MOON 1 // DISTRUST ───────── ・ 。゚⟡ 𖤓 ⟡ ˚。 ・ ─────────
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"I've never heard of anything like it."
"You… haven't?"
Translucent beams of sunlight crept in through the hanging vines that covered the herbalist den entrance, casting a warm glow on the walls. The air was thick with an earthy smell, likely coming from the piles of herbs and medicines nearby.
The incident with Mercy and the fox was only a few days ago. With no proper leads on what could have happened, it was about time she'd ask the wolf who'd come in handy the most; the pack's herbalist. Lily. She had years of experience under her claws, so it came natural to the leader to share her sighting. She wanted a good explanation, anything that could clarify why the fox she saw was acting so erratically. When she first entered the den, a small beam of hope struck her, and she started to think. Maybe, maybe I could make a bit of sense out of this.
So when Lily hinted that she may be as clueless as her, she felt her hope start to fade.
The herbalist didn't say a word as she looked into the distance. Moments of silence went by before Lily lowered her head and looked at Mercy; in the she-wolf's soft eyes, there was something that Mercy couldn't put her claw on. "I don't think so," Lily said. "What you've described… it doesn't make any sense. It all sounds so unreal."
"Unreal indeed," Mercy responded with a nod of her head. She faltered before continuing, "I was hoping you could explain this sighting. Perhaps an illness you haven't encountered in a long while. You are the expert, after all."
"No…" Lily shook her head and rose to her haunches. The she-wolf's movements were fluid and graceful as she stood to face the other canine. "Mercy, I may have seen many sicknesses in my moons as a herbalist, but these 'symptoms' stick out like a sore paw. If I'd have seen this before, I would know quickly."
"So you're saying?"
"I wish I could be of help. I'm sorry, Mercy."
Of course.
Mercy felt her body stiffen as she looked down, clasping her paws tightly together against the slick grass underneath. Fighting against the panging in her chest, she looked back up. "You're the best healer this pack knows, Lily. You have to know something. Anything."
"Well… I suppose it could be a sickness we're unfamiliar with, but I can't imagine that. A new disease entering the forest? After so many years?"
In her mind, the leader was begging for the herbalist to suddenly realize what was going on, but she knew that moment would never come. Her expression remained unbothered as she stared into Lily's eyes, silently pleading for an answer. Lily quickly broke eye contact, lowered her gaze, and shuffled her paws away from the leader. That was when Mercy finally saw what she was trying to hide behind her waxy eyes. Shame. Guilt. Doubt.
After moments that felt like moons, Lily spoke in a gentle murmur. "Perhaps there's been a mistake. The more I think about it, the more confusing it becomes. The smell of decay? The cannibalism? The sagging skin? I–" She wavered and inhaled before continuing. "If you don't mind me asking, have you been sleeping well?"
Mercy narrowed her eyes. "Of course. What does this have to do with the situation at hand?"
"Well…" Lily lowered her willowy tail. "When a wolf goes a while without getting the right amount of sleep, they often tend to… see things."
After a moment of shock, Mercy pulled her head back and felt her fur start to bristle. She shook her head and spoke through her bared teeth, "No. No, I know what I saw, Lily."
The leader's change in behavior caused the other wolf to take a couple of steps back, her hind paws edging the taller grass behind her. She stammered. "I'm not trying to doubt you! But what you're describing, it's so… out there. If there's something else I should know, something you've left out... Something that you may have… exaggerated a little…"
"Exaggerated?" Mercy echoed as she took a step forward and tensed her muscles. "Lily, I am your leader!" She growled. "I have never lied to you, you know this! Why do you think now is the time to doubt me?!"
Mercy took another step closer to Lily. In response, the smaller wolf took a step back with pinned ears, which caused Mercy to hesitate. Her emotions were getting ahead of her. Even with as frustrated as she was, Lily was still a dear friend of hers. Calm down, Mercy. "... I'm sorry. Look—" She sighed. "You need to believe me, Lily. Please. I know what I saw, and I need to know what my next step should be."
The den was silent. Lily drooped her ears, a frown painted on the she-wolf's face. Mercy stared up at Lily, her green eyes sparkling with desperation. Are my words reaching her?
"...Alright."
Mercy felt her heart skip a beat as the younger wolf finally spoke, even if it was in a murmur that showed she was still uncertain. She swayed her tail from side to side. "I have no reason to oppose you, even if this is something I've never seen before. But if an animal is showing such… grim signs of an illness, and I'm unaware of what illness it could be… What does that mean for us?"
She was right. As glad as she was that Lily was going to believe her, the health of their pack could still be at risk. "We don't know anything about this illness, or even if it's an illness at all. But if we want to know if our pack will be safe, we'll need to know all the details we can get."
"Yes." Lily bowed down her head to slowly nod. "Perhaps a pack meeting is in order—"
Her words were cut off. "No, no. Not so fast… I know how this pack can be; they take information and they sprint in circles over it. We can't risk sending the pack into panic mode just yet…" Mercy slowed down with her speech as the sound of vines swishing reached her ears. She saw a she-wolf standing near the nursery entrance she came out of. Skye.
The blue-furred wolf squinted her eyes in irritation. "Am I missing something?" She asked groggily, but bluntly. "A pack meeting for what?"
They must've woken her up from her nap. Guilt washed over the alpha. She completely forgot about the pregnant she-wolf resting in the nursery. Lily broke the awkward silence that was starting to settle in. "Oh, don't worry about it, Skye. You know," she hastily walked towards the wolf, directing her back to the nursery, "now that you're awake, we can check on how the pups are doing in there!"
Despite the low-effort rebuttals from Skye, she was sent back into the nursery. Lily began following after her, but she quickly turned her head back to Mercy and whispered:
"If you see another one, find me."
Then, she vanished behind the hanging vines.
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