The more time passed me by, the more the pulsating misery originating from my right shoulder began to fully occupy my mind. Of course it was my right shoulder. Was it ever not that? I let the hilt of the sword in my left hand fall to the ground, and with the originally disparate stone no longer magically strengthened and joined by the dead Earthspeaker’s Calling, it crumbled to gravel as it fell. Lesser than the mind-numbing, constant torture from my right shoulder, most of the inside of my mouth was some sort of shredded from the stone I had effectively gargled after shattering my foe’s helmet. As I let the crushed stone tumble from my mouth, I noticed a couple teeth in there as well. I knew I would grow them back, but I couldn’t say how long that would take, and I gingerly ran my tongue around the inside of my mouth to feel where I’d lost fangs.

Before I’d fully taken stock of myself, Vefir rushed up to me. “Nievtala bless you with wisdom, Alpha! You never think to preserve yourself!” He gently laid his hands on either side of the deep but clean cut on my right shoulder, and immediately sent a wave of healing into me. I groaned as I felt my muscles begin to reknit themselves, the added discomfort of healing a welcome addition to the potpourri of pain I was suffering from. Before long, the crippling agony of my wounded shoulder faded to a mere soreness and I flared my frills to Vefir in acknowledgement of my gratitude. I was surprised to see him sag in a sudden wave of exhaustion, but still I wanted his healing.

“Can you do my mouth as well?” I asked, and I felt my blood slowly flowing from between my fangs and dripping to the ground below me. In response, Vefir continued quietly muttering curses to himself about my recklessness and general lack of care for my own well-being before quickly sending a less potent burst of his magic into my head. The flaps of shredded flesh in my mouth began to mend, and I realized I couldn’t move my tongue to somewhere I wasn’t feeling the healing taking place, and it was strangely disconcerting to feel and taste my wounds close and disappear as if they’d never existed. With the healing came a release from the mind-numbing pain and confusion.

My mind recovered from the throbbing pains of the fight, I ran my tongue around inside my mouth and felt the gaps in my jaws where fangs used to be. Not too many gone, and I’d still be able to bite things easily enough. I had mostly recovered from my fight with a True Earthspeaker, and hadn’t suffered any lasting injuries. Thanks to Vefir, of course. I looked down at the mangled corpse, its head mostly ripped off and only her lower jaw remaining attached to her neck. In a flash of empathy, I grabbed “Korali”s corpse and dragged it to his lover’s side before laying it down in a semblance of a peaceful position. As I did so, Sybil strode forward, a limping Shemira following behind her. When I looked at the two females and cocked my head, Shemira’s face cracked in an easy grin. Nothing serious then. I refocused on the bodies before me.

“To warriors, a warrior’s death.” I said in keelish, which was quietly echoed by those around me. Then, to my surprise, in a lilting, stumbling voice, Sybil spoke, “A. warrior. death.” I knew that she had been practicing speaking in the human tongue, but I’d only thought her to be at the level of mimicking another, not translating even a simple phrase.

I nodded in approval of her mostly successful translation, and though Sybil didn’t show it in any way I could describe, I could feel a certain quiet glow of satisfaction from her at my praise. Before losing focus, though, I turned more fully to Sybil and asked, “Do you have the casualty count yet?”

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Though it shouldn’t have, considering how well I knew her, Sybil flared her frills as she spoke, “Of the rabble, two hundred and fifty six died in the initial charge and the humans’ subsequent retaliation. An additional forty seven died after you and your pack arrived, the majority of which fell to arrows they were not prepared for.” Over three hundred dead, when we had such a numerical and strategic advantage. Granted, I’d willingly and knowingly thrown away two hundred and fifty of those as a sacrifice, but I’d expected one hundred at most. More importantly than the random keelish, though, I needed to know.

“What of my elites?” I felt a brief moment of hesitation as I asked, but I steeled myself.

Sybil flicked her tail, and I feared for the worst. “Ytte and Shemira fared the worst of those of the core pack. Ytte exhausted herself smashing through the wall and slaughtering those behind it, and took a…” Sybil paused, trying to find the word for a moment, and I questioningly provided, “Spear?” “Is that the name of long sticks with a sharp point? Not like the ones that one,” She gestured at the Earthspeaker with a tilt of her head, “used, but the very long sticks?”

“Yes, those are called spears. So Ytte was stabbed with a spear, but she survived?”

“Yes, her wounds were severe but treatable. Vefir was able to stabilize her, and she is leading the first wave of keelish back to the den.”

“Wise. And Shemira? What happened to you?”

Shemira leaned into Sybil and nuzzled her neck teasingly, and to my surprise, Sybil didn’t react except to slightly lean back into the larger female. “Those arrow flingers were close to getting Sybil and I moved her away from their attack. I wasn’t quite fast enough to keep ‘em from getting me though.” Shemira nodded her head to her flank, where a trail of crusted blood indicated she’d taken at least one arrow. “The arrow was barbed, though, and getting it out…” Shemira trailed off, and I could see the painful memory in her eyes. “Vefir took care of me though.” She left her physical affection smothering of Sybil and stepped closer to Vefir. For his part, he raised his hands and waved her off.

“Shemira, I’m too tired to deal with your teasing right now. Can we not and pretend we did?” Vefir looked at the female who towered over him, and for her part, Shemira was taken aback. The teasing tilt of her hips and head shifted to a more gentle, genuine smile.

“For now, at least, I’ll say thank you, Vefir.”

“It’s what I do. You’re welcome.” He smiled tiredly and settled down onto his haunches. Though he hadn’t actively fought in this battle, I knew that he’d been busy with keeping an eye out for potentially fatal injuries and rushing to assist where he could, evidenced by Shemira’s relative healthiness and Ytte’s survival. I was about to dive into my [System] notifications when I heard a voice that was accompanied by a notification of its own.

[Absolute Dominance skill is being exerted on you. Due to your System advantages, possession of the True Dominance Skill, and higher evolutionary tier, the effects are nullified.]

“So, I see you could finally take care of our pest problem.”

I turned and looked at Redael’s smirking face, my feeling of satisfaction swiftly disappearing.