Ferko finished all the work assigned to him. He gobbled up his share of fried potatoes with onion and pickled mushrooms for a dinner. Then he left home, using the need to check the river nets as an excuse. Before his parents could assign another task, he hurried off to the grove. As always, the guy took a shoulder bag with him. Today, apart from the album and a few pears, he had a bundle with a present he hoped she would like.

The trail he followed many times was quiet. Day birds and honey squirrels hid in their nests and tree hollows as the sun set. For years, the grove had been free of large predators. The outsiders of Hollo Village had to be wary of only earth lions, but they preferred open areas like fields and grasslands. And, of course, people had to avoid nymphs first and foremost.

Like any other person who was born and raised here, Ferko knew the stories about the local inhabitants of the new world. He may not have heard a lot about the Retaliation War, but he knew the history of Hollo well. The village was a small, but quiet place where brave souls and those who had left the territories beyond the wall found shelter. However, peace didn’t last.

Nymphs hunted the villagers down whenever they felt like it. At first, humans resisted well, but weapons and ammunition could not last forever. And those who survived the battle felt a lack of working hands. As time went by, merchants’ visits here became fewer and further apart. They lost interest in the village, which had once been an outpost and provided rare resources. The past glory of Hollo remained only in the stories of the villagers. Now they could not even give a gun to those who left the village - all the weapons were kept inside the houses. Fear of losing the few firearms they had led humans to turn a blind eye to the deaths and cruel tricks played by nymphs on hunters, gatherers of firewood and supplies. All those who were assigned tasks outside the village. Usually, they were kids and teenagers.

He was well aware of the dangers that awaited him. However, for the last month, when Ferko visited the grove, his heart beat faster, not out of fear but anticipation. He reached the river and quickly looked at the nets. Only two fish were caught. They were not small enough to swim through the grid cells, but they were far from being a great catch. These fish would most likely be used for tomorrow’s soup. For winter storage, a bigger fish would be dried or salted.

Ferko decided to take a catch on the way back. He made sure the fish couldn’t escape the net and crossed the stream. When he stepped onto the opposite river bank, the bushes rustled and a familiar wolf ant appeared.

'You are late. I was about to leave.' The she-wolf opened her mouth. She probably tried to imitate the human speech, but her movements looked awkward. For a while, Ferko looked at her and then sighed.

"Please don’t do this. Don’t open your mouth when you ‘speak’ through your mind. Your lips don’t move in unison with your words, and it looks even weirder than if you ‘spoke’ with your mouth closed."

'Fine. I thought it would help, though.' She sounded annoyed, yet still complied with his request.

The guy smiled and took a bundle out of his bag. He was excited to give this gift to the girl. They had met almost every day, and this had been troubling him all that time. It had taken some effort, but he had managed to fix the old dress that his mother had worn before her marriage. While Ferko was busy unwrapping the gift, the she-wolf changed into a human. He turned away, avoiding looking at her. As always, she snorted at his behavior.

"Try this," Ferko handed the clothes to the girl. "Stick your head through the biggest hole, then your arms through the smaller holes on either side."

She sniffed it and winced. Reluctantly, she put on the dress, then hissed and took it off instantly.

'I don’t like it. It feels like a collar.'

"But you need clothes."

'Why? I always walk like this,' the girl grumbled, moving the dress away from herself.

Ferko shook his head. The obvious things were the hardest to explain.

"Because humans don’t walk around naked."

'But I’m a wolf,' she sounded hurt by his statement.

It was hard to argue with such logic. Even now, Ferko wasn’t sure who she was - a wolf ant who learned how to transform into a human, or a human, a Magic Snatcher, who perfected shapeshifting. She talked little about herself, avoiding many questions, but asking him a lot about the village. She didn’t even tell him her name.

This was the most depressing thing. Ferko recalled his many attempts and her mumbles in return and sighed. He took the pears from the bag and handed them to the girl, who was still staring at the dress with disgust, as if it were a filthy and dangerous trap.

After a minute passed without her taking the fruit, Ferko slowly glanced behind him. The girl had already turned back into a wolf ant, but even in her animal form, her golden eyes were dark with discontent.

'Why are you doing this?'

"What do you mean, why? We, I thought we," Ferko stumbled upon the words he wanted to say. In his head, his confession sounded confident, romantic even. Yet, under the heavy gaze of her golden eyes, he lost his way. He pinched his own hand, urging himself to speak without regrets. "Given what happened between us, I thought we were in a relationship."

The she-wolf stared at the guy. The fur on her withers stood on its end. 'We are not.'

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Then why do you keep coming? Why do you meet with me?" Ferko continued to insist. Her denial hurt, but the guy tried not to show it.

His persistence didn’t pay off. She hissed. 'I just live here! I can come and go whenever I want!'

“Please, wait! I didn’t mean…” Ferko raised his hand and called out to the she-wolf, but she had already run deep into the grove.

The guy made a few steps, fully aware that there was no way he could catch up with her. But even this timid attempt was interrupted - another beast appeared from the thick bushes. For a second, Ferko hesitated about what to do, gazing at the wolf ant. He only had two options, and in the end, he chose to stay.

"Hello," the guy greeted the wolf, still unsure if he could understand it. But if this wolf was the same as the girl he had met…

'Hi.'

The voice sounded so clear in Ferko’s head; it felt as if someone was speaking right next to his ear. This was still an unfamiliar sensation for him, but at least he confirmed his guess.

"I have seen you before, right? You were together with her."

'Yes, she is my sister,' eagerly replied the wolf. He approached Ferko and was now only at the distance of a stretched arm from the guy. It was just one statement, but Ferko smiled in relief. He said nothing, yet the wolf ant panted a twice.

"Are you alright?" asked the guy. He thought the beast might be hurt or tired, but the wolf shook his head.

'Yeah, I’m fine. You’re just funny.'

"Can you turn into a human, too?" Ferko moved on. He had too many questions to be hurt by the wolf’s words.

Again, the soldier wolf shook his head. It was not a big deal to his sister, which was why the guy’s assumption that he could also change was understandable. Ferko introduced himself before asking another question.

"Can you tell me your name and your sister’s name?"

He was unsure whether the wolf would answer him, but he still decided to try. And it turned out to be a success, at least partially.

'I’m Hailstone. My brother is Rainstorm, and our sister is Storge.'

The soldier wolf quickly gave the information, but Ferko could only understand a portion of it. He frowned and slowly repeated, "Hail... Rain... So you have a brother too? But what about your sister?"

‘It’s Storge, Storge,‘ Hailstone’s patience started to evaporate.

Ferko asked him to repeat it again and again, but with the same result - he couldn’t hear the name. When the guy sat down on the grass, hunched and stared at the ground, a wolf ant sniffed at his auburn hair. Ferko wondered if the beast was trying to comfort him or simply satisfy his curiosity about a human at such close range.

'I guess complicated words can’t be transferred,' noted Hailstone. 'Anyway, I need your help!'

"Help?" Ferko raised his gaze, looking into the wolf’s golden eyes. It was ridiculous that such a magnificent creature needed help from a humble guy who wasn’t good at hunting and was still several months away from turning eighteen.

'Yes. I like someone, and I want you to help me court her.'

"Court?" Ferko looked at the wolf in confusion. "But I know little about courtship."

Hailstone stated confidently, 'You won my sister, didn’t you?'

Ferko sighed, looking again at the ground. "I doubt it. She comes and goes when she wants and leaves as soon as something is not to her liking. Do we really have relationships?..."

He stopped complaining. Would a wolf ant understand the worries of a human? Even if these wolves were far more complex than their counterparts. But Hailstone has his own logic, which was hard to argue with.

'You have her scent and she has yours. Doesn’t that mean your courtship was successful?'

The guy couldn’t answer that. Instead, Ferko buried his red face in his hands, which puzzled the wolf. From Hailstone’s perspective, the human had a strange reaction to praise. The soldier wolf touched Ferko with his forepaw. 'You must have bewitched her with those images you create. I’m not sure, though, if this makes you her mate...'

"Wait," Ferko stood up from the grass. Now, he was face-to-face with the wolf ant, "So you too think we’re not a couple?"

'What’s a couple?'

This was just like their dialogues with the she-wolf were. Both needed to explain things, although Ferko was in that role more often.

"It means being in a relationship and liking each other."

'Ah, I get it!' Hailstone grinned happily. Just a month ago, Ferko would have been at least bothered by being in front of a dangerous beast with bared fangs. It was strange how quickly he became used to being around the wolf ant company. The soldier dropped his ears and added, 'It’s like mom and dad.'

"Kind of, sometimes," agreed Ferko. The comparison was a bit too much. To distract himself from his own complicated relationships, he asked, "Who do you want to court?"

Having become the star of their conversation, Hailstone jumped up. He whimpered briefly, and said, 'She’s a queen. Just like my sister, except she’s in another swarm. She lives in a hive. Come on, I’ll show you!'

The soldier wolf didn’t even get confirmation that he had been heard, understood, and agreed. Hailstone rushed through the grove, and Ferko could only follow him. The guy may have lived all his life in Hollo Village and walked around the surrounding area, but he could not match the beast’s speed and agility. Hailstone slowed down only when he felt the human was falling too far behind. The wolf stopped and looked at Ferko, who was gasping for breath. They had already left the grove. Ferko was proud of his endurance, but now he felt weak compared to the impatient wolf. When they reached the grasslands, they were already walking. Running was not an option for Ferko.

Perhaps that was Hailstone’s initial intention, given his lack of complaints. After a while, he started to crawl through the high grass, and Ferko followed his lead.

'There, you see? It’s the hive.'

The hill that the wolf pointed to with his muzzle had already attracted Ferko’s attention. He spotted some soldier wolves patrolling the nest, and a she-wolf with a gray mane, the queen.

'Isn’t she just breathtakingly beautiful?' Hailstone’s gaze was fixed on the queen.

"Ugh, I guess?" whispered Ferko. He was afraid that if he stared too long, the beast would sense him. Lying in the grass beside the soldier wolf was already dangerous from a normal human point of view. Not to mention being so close to the nest. The guy glanced again at the she-wolf. But even out of politeness, he couldn’t come up with a compliment.

'And she smells really nice!' continued Hailstone, unmindful of his companion’s bewilderment.

Ferko chuckled and hastily covered his mouth. "Did you really smell her?"

"Of course," the wolf turned his muzzle toward the guy. They were so close that his wet nose touched the human’s cheek. Ferko recoiled and carefully pushed him away. "I mean, I can smell you, too."

"Me? Right, you mentioned it... And?"

Hailstone turned his head again toward the nest. 'It’s... so-so, I guess?'

"Just so-so?" It was an absolutely ridiculous thing to be offended by, yet Ferko could not hold his disappointment.

'I mean, it’s not the worst smell, and if my sister likes it...'

"Forget it." Ferko stopped the wolf’s clumsy attempts to improve the situation. "As we both aim to become queen’s mate, we should unite our efforts."

'Sounds reasonable.' Hailstone almost beamed with happiness. His faith in Ferko’s abilities made the guy smile. He extended his hand.

"Give five."

The wolf stared at the human’s hand. 'Give what?'

"You place your paw above my palm," said Ferko. The explanation sounded weird even to him, but Hailstone sniffed the palm and readily clapped his forepaw against the guy’s palm.

'Oh, I like it,' immediately shared his opinion Hailstone. 'Feels very serious.'