Since the death of Maksim and the arrival of both the twins and Karina’s bundle of joy, Lachesis had not seen as much of Kisla as he would have liked. He felt guilty for being so caught up in his own life and being insensitive toward what had happened in hers. Not only had she lost Maksim, but she had also lost some of her children, who had wandered away from Hearthwood. It was also the first year in several that Kisla had not given birth. There had been a lot of unexpected changes in her life, and XIX felt as though he owed it to his late friend to be there for his widow.

The marks on his cheek were beginning to fade and the limp in his leg was almost completely gone. While he had won the challenge Lachesis was still worried that once his health returned Kjors would be in hot pursuit of the throne. The ghost would hold onto his position until his dying breath — he would not allow Hearthwood to fall into the claws of the dragon. This was his pack and his home; he would not allow Kjors to take control. But, as much as Hearthwood was his, it also belonged to Kisla. As he dragged himself from his infirmary the ghost wondered if the queen had gotten word of the challenge. A frown creased his maw as he made his way to her den. The sun had not yet risen from the horizon, which meant that most of the river wolves would still be in deep slumber.

Hovering at the entrance to Kisla’s den he called down to her, asking for her to follow him before he slunk away to the river’s edge, away from prying ears. The air was beginning to grow colder as August dragged on. Soon fall would takeover the lands of Relic Lore, followed swiftly by the arrival of winter. He shuddered at the thought. The ghost hoped their numbers would increase by then, but only time would tell.

For a fleeting moment he did not know if the green-eyed leader would follow him. She had distanced herself from the pack in recent weeks and the healer did not blame her. Too much had happened in such  a short period of time; it was a lot to handle. He did not once push her out of her comfort zone, for XIX knew that when she was ready she would leave her shell behind.

Her presence was confirmed by her soft steps thudding against the ground and a frail smile broke his stoic exterior. However, it did not last long. Her questions were short and to the point: who and when. His frown quickly returned as the tawny queen brushed his cheek with her nose, the concern evident in her wide, green gaze. “Kjors,” he started, his upper lip curling at the name, “a few weeks ago.” He paused, his tail flicking in annoyance. “He challenged me for my rank.” He did not need to state that the one-eyed dragon did not succeed, for Nineteen was certain he wouldn’t be having this conversation if Kjors had taken hold of Hearthwood.

“I’m not sure what brought it on, and I don’t think it’ll be the last time he’ll pursue it.” Hs voice was clipped as the words rolled off his tongue. It was evident that the Stark was not a fan of the older wolf, nor did he trust him. However, he had been appointed as Kisla’s advisor many, many weeks ago. His frown deepened at the thought while his chartreuse gaze focused on the sparrow before him in anticipation of her response. 

At first the ghost expected the tawny wolf to defend her Advisor. They were supposed to be close, were they not? Truthfully, XIX had not seen much of the one-eyed dragon prior to the challenge. After the deaths of Maksim and Naia, the older male had kept to the shadows, seemingly uninterested in pack affairs. Was he even distraught over the loss?

It appeared as though the dragon did not care about the losses Hearthwood had been hit with. Otherwise, he would not have challenged Lachesis so soon after Naia’s death. Perhaps he had been waiting for the perfect opportunity — when the ghost’s mental state was just a little weaker — in order to challenge for the throne. His frown deepened at the thought. A wolf like that was not welcome in Hearthwood. Lachesis could no longer trust the one-eyed dragon (not that he did before) and did not want Kjors anywhere near him, his children, or the rest of his pack.

He snorted in agreement at Kisla’s words one the initial surprise wore off. He felt guilty for thinking that she would have defended her lacklustre Advisor, but he was glad to be proven wrong. “I couldn’t agree with you more,” he responded quickly, his tail flicking in annoyance. Kisla was clearly livid with this discovery and wanted nothing to do with the grizzly male — and Lachesis could not be happier. He was glad that the dragon’s facade was fading, fast.

The ghost tipped his nose up as he studied his green-eyed counterpart, as if to ask when they would be tossing the dragon from their home. 

Even if he wanted to disagree with his friend he couldn’t. Her decision was final — they would seek out the dragon now, before he was able to see it coming. They had the element of surprise on their side; as far as Kjors was concerned he and Kisla were still on good terms. The healer was thankful that his tawny partner no longer wanted anything to do with the dragon. He no longer had to keep his negative feelings toward the grizzly wolf under lock and key.

Without hesitation the pale wolf followed his friend as she tracked down their prey. As they maneuvered through Hearthwood the ghost began to worry about their numbers and the coming winter; however, he quickly dismissed the thoughts with a sharp wag of his tail. If anything, the dragon was going to negatively effect their numbers — especially if he managed to defeat XIX in a rank challenge. They would find a way to survive the winter, just as they always did. Without the dragon.

The pair drew closer to their destination — the dragon was much more difficult to track than anticipated — a realization began to settle in the pit of his stomach. A frown creased his liquorice lips as he stopped abruptly, chartreuse gaze fixated on the tawny wolf before him. “No,” he started, his reluctant tone growing more apparent as words continued to drop off his tongue: “not now. Not in front of them.” Surely Kisla was thinking the same. “We will call for him, away from them.” 

He knew that she wanted to deal with the situation as quickly as possible—and so did he. However with Karina being so directly involved with the dragon, they needed to dispose of Kjors in a more delicate manner. Away from the pack and the children. They could do the job now—they just needed to find the one-eyed male and pull him away from the prying eyes of the river wolves. The ghost knew that the twins wouldn’t be happy with the decision, for they had grown attached to the older male. It was for the best—Lachesis did not trust the man to be around his children. He had shown the ghost his true intentions—as far as XIX was concerned, the man was now deemed a threat.

Without another word the ghost followed his co-lead to the borders. Quick and painless. They would explain their decision to the pack later. There was no room for debate: their decision was final. They could not allow the dragon to remain a part of Hearthwood any longer. Once his injuries were healed there was no doubt in Lachesis’ mind that Kjors would try to challenge him a second time. He didn’t want to find out…

They would call for the dragon at the borders to remove him, peacefully, from the pack. He knew that their decision was already going to cause turmoil amongst the river wolves, but they wanted to minimize the effect as much as possible…