Resistentiam

Chapter 5

Thank you for reading this, I've been so nervous but I hope it isn't too bad ??

...

"Emery do you have a sec?" Claire spoke. Emery nodded, putting her plate on the side ready to be washed. The group had just had dinner, and Emery was hoping whatever this was didn't include extra homework for herself. "What's up?" She asked. Claire beckoned her away from the rest of the group, moving apart from the loud voices. "Well, I just wanted to catch up with you. Have you been sleeping any better?" Emery squirmed at this, because she hadn't. Ever since that first night the wolf had appeared in her dream, it wouldn't leave her. It appeared every night, taunting her, lingering in her subconscious. She shook her head. "Well then I hope this comes as good news, Maynard has agreed to meet with you. He will share some of the knowledge he has to hopefully help you feel more reassured." Emery gaped at Claire, when she had mentioned a meeting in the past Emery thought it was wishful thinking. But here she was, a meeting with Maynard was set up. "Are you serious? Thank you so much." Emery hugged Claire, who hugged her back, laughing. "You're very welcome, my advise would be to listen to every word, he knows what he's talking about." Emery nodded, before they both departed.

Emery made it to her room, and she squealed to herself. If this meeting with the 'wolf expert' didn't help aide her anxiety, she wasn't sure what else would.

...

Emery sat anxiously, her leg bouncing in anticipation for her meeting with Maynard. Ash couldn't believe it when he told her, and she wouldn't be shocked if he tried to listen to their meeting, ear pressed firmly against the closed door. Dean had allowed them to use his office, so she waited nervously in the chair at his desk. She was struggling to manage the dreams now, but she wasn't telling anyone that. Ash was pushing her still, making her train much harder following the kidnapping, and she didn't think she could keep up with the lack of sleep.

Following Dean's announcement Emery began to question whether these dreams, these nightmares, were some kind of warning. A real warning that she, or her family, were in danger. She always tried to shake these thoughts away, but they lingered, playing in the back of her mind.

The sound of the door opening pulled Emery from her worried thoughts, her body turning towards the person entering. Maynard was an imposing figure, not imposing in the way one might consider a wolf to be imposing, as he was not excessively tall or built. His presence somehow just managed to fill the room, as though his superior knowledge made him appear broader. His hair was greying slightly, the colour demonstrating his older age. His face was stern, the age lines running across his face like train lines, each a result of where he has been in life. His brown eyes met Emery's, yet they showed little emotion. She gulped back the saliva that had filled her mouth, attempting to speak a welcome to the man who was going to help her. He moved around Emery, brown dusty folders entrapped under his arm, to sit at the desk in front of her. He paid her no attention as he organised the contents of the folders, allowing it to spill out on the desk.

"Emery is it?" His voice startled Emery, it was rough and hoarse, as though its lack of use over the years had caused it to rust. She nodded slowly, her anxiety rising. Her fingers reached for the band on her wrist, snapping it a few times.
"Your nervousness could help you if you are ever caught by a wolf, they would see it as a sign of weakness." He stated pointedly. Emery recoiled in her chair insulted, this man was making presumptions of her without even speaking to her.
"I am not weak." She glared at him, the words flying off the tip of her tongue like acid.
"I never said you were weak, I said you were nervous. No wolf would ever see you as a threat, and that could be beneficial to you if you were ever unfortunate enough to encounter one." Emery was shocked at his words, so she titled her head, indicating for Maynard to explain himself.
"Wolves are first and foremost animals. They are proud and powerful beasts who believe all other beings to be inferior to them. Your nervousness would only support this view, meaning you would be less suspicious to them. The more nervous you appear, the less likely they are to see you as a threat." He explained, not even bothering to make eye contact.
"I'm not inferior to them. I'm not!" Emery knew she sounded childish, and clearly Maynard thought so too. "If we are going to get anywhere you need to realise you are inferior, in nearly every way. But within that inferiority you gain superiority, as they will always, and I mean always, underestimate you. And being underestimated has its advantages."