Two wolves on either side of the group. From the sounds that were heard through the whispering forest, Buck was sure of there being a few young not that far away. The breathing was tense the moment that Birka had signalled an attack to come, yet the seconds passing where nothing happened only made the feeling that much worse.

“Where are they?” the annoying [Healer] of the group had to ask. Raphael was his name, the length and number of syllables in it matching his status. He was perhaps not the most powerful in the world but he had the family wealth to make sure it happened in the future. For now, however, the little man was forced to stand beside others who were not so lucky in their entrance to life. Buck was among those, which was why he felt fully justified about sending a glare towards the Noble’s face. “And stop looking at me like that. It’s distracting.”

A glare sent his way by the Birka everybody knew and loved, Buck stepped down from his annoyed looks, instead opting to send out another [Wild Call]. Those wolves were taking their sweet time attacking. It had been obvious that they’d been following for a few minutes, but they had just to take that next needed step. Perhaps they wanted to scare the group away?

A good strategy for most yet the confidence of new adventures was not to be underestimated. When given the chance to fight, too many were eager to show their worth, charging in before anything else. That might have been why their [Warrior], Tom, decided to prepare for the fight of the decade, bringing out a more-than-trusty claymore. The thing didn’t shine yet its size was more than a little intimidating. While he had never confirmed the rumours, Buck was more than sure that a bit of [Giant-Blood] ran in those veins of his. No man could have so much muscle while still being able to walk unheeded.

To the side, the string of a bow was lightly touched. Finally, the wolves were starting to move in, going towards both sides. Smart was not the word Buck would use for any creature that lived around here but they clearly knew about a few strategies. Splitting up focus was easier than needing to have a defence at full force. Yet that also entailed the offense being in the same predicament.

“Tom, Aloy and Buck, take the one to the west. Raphael, stay with me,” Birka stated, showing off those wonderful leadership skills yet again. At least she knew where they were, unlike a few others in the group.

Aloy had already brought out that bow of hers, an arrow already knocked on the string. The tip glowed slightly, hinting at the weapon being more expensive than Buck had initially thought it to be. How useful a fact for the future.

Yet not much more thought was allowed, the wolves finally gaining the courage to attack. Both sprang from their respective bushes a second or two after Birka’s orders. Orders which hadn’t been fulfilled just yet, Rapahel the wonderful healer not that quick on his feet when actually needed. He knew how to flee when asked to yet anything else was apparently too hard for him. If he didn’t have money, Buck would have already left.

With a few words that still made Buck wince the slightest bit, the nearby root system tried to grab onto the [Wolf] charging at them. With the shorter chanting time, the power was not there, the only result being a slightly twisted leg. Yet damage was damage, no matter how little it might have seemed like in the start, and Buck was just happy to have an excuse if he didn’t do much more after that fact.

It wasn’t like the two others weren’t doing something either. Tom was charging forth, that being the only actual technique he knew. Three years of training might have proven worthwhile in spars but they clearly weren’t getting passed over to actual fighting. At least Aloy had some head in the game, an glowing arrow sent to hit the [Wolf] in the left eye.

It missed, hitting the shoulder blades instead. Buck felt no real surprise from that. Local hunters were good from years of work yet they weren’t perfect. Another bit of chanting brought about leaves down to hit the [Wolf] on its back and main body, yet the damage there was superficial. And putting that together with Tom getting into close-range made it hard to do anything but watch.

The wolf wasn’t required to swing a sword so it just leaped in hopes of reaching the throat. Tom the Giant responded through passively dodging due to high natural height, though the creature was still able to hit his heavily armoured chest. While leather wasn’t as good as plate, a higher level of quality allowed for it to be just as durable against most forms of teeth.

Close range stopped any swinging around with metal objects so the giant shoved away the larger wolf. By the time the man was ready to attack, though, the creature was already on its second attack, this time deciding to go for the arms instead. A wise choice if that didn’t mean the so-called warrior decided to forego any plans about using the claymore. Dropping it without a thought, the man wrestled his hands around the wolf’s head before snapping it to the side. The neck was cracked and the creature fell dead in an instant.

The fight itself was about ten full seconds, most of which were spent looking dumb as the warrior was attacked. Not that Buck minded much, just happy he didn’t have to do much. Looking to his side, Aloy had been ready to follow up her first shot, yet the closeness of the two fighters had just as made it hard to secure any kind of hit. Certainly a good excuse to use. Buck thought it more likely that she just didn’t want to waste good arrow-heads. She wasn’t getting paid enough for that. And he wasn’t either.

“You were slow,” Birka stated from behind. The [Axewoman] had finished the fight on her side within the first few seconds. From the clear stains on her axe, a single swing had clearly cut out a good chunk of the animal's brain. The very clear wound in the creature’s head confirmed that, blood still seeping out of it. Must have hit more than a few vital spots other than the brain itself. And the pelt was likewise being ruined, much to Buck’s dismay. “No teamwork.”

“I don’t think we had any teamwork either, Birka,” Raphael cut in, seemingly wanting to lighten the mood. “I kinda just stood by you as you did all the work.”

“You are Healer. Standing by and letting us work is your sworn duty,” the axewoman lectured again, seemingly forgetting that was supposedly true for all long-range classes. She always seemed to forget that when Buck had to do anything.

Nevertheless, it did remind him of his own position. Had he gained anything from that fight at all?

Character Screen Name: Buck Gender: Male Level: 12 Class: Druid Race: Elf/Human Title: Mad One Health: 100/100 H-Regen: 0.1/sec Mana: 170/170 M-Regen: 0.12/sec Stamina: 140/140 S-Regen: 0.13/sec Basic Stats Strength: 11 Wisdom: 16 Vitality: 10 Intelligence: 12 Dex: 13 Willpower: 9

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“But that doesn’t stop me from feeling bad about it,” Rapheal continued. “You guys get hurt all the time and I barely even have dirt on my shoes.”

That was because the kid paid somebody to wash them thoroughly that morning, but nobody seemed intent on pointing out that fact. And while Buck wasn’t too sure about it, he could feel some levels of Mana radiating off the things. It was all enchanted one way or another. How he wished to have something like it one day. Or maybe one week, depending on how well the current [Quest] would be going.

“Us getting hurt is fine,” Buck said, jumping in even if he didn’t truly want to. “You’re there to heal us. If you get hurt, however, there isn’t too much we could do.”

The perfect actor himself finished that up with a small smile, knowing perfectly well that there was a stash of [Health Potions] in Birka’s armour should there ever be a need for it. That woman wasn’t letting anyone die on the trip no matter what. She was a professional, after all, and would be making sure everybody survived.

“Listen to Druid,” Birka confirmed. “Your death will bring much displeasure for all. Stay alive and heal instead.”

Rapahel didn’t seem too convinced but he never had before, so Buck didn’t pay it too much mind. A skinning knife was initially brought out by Aloy but that was stopped immediately. There were still some others to get out of the way as well. And since a certain [Druid] had the [Animal Call] skill, it was easy to figure out where exactly they were located.

“It does seem a bit grim to imitate their parents to find them,” Raphael commented, clearly not understanding the profits wasted by not doing it. “It just seems like we should have just let them live instead of exterminating them.”

“If we left them alive, they would have starved within a week or two,” Aloy supplied, walking casually through the underbrush while Buck and the Rahpeal worked hard to keep up. The tall grass mixed in with thick roots were making it hard to see where one needed to step to not fall on their ass.

“You talk as if they’re already dead,” Buck commented, adjusting their course through the undergrowth slightly in response to getting a ping on his [Sense Life] skill. It wasn’t that effective on living animals but it was good enough for a general direction. And those wimpers from young creatures were easy enough to make out once one got closer.

“Their fates was sealed the moment their parents decided to fight,” the archer replied, bringing out another knife from her belt. This one did seem sharper but was clearly also not meant for heavier work. A single-time use weapon meant for quick executions.

“Couldn’t we just bring them with us?” Raphael suggested. That got looks from both Buck and the experienced hunter, both not having heard something so ignorant in a while. “What? They’re just pups.”

“They aren’t dogs,” Buck reminded the noble kid who had likely had more than a few in his youth. “They might be cuddly and cute for a few more weeks but you can trust that they will try and tear your face off after that.”

The [Druid] neglected to mention the off-chance of being able to [Tame] them to further his point. With enough effort, he had a likely chance of doing it, though it would take much more time than he had any desire to. Permanent familiars were just too much work, even if their powers would grow with time. Buck just didn’t have the money for it.

“I’m sure somebody in the prison would want them,” Raphael countered, though the boy was getting more obvious in his arguments. He wasn’t believing himself anymore. “If we bring them back, I’m sure somebody would let them grow up to be mighty dogs.”

“If they were allowed to grow up, it would be so they would be worth more in meat,” Aloy responded, getting the chance this time. Buck didn’t mind it much, getting the attention back onto the louder howling. The pups were near.

Very near, in fact. Just a few more meters allowed fur to be seen, hidden in a bigger bush. The parents had likely forced them inside to ward off any lesser predators while they took care of the would-be adventures. Not the dumbest plan in the world, even if the result was obvious from the start. It just meant that there was a bit more work to get done.

“How could anybody want to kill those cute things,” Rapheal asked rhetorically, picking up one of the two pups before the two others with him had a chance to stop it. If Birka had been close, they would undoubtedly have gotten a cut in their pay for allowing such a danger to befall the kid. “Are you sure they’ll turn into monsters? Maybe they were just adopted.”

“I can assure you that it's a wolf-pup. Now let go of it,” Buck said, getting serious for just a moment. As a person more in-tune with nature, he was more than able to see the pup getting nervous with the human holding it and how it was getting prepared to bite the arm. If that happened, they likely wouldn’t even get paid.

Taking the thing off the kid's hands before it had a chance to do anything, Buck brought out a knife of his own before slicing open the throat in a swift movement. There was hardly a whimper before the creature was down for the count, all movement seizing. Killing the smaller ones was so easy, after all. Dealing with the repercussions, however, was a whole other story.

“[Hea-]” the ignorant Noble was about to say but was stopped by Buck holding a hand over the kid's mouth.

“Don’t force it through more pain, please,” had to be requested. Blood was already gushing out of the wound and it was pretty much dead, yet a well-centered [Heal] could still bring it back from the brink of death.

“But you’re killing a defenceless animal,” Rapheal protested. “It didn’t do anything.”

“It would have done something if it was allowed to grow up,” Buck reminded him. “These things are a pest here. They kill other creatures, farm animals, and people. If we don’t kill them, everything made by us will crumble. Having mercy just because it hasn't done anything yet will not do us any good.”

The kid seemed ready to protest again when the other pup met a similar fate, though it involved a much cleaner incision. An [Hunter] by trade was more skilled at such things, in the end.

“Death is something you have to acclimate for in this profession and you need to acclimate to it fast,” Buck says, seeing a chance to seem wiser than he actually was. Those types were always respected more, after all. “We are in the real world now. There are real dangers. This isn’t the same as you needing to read holy books. This is a place where the situation is either you stopping us from dying or you getting to see the only defence against your death disappear.”

Buck wondered how many times the kid had gotten that lecture. A hundred times, maybe even a thousand, wouldn’t be a guess that was too far off. While he wasn’t the main line, he was important enough to have a semi-permanent escort, even if the said escort wasn’t the most powerful in the world. A level twenty mercenary was still expensive compared to what he was getting.

Both pups were stripped of their fur before being tossed back into the wild. There wasn’t enoguh meat for anything to be taken. And… from the looks of it, Raphael wasn’t liking either of the two more with every second passing. Something about skinning children being bad.

Buck could agree on that at some level. He wasn’t getting that much of the profits of those being sold, after all. Maybe he would get lucky, though. He had a feeling the day was going to be a special one.

After grouping up with the other two, the other group had taken the skin off the older wolves and stuffed it into their bags, they went on deeper into the forest. They still had a quest to complete, after all.