Zira remained low until they were out of sight. Once she moved out of their hearing range, she heaved a sigh of relief. She immediately activated the spiritual energy she long knew was within her.
Seconds passed. The air stayed as still as it had been. There was still the dead silence that was occasionally broken by prey exploring the area. Her senses were the same. Her strength, speed, and agility were the same.
/How strange.../ Zira wondered to herself while moving off in search of new prey. /Its mere purpose is to permanently level up my stats?/
Just then, she caught the scent of game. It was faint but fresh. She followed the trail and eventually came across a deer that strayed away from its herd to graze on fuller grass. /I've been restraining it for nothing then./
She relaxed and focused entirely on hunting. As soon as she did, the deer's head snapped up. It looked directly at her before sprinting off. She cursed under her
The opportunity to challenge Hector finally arrived. However, the situation was tricky, making it a high stakes gamble. Zira's moment's hesitation was too long for Hector. "I'll tear your throat out-""I found her dying beyond the stream and I pitied her.” Zira hurriedly cut him off. “Isn't she just a cute little wee thing?" She talked about Neoma with the nonchalance of a person talking about their pet."What did you do?" Hector continued to dig with narrowed eyes."I nursed her back to health in an underground cave.” She shrugged. “So, did I do something wrong?" Zira stared at Hector with a level gaze.“You used our precious resources for an outsider?”“Just the bare minimum needed to keep her alive.”“What’s ours, stays ours." He eyed Neoma for a while before looking back at Zira. "Since she digested something of ours, she’ll be food for us.”
Ward followed the sparkling cyan stream and walked until he was at the edge of the Darkfire's territory. There was a hole at the bottom of one of the bare trees. He carefully placed Zira there then silently gazed at her.Neoma softly and timidly asked the question that had been bugging him. "How is she still in her human form?"When she got no reply, she spoke again. "Then again, it's a good sign, right? It means she's not dying, right?" She looked at Ward who still showed no intention of replying. Without a word, he reverted back to his wolf form and settled himself down near Zira. Neoma did not take his lack of reply to heart. She knew that Ward needed to rest too. So, she took it upon herself to keep watch while they were down.Zira's eyelids gradually lifted. A coat with a random mix of lavender and blue fur filled her sight. The softness and warmth against her skin felt comfortable and welcoming. She would have loved to sink deeper into it if she coul
Zira and Ward arrived at a standoff between a large black bear and Neoma. A grey wolf laid on the ground between the pair with its paws covering its eyes.Seeing how Neoma was visibly shaking, Zira decided to give her the final push./I've done it once, I can do it again./Zira steeled her heart then fell to the ground without any warning. All the heads in the area snapped towards Zira. Meanwhile, BaoBao tried his best to stifle his laughter. Zira acting all weak never got old for him.Ward moved faster than anyone else. He stood guard in front of Zira, then growled and bared his teeth at the bear. Neoma looked at the pitiful picture of wounded wolves fending for themselves, then felt ridiculous being afraid when she was the only unscathed and healthy one.The bear took the chance when everyone was distracted to go for the wolf cowering on the ground. A burst of courage filled Neoma and she instantly leapt towards the bear.
BaoBao, who had witnessed it all, suspended his telepathy with Zira so that he could laugh to his heart's content.[Ah… If only you didn't have to stay in character.]Zira repeatedly pushed Ward's face away with her paw and nipped him, but he stubbornly pressed towards her to groom her. After a long struggle, he finally left Zira alone.Zira huffed unhappily and turned her back towards him. On the other hand, Ward's tail swayed side to side. He had ascertained for himself that Zira was untouched by the red wolf and was clearly healthy. He moved further away from her to give her her much needed space. When he settled down, he did not stare at her either.Unbeknownst to him, Zira was quietly missing his closeness. Others simply inferred from her droopy ears that she was in a bad mood because of Ward.[Aha!]Zira's heart jumped at BaoBao's sudden exclamation.
"Quin! Now what?!""Break us out of this!" Quin cried."I'm already trying! It's too slow!""Focus." Ward's calm and steady voice cut through everyone's panic.Neoma stared at Ward for a full second. She took a deep breath and pulled as hard she could. She stared only at the webs. She thought only of snapping the webs. She began to feel a burn within her muscles. More and more fibers split and it gradually got faster and easier. Before she knew it, she disentangled everyone in record time."I did it! I di- Wait, not the time, let's go!"Words flew out of Neoma's mouth.Just before Neoma leapt off the tree, Red shouted, "We're still stuck! Too sticky! Ugh!"Quin's eyes darted everywhere. From the spiders, to the disheveled state of the webs that had twigs, leaves, and more caught in it, to the canopy around them. "Leaves! Stick the leaves on!" He finally shouted.A split second after, a large pile of leaves rain
While the lizard ran, it sometimes screeched in a pitch so high that the wolves almost could not hear it. They shook their head in an effort to deal with the discomfort.“Let’s just fight it! Come on!” Red egged everyone on.“Can’t you see we’re at a huge disadvantage?! Not everyone’s like you, keen to lose your life for some meaningless excitement!”“Oh, come on. What could happen? It’s just a lizard on its home ground. We can make do.”“Right!” While everyone turned right at the same time that Quin shouted, Red continued to run straight ahead.“I knew you’d agree- Guys?!” Red dug in her heels and stopped dead in her tracks.“Red!” Neoma shouted. Her voice travelled down the tunnel the pack had ran into.“Ugh shit!” Red ran after them, thus placing her behind the lizard instead. Just as Red fantasized ab
Within five minutes, the pack found a clear spring within a nook of the mountain. Steam wafted up from the water. Quin and Red dashed straight for it without another word. “Please be careful! Valter apparently fell into the cave somewhere here!” Alma warned. “Got it!” Quin and Red said in unison while they happily dived into the water. The water was so clear that they could see the jagged rocks at the bottom of it. They doggy paddled all around. They shook themselves while they were still inside the water, to clean their thick coats. “Thanks for the warning.” Neoma said while placing Valter down onto the ground. She then jumped into the water with the other two. Alma looked at the three wolves in a daze. /They’re… Nice./ Meanwhile, Ward gently lowered Zira onto the ground near the spring. He slipped into the water, careful not to let any splash onto her. While in the water, he reverted back into his wolf form and he never swam t
Something gently nudged and nuzzled against Zira’s face, pulling her out of her slumber. She opened her eyes and confirmed the identity of the culprit. Ward changed into his human form, ready to carry her. Zira did too, at the same time, then moved away before he could pick her up.“My legs work fine.” She explained.Ward stared pointedly at her chest injury.“I’ll be fine.” She stubbornly said as she ran off with the others. Ward caught up to her and stayed close by her side.Meanwhile, another conversation went on at the front of the pack.“I still don’t get why talking to him will win him over. I mean, if it works, why didn’t we win him over earlier?” Red insisted.“Because you didn’t know his story before I shared it with everyone.” Alma gently explained.“Nope. Don’t get it.”“Now we can show Valter