Silver Moon: Bk. 02 Ch. 06

Authors note: Thanks for the patients for this chapter. I thought I had posted it and then ended up in the infirmary with a severe skin infection of one leg and rather was out of it for a few days. In any case I am already partway done with the next chapter and will hopefully have it done by this weekend.

As usual all relationships are 18+.

*****

Pam slowly woke up and found that she was face down on the bed she was using. The last couple of days had been pretty active and she was starting to feel it. She turned her head to one side and had to smile. Amarish and Kasai were in their fox forms and curled up next to each other. Kasai's chin was resting on Amarish's tails and his on hers.

The two little stinkers had been keeping active with the pups from the new pack she had hired and the original pack. They had been exploring the entire palace and figured in a few more days they would know every nook and cranny. Amarish had been very busy hunting mice down and had actually organized the pups into small hunting parties.

What was even more amusing was that the rest of the pack had finally arrived from the Kitsune's estate. That had been interesting as well. The pups ended up staring at each other for several minutes till Kasai had zapped Gianni with one tail and she turned into a pink rabbit. That had started a puppy fight which had been both amusing and annoying since they had been in the throne room. Pam, Mari, and one of the various women from the other pack had to put their feet down.

She grinned at the memory since the officials had been horrified by the puppy fight while the pack and Kitsunes just snickered. The officials had been even more horrified when they discovered a number of the staff had been let go. Now that thought made her expression harden and a slight growl could be heard. They were currently bringing the staff in a few at a time and checking them. The ones that smelled of drugs or showed as not being the nicest spirits according to the Kitsunes were stripped, checked, their quarters searched and then tossed out the gate.

It was going to take a fair amount of time to process the entire staff of the palace since there were close to a thousand staff. That was for just over one hundred officials. The soldiers were being process first though since they were the largest threat. Today she and Mari were going to work with the women to start organizing schooling and making sure they had enough quarters.

Maric and some of the males were going to be teaching the pack how to fight as well. That was something that was going to take time to get them near Pack Alucian's level. They were also reaching out and touching base with what wolves they could find. In a city this size that was actually a fairly large number.

With a groan she sat up and had to blink. One of the young girls was sitting in a chair quietly sewing something. Since it was mostly bundled up in her lap Pam couldn't get a clear view of what it was. "Morning Lydia and how are you doing?" Pam had come to discover that the wolf pack had assigned several girls to take care of her room.

"Good morning Lady Alpha and it was a quiet morning. I am just getting some mending done while you were asleep." She tucked the needle into the material and set it in a reed basket. "Breakfast will be here in a few minutes. I have your clothing ready and if you want a shower please do." She gave Pam a nice smile that showed in her eyes.

Pam sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed and stretched. "So what are you mending? May I see?" So far she hadn't had a chance to see about getting some material for them to make clothing with. That had been the first priority till one thing came up and then another and... By the time she and Xipil were done she was going to have a master's level in politics, law, bureaucracy, and god knew what else. At least Mari knew about running a manor and many of the little details such as ordering food, scheduling cleaning, laundry, and that sort of things. Much of that had been foisted off on her as well as the bitch that had been in charge.

As Lydia came over with the clothing Pam was contemplating the bitch. She was old, almost ossified, and did things one way and one way only. That wasn't saying it all was wrong but changes needed to be made and she ranted over every one. Pam wasn't sure what Mari had done or said to her but currently every time Mari walked even near to her she paled and started looking for somewhere to go.

Lydia came over and handed the blouse over to Pam. "Just a blouse that was torn. The material is still usable so I was mending it." It was one of three blouses she had and would be usable for a while longer.

Pam took it from her and carefully unrolled it because of the needle and held it up. It was fairly obvious it was the girls since it was her size. One thing Pam did enjoy was sewing in her spare time so she took some time really looking at the quality of the stitching. It was neat and tidy, blended well with the material, and the rest of the stitching was much the same. Now the material on the other hand was crap. To the girl it might be usable but Pam didn't agree.

"Did you do all the stitching? If so you are very deft with a needle and thread. I think this morning you, I, and half a dozen wolves and Kitsunes are going material shopping. I need something usable for a uniform and for you to make into clothing. Some of the clothes are so worn they wouldn't make good rags." Pam noticed Lydia looking down and reached over and gently lifted her chin. "That was not an insult in anyway. It is a statement of fact and that all of you have done your best to take care of yourselves shows a great deal. I am not going to have my wolves dressed in rags or crap while the officials wear diamonds, silk, and satin."

Right about then Kasai woke up and pounced on Amarish and attacked his ears with her tongue. *Wake up stinky boy. We's need to shower and get dressed. Pups here soon."

Amarish woke very quickly as soon as her tongue took the first swipe at his ear and he yipped at her. *Girls stinky so there." He rolled over so he was on his back and started returning the favor. They played for a few moments before Pam snatched Kasai up.

She rolled her on her back and tickled her chest and scratched her chin. "I am going to take a shower in a moment and I will wash your hair and ears. Then you won't have to attack his ears for at least an hour." After putting Kasai down she scooped up Amarish and repeated the chest rub and set him on the floor. "Go on in and I will be there in a minute." He scampered off and she climbed out of bed.

The girl had gone back to the chair and was working on the blouse again while Pam dealt with the two kits. As Pam headed towards the bathroom Lydia stood up after putting the mending away. She made the bed and carefully laid the clothing out for her. It was very hard to resist touching the material other than laying it out. It was so soft and smooth and nothing like what they normally wore.

When Pam and the kits came out of the bathroom she found the pups sitting neatly off to one side. That made her smile since Amarish was starting to train them to obey him. Right now they were lined up like miniature soldiers. What was really amusing was some of the pups had acquired some of the fancy hair pins. A few had small knives as well for the mouse hunts. She smiled at them. "Give us a few minutes to eat and then I will give you a few new orders which Amarish will implement."

Gianni gave her a toothy grin. "Yes Lady Alpha, we's live to serve and obey." She had to wrinkle her nose when she said that. It sounded so silly saying that but she knew that Pam was going to roll her eyes at her.

Pam did just that and grumbled at her. "I think someone is looking for a mouse less salad for lunch." She was smiling though as she helped the two kits into their chairs and settled down to eat. The food was odd to her since it wasn't what she considered normal breakfast fare. It was fairly tasty though which was nice.

As they were eating Amarish made a small map appear that showed the temple and spaces they had cleared. He was talking with Kasai, Gianni, and Sandal, a pup from the other pack, about where to search next.

Pam watched them plot and plan and it was so cute. "Actually Amarish I have a job for you. I like the map you are creating and would like a copy. What I would like you to do today and in the following days as you take care of mice big and small is make the map as detailed as possible. I especially want you to indicate areas where you find hidden rooms, secret passageways, and that feel strange or bad. If you find any of those you come to either Maric or me immediately. That is especially if you sense something bad or wrong."

Amarish looked at her and pricked his ears at her as she was talking. He narrowed his eyes as she described what she wanted and nodded. "We's will Auntie Pam. I makes sure that us and pups stay safe. We find sense anything and we come right to you." They had finally finished and he hopped down and went over to a little dresser he had created. On top in a sword stand was his version of Dan's sword. He sheathed it and settled it across his back. Kasai did much the same though she still had the hair pin but now had a cute sheath to go with it.

After a nod Amarish formed up his mouse squad and they started discussion what they were going to do and how. He was still talking to them when Pam left the room to find Mari. First they were going to get the material and then they were going to sit down and talk to the female wolves. This was to let them know what they expected from them. Pam wasn't going to force them to be wolves such as her pack was. What she wanted was for them to find it for themselves. This was going to be accomplished by having the packs work together.

Since they were in the wing for the emperor's family she didn't need to worry about strangers. The only ones allowed were wolves, Kitsunes, and a few officials that had made the mark. As she walked out two Kitsunes started following her. She knew that between them and the pack there was a rotating watch being kept. The same went for Geoff and Mari as well as the new ruler and his mate. If it wasn't for the gravity of the situation she would have found it amusing. "Good morning gentlemen. I am going to Mari's rooms and we are going to be discussing our plans for the day. I am sure you are going to be fascinated by that so please feel free to listen in."

One of the two replied. "Of course lady of the clans, listening to females talk and make plans is simply fascinating. It is our honor to stand there and listen to what you come up with to do." When he said that his tone was even and composed, there was very little emotion in it as well.

She snorted at him but didn't say anything else to him since she knew he was teasing her. Pam was slowly learning the personalities of the guards and what they were like. The idea of having a group of nameless men guarding her was stupid. She wanted to know them so she could do her best to help them keep her safe.

Just about then they arrived at Mari and Geoff's room. Since the door was open she poked her head in and smiled. Geoff was in the process of changing one of the babies and Mari had just finished nursing the other. "Might we come in? Me and my henchmen? I want to do some plotting with you on how to take over the country so the women are in control."

Mari had to snicker at her for that comment. "Sure Pam not a problem and we can make some plans on taking over the other countries as well. Hell mom already runs her country so she is already on board."

Geoff had to snort at both of them. "I would hate to see some sort of a crisis come at that time of the month or year. That is a terrible idea." He mock shuddered at both of them. "Well here is Grayson and I need to get going. Xipil and Maric and I want to do some plotting as well. Having taken over the palace was quite useful and we have screened a decent portion of the staff. The compound is relatively secure though we have a large number of soldiers to check. For the most part the officers and senior enlisted are the majority of the ones who didn't pass."

As soon as he mentioned the terms heat and crisis Mari didn't even think twice before nailing him with a pillow. Pam was more subtle about it and barely pointed her tail at him. When she released her power it was a trickle so it would be harder to sense. "And males are such good leaders. They never get carried away with the testosterone poisoning."

Geoff laughed at her and Mari. "Nope, never since we are used to dealing with it all the time and not sporadically. Well I have to get and I will talk to you later." He gave Mari a kiss and didn't realize she was staring at his hair. Pam had changed the color to a mixture of baby blue, pink, and a light green.

Pam simply smiled as he walked out of the room and then started snickering. "I almost wish I was there when he notices his lovely hair." She snickered some more and settled down next to Mari. "This morning we are going to take a couple of the female wolves and go shopping for material for uniforms. We are also going to get some other good materials so they can sew some new cloths. I might even see about getting some generic clothes as well."

Mari leaned against her and relaxed. It was good to have an alpha around again. "Sounds like a good idea and it will be nice to see more of this massive city. Give me a few to get ready and let Gettie know where I am going to be." She went over to the wardrobe and pulled out some light clothing. Mari most definitely wasn't used to this bloody heat since she had always lived in the North West.

It didn't take long for her to change and as they walked out Pam had to smile since another girl was waiting. There was the girl assigned to her rooms and another that followed her around in case she needed anything. It was silly but she could live with it. "I don't know who does most of the sewing for the pack. Can you please find her and have her come to the throne room? I will be there till she finds me."

The girl hurried off to take care of Pam's orders. It shouldn't take too long to find her. She didn't know why she wanted her but it wasn't up to her to ask.

~~~

While Pam was talking to Mari Maric and the senior Kitsune were outside along with a reasonable number of wolves. There were also a number of the officers that passed inspection. Most of them were younger than and not as jaded as the older ones. Maric figured he could work that out of them or he would toss them out along with the others.

Xipil was there as well though he was only going to be there for a short time. He had a number of bureaucrats, lawyers, and religious leaders he was starting to work with. The country was such a mish mash of customs, rules, and regulations that it was a nightmare to work through. Come hell or high water they were going to standardize as much as possible. For the moment he almost despaired at the amount of work needed to be done. There were also military records to review, tax records to review, construction projects to review and who knew what else.

Maric looked at the various officers standing around him. "Okay gentlemen I am going to have my pack and the Kitsunes show you the standard of training I am going to be looking for. I know that humans can't compete against us when it comes to healing, speed and strength. They can work as a team to take down stronger and faster opponents. This is because the enemy can't be everywhere at once or protect all sides at once."

He turned to the wolves and Kitsunes. *Okay boys lets show them some general formations first and then each group break into two teams. They will fight the other team so that it will be wolf on wolf and Kitsune on Kitsune. After that it will be Kitsune verses wolf. I will call out when it is time to change to the next display. Form your troops and commence the exercise.*

The exercise had just started when Maric noticed Geoff walking out and had to blink. It wasn't just the disgruntled expression on his face that really caught his attention but his hair. He barely managed to not laugh at him since that would only make it worse.

The others noticed his approach as well and stared as well. Geoff yipped at them in Kitsune before actually speaking. "Get the laughter over with. When Lady Pam and my mate get home I will deal with them..."

Xipil was trying to look serious even after Geoff swore at them with the yip. After swallowing several times he managed to frown slightly. "That was not a nice thing to say Geoff even if she did make your hair all pretty." It was too much and he turned away and covered his mouth to muffle the laughter.

Maric turned back to the troops who had stalled when the mental commands had stopped. When they turned to see what was going on someone was heard saying 'Oh Myyy'. *Is there some reason you aren't continuing?*

The wolves managed to turn back to the training as did the Kitsunes. Maric had them working out for close to an hour before letting them have a water break. *Go relax in the shade till I call you back.* "As you see gentlemen when wolves fight wolves it is very violent and no holds barred. We do fight in small teams as best possible since our wolf has a certain amount of trouble not being an individual. As you saw with the Kitsunes when they were fighting the wolves they were ganging up several to a wolf. That is simply because they don't have the strength or speed to take on a wolf one at a time." He paused for a moment. "Okay, there are some Kitsunes that can but they tend to be either trained as personal security or are older and powerful. The one time I saw a Kitsune actually 'win' a training exercise was with a sword. He is damn good with it and god pity you if you ever do something stupid enough to warrant a challenge. He will win and I will cheerfully bring a beer and popcorn to the show."

He turned back to the local wolves and troops that had been selected as possible guards for the new leader. "Wolves front and center." As they hurried up it was obvious very few of them had ever served as soldiers. Those that had took a bit of time to form the ranks so that they were somewhat neat and tidy. Maric simply stood there and waited till they were finished. The senior wolf called up to the short tower the officers were in that they were ready.

Maric nodded. "Good morning wolves. I am pleased to see you out here and wanting to learn. I am going to assign a number of Pam's wolves to teach you. In the beginning I am going to have you learning basic formations and drills as well as the use of knives, swords, and other non-projectile weapons. This is simply because you need the foundation taught before we train you to shoot. Your days are going to be long and filled with heavy work. This is to bring you to the peak of what your wolf can be." He looked around and nodded. "Suzy take charge of the wolves. Oh, and you need to come up with a pack name to fight under. Take it to your pack and let me know when you have decided."

He nodded at Suzy and she took charge and with several others led them off the field. Maric then called up the soldiers and spoke to them as well. One point he made was that the Kitsunes were going to be training them first to protect the new leader and second as the best soldiers the leader could get. They were going to be his shock troops. Once he was done with them he called for several of the Kitsunes to take charge.

The last group was the officers of the various troops that lived in the temple grounds as well as in various parts of the city. With them he was rather blunt and informed them of the new rules of how to treat the soldiers correctly. There were a few other things he explained to them. All of them were accompanied by a number of grisly threats. Several chose to resign their commissions. Maric cheerfully accepted and after stripping them of their rank and any military items had them tossed out the gate.