“Agh!”

  Perytos woke up with a gasp. He felt terrible; the burning sensation still filled most of his body, but now it was faint, as if muted. It seems that I wasn't poisoned. Whoof, that is such a big relief.

  He still didn't trust the Lykanos, not yet at least. But he had some questions regarding what had happened.

  When he found its gaze, the wolf just looked at him for a moment, like nothing had happened, and looked away, rolling its eyes dramatically in the process.

  “Hey, what the hell was that! Explain yourself, the stubborn wolf just growled at him when he tried to touch it to get it’s attention. Communication was evidently not productive.

  He sighed too exasperated and tired to care. He felt gutted from the past happenings. All the stress and tiredness that had been building up for weeks came rushing down at first occasion. In addition, his current whereabouts didn’t help at recovering. The tremor woods were a place that was meant to be talked about around a campfire, not to be experienced in person.

  His anger fizzled out uselessly. After all that happened he just wanted to know it would get better. God I need a break- oh… what is that? He finally noticed the notification shimmering in the corner of his vision.

  Your skill (Oath resonance) has reached level 3-5.

  You have gained a new stat: +1 soul (guided[Unseen Threat]) click to view.

  The shimmering grey boxes jingled happily. Almost as if they were alive. Perytos smiled faintly, the Lykanos wasn't trying to kill him. It gave him a blessing; that's what they were famous for in the stories, after all. He thought, with a twinge of sadness at the beast’s fate. Unfortunately their ability to bless those they seemed worthy also made them a target. Greedy nobles and poachers like he saw before took it as their task to capture as many, as fast as possible. The beautiful beasts never had a chance to recover their populace; the hunting was that aggressive.

  The Lykanos as if sensing his thoughts howled mutely. The sound tore Perytos' heart apart. The haughtiness aside, the Lykanos were truly magnificent beasts.

  “Don't worry little guy, I won't harm you”

  Upon hearing the words, something strange happened. Something neither of them could explain.

  For a moment, to Perytos the huge beast looked different. Not a tall, imposing wolf with shimmering fur, but just a little lost puppy crying alone in woods.

  In turn, the beast noticed something different. A radiant figure, with a glowing heart. Capable of showing warmth, but too tired to do so.

  The figure's spark was muted, grey. Lifeless.

  Their innate properties forced them to act, unable to stay stagnant in the face of sadness and pain. Perytos petted the Lykani, his touch a soothing balm to the familiar pain of loneliness. In turn, the beast didn't recoil. In fact, it even leaned into the touch, happy to be a source of joy to the mysterious boy.

  It was content seeing the spark grow alive, still faint but now shimmering slightly. Not fixed. Revived. Both of them mended wounds the other didn't even realize they had; both experienced the pain of loss. In a way, they were kindred spirits in the moment.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  As suddenly as the moment came to be, it departed. The wolf jumped away, no longer happy with being touched. Perytos didn't even move, confused by the phenomena. He just scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

  “How about I- uhh, check the soul stat I got.”

  He managed to stutter out a few words in the awkward atmosphere both now shared. The Lykanos just huffed in response. Whether it felt as awkward as he or just displayed amusement, he didn't know.

  Perytos pulled up the full description.

  As a result of being blessed by a legendary creature, you have acquired a Guided soul stat(Unseen Threat).

  You have lived through a meeting with a Lykanos. Congratulations! This means it has deemed you worthy. Not many can pride themselves in that. Even with us, being their caretakers, they don't show up often and show their gratitude. After the Hunt they lost much of their benevolence. Such a waste for the world. If only we've been better...

  Seeped in the concepts of the moon your soul now takes on similar characteristics. When faced with danger you unconsciously disguise your presence. Your soul emits an obfuscating aura in an attempt to hide you. The effect isn't significant, but it is noticeable. When hidden, enemies will spot you less and when in a direct confrontation they will be less focused on you. This effect is only active when you feel threatened. It serves as something that makes your presence more slippery and harder to catch.

  the system seemed unusually chipper today, I wonder what's up with that, also should I be worried the system said the moon is a threat… Nah it will probably be fine.

  The stat seemed not that powerful, however it was still an addition to his growing arsenal. Even if the effect seemed minor it would still help him in all the fights that were sure to come. A moment of distraction was all he needed in a fight.

  With the boon categorized and judged Perytos had one more thing to do. Decide what to do with the moody, almost extinct legendary creature.

  He flexed his fingers absentmindedly, deep in thought. The bite wound was almost sealed now. The flesh had visibly shrunk and re-knitted in the time he was unconscious.

  Selling the beast wasn't an option, not after he put so much effort into freeing it. But it also couldn't stay with him; they would attract too much attention. It would end in disaster; Perytos felt it deep in his bones.

  He hummed slightly pondering his options. Meanwhile the object of his problems just sat on its rump patiently.

  Maybe I can take it with me, if it even wants to, but that's pointless if there is no way to do that. As they were now, they would attract trouble immediately. A malnourished, ragged boy and a silver wolf. Perytos scoffed at the thought. That wouldn't do, they needed to change that.

  He came up with the solution quickly. I could just smear it in mud; under the layers of dirt no one would recognize it. The solution was as crude as it was effective. Sometimes simplicity was the best course of action

  He grinned slightly with malice; the wolf wouldn't like that for sure.

  Now that there was a possibility, he had to consider what did he want. The sudden moment of understanding was still deep on his mind; he would be a fool to ignore it. Also a powerful beast like that would surely have more benefits than downsides. The new stat was proof of that.

  “What the hell do I do with you, what do you even want?”

  It just looked at him, not looking away under the scrutiny of his gaze. He didn't have to be a genius to guess what it wanted. It seemed like the beast was there to stay.

  Their continued cooperation guaranteed Perytos had one more thing to discuss with the wolf- If a monologue could even be considered a discussion. “How do I call you. I can't keep thinking of you as "the wolf" or "the lykanos". Hmm, maybe Shadow?”

  The beast looked at him with indignation. “How about Wolfie… Meredith… Ember… orrr… Lykran. Fricking hell, is it Mark?!” Perytos rapid fired every name that to mind. All were discarded; the last one even caused a dangerous growl from the creature. But the line of thought caused him to search deeper. “Byrath, Merreth…. Oh, i know it.”

  He snapped his fingers, trying to come up with the name. Mercel! The last name seemed to do the trick, the now christened Mercel let out a satisfied huff at hearing the name.

  Nothing else of urgency came to Perytos' mind. Both wanted to leave behind the unpleasant encounter with the poachers, so they wordlessly trudged the beaten path once again. This time, side by side.

  As much as Perytos knew Mercel would be a source of trouble, deep inside he felt relief at having a companion by his side once more.