"ECHO!"
The voice shouts out, and snickers can be heard from the other packs. Grandfather glared at him. He had never seen Grandfather this angry before.

"You have failed us! You have failed your tribe! Rabid wolf cries in shame! at your disgrace!" Grandfather spits out, covering Echo's bared neck with spit.

"You do not even deserve to be shamed in the tongue of my ancestors. They would be in agony if they could hear the words i speak to you."

Echo could not hang his head in shame, could not hide his face from his grandfather's denunciation. The wood rubbed the back of his skull, as the robes holding his head up rubbed his forehead raw.

"THERE IS NO PLACE FOR YOU IN TAGA DAN! Not in this life! Not in your next! Not 100 Lifetimes!"

The howls and barks from the other packs grow.

"Unless you are willing to repent your sins. Are you willing to undergo Penance? Are you willing to undergo, the blue box?"
There is a gasp or two, but otherwise, all is silent. No one has had to undergo the blue box in years. Many of the new ones didn't even know what was in it, save that hte torture lasted days, and that the last wolf who survived it was broken afterwards.

"Rabid Wolf! Forgive me!" Echo cries out. And the barks and howls cheer him on. "Then bring forth the box!" Grandfather shouts.
The box is brought forward, and Echo is untied from his plank.

Grandfather opens the box lid, and inside are two beautiful orbs. They reflect the most gorgeous rays of light, and are set in a sumptuous red velvet.
Echo knew what he had to do. Slowly, and with great care, he brought both hands forward, each picking up an orb. The sizzle as his flesh grabbed hold of the silver was audible, as everyone watched. He picked them up, and brought them to his mouth, before dropping them in. One, then the other. He swallowed quickly. For several seconds, he was fine. Then, his teeth began to grit, and his hands clenched.
"I will not scream, I will not scream." He said to himself, over and over. Until he was lying on the ground, his claws digging into his legs as he tried to distract himself from the pain. But it was too much. The fire, the fire of Rabid Wolf was inside him, and it would not be extinguished. And it burned. Oh Father, it burned. He let out a scream, and the whole assembly laughed and barked and howled at him. And he screamed and screamed and screamed. The screams did not end that night, nor would they end soon. This was his punishment, and it would not abate until he was cleansed from within.