Both Asta and Molaki agreed they needed no more time, both of them still weary and on a hair trigger despite getting some rest. They were ushered to washrooms and given a few more sips of water before marching back to the Tri Chambers, which had changed in formation since they had been in it last.
The front of the room was the same - the three chairs standing imposing, the long table being very heavy and either unmovable or actually built into the ground. Otherwise, all the stools had been shifted, now having a clearing in front of the table, with a pile of furs and pillows on the floor. Around the plush furs were several stools in a circle, where more wolves had been seated.
There was a mix of males and females of different ages, Asta recognized one as Erest right away, clutching Molaki's hand harder when she saw the man glare at her while he rested his chin wearily on his hand. She recognized nobody else, besides Prim who swept past them to take her seat, Hera holding onto her son's opposite arm. She, too, had a seat, with one more empty one next to her, which would eventually be where Molaki would end up.
Asta and Molaki clung to each other, Molaki ready to take everyone's heads off as he smelled the fear spiking in his mate. He knew everyone else could scent it too, but there wasn't any reason for her not to feel threatened. Perhaps it would be worse if she was too confident.
An elderly wolf, older than anyone else in the room, pushed through the small crowd that had gathered, carrying a ceramic chalice, and without any warning, clung onto Asta's wrist to usher her into the center, signaling for her to sit. Asta froze, not wanting to move away from Molaki, but the old woman turned to her, snapping at her in a way that the doe didn't expect from someone her age.
"You'll come here and you will sit and you will take the tonic," the elder demanded.
Molaki snapped his ears back to his skull, lifting his lips away from his fangs, but Hera hissed at him just as Asta jolted forward to be dragged by the elder, ripping her other hand away from Molaki's embrace.
"Laki, you have to let them do this," Hera growled at her son, who wanted to snap at her, but also would have had his tail between his legs if he was in his wolf. It didn't matter how large or strong he was, even the Tri would obey their mothers when it came down to it. With a whine, he sulked over to his seat next to the rest of his family, sitting on his hands to stop him from reaching out to Asta and getting her accused of enchanting him.
Asta scrunched her nose as she was pushed down into the furs on the floor. She could smell this used to be a bear, a wild one, and they were not an enemy of her people. The wild creatures, those who couldn't shift, were not swift enough to catch deer like her, and now this one was dead. And she was sitting on it.
"She doesn't like the animal products," Molaki growled through his teeth, but his mother nudged him in his ribs.
"Best case, she is allowed to live here with you. Do you think you can sanitize Lyko to her liking? She's going to have to get use to it, love."
The white haired male frowned, sulking like a teen again, but he was cut short by the elder starting to explain the process, the Tri all standing in attention so they could watch.
"She will drink this, and it will take effect within moments," she droned, speaking more to the crowd rather than Asta.
"Some of those interrogated during the war had reactions to this, where they fainted, or were weak, which is why I don't have her seated, but already on the floor. It doesn't help to make them uncomfortable. When we start to question her, we can all scent her for deception."
"What do you mean by that, though?" Everyone expected it would be Molaki to protest, but it was instead his sister, sitting cross armed and starring down the elder with an authority she didn't really have.
"Yes, we can't actually smell if someone is lying or telling the truth, but when emotions clash, then we know something is conflicting in there," the woman tapped her own head with a wrinkled hand. "Further, we have awoken and brought in some of the wolves that were on the hunt with Molaki to tell us if she's being truthful about the events of yesterday, so we can use that as a baseline."
Prim nodded, but needed one more thing clear, before they continued - "I know we use fear where fear ought not to be, as a baseline for deception. But Asta is going to be terrified - she is. We can all smell it now. What can you do to safeguard against that?"
The elder had to stifle a growl at the younger woman interrogating her about her tactics, but Prim kept eyeing Sable for backup, who was nodding in agreement.
"That's why we will ask about things we don't really care about: her day to day life, how the hunt went, and then ask the wolves who were there to check. We can get a baseline scent from this. Furthermore, the tonic tends to relax those who take it. That's the point."
Asta wanted to lose it at that idea, groaning in her throat, her ears fluttering. All she ever was, was a wall. Quiet and calculated, she kept her cards close and watched those around her rather than running headfirst into them. The idea of taking a potion that would turn her into an uninhibited drunk in front of a bunch of predator strangers made her skin crawl more than it even was already.
"...How long will she be under the influence?" Molaki asked softly, trying to not sound threatening.
"I don't care," snapped the elder, tired of being spoken down to by the youngsters. "As long as it takes."
Without another word, she extended the chalice to Asta. Unlike Hera, Prim, or even Sable, there wasn't a hint of reassurance or care behind eyes.
This was an elder who had lived through the war, even if she was just a young pup. There was no love for the doe, only a task to complete.