The Exile

Trevor "Wulf" Nightclaws looked longingly into the night. A moonbeam shard trickled through the small barred window, creating a small square of light on the stonework floor. Despite his best efforts, Wulf could hardly see the twinkling stars high above his temporary prison. The wolf morph shifted, the chain around his ankles and wrists clanking loudly in protest before falling back to the ground. He knew exactly how long he'd been incarcerated; it had been three days. But the events leading up to this seemed to take an eternity to figure out.

Wulf had been a highly respected member of his clan. He had stood fast during the great herbivore siege in the fall, and bravely went forth to discover new lands during the drought of the seventh Cerulian cycle. At one time, he'd bested the Chief Master Trainer in close combat, gaining him the privileges of an honorary alpha in his pack. Now, all was changed. Only the ancestors knew how it could have come to this, or how a simple pang of conscious could cause so great a fall.

* * *

"Why did you do it, Wulf?"

He looked down. Of all the accusing voices, hers was the one that pierced the tough shell of his heart. "I had to do it, Cassie. It was the right thing to do."

"But it was a herbivore," she frowned, "how could you possibly-"

"Don't you think I've heard this enough?" Wulf looked up at Cassie from where he sat on the ground. She was a stunning wolf morph with cool gray fur, and eyes that were slick and cold like ice. A small nose tipped the end of her well-defined muzzle, though her expression was pulled back in a frown. Her tail, thick with rich fur, twitched with agitation as she looked down on him.

"You had a duty to us," she argued, "a duty to the family, and you let us down."

Wulf let one leg stretch out in front of him and pulled the other up near his chest. He leaned back on one arm and looked up at her with sorrowful eyes. "Would you have killed him, Cassie? Could you have looked into his eyes, seen the utter helplessness, and just murdered him where he was?"

Cassie didn't answer the question. "You've killed before, Wulf."

"Soldiers, all of them," he replied, "all of them certain to kill me if I didn't get them first." He looked away again. "He didn't even have a stick, a shred of armor or military training."

"But Wulf-"

"It doesn't matter now," he cut her off abruptly. "I'll be punished anyway for doing something right."

Cassie sighed heavily, glancing behind her to where the cell door remained cracked open for the guard to watch. She stepped forward on quiet footpads and knelt near Wulf, gently caressing his head with a hand. "I don't want to argue," she said sadly, "now is not the time for arguing."

Wulf leaned into her touch, sighing softly through his nose, "No, it isn't."

Cassie touched the metal rungs that encircled his wrist, "Do they hurt?"

"Not really," Wulf said, looking down to where the encased metal manacled him to the floor, "though I can't move around much."

"Oh," Cassie whispered in a soft voice, "have they been treating you nicely?"

"As nice can be expected for someone who's done what I've done," Wulf sighed, looking away from her. "Apparently they value life in a different manner that I have learned to."

Cassie eased herself to the ground, looking outside. "So…tomorrow is the day, is it?"

"Yes." Wulf took a deep breath, "of all that I have to be sorry for, it is you for whom I grieve the most."

"Wulf, please-"

"I had the choice to spare the life of an innocent or ruin my own. And I chose the latter for reasons I can't explain-"

"Stoppit!" Cassie exclaimed, "Just, stop!"

Wulf fell silent, his ears pinning back against his head.

"Ever since you fell into that Cyclistic caste you've changed. You used to be a fighter, someone who could be depended on to defend the interests of the pack. And now look at you; fallen to the rank of whelp and waiting for the punishment."

Her words pricked him deeply, though he betrayed no such emotion. "I also was a lover once, or do you not remember that?"

"The best," Cassie said in a bitter voice, "though I'd rather have scraped my rump against trees all those months rather than face the lonely days ahead."

"Cassie-" Wulf lifted his arm to place it around her, only to be rudely jerked back into place by the unforgiving chains. The clink startled them both before lapsing into their dull grieving throb again. Wulf continued on with an exhalation. "Cassie, no matter what happens to me, I want you to know that my time with you has been the happiest-"

She lifted a handpaw and placed it gently over the end of his muzzle, slowly shaking her head from side to side. Her eyes glistened with the sheen of barely contained emotion, ears pressed flat. Wulf watched her in silence, his own eyes reflecting the sadness she felt. "Wulf, I don't know if I can do what they will ask of me tomorrow."

"You must," Wulf said, suddenly becoming forceful, "you can't go against the wishes of the council or else it would be the death of you!"

"Maybe they'd exile me too!" Cassie whispered, picking up his handpaw and holding it. "Then we could live together. Maybe start our own clan."

"Cassie!" Wulf snapped, "Get a hold of yourself!"

"Hey!" the guard shouted into the room, "keep it down, traitor!"

Wulf snarled in the guard's direction, then looked at Cassie. She clutched his hand to her breast gently. Wulf could feel the strength of her heartbeat thud against his pawfingers. He shifted again, the chains clanking gently to restrain him. "Listen to me, listen!"

Cassie struggled to maintain control of her emotions, turning sorrowful eyes onto him.

"Tomorrow, when it happens, you must do your part. No matter how badly I look, or how horrible it seems, you must believe that you are better off safe in the clan than running about alone."

"Wulf," she whimpered, "I love you. I don't want to see this happen to you."

"I don't either," he said, "but if my punishment serves as an example to those that would seek peace, then let it be so."

Let it be so, he'd said. And in all fairness, he truly believed it.

Wulf moved a footpaw into the illuminated box with a quiet shuffle. He watched the whitish-blue color make shadows in the valleys between his toes and glint off the sharp claws at the end. Wulf wiggled his toes, the bemusing thought of foreign lands and unknown territories crunching under them taking his mind. It would be morning soon; he could feel it. And with that morning would come the horrid events that would forever change his path of life.

* * *

"Bring the traitor forward."

The voice of the pack patriarch boomed over the gathering with authority. A small path had been cleared from the holding cells to a tall platform of approximately nine feet. Its wide wooden surface was strong enough to hold the furs standing atop it, and high enough to allow the pack an easy view of the proceedings. In the middle of the platform, two thick pieces of wood extended skyward an extra ten feet. This was the scene that greeted Wulf as he came to stand before the platform.

Wulf lifted his downcast eyes long enough to get a more detailed view of his destination. The patriarch stood to the right of the posts. On the left side, three members of the elder council watched him approach with handpaws clasped firmly behind their backs. The last three fursons on the platform were strapping wolves wearing broadfaced ceremonial masks that made them look like bears. The posts themselves seemed even more threatening than they did from a distance as Wulf noticed the lengths of rope hanging from halfway up.

"Bind him," the patriarch said with cold indifference.

Wulf felt the strong handpaws of the bear-faced wolves grab his bound handpaws and drag him between the poles. They untied his handpaws and gruffly lifted his arms before securing one to each post. Wulf winced at the pressure and had to stand on tiptoe to keep the pressure light on his shoulders. After double-checking his bonds, the muscular wolves stepped back, leaving the stretched out wolf's back to the audience. A breeze brushed against Wulf's bare fur as he stood before the audience.

He hardly heard the patriarch speak as the charges were announced to the pack. Negligence in duty, failure to provide for his family; violation of the peace of sacrifice; he'd heard it all before. None of it mattered to him. None of it. No matter what was said now, exile awaited him - his only identification would be the scars from the whipping he was soon to receive. Despite the humiliation that made his fur rise on end, he wanted to maintain some semblance of dignity in punishment. It was the least he could do to comfort his family's tarnished status.

* * *

Wulf struggled along the grassy path. His handpaws were bound together before him tightly, the rope hanging forward into a leadstring held firmly by one of the strong wolves. Every once in a while, he'd receive a yank when he began to lag behind. Wulf panted softly, licking the end of his muzzle in a futile attempt to cleanse his lips. He accepted his punishment as admirably as could be expected, though the twenty-some lines on his back created an asymmetric pattern that would take years to heal and two lifetimes to forget. Ahead, he could see the forest edge of their home, as well as five fursons awaiting him. His handpaws were cut free before a push thrust Wulf into the middle of the circle.

The first in the circle watched him with icy eyes. He was austere, gruff, and unrelenting in his accusatory look. Wulf briefly met the eyes of the patriarch and looked on. The second in the circle was harsh and hot. This aged wolf watched him with the calm experience of years, though her disdain was painfully apparent from her body posture. Wulf briefly met the eyes of the elder leader and looked on. The third in the circle was a graying wolf with a piercing gaze that bespoke a world of pain and anger. Wulf briefly met the eyes of his father and looked on. The fourth in the circle bored into him with eyes of sadness and disgust. This wolf bitch was definitely aging, but the disappointed folds of her face seemed to only be intensified in the waning light of the day. Wulf briefly met the eyes of his mother and looked on.

The fifth in the circle looked at him with a gaze so heavy that it made Wulf wish he could crumble into dust. She was young, virile - full of the energy of life. And she was sad. The raw, wet heaviness of emotion made her gaze the heaviest of all. Wulf could not meet the eyes of Cassie, and upon further thought, knew that he did not want to.

"Face me, Trevor Nightclaws," the patriarch said. Wulf tried to stand straight, though the lashes on his back burned with any motion. "Trevor Nightclaws, I disown you in the name of the pack. Never are you to set foot again in our territory, lest you be immediately killed. The pack shall hold the name of Trevor Nightclaws in disdain for all time. Cold nights and hard ground to you, Trevor Nightclaws. You are no longer a part of this pack." The patriarch turned his back on Wulf with a flair, holding his tail high in a symbol of rejection.

"Face me, Trevor Nightclaws," the elder said. Wulf swallowed and turned toward the aging wolf femme as the ceremony continued. "Trevor Nightclaws, I disown you in the name of the ancestors. A traitor you are, a traitorous shadow you cast over your past. The ancestors shall hold the name of Trevor Nightclaws in contempt for all time. Cold nights and hard ground to you, Trevor Nightclaws. You no longer have a place in our history." The elder female turned her back on Wulf with deliberate speed, holding her tail high in a symbol of rejection.

"Face me, Trevor Nightclaws," his father said. Wulf made the turn toward his father slowly. The pain in his back throbbed, but it was only the beginning of the pain in his heart. "Trevor Nightclaws, I disown you as my son. You have betrayed our family, our lineage, and our pack. We shall never speak of your name in our home again, and no progeny of ours will learn of your misdeed. Cold nights and hard ground to you, Trevor. You no longer have a place as my son." Wulf's father turned around stiffly, his tail jutting stiffly upward as the other two.

"Face me, Trevor Nightclaws," his mother said. Wulf had to force his body to turn toward his mother. Her expression seemed to burn an indelible mark of suffering onto his forehead. He listened to her, though the words were like salt in his wounds. "Trevor Nightclaws, I disown you as my son. You have brought shame to our family, and brought shame to me. Would that I had never birthed such traitorous spawn as you, the world would be better off for it. Cold nights and hard ground to you, Trevor. You no longer have a place as my son." Wulf's mother turned around after a momentary pause. It burned his heart to see the tears forming in her eyes just before she turned and lifted her tail in rejection.

Wulf turned to face the fifth furson in the circle before being asked to do so. Cassie looked back at him, eyes full of tears and muzzle quivering with emotion. Wulf knew she had seen the lashes in his back, but from her expression it was like she'd bore every stripe herself. His vision was getting bleary, but Wulf could see Cassie mouthing her words like a drowning fish.
"Com'on Cassie," Wulf thought to himself, "you've got to do it."

Cassie took a deep breath and managed a shaky voice. "Face me, Trevor Nightclaws."
Wulf watched her composure waver as he tried to stand straight. He set his gaze and looked at her as steadfastedly as he could. Do it, Cassie, he thought.

"Trevor Nightclaws," Cassie started, voice wavering as she spoke, "I disown you as my mate." She hesitated for a long moment, breathing several ragged breaths before being able to continue. "Y-you have b-brought shame to our love, and upon m-me for ever choosing you-"" Her voice gave out before she was able to finish the word 'you'. With a heroic effort that crushed Wulf's already broken heart, she continued. "-for ever choosing you. I-I wish that I had never shared a m-moment with you, Trevor."

Wulf watched as Cassie began to tremble, tears streaming down either side of her muzzle. Before he knew it, tears were streaming down the sides of his muzzle as well. Though he was not permitted to speak, every fiber of his being wished he could tell her it was going to be alright.
"Cold nights, and h-hard ground to you, Wulf. You no longer have a place-" she trailed off as a sob broke her stride of speech.

Wulf felt his body tense, wincing as the motion tugged the lines of his back open.

Cassie took a deep breath and swallowed. She closed her eyes, unable to look at Wulf as she spoke. "You no longer have a place in my heart." The word 'heart' seemed to flutter off her tongue like an immaterial wisp of air. She tried to make her face hard and unforgiving but it was no use. Nothing but sadness and longing was left on her drawn features.

Wulf, despite his pain, managed a small smile in the hopes it would be some comfort.

Cassie looked at him one last time, and then slowly turned her back. She held her tail up in rejection and the circle was complete.

Faced with the completed ceremony and a long period of exile ahead of him, Wulf tried to slow his tears. The nights ahead would be cold and the grounds would be hard, but he was determined to live his life based on the principles he'd taken up. His humiliation completed, Wulf staggered from the circle into the woods without another word.