White walls surrounded Collin, walls he had seen so many times throughout his young life that they were little cause for notice, normally. Clearly, today was not a normal day. Normally those walls were a shade of off-white plaster (it was anyone's guess if they had always been that color), with the two walls adjacent to the door bare, but the two opposite walls were rather cluttered with posters, pictures, and a shelf of his favorite books just above the headboard of his bed. Today, this was not the case, much to the boy's confusion and alarm. 

Instead of being off-white, today the walls were lit by an eerie blue glow, originating from an equally unsettling portal that had opened up in the far wall. The glow, and the color it imparted, was not the only change that could be ascribed as the portal's doing. The posters and photographs that had been on the wall where the portal now occupied had been damaged - as if someone had taken a scalpel and carefully cut exactly enough room for the portal itself, including through two volumes of Harry Potter, and three volumes of Game of Thrones that had been stacked at one end of the bookshelf. Those books now had large chunks missing entirely, as though some bizarre book-eating monster had taken a bite out of them. Not that Collin's primary concern was for his books (though a part of him was rather indignant about the damage). No, he had other, large-mysterious-portal-shaped concerns at the moment. 

For instance, how the heck had it gotten there? Of secondary, but no less pressing importance was where does it go?

The fact that the strange, glowy oval that had taken up residence in (on?) his bedroom wall was a portal was elementary. Obviously, it was a portal, because that's how mysterious extradimensional portals appeared in all the games and movies that Collin had seen. Just as basic was the conclusion that it, naturally, led somewhere. That was just what portals did. Of course, the devil was in the details, as the saying went. 

Collin spent several minutes gawking at the portal, unsure about even setting foot in his room for fear that, like a black hole, the portal would just suck him in and whisk him off to who knew where. This state couldn't go on forever. For one thing, all of his clothes were in his room. His books were in his room, and now that he thought of it, the nearness of his remaining collection to that portal was distressing, especially in light of what it had done to the unfortunate volumes at the end of the shelf. Even that wasn't quite enough to get him to enter the room, though. 

In the end, though, simple curiosity won out. He entered cautiously, just stepping over the threshold at first. He didn't feel any kind of tug or pull towards the portal, which made him somewhat more confident, but he figured caution was still very much warranted. He then noticed a tightly bound, gilt-edged scroll lying in the middle of the room. 

That could be a trap, certainly, but nothing Collin had ever read had discernably hurt him, and maybe it would shed information (the portal was shedding its own light, remember) on the situation. Still cautious, ready to drop the thing and bolt at the slightest sign of untowardness, he picked it up. And unfurled it. Written in a precise hand, and probably with a legitimate quill to boot, was a message :

To whom it may concern, 

In case you were wondering, if you're reading this, it concerns you. Before you is a portal. If you cannot see a portal, or in fact cannot see at all, how are you reading this? Is it reading itself?  I'd love to know. Anyways, the portal will take you to a place and time where you will find riches, fame, glory, and happiness. At this same destination, however, you will also find struggle, hardship, adversity, sorrow, and most likely a huge dose of culture shock. The good is there, but it's usually mixed in with the bad. The main point is that for whatever reason or purpose, you will be needed there. 

However, I cannot stress enough that you do not have to step through. The portal will not and cannot return you to wherever you are now. As far as I've been able to ascertain, these journeys are painfully one-way. You will be leaving everything you know and love behind, and I speak from experience when I tell you that no matter which way you ultimately choose, you will regret it for the rest of your days. If you enter the portal, you will long for the home and family you left behind. If you do not, you will always wonder if you missed your chance at Destiny. I know The Choice is hard, and I advise you to consider it deeply before committing to it. 

Should you wish to step up to the plate, all that is required is for you to walk through the portal. If you wish to reject Destiny's offer, simply throw this scroll through (Please re-roll it first!) and continue about your day. Either way, I earnestly hope that you make the right choice. As I already said, there's no turning back once you've committed one way or the other. 

Sincerely, 
Your Predecessor

P.S. - I do not actually know how these messages work. I never wrote this that I can recall, and I suspect you will not be writing one of your own for whoever next gets The Choice. And yet, here you are reading this, and whoever comes next will be reading a similar message, but in your hand and voice. Should the opportunity to write such a message arise, make sure you do not delay in penning it - I am unsure of what the consequences would be.

2P.S. - It should also be plainly stated that you cannot bring anyone else along with you. No friends, no family, no lovers (if you have any), and for the sake of your emotional well-being, for God's sake don't bring your beloved pet along. You can get a new pet when you arrive if that is your inclination, and doing so is definitely better than watching your current pet suffer in unspeakable agony because their skin inexplicably came off during transit. In such a case, you will be obligated to put them out of their misery, and I can attest from painful experience that this is very bad for your mental health. To reiterate: THE PORTAL IS FOR YOU, AND ONLY YOU.

Well. That was rather straightforward. And ominous. It seemed Collin had received a Plot Coupon, but the question was should he redeem it?  Like most people, he did indeed have friends and family, but wow...was he going to let that stop him from getting a grade-A, honest-to-God Adventure? What did his current life have going for it, really? 

Then again, the message had all but promised that things wouldn't necessarily be sunshine, rainbows, and puppies on the other side. Still...Adventure! It was a priceless opportunity to be a Hero! And the message had also stated rather plainly that this was a literal once-in-a-lifetime thing. Turning it down here and now meant never getting another offer. How could he possibly pass it up? 

An older person might've considered longer. A more responsible person might have thought to leave a note or something for their family. A (probably) wiser person might throw the scroll back through and stay where they were. Collin was not any of these things. He was a twelve-year-old boy, and he was getting his Adventure!

He stepped confidently up to the portal and stepped through. 

Chapter One : The Portal Is For You, and Only You

The sensations of pressing, squeezing, stretching, and burning assaulted Collin as soon as he stepped into the portal. It wasn't painful, exactly...but it wasn't pleasant, either. The moment stretched for what felt simultaneously like seconds and years, until finally he was spat out, landing at first on his feet but soon crumpling to the ground as several waves of nausea wracked his guts. The feeling soon passed, luckily. 

The first thing Collin did was get back onto his feet and look around. What he saw wasn't exactly promising - he appeared to be in a thick jungle. There was a tree nearby that could fit the Empire State Building inside its trunk without any issue, and that tree looked smaller than most of the others. From Science class, he knew that the area he was in was the forest floor, which was probably the best place to be considering he had no real skill at climbing (and, gosh, those trees looked like they'd probably not be fun to fall out of). 

There was less vegetation than he would have expected, and the soil underfoot felt -- wait. Where were his socks and shoes? Related, but more pressing - where were his clothes? 

" 'The portal is for you, and only you'. Oh, for...well, there's nothing I can do about it now," he groaned. At least it was warm. 

He was already beginning to regret his decision, especially now that he was naked in a hostile environment and he was remembering the whole "there's no turning back" part. It was a small comfort that, if he had known he'd be dropped into a rainforest, he still wouldn't have been able to prepare for it before stepping through. Not that he actually knew how to prepare for a trip to a rainforest. He'd read a few 'survival guides', but didn't remember half of what they had advised - what American expects to suddenly end up in a jungle?

He did remember the basics : water, food, shelter. He was pretty sure he was in a rainforest, so water was not exactly going to be scarce. Food? Harder subject, but in stories the characters always "figured it out" somehow, so he was fairly confident that hunger would somehow be a great teacher-slash-motivator. Thus, he decided to prioritize finding shelter. Finding, because the idea of having to somehow build a shelter was more daunting than figuring out what was food here or how to get that food. 

He had no compass, and the position of the sun was hard to discern past the thick canopy above. So, all being potentially equal, he picked a direction at random. He did recall reading that humans in general were actually very bad at navigating without landmarks or other cues, and that left to themselves would end up walking in circles. So, every dozen steps or so, he used a pointy rock he'd found to dig an arrow into the soft, clay-like soil, pointing in his intended travel direction. If he found himself coming up on one of his arrows, he'd know he'd gotten turned around somewhere. 

He'd heard of 'jet lag', but had never really understood it until now. He'd left home at around four-thirty (pm), but here it was probably some time between dawn and noon, as far as he could tell. He was already feeling more fatigued than normal, and somewhat achey, too. Maybe that was a normal effect of portal travel? Either way, he soon had to stop and rest, and not actually knowing what time it was, it already felt like he had been walking for days.

As a resting spot, he had chosen a particularly smooth-barked tree to sit against, and he specifically sat facing the way he was headed, and made an arrow as an extra reminder. He was smart enough to realize that if he wandered aimlessly, he'd get lost and then die somehow (probably horribly).

Though he knew conceptually that there was all sorts of animal life in a rainforest, and he had been specifically avoiding thinking about all the insect life that thrived in such environments, he had thus far been utterly cavalier about the implications of that. When a rather large snake came slithering out of the sparse undergrowth towards him he both realized how stupid he was being, and completely froze in terror. 

Just as the snake got close enough to be in striking distance, there was a sharp whistle, and suddenly a knife seemingly sprouted out of the snake's head and pinned it to the ground. Still feeling the cold rush of fight-or-flight adrenaline, Collin stared at the knife - more properly a dagger, really - in shock. 

Moments later, there was a soft thud, which snapped Collin's attention to the...wolf-man? Fox-man? Werewolf? Werefox? Collin didn't know how to classify him, other than being obviously male, as he was just as clothes-less as Collin. The newcomer approached slowly, his hands (paws?) held up non-aggressively. When he reached the snake, and the knife embedded in it, the...man...crouched and cocked his head at Collin, "ᚹᚻᚪᛏ ᛫ ᚪᚱᛖ ᛫ ᛃᚢᛌ ᛫ ᛞᛟᛁᚾᚷ ᛫ ᚻᛖᚱᛖ ᛫᛫ ᚴᛟᚠᛌᚪ? ᚹᚻᛖᚱᛖ ᛫ ᚪᚱᛖ ᛫ ᛃᛟᚱ ᛫ ᛈᚪᚱᛖᚾᛏᛋ?" 

Collin was rapidly realizing that, no, he wasn't in a story. In stories, everyone spoke English, even the talking animals and the aliens and so on. Other than that it was clearly a language, and sounded like questions, Collin didn't have the slightest clue as to what was said. 

Collin shrugged, hoping to at least get across that he couldn't understand or didn't know the answer. The Wolf/Fox person made an annoyed chuff sound, and muttered something under his breath that Collin couldn't hear at all. He then wrenched his dagger out of the snake, which had finally stopped twitching. He used the dagger to dig a small hole, then quickly beheaded the snake and used the dagger to flick the head into that hole, as well as to fill it back in and pack it down with the flat of the blade. 

The dagger vanished in his hand/paw, and Collin was awed by what was either casual magic or very good prestidigitation. More likely the former, since where was it stored? The dude was naked, and Collin seriously doubted that his fur could serve as pockets. 

The Wolf-Fox stood up, and Collin instinctively shrank back against the tree (as if that would protect him), and the man again held up his paws to show he wasn't threatening. He then held out one of those paws to Collin, "ᚴᛟᛗᛖ × ᛏᛌᛖ ᛫ ᛖᛚᛞᛖᚱᛋ ᛫ ᚴᚪᚾ ᛫ ᛋᛟᚱᛏ ᛫ ᛃᚢᛌ ᛫ ᛟᚢᛏ×" 

Collin hesitated. Could he trust this person? He was definitely an Adult, and Collin was feeling quite keenly at the moment that he was very much not. Adults took care of kids, right? And he had saved him from that snake, so...he took hold of the man's paw and let himself be hauled to his feet. 

The Wolf-guy kicked the remains of the snake back into the undergrowth, saying, "ᛒᚪᛞ × ᛏᛟᚴᛊᛁᚴ×" 

Then, apparently remembering that Collin didn't know his language, pointed towards where he'd kicked the snake, mimed eating (which gave Collin a good look at his very sharp teeth), then pretended to be throwing up violently.  The message was clear - that snake was not safe to eat. Collin nodded to show he understood.

The Wolf-man (Collin had finally decided he was definitely more 'wolfish' than 'vulpine') took the boy by the hand and began confidently leading him...somewhere. Doubts crept through Collin's mind. He didn't really know the Wolf, knew nothing about his kind, and without a common language he could see that it might be difficult to detect bad intentions before it was too late. The Wolf didn't seem like a 'bad man', but how was Collin to really tell? He'd been taught in school not to trust strangers, every year he'd had to sit through at least one such 'class', but here he was, meekly being led by the hand to...he didn't even know. For all he knew, he was going to end up as a snack.

He took the time, therefore, to get a good look at the Wolf. The first thing Collin noticed about him was that he was tall, somewhere over six foot, by Collin's estimate. Collin himself was rather short for his age, at four-and-a-half feet, and he came even with the Wolf's chest. The Wolf had fur that was very fox-like, with the classic red-orange fur covering most of his body, except on his muzzle, forearms, and lower legs, which were black. There were only two other spots of color - his throat and the tip of his tail were white. He had a thick mane, which was mostly black, interspersed with red and flecks of gray just starting to appear. Not knowing anything else about how Wolf-people aged, Collin figured from those gray hairs that if he was human, the Wolf would be in his early to mid forties. The main thing Collin noticed was the Wolf-man's scent. It was strong and pungent, not like body sweat, though it had hints of that, and was not altogether unpleasant once he started getting used to it. 

They soon came out onto a packed-earth trail, just wide enough for them to walk abreast, and the Wolf let go of Collin's hand. Not long afterward, Collin could see smoke up ahead. A village, probably. As they drew closer, Collin could hear voices (talking in the same language the Wolf used), the sound of children playing (apparently, no matter what species, kids playing sounds much the same), and a regular thudding sound that Collin immediately recognized as construction of some kind. 

As they entered the village, Collin was instantly focus of attention. Everyone Collin saw was of the same kind as the Wolf, and he was beginning to wonder if he was the only human in this entire world. He also noticed right away that every male he saw was as naked as he and the Wolf were, as were all the cubs, but all of the females above a certain age wore colorful skirts or flowy tunics made of what looked to be silk, or some fabric similar to silk. A few of the older females wore bracelets, anklets, and rings of various metals, sometimes with lovely precious stones as well. None of the males wore such jewelry. Though some did sport necklaces, torques, and rings these were not in the same quantity as the females. Collin figured the ones with jewelry must be important somehow. 

Wolves crowded around them, some leaving whatever work they'd been doing to gawk at (Collin presumed) the little, naked, tailless monkey. His guide pulled him close, and growled at anyone who got too close. Collin could hear him replying tersely to some of his tribemates' questions, but was too busy hiding behind him to pay attention.

He was led to one of the most bejewled females, whose clearly venerable age and lavish accoutrements made Collin figure her as the Chieftess of this village. As they neared, she barked something at their followers, who immediately dispersed and left them be. When they were in speaking distance, the Wolf bowed low to her,  bending almost in half at the waist and raising his tail straight up in the air, which inadvertently gave Collin a view of his anus. Though the Wolf's fur normally made it easy to ignore his nudity, that was definitely lewd, and Collin was so engrossed in staring that the Wolf had to growl at him to get his attention. Still bowed, with gestures the Wolf beckoned Collin to stand next to him and bow as well. 

It was really weird. After the unwitting show he'd just gotten, all Collin could think about as he copied the Wolf's movements was that everyone behind them would be getting the same kind of awkward view Collin had. 

The Chieftess said something, and out of the corner of his eye, Collin saw the Wolf rise, so he followed suit. There followed a short conversation between the Chieftess and the Wolf, with many intrigued glances at Collin from the Chieftess. The attention made the boy very self-conscious, and his hands gravitated to cover his privates, which made her snicker. When the Wolf saw the cause of her amusement, he angrily smacked Collin's hands away from his crotch, saying, "ᚾᛁᛃᛖᛋ!" In a way that was obviously some kind of 'no'. Not wanting to anger the Wolf further, Collin kept his hands at his side and fought the urge to cover himself again, feeling doubly embarrassed now that he'd obviously committed some kind of faux pas. 

What the Chieftess said next sounded like an admonishment, and Collin saw the Wolf's ears lower briefly in response. She merely chuckled, and beckoned Collin closer, which he obviously couldn't refuse. It was, strangely, up close that Collin realized something about the females here. They were mostly flat-chested like the males! Though, the area around their breasts did have a sort of suggestion of... well...breasts. Collin had seen one or two females on the way in who sported actual mammaries, and Collin realized that - like canids of his own world - the females' breasts probably were only prominent when pregnant or nursing, which might explain the prevalence of skirts, but no tops, among the She-wolves.

The Chieftess extracted one of her necklaces from the rest, and carefully took it off, laying it around Collin's neck and deftly adjusting the cord so it would sit right. She smiled (at least Collin hoped it was a smile) at him, "It might go easier for you both if he can understand you, Teyō-kō."

She had not suddenly started speaking English, which was an odd experience for Collin, considering he'd understood her perfectly. It was like watching a foreign-language film poorly dubbed over in English - her mouth movements did not at all match what they'd be in English. It had to be the necklace - or was it an 'amulet', since it was clearly magic? Either way, it was impressive. Not only did it translate, but it gave him context for things not translatable in English. For instance, 'Teyo' was the Wolf's name, so it hadn't been 'translated', but the word also apparently meant something like 'balance' or 'fairness'. Similarly, the '-kō' part was a diminutive suffix used for a lower-ranking, unrelated Wolf for whom one feels a degree of affection. The amulet 'told' him the suffix was a shortening of 'Kōva', which meant 'cub' or (in more human terms) 'child'.

Teyo grumbled something under his breath that Collin (and the amulet, apparently) couldn't catch, but the Chieftess laughed.  Turning to Collin, she knelt to be more at eye-level, "So, first things first - what's your name, little one? Teyō and I can't keep calling you 'stray'. It's a bit rude, even if it is accurate."

"C-C-Collin, ma'am," the boy stammered. Unsure if he ought to use 'milady' or something similar, he fell back on basics. He'd read enough stories in which foreigners or aliens would take someone's full name as their first name, so Collin (probably wisely) just gave his first name. 

The Chieftess laughed, "How polite! See, and you were worried he'd embarrass you, Teyō! Now, Collin, how did you end up in our territory all by yourself and with no clothes? I've know humans well enough to know your kind rarely goes without coverings."

The scroll had said nothing about keeping it a secret, so Collin told them everything. When he was done, the Chieftess gave a curt order to Teyo, "Go tell my father what we've heard here. If he's able, have him join us. If not, ask him for everything he might know about this. He might know or remember something helpful. Meanwhile, Collin, would you like some clothing? Among our people, for a male to merely cover his organs - let alone wear clothing - is considered shameful, but I know things are different among humans. We can try to construct human-style garments for you, if you'd like."

Teyo ran off to fulfill the Chieftess' order, and Collin felt much less confident on his own, but he tried his best to cover his nervousness. "Um...If it's not done, then I'd rather not. It seems like I'm going to be here for a long time, so I might as well get used to it earlier instead of later. Um...ma'am."

She seemed pleased with his answer, "You're very brave, Collin, and not just for your willingness to try to adopt our ways. You were given a difficult choice, and merely because you were told that you'd be needed, you left your den and pack to serve that need, though you didn't know what it that might be. It is fitting, as well, that your name is very similar to a word in our tongue - kolyen, which means --"

"Courage," Collin finished for her, the amulet having already informed him. His eyes went wide as he realized he'd interrupted her, but she laughed off his apology. 

"It can also be translated as 'foolhardy', something you might want to keep in mind. I must admit that, though I don't doubt that you were brought here for some purpose, I have no idea what need you're supposed to be the answer to. Hopefully my father has some insight that might help us with this puzzle. He has served as Alpha here for many, many years, and his wisdom is great. I, for better or worse, have not yet accrued such."

So she wasn't the Chieftess? When he asked her, she smiled, "The term is 'Alpha', and not yet. I now handle many of my father's duties, though. Father is very old, even among our people, and these last few years his age has been catching up to him. Standing on its own is quite exhausting for him, and on some days his joints ache so badly that he can hardly get out of bed to relieve himself without assistants to help," she told him sadly, "And yet still we all hope that he will stay with us a few more years."

Teyō returned, panting slightly, "Denmother, the Alpha declined to join us just yet,  but he did tell me that he had once heard from one of the Lutræhe merchants of a very similar thing. A Magus among that people, very respected in his village, and who had several mates and many cubs, suddenly vanished overnight. The villagers, when investigating that Magus' disappearance, only found a scroll like what Collin described, which said 'The one you loved is mine, now! I found them, and they came to me willingly! I am Fate!' That village, Alpha says, was attacked - Alpha didn't know by what or who - shortly afterward, with only a pawful of survivors to tell the tale."

Before Collin could start freaking out, the Denmother spoke thoughtfully, "Likely, their enemies heard of their Magus being missing, and were quick to capitalize on that weakness. The story does make it seem as though Collin may have been tricked by someone or something malevolent, but it neither proves or disproves anything from the message he received. I wouldn't worry about your family, Collin. Not yet, anyway."

"What bothers me, Denmother, is the idea that there's some Magus whose power is great enough to snatch people from other worlds. Such power is unheard of! And if they're doing so because they believe they are Fate itself?" Teyō shuddered, "Such a Magus would be insane, and therefore dangerous beyond belief."

"I agree. Either way, young Collin here is, well, here. If he does have some mission or quest of great enough importance that he was - whether tricked or not - brought to us from so far...it would be foolish for us to allow him to come to harm before he is able to fulfill that purpose. He is therefore to be treated as one of our own, entitled to the same level of protection, instruction, and care as our own cubs.  Since you are our most experienced warrior, Teyō-kō, I shall entrust him to your care. I will not go so far as to order you to adopt him - that shall be left for the two of you to decide - but for all other intents and purposes, you are to treat him as though you made him with your own seed."

"Yes, Denmother," Teyō replied, ducking a slight bow. Collin couldn't tell what Teyō thought about this, but all his interactions with Teyō so far had been alright, so he wasn't too worried. At worst, he figured, Teyō would obey the Denmother's orders and treat him like a son, which couldn't be that bad. The Denmother gave a curt gesture of dismissal, and Teyō's paw on Collin's back prompted him to bow once again before they left the Denmother's presence. 

Once they were out of earshot of the princess (as Collin kept thinking of her as), Teyō groaned and tugged at his own ears as if trying to pull them free of his skull, "She really ought to have given you to some Wolf who knew more about Humans. Or cubs. I've never taken care of either."

Collin just shrugged, as it wasn't as though he knew about those things either. Turning to him, Teyō crouched and made Collin face him, "I know I'm going to fuck this up somehow, but she told me to treat you like you're my son, so that's what I'll do. In return, though, I expect you to act like it. I don't know how it is in Human families, but among Canids, if you're male the only person you must obey completely is your father. The same goes for females with their mothers. It almost never comes up, because what father would do this, but if I tell you to jump off a cliff the entirety of Canid society expects that you will do so without hesitation. Understand? Oh, Dog of Heaven, I just realized I'm going to have to explain everything to you! Stuff most cubs pick up from observation!"

Collin could well understand his dread. He had no clue what was different between Human and Canid culture. For both of them, it was probably going to be a steep learning curve. Trying to be kindly, Collin said, "Let's start with the simple stuff? Like, what should I call you?"

The Wolf blinked for a moment, then grinned, "The jewelry the Denmother gave you won't tell you?"

Collin hadn't thought he could query his awesome translation amulet, and when he tried it, he got nothing, which he promptly reported. 

"Call me Hasūr, Sūr, or Sūyi, depending on if the situation is very formal, formal, or informal...or you can just call me Teyō-sū. I won't mind either way. And you are Kovayōs, Kova, or Kov' in similar contexts," Teyō replied after a few moments' thought. 

"How do I know what counts as 'formal' or 'very formal'?"

Teyō shrugged, "You can usually pick it up from context - listen to how me or others around you are speaking. But some things are obvious - like a funeral is always 'very formal', but if you're talking to someone while you or they are in the middle of relieving your- or theirself, that's always informal, even if it's the Alpha himself. Also, certain places inherently force one mode over the others, like the latrines are never any kind of formal."

"Or, I figure, religious places are always 'very formal'?" Collin suggested. Teyō nodded approvingly. 

"Exactly. Just, try not to do 'informal' things at formal events or places if you can at all avoid it. Taking a piss while at a funeral, for example. You're still young enough to get away with it if you really can't hold it, but you're supposed to at least excuse yourself and do your business away from the area."

The topic was reminding Collin about his own needs, so he asked his next question with a bit of embarrassed squirming, "Speaking of which...where do I..."

Teyō laughed and stood up, "Talking about it made it more urgent? Heh. So, you're lucky enough to be a male, so no one cares where you piss - just don't be an ass about it. If you're too shy about it, a tree is recommended. If you've got to shit, c'mon, I'll show you."

Collin's new step-father led him through the village, pointing out what the various buildings and structures were as they passed them, "That's the females' longhouse. If you ever go in there without a She's express permission, I will beat you so hard your pelt will change colors, and that'll seem like a gentle tongue-bath compared to what the Shes will do to you. You've got hair around your dick - not a lot, granted - but enough that you're obviously too old to be in there. The longhouse you saw when we first entered the village is ours, though for some reason females aren't as restricted from entering."

The longhouses were clearly felled trees, apparently extensively hollowed out to make a suitable building. They were partially sunk into the ground, and the long 'walls' had been planed down to a roughly straight surface,  giving the buildings an upside-down 'U' shape. Collin guessed they were about sixty-five feet in length, sixteen feet wide, and nineteen feet tall. Collin could see regular slits, angled slightly, towards the 'roof', and there were several short chimneys (made of iron, it looked like) dotted along the apex. 
Except on the straightened sides, the bark from the original tree had been kept intact, which Collin figured helped rain run off more easily. 

As they passed the females' house, they soon came upon what was either a small farm or a large garden, with a simple roofed area in the center. Teyō pointed to the structure, "That is where the latrines are. Underneath the roof there, you'll find two trenches, one empty and one being used. The one in use is also used for scraps and refuse, anything that will naturally degrade on its own. When it gets full, the contents will be composted into a rich fertilizer, to be used in the gardens, while the secondary trench will start being used instead. They alternate, essentially, and often provide more than enough fertilizer for the gardens. During bad seasons, some of our neighbors come and trade for it, in hope of improving their own harvests."

"I'd have thought you all ate meat," Collin said, surprised. 

Teyō chuckled, "We do. But, one has to hunt - or be friends with a hunter - to get meat. Not everyone is suited for stalking prey. In fact, other than myself - and I have a slightly different job - there are only three Hunters in the village right now."

"What's your job, then?"

"Didn't you have to shit? I showed you the latrines, go do your business! To answer your question, though, I am a Warrior, not just a regular Hunter. In times like this, when we're at peace with our neighbors (for the most part), it's my duty to patrol the jungle around the village, and eliminate any predators that the Hunters aren't experienced enough to handle, and it's my job to keep a nose up for enemies approaching, and to drive them off if I can. That's why I found you - I caught your scent as you stumbled into our territory, and investigated."

Collin shifted uncomfortably, "Um...I don't know how Wolf-people do it...I mean, cleaning up...ah...afterward."

Teyō immediately became awkward as well, "You can't just...groom yourself? And we're Wolves, Collin. 'Wolf-people' sounds awkward."

Face reddening as he figured out what the Wolf meant, Collin shook his head, "We...um...use, like, paper...or leaves sometimes."

"That's disgusting! How could you possibly...how can that be clean? Look, there's a well next to the latrines that we don't use for drinking water. Haul yourself a bucket, and use that water to clean your tailhole, and try to be thorough. Otherwise everyone's gonna be able to smell it on you from thirty Tails away, and the Denmother would be biting my ear over me not taking care of you properly. When you're done, dump the water out into the trench."

Thoroughly embarrassed, Collin ran and did as he was told. The latrines area was exactly as described - just a roof covering two parallel ditches. It was quite obvious which one he was supposed to use, and he made sure to get his water first. The area had no privacy to speak of, but thankfully there was no one else around - or worse, using the latrines themselves. When he was finished,  'grooming' himself with the water was weird and awkward, but he couldn't deny that he was much cleaner there afterward. He could probably get used to doing it that way, but the lack of even the slightest privacy would be quite a bit harder to accustom to. Then again, he was already mostly comfortable walking around naked (as long as he didn't get a boner, which surprisingly hadn't happened yet), so it might be easier than he'd thought. 

When he returned to Teyō, he found him talking with another Wolf, a shorter female with very similar coloring to Teyō. As he approached, they turned to him. The She's tail wagged as Collin walked up, and she smiled at him, "So you're my new little nephew! Teyō, I'm surprised the Denmother trusted you with a cub, considering you have no interest in making them."

His stepfather shifted his feet, "I think she was angling to get me more 'inclined', so she has a chance at catching me during her Season."

Teyō's sister laughed, "I wouldn't be surprised! With how consistently you turn Shes down, there isn't a female in the village that wouldn't cut their tail off for a chance at yours. Hell, I'm your sister and I would, if just for bragging rights over the other Shes."

"Ama and Sūr would skin us both alive, but that's flattering nonetheless," Teyō replied dryly.

"Speaking of, have you shown him to them, yet? The rumor's already all over the village, and you know Ama will be mad if you don't."

Teyō actually cringed, "I...may have been putting it off, a bit. I didn't want to overwhelm him with a crash course in 'don't piss off your new Wolf grandfather and end up with a cock in your tailhole'. I don't think he's ready just yet for that kind of dominance display."

The She shook her head, "He'll have to learn it somehow, and Sūr probably won't go that far with him - he's not a sadist. Plus, you'll have to introduce him to Sūr when you bed down tonight - there's no avoiding that - and if you haven't already gone by, he'll be extra grumpy with both of you."

Teyō sighed, "You're probably right. Oh! I probably ought to...Collin, this is my sister Asahā. Asa-kō, this is...my son, Collin."

Collin had no idea what he ought to do, so he sketched a short bow like Teyō had done earlier. Asahā giggled, "I'm starting to see why you're wanting to put it off, Teyō. You haven't taught him anything yet, have you? Come here, Kova, I'll show you how to greet someone properly."

Collin nervously stepped closer to the She-wolf, looking over at Teyō for reassurance as she knelt down in front of him, less than arm's reach away, "Now, for a Denmother or Alpha, a bow is absolutely correct, but for anyone else, it's different. First, you touch noses, like this...breathe in through your nose...and at the same time as me, lick your nose."

Collin couldn't help but giggle as the bottoms of their respective tongues touched briefly during the maneuver. "And that's all," she said, pulling away,  "If an adult or older cub won't get down to greet you properly, just put your nose against the highest part of their body you can reach, and sniff hard a few times. Remember that if you're older, you don't have to lower yourself so they can greet you - it's a dominance thing."

"How am I supposed to know if another cub is older than me or not?" Collin asked. 

This time Teyō answered, apparently trying to prove to his sister he was teaching Collin things, "The easiest rule? If they have more fur around their sheath than you do, treat them as older. If they have less, they're likely younger. If they're similar, they're around your age, and won't really call you on it if you guess wrong. In general, though, treat all females as younger than you. Ow! Hey!"

Asahā had smacked him hard on the rump, which he was now rubbing. "You're teaching him bad habits! Collin, if a female is wearing a tunic, she's probably only a little older, or around your age. Once she's had her first Season, she'll switch to just skirts, like mine.  For your age, any female without clothes is going to be younger than you. All the same rules still apply, at least as far as greetings go."

Collin nodded. That seemed...well, complicated, but shouldn't be hard to remember. 

Teyō cleared his throat (or growled, maybe), "We might as well get meeting Ama and Sūr out of the way. Asahā-kō, do you know where I might find them both?"

The She grinned slyly, "They're speaking with the Alpha, last I saw."

Teyō groaned, "I should've left him for that snake! Ugh. C'mon, Collin, let's go put our tails in our teeth."

Collin's handy amulet had actually translated the idiom more along the lines of 'let's go put our feet in our mouths', but that didn't have quite the same nuance, which the amulet 'explained' as being related to 'chasing (one's) tail', which meant to do something pointless to pass time. If one were literally chasing one's tail and ended up biting their own appendage (putting their tail in their teeth), that was obviously foolish. While the English idiom meant 'to make a faux pas', the Wolf version had clear connotations of doing something on purpose that was known to be dumb. 

They said goodbye to Asahā, and headed toward the males' longhouse. Teyō was clearly taking his time, and they were almost halfway there before he started coaching Collin. "Now, if my parents are still with the Alpha, you should greet my mother first, like Asahā-kō showed you. Next greet the Alpha with a bow, like we did for the Denmother. And greet my father last, and with a bow, but a shorter one than for the Alpha. In general, the order you should greet people in these kinds of situation is : females by age, then males by rank, then any remaining equal/junior females by age, and you do not greet males equal or below you in rank. Since you're going to be my son, that means you don't greet any other males present beside those who outrank you, which in your case is me, my father, the Cantor, and the Alpha himself."

"So, if the Denmother were there also, I'd greet her with a bow, then your mother --"

"No, my mother is older than the Denmother. By about a year, actually. She still gets the first greeting. It should never come up anyways, my mother and the Denmother don't get along and are seldom in public together if either of them have any choice in the matter."

They entered the longhouse, which was relatively dimly lit inside, the only light coming from the large hearth-fire in roughly the center of the space, and the slit windows positioned towards the roof. Along the left wall was a long bay of cushions, pillows, and padding. The opposite wall had a cooking area (or perhaps it was for medicine - there were many herbs, both dried and in glass jars as well as fresher varieties hanging in bunches from hooks nailed into the wall), then the hearth itself, and furthest back was what looked like a small workshop, with various tools and several tables. 

Both the 'kitchen' and the workshop were currently in use, with several Wolves bustling about in the former, all somehow managing not to get in each other's way. Whatever they were making smelled amazing, and reminded Collin he hadn't eaten yet. His stomach rumbled loudly enough that all of them stopped what they were doing and stared at him and Teyō.

"So it's true, Teyō-sū? You're adopting a human? When I'd heard the rumor, I didn't think it could be true! Teyō-sū, mighty warrior of the Talmannes, with a human as his son!"

The speaker was a chubby Wolf who seemed to be in charge of the kitchen, and his words had a hint of...something... in them that made Collin subconsciously mark the Wolf as unfriendly. Teyō just grinned, "So what if I am? You said it yourself, I am Teyō of the Talmannes. Are you going to tell me who and what I can adopt as mine? Careful, Zida, I might have a talk with your father and adopt you next."

One of the chubby Wolf's assistants sniggered, earning an immediate cuff from his boss. Mr. Chubby growled, actually baring his teeth,  "If you think I'm giving any of our food to a human brat, you've got another thi--"

He cut himself off as the door at the far end of the longhouse opened, and out stepped a Wolf so obviously old he all but had to be the Alpha. His fur was no longer the red and black as the rest of the village, nor was it gray. It was white, white like a Polar Bear. The ancient Wolf walked with a sturdy cane in one paw and was supported on his other side by another Wolf, this one obviously being Teyō's father (considering their similarities).

The old one looked frail and unsteady on his paws, but his voice still cracked like a whip, "Zida doi Talmannes! One word, one little word to my daughter, and you'll be thrown out of this den without so much as a goodbye! Exiled from the pack! If her orders aren't sufficient for you, let me be clearer - the human boy is to be treated as one of our own. No excuses or arguments. Does that clarify things for you?"

His tail now tucked firmly between his legs, the change in the Wolf's demeanor was instantaneous, "Yes, Alpha. I'm sorry, Alpha."

The old Wolf harrumphed, "I had expected better of you, Zida. And Teyō, you ought to know better as well, rising to his bait. Now,  come, I'd like to see this cub for myself."

Collin accompanied Teyō as they approached the Alpha, fighting his urge to hide behind his Wolf-dad the entire way. When they were close enough, both he and Teyō bowed in unison, first a low bow to the Alpha, and then a second to Teyō's father. Collin could practically feel Teyō's approval. When they'd risen, the Alpha beckoned Collin closer. 

"Forgive me," he said, gently running his fingers over Collin's face, shoulders, and chest, "My eyes are not so good anymore. I 'see' as much by my paws and nose as by my eyes, nowadays. Teyō, why is he still naked? Surely you had time to acquire him clothing - I understand it's important to humans."

Teyō inclined his head briefly, "Collin decided he'd like to try and fit in with our ways, Alpha. The Denmother seemed to approve."

"Well, at least he won't freeze to death in our lovely jungle, here. Collin, was it? A strange name, indeed. I agree with my daughter - if the cub has some destiny he was brought here to fulfill, it would be prudent of us to help him achieve it. But that puts us in a conundrum, because we do not know what it is he is supposed to achieve. Whatever it is, it might not be so good for our People. We must find out more, if we can. That is what I was speaking to your father about just now, actually. Do you still remember the way to Carhad? Rumor among travelers is that there's a Magus there who is quite learned in many magical disciplines, but in Summoning, especially. I want you two to travel there, and find out what this Magus knows. I know it will take at least a few days to gather the supplies needed, but you ought to leave as soon as you can. The sooner we get an idea of what part young Collin plays, the better we can help him."

"Yes, Alpha," came Teyō's replied, copied shortly afterward by Collin. 

Teyō's father now spoke, "The Denmother didn't order you to, but I can : Formally adopt the boy, Teyō-kō. Your mother and I both know you're never going to make us grandcubs, so I'm not missing this opportunity, even if he is a human. From what the Cantor says, if you properly adopt the boy, he'll be able to carry on our line as far as Canis is concerned."

The Alpha chuffed reprovingly, "Ranō, the boy's choice matters, too, remember. He can refuse, and you can't force him. Though he would be hard pressed to find a better protector than your cub."

"I wouldn't mind being adopted, sir, but it does sound like a big decision. I already made one of those today, and I'm still not sure I chose the right way. I'd rather wait until I was sure, this time," Collin spoke up, though the moment he finished speaking it occurred to him that he probably should have stayed quiet. 'Children should be seen and not heard' and all that. 

The Alpha seemed amused, however, "A wise choice, one I approve of completely. Ranō, you're overruled. Now, Teyō, I believe your mother was wishing to meet her prospective grandcub, so I wouldn't dream of holding you up further. Ranō, let's go amble around the village a while. I'm feeling more alert than usual today, and I'll not pass up the chance to get out of the longhouse for a bit."

With a courteous nod, the Alpha and Teyō's father headed towards the entrance to the longhouse. 

As soon as both were out of earshot, Teyō sighed, "Great, now we have to go find my mother."