Tiddles and the cubs stayed inside the garage attached to the house. Elizabeth and Sniffer would be sharing the spare room.

"They are much cuter than I expected." Tabs said, looking at the three cubs, two currently play-fighting.

"They are cute," Elizabeth replied.

"I have to ask though. How did you end up with three Spylore cubs?"

"Ah. That is a long story." Elizabeth said as the pair of them walked back through to the house.

"Dad?" Rosie said.

"Yes, Rosie," Tiddles replied.

"Are these new people friends?"

"I think they will be." He replied. Since Tiddles had entered the house itself, he had had a strange feeling. He could not tell what it related to as it was like nothing he had ever felt before. The only way he could describe it was like an attraction.

He felt drawn to the house, if not the house itself, something here at least. The house was large, and he had not been around it yet, but he felt pulled to investigate.

"You guys must stay here, and house rules are not going inside the main area." He said.

"Why?" Sneezy asked, his head sticking out from underneath Pouncer, who was currently standing on top of his brother, pinning him to the ground.

"Because I said so," Tiddles replied, looking at him sternly.

"Ok." He replied sullenly.

Tiddles walked into the main house. His bulky frame was virtually as wide as the single doors, and he had now started to appreciate how much he had grown. The garage was attached to an adjoining large open kitchen area, and Sniffer was sitting at the table with the other girl, Crystal.

"Hey, boy. What is wrong?" Sniffer asked, scratching his head as he walked over to him.

Tiddles stood there momentarily before hearing Elizabeth's voice coming from further in the house, turning his head.

"She is upstairs, boy." He said.

"How do you know what he is thinking?" Crystal asked.

"I suppose I do not, really; although we have gotten so used to being around each other for so long, it always seems to relate to his expressions." He said.

Tiddles glanced over at Crystal. She stared at him, and he winked at her.

Crystal jumped in shock.

"Did you just wink at me?" She said open-mouthed.

Tiddles smiled in the only way a beast could smile. He was showing his terrifying-looking teeth.

Sniffer laughed. "That is a new one. When did you start to wink?"

Tiddles turned and shrugged his massive shoulders before he turned to find Elizabeth.

He could hear her upstairs with the other girl, and she was telling the story of the Angelore. Tiddles made his way up the stairs and found them both on a large open landing area.

"....and if had not been for Tiddles, I doubt the town would have remained." She said.

Tiddles growled.

Tabs had been entranced by the tale and jumped at the growl from Tiddles.

"And here is the hero who saved New Haven," Elizabeth said.

Tiddles turned his head and rolled his eyes. It was as he looked towards Tabs that he saw it. It was in that room over there. He walked across the landing and stood staring into what must be a large bathroom. A small bottle half filled with a strange yellow liquid was resting next to the basin.

To Tiddles, the liquid looked like it had a life of its own. It was swirling slowly around the inside of the bottle. Its glow enthralled him and drew him nearer.

He entered the bathroom and went to the basin, sniffing at the half-empty bottle.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked him.

Tabs turned and looked at where Tiddles stood, sniffing the half-used bottle of healing tonic. It was the one Crystal had drunk from initially, and they had brought it home with them.

"It is just a bottle of tonic." Tabs said.

"He probably smelt it," Elizabeth said.

The tonic smelled, but that was unrelated to why Tiddles had been drawn to it. Everything smelt, after all. It was yellow inside. Tiddles knew it was not liquid but something else, something special. He was mesmerised and could not draw his gaze from it. His display triggered.

You have discovered a variation of mana.

Healing Mana - the power of an Enlightened. Only those of the Wielder class can manipulate mana.

Tiddles almost jumped in excitement. There must be another Enlightened like himself here. Or at least they had encountered one. He growled at himself in frustration if only the risen could speak beast or him, their language. He needed to find who it was who was Enlightened. It had to be someone who was here. He turned, looking at Elizabeth, and he wished to communicate with her better. He let out a frustrated growl and turned from the bathroom, stomping back down the stairs to the garage. He walked into the garage area and threw himself on the floor.

"Why can we not just talk," he said to himself.

Rosie turned to look at Tiddles. "What is wrong, Dad? You look upset."

Tiddles turned and looked at the tiny cub. How could she be so perceptive and understanding for her age? He reached out his paw and gently patted her.

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"Nothing to worry about. I just wish that they sometimes understood our language as we understand theirs," he said.

"You talk to Sniffer all the time?" she said, questioning his response.

"Not really. He does not understand me properly; he has just gotten used to my reactions to know what I am referring to, but it is not like having a conversation. I wish we could, though, especially with all this new stuff going on since the System upgrade."

"What new stuff?" Rosie again asked.

"That is the point. I have no idea yet, but certain things seem to be happening."

"Happening?" again Rosie asked.

"Yes. It is difficult to explain, but with my new skills and the change to my display." he trailed off.

"You did not say you had any new skills, Dad!" Rosie stated.

Tiddles stood up, not wanting to get into the explanation about the skills, what he had chosen, how his display had changed, and that he was Enlightened.

"I am going out for a while. You cubs stay here and behave yourselves. No going in the house." he stated.

The boys looked over but did not say anything. "Dad, where are you going?" Rosie called after him as he bounded down the path.

Tiddles needed time alone. He cared for the cubs deeply but just needed to let off steam. The discovery of the mana was another unknown that he wanted to discover. He bounded across the road and through what may have once been gardens of now derelict or long-since abandoned properties. It did not take him long before he was out into the wilds. He just kept running; his endurance was so high that he could virtually run forever if needed, and he had covered several miles before he eventually slowed down. He had been paying no attention to what was around him, just enjoying the freedom of running, and ultimately arrived at a river. He stopped to get a drink.

All around him were the signs of the season turning. The trees were slowly starting to come back to life after the winter months, and as he sat there by the river, he could hear the Wild Ones in the surrounding woodland. He enjoyed being alone, sometimes having the freedom to roam and hunt as he wished. He sat thinking about the mana in the bottle when he heard the distant sound of a herd.

This was not a typical herd he could hear; they were running as if panicked by something. He could hear them crashing through the foliage and the calls of the Wild Ones fleeing, calling to each other. As they would if he had been chasing them. He wondered what could have caused them to panic, so he investigated. He triggered one of his new skills and headed towards the sound.

The noise was getting closer, and he launched into a large tree to see if he could get a vantage spot to see what was coming. He could see the shaking of the underbrush in the distance, and even the trees were moving by the now thunderous sound that had been getting louder when the Wild Ones suddenly emerged from the treeline opposite where he had placed himself. The giant horn-shaped beasts came charging into the clearing. They were Stompers, and they quickly came running through and passed where he sat watching them. He could have attacked if he wished, but he was more interested in what had startled them.

Not long afterwards, their hunter appeared. 'What are you?' Tiddles thought to himself. The beast that came out of the treeline was not like anything Tiddles had seen before. It was black but not fur, scale, or feather-covered like all Wild Ones he knew. It looked more like skin. It lumbered into the clearing before it suddenly stopped and sniffed the air. It had a head like a Keefir, quite wide initially and long, but the strangest part was it stood on six legs. Each leg was nearly six feet long and stood taller than Tiddles. It had large eyes on the side of its head, which looked strange to Tiddles if it was a predator, as most he had ever seen their eyes faced forward. It sniffed the air and flicked out a tongue that was forked.

Tiddles had no idea what this thing was, but it looked evil. It was pure black with two legs with wicked-looking claws, and its other legs seemed hooved. It opened its mouth, revealing a sharp set of fangs. He had never seen anything like it, and he had seen many different Wild Ones before. He watched from his perch as it lifted its front two legs and stood with the front half of its body in the air as if it now had two arms.

It sniffed the air again and turned towards where Tiddles hid, walking on its four rear legs while easily maintaining its balance with its two front legs lifted as they were.

Tiddles was using one of his new skills, currently advanced stealth. He had decided to focus on his stealth tree, and his advanced stealth, which was at level 1, meant he was virtually invisible if he did not move. He was looking forward to advancing it further. He had only used it a few times, most recently when he watched the Cubs fight the Jatbear.

He stayed motionless; the creature must have picked up his scent and stopped chasing the Stompers, maybe sensing another predator nearby, although he could not be sure. It walked across the clearing towards where he hid in the tree branches. Tiddles began to prepare himself; if this thing came within range of him, it would receive one hell of a shock.

It was within about twenty feet and still slowly approaching when Tiddles pounced.

He flew from the branches of the large tree using the trunk as a platform and sailed through the air towards the creature. It saw him and let out a wailing hiss as Tiddles crashed into it, jaws open and claws extended.

Tiddles’s display triggered.

Surprise attack. You do an extra 25% more damage against the Vilorse.

Vilorse hit for 7% damage.

His jaws had clamped down onto what he thought was the creature's back as he had landed. Tearing a chunk into its side. It screamed in response, swinging its clawed arms around him and making him jump backwards away from its strike.

The 7% damage was tiny for what he had just attacked, especially with the bonus damage of a surprise attack. This creature was not easy prey. Tiddles was not scared of anything, though he had no fear. The creature walked towards him, swinging its forelimbs at lightning speed. Tiddles dodged the first strike, but the second caught him on his front leg as he went to paw the attack away. Its claw raked across his leg, opening a deep cut. It had easily cut through his skin.

Tiddles howled in anger at the strike and glanced at the wound on his leg.

You have been hit by a Vilorse, doing necrotic damage. Necrotic damage will require to be healed.

'What the hell does that mean?' he thought. He had never heard of it before, but the wound stung. Tiddles had received injuries before, but not like this; his foreleg seemed to be throbbing as if it was pulsating. He could stand on it fine, but the pain radiating from the wound area was so intense it was distracting him. The creature came for him again. He backed away this time, not trying to paw the attacks but staying out of its range. The forelegs or arms, depending upon how it was moving, were long, and he could not get within range without potentially getting hit again by those claws. He did not want another wound like the one on his leg.

Tiddles had never run from a fight, but he knew he had no choice this time. The wound was causing him too much of a distraction, and he could not focus on the fight. The blazing burning sensation and pulsating pain that was slowly seeping up his leg was agony.

He turned and ran.

Tiddles was fast, extremely fast, and could easily outrun other Wild Ones he knew of, and thankfully, it seemed the same with this creature. He had soon distanced himself from the fight, and the creature had let out a wailing hiss in response to his escape. He knew the creature could not be too fast, considering that it had not been able to catch up with Stompers, as Tiddles knew how slow those Wild Ones were.

He continued at a run for a while before eventually stopping. He took a moment to look at his wound. The cut looked normal, as any would, but what set it apart was the dark aura he could see now that he focused on it. Whatever the Vilorse’s claws contained had poisoned him. He could slowly feel the burning sensation spreading, and from the base of his foreleg, it was now to his first joint. It felt like something was burning him from the inside. He thought his elemental ability, which he had triggered being fire, would have been able to deal with any burning sensation, but not this pain. It was the worst he had ever felt. 'I need to get back to Elizabeth' was his only thought as he returned to the house.

The pain was almost unbearable when Tiddles neared the house again. He let out a howl as he reached it, taking the last couple of bounds across the yard before crashing onto the garage floor.

Sniffer had heard the howl and came running through from the kitchen. "What is it, boy?"

Tiddles lay with his right foreleg outstretched and snarled.

Sniffer saw the wound immediately; it was not bleeding badly but did look deep.

"Elizabeth!" He called.

Elizabeth and the two girls came into the garage.

"What's wrong?" She said entering.

"Tiddles is cut," Sniffer said, now leaning down by Tiddles, holding his paw in his hand.

Elizabeth rushed over and looked at the wound. "That does not look too bad. Let me grab my gear."

"What do you need? We probably have most tonic and salve ingredients." Crystal said.

"Kilop, Hessel and Bracken moss?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah, we have those. I will go grab them." Tabs said, hurrying back out of the garage.