New ways [Bonding] [PA]

The breeze caused a ballad of noises: branches clashed with other branches, and some leaves fluttered high above, while others danced to the ground.

There was something about this, something as simple as a breath of air, that made Ma'at feel comfortable. She was lying under one of the trees that populated the forest, her eyes half closed and her mind almost blank. While it was true that she had found a new pack to belong to, she felt inside that she was safer there alone, in the forest. That place was her true home. But she wouldn't deny that sharing food was easier than searching and hunting alone or even ending up fighting with others for prey.

A chorus of howls filled the forest and she knew something had happened. It sounded like an alert from her group, but she wasn't quite clear what it was about, she still didn't know when the other tokotas were going to or what for, nor had she shown any interest in finding it out.

She stood up quickly, stopping for a moment just with a little dizziness. She had been eating more lately, but that didn't mean it was enough. The last few years had been hard, and it had taken a toll on her body,

The shackles on her paws creaked, and she cursed between her teeth as she headed towards the howls of her new family. At least she no longer had chains dangling from her paws; some tokos from her new pack had managed to remove them. But she was not amused to still carry the proof that she had been captured. It was a big stain on her name, and she preferred not to trumpet it every time someone looked at her. She hoped she could get rid of them soon.

Her new pack wasn't too big: a few couples, two youngsters who were surely going in search of their new pack soon, an old toko, who seemed the wisest of the group, and her alpha, Kasatka. Usually, everyone was off doing their own thing, hunting or scouting, however, now they were all gathered there looking expectantly at a person lying on the ground next to her.

Ma'at closed her eyes thinking she must have seen her wrong, but when she opened them again she found Sasha lying on the ground next to her new Alpha. She didn't look hurt.

“Shit” Ma'at cursed silently. Though she didn't say goodbye to her, the tokota had nothing against that girl, however, it seemed her pack did. She moved to stand next to the others, weighing the stares of Kasatka and her packmates, who appeared to be as confused as she was by the presence of this visitor.

“Now we're all here” Kasatka started to say, clearly angry “I found this biped walking inside our territory. She smells like a tokota, so either she's one of those 'friendly' handlers” she pronounced the last words slowly as if chewing on some kind of stick, in a clear mocking gesture “or she's a poacher”

After saying that, the black tokota looked at each of her group members, then poured a sack on the ground, emptying its contents and turning her back to Sasha. The latter looked serious, still but tense, watching every movement of the tokota that had brought her.

The clink of metal rang out as blades of colors and shapes came out of the bag, making a nice clump at the end. Ma'at could count at least a dozen.

“This is what this little rat was carrying hidden in her pockets,” Kasatka spat, glaring hatefully at Sasha, who began to move slowly, looking around, ”She doesn't look very friendly.”

A chorus of grunts emanated from the group, closing the circle around the prisoner. Ma'at gritted her teeth. If she was going to react, she had to do it now, but what could she do?

Then her gaze met that of her familiar savior, and for a moment she could see her gesture brighten. But as quickly as it had appeared, the smile disappeared from Sasha's face as she continued to watch the group.

Ma'at watched her companions, each time with more aggressive poses and after a moment of thought. At last, she made up her mind.

“She is not a poacher,” said Ma'at, stepping forward.

“What did you say?” - Kasatka growled, sending a hateful glare at the gray tokota.

“Her name is Sasha, and she once saved me from poachers. So I doubt she’s a poacher.” She repeated, raising her paw to divert his group's attention to her shackles.

The group ceased most growling, they seemed confused, shifting their gazes between their newest member and their catch. The alpha began pacing in nervous circles, never taking her eyes off Sasha or Ma'at. Her tail wagged agitatedly as she thought of what to do next.

Sasha was already staring at Ma'at with relief. Although the tokota didn't know it, Rain and she had been looking for her all these months since their last meeting in every spare moment they had had. As the grey tokota stared at her, Sasha said:

“I have the key”

All the tokota turned their gaze on the captive, and Kasatka began to growl. Ma'at did not understand what she meant until she saw her taking several glances at the gray tokota's paw. Ma'at smiled in relief. Soon she could break free. Her alpha took advantage of the fact that the gray tokota was not looking and lunged to attack the captive. Ma'at instinctively lunged to get between the angry tokota and her acquaintance. All the tokotas started to growl louder at the sight of Ma'at getting in the way of their alpha's act.

“You can try the key” Ma'at shouted, glaring at her alpha's teeth. “If she has the key, you can remove these shackles from me and prove what I say is true.”

These words did not seem to calm the group, which continued to growl and bared its teeth. The younger ones were slowly approaching the gray tokota, as if it had been transformed into prey. Kasatka looked her up and down.

“You're one of them.” her alpha blurted out.

Ma'at blinked a couple of times, not understanding what her new leader was referring to.

“You trust these…” Kasatka continued, glancing at Sasha and pronouncing the next word with disgust. “...rats.”

“I don't…”  Ma'at moved her eyes to look at Sasha. She knew she wasn't like that, or so she thought, but trust? The tokota weighed her next sentence in her head, swallowing before answering “I don't trust them. I don't trust any of them… but this one. She saved me.”

For a moment that felt forever for Ma'at, Kasatka held her gaze, still baring her teeth.

“Out” - she finished mumbling.

Ma'at felt a shiver run through her body. She continued staring at the one who had been her leader for months and then swept her gaze over the others, who were looking at her with the same face, a look somewhere between disappointment and disgust. The grey tokota glanced at Sasha, who kept her gaze on Ma'at. She sighed and taking a single step towards Kasatka, which brought another chorus of grunts, she bent her head to pick up the bag at Kasatka's feet. Sasha understood what she wanted to do, and with a few quick movements, she stuffed all the knives back into the bag on the floor. As soon as she finished she began to walk away from the group with her back turned, her gaze always fixed on the black angry tokota.

Ma'at looked at them one last time, and without a word, turned and began to walk away.

They both continued walking through the forest, with the silence broken only by their paws stepping on the autumn fallen leaves, and the sound of the tokota's shackles hitting against her fur.

The tokota did not know how to feel. It was clear that this “family” had not become her home, but being banished made her feel dejected. All her life she had felt the same as those tokota, a disgust and revulsion towards bipeds, and towards the tokota who accepted them. This time, however, she thought that they were not right, it made her feel... betrayed. She was betraying herself.

After nearly an hour of walking in silence, the tokota's ears picked up other footsteps nearby. Instinctively she stepped in front of Sasha, baring her fangs toward the source of the sound. Out from behind the trees came a tan tokota, which Ma'at recognized from the mines. Rain ran out towards Sasha, avoiding Ma'at, and began to run her eyes around her friend while giving her some affectionate licks. The gray tokota stared at the scene quizzically, and also with some envy. Maybe that's what she had been feeling all this time. She kept her gaze on the ground for a while, as Sasha and Rain greeted each other and caught up.

After a while, Sasha looked at Ma'at and pulled a heavy metal key from her pockets. Without a word, she looked at the tokota's paws, then the tokota nodded. Sasha went through Ma'at's paws, turning the key through every lock. Once finished, Ma'at lifted each paw, feeling light for the first time in months, and licked the front ones, where the hair had become matted and stiff with sweat and the pressure of the shackles. Rain and Sasha stood beside her, watching wordlessly, and when Ma'at checked that they were still there, watching her, she held their gaze.

“What now?” she said.

Rain and Sasha looked at each other, and Sasha shrugged.

“Whatever you want.” Sasha started scratching her neck while looking at the gray tokota “We were looking for you to release the shackles since we couldn't do it the last time” The girl looked back the way they had come from and darkened her gaze “I'm sorry we had…”

“Don’t” Ma'at cut her off “No need to be sorry.”

Sasha looked at the tokota strangely, and then she added

“We have... a pack.” She looked at Rain and then at Ma'at. “I doubt it's what you were looking for, but…” Sasha put her hand on the tan tokota's shoulder “You're invited to it if you want.”

Ma'at held Sasha's gaze, then looked at Rain, who looked excited, tail wagging from side to side. Finally, she nodded, which brought a smile to Rain's and Sasha's faces. The latter with a quick hop hop hopped onto the tan tokota's back and took one last look at Ma'at.

“Then welcome to your new pack.”