-- Chapter 18:

A young wolf strutted arrogantly along the forest, snarling in disdain at the weaker creatures that crossed its path. The pack it belonged to were the overlords of the area, and even on its own, its intelligence and agility set it apart from the lesser creatures.

It snickered to itself as it recalled its mark from earlier this week. Though it was a shame the peculiar creature that would have made an amusing toy was able to escape, it had managed to secure a substantial meal for the pack, raising its status among its peers. The cub’s eyes gleamed with immature lust as it thought of some of the quicker developing females of its generation. Forsaking adventure, it turned around to return home to its beauties.

As it turned, its paw caught on a root sending it tripping face first into the soil.

“Peh!”

Disgruntledly spitting out dirt, the pup looked around in embarrassment before continuing on its return. Carefully picking its way through, it walked forward. As it kept an eye on the ground, it failed to notice something in its way and bumped into it headfirst.

“Grr!”

The embarrassed pup lashed out in retaliation with a quick claw, before stopping when he noticed the obstacle. It looked to be a flowering sapling with bark akin to white jade, and leaves that reflected the sunlight along its edges.

The wolf’s eyes sparkled with enamoration as it circle the strikingly attractive plant. It applauded itself on its timely restraint, otherwise it would have surely regretted it. Though it was not particularly interested in the beauty of nature, it saw before it a gift that would steal the hearts of many of his pursuits. When it was lost in its innocent fantasies, suddenly, it was pounded in the center of the head.

“Hum!”

Whining, the cub knelt with its paws covering its head. It was panic-stricken. It hadn’t felt anything come within range, nor had its senses warned of any danger. Had its elders stumbled upon this place and seen him in a foolish daze unguarded and administered punishment?

Hastily standing up and preparing to ingratiate itself to the elder, it opened its eyes to an unexpected scene.

The sapling stood in front, a branch having deviated from its original position. The pup was confused. Had it imagined the hit? It walked around the sapling, examining it for any changes. Besides a slight swaying in the wind, it hardly did much. The pup looked around again, thinking it was perhaps a test by his elder. Finding nothing, he turned back to the plant.

A thin branch approached its snout.

“Thwack!”

The cub fell back down to the ground. Tears clouded its eyes as its face stung in sharp pain.

There was something oddly familiar about this scene. A realization came to it then. Though this sapling looked completely different, and far more lovable, it had the same smell to it.

Cursing in regret, the pup resisted the urge to cry again. Knowing it was in a predicament, it channeled what little ferocity it could, and mimicking the body language its elders had taught, it growled at its assailant.

“Meow!”

The cub’s eyes watered further in shame. It continued with calling, mildly hoping that the sapling was awed by his bestial roar but more that its elders would hear its unique cry and swoop in with a timely save.

The pup’s hackles rose. Snarling as viciously as it could, it stepped forwarding threateningly. When it came within a meter or the sapling, its legs almost gave way in fear. It immediately turned tail and fled, praying it had won some time.

The sapling was taken aback by this display.

‘Were wolves always this cowardly?’

Hui was wandering through the forest searching for prey to test the extent of his abilities when he came across a familiar wolf. Feeling up to his old tricks, he approached undetected to tease it. Truthfully, Hui didn’t have anything against the wolf pack that had nearly cornered him several days ago. He had been reckless then, and if it were against stronger beasts, his life wouldn’t be guaranteed. Despite his recognition of the the danger of this world, he had fallen into a routine where nothing truly posed a threat. The encounter with the wolves was a much needed wakeup call, and since Hui didn’t particularly care for the taste of dog meat, he wasn’t too keen on seeking them out.

However, since he had come across them coincidentally, he wasn’t one to let debts go unpaid.

Hui smiled fiendishly to himself as he took off in the direction the pup had ran.

The pup ran, forcing its little legs faster than it had ever gone. The surroundings flit by as it crossed tens of kilometers. When it saw its den and the sunbathing elders in the distance, it almost cried.

“Yip!”

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Yipping gleefully, it burst forwards. As it called out, the outliers of the pack twitched their ears, lifting their heads to see the source of the familiar chatter, before darting up in a panic and howling. The pack quickly gathered and stared wearily at the pup’s position.

The cub was delighted. It continued calling, all the while thinking of his payback as he led his pack to chase down the stupid sapling. It snarled in impatience as it thought of chewing the plant till it cried and begged for forgiveness. Suddenly, it awoke from its absent-mindedness.

It sped up the motion of its legs, kicking furiously. The distance between it and the pack seemed to have remained the same. Bewildered, the pup followed the gaze of its pack members and turned to look behind it.

A sapling stood in its sight, holding it by the scruff.

The color drained from the pup’s face, and regardless of who would see, it helplessly emptied its bladder.

“Hum!”

The pup whimpered as it hung by its neck, tears pouring unrestrained.

“Howl!”

The wolf with more scar than face leapt forwards and howled, staring fixedly at Hui with recognition flashing through its eyes. The other wolves followed and sphered Hui.

Hui stood unfazed, awkwardly holding the weeping pup. He closely examined the wolves as they made aggressive gestures around him. As if offended by his indifference, the wolves leapt at him.

‘Hm, I wasn’t paying too much attention before, but these wolves are surprisingly slow, at least compared to me now.’

Hui easily dodged the leader’s bite, reciprocating with a whip across its head.

Thinking for a moment, Hui fixed on the pup.

‘Could this little thing’s speed be unique?’

As he compared the pup’s speed when it had stolen his bird to what the current wolves were displaying. They were darting about him in some makeshift group formation, attempting to swipe him with their claws. Hui casually dodged within a hair’s length of each attack, maneuvering the pup into harm’s way as a shield to further tease it. After several near misses, the pup had already shrunk into a ball, shivering like a wet cat. Eventually, even Hui started feeling guilty.

‘Well, time to end this.’

The air in Hui’s surroundings seemed to constrict as he took a step into the war state. He wanted to see its effects in actual battle. He unleashed his imposing manner, suffocating the wolves with his pressure.

To his surprise, the previously threatening wolves fell still, whimpering as if accepting their loss. Even the leader bowed its head slightly, deterred by Hui’s aura. They seemed to sense Hui’s lack of killing intent, accepting whatever punishment he saw fit.

‘I guess the wolves aren’t a match.’

Hui shook his head, slightly disappointed. As he was preparing to toss down the cub and leave, the leader howled before dashing back to the cave. It appeared a moment later with something in its jaws. Carefully walking towards Hui, it dropped what it held before its teeth.

Hui picked up what appeared to be an irregularly shaped reddish crystal. He sensed a familiarity from it, but couldn’t pinpoint what it was. As he was in thought, the pup unfurled in his grip, turning and staring gluttonously at the crystal.

‘Hm? Is this perhaps the energy source for the bird it stole?’

Hui rotated the crystal in his twigs. There was no response when he attempted to absorb from it.

Noting the existence of such a thing for future reference, Hui nodded to the leader. He tossed the pup down and made to walk off.

Freed at last, the pup ecstatically ran towards its pack. As it approached, the leader turned and snarled at it. Confused, the pup continued running. The leader’s tail whipped and sent the pup tumbling back towards Hui.

“Hum!”

The pup cried loudly. It knew what its leader meant, and it was pleading for it to overturn its decision. As he watched the pack walk off, some turning back for a last glance, the pup sat down and wept.

Hui watched all of this as a passerby, though he felt a tinge of guilt.

The pup recovered slowly, then scampered up to Hui, not daring to look at him.

Hui speechlessly looked at the perverted beast trailing him.

‘Hm? Why is it following me? Could it be a masochist?’

Hui gently nudged it with his roots, hinting for it to return. Regardless of how he pushed, the pup continued following him.

Hui sighed, looking back at the wolf cave. He saw the leader sitting proudly on an overhang. It seemed to catch his gaze, and nodded at him as if coming to an agreement. Understanding came to Hui as he nodded in return.

Picking up the pup, he vanished into the distance.