Chapter 327
There wasn’t any reason to wait, and as soon as I left my little hovel, we went to find Brutus and the Alqat that he’d decided would follow me on this journey. Leera and Greel had prepared themselves and remained close to the entrance from where I’d slept. As it was still early, though, and they’d succumbed to sleep at some point during the night and hadn’t woken to the suns growing light. I chuckled and decided to leave the two males from Trai’s pack alone, excited to see how they’d react when Brutus got to them. When I arrived to where Brutus had spent the night, not more than 100 feet from my own home, I saw he was already drilling the other two guards who would accompany us.
Mrak had grown quite a bit since his time struggling to dispatch a bear, having since evolved to become a khatif. He wasn’t nearly so impressive as most of the Hak’Tal I’d seen grow from hatchlings, though the fact that he’d never been an Alpha certainly inhibited his base growth. Even so, his every move was sure, and he’d obviously trained himself to the highest level he could. Patterns of silver scars patterned much of his body, further evidence of his willingness to do what was necessary to grow, and I felt a surge of pride fill me as I evaluated how far he’d come in such short time.
Sparring alongside Mrak was Hrash, the female I’d allowed to ascend to Alpha through challenging her Alpha. I might have said “allowed”, but she’d seized the position long before I’d been aware of it, and I had no intention of stopping that practice among my people. She dodged back and forth with Mrak, trying to find any opportunity to close in on Brutus. The massive Keel stood at least four feet taller than the two khatif, but they continued their dogged attempts while disregarding the heavy but calculated blows they took from their superior.
As soon as he saw me, Brutus stepped back while raising a fist. Though I didn’t recognize the sign specifically, I immediately knew what it meant as the sparring stopped and both khatif whipped around and bowed as they saw me.
“Good morning, Alpha.” They greeted.
“Zaaktif.” Brutus’s voice rumbled.
“Zaaktif.”
“At ease.” I raised both hands with a smile. “We’ll be traveling for weeks, if not months together. If you insist on formality every step of the way, it’ll annoy me. Only in front of those not from Nievtra do you need to care about addressing me by title, clear? And this goes for you too, Brutus.”
Though he grumbled in dissatisfaction, Brutus agreed to do so, and as soon as he did, the two khatif leapt at the chance to loosen up. Even so, they didn’t approach me or say anything, merely settling into a quiet conversation among themselves about their expectations for this “amazing journey” they were about to embark on. I didn’t care to disabuse them of their hope, given that