The pack are trying to impress. I am putting the new recruits through their paces. I need to get to know them far quicker than I usually would. I normally keep alert for small things that might make them good for our pack: an ability to go ignored when they want to; attentiveness to pack; good scent-skills but not distracted by scent; doesn’t play fight or romp too frequently; definitive and short interactions where disagreements occur. Now I just have what Honest can think up to fabricate these situations.
Resilient Rise has been trying to impress me. He is very eager and, after his observations were taken seriously by Sweet-Pack Guider^ Sleek Runt^ Rise, he thinks he is ready for espionage. He is demonstrating what he thinks I am looking for, but it is expressed so plainly in his scent and ears that he is missing the mark. He has the potential to be a good member of this pack but not for many cycles. These drills are simple. The next test is one that, if any of them pass it, I will keep them with me even when we return to World. Generous and I may even bring them into our den-pack.
I shared the plan with Generous and she is itching at the chance to get involved. The task is simple: any dog who can bring a sample of our comfort-unit to Honest will be considered the winner. To get past Honest, me and my bond-mate with her exceptional nasal acuity, would be a huge task. But with me knowing, preparing, waiting, changing the rules to suit myself, just as life does, I am not sure if even I could pass my own test. The challenge will be set tonight, and I will give them a cycle to achieve it. If Generous, Honest or I catch any recruit at it, they will be marked on their shoulder. It is not a notch-scarring, but they will be scars to be proud of. Any-dog with no scar at the end of the cycle will be redeployed. If they have not tried in a cycle, then they are not for this pack.
I consider my new recruits.
➤ Resilient Rise – he is observant and eager to please. He is smart and ambitious but possibly not enough of a pack-player to be successful as a stealth-warrior. He is focused on his own promotion, possibly too much. His recount of what he observed with the suspicious dogs showed remarkably keen perception. I am not sure if I trust him. Something doesn’t smell quite right to me. But is that just a Rise prejudice I have, left-over from before we unified Packs?
➤ Three-Paws Runt Rise – She’s still a Rise but I trust her more. But is that because I see a lot of myself (when I came of Service-age) in her? She is stealthier than many of my previous recruits, but she also has a sense of independence that I can maybe understand more easily. All Runts are different, but she smells of desire to please, to prove herself and to do it independently. Where Resilient Rise seems desperate to prove himself in order to be promoted and he tolerates that the one he needs to impress is a Set, Three-Paws Runt Rise seems more eager to prove herself to Pack.
I wonder if these two will find themselves together or at odds as I serve with them. They certainly do not fit in comfortably with the Sets of my pack. Proud Set, Timid Runt Set and Mirth Set may as well have been whelped together.
➤ Mirth Set I have seen before we were sent from World. I visited her creche once, looking at another pup. I think she would have caught my interest in a different creche but there were two other very strong candidates in the same creche. I don’t know what happened to those two, but I know they were placed in the best possible position for Pack. Mirth Set is excellent at serving within pack. She is resourceful and obedient. She may be my strongest recruit. I know she already has the ear of Honest. This job makes one suspicious over time. I do not know if her easy attitude and pack-work are a mask for anything less for-pack. But she is the natural guider of the three, now pack-bonded, Sets.
➤ Timid Runt Set is a quiet, stealthy dog. He follows Mirth Set and Proud Set with eagerness but brings a lot of essential skills to the pack. He is nose-blind. He has the potential to be an invaluable stealth-warrior; he must serve within a pack, he is stealthy, very quiet and, most importantly, he can collect any plants that could act as burn-puff-fungus if we find one. He would also be immune to the use of them or anything equivalent that is deployed against us. There are not many dogs with this gift. The fact that he has been allocated to me suggests the level of warfare Pack Guiders are expecting on this world, or possibly all worlds. In the first few days, he was one of the only dogs who did not have head pain. He proved himself generous and for-Pack when he ran errands for the rest of this den-pack.
➤ Proud Set is a good all-rounder, she has no desire to lead and will always serve Pack. It is difficult to tell what her true contributions are because I can feel much pack-communication between her and Mirth Set. She may find it easier to share her insights that way, or she may be idly bond-chattering.
I am excited to see how these three perform but I am most eager to show Sweet-Pack Guider Sleek Runt Rise that I can unify these Set and Rise pups. I have no read on Still Runt Set, she is excellent at scent-work. I am going to ask Generous to see if any of her pack might be able to find out how she’s feeling. She does as she is asked. Although she shares a den with them, she does not truly den with the other three Set recruits, neither does she really den with the Rises. She is apart from them all.
I think I will send them on a scouting mission to conduct some surveillance on these potential rebels. We are not yet sure if they are acting not-for-Pack. They are behaving in ways that for-Pack dogs do not. For the last few nights, they have been meeting (in a way that would seem like coincidence if no-dog was watching) and heading for a Wild-stroll. Every-dog can go where they want but, the way they fail to acknowledge each other (even casually) is not usual dog behaviour. Nor is returning to den, late and with a whiff of excitement and fear about them. But Sweet-World has impacted a lot of dogs in ways we had not anticipated, so it is possible that they are restless or confused. They are not military dogs in the main. They would not notice being observed by, even the most junior, stealth-warriors. I don’t think these recruits could ruin it that easily. I will split them across the newly formed pack-bond. I want to see how they react with small mixed packs.
Honest and I chose their packs. He will observe Still Runt Set, Three-Paws Runt Rise and Timid Runt Set against my pack of Mirth Set, Proud Set and Resilient Rise. These combinations should cause potential challenges in both packs. I want to see what happens to Timid Runt Set if he is separated from his pack-bonded companions. And if Mirth Set or Resilient Rise would end up on top of that small pack. We have briefed both packs and left them to plan how they want to approach the situation. They have time to devise their plans without us observing.
The subjects are wandering around the provisioning-spot as the Set hunting-degree^ begins. They seem to be just digesting or looking for den-mates or even stretching and walking off tired muscles. They are sharing furtive looks and they are scent-masked, which, to any observant dog, is suspicious behaviour. The pack of recruits assigned to me are milling amongst the other dogs; the other pack have gone ahead, scent-masked to the area the subjects have been visiting. Different plans showing different recognised strengths. The other pack think that they are more noticeable with a distinctive dog like Three-Paws Runt Rise and stand a better chance if they are hidden and can observe with stealth. My observation pack do not want to risk them going to another meeting spot if the subjects are cautious.
It tickles me that, as dogs head to den, all the remaining dogs have a reason to loiter and they are stuck in a loitering loop. It is getting a bit tenser. I smell the suspicious dogs’ anxiety increase. So does Resilient Rise. He is eager to please but not calm, his panic is also exposed. Mirth Set trots to Proud Set, rubs her and leads her away as though they are heading off for a late-night stroll between pack-mates. They travel in the opposite direction to the subject’s previously preferred meeting spot. Resilient Rise is left alone with the subjects. They are wary of him. They do not want to break. They smell his anxiety.
Resilient Rise is recovering from his burst of anxiety. He is acting more shiftily than he did before. He’s playing up to it. He is actually going to try and make contact with them rather than just observe them. I suppose he was asked to find out information. He paces, looks at the subjects and projects uncertainty. He eventually attempts to approach one of the dogs. I can’t hear their communication, but the Set-dog is alarmed by his presence. Why hasn’t he realised how horrified this Set-dog (with cycles of conditioning to mistrust a Rise) will be of an edgy Rise? She leaves briskly – in the direction Mirth Set and Proud Set left in. The others scatter in different directions, seemingly strolling on their own.
Resilient Rise also leaves, towards the den complex. I follow the direction the other two in my observation pack took. He’ll catch up with them soon enough. The subjects are scattered, quietly and subtly trying to find their way towards their standard meeting spot. Both Mirth Set and Proud Set are demonstrating their stealth-skills in following at a distance, scent-masked and silent.
The subjects arrive at the clearing. I cannot detect them all, but I know that there are at least 6 dogs observing and not being observed here. The potential conspirators are spooked; their Set is turning out more suspiciously than they anticipated. They barely touch for a few moments. Their fear permeates the night air. They groom each other for a few heartbeats and then they split up and head back to their own dens. Once their paw-steps are inaudible to me, I step into the clearing and Honest, Mirth Set, Proud Set, Timid Runt Set and Three-Paws Runt Rise join me.
“Where is Still Runt Set?” I ask Honest, “I assume that Resilient Rise has not caught up with ye yet” to Mirth Set and Proud Set. Honest looks around and expands his scent-horizon to find Still Runt Set. She gave him the slip! How recently? He and I share a moment of admiration down the pack-bond. Honest and I will send the recruits to den and discuss together before de-briefing. We are about to tell them, when Resilient Rise emerges from the brush, trying to conceal that his sides are heaving and smelling distinctly of blood. He has a fresh cut on his shoulder flank, bleeding heavily from having run to catch up with us. He has tried to get into our comfort-unit. While the rest were out serving. His foolish brashness jeopardised the Set’s information-gathering and then he snuck back. Honest and I share a mixture of impressed thoughts along with worry and anger. We dismiss them all and head back to den. The recruits den in the same den-complex as us but we take a long way round to confer and think together.
As we finally return to den, we see Still Runt Set. She is completely scent-masked and waiting for us, practically invisible to all senses. If either Honest or I were less experienced, we would have missed her altogether. She steps towards us.
“Those dogs are Set separatists.” She does not wait for us to address her. “They will not tolerate a Rise touching them or even looking at them if they can avoid it. They were spooked today and won’t be meeting for a few nights. When they do, they will speak of me as a potential recruit.” She looks at our postures, “I have not yet made contact, but they have smelled me scenting disgusted at a ‘Rise mongrel’. They will approach me when they meet again”
She’s a clever one, I can feel Honest’s wave of impressed pride.
“Thank you, Still Runt Set, you can go to den now. We will be debriefing ye all in the Rise.” She turns and leaves to den with the others. She is one to watch from now on. Honest and I turn, minds racing to den. Generous stirs before we arrive, our loud pack-bond chatter, disturbing her from sleep. She sends a wave of calm and fatigue and Honest and I relent and curl up with her. Even as I fall asleep, I can feel Honest’s thoughts flitting around like an insect.