Aren woke up drawing some sketches early in the morning, he had already finished his morning routine training and this was his way to relax.
His intent was to sketch Clara's garden using a pencil, it was very precise, up to every plant that was displayed.
"Aren, can you come here for a minute please?" Mrs Clara was usually an early person as well, but this time she wanted to prepare an early breakfast knowing that the boy was going on a mission.
"I was thinking about it, and I wanted you to have something", she took out some clothes from a bag and placed them on the sofa.
"Those were my son's clothes when he was younger. Please look at them and see if you like them."
"I don't know what to say. Are you sure Mrs Clara?"
"I thought about it and I realised that I am ready. It's time for me to part with some of their things. Is not that they were going to be used anyway. So I would rather know that they go to the right people."
There were various clothes, from casual to more sporty and practical clothes. She might have spent the whole morning putting together those.
"I am really grateful for this. I will gladly accept them."
"Hold on! I got other stuff here!" She went to another room and came back carrying other things. Among those he recognised the sword that he used during the fight.
"Is that-"
"Yes, that was his sword. I always carry it with me as a self defence tool but I can barely hold it without shaking. Take it, it's a good sword, he saved a lot of money to get this from a blacksmith. I think it fits you."
He grabbed the sword with care, and he could see that the blade was well maintained.
"Take it with the scabbard. Is still quite big for you, but you can hold it, we all know it. You will do good with those Stravan."
"This will help for sure. Thank you for this." And for last but not least she gave him another set of items.
"Those are from the people from the market that you saved. They wanted to repay you somehow and they put together those things." There was a nice dark coat, the fabric was very resistant, probably made for explorations. A pair of gloves with enforcement on the knuckles, which would come in handy for bare hands fights, a multipurpose belt, with scabbard for his knife and a set of throwable knives. And at least there was a very beautiful pair of sunglasses, very big round dark lenses, that could mask his eyes.
"You should get ready soon, why don't you test those new gears on the field directly?"
He did not know what to say, so he simply gave her a hug, and kept silent for a while.
⁂
He wore his new clothes, with combat pants and his boots. They suggested he wear some layers so he kept it light under his coat. The gloves were fitting nicely, together with his new belt while he carried his knife on the side with the sword on his back, on a shoulder strap with a magnet that allows him to detach the sword fast and easy.
The last touch were the sunglasses which gave him not only protection but also a fashionable look for the whole outfit.
He was waiting at the entrance of the city when suddenly he could hear some engines starting. It was a car approaching. It was a high for wheels vehicle, painted in red with a huge open space on the back ,probably used to carry goods. Both Bufo and Kana were in the front seats, while there were no other seats, so he simply jumped on the back without asking.
It was not a problem anyway, it was spacious and the wheels were pretty stable so he didn't feel much bouncing.
The two Stravan were sporting the same outfits from yesterday, so it was probably pretty rare for them to have a chance to change their clothes. In his experience he had some a lot of practice with various weapons, so throwing knives, daggers and swords of any sizes were not an issue, but his main limitation now was his body, both size and strength. He had to treat this sword as a two handed one for more efficiency until he will gain more strength and endurance, while he was aware that the dagger was his best weapon for now.
Kana started to debrief the group by holding the mission's details.
"Our first mission is a hunting one. We have to locate a pack of wolves that has been ravaging around. It's not a good business for farmers, since they tend to attack their farms."
"They have been reported to be around a deserted area. Pretty much uncommon for these lands. But it is not the first time that me and Kana are seeing this kind of things".
"Are we talking about migration? What can have caused them to pick this area?"
"Our best guess? Is that their natural habitat has been invaded and they had to run away. This is quite far from where they usually come from but is also the least protected area. Not many other wild species and the people here are not used to defending themselves. Is an easy fresh start for them"
"Understood! Do you have any specific weapon? I see Kana uses a break down spear. But I was wondering if there were other tools ."
"Good question. I personally use reinforced gauntlets, they allow me to use the most of my mobility and it fits my fighting style." He said while showing his hand. It was a glove with layers of metal with spikes on the knuckles. It didn't look light but Bufo was moving his arm as they were weightless.
"And yes, I use the spear, I prefer to keep my distance but honestly we are also both good at improvising with swords when needed. You need to be versatile and not be picky in this line of work."
The old Val came back to Aren's memory, she was always pushing him since he was a kid to master the arts of various weapons. He remembered himself complaining about the fact that using the sword was enough for him, but she and his parents were very straight forward to the topic and told him that he couldn't rely on one skill only, because life wouldn't have placed a sword in front of him any time it was needed.
We are not meant to pick what life throws at us. But we have the power to choose how to react accordingly.
"I am versatile with various weapons but right now my strong points are the dagger and the sword" he could see how this was hard to imagine for them, their expressions couldn't be hidden. That sword was already pretty big for a regular adult, but him in his current body might have looked really too much. Like a kid that brought a big toy just to prove something. He sat patiently while caressing the sword on his laps, while the car kept driving.
⁂
They stopped right next to some footprints hoping to find a clue that would lead them to the pack.
"What do you think?" Kana asked while analysing the size of the terrain.
"There might be six or seven, judging by the pattern. They might be headed to that direction, which is where the clearance starts. Do you think we will find them there"
Aren focused on looking at the sizes of the paws, until he noticed something.
"They have two leaders, an alpha male and an alpha female, you can see their footprints are quite bigger than the others. They probably live close to a source of water, so that's why the moved towards the clearance"
"Wow, that was a smart analysis, I trust you kid! So let's head in that direction."
They drove closer to the clearance and parked the car under a tree to keep the car fresh from when they will be back.
There were a lot of trees but not as much as the forest where he came from, it was also more spacious which made it easier to swing a sword if it was needed.
Kana was tracking the footprints really well, which led them to what could have been their hideout, where branches were so intertwined that created a natural rooftop, perfect to protect them from the sun and rain. Suddenly they heard howling not so far from where they were, the trio then rushed towards the scene making sure that they were not followed.
Bufo stopped the group, and pointed to a scene. There was the pack of wolves, they were pretty skinny but still of a pretty good size, there were about five with grey fur while the two big ones had a black fur.
"They are the pack leader, a male and a female," said Bufo.
"It doesn't seem right, they seem to be confronting them", once Kana said that it was pretty obvious that the couple was being surrounded, there were carcasses of the preys all devoured till the bone, but judging by their look they were still hungry.
"They are hungry, they are turning to each other to eat", Aren's observation was correct, but despite the bigger size of the two black wolves, they were still thin.
"Should we wait for them to fight each other? In the end we need to exterminate them anyway."
"It is a wise idea. Sorry kid, this might not be the time yet to show us your skills" he said, patting his big hand on his shoulder.
The scene continued with a stand-off until the first grey wolf jumped forward, followed by the other four. There was a huge difference in strength, the male was capable of defending himself against three while the female seemed to be a little tired.
"Something is off… I have to check!", Aren moved with such swift steps that the two Stravan almost didn't hear him. They couldn't stop him, so they had to follow him. He was circling around the area, using the trees and the bushes to be out of the wolves' visual.
They finally reached the other side, having the same scene but from another angle.
"Hey kid, what the hell? I told you to wait-" Aren stopped him and pointed towards the female black wolf.
"She cannot fight that much."
"Is it because she is wounded?" Kana asked when she started to observe the scene carefully.
"I thought the same but no. She is restraining her movements. She cannot move away from that area", and there it was a hole on a tree, and looking carefully they could see a little movement coming from there.
"Pups!" Kana exclaimed.
"Yes, she probably gave birth recently and they were hunting a in group for her pregnancy, but not that they have more mouths to feed, the pack might have changed their mind."
"That's wild… but it's life. What can we do about it? It was supposed to be their end anyway", Bufo was right, the wolves' destiny remained unchanged.
"I agree but, look. The parents are barely defending themselves. They are practically standing only by their will power as parents. I will go."
"And what do you want to achieve? Me and Kana will not help you in this, it is not logical."
"You are right, are not. But I would rather get rid really fast of the hungry wolf, they are suffering anyway. And let that family enjoy their last moments together rather than in fear. I will be fast" and so he ran towards the pack. It was an instant but two knives flew so fast on the head of the wolves ,which fell on the ground instantly. He then grabbed his dagger and slashed horizontally, cutting the neck of the other one. The black wolves were staring at Aren, they were scared but also desperate and so they howled really loud, making the other two wolves tremble with fear.
It's an emblem! It's two of them!
Aren could see the Alma flowing from their throats, the pressure was really strong, it was a wind based emblem.
In that moment the two Stravan started to run towards him, but before they could manage to intervene, Aren detached the sword from his back and after unsheathing the blade he simply behaved like the two grey wolves that were shivering. He started to step forward, using the sword as a shield, but the wind was becoming stronger the more he advanced forward, but he kept moving forward until they both dashed forward and bit him on his arms. The motion stopped, the wind calmed down but they were still biting him.
"Hey kid-"
"Kana, wait! Look…", they were looking at Aren's arms, the fangs were biting his forearms but around them there was a dark energy, like a coating protecting Aren. For a moment they could perceive the boy as something bigger, like a bear.
Aren locked his eyes with them, it wasn't anger but calm, he wanted them to not underestimate him but also to not fear. They slowly calmed down and proceeded to let him go.
After that they started to limp away, moving back to the tree, ignoring their deadly wounds.
"Did you feel it man?"
"Yes, like he was a beast as well."
⁂
They waited for a while, until the wolves completely stopped moving. They stayed in silence and then moved close to the tree and saw the scene of the two big black parents laying around one small pup. Was white like the snow, and it was so small that I probably couldn't see yet.
I know you can't see, but I am sure that you can feel the love from your parents. They loved you till the end, so much that they didn't realise that they were already at their end.
They slowly moved away from the scene, leaving the family their last moments together.
It was just silence, no one wanted to disturb this scene.
Aren was silent, thinking about what to do next, while Bufo and Kana were silent after realising that the boy might have been the real deal after all.
They looked at each other, knowing that the pup's destiny was in their hands.