Ettore | ✔️

𝑭𝒐𝒖𝒓

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𝑫𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒍

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Ettore thought over his mother's words for a moment. An advocate for the royal court? He supposed it would be beneficial to both himself and his parents. He'd be able to be independent and his parents would get more dutiful subjects. 

"I'll do it," he said eagerly, his mother's lips curled up into a smile. 

"I knew you would," she stood up from her lounge chair and walked towards her study's door. "Your father is expecting us, he'll go over the details." Ettore followed his mother out of the study and down the narrow corridor to his father's study. His mother knocked twice before opening the door and walking inside, Ettore close at her heels. 

"You're interested in being the advocate?" His father rose a brow, folding his hands together. "You understand there are dangers with running into stubborn wolves, right?" 

"I'm not worried about that father," Ettore responded, his posture pin-straight, shoulders back and his head was raised. "I'm interested in bringing more subjects to the court, I think it will be good." A smile began to tug at the corners of King Vincenzo's lips. 

"Yes, I think it will be good too," Ettore failed to notice the dark twinkle in his father's eyes. "You'll be gone for long periods of time, will you be alright? I'll send someone else with you if you wish."

"Vincenzo, I hope you'd send along at least three guards to be safe," Queen Analyn spoke up, narrowing her eyes at her mate. 

"Of course I will," King Vincenzo replied, waving his hand in a dismissive manner. "Your first pack will be the Gibbous Pack to the North. They're a domestic pack so it won't be too risky nor difficult. Just be vigilant and persuasive."

"When am I to leave?"

"This instant. And don't come back until you've made contact with every pack in a hundred-mile radius." Ettore simply nodded before he left the room, exhaling a breath of air he hadn't realized he had been holding. He already felt liberated from his parents' constant nagging and he hadn't even left the castle walls, let alone the royal court's territory. 

The moment he left the court's territory he was flanked by two brown wolves, Allister and Alfonso. He knew that both would come in handy; Allister being a great tracker and Alfonso was a high ranking warrior.  He took their appearance as a cue to shift and so he did. The moment his forepaws hit the ground they were off. 

Ettore's paws began to hurt on the third day of their trek, they had only stopped briefly to rest, eat, and refresh themselves with a drink of water. They still had about another day's walk until they reached the Gibbous Pack border. 

They had all shifted into their human forms to rest their aching limbs and feet. Alfonso had a hard look on his face as he stared into the fire they had been feeding and stoking for the past couple of hours. 

"Why didn't we just take horses?" Allister grumbled as he yanked a loose thread from his khaki shorts. 

"They'd be killed and eaten by the Wilds," Alfonso answered, crossing his arms over his chest. "But in that case, I suppose they would've come in handy if we were in peril and about to starve."