Fire Emblem: Awakening - Call of The Wild

Chapter 10: New Friends

The relaxing sound of chirping birds awoke me from my slumber. I sighed contently and snuggled back into the pillows. For the first time in what feels like forever, I can sleep in... I have no rush to get anywhere today. I can finally relax.

I heard a soft bark, followed by sniffing. It's probably just Emmeryn or Lissa... Another bark sounded, this one with a smoother pitch. Wait, that doesn't sound like Emmeryn or Lissa!

I opened my eyes and screamed. Standing at the side of my bed were two unfamiliar wolves. The first one was a blond wolf with spiky fur, and the other had smooth, olive-brown fur. The brown one showed a little concern to my reaction, but the blond one wasn't fazed.

Within seconds, Chrom came bursting into the room; haunches raised and teeth bared, growling ferociously. As he spied the two wolves near me, he relaxed but was still a bit on edge. He approached us and growled again, but it was more annoyed than menacing.

The brown whimpered as if apologizing, the blond raised his tail smugly. The three made an exchange in their weird wolf language until Chrom got even more annoyed. He grabbed the blond by the scruff with his teeth and hauled him out. The brown quickly followed behind, tail between his legs; he flashed me a kind look before exiting the room.

Chrom padded back over to me and sighed, shifting. "I'm sorry about those two. I mentioned you to them yesterday and they were eager to meet you." He ran a hand through his blue locks. "A bit too eager, if you ask me; seeing as that they're willing to disobey my orders."

I regained my composure and sat up. "Who are they?"

"The cocky one is Vaike and the patient one is Stahl. Two of the finest of my pseudo-pack," he said. "Honestly, Vaike probably dragged poor Stahl along."

I nodded. "I-I see..." I gulped. "Um, is he always like that?"

Chrom shook his head. "He's a good male once you get to know him, but a cocky bastard until then. Don't think any less of him because of this, he had no ill intentions," he smiled. "Stahl is just about the most likable wolf out there. You can always rely on him to watch out for you."

This is a strange morning, that's for sure. "You said something about 'your pack'. Are you an Alpha?" Great. Even more things he's not telling me.

Chrom pondered the question. "Not exactly? I have a pseudo-pack but each member lives in Ylisstol and recognizes Emm as their Alpha. A pseudo-pack is a group of wolves that is run by a leader and they go around helping the kingdom and such. I call mine the Shepherds."

"So a militia?"

"If that's what you humans call it, then yes," he replied. "What we do is defend the pack and travel to other minor packs in our territory to assist them. I started it to help defend our borders from Plegians."

This is all levels of confusing. "I don't understand. Who are the Plegians?" I asked.

Chrom's blood seemed to boil at the mention of them. "They are another pack of Luna to the South of us. They're constantly trying to pick fights within our territory and start a war. Our ties with them have been strained for a very long time."

My curiosity reached a new level. "There are more Luna?!" I exclaimed.

He was amused by my enthusiasm. "Of course. Ylisse isn't the only pack that exists," he chuckled. "Up North in the Frozen-Lands lives the packs of Feroxi."