A New Pack, Part I
With Oshal by his side, Nourd walked into the great hall for the first time. He’d seen the doors, been told what it was, but had never walked inside to see it. It looked to him like every other room. There was still a ceiling blocking the open sky. There were still walls on all sides, stopping him from leaving. He didn’t like it.
“I don’t like it,” he said to Oshal.
“Why not?”
“I cannot see the sky. I like the sky.”
“Don’t worry. It’s only for a little while, then you can go back outside.”
Oshal led him to one of the stretches of wood laid out in the room. Master Gorkle had called them “tables”. He’d also instructed Nourd on how to act while in the great hall. He could sit and talk, but everyone stood at attention when the officers walked in. Unlike most other human customs, this one made sense. Of course the leaders ate first. They were the leaders.
Oshal introduced him to some other humans. He recognized one of them, the male with glass on his face, Kurgm. He sat with his mate, Demndun. None of the other humans had mates, although the other two males were in the process of attempting to gain the attention of the other female.
“Hello,” Kurgm said.
“Hello,” Nourd replied, as he’d been instructed to do.
The other humans talked with Oshal, mostly ignoring Nourd. As Master Gorkle had told him, the officers walked in, and everyone stood up, including Nourd. When King Fohra walked in and took his seat, everyone else did.
Nourd liked the food, although the strange tools humans used to eat still confused him. Why didn’t they use their hands? Master Gorkle had explained that most humans didn’t like being dirty, so they used tools to avoid getting their food all over their hands. As with most explanations, it ended with the phrase “That’s how humans are”.
What confused him more was that some food could be eaten by hand, but there was no way to tell the difference. Master Gorkle provided little help explaining the difference, only saying he’d figure it out.
“Oshal says you’re a druid?” Kurgm asked him.
“I do not know what Oshal says.”
“He grew up in the forest,” Oshal said, smiling. “You should tell them about it. I’m sure they’d be interested.”
“That’s not surprising,” the other female, Cremwa said. “Your manners certainly fit that.”
The other males, Zifor and Muwen, snickered.
“Apprentice Parom wanted me to go to the Temple of the Known Shadow with him before I go back to my assignment,” Cremwa said. “I’m only in the court for two days, and he had the nerve to ask me to spend it staring around at the dark. I have better things to do today!”
“Tomorrow,” Oshal said. “The Appreciation of the Dark. They do that once every month to help people understand that the dark doesn’t have to be bad.” He smiled. “I like going.”
“Seems like a waste of time,” Cremwa said. “Right, Demndun?”
“I’m sure they think it’s important,” Demndun said.
Nourd wasn’t sure about Cremwa. If she was trying to be the pack leader, she wasn’t good at it. A pack leader needed to know the goings on of all those in her pack, like Elder Wolf did. This female didn’t know anything about the others, and certainly didn’t know anything about Nourd. If an outsider had approached the pack, Elder Wolf would’ve inspected them thoroughly before allowing them anywhere near her cubs.
“Why do they appreciate the dark?” Nourd asked.
“The Temple of the Known Shadow believes in helping people with their fears,” Oshal said. “Most people are afraid of what they don’t understand. The Temple of the Known Shadow tries to help by showing them the unknown doesn’t have to be scary.”
“The forest creatures are like that. The deer do not like humans, so they—”
“Like I was saying,” Cremwa said, “I’m not going. I have more important things to do with my time.”
The way Cremwa smelled reminded him of deer. They held themselves higher than the other creatures. They were proud and cautious, but arrogant. Nourd responded to her the way Elder Wolf had taught him to respond to deer: he growled.
Cremwa looked at him in disgust.
“Did he just growl at me?”
“Nourd, we’ve talked about that,” Oshal said. “Don’t growl at people. It’s not polite.”
“What’s wrong with him?” Cremwa said.
“He did say raised in the forest,” Muwen said.
“Come on, that’s enough,” Kurgm said. “He’s a little different, that’s all.”
“No, Oshal’s a little different,” Demndun said. “No offense, Oshal.”
Nourd decided he didn’t like the great hall. He missed eating in the gardens. Or better yet, back in the forest, where everything made sense. Was this another part of being human? Perhaps they’d already created a pack, and there was no room in it for him.
What about Oshal? Was this his pack? No, this wasn’t the only pack he’d been in. What about the one with his sister? Nourd glanced over at her and the squirrel girl, Aonva. They were sitting together with another female. He had been okay with them. He didn’t care to be around Roshil for long, but he could probably stand her. Besides, he liked Aonva; she answered all of his questions.
Before he could ask Oshal about it, Master Gorkle came by.
“Apprentice Nourd, I think it’s time to go.”
Nourd had finished his food while the others had talked. Besides, he was no longer hungry. He hadn’t seen any chocolate, so he didn’t care to stay any longer.
“I did not like the great hall,” he said on his way out. “I would rather eat in the gardens.”
“I understand, but you have to learn to be among humans. Apprentices eat in the great hall.”
“Why?”
“That’s the way it’s done.”
Nourd knew that part of the conversation was over. Worse than “That’s how humans are”, that was the answer Master Gorkle gave when zie no longer wanted to explain something.
“When can I see Oshal again?”
“Tomorrow. For now, I think it’s best that you have some time to yourself.”
He thought of Oshal and his pack of friends. He didn’t like them. But he wanted to be with Oshal. Was there no room for him there?