The Lupus Woods…
The large expanse of vegetation about 500 meters west from the village… An area brimming brightly with life
A loud crunch sound startles a grazing rabbit. It flees quickly into a bush just as two figures walk by.
Walking ahead, Dae looks around, his eyes taking in the calming scenery of nature around him. He then turns to find Dom who frowns as he stares at the slightly muddy ground underneath their feet.
"It's not like you to think so much." Dae said.
Dom glares at him. "Really? Now?"
Dae glances at Dom with a raised brow. "If this is bothering you so much then why are we still here?" Dae asked.
Dom sighs with a hand on his head. "I don't know, man." He said as he stops to give Dae a quizzing look. "Don't you feel bad about all this?"
Dae stops with a shrug. "I do… but for the sake of gaining recognition as knights, we have to do this. Besides, you're the one who wants this sub-division in the first place, remember?"
Dom scratches his hair. "Since the Capital has already stationed some soldiers there, it's not like we're actually putting them in harm by taking their protector away, right?" Dom said.
"And we were told to capture it. Not kill it." Dae added.
Dom nods but his frown deepens. "I still feel bad about this though."
Dae rolls his eyes. "We were always trained to handle morally challenging jobs, Dom. You can get over it." He said as he continues forward.
Dom scoffs as he follows. "You know how much I hated those classes."
Dae smiles. "Of course. It's the only class you always failed." His smile then turns to a frown which Dom quickly notices. "There is… one thing that has been bothering me though."
"What's that?" Dom asked as they push through some bushes, startling the tiny creatures living nearby.
Dae looks at the fleeing racoons as he replies, "Why is the Capital so fixated on hunting the wolves if they aren't causing any harm to the civilians?"
Dom furrows his brows. "I thought it was to investigate the monster alpha." He said.
Dae shakes his head. "According to the reports, they only knew about the alpha from the second team's survivor…" He gives Dom a sceptic stare. "If the Village never sent the request and they only learned about the alpha during the second attempt…, why did they come in the first place?"
Dom's eyes widen a bit. "I didn't even think about that."
"They even tried to evacuate the village before-hand." Dae said as he stops to examine a claw mark on a tree. "It's almost if they're saying that the villagers are in the way of something."
"Or they're in more danger if they stay here." Dom said as he walks past Dae.
"So… are we calling this off?" Dae asked.
Dom stops, takes a moment to think and then sighs heavily. "Well, if they're this serious then it must be important, right?" He asked and turns to face Dae. "Let's get this over with."
Dae nods and then flinches as Dom suddenly jumps, easily soaring several feet in the air and lands on a tree branch.
"Why do you always jump around like a monkey whenever we're in a forest setting?" Dae asked, his expression slightly agitated as he follows Dom on the ground.
Dom answers as he causally jumps and swings through the trees. "One, because it's fun." Dom said as he casually swings jumps and swings through the trees.
"Second, it gives me a better view of things." He smirks as he stops in an inverted position supported by his legs tightly hooked on a branch. He points at the ground some distance away from where Dae was.
Once Dae gets there, his eyes widen once he finds some footprints.
"I'm surprised you noticed this from that distance." Dae said as Dom drops with a thud beside him.
"Hunting was part of my training as a kid. It's why I got so good at navigating places like this." Dom said as he crouches to inspect the tracks. "These definitely belong to our wolves."
Dom stands and follows the tracks forward with Dae behind him.
A couple minutes later, Dom stops to crouch again and Dae sees that the tracks were now scattered.
"It's like a junction." Dae said, noticing the haphazard pattern meeting a single point.
Dom nods as he examines the tracks… is trained eyes quickly catching a difference. He points at the tracks leading to the right.
"These tracks are deeper… like they were dragging something." Dom said.
"Preys." Dae said.
"That's correct, my hunting novice friend." Dom said with a smirk as he stands. "Follow that trail and it should lead you to their den."
"What about you?" Dae asked.
Dom gestures at the path leading left which had fewer paw-prints.
"These tracks are soggy. It could lead to some kind of waterhole. I'm going to scout it for good places to trap the alpha."
Dae gives Dom a distrustful stare. "You do know this is possibly an S class beast, right?"
Dom clicks his tongue a couple times while shaking his head.
"We don't need to fight it head-on." He said as he walks over to a tree and jumps onto one of its branches.
"All we need to do is lure and trap it once its distracted." He grumbled as he pulls himself onto the branch. "The waterhole it normally visits should be familiar enough to lower its guard."
Dae narrows his eyes at Dom. "So that's why you said it was easy back then." He said.
Dom smirks from his seated position on the branch.
"No matter how dangerous a beast is, the rules of hunting still apply. While you find their den and track them, I'll set up the trap. Once I'm ready…"
He trailed off as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a familiar communicating device.
"I'll lure the alpha to you, right?" Dae asked.
Dom smiles. " With this place and your speed, you should be able to without getting caught, right?"
Dae smirks as he turns away. "This better work."
"It will. Trust me." Dom said.
Dae nods as he follows the path while Dom turns to his path.
But before Dom takes off, he stops once he sees a different set of prints on the ground. A human footprint, most likely bare footed from its shape…
Dom narrows his eyes at the print.
Within a few minutes, Dom easily navigates through the forest until his ears catch the sound of running water in the distance. He bounces off a tree, following the growing sound until he stops on a branch.
"Bingo." He said as he sees a clear stream of water dividing the forest clearing in front of him. He looks around for any signs of life just as the sound of splashes catches his attention.
He quickly hides in the tree's leaves as the splashing sounds get closer until he begins to hear the sound of a young pup barking as well as…
One of them is a small, young silver-furred wolf and the other is a young woman.
As Dom found himself staring, he can't help but notice the woman's almond coloured skin, her large unkempt afro black hair and her slender but curvy physique which was emphasized by her wet skin… and also the fact that she is completely naked.
Once Dom quickly realizes this, he stumbles back in shock, shaking the bushes with enough sound to catch their attention.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to- I didn't see anything!"
Dom quickly closes his eyes and retreats into the bushes before they could even react to him.
Now a considerable distance away from the stream...…
Dom sighs heavily with his back against a tree. He leans his head against the tree with his eyes looking up at the blue sky.
"So that's what a girl's body look like, huh?" He mumbled, causing a slight blush to come to his face which he quickly shakes off.
As he tries to not think about, the image of the girl crosses his mind again, her feminine physique completely vivid in his mind. He lets out a defeated sigh with his eyes closed… but the crack of a twig causes his eyes to open, a now serious blue glow within them.
He clenches his fists as he looks around the seemingly quiet forest around him… until the soft sound of leaves rustling is heard.
He takes a stance, his body primed for combat… until he sees a certain lady emerges from the bushes.
He lowers his fists as he finds himself staring at the lady he'd just seen earlier. Her body is still wet, evident by her damp shirt and shorts which is ripped in several places, revealing more of her supple skin.
As she slowly approaches him, Dom also notices her rough but still beautiful face through her damp hair.
He holds his hands up, signifying his desire for a peaceful interaction.
"Look. I didn't know you were there. I'm really sorry I looked at you." He said but she doesn't answer as she gets closer.
His ears then catches the sound of something approaching from the side. He turns back to the lady with a now serious expression.
"Look. I know this sounds weird coming someone who just kinda peeped on you, but you need to get out of here. There's a dangerous-"
His body reacts jumps back as the lady suddenly swings her hand at him. He slides back across the grass some feet away and touches his cheek, his fingers touching the already bleeding long shallow cut made on his skin.
Once he looks away from his blood-stained fingers, he finally notices the lady's hand which bear long, sharp claw-like nails on her fingers along a bushy silver tail which slowly weaves through the air behind her.
Using a deep growl as a response, she charges at him with another strike which Dom dodges again, leaving the attack to hit a tree instead.
His eyes widen at the deep claw mark carved into the tree.
"Yikes." He mumbled before jumping up into the trees.
She looks up, her glowing silver eyes fixed on Dom now hanging from a branch.
"Look, I know you're mad, but don't you think you're taking it a little too far?"
The girl growls as she jumps after him. Dom leaps away in time, avoiding another slash that leaves another deep carving into the tree.
Using the branches as his footholds, Dom rapidly bounces haphazardly through the trees.
But the beast girl keeps up with his movements while unleashing more slashes which he continuously dodges.
This sends him flying right by the girl still chasing him.
The two share a brief eye-contact where Dom notices her round beastly pupils staring deep into his before quickly whistling past her.
Mid-air, with her gaze still razor-fixed on him, she twists her body, lands on her four limbs on the same tree and jumps after Dom again.
His thoughts trail off as he watches the lady rapidly bounce around the trees around him.
"She knows the area too well." He jumps to the side, hoping to find an escape… but the girl performs a quick maneuver that leads her right above the still mobile Dom.
Instinctively, Dom raises his arms, guarding against the lady's sudden kick which sends him crashing to the floor.
The impact rattles the nearby trees, the loud crash starling the nearby inhabitants.
Dom jumps onto his feet just as the girl lands some distance in front of him.
"Can we at least talk about this?" Dom asked as he backs away.
But the girl slowly advances towards him on all fours… her posture and gaze like an actual beast.
"No…Talk… Human…Die…" The girl said with an attractive yet dark tone in her voice.
Dom's brows furrow in confusion.
He turns and comes face-to-face to a couple big, dangerous looking silver-furred wolves, their green-glowing eyes fixed on him as they creep out from the bushes.
"Just great." Dom sighed as the wolves surround both young mages. He holds a hand to the girl. "Okay. You really need to get out of here bef-"
The girl suddenly howls…
Dom stares at her, shocked and confused… until the wolves around them howl as well. The echoing sound harmonizes that speak of a dangerously beautiful unity. This sensation is emphasized as they all stare at Dom once they stop.
"Seriously?" He mumbled as his enemies approached from all sides.
One wolf takes the initiative leap, its teeth bared against Dom who instinctively guards. The creature sinks his sharp teeth in Dom's raised arm… but its eyes widen once it realizes that it fails to breach Dom's skin.
With a grunt, Dom swings the wolf off his arm, slamming it into a tree.
Three more wolves launch at him simultaneously. With one foot firmly planted on the ground, he swings his other foot, sending all three wolves flying with a single kick.
Once his foot comes down, he suddenly weaves, his face mere inches away from the girl's sharp claws. His eyes close enough to see his reflection in her laser focused eyes.
They all pounced but Dom jumps, evading their attack only to find the girl in the air beside him, her claw already aimed at his side.
With his teeth gritted, he grabs her attacking arm and spins, flinging her into the pile of wolves below.
Dom lands some distance away, his eyes narrowed at the wolves who approach the recovering lady. Their whimpers and licks as if to console her while some others growl at Dom defensively.
"I don't know who you are…" Dom said as he stands up straight. "… but I'm not your enemy."
The wolves growl in response, their bodies primed to attack again but the girl suddenly barks. She gives them a terrifying glare, causing these dangerous beasts to whimper like frightened puppies.
As she steps forward, they back away.
Dom looks at the wolves, a brow raised.
"Human…" Her words draw his attention back to her. "Strong…Kill."
She gets on all fours again, her expression even more determined to fight.
Dom takes a defensive stance, a frown formed on his face. "I don't want to hurt you." He siad.
The girl responds a low growl as silver colored mana suddenly gushes out of her body. The intense wave of energy causes the wolves nearby to shiver while Dom steps back, his body instinitvely moving to defend itself.
It's at this moment that he notices her chage…
Her body rapidly increases in size… Her dar skin quickly gets covered in glossy silver fur from head to toe. Her arms and legs get noticably longer with her claws growing to the size of daggers.
Her nose sprouts outwards into a snout while her ears grow and migrate to the top of her head, resemlbing that of her wolf companions.
Dom's eyes widen as he watches the now 8 foot tall wolf-humanoid hybrid stand on her hind legs. Drool bubbles on her long jaw which widens as she lets out a defeaning howl.
The wolves howl in response, adding the already tense sensation in the air.
That's when Dom realizes it. "You're the alpha." He mumbled as the alpha stops howling and fixes her gaze on Dom. Her beastly eyes set on one objective… his demise.