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FBtW: Blood Moon Chapter One: A Rude Awakening His eyes were heavy, he'd try with all his might, but he could not open them no matter what, but the longer he stayed awakened from his deep slumber, the more he became aware of his body. Everything ached, every muscle screamed in his body and he felt so weak like he was bound by chains. As he gave up trying to move his limp body, he focused his attention about his surroundings. His eyes still refused to open, so he tried to listen and smell his surroundings to get a clue where he might be. He took a deep breath in - taking everything in as much as he could - he smelt dust, yet he could imagine forrest trees and something musky in the air. He then tried to focus on the sounds of his surroundings, if anything could be heard, he hoped it would be helpful. It was mostly silent, other than some muffled footsteps behind a wall; whomever they belonged to, they were pacing. Maybe he was indoors? He was not sure but he was lying in a bed, that much was clear to him.

After a while, more and more of his strength came back; the sensation wasn't to different from waking up after a surgery. Again, he tried to open his eyes; this time, he was successful. Light entered his eyes, it was blindingly bright. After some time, his eyes finally adjusted. He could see the wooden ceiling, making out a bedroom of sorts. It took all his might to position himself upright, the endeavor was tediously difficult; after his struggle, wiggling his limbs, he could seat himself crisscrossed on the bed. He continued to observe the bedroom; directly in front of him was a door, there was a chest and a candelabra in front of the bed near a corner, a small window which guarded a forest setting. To his right, there was a tall closet; opposite the closet was a dresser, about the height of his chest. The whole situation was evermore confusing, the bedroom was unfamiliar, he seemed to have woken up in the past... Was he kidnapped did he die and end up in some weird afterlife? The more he thought about, he became sure if he died, he'd remember it. But the deeper and deeper he found himself racking the depths of his brain, he found himself lost, not in a labyrinth of unfamiliarity, but an abyss of blank thoughts, no memories of his past. He doesn't even know what he looks like! After his head began to hurt, he gave up and decided that worrying about his current situation was more important. He continued to search for anything else possibly helpful, a clock or a tablet, despite how old fashioned the furniture seemed. All he could think to himself was "Where the hell am I?". Tired of frantically looking around from the bed, he decided to stand and search for evidence as to where he found himself. His feet made contact with the cold hard floor, but to his dismay his legs still haven't regained the strength he though he had.

He fell on his face. The pacing he once heard stopped, changing to rapid stomps coming from behind the door. It swung open to reveal a black anthropomorphic wolf; he was clearly bigger than the average human, maybe even an above average athletic one; his build suggested that he could tear anyone apart. "Shit, the human is awake, I told him this was a bad idea! Why did I even let myself get talked into this?" he snarled loudly in frustration. The human, of which found himself dumbfounded at his predicament, believed that the safest course of action was to play safe and show no violent intent. "Hello?" he asked the black wolf, not sure if he was making the right choice that would ensure his safety. The wolf expressed shock, then anger. "How do you speak our tongue, who taught you?!" The wolf snarled, barring his fangs. "What? I'm just speaking human English!" The human responded in fear and confusion; did he do something wrong, did he offend the black wolf? "What do you mean 'human english' you speak wolven, like you were born and raised here!!" the wolf retorts in irritation, his breath growing deeper with anger. His fangs we still barred, he seemed barely short of being enraged enough to strike. The human scooted backward toward the head of the bed; pure fear shown in his eyes. All he could think about was how he was gonna die here, no strength to defend himself, never learning about what happened to him. His arms were raised, eyes watering; despite how none of his actions would help him in the situation of fighting an anthropomorphic apex predator. The tears fell like waterfalls; he doesn't want to meet his doom, he was only a young adult. All he could imagine was how he'd be battered, ravaged, and downright bludgeoned or even clawed and mauled to death. Meanwhile, the black wolf pursued the human, poised and ready to grab the human for further questioning, demanding to know why this peculiar individual could understand him. The light from the window was reflected on the wolf's claws. The cowering human's heart was racing, reaching rates that definitely wouldn't be deemed healthy. All he could do is hyperventilate and hide behind his hands.

The wolf was now over the human, towering and imposing his intimidating stature over the desperate boy in need of help. The boy looks up and his body seemingly gives up; he faints. "Great now this you own me extra for this Ranok!" he muttered under his breath as he carried the human and put him back on the bed. He tied the human up with rope, hoping the human would stay out until his friend, Ranok, would return, so that they could deal with the situation they faced and be rid of the human and the problems he brought sooner, rather than later. "Who am I kidding, this is only the beginning of our problems," he sighed; he was content how he dealt with the human. He left the room, back to waiting and drinking ale outside the bedroom. A few hours passed and the black wolf was losing his patients. "Where the hell is he?!" he asked himself. He shortly got his answer as a grey wolf entered the cottage."Speak of the devil. What on earth took you so long, Ranok?!" The black wolf asked, even though he had a good guess as for why. "Apologies, my father would not stop talking. I was about to lose my mind! Anyways... how is the human, Vulgor?" Ranok replied. The grey wolf asked the black wolf, only able to think about how he found them. He remembered the very unpleasant situation regarding finding the human; drenched in another individual's blood with no hint as to where it came from. "The human woke up a few hours ago. Found em' getting out of bed. He speaks wolven!" The black wolf responded. His voice was full of contempt and concern. He wanted to be done with the shit show he'd been asked to put up with. Ranok caught onto the Vulgor's distress; he was suddenly mortified at the idea of a human speaking wolven. "In the name of Aluna... the tribe will call for blood..." Ranok muttered. He continued to contemplate the situation, realizing he did in fact leave the human with one of the less approachable wolves of the tribe. "Vul, what happened to the human?" "He passed out and I restrained him, I made sure he can't make a racket," Vulgor replied smugly. Ranok wasn't pleased at what he heard; his paws were to his head. Vulgor continued to down the mug of ale he had poured himself earlier. "We should get rid of him, the tribe will find out and so we're screwed if we continue this nonsense," Vulgor stated, slamming his now empty tankard. He began to full himself another glass as Ranok shouted, "We won't do such a thing!" Ranok was furious, growling at the black wolf. "He is my pa-" "Path my ass. Don't be an idiot Ranok. The coming of age ceremony isn't done to encourage you to commit social suicide! You're supposed to see a rabbit eat moss and figure your connected or some shit; that human is dangerous, wether you like it or not you should have killed him on the spot." Vulgor spat in anger. The black wolf was dumbfounded at his friend's reasoning. Ranok, on the other hand, was unhappy with Vulgor's opinion, especially under his roof.

The grey wolf reasoned, "just because you don't believe in fate doesn't mean it isn't affecting us. I found him under MY name tree and he spoke MY name; he also speaks Wolven! If this is not some sign of fate or of my destiny, then what is?!" "Or maybe, the human entered the forest and broke our laws and must be executed for doing so!" The black wolf snarled, he wasn't buying this "fate" nonsense. Ranok eased up. Their bickering wouldn't solve anything. He took a deep breath in, cut off by a loud muttering. "Vul, listen. Us arguing won't-" "DAMN THAT WOLF! When I get my hands on him... I'll give him a piece of my mind!" The human had clearly woken up and was was obviously pissed at how Vulgor treated him. It was clear he wished to have compensation for Vulgor's mistreatment. The black wolf shrugged it off. "It seems that our princess is finished with his beauty sleep," he chuckled, as Ranok facepalmed himself. The grey wolf rushed to the door, Vulgor following behind, the former greeted by a thrown a wet and dirty piece of cloth; one sniff and Ranok could tell it was one of his loincloths. "Well, he can certainly aim," Vulgor chuckled. Ranok wasn't pleased, only muttering "shut up..." under his breath. His focus was mainly put on the human in front of him. The latter was glaring, his eyes were positioned solely on the black wolf with contempt, albeit the wolf remained unfazed and obviously indifferent about the human's presence. "Before you say anything, I want to apologize for what my moon brother did to you," Ranok said, bowing his head. The Grey wolf's more polite disposition caught the human off guard. "I- it's fine it's just... I woke up here, in this strange place and don't know what's going on," the human said, his voice was raspy. "He- I couldn't tell if he was going to hurt or eat me and I- I don't know what's going on..." The human was clearly lost; they were intelligent enough to figure out that the black wolf wasn't necessarily there to hurt him, not in the sense of beating him up. His speech impeded by his dry throat. "... could I get some water? My throat hurts like a bitch," the human asked humorously. Ranok just stared; he was in shock of the human's linguistic capabilities. Despite the human's dry stuttered voice, his Wolven was clear and without a hint of learning accents. A short awkward silence passed before the human asked a "hello," bringing the grey wolf back into the conversation. "Oh, r-right. Vulgor, would you grab him a glass?" Ranok asked, turning to the Black wolf. Vulgor stared back at the Grey wolf implying the question "am I your handmaiden now?" The grey wolf sighed,"Fine, then would you go get Verissa for me?" The grey wolf was indignant on getting his friend to leave, feeling that Vulgor and the human have too much tension between them.

Vulgor was aggravated at the second request. "Are you nuts!? Why would you bring her into this mess?!" He bared his fangs, "Just kill the human and be done with this shit show!" Beginning to growl, Vulgor's gaze shifted from a Ranok to the human. Surprisingly, the human's bravery took on a new high, more filled with anger than fear, he yelled back at the Black wolf. "Try me furball I'll-" "What did you call me?!" Vulgor asked furiously. Neither the human nor the wolf were unfazed; not a hint fear was on the human's face, no trace of remorse on Vulgor's muzzle. " BOTH OF YOU, STOP THIS INSTANT!!!" Ranok shouted, his paw to his bridge. The two stopped their staring contests, their glares were broken by the grey wolf's outburst. Ranok turned to Vulgor. "We need her if we hope do deal with the human without harming him. Just... I need you to promise me you won't hurt the human, at least until we sort this out. Please?" Ranok was feigning tolerance, he wouldn't take "no" for an answer. " YOU CAN'T BE SERIOU-" "SWEAR ON YOUR MOONSTONE, Vul. Promise me you won't harm him until this is all sorted out!" Ranok's eyes were stern, Vulgor could tell that his moon brother was set on helping the human out; he could tell Ranok was more "tolerant" of Vulgor's actions today compared to usually. Ranok was different now. "Yo- I- I swear," the Black wolf conceded as the grey wolf opened the door for his friend to use.

The black wolf left the cottage and Ranok filled the human a tankard of water. His fur was on end and he came back into the bedroom with a guilty face. "I am so sorry about... everything. Vulgor's a short fuse and is quick to anger, but he can be a nice guy, believe me," he said to the human, handing him the tankard. The human was starring at the grey-wolf, unsure of what to think of the entire situation. "Is there something on my face?" Ranok asked with a cheeky smile. The human shook his head side to side, now composed and focused in on the conversation with the nicer wolf. "It's just- I- Can you tell me what's going on? Where am I? Why am I here?" The human asked, there's nothing more that he wanted other than answers. Ranok smiled, he took of the armor he worn coming into the cottage, setting down his long sword as-well before sitting on the bed next to the human. "I found you in our forrest under my name tree. The name trees are holy places of rest for us; they are our final resting place so that we may stay a little while longer before leaving the world of the living," Ranok explained, his tone of voice was now solemn. The human was confused with the concept of name trees, but he tried his best to understand. "So you found me in a cemetery, so to speak?" The human asked, unsure what to make of it. The grey wolf nodded. "Yes, it is considered a great offense; A tiger noble carved his name on another wolven's name tree; to us, it was a declaration of war," Ranok said, his tone was still solemn. The human's face was still filled with confusion. "But was it something worth risking lives for?" The human asked. The wolf gave no response, he understood the human's question but still held his cultural values close and dear to himself. He thought to himself that maybe the human isn't really a path for him to take. The human continued to stare. Ranok sighed. "To be honest, it definitely could be considered crazy. I don't know the positions of your people, or the tigerii, and our views differ greatly. Did the tiger really have to pay with blood for what they did, were they aware of the crime they were committing before carving his name. I don't think I can or even have a right to judge what my people did, if it was a bad or even worse of a decision," Ranok admitted, his voice was filled with guilt. Ranok's face lit up, slightly changing the subject. "I never thought I could learn about outsider views!" He grinned, now sure that this human is his path.

He crossed his arms, happier than previously, but his wide smile began to disappear. "Back to how I found you... luckily for you, my tree wasn't harmed. Unlucky for you, though, you were drenched in blood and viscera. Vul and I though you were on death's door," he explained. The grey wolf paused, waiting for the new information to sink into the human's head. The human's eyes widened. "You- I was covered in blood? Wait, why didn't you kill me for trespassing?" He asked, not seeing a reason for the wolf to disregard other laws or the cultural practices they have. The grey wolf smiled, puffing his chest. "I found you during my coming of age ceremony!" The wolf's previous conviction was lit once again. He explained," When a wolf comes of age, they are supposed to find blessings in the knowledge of our ancestors and the goddess Aluna. We spend time out in the forest as part of a spiritual journey. When I found you under my name tree, I took it as a sign and didn't think I could, er- should kill you, and that's why I took the risk of taking you in. If they find you, not only will you be executed, but Vulgor and I would be banished...." The wolf's demeanor changed yet again, his speech becoming stunted. "Anyways, we hoped to appeal to the council of elders by defending your case with a right to sanctuary, but..." Ranok paused, he was blushing profusely and his face was painted with distress. "You- when I- unfortunately after bathe- cleaning your body, there were no wounds." The wolf said, his face buried in his paws. The human's face grew red as well, realizing the wolf had to clean him while he was unconscious; although he didn't think the wolf would do anything rash, he was flustered and still confused. "Wait, why is it unfortunate I had no wounds?" The human squeaked, his voice cracking, still flustered. The grey wolf laughed nervously, scratching his head. He explained,"there are ancient laws that allow us to take in refugees or the wounded, we could choose to take care of you. I believe it's my duty to care for you and take you home. I guess it's partly selfish of me but I intend to go out and see the world while I return you home." The looks away, rubbing his arms. He continued,"But since your not injured and are fluent in our tongue, you case is very complicated and not very plausible. You speak as if you were born and raised with us and I'm not sure how to handle your situation now. That's why I asked Vulgor to get the tribe's shaman to help us." "Verissa..." the human mumbled. Ranok nodded.

All the human could do was think at the moment; he strained his head and his face reflected his frustration in trying to understand and maybe even decide what he would or should do now. The human's head began to ache, his breath rate slightly increasing. "Are you ok?" Ranok asked, looking at the human with concern. The human composed composed himself and smiled back at the wolf. "I-I think I'm fine," he said, still deep in thought. After a few moments of silence, the human calmed himself down. He then looked to the wolf with pleading eyes. "I need to confirm a few things... where- which- what is the country or, er, what city do the human's belong too?" the human asked, his face reflective of his anxiousness. Ranok was confused for a moment, only realizing that the human might not know where the nearest human settlements are. "We are on the continent Avalon and the nearest human populated area is Fhreyfall... uh, do you know if you lived here on Avalon, or maybe on Euron?" The wolf asked hopeful that the human knew where he lived before the entire catastrophe.The human was shaking, his heart was racing, his stomach churning; he felt like he could throw up. "T-that'a impossible!" He exclaimed, his voice shaky with panic. "What's not possible?" Ranok asked, now kneeling and attempting to calm the human down with physical contact, only to awkwardly put his hands on the human's shoulders. The human's tremors were enormous. "I- I think I might have died..." the human closed his eyes, a few tears were streaming down his face. Ranok stood up, totally confused at what the human was going on about. "Why, would you think you died?" The wolf asked, crossing his arms. The human responded, his voice filled with fear. "I know I am in a completely different world. I have memories, none of which match with where I am or relate to this place possibly existing. I..." he choked on his words. The human vomited, his stomach now completely empty. "S-sorry," he said weakly. Ranok was now deep in thought, was it possible that this human was sent from their world to his?

Did he die and become reborn in this world through some sort of magic ritual. He sighed, knowing he was no expert in the subject, his knowledge was limited only to the books and the shared knowledge of Verissa. In the end, he was more sure that he and the human were connected by fate. The wolf looked to the human who was still shaking, embarrassed at the sudden flush of fluids now found on the floor. Ranok ruffled the human's hair, aiming to calm him down. "Listen, we will all figure it out and I promise you, you'll be protected," the wolf said with conviction in his voice. The human couldn't help but give a reassured smile, hoping to not worry the kind wolf. "Just try and relax, I'll grab you more water and we can just wait until Vulgor and Verissa." The wolf said, getting up; the human nodded, just closing his eyes. They were tired once again; he was most definitely fatigued, tired from the recent altercations. The grey wolf sighed with relief at how smooth introductions were with the human. He could already tell that the situation itself would be hard in general; but no one said his destiny wasn't going to be hard. His tail began to wag as he cleaned up the mess, already feeling close to the human, evermore sure that he was on the correct path. With the human asleep again; considering all the information that the human was bombarded with, it was understandable he was now emotionally unstable and in dire need of rest. Ranok didn't dawdle, idle activity was never one this wolf's specialties and so he busied himself with cleaning and re organizing his house after Vulgor had messed up his stash of drinks, not bothering to place the bottles back in place. He finished quickly however, ever anxious and in hope that Vulgor or Verissa could shed more light on the human's possible situation. While he thought to himself, the wolf was pulled back from the ocean of thoughts that flooded his mind by rapid and impatient knocks at the door. Almost falling out of his chair, he jumped to greet his moon brother and a slender and white she-wolf. "I'm so relieved you came, Verissa," he greeted the wolf, despite her annoyed attitude clearly illustrated on her face."UGH! Ranok! When I first heard from Vulgor about you, bringing a HUMAN into the village, I though he was joking. Then I remembered his sense of humor was lacking. Never in my life would I have thought I'd hear him say something so hard to believe..." she continued to scold the grey wolf, crossing her arms.

Vulgor interrupted,"Excuse me! I have a sense of humor! I just prefer not to!" He huffed, pouting his muzzle; he seemingly whispered "typical woman under his breath". The white wolf rolled her eyes at the comment, waving her hands in dismissal. "Yes, of course you do, have a sense of humor, just like everyone else. Anyway, let's tackle the issue at hand." The she-wolf was now stoic, her expression was no longer aggravated, more serious and observant. "OK, Ranok, explain to me in your own words what happened during your coming-of-age ceremony," she ordered, ready to listen. Ranok took a deep breath in and begun to explain everything, the long walk in the forest of Tirnan, the human under his tree, the blood... then he got to the part about the human speaking Wolven. Despite claiming to speak human English, which isn't considered a human dialect or language of sorts, the human's Wolven speech is unmistakably impressive and unnerving. The she-wolf was stunned and even turned to Vulgor in skepticism; the black wolf nodded, only affirming her fears at how dire their situation should the human be revealed to the rest of the tribe. "What concerns me most is that he fears that he is dead, or that he may have died? I'm not quite sure but the human is clearly under some sort of psychological shock. They act as if they were reborn into a completely different world, and if I'm honest, I think that may be the case," the wolf said with worry, his eyes wandered about Verissa face trying to read her reaction. The white she-wolf pondered the situation, a few moments passed and Ranok decided to ask if she "got anything" about the whole human situation.

All he could wonder was if the human was even human, was he summoned through some ritual, was he a sacrifice in some blood magic spell? Verissa composed herself, veins seeming to pop out before she gave her conclusion. "I must commune with the ancestors, just to clarify, this human remembers things but cannot remember the major human communities outside this forest?" Verissa inquired the grey wolf, her stoic nature returning. Ranok nodded, transept after the explanation, he began to recede into his chair, finally relaxing after having got Verissa up to speed. "I am beginning to think he indeed died me got reincarnated into our world... but I'm not remotely sure how that would work considering the implication of magic," she furrowed her brows and put a paw to her face, pinching at her bridge. "You cannot be serious about this bullshit story about the piglet!" Vulgor growled, fed up at the situation, his fur on end. Verissa only sighed at the remark and Ranok tried to speak up, only to be interrupted as the Black wolf continued, "the human is probably a spy or something, we'll have to kil-" "Violence isn't always the answer Vulgor! Not everyone here is a brute like you and so we can't just kill and let it be over with! Suppose the human isn't a spy, we'd be killing an innocent person who was taken in by Ranok. The human deserves as much as a chance to prove themselves of malicious intent at the very least!" She retorted the hulking black wolf. "And malicious intent beyond getting revenge for getting a rude awakening! Either way, we've made it this far, let's get this show on the road," Verissa said, walking towards the door to Ranok's bedroom. The other wolves following behind, fur on edge, slightly more tense than compared to their last meeting with the human. Groggily, the human began to sit up in the bed, rubbing his eyes so he could see them. "Ranok?" he quietly chimed, like a young child. The grey wolf responded with ruffling the human's hair; Vulgor rolling his eyes; and Verissa quietly and closely eyeing and observing the human for their true intentions.

She laughed, dropping her serious demeanor and addressed the human. "Okay, from what I know, human's are, on overage, 5 to 6 feet tall. Do you mind telling me how tall you are?" She asked with a voice indicative of her piqued interest. "Oh, um... I think I'm 6'5". I'm pretty tall for a human though. Vulgor bursted out laughing, "BWAHAHA... you're telling me this piglet is taller than that son of a bitch Tano?!" Vulgor continued his loud exasperated laughs, clutching his chest while Verissa and Ranok had difficulty stifling their more quiet chuckles and giggles. "Who's Tano?" The human asked, not completely sure why this seemed so funny. "Tano is pretty small for Wolven standards," Ranok chuckled. "He's 6'4'', which makes you an inch taller than him! He had a complex for this sort of thing because some pups would end up growing taller than him before they came of age. Don't know how she'll react when he sees you!" Ranok continued to laugh. Vulgor and Verissa calmed down before Ranok could catch his breath. Verissa asked,"Can you tell me your name and age?" The human humored, "Oh right. My name is Dominik. I am 27, almost 28 years old." "WHAT!?" Vugor and Ranok yelled in surprise; the white wolf was stifled, all three were stunned. An awkward silence passed. Ranok regained his composure first. "Dominik, you're older than Vulgor and I by six, almost seven years! You look so young..." The three wolves couldn't tell if Dominik was serious, he didn't seem to lie about his age and doesn't have a reason to. Dominik raised a hand to his chin, feeling for something as if to think deeply. "Where's my beard!" He gasped, freaked out at figuring out why the wolves were confused; he was sure he looked more "adult like" than some young adult adolescent. Ranok assured Dominik,"I found you like that, I didn't shave you or anything." Verissa butted in,"if he underwent some sort of magical transportation, it is possible his physical form may have altered; to my knowledge, it took blood magic, or something else as equally powerful, to bring you into our world." Dominik's widened in disbelief and fear. Verissa continued,"If I were to guess, your transformation was probably due to some sort of magical reincarnation law..." she paused, Dominik's expression was still very fearful, yet she could see contemplation in his eyes. "If it will put your mind at ease, you should be thankful your soul and mind are still completely intact after being brought here." Verissa gave a comforting smile, hoping to ease the human's thoughts. Dominik and Ranok shared uneasy expressions, both hoping the former was truly unharmed, besides not being where he belonged.

Vulgor simply snorted at the whole conversation. "I have to say, you are pretty quick upstairs," the she-wolf said as she tapped a finger to her temple. "I wonder, do you have an aptitude for magic?" The male wolves perked up, seemingly invested in the idea of the human being capable of using magic. "Excuse me?" Dominik asked, surprised and almost cynical of the question he asked. "Well, human's are the most capable species in magical capabilities, about 85% of all magic has human origin or is related to them in some way, and many of them are often born with a sixth sense for detecting and knowing how to use it. You could probably become a very prominent mage if you learn and master it," Verissa explained; she was beginning to wonder why she'd let the human be in Tirnan, she was more than sure that Aluna wouldn't put the tribe in any danger. Vulgor scoffed,"Huh, as if that piglet could be something so important." "You never know, giving him the right training and he could probably beat you," Ranok muttered, defending Dominik. "It's funny that you say that," the Dominik snapped, grabbing Vulgor's attention. grunted with an oblivious 'huh.' "Don't look down on me just because I'm nowhere big and strong like you. How can you know I can or can't become as strong, or even stronger than you. Don't underestimate me; you as a warrior accustomed to battle should know that more than most." Ranok was speechless and left in shock while Verissa nodded her head in agreement; both were impressed at the guts Dominik had. Vulgor grunted looking away. "Let's get back to the matter at hand," Verissa broke the silence. "We need to present Dominik to the tribe without getting him killed, and us banished. To be honest, right now I don't have a solution to this problem and so I wish to ask the ancestors for guidance. I think our gravest issue is laying low right now." Ranok looked to her confused. "What do you mean, Verissa?" "While you are around, Ranok, Dominik may have company, but because of how we've been gathered here, the tribe might grow suspicious. We need everyone to return to their usual duties before Dominik was found. And although I like you, Dominik, I'm not sure if leaving you alone without entertainment is a safe course of action; just promise me you won't do something stupid and bring attention to yourself." Dominik nodded, unsure if to feel hurt or to take Verissa's consideration as an impersonal thought. She continued, "Besides avoiding attention, we don't know how we can feed Dominik." "I can eat pretty much anything. As far as I know, I have no allergies," Dominik piped in. "The issue isn't what food to get you, the issue is getting food to you. As a tribe we eat together, bringing food to our homes is often a sign of gluttony or selfishness and is often looked down upon in our tribe. I'm positive it will make us look suspicious, if not, it will make us look bad and bring other tribesmen to the house to look for dirt on us," Verissa explained.

Ranok was embarrassed he didn't think that far, considering how invested he was with Dominik and keeping him alive. "Don't worry Dominik, I will take care of you," Ranok said, trying to redeem himself for being so careless. Although the grey wolf's smile was comforting, Dominik wasn't convinced that it would be easily accomplished. "I'll do it," Vulgor spoke up, surprising everyone. "Why would you do that? You don't even like Dominik!" Ranok yelled, not sure if his moon brother was being serious. "I don't not like Dominik, and it's not like I have a reason to hate him either. Besides, I promised you I'd help and keep this a secret. I'll scare anyone away before they suspect anything. It's just like Dominik said, we can't underestimate the tribe." He cheekily smiled towards Dominik; it was obvious he felt bad. Ranok conceded, "Fine, I'll trust you with feeding Dominik, I'd probably draw too much attention if I tried to anyways." The air was filled with tension, it was clear Ranok didn't trust Vulgor to treat Dominik with care, but he was left with no choice. "Since we have that problem solved," Verissa cut the silence, "We should meet up here again tomorrow to get this whole situation solved; I can get you some reading materials, Dominik, but I am unsure if you can read things in wolven considering the fact that we don't know the extent of your 'special abilities.'" Dominik smiled and said, his thanks to the wolves; even though he was in a world that was alien to him, he knew he had some people he could trust. As Verissa and Vulgor were leaving the cottage, Ranok and Dominik had a short moment to themselves. "I guess I should get ready for the feast too," Ranok said. He and Dominik already knew that their longing for company in each other's presence would be cut short. "Don't worry, I'll be back before midnight," the grey wolf assured his human, standing up while ruffling Dominik's hair. "Do you mean it," Dominik asked in an unsure voice, "what you said to Vulgor? Do you think, that with training, someone like me can become strong enough to beat someone as strong as him?" Ranok could tell Dominik's question was sincere and so he faced his human with turned to him with a charismatic smile; he exclaimed, "You'll never know unless you try! If you want, I could teach you how to fight with a sword. Of course, we'll have to succeed in getting the tribe to accept your presence first," the kind wolf chuckled. "You'd really train me?" Dominik asked with wonder comparable to a pup; Ranok found Dominik's reaction endearing. "Of course I will!" The kind wolf exclaimed. "I, Ranok, son of Varok, and heir to be the next Wolven chief of this tribe, will be your sword instructor!" Ranok smiled his contagious smile, causing all the grim and gloomy thoughts Dominik held to disappear. "I can't wait, master Ranok," Dominik said playfully. "Master Ranok... I like the sound of that!" The wolf claimed, his ego stroked.

His chest was puffed out and his tail wagged as he ruffled Dominik's hair once more. "It's time for me to get going. I'd rather not leave you alone right now, but if I don't attend the feast, the other wolves will wonder why and start snooping," Ranok stated, much more seriously. He didn't want to leave Dominik alone for the time being; Ranok would much rather Dominik find his bearings before isolating him while tending to tribal duties. Dominik shook his head, "Don't worry about me, I will live." He said jokingly. "But I do have one question," the human inquired. "Can I get some clothes?" Ranok looked at Dominik with a troubled expression. "I'm still a bit cold, even though I'm swaddled in your blanket," the human chuckled hoping he explained why he wanted something to wear. "Right, you have no fur! We wolves don't really wear that many clothes. I could try and get you a shirt and a pair of pants, but other commodities will have to wait until we visit an outpost village. Dominik nodded in understanding. He can tell that Ranok is doing as much as he can for him; Dominik knows that he may have turned the wolves' lives upside down, especially for the kind grey wolf. "Now, if that was everything, I'll take my leave. Vulgor will drop by and give you some things. You can try to sleep or read some books that I have in my drawer," Ranok points to a drawer on the wall opposite the window. "Okay, have fun!" Dominik said, waving Ranok goodbye. Alone in the cottage, Dominik tried to read a bit; there was still enough light seeping through the windows. Although Ranok was a warrior, he had a large array of books to read, arrangements that followed the topics of different species such as lions, tigers, and humans. His interests piqued, Dominik grabbed a book on human's and their history with magic. It was titled The Rise and Fall of the Era of Magic. Dominik always fancied the concept of magic, he giggled at the idea of him now living in a world filled with it. As he read, he continued to think that maybe this new world experience wasn't so bad; although he was clueless as to his surroundings and what to do with himself, he had found a close friend in Ranok, not to mention the presence of Vulgor and Verissa as well. Dominik sunk into Ranok's mattress and continued reading. His heart raced with excitement at what he might find in both the book and his future.

---

A few hours passed and Dominik found it harder and harder to read the book without straining his eyes. Within the texts he found that magic gave rise to a powerful nation inhabited by humans. Humans were also known for their lead in research for more physical studies like science and alchemy; they would even share this knowledge with otherkin. Dominik was especially excited about the fact that alchemy was a thing in this new world; could he learn to become some magical scientist who would brew tonics and potions like some might in video games? As he continued to read, he thought something was amiss. Many different species of otherkin were involved except for the wolves. Dominik tried to take a mental note to ask the wolves about this odd occurrence as some hard knocking came from the window. It was Vulgor."Good, you're awake. I brought you some food," the black wolf passed a sack of cloth which carried cut up pieces of pork. "Thank you Vulgor!" Dominik exclaimed. Vulgor snorted, "Don't think that I care for your well being, this is for Ranok." Dominik began to sweat, did he do something to make Vulgor angry? "Can I ask why you seem angry?" Dominik tried to prod at the black coated wolf. Vulgor's red eyes met Dominik's, "I'm always like this." "You are a dear friend to Ranok, I can see that, but you seem to build walls around yourself. I know you say that you don't care for me, but you haven't even taken the chance at learning more about me. Why do you just decidedly hate me?" Vulgor sighed, "again, I don't hate you, yet I don't want to know much about you. The sooner your gone, the sooner everything will get back to normal." The wolf's words were sincere and without malice. "Do you act the way you do because you've been treated unfairly?" Dominik asked? Vulgor's eyes grew wide and he looked away clutching his head in pain. He took a second and regained his brutish composure. "I need to get back to the feast before someone notices my absence," Vulgor said, not looking Dominik in the eye before leaving. Alone once again, Dominik focused on finishing the pork until no more meat was left. Until the food had arrived, he'd forgotten how hungry he was. Only now did he notice the need to eat and drink now that he began to grow thirsty. He made his way into the other room in the cottage, it served as a kitchen of sorts with a fire place and other household commodities. He noticed a jug filled with water and an unused tankard and filled himself a mug. After quenching his thirst, Dominik felt content with his situation. Although a little bored, he wondered if maybe he shouldn't have made Vulgor feel so uncomfortable. He thought he might ask Ranok. Without a clock, Dominik decided to call it a day and went to Ranok's bed, hoping to find the grey wolf when he wakes next.

---

It was still dark when Dominik would fully awaken next. He had came to after hearing some quiet creaking. "Ranok is that you?" The door to the bedroom opened and Dominik was greeted with the grey wolf's presence. "Sorry, I woke you up didn't I? I was just taking off my armor" he chuckled apologetically. Behind the wolf was his padded armor, cape, and shoulder piece. "It's alright," Dominik said as if to dismiss the apology. "I had woken up a bit earlier to pee," he laughed, his face now red, "so I've been partially awake anyway." Ranok hastily went to grab a bucket and brought it to Dominik. The human got out of bed and turned his back to the wolf so that he could let the golden shower fly. It took a while for Dominik to start going, he was shy in nature when it came to peeing in front of others. When he was done, he collected himself and turned to Ranok, "I think I'm good now. Umm, what should I do with this?" Dominik grabbed the bucket. Ranok chuckled as he reached for it, "just give it here, I'll empty it." Ranok turned and made his way outside the cottage, Dominik filled to the other room and filled himself to another mug of water. Ranok returned and the pair found themselves in an awkward silence. "I hope you weren't too bored without company," Ranok chimed, trying to break the ice. The feat was not easy to deal with while Dominik was the only thing on Ranok's mind. "It's fine, I actually did some reading. I read part of the book you have on magic and it's history. In fact, I have a question!" Ranok's attention was now focused fully in on the human. "So the book includes a ton of interesting facts and information, and it's not hard to understand, but it doesn't mention the wolves at all? It mentioned humans, the lions, and the tigers, but why not the wolves?" Ranok scratched his head not quite sure how to answer the question. "Well us wolves live in isolation, we don't leave this forest much and so we don't participate in major world events a lot," he explained. "But why do you guys isolate yourselves so much? Aren't you afraid of the world leaving you behind?" "Well it's sort of a tradition to stay within the forest. Our ancestors are tied to this location and so we tie ourselves here as well." Ranok's expression grew troubled, realizing what Dominik had insinuated in his questions. "I'll be honest and say that I dislike how we've kept to ourselves and hide when we can learn from others. That's why I want to go out into the world and see and learn from others so that I may be a better chief and lead my people to a better way of life." Dominik's troubled expression lifted, "Wow, that so awesome!" Ranok ruffled the human's hair, "Thanks, it means a lot coming from you." The wolf and human yawned; both of the laughed a little at their synchronized mannerism. "I think we should go to bed," Ranok said as he stood; his arm was outstretched to Dominik to take his hand.

Once they made their way to the bedroom, Ranok began setting up a place to rest on the floor back outside in the other room. "What are you doing?" Dominik asked, he felt guilty for taking Ranok's bed. "I will sleep here, you are my guest and so I can't have you sleeping on the floor now, can I?" he asked rhetorically. Dominik wanted to argue, but it was late and something warm began to grow below his waistline. "O-okay then, good night Ranok," Dominik said as he began to close the door in order to hide his erection. "Good night to you too, Dominik," he smiled. Dominik closed the door and sighed. He went to the bed and covered his face. He knew for sure that he had a crush on the Grey wolf. If he didn't know then back when In their conversation with Verissa, or when Ranok first left, his erection made sure Dominik knew for sure now. "At lest one thing seems to function the same, if not better than in the real world," Dominik groaned. With a humorous mood and a good attitude, Dominik slowly drifted to sleep; excited for another day with Ranok or whatever this new world has in store for him to discover