Wolf at Heart

Chapter Fourteen: The Instructors

What is it with the instructors and their theatric flair?

The dangerous timber wolf made her own entry. "I am Rita, head huntress of the Lupine. Join me and become the best of the best, and provide for our tribe." She shot a glare at the other instructors, who gladly ignored her.

On and on, the trades were listed. Construction, farming, and gardening, ranch, blacksmithing, weapon instructing, carpenters...

Only one at the very end caught my interest.

In a soft voice that reached far out, the marble fox told her trade. "I work to care for the Delphai, the Lupine's messengers and steeds. My name is Helen, help me care for these precious animals."

By then, no one was paying her any mind. Even Isaac, who was trying hard to, was nodding off, sleepy.

Of course the quiet, shy one would be the one I considered the most. She was the one I could most relate to at least. And besides that, I felt an inexplicable pull to the Delphai. Don't ask me why, but I was just drawn to the mystical animals.

Once again, the head chef stood, gesturing for silence. "Our introductions may be over, but you all are welcome to ask any questions on our trade."

The four of us dispersed, each going to a different instructor. Isaac took an interest in carpenting, while Sylvia went directly to Rita. The arctic wolf stood aimlessly until the scholar struck up a conversation.

I, on the other hand, took a fancy to the marble fox.

Approaching her, I calmly asked her a few questions. "So what exactly do you do in your trade?"

Helen pondered for a moment. "I generally care for the Delphai's health: cleaning out their stalls, mucking out hooves, providing flowers and water, training youngsters, and doing occasional rides."

Rides...like that horseback ride I took with her that one day...the one that almost got me killed...

Though the suggestion of cleaning after animals mildly threw me off, it didn't dampen my enthusiasm.

"How many others do you have working under you?"

This question Helen answered easily. "Only two others. I instructed one myself. Usually, we only have four caretakers max, but my mentor is about to retire. He handed over the head status to me, and now I'll train the next generation. My apprentice is far too inexperienced currently, so I'll be supervising the next trainee."

More and more drawn to this trade, I nodded. "How early do you wake every day?"

Helen smiled. "Smart thinking. At the crack of dawn."

That's fair. I usually woke at dawn anyway.

"Roughly how many Delphai do you keep at a time? Can't be too many, especially since there are only three of you, right?"

"Yes. We have, hmm, thirteen adult Delphai and two newborn foals. The foals still stick with their mothers as of now. We don't house many Delphai. They're reserved for the Alpha and his generals. Other than that, no one besides the caretakers can ride them. Also, we rarely must send long distance messages, so no need for vast numbers of Delphai crowding our stables. We are Lupine, after all, we don't need mounts."

That makes sense. It was nothing like the Feline's horse stables. The Feline didn't hold the endurance of the Lupine.

Why was I thinking of them?

Concentrate on the present, Mel.

Helen kindly asked, "Are you alright? Any more questions?"

Smoothing my face over, I responded equally as polite. "No, not right now, thank you. I'm okay, just thinking..."

In reality, my mind was far off, recalling past memories of bittersweet times.

Clapping alerted me to another proclamation.

"Now, it is time to choose your profession. Gather around...and choose your fate." Rita made it sound like a life or death decision.

The trade which we each chose was obvious, though some varied a bit.

Sylvia chose hunting.

Isaac chose blacksmithing.

Tiana, the arctic wolf, chose to be a scholar.

And I, of course, chose the role of a stable hand.

Now all there was to do was clean out my old room and move to my new one.

Easy.

Or maybe not.

(Side Note: This chapter was a bit of a filler, sorry. I hope you liked it though! It was cool seeing who you guys wanted to pair up, but we'll never be sure what will happen until I post the chapter revealing who will end up with who...)