My immediate reaction was to snarl back, my lips curling and exposing my fangs to this aggressor. But… she wasn't. It was me and my pack, and we had wiped out every other member of her family. Maybe this female was the long time matriarch of the wolfstags, or maybe she was a first-time mother. Did that matter to me?
I was shaken from my thoughts as I watched the wolfstag snap at any approaching keelish, but without stepping away from her pups. Her fur sparkled continuously with her magic, the lightning flowing continuously over her body and its constant sizzles accompanied her warning growls. Most of her children, behind her, cowered as they saw their mother attempt to defend them, though two looked a bit braver than the rest and stood closer to her.
Though my sensibilities had changed quite a bit since I'd changed my body, these pups were, frankly, adorable. They were much younger than any I had ever seen taken as a Soul Companion, and their antlers were only beginning to poke out of their heads. I'd never known that they grew the antlers so young, but as they were, their tiny little teeth were only barely visible when they opened their mouths, and their paws were too big for them, so they stumbled about. I couldn't see color on them here underground, but I didn't need to. Did I have to kill them? If I killed their mother, who was the source of their food, then I would be.
What could I do? I thought for a moment as I gestured for the rest of my pack to stay back from the protective, angry mother. A thought occurred to me, and I called for Foire and Sybil. They came close to me as the two braver pups stood alongside their mother and squeakily growled at me. Their little howls were drowned out by their mother's bubbling snarls as I spoke to Sybil and Foire.
"Foire, go out and hunt something, anything. Just not a wolfstag. Doesn't matter how big, just something close and fast." He didn't hesitate or question for a moment, simply sprinting down the den to where the sole remaining exit was. I figured he would find whoever necessary to accompany him on his hunt, and turned to Sybil. "Can you calm her and the pups? I want to try to communicate with them."
Sybil cocked her head, unsure. I continued, "Have we come across any stronger group than these wolfstags?"
It took only a split second for Sybil to understand what I was trying to say. "You think that you can control these? Make them our subordinates?"
"With your magic, maybe?"
"We just killed every one of their pack. Their family."
I flicked my tail. "The little ones probably don't understand that. And who knows if the mother does? If she's willing to work with us, we could get some great help."
"She would not work with us. Perhaps for us…" Sybil trailed off as she thought about it. "And you sent Foire for a bribe?"
"Yeah. I'm… not comfortable feeding her some of her own kind."
"I suppose. You want me to calm her until he returns?"
I flared my frills in agreement, and Sybil began to emanate a somehow calming aura. The wolfstag mother before us didn't seem to react or care, and I sent the vast majority of my pack back, deeper into the den and out of her immediate sight. I didn't know how well she could see in the dark, or if she mostly smelled us, or what other ways she knew we were there, but I stayed close enough for her to know I was there, along with Sybil.
As time continued to pass, the pups all began to whine to their mother and try to suckle her. She watched us, cautious, but eventually, she gave in to her children's insistence and moved herself to where all nine of the puppies could nurse, and, finally, she settled onto her side, with her back towards us and her head craned to see whatever we did. The nursing pups didn't care for caution or propriety and set to suckling with squeaks, whimpers, little arguments among themselves, and more squeaks.
The longer the pups nursed without us keelish making any moves, and with Sybil's magic's continuous influence, the mother eventually began to lick and groom her puppies. I could finally tell that, while her teats were fat with milk, she was thin, bordering on skinny. Of course she couldn't hunt for herself, and we had been gradually choking her pack's hunts. Maybe that would help with our attempts to "tame" her. I couldn't know until Foire returned, and before he did, Sybil spoke under her breath to me.
"I am nearly out of my magic. Should I continue to use it until I run out, or should I wait until Foire returns to resume?"
"Wait for now. We can return to work on her once Foire is back with the food."
I could tell that the influence from Sybil slowly died out, and the wolfstag mother gradually became more cautious and stiff, looking around, and trying to figure out how to escape or see what options were available to her. At that moment, I began to flare [Dominance], trying to get her used to the idea that she should be subservient to me, should become my subordinate, could find safety under me. I couldn't say if my thoughts got through to her, but while her hackles did rise, the wolfstag began to hunch closer to the ground in a somewhat submissive pose. Regardless of her more reserved stance, though, I didn't approach until I had something to offer her.
Fortunately, it didn't take long for Foire to return with a small Martanimis Python being dragged behind him. As the sound of his approach echoed through the den, the wolfstag mother, and then her puppies, stood and readied themselves for whatever was coming. Foire, as he stepped close to me, bowed, then dropped the body in front of me. "Sorry, it was hard to find something close." It had been, at most, a quarter of an hour since he'd left, and I clicked my teeth together dismissively at his self-abasement.
"You did exactly what I asked you for. Thank you. If you can, see if you find another, or something else." Then, I cut the top third of the python free, about two feet long, and tossed it to the mother as Foire turned and left once again. As it thumped to the ground, she startled back, but not far enough to expose her children, then, as the foreign noise didn't move further, and smelled like food, she stepped closer to sniff at it. Then, once she realized what it was, she snapped the python into quick bites and the offering was gone, bones and all.
"Sybil." I called, and immediately I felt the light brush of her magic against my mind. The wolfstags all began to relax as I cut the next third of the python free and stepped closer, holding each third in one hand. The mother, again, stiffened at my presence, but about three full paces away, I tossed one of the hunks of snake forward. She jumped a little at my movement, but knowing what was coming, quickly snapped up the second serving of meat. Finally, with Sybil's magic still giving me more confidence than I probably deserved, I extended my hand with the last of my offering.
Hesitant, the mother reached out and grabbed at the very end of the serpent I proffered and pulled it from my hand. As she stuffed it down as quickly as the first two, I slowly, carefully extended one hand towards her. She stiffened, and I flared [Dominance] once again as I gently ran the back of my hand against her shoulder. Then, with a [System] notification flashing in the corner of my eye, I ran my hand over my wolfstag again.