"A PARTY?!"

What an enticing proposal! Lien was honored Stella reached out for her first and foremost!

"But why? I mean, I love it, but why?" The pup asked.

The Human's tone took a solemn turn. "Do you promise to keep what I'm about to tell you a secret?"

Curses! Her weak point, of all things!? Depending on the gravity of such revelations, Lien couldn't hold it for herself only! What would she do?!

No! She couldn't let Stella down! She'd have to push past her weakness for their friendship! Broken promises were how they ended, after all.

"I promise I won't tell anyone! Not even my mom! And tell her EVERYTHING!" She saluted her friend. Ever since her uncle taught her this gesture, she constantly used it to greet her mother, gaining no shortage of sighs in return. Maybe that was Tarb's intention, now that she reflected deeper upon it.

Stella's voice brightened. "Well, you're in luck! 'Cause you don't need to go that far!"

The pup tilted her head. "Why's that?"

The Human started explaining. "So, yesterday, me and the Knight were talking about-"

Lien's head tuned out in just a few seconds. Gosh darn it, Stella smelled good. Plenty of Non-Wolf Monoke have the habit of soaking their skin with cologne. Her trips to the capital often turned into a bad trip of smells, especially when she approached the perfumery.

However, the Human had that pleasant, natural smell alongside a sweet, sometimes tangy odor, which wasn't present in anyone Lien had ever met. It was especially present when Stella complained about the heat or after a ton of physical exertion.

Some of that scent clung onto the Wolf every time they embraced each other, so there was another reason why she loved this form of greeting so damn much.

Would licking her be taking things too far? For most Monoke, yes. What about Humans, though?

Are you as disgusted as I am? I sure hope so.

"Lien! Are you listening?" Stella's sudden, authoritative voice broke the pup from her kinky trance.

"Oops!" She scratched her cheek sheepishly. "Can you resume it for me?"

After a loud sigh, the Human relented. "The Knight said he has no friends, so we must call the Lycan Squad to prove him wrong with a surprise party!"

"Ah..." Finally, the puzzle pieces were coming together. "Wait, it's his birthday?"

A faint smack was heard. Was Stella facepalming? "No. It's a friendship party! I don't know his birthday."

Now, that sounded fun!

"I'm in!" She clenched her fists from excitement. "Who's first?!"

----------------------------------------

"No."

SLAM!

So, her mom was a no-go. And they'd walked all the way to the meeting hut...

The pup nervously snickered. "Who would see that coming, right..."

"To be honest, I should've," Stella spoke with a tint of frustration.

"Me too..." Lien hung her head in shame.

Suddenly, the door opened up again!

"Lien."

It was her mother again! Surely, she-

"I want you back home at the 21st hour. Not a minute more, young lady."

Of course...

"Fine, Mom." For the first time today, she couldn't muster much enthusiasm.

Stolen story; please report.

With a simple "Hmpf" and a closed door, that was it for the illustrious Captain Tash. If people wouldn't stop insisting they're nearly identical, Lien would suspect she was adopted.

"I'm so sorry, Stella."

"It's okay." The Human assured her. "What about your uncle?"

"Uncle Tarb?" Lien scratched her chin, contemplating for a few seconds before perking right up. "I have no doubt he'll accept the invite!"

"Are you sure?" Stella asked.

"Why wouldn't he?!"

----------------------------------------

"Oh, let me think! Is it because you ate my ENTIRE MEAT STASH IN A SINGLE DAY!!! FOR THE TENTH TIME, NO LESS!!!"

Crapbaskets...

Stella was becoming visibly frustrated. "Look, can we do anything to convince you to attend? Please! Just say what you want!"

A loud creak was heard, most likely her uncle throwing his weight onto the couch. After a full minute of contemplative grunting, he finally answered.

"Easy! Hunt enough animals to refill my stash again!"

Oh! That was a-

"Terrible idea!" Stella protested. "I don't think Lien's mother will like her daughter to hunt animals unsupervised!"

Tarb snickered. "You trying to dissuade me?! You're doing the exact opposite!"

Lien could picture the Human's fists clenching alongside her teeth. "You-"

"Hey!" She wrapped her hand around Stella's shoulder. "If we do it before the 21st, my mom won't even notice!"

That smell again. Lien supposed her snout was too close to her friend's neck. What if she leaned a little clo- No! Focus!

Stella took a deep breath, and her voice returned to a gentle tone. "You're right. Besides, we could use that as training."

"See? It's all about perspective! Everybody wins in the end!" Tarb chimed in. Though Lien knew her uncle enough to also know he wasn't a deep well of generosity.

"Besides, she's allowed to hunt inside Pantsti's territory. Though my sister would still be chatty if she catches you two..."

"How much meat?" Stella asked.

"Enough to fill the stash hole."

"How big is this hole?"

A creak was heard again, followed by the scraping sound of the couch's legs on the wooden floor. "THIS big."

A few seconds passed. Total silence.

Stella broke it. "I hope you choke on meat." Her voice dripped with violent intent.

----------------------------------------

"So, how far can you sense other creatures?"

After packing a few things for the hunting trip, Lien and her equally courageous friend ventured through the Pantsti woods. It was exhilarating, though the Human seemed more interested in the mission. Her mother wouldn't be that missed, after all.

"A couple of feet, I suppose," Lien answered, then returned the favor with an unrelated question. "Is this backpack new?" She sniffed it twice. "It doesn't smell the same."

"Yep. The old one was barely holding it together." Stella clarified. "I'm carrying some twigs for a bonfire, if necessary."

"Cool!" Lien playfully strutted, always close to her friend. It made her almost miss their first days through the Ganvi Woods, at least everything before Jólakötturinn's attack.

Stella laid the parameters of their task. "Keep an eye on whatever animal you can detect. We're not wasting time with rats, but anything the size of a rabbit or bigger is fair game."

That commanding tone again. Damn, the Human was really sounding like her mom right now...

...

There's a Freudian joke in here somewhere. I'll leave that to you.

"Yes, ma'am!" Lien's ears perked up, her eyes closed, and her mind cleared as she tapped into her Saniya-sensing radar. After she ingested the pego jam, she slowly started to detect energy signatures other than Monoke and Stella's. Plants and animals were a tad harder to differentiate. However, if she squinted her metaphorical eyes further, it could work.

A couple feet away... Between a horde of different other Saniya... Something seemingly hopped around. When her nose sniffed her surroundings, its identity was clear.

"RABBIT! OVER THERE!" The pup darted in her first prey's direction on all fours.

"LIEN!!!" The Human screamed. "SLOW DOWN! I CAN'T KEEP UP!"

This song and dance repeated for countless hours. The huntress duo's supply included fifteen rabbits, two deer, and some birds they could catch off-guard. The latter was because of a bet rather than the task itself. Stella won, of course, with her expert rock-throwing.

Unwilling to return to the village so soon, they grabbed a couple of rabbit carcasses and threw them on a bonfire beneath the trees' shady embrace. Their frail bodies didn't stand a chance, while the Human impaled one with a sharp stick after the pup taught her how to easily skin one without the need of a knife. The Monoke had consumed her entire meal raw long before her packmate could begin hers.

"Phew!" Stella spoke after taking the first bite of the roasted rabbit. "You know I can't keep up with you, right? I was afraid I'd get lost from you!"

Lien was already halfway through, and then she paused. Her concern was certainly appreciated since it didn't come from a place of doubt in her capabilities.

Still, she could've slowed down, couldn't she? It was just so easy to get caught in the thrill of hunting and fighting. Everything else just melted into her subconscious.

"H-Hey, at least you defeated a deer by yourself! That's pretty cool, right?"

"I suppose you're right." The Human conceded. "It was fucking awesome when I broke that motherfucker's antlers with MY. BARE. HANDS!"

Lien's ears perked up. "Right?!" Their enthusiasm was rubbing off on each other. "I still remember my first deer. Good times."

"What was the largest animal you took down?" Stella asked.

Lien scrunched her snout. "That's a toughie. I think it was-"

Her fur stood up all at once. She was so distracted she didn't see a large Saniya signature quickly approaching them.

"Lien, what's wrong?"

The Wolf hastily shifted to the Human's side. "Watch out!"

Sure enough, a sharp snorting sound overwhelmed the pup's senses. Both girls were alerted by the animal's loud steps and the rustling noise of misplaced vegetation.

The moment it stopped wasn't a reassuring one. Its foul smell was all over Lien's nose.

"Lien," Stella whispered, her voice cracking with despair. "It's a fucking grizzly..."

The bear's roar marked the beginning of their confrontation.