real match."
"I'm still learning," Paula said slowly.
"You've caught on well," Saba encouraged, "it'll be fun."
"I can't move around all that well, Saba," Penny commented, "and it'd be mean to have Kirk carry me around... or push me in the wheel chair."
"I could be the referee, if you promise to relax," Kirk told her, "relax and let the past be the past."
"You would, Uncle Kirk?"
Kirk nodded and glanced to Penny, "that is if you agee to relax."
Penny looked back into Kirk's eyes. She could see that he cared. But then, reality had now completely changed for him. He never remembered being Katie... had never been Katie... just as soon as she would only be Penny.
"Go on, dear," Penny reached out and a paw through Kirk's golden brown mane, "I still have a little more writing to do, and I do have Amy to talk with should I need anything."