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"Not in a meat-eating kind of mood?" Elder Mitena asks. "Oh don't look at me like that, I won't hold it against you!" She hands you two sizzling veggie skewers with a sharp nod. "Still though; we're werewolves. Come see me again later for a nice juicy steak, okay?"

"So," Elder Hanska says, pulling you aside as you drift away from the dishes of food, your own portion in-hand. "I've been meaning to tell you how impressed I was at the way you handled yourself back at the Nail. You comported yourself like a true leader!"

You thank him, quietly hoping he'll get to the point so you can eat your food before it gets cold.

"I've talked with Elder Ahote," Hanska continues, undeterred, "and he thinks you might benefit from the collected knowledge we have here in the Circle. Elder Mitena is well-versed in our history and there's much to be learned from the mistakes of past leaders. Elder Nakai is a shaman of the old ways, and he has much to teach about the nature of the world around us. They've both expressed interest in teaching you, if you are able to devote your time to them. Perhaps you could stop by the Circle's cabin tonight so we could discuss the lessons in more detail?"

"I like the sound of that! I'm especially interested in learning about the natural world with Elder Nakai!"

"These lessons sound quite useful, particularly Elder Mitena's knowledge of werewolf history and leadership."

"I'm not sure if those kind of lessons are for me."

"The past is behind us, elder. To move forward we need to be strong of body. My time is better spent training."

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"Excellent!" Hanska exclaims, delighted. "Nakai will be thrilled to have a new student."

"Elder Ahote always encouraged me to explore new sources of knowledge," you say. "It sounds like a good opportunity; thank you."

"Just come by the Circle's cabin after sunset," Hanska says. "We'll prepare some material for you."

The elders finally disengage, leaving you to eat in peace as you wander the main green of the camp, chatting idly with several of the former prisoners. You recognize one of them: it's Sam, the wolf who first showed you to your cell.

"Hey there, Holstein!" she calls out cheerily. "Never thought I'd eat real food out in the open air again. I was down underground for so long that I forgot how it feels to be free." She holds out her arms and does a little twirl. "Rand's been having a hard time adjusting, though. He mentioned how we ended up getting caught at breakfast the other day, right? Humans we'd known for years turned us in. He's afraid to trust again." She bites her lower lip and breaks out in a smile again, always the optimist. "But I'll get him to come around. It's hard to stay gloomy out here in the sun!"

"I'm glad we were able to get you out."

"I don't know how you ever got used to that place."

"Do you have any plans now that you're free?"

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She sighs. "I have to admit, I'm not sure what to do with myself quite yet. I got so used to the way things worked down there—everything was scheduled and regulated. It's almost scary to have so little structure now. At least Sonoma keeps us moving in the right direction. I think I'll be staying with the larger pack for now; see where that takes me and decide on the bigger questions once I've been able to wrap my head around it."

Eventually Sam excuses herself to head back to the grill, and you find yourself alone with your thoughts. After living most of your life in Haven, it's not hard to imagine how a wolf like Sam could have become institutionalized while living down in the Nail. Her uncertainty mirrors how you felt not long ago, after the Battle of Haven. So many life-changing events in so short a period have left it difficult to hold onto a sense of self. How can you know what to believe in if your world is continuously toppled upside-down?

Like it or not, self is the center of the universe. You need to be able to count on yourself before anyone else.

Your appetite sated for now, you scrub your plate clean in one of several tubs of soapy water before returning it to the elders. There's still plenty of time left in the day to make use of. The elders' barbecue seems to be winding down, but the physical training and sparring are still going full-swing. It's a prime time of day for a social call too, if there's anyone else you'd like to see before the evening.

Maker's newly-constructed cabin abuts Sonoma's personal dwelling, its freshly cut and treated lumber giving off a pleasant woody aroma. Many wolves found it odd, even entirely inappropriate, that a newcomer would be granted an entire cabin to herself, but after the events of the escape you're not surprised in the least. The given reason is that Maker will need the space to set up a lab and continue her experiments on performance-enhancing injections for werewolves, but you believe Sonoma's true intention is so she can keep a close eye on the eccentric scientist. As if to rebut your conclusion, each of the windows have been fitted with one-way light-dampening glass, an addition that hadn't been present the last time you'd walked through the area. You approach the front door and find yourself staring into a small security camera. The gadget's lens whirs as it focuses on you and you hear a mechanical click as the doorway is unlocked.

"Ahh, Holstein!" Maker's voice beckons you through a labyrinth of asymmetrical wooden tables heaped with scientific equipment you couldn't hope to identify without sufficient time to properly examine it. The woman maneuvers through the heaps of research papers and test tubes with the liquid grace of an eel until she stands beside you, fiddling with a small, glass specimen-slide. "I thought you'd decide to visit," she says, sweeping a length of fine, black hair away from her eyes so she can get a closer look at her work. "We never did get to meet each other properly after the untimely activation of Sonoma's strength-enhancing implants." She frowns as she gently sets a paper-thin, transparent sheet across the top of the slide. Job complete, she places it down amongst a dozen glass rectangles indistinguishable from each other to your untrained eye.

"We'll begin with whatever recent events have concerned you enough to come to me. What information do you hope to glean today?"

"I was just curious how you were holding up since the escape. This isn't quite the lab you were used to."

"You claimed to be in contact with General Rivera. What do you know about her?"

"There's a lot of talk around the camp saying it's unfair for you to get this whole building to yourself. How did you justify it to Sonoma?"

"I wanted to follow up on why you summoned me the day of the break-out."

"I wanted to follow up on those injections you gave me. Make sure I'm adapting to them safely."

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