It all started on a sunny day. Loran left his hut and stretched his body.

“Hey Loran! You’re late! We’re going to leave without you if you don't get your tail over here soon!”

Loran looked up at a branch and spotted his friend Wild Claw. “You’re such a weirdo, are you a monkey or what? Wolves don’t belong in trees!”

Wild Claw shrugged and leaped toward another tree branch, clawed at the bark after it snapped and tumbled down.

Loran shook his head and checked his pouch to confirm his supplies.

He would go hunting with his friends, but he had overslept. They were all waiting for him.

Loran weaved behind the huts of his wolf beast kin village and arrived at a tree that had strange claws on it.

“Where… ah found him!”

Loran walked toward a bush that had a suspicious tail sticking out of it and pulled on it.

“Ouch! Easy there! Stop pulling my tail!”

The face of his friend Wild Claw appeared from the bush before spitting out some dirt, and Loran smirked.

“From a vine swinging monkey to a dirt eating boar, are you sure that you are a wolf beast kin?”

“Pff, jerk. How about you use your jerk energy to wake up earlier?”

“Yes, yes. Now where is the rest?”

“They’re at the Wild Claw stream!”

Loran sighed. “You can’t just call a stream after yourself…”

“Why not? I found it first!”

“You know that’s not true…”

Loran and Wild Claw picked up speed and ran through the jungle while clawing away any foliage blocking their path like clawed and fanged lawnmowers,

Voices and the sound of streaming water neared as the ‘Wild Claw steam’ drew near.

“Sorry for being late… I overslept.” Loran said apologetically.

“I told you that you shouldn't have helped Wild Claw till so late.” a woman with auburn hair, sharp eyes and wolf ears said while shaking her head.

“Hey! He had to because my sister didn’t want to help me!” Wild Claw said as he glared at his sister.

The 2 glared and growled at each other as the 4th person of their group slammed his fist into a tree.

“Guys, let’s focus. We’re already late. Let’s get going.”

“Wow, seems Varek could use some more sleep after all.” Wild Claw said in a teasing tone, earning him the ire of Varek, the leader of their friend group.

Varek tried to catch Wild Claw who was too agile to get caught by the slower and more muscular Varek.

Wild Claw fled downstream with Varek on his tail, and the rest followed him.

“Who do you think would win in a fight? My brother or Varek?”

Loran tried to hide his discomfort. He couldn’t control the color of his face, so he tried to ensure he wouldn’t get found with a red face.

“I uhh, think Wild Claw would win. Varek might be stronger, but he would have to land an attack first.”

“Hmm, so you think so too? And how about me? Do you think I could beat him?”

“But Reia, aren’t you clums…”

Loran evaded a smack and dove to the side.

“I’m not clumsy!”

Reia fell over as she hadn’t expected to miss her slap and plunged into the creak. “So cold!”

“Hahaha!”

Loran extended a hand and Reia grabbed it.

“Down you go!”

Loran tried to salvage the situation but got pulled into the creak.

“Hahaha! You should have seen yourself!”

Reia was laughing and took in water because of that, prompting Loran to pull her up.

“It’s quite clear to see that you and Wild Claw are siblings… Why did he change his name to Wild Claw, actually?”

“Dunno, he thought it sounded cool…”

“That’s so like him…”

Loran and Reia were slowly overtaking WIld Claw and Varek due to the flow of the stream.

“Ha, see you at the finish line!” Loran said as he waved and passed Wild Claw and Varek.

“Hey! Cheaters!” Wild Claw jumped in the stream, leaving Varek behind, who refused to jump in too.

Wild Claw surfaced with a fish in his mouth and gave Loran and Reia a thumbs up.

The stream was nearing the Aquini river which meant that they had to get out.

Wild Claw handed Loran another fish before he swam to the side and grabbed on to a branch.

Loran and Reia did the same and shook their tails to expel the water.

“Ugh, I just brushed my tail.”

Reia sat down and started to brush her tail, while Loran used a small [Fireball] to start a fire.

Wild Claw howled and went to hunt down a wild boar he had spotted.

“What a weirdo…”

Loran devoured the fish he had gotten from Wild Claw and looked upstream.

“Varek is slow…”

“You never told me who would win between me and Varek!”

“Uhh, you would win.”

Reia put her hands in her side, lifted her chin and exuded pride. “I know right?!”

They sat next to the fire awkwardly for 30 minutes until Loran’s ear twitched, anddove to the side as a wolf beast kin fell down moments after.

“Owchie, stop being mean and act as my landing pad!”

“Stop being weird and act like a normal person!”

Wild Claw scratched his head and looked around. “Where is Varek? Isn’t he supposed to be our leader?”

Wild Claw started sniffing but stopped shortly after. “Eww, you 2 smell like wet dog!”

“You mean, YOU smell like wet dog! Loran and I dried off our tails!”

Wild Claw grabbed his tail, smelled it and recoiled.

“See!”

Loran stepped in as the siblings were about to start their infamous bickering session. “Did you catch something Wild Claw?”

A grin appeared on Wild Claw’s face and he started running. Loran gave Reia a short nod and both of them followed him.

Wild Claw led us to a dead boar and a large dead toucan.

“That was fast! As expected of my brother!”

“Hehe. So, ehh when are you 2 going to do something.”

Loran placed his hand on Wild Claw’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Wild Claw. That time will come soon.”

“Because I spotted a fat cow in the moorlands on the other side of the Aquini river.”

Wild Claw pointed north-east.

Loran looked into the direction Wild Claw was pointing. “North east eh? It’s a bit too close to the Igrini Kingdom for me. Let’s do a fast in and out.”

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Loran’s ears twitched as it picked up sound.

He separated from the group, prowled and caught his target.

“Huh? What is this?”

Blood dripped from his claws as his target had been killed off, but he had no idea what he killed.

Wild Claw and Reia approached to inspect Loran’s kill.

Wild Claw leaned over, inspected Loran’s kill and pointed at it.

“It’s a chickenhog!”

“You know what it is, brother?”

Wild Claw shook his head. “No clue. I think Loran discovered a new species. Congratulations Loran!”

The creature smelled strange after further inspection, so Loran discarded it. “I don’t trust this thing. Let’s go for that cow.”

“Wait! We’re forgetting something!”

A branch snapped and it drew our attention.

“I don’t understand how any of you ever managed to catch anything as you’re so noisy…”

“Oh shit, it’s a grumpy Varek! Run!”

Wild Claw pointed at the grumpy Varek who had appeared, tried to run and tripped over the boar he had slain. “Oof!”

“Well, I will thank you for landing 2 kills.” Varek crouched down, tied the legs of Wild Claw’s catch and slung them over his broad shoulders. “Where to next?”

“Follow me!”

Wild Claw took off and Loran, Reia and Varek followed.

His agile body weaved between the trees, hopped from tree to tree when the foliage became a problem and eventually hopped from branch to branch, making it hard for the rest to follow him.

“Come, come! Before someone steals our cow!”

“Wild Claw! Not so fast!”

Loran tried to keep his team together as Varek was slow, Reia was clumsy and getting stuck on branches and tripping, while Wild Claw was getting further and further from them.

“Ugh, our team is so incohesive.”

Loran shot a fragrant pellet at Wild Claw so he could easily track him by scent later and went to untangle Reia.

She was struggling with vines and was screaming as a tree frog approached her.

“Get this thing away from me!”

“It’s just a frog..”

It’s so slimy, and it will eat me!” Reia started thrashing and getting more entangled.

“This thing fits in the palm of your hand…”

Loran cut the vines and plant fibers with his claws and freed Reia from her bind and scared the frog away.

“Let’s get Varek now…”

“No need, I’m here…” Varek put up his hand as he jogged over.

Loran focused on the fragrant pellet he had shtot at Wild Claw and lead his team toward it.

The jungle made way for a marshy area which transitioned into the riverbed.

The stared at the wide river that cut through the land and at Wild Claw on the other side who was waving at them.

“Reia…how did your brother get ver there?” Varek said as he pointed at Wild Claw who appeared to be dry.

“Ha! Let me show you!”

Reia stepped back, bent forward and touched the ground with her fingertips.

Her tail wagged, and she took off, she ran. Faster and faster, approaching the river. She leaped up but crashed into the river quite unnaturally.

“How unlucky… to get her foot stuck on a vine… Wait here Varek, I will fish her out of the river…”

Loran identified the vine that had somehow wrapped around Reia’s leg and pulled.

Varek joined him and together, they pulled the unlucky woman out of the river.

“How about I launch the both of you over the river with a [Wind Blast]?”

Loran said while he used wind magic to dry off Reia.

She turned around to face him. “What about you then?”

“I can make that jump with my wind magic.”

Varek and Reia agreed and got launched over the river like projectiles.

Varek made a neat landing, the same couldn't be said for Reia.

Loran stepped back and started running. He accelerated, boosted by the wind, and made the jump.

The river passed below him and made eye contact with Reia who just got up.

“Reia! Move out of the way!”

“Aaah!”

The 2 collided and fell into the mud on the river bank.

“Hahaha! You caught the Reia virus, Loran!” Wild Claw said while laughing loudly.

Varek grabbed Loran and Reia and pulled them out of the mud. “Come on, clean up and let’s go for our next catch.”

“Oh right! Hurry up! Some humans might steal our cow!”

The 2 wolf beast kin recovered and followed Wild Claw into the moorlands.

Wild Claw lead them to some shrubbery and pointed at a group of wild cows.

“Look that one, the fat one!”

One cow stuck out from the rest. Its belly was rounder, its legs were thicker, and it looked healthier than the other cows, truly a cow under cows.

Loran and Wild Claw licked their lips. “I bet it tastes as good or even better than we can imagine.

They spotted 3 creatures on the other side of the cow herd. Creatures that called themselves human. The only difference between them and the humans were that they had wolf ears and wolf tails, but this difference was enough for the humans to regard them and other beast kin as inferior.

There was also an issue of instinct and physical strength, but this would only make beast kin objectively stronger than humans, yet they were still deemed to be the inferior ones.

Varek hid the boar and toucan they caught in the shrubbery. “I will distract the humans, you 3 catch that cow. Try to herd it toward the river and get it stuck in the mud. Send me a sign when you succeed. I will carry the cow home, while Loran will carry the boar and toucan.”

Loran nodded and Varek circled around the herd of cows, aiming for the blind spot of the humans.

Wild Claw softly punched Loran’s shoulder. “It’s just you and me, Loran!”

“Hey! What about me?!”

Wild Claw shrugged. “You will just trip or get stuck somewhere, leaving everything up to Loran and me.”

“Hmpf! Is this how you treat your sister? I will prove that I can be useful!”

Reia got up and walked toward the herd of cows, startling them.

“Ugh… not because you’re right, means you should word it like that…”

Wild Claw shrugged again and took off like a bullet.

“How does this guy have so much energy… we eat the same meals…”

The herd was in chaos and the humans reacted to it. Varek used this chance to start attacking the humans, causing chaos to break out in another group.

Wild Claw went straight for the fat cow. Loran took it upon himself to clear the way to the river so Wild Claw could herd it.

Wind mana gathered at his left hand, which he put to his mouth and used [Snarl].

The surrounding cows fled from him, creating an open area, revealing the fat cow which had been out of the range of [Snarl].

“Where is Reia?”

Loran looked around to find that she got her garments stuck on the horn of a buff bull, which was thrashing around, causing Reia to have the ride of her life.

“Ugh, Wild Claw was correct.”

The bulls belonging to the herd got into action and marked Loran for annihilation.

“Why aren’t they targeting Wild Claw?!”

A [Bull Rush] missed and Loran rolled down a slope through high grass and strange shrubs, earning him various scratches.

The ground trembled, and he dove away, narrowly avoiding getting trampled.

The bull tumbled due to the uneven footing and Loran used this opportunity to finish off the bull which had flipped open.

“Loran! Stop playing with that beef buffet! Help me clear the way!”

Loran rubbed his scratched arm and ran toward Wild Claw, who was seated on the fat cow which was running toward the river bank.

Many cows were still barring the way in this chaos. [Wind Walking] activated to greatly boost his movement speed and Loran rushed at the cows with [Wind Claws], scaring them away.

Loran continued acting like a mobile scarecrow until a clear path had been made.

“Thanks! Please go help my sister! Yahoo! Run fattie! Run!” Wild Claw smacked the ass of the cow, causing it to accelerate.

“What a weirdo…”

Reia was easy to find. She was holding a strength contest with an enraged bull and was slowly losing.

“Something is wrong with this family…”

An explosion caught his attention and Varek ran toward him.

“We need to go! Reia! Leave that bull be!”

Reia abandoned her pride and joined Loran and Varek in running west, toward the river.

The rumbling behind them suggested pursuers, and any mistakes could cause the m to get trampled.

As if reading his mind, Varek lifted Reia and carried her.

“Hey!”

“We can’t use any mishaps now.

The riverside drew closer and Wild Claw showed off proudly how he got the cow stuck in the mud.

The wolf beast kin waded into the water to dissuade the bulls from following them.

The fat cow let out cries, but there was nothing the herd and the bulls could do for her.

“We did it!” Wild Claw stuck out his tongue and made provocative gestures to the bulls, who could do nothing.

“Good job, Wild Claw. You can kill it now. I will carry it home. As for the boar and toucan… you brought it right?”

Loran patted himself down and realized he had left the boar and toucan behind.

“Go ahead, I will catch up!”

“Be careful Loran!”

The bulls were still eying him, so he had to make a wide arc around them to get to his destination. At least that’s what he thought.

He dashed off and followed the Aquini river downstream with [Wind Walking].

Several bulls tried to follow but got left in the dust.

“No bull in sight!”

Loran followed a stream splitting off from the river, going into the moorlands to ensure he could hide in the water to dissuade any bulls that made it to him.

Loran made it to their hidden catch 20 minutes later and slung them over his back.

“Oof, that’s heavy…”

Loran froze as he heard a ‘thud’ behind him.

“Please don’t be a bull, please don’t be a bull…”

Loran glanced over his shoulder to spot the thing he wanted to avoid.

The bull charged and Loran didn’t think and started running.

Running toward the stream or river wouldn't matter, but Loran went into autopilot and ran toward the last safe area he had been to.

The boar was wearing him down and causing the bull to slowly gain on him.

“Just a bit more….”

The stream came in sight and Loran got a boost. It made him excited before he realized the pain in his back and that he had got sent flying.

The impact was unpleasant. It was, and wet, and mixed with rocks.

Loran’s consciousness faded as a red liquid mixed with the water near his head, and he felt the flow carry him away.

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

His body was heavy, his head felt light and hurt.

Loran coughed to expel liquid out of his lungs and gasped.

Loran continued gasping and coughing as he tried to pull himself out of the mud. He pounded on his chest and used wind magic to force the water out of his lungs.

The coughing and gasping didn’t cease until almost an hour after he had dragged himself out of the mud and held onto a large root, exhausted.

“Ï… I have to get back… Our catch? Where is it…”

Loran looked around to locate the boar and toucan he had carried.

It was unsure for how long he had been out, but he had o meet up with his friends.

Loran wanted to do nothing else besides laying down and take a nap, but he knew the dangers of the world. The sooner he could rejoin with his team, the better he would e off.

Loran felt around while looking for the boar and toucan.

Everything had the same color due to the mud, and his nose was useless due to all the water and mud.

His fingertips found something tough, and he started clawing through the mud.

“The boar… the toucan…”

It didn’t take long for Loran to discover that he wasn’t digging up a boar or toucan.

“What… what is this?”