Was it easier with him?  What did that mean?

Well… for so long we’ve known you as “the dog girl” because your power works on dogs.

Now it seems it’s more natural for you to be “the wolf girl”.

This is an interesting note to end the chapter on, especially after:

She couldn’t articulate the thought, but it was Taylor’s face that flashed into her mind’s eye when she put the phone away.

But it’s not a bad one. It’s just different and a bit more… metaphorical.

The man looked up at her, staring for long seconds.  Finally, he nodded.  She didn’t know if he would, or if he’d be able to hide it, but if he did inform Coil, it would at least be an excuse to get rid of him and the others.

…fair enough.

Also worth noting: It’s possible for the guy to inform Coil without knowing it himself. Without it actually happening.

She looked down at the wolf pup, who was still struggling to bite at her fingers.  She let it go, waited until it tried to attack her again, and pushed it down onto its side once more.

D’aw.

“Little bastard,” she smiled.

D’aww.

Almost without thinking about it, she used her power.  Just the smallest amount.  She felt almost none of the vibrations or shudder she experienced as a visceral feedback on her power with the other dogs.  It was only when she saw his skin splitting that she realized it was actually working.

Uh. You sure you wanna do this? This puppy isn’t exactly trained, by the looks of it.

Also, the difference between dogs and wolves in the feedback… is the power actually designed to work primarily on wolves, and just works on dogs because they’re the same species but domesticated? And the domestication and/or genetic differences from breeding causes feedback?

Faster, quicker, with so little of the temporary exhaustion she so often experienced on her end.

Huh. Yeah, it really does sound like this is what her power is really effective on.

The Dandelions probably can’t tell the difference between a wolf and a dog.

The rule was to call Coil at a time like this.  To let him know what had happened.

Of course. But will you follow the rules?

At this point, I have a feeling she won’t.

She found her phone in one of her jacket pockets and she fumbled with the keypad to find him in her contacts.  Her finger hovered over the button.

But it comes down to this moment.

What was she holding on to?  Who was she protecting?  Her friends?  Were they really her friends?  It wasn’t that she wanted to betray them, she wasn’t about to repeat that mistake, but…

But is this really a betrayal in the same way?

She couldn’t articulate the thought, but it was Taylor’s face that flashed into her mind’s eye when she put the phone away.

Oof.

Wait, that wasn’t the end of chapter line either?

So because of Taylor… Rachel has decided at least to give Siberian’s offer some time.

I’m down for this storyline. 🙂

Maybe she would see what this test was about.  She wasn’t about to back down.  But in the end, she‘d make the call about where she went and what she did.

Yeah… maybe.

Though I guess Siberian would support her on that, no matter how much she personally wants Rachel to join.

“You,” she told the man with the gouges in his face, “Go to a doctor.  Take anyone here that needs it.  But I don’t want you telling Coil, I don’t want you using his doctors.  Got it?’

Not being very subtle about your decision to actively keep secrets from Coil, huh? Better hope you can trust these people to be more loyal to you than to Coil.

I’m not sure you can.

There was a card in the bottom of the box, stained with urine.

Good job.

Bitch picked it up with the very tip of her finger and thumb.  She’d never properly learned how to read, so she had to work out the individual sounds, moving her lips to try to piece it together.

Ah, yeah… I remember the name spellings from 8.8.

“Ah… air yoh… you.  Air you a…”  That letter, she didn’t recognize it.

Are you a…

After it was… “oll… wolf.”

Hah, called that. Are you a dog, or are you a wolf?

She gave up.  She could guess, anyways. 

Are you a wolf, or are you a dog?

Oh, hehe, I wasn’t expecting the rest of the sentence to be there. 😛

A furry bundle tried to escape, and she stopped it.  It bit for her fingers.

!

A puppy? Perhaps some sort of monster puppy?

She pulled her hand back, gripped it by the throat and forced it down to the ground, making her dominance clear.

Fortunately, Rachel knows how to handle creatures like this.

I think.

A husky puppy?  No.  The physical makeup was wrong.  The smaller ears, longer limbs, and markings around the jowls and muzzle.

…

Is this a Siberian tiger kitten? :3

A wolf pup. Where had Siberian found this?

Ah. Niice.

(Also I guess a tiger kitten wouldn’t have a muzzle. Silly me.)

Shaken, she gestured for Bentley to come to her, and climbed up onto his shoulders.

Well. At least she gave you time to think about it.

Let’s see what the other gift is, at the den, I guess.

Coughing, snorting water from her nostrils, she gave the order, “Home.”

Looks like Rachel has the same priorities.

Her thoughts were chaotic as she rode Bentley down the streets, a dull roar of too many things all at once, all too important to be ignored.

There’s a lot about Rachel that’s chaotic, but probably not quite in the same sense. 😛

At the same time, she didn’t want to think about them, didn’t want to put those pieces together, because she wasn’t sure she liked where they would lead.

Betrayal. Leaving the Undersiders. Breaking her loyalty to the team.

Joining a team with a crazy kindred spirit.

The gift Siberian left her.  Some of her henchmen were at her den.  More important, some of her dogs were there.  Every minute the trip took left her more worried.

It’s entirely possible the henchmen are all dead.

Siberian probably left the dogs alone if she did do something like that in a way that allowed for her to.

She hopped off Bentley as they arrived at the building, shoving the doors open.

At least the building’s still standing. That’s a good sign.

Blood.  Trails leading to Barker and Biter, who were on the ground floor, unconscious, still breathing.

Yeeeah, she totally did try to give Rachel the gift of freedom by cutting her Coil-provided shackles.

One of the girls, the one with veterinary training that Coil had sent to her, was sitting in one corner, nursing an arm that dangled at the wrong angle from the elbow, sobbing.

That’s, uh, not supposed to be like that.