Random Rambles: Long chapter, ye be warned ^^; 

***

I still can't get used to this. 

Maybe that's not entirely surprising since I've only found out yesterday that I've the ability to change into a wolf, but still! It felt like I was a newborn, having to learn how to walk and talk all over again, except, you know, animal style. And let me tell you, it's not as easy as the Majestic Twelve make it look. They were all rather obnoxious about boasting how easy it was to transform from wolf and back with a blink of an eye. For me, however, it either took a hell lot of concentration to change, or it just happened by accident. Guess which was more likely? 

The boys got a good laugh at seeing me sneeze and change into a wolf without me wanting to and it took a while to sort of get me back to human form - sort of. Right now, I mostly felt like jumping into the lake I was staring at out of utter embarrassment. A pair of white wolf ears peeked out from my cyan green hair, the tips of the ears dipped in silver. To make matters worse, there was a fluffy white tail coming from my backside which swayed from side to side, mocking me. 

I was sitting by the side of the lake, perched on a boulder, with my knees pulled up so that I could hug them and bury my face against them. The fact that I could feel the tail brushing from side to side just made this whole ordeal very surreal. I shivered when the tail dropped and the tip of it landed in the water. It was cold. Grabbing the thing with my hand, I flung it out of the water, whining inwardly to myself. It so didn't help that the wolf ears were twitching in response and I buried my face in my knees again, hugging them tightly. Dear lord, I'm a walking talking furry! Someone shoot me now, please...

I literally growled when I heard Kris chuckle, but this just turned his amused chuckle into a hearty laugh. The twelve of them had gone hunting and asked me whether I could wait by the lake (aka left me here to sulk and be dramatic by myself in my furry-form, because if they'd taken me with them in this state, they'd only end up rolling over the floor laughing). They were standing a bit further away, preparing the meal they caught, because yes, they- we - were wolves, but we weren't savages. The glow of red eyes moved around, flashes of brightly colored hair moving along with them. I watched how they interacted with each other, so easily and carefree. Like actual brothers.

Then, I caught sight of the spoils of the hunt and my treacherous stomach started grumbling. The smell of fresh meat made my mouth water and this made me groan more. Why did the sight of slaughtered chickens and a wild boar increase my appetite instead of diminish it? Oh this was so not okay... I already ate a ton of porkchops for dinner up to the point that my parents thought I was possessed by a demon since I never ate that much before, and still it wasn't enough. 

Oh, screw this! I am not going to eat raw meat like an animal, whether I was one or not! Last night had been totally different since I was in complete wolf form and unable to control myself. Today was different. It was bad enough that I had to sit here looking like I escaped from an anime cosplay convention (not that there's anything wrong with that, I mean, hey, all hail ComicCon! But come on!), but I simply refuse to stuff my face into a dead boar- yuck! 

I let out a sigh and planted my face into my knees again when the sigh had sounded like a pathetic little whimper.

"Hyung, she sounds really upset," I heard Tao whisper, but refused to look up from my knees.

"She looks upset, too," Kai added, sounding somewhere in between cautious and suspicious.

"Quick, Sehun, do aegyo to make her feel better," Baekhyun suddenly suggested, the brothers whispering and humming in consent. I still refused to look up. Wolves or not, boys remain stupid in any form... I thought a little bitterly. 

"I'm not going to do aegyo, hyung! Read the situation," Sehun protested. "You call yourself the mood-maker, make her laugh!"

"M-me? But, uh...Chen, go cheer her up!" Baekhyun delegated quickly.

"No way, girl-wolves are different. I'm not going to risk her getting mad at me, did you hear her growl at Kris-hyung just now?" Chen whispered in alarm.

"I'm sure that was nothing," Kris himself answered in a soft voice.

"Oh yeah? Then why don't you go over there and cheer her up, duizhang?" Suho prompted, causing Kris to stammer.

"Well, I mean, I would, except, you know- hey, isn't it the job of the umma to console a female cub?" he replied instead. 

"Why would it be the mother's job to do so? A father should be just as capable," Suho replied in all seriousness.

"Well, I'm not her father," Kris responded in a whisper.

"And what, I'm her mother? Is that what you mean to say?" Suho replied, agitatedly. Kris huffed out of frustration. I could nearly hear him roll his eyes. 

"Lay! Lay, you go," Kris pointed out while I envisioned a blonde Lay staring blankly at his older brother.

"Why me, gege? I don't want Jae-yah growling like she did to you either," he said frankly. "How about D.O.?"

"Hey, I got her here, my job is done," D.O. said calmly, but judging by the sound of his voice, he seemed to be aware just how agitated I was feeling and wisely chose to keep his distance. "Chanyeol seems to be up for it, though." 

"Ehh?! Uh, n-no, thanks. She reminds me of my older sister when she's having one of her emotional days- scary," he whispered ever so softly in that deep voice of his. Scary, huh? These guys really didn't know what to do with me, did they? Honestly, for being known as the princes of the school, they themselves seemed to know very little about how to handle girls when they're upset. Amateurs... 

"Let Luhan give it a shot then. He always seems to have a way around girls anyway," Xiumin then suggested, but this brought a stream of hushed protests from the brothers, Luhan included.

"How about rock, paper, scissors instead?" Luhan opted and this childish method seemed to raise favor amongst the group. Are they seriously going to play rock, paper, scissors, only to see who was the poor shmuck that had to come and talk to me?

"All of you realize that I can hear everything you're saying, right?" I finally spoke, pushing away from my knees so that I could glare at them. This startled the heck out of them, the looks of feigned innocence dripping from their faces. They shuffled with their feet, unknowing what to do, looking more like lost sheep than fearsome wolves. They quickly muttered apologies, chuckling nervously. Honestly, what was I going to do with these guys? I was supposed to depend on them to show me the ropes on how this wolf thing works? I'm doomed...

"Y-yah, Jae-noona, it's really not such a bad look on you, you know," Chen tried, having gathered the courage to be the first to try to console me. "It's really cute, actually," he said with such a bright grin that it made me groan again.

"I don't want to be cute! I want to be normal- why does this godforsaken tail keep on waggling?!" I exclaimed out of frustration, grabbing on to the tail and settling it on my lap. I glared at them for good measure when they started laughing again. 

"Oh, come on, Jae, it's not that bad, really. It'll change back eventually," Suho said, and I still wasn't used to him being friendly with me. I pouted like a petulant child because I simply didn't care anymore and sighed deeply. 

"Really?" I asked softly and the twelve guys nodded, though I could tell they were trying to suppress their laughter. I stomped my foot. "Liars!" I accused them, turning away. 

"No, no, no, that's not it, noona!"

"We're not laughing at you, really!"

"It's just-," 

"Just what?" I demanded to know, getting to my feet and crossing my arms across my chest, trying to ignore my swaying tail and wolf ears. I kept my eyes on Sehun who made the last comment and saw the boy freeze up a moment. He ruffled up his rainbow colored hair, looking down out of embarrassment at all the attention he was getting. 

He shrugged and pretended like it was no big deal when he said, "It's just that noona's ears and tail are so fluffy, it's ridiculous to be this cute," he murmured, the lisp making it sound like more like a childlike mumble. His comment elicited protests from the others while the maknae was being pushed around, the smile on his face unable to leave. 

"Maybe when you sneeze you'll turn back completely again," Kris commented and then gestured me to come join them. "Come and eat, who knows that'll change something." He extended his hand towards me in a suave movement, a soft smile playing on his lips. I hesitated for a second before I moved my hand up to meet his, at which point Chanyeol, Chen and Baekhyun shot forward simultaneously, pushing a bewildered Kris aside, while they came to me to the make-shift picnic area that they managed to set up in record time. 

Chanyeol had started a modest fire, with logs surrounding it. There were boulders set up for people to be able to sit on, which I assume either D.O. or Luhan had moved for the occasion. Chanyeol, Chen and Baekhyun lead me to a particular flat surface not too far away from the warm campfire, where Baekhyun and Chen moved towards first. 

"Noona, come sit here," Chen spoke in an upbeat fashion, sprawling out a plaid blanket with Baekhyun's help. Chanyeol carefully lead me towards it, a big smile on his face as he helped me get up on the flat surface and in that instance, the other brothers moved around to my perplexion. 

The moment I sat down, Chen and Baekhyun started struggling with each other to be able to sit beside me, while Chanyeol made himself comfortable on the other side. D.O. came by to break the two of them apart, subtly conquering the seat beside me and handing me a tiny forget-me-not flower that he'd found. I was unable to prevent from smiling shyly when I took the flower and saw the others scurrying about to make me feel at ease. I guess there was a sweet side to them as well...

"Jae-yah, would you like to drink something?" Lay asked. 

"Water is fine, thanks," I answered, as Lay nodded, ready to get me a drink. It was then that Suho shot up, uncharacteristically enthusiastic. 

"Oh, I'll take care of it!" he moved his hands towards the clear lake and out swirled glistening water, moving elegantly under his command. It poured into the cup of water that Lay was holding and Suho smiled proudly. So, water. That's his thing. 

"Thanks," I said to him, and accepted the cup from Lay.

"Can we eat now? I'm starving," Kai had been eyeing the chickens for some time now and was rubbing his stomach.

"Yeah, dig in," Kris said, to which Kai changed into a wolf and pounced on the nearest chicken he could grasp. "Hey, hey, hey, not like that!" he warned, and under protest of his brothers, Kai changed back, holding the chicken in his hands whilst plucks of feathers stuck to his face.

"What? We always eat like this!" Kai huffed out of agitation.

"We should eat with more sophistication. Jae-noona isn't used to all of this yet," Tao stated seriously, but Kai growled.

"Why should everything change just because noona is here now? She's a wolf, too, isn't she? Teach her how to eat like one," was his reply and in that moment I actually felt a little guilty. These guys have been doing things their way for all these years and I hadn't realized yet that me suddenly being here would change all of that. I didn't want that to happen.

"You can eat however you want, I'm not hungry anyway," I said. I was lying, of course, because the particular chicken Kai was holding onto was ridiculously plump and juicy, but I was indeed not used to all of this and my mind still refused to eat raw meat. No matter how delicious they look, and smell...

"Not hungry? You have to eat, noona," Chanyeol stated firmly.

"You have to feed the wolf," Suho said dramatically. "Or your hunger will be insatiable, and when that happens-,"

"Let me guess, apocalypse?" I prompted, making Chen chuckle, but Suho was serious when he nodded.

"It's not going to be pretty. You'll want to crave for more than animal meat," he said and he didn't have to elaborate further.

"Oh..." I mused, my stomach grumbling softly. "Does it have to be raw, though?" I asked.

"Not at all, noona," Chanyeol piped up quickly and motioned at Kai. "Give me one, Kai," he asked for a chicken and Kai threw it with ease, whilst turning into a wolf so he could eat the one he already claimed as his own.

"Yah, Kai, don't eat by yourself," Sehun protested, swiftly turning into a wolf as well to eat. Even though Tao had protested before, he caved in when he saw his two brothers and apologetically moved towards them in his wolf-form.

"Bon appetit," I mused, deciding that I really shouldn't watch them unless I actually did want to lose my appetite. Chanyeol, meanwhile, had plucked the chicken clean from its feathers like a pro and sizzled it in the flames that engulfed his hands. The heat was intense, but I couldn't help but marvel at the sight of it. I leaned back somewhat, coming into contact with D.O., who didn't seem to mind that I was leaning against him and saw that Chanyeol easily grilled the chicken to perfection.

"Here you go, noona! Enjoy, careful, it's hot though," he warned and I smelled it carefully, the chicken still steaming in his hands. One whiff of it however, and my cautious demeanor changed.

"Whoa!" Chanyeol let out a startled yelp before he laughed, readily extending the chicken towards me as I bit into it, full wolf-form this time.

Alright! That's the spirit, noona! Kai sounded appreciatively in my head. I was smiling, but it probably didn't show as I was stuffing my face with perfectly grilled chicken. Upon seeing me, the others chuckled and turned to wolves themselves, eating the chickens first. I my lips when I had finished mine, but I couldn't get near the stack of chickens with the other wolves around. I paced about, still feeling hungry, torn between digging in and eating raw chicken or just wait patiently until they were finished. 

D.O. then came up with a chicken and rolled it over to me. Eat. 

I sniffed it, but I didn't want to eat it. Not while it was raw, I just couldn't. D.O. then turned his head to a bigger wolf and Chanyeol walked towards us, his tongue sticking out happily. He hunched down, his tail raised up and as he growled, his red eyes glowed and flames the inside of his mouth. When he opened it, a stream of fire shot out, burning the chicken barbeque style for me to enjoy.

Thank you, I said happily and Chanyeol sat down proudly, nudging the chicken towards me to eat. When it was time to eat the wild boar, Kai had jumped on top of it, growling. Apparently the boy was rather territorial when it came to food and having to share, but after some persuasion it was agreed that the boar would be eaten in a Korean style barbeque, which meant that we could enjoy it in human form. While the others changed with ease, I was hesitant to do so, not wanting to look like a furry again. 

"Just think 'food' and change back," Sehun tried.

"Try envisioning yourself as a human and focus on that," Luhan corrected. "Or, if that doesn't work just imagine that you'll be petted for the entire duration that you're a wolf until you're able to change back to a human," he then teased and that prospect startled me at such an extent that I felt my limbs shifting back, sans tail and ears, thank goodness.

"Aw, too bad," Luhan grinned and I prodded him against the shoulder. I sat next to Tao and Kris in front of the warm fire where we'd gathered, seeing Chanyeol play around with the flames like a happy child. 

"How do you do that?" I then asked the surprised youth. 

"What? This, noona?" he juggled with a set of fireballs, a big smile on his face. I nodded. 

"I mean, changing into wolves, okay, sure, why not? But the magic thing...How?" 

"Like we said before, we don't know the how of all this," Kris said quietly next to me. "But it comes naturally, like breathing," as he spoke I saw him getting taller and it took a second for me to realize that he was levitating. 

"Whoa...so, all of you can do something?" I verified, to which they nodded. "So, let me get this straight. Next to being wolves, there are certain things that each of you can do. Like, you can fly?" I pointed at Kris and he nodded. "Chanyeol controls fire and can produce it," I pointed out. "Suho controls water, D.O., earth," I summed up, pointing at each of them as I spoke. "Xiumin, frost, Sehun controls the wind, Luhan- mind control," I pointed accusingly at him. He smirked. 

"Telepathy, but close enough," he corrected. 

"Hmhm," I mused and then pointed at Lay who was next to him. Why was it that that boy always managed to make me smile? He gave a small wave and seemed to anticipate what I could say about him. "Healing," I said and this prompted his smile to widen and he clapped his hands before sticking up his thumbs at me.   

"Chiu, chiu, chiu," he said, wriggling his fingers. 

I chuckled. "Kai... grumpiness," I jested to which the youth immediately protested. 

"Wae, noona?!" he proclaimed, standing up whilst immersed in black smoke and suddenly appearing behind me. "Teleportation," he whispered in my ear. I turned around to meet him, but he was already gone, sitting in between Sehun and Baekhyun.

"Teleportation. Got it," I nodded. "Hm. Actually, now that I think about it, I don't think I know what the three of you can do," I said softly, gesturing towards Baekhyun, Chen and Tao, the latter looking a bit disappointed. 

"Observe, milady," Baekhyun jumped to his feet, rolling his shoulders and neck. He cracked his knuckles and pointed at the moon. 

"Ehh?!" I exclaimed upon seeing him move the beams of the moon around, even being able to flick them on and off with a snap of his fingers. "You...you control the light?" 

Baekhyun nodded, puffing up his chest in pride. "Yep!" 

"That's nothing. Noona, check this out," Chen blew on his fingers and I could feel the static electricity in the air. "Bam!" he exclaimed, a purple bolt of lightning coming out of his finger tips and going into the flame of the campfire, briefly changing its color. 

"Wow, lightning! That's amazing," I breathed, temporarily forgetting that all of this should technically not be possible and just marveling at the magic they could do. "And what about you, Tao?"

"I can't really show you, noona. I could, but then it would take too much energy. My power is really awesome, though," he boasted in a childlike manner, though I was inclined to believe him. 

"Can you tell me then?" I asked. Tao swirled his finger over the ground, thinking about it. 

"It's a secret," he mused playfully. 

"Ah, don't mind him, Jae. He's always like that," Luhan stated, making a dismissive gesture at the boy. 

"And they are always like that because my power is the best one and they're jealous," Tao immediately defended and I smiled. "What about noona? Are you keeping your power a secret as well?" 

"No, I don't think I have a power, other than changing into a wolf," I said.

"You mentioned that before. You really didn't have a clue about any of this? Never felt that you were different from others, somehow?" Suho asked, and with that, I could tell that it was time for business. They'd asked me to come meet them because they had questions. I agreed because I wanted to know more as well. I thought about his question, but shook my head.

"I'm a blender," I said quietly. "Average. My life was pretty normal until now."

"Things changed the moment you moved here?" Kris asked.

"More specifically, things changed when I met all of you," I then realized, eyeing them in suspicion.

"Hold on now, we didn't do this to you. Like we said before, we don't even know why or how we can change," Kris clarified. 

"You guys weren't bitten, or something like that?" I asked, eliciting chuckles from the brothers.

"That's just a myth. It's dangerous to be bitten by an actual wolf, you could die by contracting rabies or something. A wolf's bite can't change you into a werewolf," Suho stated matter-of-factly.

"Then what can?" I looked around at their faces.

"We've been wondering the same thing for quite some time now as well," Suho said, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked at his brothers a moment before he continued. "All of us have these vague memories that seem to tie us together, memories that may hold the answers to why and how we're able to do what we can do," he then explained.  

I felt the goosebumps on my skin when Suho spoke about memories. I never thought of the dreams I had as being memories, but they were vague, and they did always give me a sense of feeling misplaced in this world. I bit my lip. "You mean like dreams?"

"No, actual memories. For instance, the twelve of us were brought together somehow, through fate or whatever you want to call it, but also because of our memories. Kai, for example, he remembers being a child and racing people through golden fields. He later said that in that memory, he remembered Kris being there because he was able to fly and beat him during races. But, they never met each other when they were children. Or, not in this life, at least," Suho regaled while I looked at Kai for a moment. He didn't look back, he just stared at his feet. I was feeling uneasy. 

"This life? So, are you saying that the memories you supposedly have are from a previous life?" I was utterly confused and slightly creeped out. 

"Not precisely. None of us seem to be able to remember what it was like being children in this life either. Instead we have memories of another childhood," Luhan added in a soothing voice, as though he could tell that I was on the brink of freaking out. "Do you remember what it was like when you were younger, Jae?" he then asked and I panicked a little. 

"O-of course. Everyone remembers something about their childhood. For instance, I remember clearly being- uh...small," I scratched my cheek and looked at the ground. 

"Oh, you don't have memories from being a child either, noona?" Tao asked, sounding excited.

"Hey, maybe you can remember us instead? Are there things that you can remember about the past, noona?" Baekhyun quickly asked, twelve faces looking at me with much anticipation.

"I- I don't have any memories about you," I started slowly, sensing Tao's immediate disappointment. "I mean, how can I when I'm new to this?"

"Is there anything that you can remember then? Anything at all that maybe you shouldn't be able to?" D.O. wondered. I didn't know what they wanted to hear from me, but I considered the question. When I didn't answer for a long time, the quiet Xiumin suddenly spoke.

"Even though our memories are different, there's two things that are consistent," he started, looking a bit shy when he saw that all eyes were on him. Regardless, he continued. "The first, is that the memories seem to involve twelve people," he said quietly, gesturing at himself and his brothers. "The second, is that there's always a voice that's speaking to us individually. Does any of this seem somewhat familiar to you?"

Did I have vague childhood memories that weren't my own? Were my dreams about distant fantasy lands and wolves memories in disguise? Wolves...Twelve... 

I looked up at the sky, the gentle night air playing with my long unnaturally cyan green hair. And then it dawned on me.

"Stars," I breathed.

"Come again?" Suho asked attentively.

"Stars," I repeated in a stronger voice, though it was trembling slightly. "I always thought it was just a silly dream and a weird attachment, but maybe it wasn't a dream," I muttered out loud, mostly to myself before I focused on the others. "I remember stars. Twelve of them and when I dream about them they always make me happy, but I'd always end up watching them fall from the sky. And when they do, I feel helpless and sad..." I trailed off, thinking about the emotions they evoked. I shook my head and tried to shake it off. This was getting too crazy.

"It could mean nothing, though. Back in my old home there was this meadow I'd like to stay in where there's a clear view of the sky when you'd lied down. There were always twelve stars there that I liked to watch, so maybe that incorporated itself into my subconscious somehow," I shrugged, trying to play it off like it was no big deal. Suho took everything I said with utmost seriousness though.

"Twelve? Not thirteen?"

"Twelve," I confirmed, "but it's probably nothing right?"

"Well, it is rather odd that the number is right...Other than that, you've no memories at all?" he asked again, as though he expected me to have the answers. I shook my head, feeling frustrated myself.

"I don't know. I just have weird dreams, especially recently," I admitted. "But everyone has dreams," I tried again. 

"Sure they do, noona," Chen said trying to take my emotions into consideration, his brothers nodding in an attempt to comfort me.

"Are the dreams vivid?" Luhan inquired, his doe-like eyes emitting nothing wolf-like about him at all. Perhaps it was the way he looked at me, cautiously and gently, as a friend, not a foe.

His question caused a stone to settle in the pit of my stomach though. "Yes, they're very vivid," I answered, remembering how intense they were up to the point that I actually felt frightened, and in pain.

"What are they about?" Luhan continued, but his voice sounded like it was echoing in the distance. I shook my head and growled warningly at him.

"You're not getting in my head unless I give you permission, buddy," I told him and this surprised him. Then, he chuckled, knowing that he was busted.

"Then grant me this permission once. Let me see what you've dreamed about, maybe it's relevant," he opted. "And it'd be easier to show the others than you telling us about it." When he saw the look of suspicion I shot at him, he smiled. "It's harmless, I promise. I'll only see you dream," he swore.

"It's okay, Jae-yah. Lu-ge won't invade your privacy unless you allow him to," Lay encouraged. 

I sighed deeply before turning to Luhan. "What do I do?" 

The older boy smiled and walked towards me. He knelt down in front of me, ever so gently cupped my face that it had me flustered and stared directly into my eyes. "Relax," he whispered. How can I with him so close by?! I don't know if he heard me, or what that little smirk was supposed to mean, but I relaxed the moment he closed his eyes. Then, it felt as though the world around me had stopped existing for a moment and I was reliving my dream all over again. 

I was standing in front of a giant tree again, except this time, Luhan was standing next to me. He didn't say anything and he didn't seem to acknowledge me. All he did was stare in awe at the tree. Could he see the symbols that floated around it? The next scene was me standing on a platform, two moons alighting above me, two suns that haven't met below me. Then came the dream of a world in disorder and I knelt down out of fear. Luhan was here as well, holding my hand. The last thing we saw together was the tree, pulsating with unknown force. 

I gasped a little when I opened my eyes again. Visitng your head with someone with you was a little more than trippy and I felt extremely disoriented. It didn't help that Luhan's face was inches away from mine, his look serious, his red eyes searching for my amber ones. 

"Luhan, what is it?" Suho asked, alerted. Luhan had not taken his eyes off me and his hands were placed on my shoulders. Even when he answered Suho he didn't look away from me. 

"I think I know what the source is," he exclaimed, though I had no clue what he was talking about. 

"What source?" Kris asked instead, the brothers all curious now. 

"The pulse of energy that we're always looking for," Luhan said, still looking at me. Suho had jolted from his seat, the other brothers stunned as well. 

"You know what it is?!" Suho prompted, looking at me. 

"Know what what is?" I asked, since they appear to know something that I don't. 

Luhan finally pulled away after smirking at me and he got to his feet. He turned to his brothers and nodded. "She's one of us," he suddenly stated with determination. "I don't know how she fits in, but she belongs amongst us." 

"Are you sure, hyung?" Kai asked, a little astonished. I stared up at Luhan, lost and confounded. What exactly did he see in the memories of my dreams that suddenly made him so certain about the fact that I apparently truly was one of them? 

He nodded before turning towards me again. "Jae, how would you like to find the answers to all of this? Do you want to know more?" 

"What kind of question is that? Of course I want to know!" I huffed in indignation. 

"Good," Luhan said, looking at Suho as if he was asking him a question the rest of us couldn't hear. Suho's eyes widened a little and then he nodded at Luhan. "Then join us. Make it official." 

The sudden invitation had me rattled and I wasn't sure what he meant, or what it would mean to accept or reject the offer. What was I supposed to say?

"Whoa, we're making her a part of the pack, hyung?" Chen asked cheerfully, the other younger brothers matching his enthusiasm.

"Only if she wants to," Luhan said, directing himself to me. "What say you, Jae?"

Twelve pairs of red eyes and smiling faces looked at me, the moonlight casting a heavenly glow around them. They were waiting for my answer, this band of brothers, this pack of wolves. They could hold the answer to all the questions I had, but to accept...what kind of consequences would that bring? What would it mean to me, to them? What was this pulse they spoke about?

What else was there for me to say?

"...Okay."