The jaguar is focused on Tara as it can feel Tara's strength.
As it lunges from the overgrowth, the wolves see it. They don't hesitate. They move as one, positioning themselves between Tara and the threat, growling, baring their teeth, ready to fight.
"Wait," Tara thinks. "What are they doing? They're protecting me? But I'm stronger than them. I don't need protection."
The jaguar charges. The alpha male moves first, darting forward to meet it head-on, drawing the jaguar's attention. The alpha female—almost as big as the alpha male—moves alongside him, coordinating their attacks. The massive creature strikes at the alpha male with its claws, but the alpha male is fast, dodging and circling, keeping the jaguar's glowing red eyes focused on him.
Tara watches them fight, activating his Appraisal.
**APPRAISAL:**
**Jaguar (Level 24)**
- [Unable to appraise further - appraisal level insufficient]
**Alpha Male (Level 22)**
- [Unable to appraise further - appraisal level insufficient]
**Alpha Female (Level 21)**
- [Unable to appraise further - appraisal level insufficient]
"Level 24," Tara thinks, focusing on the jaguar. "That's why the wolves are struggling. Level 22 and Level 21 are strong, but not strong enough to take on that jaguar alone."
While the jaguar is distracted, another wolf darts in from the side, sinking its teeth into the jaguar's flank. The jaguar snarls, spinning to face this new threat. But instead of striking, the jaguar's jaws snap forward, catching the wolf by the scruff of its neck. The wolf yelps, struggling, but the jaguar's grip is strong, lifting it off the ground.
The wolf with the cut tail—Tara recognizes it instantly—leaps forward without hesitation, sinking its teeth into the jaguar's foreleg. Tara focuses on them, activating Appraisal.
**APPRAISAL:**
**Scout Wolf (Level 18)**
- [Unable to appraise further - appraisal level insufficient]
**Wolf (Level 15)**
- [Unable to appraise further - appraisal level insufficient]
"So the one with the cut tail is a scout wolf, Level 18," Tara thinks. "And the other ones are regular wolves. That explains why the scout kept finding me—he must be specialized for tracking."
The jaguar roars in pain, its grip loosening just enough for the caught wolf to wriggle free and escape. But the jaguar's other paw strikes out, its claws raking across the scout wolf's side, sending it tumbling with a yelp, blood streaming from deep gashes. The alpha male makes use of the opening, lunging, biting deep into the jaguar's hind leg, clamping down with all his strength.
The jaguar spins again, trying to shake the alpha male off. The alpha male releases just in time, leaping back as sharp claws swipe through the air where he'd been.
The fight continues like this—a dance of coordinated attacks. Other wolves join in, darting in to bite and claw before retreating. The jaguar is powerful, its strikes sending wolves tumbling, its snarls making them flinch. But they don't stop. They keep attacking, keep harrying the creature, even as claws rake across their sides, even as they get injured.
"Why? Why would they go so far?" Tara thinks. "They could have run off as the jaguar attacked me."
Something moves inside Tara. Something he hasn't felt in a long time. These wolves have accepted him, and now they are willing to risk their lives for him.
"Fine," Tara thinks, his form shifting. "I guess it can't be helped."
He transforms into his wolf form. The jaguar is busy with the wolves, its attention divided. Tara charges, his energy-enhanced form moving with incredible speed. He strikes from behind, his claws tearing deep into the jaguar's side, his teeth sinking into its shoulder.
The jaguar roars in pain and surprise, spinning to face this new, much more dangerous threat. But Tara doesn't let up. He attacks again, his strength overwhelming, his claws ripping through fur and flesh. The jaguar, realizing it's outmatched, makes a desperate decision. It breaks away, bleeding heavily, and leaps up into the trees, moving through the branches with surprising agility despite its injuries, disappearing into the canopy.
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As the fight ends, the wolves gather, licking their wounds, comforting each other.
The injured wolf with the cut tail, the scout, comes near him and rubs his shoulder against Tara's shapeshifted shoulder. Tara feels the affection through the fur. "You know what," he thinks, looking at the injured wolf, "You're persistent, I'll give you that. Friendly and irritating too." He pauses, remembering someone from his past life. And then Tara pats the scout with his paws. "I'll call you Notail."
His eyes fall on Notail's injury, the deep gashes still bleeding. "They got hurt protecting me," he thinks. "Maybe the potions? They didn't work on me, but these are actual creatures with health. Maybe they'll work on them."
He reaches out with his awareness, checking the healing potions he appraised earlier.
**APPRAISED: Health Potion - Greater**
**Quantity:** 12
- Restores 2,000 units of health
- Works instantly upon consumption
- Can be applied topically to wounds
---
**APPRAISED: Health Potion - Superior**
**Quantity:** 5
- Restores 5,000 units of health
- Works instantly upon consumption
- Can be applied topically to wounds
- Additionally accelerates natural healing for 1 hour
---
**APPRAISED: Potion of Dark Regeneration**
**Quantity:** 3
- Rapidly heals physical damage
- Uses dark magic to accelerate natural healing
- Side effects: temporary weakness to light magic
---
The wounds aren't fatal, just deep gashes and cuts. He selects the Health Potion - Greater. He takes out several bottles and carefully pours the contents onto the injured wolves' wounds, starting with Notail.
The potion works instantly. Notail's gashes begin to close, the bleeding stops. He jumps up, wagging what's left of his tail, his eyes bright with excitement. He barks, a happy, energetic sound.
Tara moves to the next injured wolf, pouring the potion onto its wounds. As the wounds heal, the wolf yips happily, tail wagging. One by one, Tara heals the injured wolves, and each one reacts with excitement—barking, yipping, wagging tails—as their wounds close and they recover.
The alpha male comes up and rubs against Tara. The alpha female follows suit.
One by one, all the wolves do the same, pressing close, rubbing against him, greeting him as pack. Tara feels something tightening in his throat. "Stop it, guys," he thinks. "You'll make me cry." For so long, he had been treated as an object in this world. Just a thing. A tool. But this—this warmth, this acceptance, this belonging—it melts something inside him that he didn't know was frozen.
He looks at the wolf pack, overcome with emotion. "This is my pack. My family." And then he howls.
*Awooo*
A deep, powerful howl that echoes through the forest.
The wolves join in. The alpha male, the alpha female, Notail, the injured ones, the healthy ones, all of them. They howl together, a chorus of howls echoing through the forest.
A new pack has been born.
---
