"It's one of the subsections of the Clan. We have recently been growing so fast that Saedin has split up the land into three different sub-sections, each with their own leader; though of course Saedin is still the head of it all. Each district has a base, which I guess is similar to a rendezvous site of you Lone Ones. Just much bigger and with more animals. It's a place where we come together to reconvene, rest and share meals."

I could go for a meal. Or three. Laika felt her stomach rumble.

"So, what will I be expected to do once I'm at the Clan?" Laika cocked her head.

Emerald did not look at the young wolf as she spoke. "First we'll have to register you as an official member. You'll then be assigned a temporary rank, in your case that of unranked pup since you're so young. But once you're old enough you'll start training and be able to gain another rank, such as that of a patroller, messenger, hunter or guard. Maybe you'll even work yourself up high in the ranks someday."

Laika didn't care much about this idea of ranks, seeing how in Lone One groups they were practically nonexistent. But Emerald sounded so enthusiastic that it at least got her spirits up a little bit.

Finally, they reached a large grassy clearing in the forest. Off to the side stood exceptionally large and thick trees, with hollows in their roots. The amount of strange scents and impressions was overwhelming here to Laika, and she squeezed her eyes shut. There were animals of all sorts of species, conversing, sharing meals, walking around, and sitting and studying their surroundings.

"Bit much to take in?" Bode said with a slight hint of a scoff in his voice. He didn't wait for a response, simply walking away to join a group of foxes off to the side. The wolf dispersed as well.

"I'll take you to our manager of new recruits," Emerald explained. "They can register your membership."

"Great," Laika lied. The idea of having to spend more time at this base was overwhelming to her.

"This way." Emerald took her inside one of the hollows below the trees. Laika was surprised to see it led into a tunnel into the darkness, which was lit by odd light sources, like tiny suns.

Emerald saw her stare at the glowing things. "Lamps. Stole them from the humans. They work on something called batteries. I don't understand it entirely, but we have dog experts on the subject of them, and their objects are of use to us sometimes, so in those cases we take them."

Laika stared at the lamps for a while, until she had to squeeze her eyelids together.

"Don't look at them for too long," Emerald chuckled. "Come."

The lynx guided her further inside. Laika didn't feel comfortable, swallowed up by the tunnel, but she knew she had no choice. With her ears pinned back and her tail tucked, she went deeper into the earth.

The tunnel opened up into a larger central cave, which was large enough to hold about five adult wolves. However, only one dog sat inside, surrounded by an endless amount of what looked to be rectangular rocks.

"Laika, meet Fritz. They keep track of all the new animals who have joined our Clan."

Fritz was a reddish-brown dog with blue eyes, which were hidden behind transparent circles. "Ah yes, Emerald. You found someone new, I see?" He didn't look up from one of the rectangular rocks he was holding.

Laika kept staring at the item he was wearing on their face.

"She's never been acquainted with human objects before," Emerald quickly explained. "Laika, what he is wearing is called 'glasses'. It helps them see."

"Fritz, this here is a young Lone One who is willing to join us."

Fritz looked up for the first time, placing a paw on his spectacles and pushed them closer to his eyes, narrowing them. "A Lone One, joining us willingly? That's new."

Laika didn't like his gaze and froze.

"Well, it's not like she had much of a choice," Emerald pointed out truthfully. "Her family is dead."

Thanks for rubbing that in. Laika still wasn't quite sure what to make of Emerald. Sometimes she was almost friendly; other times she could be uncaring and brash.

"Let me get a new tablet," Fritz said. "Your name was, Laika?"

They grabbed another one of the rectangles and placed it on a large flat boulder in front of him. Unlike the hardened other ones, this one seemed softer in comparison.

"A clay tablet," Emerald explained. "He can engrave it now, and when it dries it's hard like the other ones over there."

Laika looked behind Fritz, and now saw that there were piles and piles of the tablets there, which she had mistaken for stone.

"Come closer," Fritz urged. They sounded impatient.

Emerald stepped aside, and Laika sat down opposite of the flattened boulder.

"Laika?" they asked again.

"Yes. Laika Rowena Wolverson in full," Laika said. "Wolverson's my last name."

"Interesting," Fritz said, though they didn't sound interested at all. With one of their claws on their left front paw, they were scoring markings into the soft clay.

"What're you doing?" Laika asked.

"Writing. Something you Lone Ones probably don't understand. Too much for those tiny brains of yours to comprehend."

"Fritz, please," Emerald said through gritted teeth.

They rolled their eyes. "These markings, they spell out your name." He lifted his paw so Laika could see.

Laika didn't understand how a few markings on a piece of clay corresponded to her name, but she decided not to question it anymore. She already felt put down enough.

"Now, what Lone One group are you from? What are the names of your late family members? Any information about you we should know?"

Laika sighed. "My group was also called the Wolversons. My mother's name was Reika Wolverson, my father Blaze Wolverson. I also had a brother named Daniel. But they're all gone now..."

"Yeah, yeah, spare me the sob-story. Anything else?" He had his muzzle pointing down and looked over his spectacles into her eyes.

Laika repressed a sob and looked at the ground. "No. Nothing. I'm a Clan wolf now, I guess. Emerald said something about me being given the rank of pup."

Fritz marked down a few more lines and then grabbed the tablet and slid it over to her. "Now, if you'll please confirm your membership with your print. Quickly now, before it's dry!"

Laika raised her front paw, looking at her pink-and-black pad. Hesitatingly, she pressed it into the tablet. She didn't like the texture of it below her pads at all, and quickly pulled back. To her disgust, a few bits of clay still clung to it. She tried to lick it off, but it tasted awful and she spat it out onto the ground.

"You're officially a member of Saedin's Clan now. Congratulations," Fritz said, laying away the tablet to dry, unable to sound less disingenuous.

"What now?" Laika looked up at Emerald.

The lynx smiled. "You'll be put with the other pups, kits, cubs and kittens who are too young to train. When you're old enough, you'll have to go through training, of course, but I'm sure you'll do fine. Come, I'll take you to your new place to stay right now." Emerald guided the way and Laika followed, still not entirely sure of what she'd just gotten herself into.

***

"Alright youngsters, gather 'round because I will only say this once," Heinz, a catamount, said.

Now older, Laika and a bunch of the Clan's young animals had been put into groups, each assigned to a trainer who would oversee their progress as they grew into fully-fledged Clan members.

Laika straightened her back and perked her ears, wanting to get things right the first time. She was going to impress the Clan, she was sure of it.

"The next half year will be tough. You'll be trained, and it won't always be fun. It'll be hard work and requires discipline, something I'm sure you youngsters don't quite have in you yet. But nothing that can't be learned."

"As if I'm going to do what that idiot says," Laika heard a voice beside her whisper. She looked up to see a pale gray, almost white wolf pup. He had a self-satisfied smirk on his visage.

"Be quiet!" she whispered back. "I don't want to get into trouble!"

"But we were given Heinz!" the pale pup said back. "I've heard he's one of the less competent trainers. Apparently he walked straight into a tree while on patrol once. His eyes aren't the best. How is he going to oversee us if he can't even see?"

Laika thought back to Fritz's spectacles, but Heinz didn't have those. "Well, you shouldn't be rude about it!" she snapped back.

"Lady, gentleman, anything you'd like to share?" Heinz's voice was sharp—he'd clearly caught onto their conversation. At least there's nothing wrong with his ears then, Laika thought.