Jack raised the rifle again, this time taking careful aim. He was determined to make this a quick and clean kill. With the creature cowering against the wall, it was easy to take his time and line up a proper shot so that this one wouldn't have to suffer. He was about to pull the trigger when he felt a light touch on his shoulder, followed by an urgent whisper. "Wait! This one is different!"

Jack flinched slightly at the touch but managed to avoid reflexively pulling the trigger. He sighed and relaxed his aim but kept the rifle pointed toward the young wolgen in case its behavior suddenly changed. "Yes, it is, and I don't want to do this either, but the alternatives are all more cruel. Either this wolgen is too young to care for itself and will slowly starve alone in this cave, or worse, it can fend for itself, and it'll become a monster that has to be put down, possibly after killing some innocent hunters. The kindest thing we can do is kill it quickly, so it doesn't feel anything."

Sare'en wasn't ready to give up. "But look at it! It's not aggressive like the others! So maybe...maybe we could train it, like an arlack?"

Jack shook his head. "This is an entirely different kind of animal. It's an apex predator. It has a set of instincts that will make it nearly impossible to control. And if you lose control of something like this, people often die."

Sare'en didn't have any argument left. Her mind was racing, but she couldn't find the words. "But..." She could tell there was something else there. She just couldn't think of it quickly enough.

That was when Angela's voice came to them over their headsets. "She's got a point, you know. This one is considerably smaller than its two siblings, and Lon'thul pointed out that wolgen usually only has one or two offspring. So this one is either the runt of the litter, or there's some other survival of the fittest thing going on here where the largest, most aggressive pups live. Speaking in earth terms, the runt of the litter is usually more docile and will often die if left to nature. However, when taken in and raised, they commonly retain that same docility throughout their life. So it would be an ideal candidate for training and domestication."

Jack wasn't willing to back down. "Domestication takes hundreds of generations. Even if we can train it, this thing will still be a wild animal, unpredictable at best. And I'll say it again: people die when a predator the size of a Clydesdale behaves unpredictably."

Sare'en didn't understand much of what they were arguing about but hung on every word nonetheless. The dragon countered again. "Actually, given the wolgen's obvious malnutrition during the formative portion of its life, it'll probably always stay small for its species. Probably more the size of an Arabian than a Clysdayle."

Jack resisted the urge to pinch his nose in frustration, but it was still audible in his tone of voice. "Ok, so still the size of a horse, and still very deadly. Listen, I don't want to do this anymore than anyone else, but literal lives are on the line. Can you justify risking someone's death over being hesitant to pull the trigger here and now?"

The next voice to come in over the headset was surprisingly S'haar's. Apparently, Angela had updated her on the situation and patched her into the conversation at some point. "What benefit to the Outpost or its people could the wolgen provide?"

Angela was eager to jump on this change in direction. "Well, humans domesticated their own set of apex predators called wolves back on Earth. Over time, they became so tightly bonded with humans, they even earned the title ‘man's best friend’. They helped with hunting, offered protection, even occasionally went to war beside their human pack mates, not to mention being the most loving and loyal companions a person could ask for."

"Jack, is this accurate?" S'haar sounded curious.

Jack sighed. "Yes, it is. But while wolves are certainly intimidating, they are also smaller than humans. As a result, they oft en looked at humans as the strongest, most dominant members of their pack. A wolgen is an entirely different situation. They are far larger and stronger than any argu'n, so it'll be all but impossible to remain the pack alpha."

Angela cut in again. "Ok, first off, the whole alpha, beta, omega thing is a myth, disproven by the same scientist who first coined the phrase. The ‘dominant’ pack members are usually the parents. It's a family thing, not some alpha male bullcrap, despite what some humans would like to convince themselves is true. Second, that's why we start with a more docile animal. It doesn't know how to be in charge, nor does it want to be in charge. It's much more likely to accept a human or argu'n as its pack leader."

Before Jack could offer a counterpoint, she continued. "What's more, you know the first thing that will happen once the argu'n get technologically developed enough is they'll hunt down the wolgen, probably to extinction. So think of this as the first step in species conservation, preserving them for future generations to behold and enjoy!"

S'haar didn't sound swayed by the second argument. "Jack, how much of a risk do you think this really is? Honest assessment."

Jack shook his head again. "Honestly, I have no idea. It might work, and it could be a tremendous asset if it did. Maybe not now, but certainly generations later. But the risk is also high. Maybe, maybe, this one wouldn't kill anyone, but someone will die sooner or later. And besides, one malnourished animal is a long way from creating a domestic breed."

Angela came in with her coup de grâce. "I can mitigate the risk. We can give it a collar that I'm tied into, like your headsets, something with an embedded quick-acting poison, or even an explosive device. Then, if the animal ever loses control, I could kill it, hopefully before it could kill anyone else."

S'haar sounded more curious this time. "Jack?"

Jack sighed and lowered the gun a little further. "That might work. There would still be a risk, but that would mitigate it considerably. Though it could still kill or injure someone unintentionally, if improperly trained."

Angela's voice was smug with victory. "Luckily, we happen to have someone who's both very calming and an expert with training animals. So, Sare'en, are you up to the challenge?"

The younger woman finally snapped out of her daze, realizing what was being asked of her. "Me? I don't... I can't... I've never..."

S'haar's voice was calming but firm. "Listen, we won't force you to do this if you don't want. There are still plenty of things you can and are doing to contribute around here. But this whole thing depends on your willingness to take this on. Jack, Em'brel, and I have too many other obligations and probably don't have the right temperament. On the other hand, you're the one person I can think of with the capacity to potentially pull this off, so it's up to you."

Sare'en was overwhelmed with the sudden responsibilities being thrown at her. Raising arlack was one thing, but this was so much more. No one had ever done anything like this. She'd have to figure it all out as she went. What if she messed up? What if she wasn't smart enough or good enough to pull it off? What if...

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Sare'en looked at the wolgen sitting on the other side of the cave, cowering against the wall, too petrified to move or make a decision, waiting for its fate to be decided for it. She felt a kind of sympathy for the pup. How often had that been her, sitting back and hoping that someone kind and generous would decide her fate for her? So far, she'd been lucky that someone had always stepped up, but now it was her turn to do the same for another.

She closed her eyes and remembered Em'brel, smiling confidently at her. She could almost hear the other woman laughing at her hesitance. "You've already made up your mind. Now you just have to say the words!"

Opening her eyes, Sare'en looked into the eyes of the wolgen one more time before speaking with all the confidence she had. "I'll do it! I... I mean, I'll try... I might...need a little help, though..."

Jack and S'haar chuckled, while Angela laughed outright. S'haar was the first to respond. "Of course. We don't expect you to undertake this alone, but this will primarily be your responsibility. You'll have to take the lead on raising and training the wolgen."

S'haar's voice grew serious. "But you need to be aware, if this doesn't work out for any reason, we might have to put the wolgen down. Also, you have to be honest with us. If, at any time, you feel like it's not trainable or might otherwise be a danger to the Outpost, you need to let us know. You can't let your feelings for the animal endanger the argu'n around you."

As a herder, Sare'en was well familiar with the necessities of occasionally culling the herd or even putting down a sick or injured animal. "I understand. This is its only chance at survival anyway, so if it doesn't work out, it wasn't meant to be."

Lon'thul chose that moment to speak up. "You all done with your private conversation over there? What's the plan?"

Jack lowered his rifle a little further, though he was still hesitant to put it away completely. "Well, I guess we're keeping this one."

Lon'thul grinned while the two guards looked at each other, wondering how insane their new companions were. The hunter laughed. "Oh, this should be interesting!"

*  

Jack kept the rifle at the ready as Sare'en approached the pup. Lon'thul had taken the other carcasses to the cave entrance to clean and prep for transport, and the two guards watched the timid young woman with expressions generally reserved for heroes and lunatics.

Sare'en was holding out a bit of churlish meat from a kill Lon'thul had made earlier for food during the trip home, and now the young wolgen was sniffing the air cautiously. The woman was making soft, calming sounds as she did so, and once she got close enough, she tore off a portion of the meat and tossed it to the pup.

The wolgen was clearly torn between keeping an eye on this strange beast approaching him and the meat on the ground next to him. His head bobbed up and down as he sniffed the meat repeatedly, raising his head each time to check and make sure Sare'en wasn't moving any closer.

For her part, Sare'en was keeping up the slow, steady conversation, getting him used to her voice. "You look hungry. I know a thing or two about hunger. I've been where you are, and someone fed me. Now it's my turn to feed you. Go on, take a bite. It's good!"

As if to emphasize the point, the girl took a bite out of some of the raw meat in her hand. Jack couldn't help but feel his mind rebel slightly seeing the sweet young woman do something so barbaric by his society's standards. He shook his head slightly at himself, surprised to realize a part of his mind was still judging these people, his friends and family, by such arbitrary standards. He expected better of himself.

The wolgen certainly seemed to appreciate the woman's efforts. His head bobbed slightly lower each time until he finally scooped up the morsel and gulped it down without chewing before eyeing Sare'en once more.

Sare'en laughed. The sound was pure joy that somehow made Jack even more ashamed of his earlier reaction while also lifting his spirits. She continued to soothe the animal as she tore off another piece of meat. "You are hungry! Here, have some more! There's plenty where that came from!"

The pup hesitated a little less this time and even less the time after. Once it stopped hesitating altogether, Sare'en started throwing the chucks a little further away from the beast, forcing it to come closer to her to get its next bite. The process was slow, and more than a little stressful for everyone watching, but slowly the wolgen crept closer to the Sare'en.

Once he'd gotten close enough, the herder held out her hand. At first, the wolgen shied away, as if expecting to be hit, and for a moment, it looked like he was going to bolt. He only hesitated when Sare'en spoke up again. "Hey now, no need to be afraid. No one's gonna hurt you. How'd you like a nice, dry shack to live in, rather than this cold, wet cave?"

Jack didn't think the cave was all that cold, but he supposed that was his humanity speaking. On the other hand, the wolgen seemed to respond to something in the woman's voice. Maybe he was already coming to associate her voice with food, or perhaps he was just picking up on Sare'en's calming presence. However, instead of bolting, he stopped, turned back to the woman, and sniffed her hand.

Jack was working on keeping his breathing calm, but his thumb rested on the safety, and his finger wasn't far from the trigger. Seeing the wolgen's mouth so close to the young girl's hands was terrifying. A part of him wished he was the one there risking life and limb, but as much as he liked animals, he knew he was far too nervous to pull off what he was witnessing. This is something few people could pull off this quickly, and Sare'en was in a class of her own.

After a few tense moments, the wolgen butted its head up against Sare'en's hand, and the woman began softly scratching him on the crown of his head. Finally, after a few moments of grooming, all tension seemed to leave the wolgen's body, and he whumped down onto the ground next to the woman. She continued to feed him bits of meat while also giving him lots of scritches and speaking to him in the same calming tone.

The two guard's mouths were hanging open, while Jack allowed himself a slight grin. For the first time since Sare'en had begun her approach, he eased his fingers away from the trigger and allowed his aim to drop into a more relaxed stance. It would still be a long while before he'd let anyone be around the wolgen without an armed guard nearby, but he was starting to hope this might actually work out.

*  

S'haar was still getting used to the thing Jack kept calling a murder puppy. They'd decided to camp at the cave for the evening, while Sare'en slowly got the animal acclimated to everyone. For the most part, it tolerated everyone once it realized they weren't a threat, though it outright idolized Sare'en and rarely left her side.

To no one's astonishment, except those who didn't know him, Jack also bonded more readily with the pup than most of the rest. He thought it might have been because, as a human, he had more experience interacting with animals and perceiving them as something other than food or danger.

What did surprise everyone was how quickly the pup also bonded with S'haar. It only took a fraction of the time to accept her as it did the rest, and she was usually the pup's second choice if Sare'en was temporarily unavailable, due to one of her other duties.

Jack watched as S'haar looked down at the wolgen in astonishment as it lay at her side, then sniffed her leg before using it as a pillow. For her part, Angela didn't let the issues between them ruin the moment. "I get why he likes Sare'en and even yourself, but why S'haar? If anything, she's almost colder to the animal than the rest of the group."

Jack smiled as he grabbed a bowl of the stew Sare'en had cooked up. "Well, I think it's two things, really. First of all, the fact that she doesn't pay him too much attention works in her favor. It's kind of like people and cats. Cats are often attracted to people who are allergic to them because they pay the cat less attention, and as a result, they stare at the cat less. In the animal world, staring at something often means you either find it threatening or are thinking about challenging it. So when someone doesn't pay attention to the cat, it signals that they are comfortable with its presence, which means they are safe...ish."

As Jack took a bite, he grimaced a little. Argu'n cooking was mostly palatable, but their inability to taste sweet sometimes led to some interesting flavors. This was one such occasion. Shrugging his shoulders, he continued. "The second thing working in her favor is probably Sare'en's attitude toward S'haar. She sees S'haar as safe and treats her with respect. As far as the wolgen is concerned, that probably makes her Sare'en's mother, and since he's young enough to see Sare'en as his new mom, that makes S'haar the matriarch of the den.

Jack stopped and tilted his head as S'haar looked up and over to him for help. "Of course, that's all just speculation."

Angela had one last thought. "You might be onto something, but there's one other problem I don't think you've considered."

Jack's brow furrowed in concern. He thought he'd considered this from every reasonable angle and wondered what he'd overlooked. "What's that?"

Angela was all too happy to throw the problem onto Jack's shoulders. "What are you going to name him?"