It was Rudi’s first time in Court’s Grand Hall, and he couldn’t help but gawk. It was so clean and sparkling that he could see the faces he made and his ears twitching on the floor's reflection.

In Vargr, he’d been in the Chieftain’s Great Hall many times, mostly because of his pranks and fights, but Court was different. He knew he was not the one in trouble, because his father was not here to beat him. In Vargr, Chief Lobos would round him and some other kids who also got in trouble and forced them to listen to his long stories about his childhood and how he became a worthy wolf. Most of the other wolves found it boring, but Rudi had always enjoyed the way the chief started; always so serious, but then about half way through, he would get too excited. The stories always ended with Chief Lobos as the hero, which Rudi liked. The other kids never noticed, maybe because their fathers never got so angry with them, but Rudi always felt special with Chief Lobos; he made him forget how his father had been angry with him.

Aside from Faolán, Chief Lobos had to be the strongest wolf around. Rudi would catch up soon, now that he was training with Faolán. His fur was thick now, and covered most of his body, and he had even grown taller; Faolán said so. Uncle Ghenus said so, too, but Silvoh still teased him about his size… even though he didn’t look much bigger himself. But Rudi knew he had noticed, too. It didn't matter. Even Uncle Mammon agreed with Faolán, so Rudi knew it was true. Uncle Mammon was the grand marshal of all of this place, and he never lied. 

But now, what were they doing here? Faolán brought Rudi along and just told him to behave, but he didn’t seem angry. And there were many soldiers standing guard. Uncle Mammon was there, too, next to the king, and he didn’t seem angry either. No matter what Rudi did, what trouble he got into, Uncle Mammon just got serious; never angry; not really. The king looked a little angry… or sad… Rudi couldn’t tell. He always looked a little scary anyway, even when he smiled at Rudi a few times and called him little monkey. Rudi wasn't so little anymore, but it'd be bad if he said that to the king, wouldn't it? Maybe the king was sad because Kiruna was not there with him. That was probably it. Rudi couldn’t think of anyone that had been angry with him since he came to live here; at least not like his father used to get.

Faolán lowered Rudi to the floor and gave him that look that said he needed him to be quiet. Rudi stomped one of his paws in protest, hoping Faolán would remember that he’d been wanting to stand on his own to start off, and that it had been Faolán who had refused. Rudi was too big to be held up like a baby, anyway; it was Faolán who kept grabbing him, despite saying all the time how Rudi needed to stop being a baby. It was even embarrassing. The other soldiers laughed at them when Faolán wasn't looking.

Rudi was working hard to become strong, like Faolán; like Chief Lobos. The chief used to say that getting strong was the only way to protect our loved ones. Rudi didn't understand what it meant then, but now he did. He had many he loved now.

Faolán was like real family. Like a real brother. Then there was Uncle Mammon and Haru, too. Uncle Mammon was strong and all, and he would protect Haru no matter what, but then who would protect Uncle Mammon? Uncle Mammon had saved Rudi and Faolán and brought them to Court, with Uncle Ghenus, and Silvoh. Haru also liked Uncle Mammon a lot, and Haru was the only one who could make Uncle Mammon smile, so how could Rudi not protect Uncle Mammon? But uncle Mammon was crazy strong, so Rudi would need to be even stronger. 

“You must realise this is the best option to manage this conundrum,” Uncle Mammon said to the king.

Rudi beckoned for Faolán's ear. “What’s a conundrum?” He noticed how even his voice sounded funny in here. He thought he was whispering, but it sounded really loud.

Faolán tugged at his shoulder, and they caught Uncle Mammon's eye. They really needed to be quiet. But Rudi really wanted to know! Maybe if Faolán could show him with his hands what it meant, like how Mara talked with Prince Lucious sometimes. Rudi tugged again at Faolan's shirt and moved his hands, but Faolán didn't seem to understand and shushed him. Then the king glanced at Rudi and Rudi froze. The king did look angry today. Angrier. Nothing like his father, but a different sort of angry. He was sitting on his chair made of gold, holding one of his axes and tapping his foot on the floor fast. It looked like he was waiting for someone who was very late.

Rudi realised Captain Miina wasn’t around, either. That had to be it! That’s why the king was angry. They were fighting all the time, the king and Miina, but Rudi saw them making up lots of times as well. In the hounds’ stables where char lived; in that hidden hallway; and behind the training dome, too. They argued a lot, but it seemed they liked to kiss much more. A bit like Uncle Mammon and Haru, except that they never fought; they were just kissing all the time. Uncle Mammon called Haru all sorts of funny names, too, like sweetheart, or honey, and it was funny because Haru's face would change into these funny colours. Rudi guessed the king and Miina were the same. He looked up at Faolán and wondered when he would find someone to start kissing, too. 

Faolán didn't look down, and Rudi used the chance to slip away. He wondered if Haru had been in this hall before. Just in case, Rudi tried to memorise the most beautiful and sparkly bits of it so he could describe them to Haru when he saw him next time. 

Rudi let his furry paws feel the walls and the thick white columns with strange drawings he had never seen before. He spotted gold in some of them and scratched, trying to make as little noise as possible. Nothing came out.

Behind the columns, the walls had drawings that seemed to come off it. A huge red demon in armour was fighting wolves and centaurs. He held a thick sword in one hand, while the other seemed to hold flames of colours, all seven of them, like the stories in Vargr went. Rudi had heard many stories of Satan, but he liked the ones from Chief Lobos the most. It was a sad beginning, with the wolves losing the Dark Wars, but then they became stronger by joining with Satan, and proud to serve under him. There used to be big parties when Satan himself went to Vargr to pick warriors to join Court's army.

He had one, four… seven horns! Satan really looked so strong. Wolves didn’t have horns, but they were strong, too. King Leviathan had two little horns, like Prince Lucious, but Rudi noticed that during training, their horns would grow much bigger. King Leviathan was so strong, he could go against at least six wolves in one go! Rudi used to wonder a lot about how he defeated his father and took over the throne, but when he finally asked, that was when Uncle Mammon and Faolán pulled him into one of those serious talks and asked him not to mention it again. 

Demons at Court were maybe even stronger than the warriors of Vargr. Everyone was stronger than his father. Maybe not as strong as Uncle Ghenus, but for sure, stronger than his father.

Rudi looked at his lower paws, focusing on the clickety noise his nails made against the floor, and wondered if his father was happier now that Rudi was gone. He wouldn’t have anyone to be angry with anymore, right? He would be happy, too, right?

Rudi was happy here. He didn’t even miss home. He had Faolán, Haru, and Uncle Mammon. Haru promised to take him to all his favourite places on Earth soon, too. Rudi just had to learn to hide his fur, his tail, ears, nose, and paws. It was a lot, and it wouldn't be easy, but if he didn't do it, it would scare a lot of humans. Uncle Mammon had been trying to teach him, since he had no issues hiding away his tail when he needed to. Even Prince Lucious gave him some tips, but then he said he sometimes slipped, which was kind of funny because he only had to worry about his horns and ears. For now, Rudi could just about manage hiding his ears and he still couldn't get over how weird he looked without them. Once Rudi mastered everything, he'd be a grown up and he'd be able to go to Earth and visit Haru when he wanted. He’d smell him every day, and eat all those delicious treats Mara brought over some times.

The double doors of the hall opened and Rudi peeked behind a column. The king also stopped tapping his foot. It was Prince Lucious, followed by three other demons Rudi hadn’t seen before. The biggest ox Rudi had ever seen marched behind them. He wasn’t wearing an armour like the others that lived at Court, but the soldiers escorting them looked scared of him.

Just ahead of the ox was a… man? A human soul? Rudi squinted and took a few sniffs. No, he was a demon. He had no horns and he looked a lot like Prince Lucious, except he had much longer hair and a red stripe on the side. Then there was someone much smaller than him. A female, and no matter how much Rudi sniffed, he couldn’t tell what she was. Chief Lobos had always said that if a wolf couldn’t smell a demon or a soul, it meant they did not belong in this world. She had her head covered up, but Rudi could still see strands of white hair flowing from underneath her hood. It was as if they glowed. Her golden eyes strayed in his direction and with a start, Rudi leapt back, covering his mouth. Just before he hid, he realised he had spotted something more. She was carrying it in her arms. And it moved.

Rudi leaned on the column, facing away from the discussion happening behind him. The king seemed even more angry now, but Rudi didn’t want to look. Those golden eyes had made his heart go all funny. But then, there was a new smell. It was fresh, and wonderful and slowed his breathing, almost making him sleepy. Did anyone else smell it? 

Rudi closed his eyes and sniffed the air deeply. It made no sense, and he couldn’t place where it came from; it seemed like it was everywhere. He had never smelled it before; not even from Haru. Rudi sniffed a few more times, and the smell only got stronger; closer. As though it was right in front of him.

Rudi opened his eyes to find another pair greeting him. Deep red eyes, in a large red head with… seven horns! He gasped and stumbled, falling on his bum, but quickly covered his mouth to drown the scream. Something was off. That was Satan’s head… but the body, it didn’t match. It was small, like a baby’s, but walking… wearing some kind of… banana-coloured clothes?

The terrifying face expanded into a wide grin, then suddenly, the colour of its eyes changed. One became deep blue, the other bright gold. “I scared you!”

Rudi blinked, his mind drawing a blank. The voice was a baby's too. But then the sweet, sweet scent came strongly and calmed him. Rudi realised the scent belonged to the smaller one with Satan's face. He stood up quickly, his small legs trembling and his tail freezing mid-air, unable to pull away. It seemed to amuse the little one as he giggled, making Satan's face look even more terrifying. In an instant though, the red head with seven horns disappeared, and in its place was a much smaller head with hair as white as the tallest mountains of Vargr.

“Get ready, she’s coming!” The little one beamed, and his smile seemed to outshine the hall they stood in. “This is for her, but don’t let her get it!” In his hand, the smaller one held out a peach to Rudi.

“Wh-who's coming?” Rudi asked.

“Kiruna-Kiruna’s coming!”