~ * ~ * ~

Shreya needed all the luck she could get.

She kneeled down before the half-circle of Elder wolves. They were dressed in their ceremonial robes, their hoods pulled up over their heads. The hoods were cut in a way that let their ears poke through. Pravaah stood among them, with the worst glare of any of them. The disappointment coming off of her made Shreya's ears flatten to her head. She wanted to run far, far away.

She'd never gone before the Elders before.

"Your disobedience can not go unpunished," Elder Ilkay said. "Shreya Marjani Azima, you have made an egregious error in judgment by doing what you did. Our rules are set in place for a reason. It's not only your life that you put at risk, but the lives of all wolves here."

Pravaah spoke next. "The requirements of the treaty we have with the humans dictates that we don't cross into their territory without a proper and agreed upon reason. You had neither. Stealing food from them is an outrageous offense." She tilted her head. "I'm granting you permission to speak, Shreya. Explain yourself."

Shreya's throat went dry. "The bear would've been rancid by the time any human came for it. Someone had to eat it. I couldn't...I couldn't just leave it, not when we need it."

"We only hunt and scavenge on our own lands," Elder Ilkay said.

Elder Haneul cleared his throat. "Shreya has a point. We do need it. Being wasteful in this instance would have been regretful," he said. "Shreya was putting the needs of the Marjani people before her own. She could've left the bear and not gotten caught, but she brought it here to help us."

The newest addition to the council, Elder Calanthe, grunted at that. "Just because the crime was selfless doesn't make it any less of a crime that she was in their territory in the first place. If a thief breaks into a house with the intent to steal but ends up saving a choking child, do you just not punish the thief?"

A few of the other Elders murmured in agreement. Elder Haneul spoke again, "I propose that we have Shreya take responsibility and choose her punishment. We'll give her options that fit this crime while still keeping in mind the good that she did. I for one don't want to see her unnecessarily suffer for this."

Elder Ilkay considered that. "Pravaah, what do you think?"

"It feels appropriate to me, but it's ultimately your decision as Elders on what to allow," Pravaah said.

"Shreya may choose from these two options," Elder Ilkay said. "One day of exile or three days of silence. If any of you have issues with this proposal, then please say so." Silence. All of the Elders were in agreement. "Shreya, the decision is yours."

An entire day of solitary... Shreya wasn't sure how she could handle that. The things she had heard about the exile punishment weren't pleasant. She'd be taken somewhere and be forced to stay there alone, to get a taste of what it'd be like without her community.

Three days of silence would overlap with the day she agreed to meet with Ellie. Assuming she'd even be able to sneak out again, that could pose a problem. It was better than being alone but not being able to talk to or interact with the other wolves would be its own kind of pain.

Shreya bowed her head. Which punishment did she deserve?

"I choose..."

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A/N: Voting for the latest chapter of Redwood Crossing is happening now on its main site until Monday at 11:59 PM EST. Don't miss out on a chance to affect the story!

The next RRL chapter update will be Chapter 11.