A Little More Time

Blaire's Pov

I knocked on the door and waited. I was about to knock the second time when the door was opened. I could tell he was surprised to see me with the way his eyes widened. Behind him, I could see his room and truth be told, it was in a sorry state. I could see a boot standing at attention on his bed, clothes strewn all over, and that wasn't even the beginning of it. It goes without saying that Jamil is the worst housekeeper in the entire pack. He noticed my survey and grinned.

"There was no rip!" I commented, hoping my eyes were as icy as my words.

"Oh, you sure?" He asked, trying to hold back his smile. He finally gave up as he grinned, "alright, there wasn't but it was fun to watch you scurry like that."

I huffed, holding back the barrage of words that came to mind. "I need to see you. And Ulo too. I will be waiting." His expression grew serious as he nodded.

I turned my back and made my way down the other end of the corridor. This was a pretty impressive building if you excused the fact that it was cluttered with rooms. A relatively small building when compared to the one beside it but it was big enough to contain eight large rooms that stood opposite each other in four rows. Like I said earlier, only five are occupied but in reality, we only really use three rooms because well, Indrik and Leon seem to loathe this place. Probably because of the rumors surrounding it. Rumors that might be the reason why its other companion on the other side of the palace has remained locked up for as long as any of us could remember.

Coming out of the back door, I am met by the rustling of leaves on a sunny day. Directly behind the white building is a large tree that is as old as well, everything old. Its bark is gnarled and its trunk is riddled with dried wounds. Points where it has had its branches broken off. These had long since dried but the scar remains, an ever present reminder of its loss. Far above, hidden out of sight by the thick cluster of leaves is our tree house but the last thing I want right now is to scale up a tree. I took a seat under the tree on one of the wood fashioned benches under it but needless to say, I couldn't stay still for long before jumping to my feet again, pacing around, my eyes frequently travelling to the door through which I had come.

After what seemed like forever, the door finally creaked open and out marched Jamil and Ulo. It took all my energy to not run toward them and drag them along so they would move faster. Unlike me, they used the seats as they fixed their eyes on me, wondering what my plan was. They already knew that this meeting was about Indrik, but nothing else.

"You should take a seat." Jamil offered but I shook my head, finally stopping my pacing long enough to speak to them.

"What are we going to do about Indrik?" I asked, my voice coming out in a desperate whisper. I almost groaned as I watched the two of them bow their heads as though they had practiced it before coming. "Come on, guys. We all know his condition. And now on top of that, he has been flogged before being dumped in a dungeon. Don't you think that is a death sentence for him?"

"Blaire!" I turned my full attention to Jamil. "I know you are worried about Indrik. We all are. However, there is very little we can do for him right now. Any attempt to interfere with his punishment will get us into trouble not to mention that it would probably make things worse for him as well."

"So, you are saying we should abandon him?" I questioned incredulously. "Ulo, tell me you don't agree with him." He had remained quiet the whole time, a hand placed under his jaw as he stared into space. He blinked when he heard his name and turned to me. "Were you listening at all?" I scoffed in disbelief to which he nodded his head.

"I agree with Jamil. Acting recklessly would only jeopardize Indrik's situation even further. The council is already mad that he would bring a stranger into the pack. Any further aggravation would not be taken lightly so, it is best we stay out of it."

I stared from one to the other, totally horrified that they would say that. "The two of you are unbelievable!" I finally scoffed as I bounded away, ignoring their calls. There was no way I was going to leave Indrik there all alone. It was their loss if they would not help me. Somewhere in the far recesses of my mind, something told me they were probably right but I would be damned if I listened to it.

I looked up at the sky. The sun was already starting to make its descent. It would be dusk in a couple more hours. With this realization came a thought which made me turn back toward my friends. Jamil had taken up my former occupation, pacing around under the tree with his features portraying his troubles. Ulo was still on his seat but he didn't seem any less troubled. For a moment, I regretted speaking to them that way. I knew they cared for Indrik just as much as I did, we were best friends after all.

"Anyone hungry?" They hadn't noticed my return as Jamil spun toward me and Ulo snapped up his head so fast, I was afraid he would get a whiplash.

Jamil stared at my smiling face, suspicion evident in his features but he shrugged and muttered, "I'm starving." Ulo rose to his feet as well as we made our way to the kitchen. Lunch time had long gone past but none of us had had anything to eat all day due to the Indrik problem. It wasn't until now that I realized how hungry I was. With this came another thought of how much more hungry Indrik would be.

"Just a little more time!"