Forest's Journey
Chapter 16

It was the morning after the borders had been set, and it was time to make rules for the pack to follow. Forest and Rose had discussed it the previous night, and came up with thirteen rules that were quite reasonable and easy to follow. That morning the Alphas held the wolves back again so that they could learn the rules as well.

“Good morning, the Pack of the Forest!” greeted the Alphas.

“Good morning!” the pack replied.

“Today we’re establishing some rules that everyone has to follow. If any of you have any strong objections to any of these rules, don’t be afraid to speak out.” said Rose.

“These are the rules:

No wolf from our pack may trespass onto the territory of another pack unless they were sent on a mission by the Alphas.

You can’t eat prey that should belong to the entire pack before prey sharing at night. If you’re desperate for food you can hunt for yourself or for someone else when you’re off duty.

Pups under six moons can’t leave camp without an adult.

Pups are made Psi at six moons and become a Lambda at 12 moons.

Every wolf in the pack must be allowed to become a Gamma at 72 moons, no how long they’ve been in the pack for.

You can leave and join this pack at will, but you can’t be loyal to wolves in two or more packs at once.

You must always obey instructions from your superiors. If you really do have a problem with them, you can talk to them or a more senior wolf about it.

You can’t kill any of your packmates in any circumstance. You can injure or even disable them in a challenge, when they’ve turned traitor or for self-defence, but you must never kill them.

Every wolf must accept an official challenge to their position

Everyone rises one rank when a wolf ranked above them dies or is exiled. This means that when the Alphas die, the Beta will replace them.

Prey must be eaten in the order wolves are ranked. Mothers and their pups may eat before the Alphas.

Any wolf who joins the pack will become the lowest ranked Lambda, no matter what rank they held in their previous pack.

Any wolf can propose a change to these rules, but they must be approved by over half the pack.

Punishment for failing to follow these rules varies depending on the severity of the crime and the circumstances and context surrounding it, but it must be dealt out. Does anyone have any objections?” Forest announced.

“I have an objection.” Feather called.

“Yes, Feather?” Rose asked.

“A medical Psi’s training needs much longer than six moons. Nine moons is a much more appropriate time.” Feather explained.

“We will change the rule to accommodate that.” Forest promised.

“How is everyone supposed to remember these rules?” a wolf asked.

“These rules will be taught to all Psi. For adult wolves right now, we’ll be up on this rock and repeating the rules 3 times every morning for two weeks. Hopefully you can remember it after that.” declared Rose.

“Do Psi’s have to stay Psi for six moons if they’re an exceptionally fast learner and they learn everything they need to and pass the assessment in under six moons?” Hazel, the Sigma, asked.

“No, they shouldn’t have to. We’ll change the rules around that.” Forest promised.

“What if one of you and one of your packmates were locked in a deathmatch, and if you don’t kill them, they will kill you? What do we do then?” questioned another wolf.

An uncomfortable silence ensued, every wolf glancing at each other awkwardly.

“You can knock them out, call for help, or lead them to a place with more wolves so others can do it.” Rose suggested.

“But what if you were out at the border, for example, and you can’t replace a way to knock them out, call for help or replace a place with wolves in time?” asked the wolf.

“That’s not likely going to happen. I’m not going to change such an important rule based on something that might never happen.” Forest decided.

“I agree.” said Rose.

The wolf settled back down, disgruntled.

“What if more than half the wolves in the pack wanted to change a rule, but they were too scared to publicly vote for change because they were too scared to oppose the Alphas, who were against the change?” asked one wolf.

“We’ll make sure the votes are anonymous. Every wolf will be given a leaf and they are to turn the long side vertically, and if they draw a vertical line, that means they support the change. If they draw a horizontal line, that means they oppose the change.” Forest decided.

“If wolves can join or leave the pack at will, some wolves will have very mixed or undecided allegiances, which is bad for any pack they join.” pointed out another wolf.

“You’re right. Let’s make it so that wolves can only leave the pack twice and join the pack twice. After that they’re stuck in their positions.” decided Rose.

“I agree.” added Forest.

“If a wolf in the pack is being targeted by another because they’re being challenged by that wolf all the time, that will become a huge problem.” fretted another wolf.

“Yes, so let’s change the rules so that one wolf can only challenge another wolf three times.” decided Rose.

“Any more objections?” Forest asked.

No wolf responded.

“Good, then we’ve officially established the rules for this pack. From this moment forward, any changes that are proposed must go through voting.” declared Rose.