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"I can't blame you," she says, staring at her feet. "I don't even know how you can call it 'home' anymore. Everything's turned to shit. But I guess that's why I'm out here living on my own now. I still can't believe they shut the school down. As if the elders would really use it to indoctrinate the youth against the 'American government.' What a load of horse shit. Something's gotta give, and Ahote's hit-and-run tactics aren't gonna do it, especially since he's not killing anybody. What kind of message does that send? Weakness, that's what."

"You and Haken would get along perfectly these days," you say. "He says the same thing."

"Yeah, well…sometimes an old wolf knows what they're talking about. I still don't want to die in Haken's 'glorious' battle to the death, but sometimes I think it would be better than fearing for my life every minute of the day."

You look off in the direction of the scrapyard, suddenly anxious to get moving. Tiva notices your distraction and waves you on with the back of her hand.

"Go on. I'm sure you have things to do. I'll be fine. Do check in on me sometime though? I'm staying in the basement of the old redstone house four blocks west of here." She pauses. "By the way, you didn't mess with my catch of the day, did you?"

"I left them back there," you say grimly. "Do you plan to let them die?"

"It's what they deserve."

"Are you sure that's what you want to do?"

"I'll think about it, Klel. It's my decision to make."

Tiva may be right. Those men stalked her in her own home, and if you understood her correctly, they had nastier things on their mind than mere capture.

"I'd better get going," you say. "Be safe, Tiva."

She waves a halfhearted farewell, and you take your leave.

You weave through the labyrinthine side streets and alleyways of Haven, avoiding two pacification squads along the way. The humans are easy to hide from, and not for the first time, you find yourself wondering if their presence in the city is designed to scare the pack into submission rather than actually capture wolves roaming around the outskirts.

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