The old man led his two new 'assistants further into the Tundra. Here the temperature slowly lowered and the animals became more and more ferocious. Even Paul had to be careful lest he loses his life meaninglessly.
The environmentalist had a clear goal for today, research the behavioral patterns of the wolves in the zone, and how they differed from those outside it. The pack they were going to study was made out of thousands of wolves with hundreds of Rank Fives and almost a dozen Rank Sixes.
The old man had made a deal with the Alpha of the pack, an old she-wolf of Rank Seven. Just like her pack, she had greyish-white fur with shining yellow eyes.
She was amused by the little human who genuinely had no malice for any of her pack. He regularly came with others of his kind, but never with the same group, and sometimes
he would even let her young feast on the more mouthy ones.
"Hello Ma'am I am here today for the weekly consultation, I hope you have been in good health," Paul said. He was a rude jerk to humans but had nothing but respect and adoration for animals.
The Alpha just gave him a quick look, and she didn't pay him any more attention. She was a creature of very few words and disliked changing her vocal cords just for unnecessary pleasantries.
She was more interested in the people who the man had brought with him this time. The woman wore silver armor and was stronger than she presented herself. Probably even the old man hadn't realized just how dangerous she was, but even the shiny knight projected nothing but fear in her presence.
The boy next to her was the weird one. She could feel he was just a pup, but the thing around his body made her fur stand on end. It was not dangerous to her, but only because it was the boy who wore it, if he was as strong as Paul, the Pack's existence would be in danger.
Whatever made the thing, made sure to leave just enough hints to warn all high-ranking beasts to leave the youngling alone. Yet, she was now curious. She made her body small, just big enough to pass as a regular wolf and went to inspect the boy.
Diana eminently coated her whole body in Moonlight, but Ciaran lifted one hand off to tell her to drop it. Then he walked forward and gave the back of his hand to the Alpha, so she could smell him.
She did, and it gave her a hint about who was behind the boy.
"Who are you to Eleftherios?" She asked, her voice a howl.
Ciaran was more than a little intrigued, but the other two were frightened by her sudden outburst of emotion.
"Just his student Ma'am, no one special." He said as he stayed perfectly still. He didn't have any love for dogs, unlike his friend Clara, but loved intelligent creatures, and this wolf had a bushy tail.
As he fought his intrinsic thoughts and the urge to pet her head, she bumped into his hand.
'It's ok boy, it's not rude. Physical contact is how we greet each other out here. Just don't go thinking of us like pets. Give us the respect we deserve and you will receive the same.' She projected her thoughts to him.
He looked at her with his cold emotionless mask and nodded. He knew she was showing respect to his Master and not to him, but he hardly cared.
Paul on the other hand was flabbergasted. He knew the wolf dealt with Rangers often, and was one of the friendliest horrors of this place, but he never expected it would make friends with the boy.
The world thought the boy was a miracle worker, but the environmentalist only saw him as someone who pointed out something everybody always knew, they just never put into practice. He saw the boy as smart and cunning, maybe even a little wicked, but nothing beyond that.
And here he was now, watching him pet a creature at the beginning of the divine ranks like she was his per. The man questioned his own sanity before he stopped caring and mapped out the movements and relationships of the other wolves.
He had a job to do and pointless distractions would wait until after he was done.
Diana on the other hand comes close to the wolf as well. She wanted to be close enough to protect the boy if the need arose, but she was also curious about the Alpha.
"I have dealt with a few Rangers, but never someone so young. I offer you the same deal girl, leave my pack to its vices and we will stay out of your business." The wolf said, this time sounding more human.
There was no particular meaning in the change of her voice, she just hadn't spoken in a while, and needed to get accustomed to it.
Diana was shocked by the wolf's knowledge of her, and Paul jerked his head when he heard the word 'Ranger'. He knew the armored girl couldn't be just anyone as she seemed close to the devilish boy, but he never expected her to be a Ranger.
That made her even more dangerous than the wolf. Not because of her power, but because Rangers were as united as the army, just a lot more introverted, and even more vengeful.
Each one of them was a calamity, and most of them worked alone. They patrolled the wild and rarely saw let alone talked with other people. But their handlers knew them all, and as part of the rangers as well, they shared their sentiments.
Very few Rangers had been ambushed and killed in the past by other humans. And all of it ended with a massacre. Rangers had their nation of origin, but the organization encompassed all of the continents. A Ranger from the Desert, for example, would still view the white knight as a colleague.
"As her aide, I humbly accept on her behalf, Ma'am," Ciaran spoke because Diana had swallowed her words.
After two hours of tests, they left. Paul wanted to do more, but the deal he had with the wolf was for two hours, and he wanted to stay alive for a while longer, so they just left.
He had questions for the two kids but felt it inappropriate to ask. He had his secrets and they had theirs, it would be rude to pry.
"Do you have a target in mind for the hunt? " Was the only question he voiced out.
"We will sneak by the camps and hunt down the humans in the safe area. We don't want the other three to catch wind of what we are doing."
Ciaran said seriously and then pointed at the sun.
"We need to be done with it fast, then get back here and hunt ourselves some dinner. We need to make sure the others don't suspect your involvement."
They crossed the camp line and moved on further south.
"Don't worry we don't need you to do much, just deal with anyone who is of Rank Six and provide assistance with the Rank Fives, we will deal with the rest," Ciaran stated.
They found a group of over thirty Hunters, all of them at least in Rank Two. This was a force the duo couldn't handle on their own, but the highest-ranking person in that group was a Rank Four.
The two got into position, and Ciaran took out multiple vials of the goodies he had looted from their previous targets. Then he called upon his Wind to spread the poison around the whole group.
There was no stealth involved in the attack, each member was isolated with a Wind Blade projectile, about four for each member. Some suffered injuries, and some just laughed at his hubris, only the Rank Fours realized what the masked man had just done.
"POISON, DO NOT BREATH IT IN!" One of them commanded, but it was too late.
It wouldn't kill them but it weakened them severely. Diana blinked in and cut through their numbers like weeds. Every step she took she spun, and every spin came with a rotation of her wrists. With a warglave equipped in each hand, she danced around them as she painted the ground and the surrounding trees red.
The five Rank Fours move in to stop her, but Ciaran had already prepared his icicles. He shot at them while they weren't paying attention to him. They were, of course, able to block and dodge the barrage, but he never planned to hit them with it anyways. By the shards of his broken bullets, he made new ones, right next to them, and before they could react, he aimed for their weak spots.
Two of them died on the spot as he shoved about a dozen icicles in each of their eyes, and the other three survived but two were critically injured.
Before they could offer a counterstrike Diana had gotten to the wounded, and gave them a quick merciful death.
Only one Rank Four was left, and he was trembling. The crimson knight might as well be the grim reaper as far as he was concerned. She danced around the battlefield with grace, but every swing took a life, and with every step, she took she silenced a scream.
The man on the other hand was barely there. He had just killed two of his friends with nothing but a fancy parlor trick, but when he looked at the masked fellow he blamed his eyes for deceiving him. The man felt nothing from that spot as if the killer was nothing more than a slightly cold breeze.
In the next moment, Diana blinked and it was over. Paul could hardly believe his eyes. He thought they would break their agreement, and ask for his help. He wasn't happy about it but it couldn't be helped, it was a particularly large group after all, but not five minutes later, and they were now nothing else but the filling of a soon-to-be mass grave.
Paul gulped and wondered: 'If I had refused the boy, what did he plan to do to me?' He left it at that, as the three dashed back to the north.