Among the Humans

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"How many reps have you done now?" A young voice huffed.

Rim'Est sniffed to confirm who was present then continued his push-ups. "I am not counting today."

Another voice snorted. "What? Then how will you know when you've beaten a record?

"Shush Ty'Bin. Rim'Est, I saw you leave the packhouse today. You've been working out here a long time."

With a final push up, Rim'Est jumped to his feet, moved to a bench and grabbed a cup of water. He sat down, catching his breath. "My dad went hunting near the border yesterday. It'll be a couple days before he comes back. It's always so boring when he's not around or I can't go with him. I am hoping that if I get stronger, then they'll let me go with him to the border and every single expedition he goes on."

Twelve year old Ty'Bin sat next to his friend. "I know that lately he seems to be gone so much. This is because winter is coming, we need to fill the reserves."

Ado'Ron gave Ty'Bin a playful punch on the shoulder. "Thanks for stating the obvious, furball."

"What? A Kappa (Lead hunter) is the most important person for strategically organizing the Lambdas (hunters) to make sure our reserves are never depleted as well as making sure the wildlife is still abundant."

"Nobody asked for a dictionary, Ty'Bin."

Getting bored of his friend's shenanigans, Rim'Est got up and stretched. "What do you guys want to do today? My mom doesn't need my help so we can hang out."

"Oh!" Ty'Bin's eyes lit up with excitement. "Luna just put more books in the library! We can check tho-" Ty'Bin got another punch to the shoulder. "ow!"

Ado'Ron pointed his finger, "No books! You should be out here doing push-ups. Look at you, string-bean! You've got no muscles at all!"

Ty'Bin grumbled, while Rim'Est flexed proudly. Ado'Ron and Rim'Est were beginning to look toned for their young age. Ty'Bin's attraction to the library kept him looking thin and scraggly, although he had bypassed his friends in height a while ago.

Ado'Ron stepped forward, "Actually, the reason why we came to see you is because Ty'Bin found out something really cool this morning."

Rim'Est looked at his friend with renewed interest. That kid almost had a superpower for knowing stuff or finding out information from thin air. He was convinced that their Alpha was going to get Ty'Bin training and then make him the successor. Being the son of the Beta, he definitely held the prospect of being in leadership someday.

"Well," Rim'Est probed, "Don't keep me waiting."

Ty'Bin looked around them then lowered his head. "We are getting visited by another pack's Alpha today."

Rim'Est gasped with excitement. "Whoa really?"

Ty'Bin nodded, "That's not all. The pack's name is Blood Ashes."

"Blood ashes?" Rim'Est scrunched his face at the crude sound name. It was vastly different from theirs. He was proud of the name his pack had. Moon Flower. "Why are they coming?"

Ty'Bin shrugged, "I just know that the Alpha... His name is Alpha N'Rvett'r and he has killed the Alphas of three other packs and he is known for starting fights. Plus, there's this: remember we stopped getting Acacia wood, pine, and Aloe a couple months back?"

Rim'Est did. They were trying to mend theirs and assesories with other wood that was not as sturdy as a result.

"That's because this pack killed off the Alpha and moved the pack to his place."

"For some dumb reason he did not take advantage of those resourses. Ado'Ron interjected somberly, "and it seems this visit may not be wanted by our Alpha."