Silver Moon: B. 02

Leon wanted to cry when the wolf saw him and then tried to hide somewhere. He knew she could feel the mating bond and he could tell that she was ashamed and horrified by what had been done to her. She was also on the edge of losing her mind. "Lord Alpha I need my things before I can start treating her and helping her. I will need access to the room as well." His voice was raspy and hoarse from fear and tension.

Dan rested his hand on Leon's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "I will stay here with her till you get what you need. I am not comfortable with you being in there but it is your right. Just be careful and keep your shields ready. With the state of mind she is in she might hurt you without intending to. Unless you say otherwise the pups will stay here since they seem to be helping to keep her calm. If you need anything just send to me." He gave the guard a nod before he modified the wards on the door. "You can go in and out as needed. I have adjusted the wards for you."

He closed his eyes and took a slow deep breath. "Thank you Lord Alpha. I will contact you if I need anything." He had already sent to his student and informed her of what she needed to bring. First he was going to need to get her to calm down. For that he was going to need to use one of his teas. No it wouldn't last very long since all lycan's had the fast metabolism. If he could get her to calm down for even a short time it would be good for her. Right now she was cowering in a corner on the far side of the room.

Leon stepped into the room and settled down next to the door. When he came in she tried to wedge her body even further into the corner she was in. She was whining as well. Since in this form he couldn't speak to her as he could with Kitsunes he settled for just talking to her. If he could draw her back from the edge then he could start working on a link between the two of them. "Hello Amai Kokoro I am Leon and I am a Kitsune from the Silver Kitsune clan. I am very pleased to meet you. I am a healer for the clan and I would like to see if I can help you."

Even though he was sounding calm and relaxed his heart was breaking. As he had been talking he was slowly expanding his spirit to sample the emotions in the room. It was all he could do not to jerk back as he felt the spiritual miasma. He focused his talents further and dug down through the layers of emotions and feelings. Leon needed to find her center, where her soul was and sample it but that was invasive and he had to have permission. For now the best he could do was to set some trap spells that were aimed at certain aspects of her spirit. Over a period of time he would be able to build a snapshot of an image of her soul.

While he was thinking his trainee stopped outside the entrance and spoke. "I have what you requested sir. Do you want me to start with the calming tea?" She had been working with him long enough to have a pretty good idea of how he worked. One of the staff had brought over the heater and a small table for it. That was out of sight and somewhat away from the pups. They had been doing some roughhousing and she didn't want one to bump the table and get hurt.

Leon looked at her and had a contemplative look on his face. "Start with a base of that and add in some ginger root and chamomile. Plenty of honey and make it strong." That should help calm her down for at least a short time. From there he wasn't sure what he was going to do but in this case it was going to be guesses and trying different things. If all else failed he would talk to Luna and Lord Amaratsue or his mate.

The wolf was curled up in such a way that she could barely see him. Her back wasn't quite facing him but it was close. Normally to turn your back on someone as a lycan was an insult but in this case she was ashamed. Even as messed up mentally as she was when the man walked in she felt the pull of the mating bond. She was ashamed of what had been done to her. She knew that she had been corrupted and nobody would want her now. It wasn't just that he had used her but it was also what he had carved into her body.

As he was carving the runes into her skin he was gloating at how it would slowly eat at her till it had darkened her soul. Once that had happened she would turn into a true monster. She had heard stories of what happened when a wolf turned bad like that. He had also made sure to let her know that once the corruption had progressed enough he would return her to her Pack. Knowing that how could someone even attempt to get close to her?

When he had walked in she had been startled since the only one who normally came in was that odd wolf. When he talked to her she had to whine because he had such a comfortable voice. She wanted to go to him but she didn't want to hurt him. She had no idea how long it would take for her to be corrupted or how it would show when she was far enough gone. If it hit out of the blue while she was next to him she could kill him.

Since she was angled so she could just barely see him she saw a young female approach. That caused her to lift her head since she was near the pups. For a brief moment she considered growling at her but the male started talking to her she relaxed. What they were talking about she wasn't sure but it sounded like some sort of drink. If it was for her she could only hope it would take care of her issue so she could go to the pack in the sky.

When he started speaking again she had to fight the pleasure that his voice gave her. She couldn't allow the mating to happen to protect him. She was forced to whine again.

Leon was starting to feel how his voice impacted on her as he spoke to her again. "My student is making some lovely tea. I know you are in your wolf form but I think you will like it. She is making some tea for me as well so we can share a cup, or bowl, of tea together. Are you hungry? Can I get you some meat?"

~~~

When Dan turned away from the wolf and Leon he walked out of the room and a slight grin crossed his face. The little spirit Kitsune he had been forced to discipline was in his fox form and was playing with one of the pups. Dan leaned over and scooped the boy up and rolled him on his back. That got a startled yip from him and the boy froze.

Dan started rubbing the boy's chest and chin. "Hello there little one, I am pleased to see you are making friends. I know the first few days were rather hard since this is totally different from where you hale from." He cuddled the little fox for a few more minutes before he felt a tug on the hem of his robes and a little growl. When he looked down Gianni was growling and lightly tugging on his robe. He growled back at her for good measure. "Put teeth marks on my robe and I will put tickly fingers on your ribs." He put the kit down and lightly stroked Gianni's head and back before giving her tail a light tug.

She barked at him and tried to get to his fingers but he was faster than she was. Instead she ran around his legs and barked at him. The little fox joined in and yipped at him as well. He had no idea why Gianni was doing this but it looked interesting.

Dan started laughing at the two of them and carefully stepped over them and went back to the meeting. It was going to be another long day. They were still working on the accommodations for the Kitsune's who had shown up. There were several packs from up north that were going to be there in a few days, more people would be coming in and so much to do.

When he walked back into the room Alysson gave him a concerned look. "How is my brother?" She had never seen him that worked up or out of sorts before.

Dan settled down in a chair and shrugged. "I think it is way too soon to really say. I was right figuring that the injured wolf is his mate. She was badly injured by the enemy and it is going to be a long road for him and her. He is with her right now and I figure I will go and see how they are doing later in the day. Right now he needs time alone with her." He took a cup of coffee he had been handed and took a sip. "So where were we?"

Xipil listened to what Dan had said but for the moment didn't comment. "We were discussing accommodations and how we wanted to deal with them. Frankly we don't have enough room in the compound for everyone coming. We were discussing options. For you the question I have is what would you recommend for the packs coming down?"

Dan sighed. "To be honest dropping them in the middle of the city is going to be very stressful for them and for the population. Most of the wolves from my country come from territories outside of a city. They do go to the city but they are used to being able to shift at will and go for a run or even play and lounge around." He took another sip of coffee. "I haven't really seen a map of the city and nearby country but I would almost have to say find a place outside town. We might want to consider that in any case since the number of troops we are probably going to need to consider it. The troops you currently have aren't anywhere near what I would call battle ready. Their training is lacking, poor quality equipment, antiquated weapons, and tactics. That is one reason I have my wolves training your personal troops. I have also placed an order for modern weapons for them as well."

Xipil sighed since he knew just how bad of a state his new country was in. "Dan one thing I want you to do for me is don't pull any punches. I know the empire was run very badly by the former emperor. I want to fix as much as possible and I need your honest opinion. Having said that I am leaning towards what you suggested. I am also contemplating a few suggestions Pam made for improving the city." He was looking tired since he had been working almost non-stop trying to get a hand on things.

Dan nodded at him. "I will do that Xipil since the worst thing any of us could do would be to try and soft touch things right now. You are going to have to be hard with your decisions for the time being. We don't have time to gently move forward. I am not saying be merciless but make a statement to your new populace on what is important to you. With the traitors and criminals in the high and mighty don't be gentle, be firm. They are the ones who have helped run this country into the ground. Oh and one other thing bring both humans and the supernatural into your government. The humans are going to start being scared that what had been done to the supernatural might happen to them. That is the worst thing possible right now."

Xipil's face hardened. "No worries on that Dan. Anyone caught and convicted of treason and other assorted crimes will be punished and harshly. I am also in the process of organizing weekly or even daily news releases on what is happening and why. I am not going to mention anything about the Dark One but what is being done for the Empire. The first report is going to be going out this afternoon. It is going to detail how and why the Emperor was replaced. I will have a copy delivered to you before it is sent but I am not planning on making any major changes."

Pam nodded since that was a damn good idea. "Just as a suggestion you might want to find a reporter that you can trust, well as much as possible, and start an imperial news service. Have them not just do reports on new policies but have a series of light stories such as the Imperial Mousy Squad. Small articles on life in the palace to show that we are people as well as the high and mighty. You need to be shown as the new leader as well but also as a person. The staff needs to be shown as workers but also as mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, and even someone's children."

Alysson tossed in her two cents worth and the conversation continued. The most pressing item was to start designing and building the training fort. The conversation continued from there.

~~~

Mari was sitting in the room she had taken over as her office. Seated across from her desk were the Alpha and his mate. "I am going to be blunt since we don't have a great deal of time. I expect the Alpha, his mate, the Beta, and his or her mate from each of the packs to be at the palace tomorrow. This is not a request, it is an order. It will be passed as coming from me since Dan and Pam are occupied with slightly more important issues."

The Alpha snorted. "Lady them's be fighting words. If you demand that they will come but they's be comin' with blood in they's eyes." There was a glint of amusement in his voice when he said that. His wolf was somewhat confused by the little woman but she had earned their respect.

Mari gave him a very toothy grin that didn't come near her eyes. "Oh, good, I can deal with them all at one time." She forced herself to relax for a moment. "Still worked up after dealing with that bitch. I told my Alpha I would deal with this and if I have to drag them out to the courtyard and challenge them I will. I don't have the patients for this and though I don't want to do anything as stupid as take over a pack I will bring them to heel for Leader Xipil. I know that Dan is not interested in taking over the packs on the west coast. He wants each and every pack to look to the country they are in. Dan does want to form a council of senior Alphas to set up a governing body."

Mari looked at the table and then looked the Alpha in the eye. When she spoke her voice was low but firm. "He does not want what happened to me and my pack to happen again to anyone. Before you ask we had a fucking bastard of an Alpha. I was raped when I was sixteen and the abuse continued till Dan killed the top three. He took down the other Alpha's and imposed a new set of rules. His former Beta, Ben has implemented much the same in Alysson's country as well." She stopped talking to see what the two would have to say.

The Alpha met her eyes and then dropped them. "Lady we's be here for you. I will send out the missives when we bin't don. I hasta say thanks you Ma'am. I's didn't believe at first but yous shown that we's do matter. Yous given mah pack hope and faith. We's might give honor to Leader Xipil but you Ma'am be's who's bring's us hope." He stood and gave her a slightly rough bow before leaving the room to take care of her request.

His mate smiled at Mari. "I will see about getting a menu worked out and set the courtyard up for a few fights." She gave Mari a serious look. "Have your mate there as well. If you are demanding they are there as well as their mates Lord Geoff needs to be there as well." She gave her a good nod before standing up and leaving.

Mari growled and sighed. *Geoff we are going to be meeting with the senior wolves of the three other packs in the city tomorrow at noon. I have almost demanded a trial by combat by them by the way my request was phrased.* She didn't want to admit she was both angry and pissed off by what happened the day before.

Geoff mentally snorted at her. *Yes ma'am and I will need to keep a closer eye on you or I might lose the clan to you. I would hate to have that happen.* A slight smile crossed his face when he said that. They had finished the meeting and now he was working with the soldiers who were going to become the new Emperor's Imperial Guard. Even in the short time they had been training they had come a good distance from the rather anemic fighters they had been. They did have a vast way to go but they were shaping up.

Mari growled at him. *Well of course, your clan has done so well under female rule why change what works?* She was most definitely teasing him as she was talking to him. About then Gettie walked in with the babies. *Gotta go since I have some hungry little beasts to feed. Love you Geoff.*

He had to smile even more as he dodged a blow from one of the soldiers. *Love you to Mari and I will talk to you later.* "Not bad but you need to work on the control of the sword. I know many people consider them outdated but a knife or sword doesn't run out of bullets." He continued with the lesson Mari had interrupted.

~~~

The Dark One had been working hard to get even a portion of his powers back. It had been rather hard on the local tribes and packs, not that he had really cared. A large number of them had started leaving the area they had lived in for generations. This also caused him problems since his loyal troops had to range further to find sacrifices which would work for him. For now he was having to make do with almost anyone they brought in. That was frustrating since he had to deal with getting less power from the people. It was also a case of not being able to re-create some of his spells. If a spell called for a virgin male or female it simply wouldn't work if an old woman was brought in.

Also the age was very important since trying to sacrifice an infant as a virgin sacrifice wouldn't work. They didn't have a concept of what that term meant. Once a child had reached puberty and started developing sexual feelings for another person, now that was the right age. Clearing the cave out and consecrating it to the Darkness had taken some time. He had been forced to use his personal energy to purge the mish-mash of conflicting spells as well.

That had been frustrating since he wasn't able to recover any of the residual magic. The spells had reacted and interacted in ways which made it impossible to do anything but wipe the slate clean. Now that he had finished that he had started rebuilding what he could at the moment. The vial with the essence of the Demon King was still around his neck and he kept resisting the urge to use it. The urge was getting stronger the more he realized just how much power he had lost.

At least he had some sacrifices coming in which would help. It was a start but he was going to have to bring in a great deal more before he was happy. The hardest part was that he had to go forward with his plans since somehow the other side had discovered some of what was going on. If he didn't go after them he was going to have the knocking on his doorstep after the winter storms. With a curse he went back to carefully creating the next spell to be powered when the sacrifices started coming in.

~~~

By the end of the day Dan and the others had a basic idea of what they were going to be doing. Since the majority of the wealthy and powerful were near the Palace their properties were going to be taken over. Not all of them but anyone convicted of treason or dereliction of duty were to be taken over. Some would be turned over to the incoming nobles and their staff. The rest were going to be either razed or modified for the imperial staff. The supply corps was going to be expanding as well. Uniforms were being redesigned based on suggestions from Dan and the others.

To be honest Xipil was pleased with that idea. The current uniforms were gaudy eyesores. They were red with gold accents and golden buttons. As all of them had seen once you reached a certain rank standardization went out the window. People had uniforms made from a very wide variety of materials, gold, both pure and adulterated, gems, and anything else. The new uniforms were being kept secret for the moment since the moment they went into production all the officer's uniforms were getting replaced. Any gems and metal of any value was going into the vast coffers in the Palace. All of the officer's quarters were going to be stripped down and a standardized layout imposed.

They all knew this was going to go over like a load of bricks but to be honest Xipil didn't care. He was cleaning house with a very thorough broom. The broom's name was Lord and Lady of the Clans and he wasn't going to hesitate in using them. Most of the civil staff had been sorted out as well as the officers of the Leader's Own had been sorted out. That left most of the general staff and god there were a lot of them. It was as if when they died they would simply be preserved and kept on the rolls.