Homeward Bound

Mateus woke up slowly. Apart from a few aches from sleeping on the hard ground, and an empty stomach, he was feeling pretty good. His clothes were pretty much in tatters at this point, but as long as he was healthy Mateus could shrug it off. He had already died once - the experience really put things in perspective. Even years afterwards Mateus was still cautious and treasured each blessing he found.

Outside the cave the sky was growing lighter, but the cleft was deep enough to still cling to night. Cautiously Mateus left the cave, and inspected the surroundings to figure out where he was. Sadly it was no use - it was dark at night, and after being chased by the pack Mateus was completely lost.

Thinking of it, he hadn't gotten a good look at his new subordinates. So far all he knew was that they were furry beasts that were carnivores. Directing his essence with unexpected ease, Mateus took a look at the beasts inside the tattoos on his leg.

The environment inside looked almost identical to the cave he just walked out of - not surprising, since the tattoo created a place for the beasts to live in, and the cave was their previous home. The Alpha wore a spiked collar attached to a long chain anchored in the back wall. Clearly he was going nowhere, but judging by how relaxed he was this fact didn't bother him.

The nine beasts were very strange, and it was clear they were hybrids, but unlike Endorphin it was hard to pick out their bloodlines. The Alpha was male, and had a lion's mane. The other eight were split evenly between male and female, with the males resembling felines, and the females were closer to canines. All their ears had thick tufts of fur sticking up at the tips, and all their eyes were green. Otherwise these beasts were totally dissimilar to each other.

One of the males had the fangs of a snake, while one of the females had vestigial wings. Short fur, long fur, curly fur; thin legs, thick claws, long tails tipped with barbs. Stripes and spots and swirls all combined together and painted in outlandish colours. These nine beasts were practically a living rainbow, bright enough to give Mateus a headache.

All eight subordinates had a solid band of silver-green around their left forelimbs. It seemed this was the mark of their submission. If they ever wanted to rebel, they would first have to remove this mark. However, nothing less than removing the limb section with the mark can prevent it from regenerating with their own healing. These beasts would have to willingly cripple themselves to leave Mateus' control. So long as he treated them decently, this small pack would stay with Mateus for life.

Sensing his attention, the pack called cheerfully and asked for affection. They completely disregarded the chained Alpha and tried to suck up to Mateus. They really had submitted to him completely.

Staring at the Alpha, Mateus used his essence to strengthen the mental connection between them. He had some questions to ask.

[Why did you attack me last night?] Mateus asked worriedly. Depending on what the Alpha replied, it could be a huge problem.

{You are human. We are the hybrid outcasts of this place. It is our deepest desire to leave, but no humans would take us. Instead they hurt us, and humiliated us, and drove us away. Hunting humans is our revenge.} The Alpha explained.

The mental connection was an odd communication that used emotions and memories instead of words. Because of this, Mateus felt like he had experienced the same troubles that the Alpha did.

[If you hate humans this much, why did you Submit? Why did you share your Submission with them?]

{I am Alpha, they are my pack - my family. I cannot leave them alone here, without protection. You are weak, and human, but still you held my life in your hands with no strength but your own. To Submit to the truly strong is no loss.}

Mateus retreated from the tattoo with much to think about. Once again he was reminded of something the orphanage teacher would say - "We refer to the creatures of this world not as Pets or Animals, but as Beasts. A Pet is a thing to tame, and can be owned. An Animal is something unintelligent, and can only depend on outside factors to decide their fates. A Beast, though, is a creature of might and majesty. Though they may contract and follow humans, never forget that it is their choice to do so. The power we gain from them is only borrowed, and it is entirely their choice if they want to take it back. The fate of humanity lies on the shoulders of Beasts. We need them more than they need us."

Shaking these complicated ideas away, Mateus directed his essence to his wrist, and called out the pretty bird.

"Good morning!" She chirped in glee, looking amazingly energetic. Absorbing all that essence last night obviously did her good.

"Do you know where we are, Lovely?" Mateus asked, and she joyously trilled.

"You want to see the Sky Queen, right? It's not far from here! This way, this way!" The lovely bird sang and flitted off his wrist, blue wings glowing in the dark like a beacon.

Mateus followed her over the rough ground, up the slope, through some bushes, and suddenly he was back at the nest where the Sky Queen had deposited him. The mighty bird herself was on the same high perch, watching him approach with a complicated gaze.

Clearly, she saw everything that happened last night, and chose not to interfere. That said, Mateus didn't dare to be angry about the situation. He could hardly deal with a small group of hybrids in combat - where would he have the power to fight this being?

"I did not expect you to gain the hybrid pack." The Sky Queen said, staring at him closely.

"I didn't either. Can you tell me what they are? I need to know, so I can look after them right." Mateus asked carefully.

"The pack are descended from a mixing between the Shadow Felines and the Element Wolves. These two groups are extremely inbred, and for healthy offspring they choose to interbreed with other species. Most Hybrids that show the dominant bloodlines are acceptable to the species groups, but these children were too different and were thus discarded. If not for that rebel Alpha, they would have perished long ago. Such is life." The Sky Queen declared coldly, and Mateus held back an enraged yell.

'How can you discard your children like this, simply because they are different?' Mateus simply could not understand it. Family was a concept he clung to desperately, and his sister was his dearest treasure, worth more than gold and silver.

Once more, Mateus reminded himself that Beasts were different than humans. They are powerful, and possess great intelligence, but they choose to follow their instincts. As a human, it is not his place to judge them.

"I have all the tattoos I can take - will you bring me out of the Vale?" Mateus asked respectfully. The Sky Queen nodded.

"As the Guardian of the Nursery, I brought you here. It is only proper I return you to where we met." With a sudden lunge Mateus was caught in her claws once more. With a startled cheep Lovely returned to her tattoo, and Mateus was dragged skyward for the return trip.

Though it was just as uncomfortable and harrowing as the first time, Mateus didn't experience as much difficulty. It had to be from the Alpha. There was no other explanation - Mateus had to wonder what other changes this would bring.

After a few hours, Mateus was dumped into grassland under the hot sun. The Sky Queen vanished into the distance in seconds, like she was never there. Brushing himself off, Mateus stretched carefully, to make sure he was still healthy, and calmly started walking back the path he travelled yesterday, slowly leaving the Essence Vale behind.