"So, to be clear, you believe you scented your true mate before you were attacked, not after, correct?"
Asta was again, annoyed. "Yes," she snapped, "I told you that already."
Sable chimed in from behind the doe, startling her, but when Asta shuddered, she felt like she would nearly fall back over on her side. "We have to ask you these questions in more than one way, to test you. Just answer."
Amarok glanced at all those present in the circle, brows raised, but nobody had anything to say to the contrary. In fact, it was the youngest male wolf that offered a supporting argument.
"I have to say, Laki was acting strangely far before we found the doe. He was also.... distracted. That's why he came up from behind rather than being in front near Erest. I thought he just wasn't taking the chase seriously."
The Tri were silent, looking at each other. They had been working so closely together for long enough, that even if all three were of vastly different personalities, they could nearly communicate silently. They had all concluded at the same time that this meant that the Doe didn't use magic at the last second to cast Molaki under a spell to save herself. They both seemed just as confused about being true mates. Zylo groaned, having to allow himself to come to that conclusion.
"Next line of questioning," Amarok continued.
"Tell me exactly the history of your people that you know. Tell me why you think of the wolves, and the Okoltants."
Asta put her head in her hands. She felt truly ill.
"You're all a bunch of rat bastards who hunt us and have cut our numbers in half," she said, furious.
The room sucked in a collective breath, Molaki's family flinching.
"Well, it's truth serum," Amarok shrugged, though his eyes were narrowed on his target.
"Not good enough. You have to have family history written and passed down," he said, trying to refocus the doe.
But Asta just shook her head urgently. "We don't! I know how to read and write, and we have children's stories, but nothing like what you're asking for. We've only been taught that many years ago, there was a truce between the plant eaters and the meat eaters, but you lied, and you went against the vow. You weren't supposed to hunt fellow shapeshifters. You weren't supposed to eat us! But as the days and years went on, less and less of us would come back from foraging. We moved with the seasons, so that there was always lush food for us wherever it was warm, but that kept putting us into Okolt territory. They're worse then you all - of course they are. There are no blood ties. We were taught that once, once upon a time, we all lived as one, and even took mates between clans, but we never did with the Okolt. We aren't the same.
Our hides are bigger than a wild deer, our male's skulls larger, antlers more ornate. The Okolts slaughter us any chance they get and we believe they are evil, but I also don't blame them. But YOU," her eyes were burning hot with tears already streaming down her face as Asta spit her words out, "YOU are the same as us, you could even have deer ancestors in your bloodlines, but you eat us. And then deny it. THAT'S what we are taught."
There was a shudder to Asta's left, the elder wolf woman having shifted in anger, but she was luckily easily held back by a young female that was there to relay how the hunt had gone. Asta couldn't register this, sobbing while trying still to focus on Molaki, who had all but shut down.
"There really are no.... books in your village?" Sable asked.
"Well like I said, there are children's stories! And books about herbs, and cooking, and medicine. But I don't know what else you want me to say. No, there are no other books."
Sable looked around the room, wringing her hands, then directed her attention to Molaki's mother.
"Hera, is there ANYONE in Lykos who would remember the deer when we had peace? They had to have had written histories. What the hell did they do with them, burn them?"
Hera was slack jawed, trying to find an answer for her Alpha, but was coming up short. "I, it's been so long. I don't think anyone living would have been in the plant eaters community when we were still in peace, no. But nothing in our own written histories says they were flippant people. If the rest of us kept good documents for our ancestors, I don't know why they wouldn't have."
The wolves had an entire chamber dedicated to books. It was all written histories for thousands of years, kept in a stone building - the only building they made of such material. The rest of their city was made of wood, being so easily found and used, but the stone building, they hoped, would keep their documents safe if there was a fire. It was even raised with a full set of stairs to the entrance in case of flooding, even though they didn't live on a flood plain.
"Does anyone.... scent her as deceptive?" Sable asked, softly.
The wolves looked around at each other, even the elder calming down enough to shift back to her human, though she was completely unresponsive to the question. Nobody scented anything from her but anger and confusion. Which was exactly how Asta was acting.
Erest scoffed, twisting his face, his arms crossed in front of him the entire interrogation.
"Well do we get to tell this hooved demon the truth then? Even if she isn't lying, she's an idiot, then. Little girl," he sneered, getting to his feet, stalking towards Asta, "How is it your people are so stupid that you could just ease an entire war while there are still some shifters who walk among us and remember it?"