{ "submission_id": "2841697", "keywords": [ { "keyword_id": "2071", "keyword_name": "anal sex", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "36554" }, { "keyword_id": "4013", "keyword_name": "beastiality", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1938" }, { "keyword_id": "303", "keyword_name": "canine", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "195631" }, { "keyword_id": "132419", "keyword_name": "cub/feral", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "95" }, { "keyword_id": "22189", "keyword_name": "cum in ass", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "18710" }, { "keyword_id": "242", "keyword_name": "cum inflation", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "11846" }, { "keyword_id": "123", "keyword_name": "female", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1104639" }, { "keyword_id": "72369", "keyword_name": "feral/anthro", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1283" }, { "keyword_id": "3024", "keyword_name": "knotting", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "9764" }, { "keyword_id": "165", "keyword_name": "male", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1214782" }, { "keyword_id": "58", "keyword_name": "nude", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "213638" }, { "keyword_id": "4439", "keyword_name": "oral sex", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "21360" }, { "keyword_id": "63", "keyword_name": "penis", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "216115" }, { "keyword_id": "909", "keyword_name": "romance", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "9227" }, { "keyword_id": "564", "keyword_name": "size difference", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "70851" }, { "keyword_id": "5467", "keyword_name": "underage", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "17293" }, { "keyword_id": "164", "keyword_name": "wolf", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "196148" }, { "keyword_id": "62504", "keyword_name": "wolfgirl", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "775" } ], "hidden": "f", "scraps": "f", "favorite": "f", "favorites_count": "5", "create_datetime": "2022-10-25 12:07:30.438592+00", "create_datetime_usertime": "25 Oct 2022 14:07 CEST", "last_file_update_datetime": "2022-10-25 11:56:57.444295+00", "last_file_update_datetime_usertime": "25 Oct 2022 13:56 CEST", "username": "Mallic", "user_id": "50220", "user_icon_file_name": "229464_Mallic_download20210805195105.png", "user_icon_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/large/229/229464_Mallic_download20210805195105.png", "user_icon_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/medium/229/229464_Mallic_download20210805195105.png", "user_icon_url_small": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/small/229/229464_Mallic_download20210805195105.png", "file_name": "4223057_Mallic_a_promise_well_kept_part_2_completed_.doc", "file_url_full": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/full/4223/4223057_Mallic_a_promise_well_kept_part_2_completed_.doc", "file_url_screen": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/4223/4223057_Mallic_a_promise_well_kept_part_2_completed_.doc", "file_url_preview": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/4223/4223057_Mallic_a_promise_well_kept_part_2_completed_.doc", "thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/4223/4223057_Mallic_a_promise_well_kept_part_2_completed_.jpg", "thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/4223/4223057_Mallic_a_promise_well_kept_part_2_completed_.jpg", "thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/4223/4223057_Mallic_a_promise_well_kept_part_2_completed_.jpg", "thumb_huge_x": "300", "thumb_huge_y": "154", "thumb_large_x": "200", "thumb_large_y": "102", "thumb_medium_x": "120", "thumb_medium_y": "61", "files": [ { "file_id": "4223057", "file_name": "4223057_Mallic_a_promise_well_kept_part_2_completed_.doc", "file_url_full": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/full/4223/4223057_Mallic_a_promise_well_kept_part_2_completed_.doc", "file_url_screen": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/4223/4223057_Mallic_a_promise_well_kept_part_2_completed_.doc", "file_url_preview": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/4223/4223057_Mallic_a_promise_well_kept_part_2_completed_.doc", "mimetype": "application/msword", "submission_id": "2841697", "user_id": "50220", "submission_file_order": "0", "full_size_x": null, "full_size_y": null, "screen_size_x": null, "screen_size_y": null, "preview_size_x": null, "preview_size_y": null, "initial_file_md5": "463686c9709f7f0c79e2967801ccec70", "full_file_md5": "463686c9709f7f0c79e2967801ccec70", "large_file_md5": "", "small_file_md5": "", "thumbnail_md5": "6bb3aac6a42d7cdcdc8494eca7efdc2c", "deleted": "f", "create_datetime": "2022-10-25 11:56:57.444295+00", "create_datetime_usertime": "25 Oct 2022 13:56 CEST", "thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/4223/4223057_Mallic_a_promise_well_kept_part_2_completed_.jpg", "thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/4223/4223057_Mallic_a_promise_well_kept_part_2_completed_.jpg", "thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/4223/4223057_Mallic_a_promise_well_kept_part_2_completed_.jpg", "thumb_huge_x": "300", "thumb_huge_y": "154", "thumb_large_x": "200", "thumb_large_y": "102", "thumb_medium_x": "120", "thumb_medium_y": "61" } ], "pools": [], "description": "The second in a 2 part series involves a young beastkin wolf-girl who must choose between preserving her present or confronting her past.", "description_bbcode_parsed": "The second in a 2 part series involves a young beastkin wolf-girl who must choose between preserving her present or confronting her past.", "writing": "Several hours had passed since I left the cave and made my way to the fey forest where Logan was supposedly hiding. Noma ran at full speed, and we managed to come across various shortcuts along the way, so the trip that was supposed to take a day we managed to make in about a few hours. The sun was rising as we finally made it to the forest, and Noma collapsed on the ground in exhaustion. I jumped off and patted his head.\n\n\"Nice going Noma, this should buy us the time we need to do our business before anybody shows up.\" I then walked up to the entrance of the forest \"I'm going to do some scouting; you stay here and get some rest\"\n\nNoma's eyes went wide; He had a startled and concerned look on his face. \"Don't worry, I'm just going to find out where logan is. Like I said last night, I can't do this without you. Noma relaxed and started rolling on the floor whining. \"I know I know; I'll be back before long\"\n\nStaring at the entrance to the forest was thinking Nual must be absolutely losing his mind right now. I mumbled under my breath, apologizing to Nual for making him worry like this before working up the nerve and heading inside.\n\nI started to creep around avoiding any potentially dangerous monsters and beasts inside the forest. While I thought it would take me hours before I found any leads, I managed to find clues of human movement within thirty minutes of entering the forest, and the deeper I went the more I found. Normally I would roll my eyes at people being so sloppy, but I guess they figured nobody would ever think to look for them in such a dangerous area, so they got sloppy. That's going to cost them.\n\nAs I was searching, I started to wonder what Lorna and Nual would say if they knew what I was about to do. I chuckled thinking they'd probably say something like \"YIMU! Are you crazy?! What the hell are you doing!?\" I quietly apologized knowing the stress I'm likely causing them.\n\nAs I continued to track the prints, I suddenly heard a menacing shout from close by.\n\n\"Careful with that cargo assholes!\"\n\nI moved toward the source of the shouting to find a small encampment made up of several men, among them was a large battle-scarred warrior with a giant axe next to him, barking out orders. While looking at a grunt on the ground, it looked like he almost dropped and damaged a crate.\n\n\"You have any idea how valuable that shit is? If any of that gets scratched or dinged up there will be hell to pay! Ugh...I know I was lowering my standards when I took in highway goons. But can you guys not do this much without getting tired?\"\n\nThere was another grunt, then someone else shouted, \"Dammit Boss, we've been working almost nonstop for three days with next to no sleep. It's not fair to compare us to your old legion. Besides they couldn't have been all that impressive if they all got wiped out.\"\n\nThe air went dead silent as if everyone could feel death close by. The grunt went wide-eyed, realizing what he had just said.\n\n\"Wait...wait! Boss I... I didn't mean it! I...\"\n\nLogan, despite the aura of murderous intent cut him off, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Then turned in the grunt's direction.\n\n\"You. You're new here, right? Tell me. What's your name?\"\n\n\"Uh...It's Alwyn Boss\"\n\nWithout warning, Logan grabbed his axe and ran up to the grunt.\n\n\"NO BOSS PLE....!\"\n\nBut before he could finish his plea, Logan swung his axe as if it were a dagger. I closed my eyes thinking he was going to cleave the poor bastard in two, but rather than a slicing sound, I heard an explosion. I opened one eye and saw that the man was not only still alive but completely unharmed. \n\nI was wondering what was going on and then started to realize what he did. The man was equally confused as to why he wasn't dead, before turning around and jumping back in horror at the sight of the area of trees behind him reduced to nothing but splinters and dust.\n\n\"You see that Alwyn? The next time you decide to be a bitch and talk back to me, that's going to be you. Am I clear?\"\n\n\"Y-Yes sir\" \n\n\"Good. Now quit looking at me like an idiot and get your ass back to work. And that goes for the rest of you too!\"\n\n\"Yes Sir!\"\n\nThe grunts scrambled to get back to work, with one of them punching the new guy on the side saying he had no idea how lucky he was. As Logan was not normally that merciful.\n\nThat move was incredibly powerful; anybody caught in it likely wouldn't live to tell the tale. But whatever it was it clearly left him tired, as he immediately sat down to catch his breath. Seeing him in such a vulnerable state, I started to pull out my bow, readied my arrow, and began charging it with mana. This would be it; I could shoot him right now while he's completely unaware and that would be that...I could at least, but...decided it was too risky. \n\nFrom my vantage point, I could tell; Logan's body was battle-scarred and almost completely callused. Anything short of a headshot wouldn't be enough to kill him and my aim isn't that good. Besides if I did try to shoot him and he survived all I would be doing is alerting his men that enemies were nearby. At best I would never get another chance, and at worse.... ugh... don't even want to think about that. I needed to stick with the original plan and come back with Noma. Besides, I really wanted to know what my foot would like in his face. \n\nI snuck away and made a beeline back to the forest entrance. I got lucky; I was prepared spend a few hours trying to track them down. But to find their camp so quickly means I have more time to prepare and get this done before Nual shows up. I know he's probably waking up by now and discovering I'm gone. \n\nWe covered our tracks as we made our way here, so he likely won't be able to follow the shortcuts I took assuming he doesn't know about them already. Either way, it will take him a while to get here even if Vesia goes at full speed. I can't let anybody interfere. This is my.... This is our fight and ours alone.\n\nAfter I made it back to the forest entrance, I found Noma fast asleep. I smiled almost tempted to let him sleep. But we had a job to do.\n\n\"Noma!\" He jumped awake startled and a little groggy, slightly annoyed that I'd disturbed his nap.\n\nI couldn't help but chuckle \"Sorry Noma, but it didn't take as long as I thought it would. We still have some time so if you want...\" Noma just shook his head and barked \"Hehe, you're right. We should make the most of any time we have, right?\" Noma nodded. \"Alright, let's go\"\n\nI got on Noma's back and guided him to Logan's location, slowing to a crawl as we approached, to make sure we weren't noticed. There were five grunts in total and Logan was currently in his tent taking.\n\n\"Ready Noma?\"\n\nNoma nodded. I pulled out an arrow, took aim and fired. The arrow went straight through the first grunt's neck, killing him instantly. As he fell, Noma immediately repositioned us so they couldn't track my shots. One of the other grunts saw his ally drop to the ground, jumping back as he saw the arrow through the man's neck.\n\n\"Hey! Someone wake Logan we're being atta--\" My next shot struck him in the head, ending him instantly.\n\nIn a panic, the other three started to scramble, One of them raced towards Logan's tent and I loosed an arrow into his back. He fell into a pool of his own blood just in front of his destination. The others pressed their backs against each other, trying to figure out where the shots were coming from.\n\n\"Can you spot anything?\"\n\n\"No, the forest is too thick.\"\n\n\"Damn it how did they find us? I thought nobody would try to search in such a dangerous place.\"\n\nLogan ran out of the tent, his axe ready to fight.\n\n\"What the fuck is going on out here?! Are we being attacked!?\"\n\n\"Yeah, but the arrows keep coming in different directions, we don't know how many there are!\"\n\n\"You idiots! If it was multiple people, we would have been bombarded with a hail of arrows by now. It's probably one or two people constantly repositioning.\"\n\nI could see him scanning the area looking for anything out of place. He pointed to my location and ordered his remaining grunts to investigate. I quickly moved to the top of the trees and the grunts both went inside the brush, only to be met face-to-face with Noma who killed one of them instantly.\n\nThe last grunt made a run for it, but Noma quickly caught up to him. Logan watched on as the last grunt was dragged back into the brush to his end. \".... This is not good\" he said to himself. As he did, I shot an arrow at him, but Logan reacted quickly and easily deflected the arrow with his axe.\n\n\"Hey! Whoever you are, show yourself!\" Logan bellowed angrily\n\n\"Aww Damn it. And that was a perfect shot too. Didn't think someone as big as you would have that kind of reaction speed\" I said still hiding in the trees.\n\n\"Tch, I don't know who you are, but did you really think a measly arrow would be enough to kill me? Logan Kavuldun has survived too many battles to die like that.\"\n\n\"Well, I had to try. But this is fine too. Frankly, I would have been disappointed, after all the trouble I went through to track you down, if that's all it took''\n\n\"HAHAHAHA! So that's it you came here looking for a fight? Ohh I don't know if I should call you brave or stupid. Tell you what, I'm going to show you just how outclassed you are. Go on shoot me again, I won't even feel it.\"\n\nI got the giddiest smirk on my face. \"...As you wish\" I pulled back my arrow but rather than fire right away, I charged it with my mana. A faint glow of crackling electricity enveloped the arrow. I aimed my \"Silver Static Shot\" right at his chest and fired.\n\nThe arrow struck true, puncturing his callused chest. He grinned, clearly unphased by the impact, then the arrow's charge released, surging electricity throughout his body, sending arcs of current through his vital organs.\n\nLogan screamed, doubling back in agony.\n\n\"AUGH! Wha...what the?!\"\n\nAs I thought it worked but it wasn't enough to kill him. I only had enough mana for two more shots before I was spent for the day, I had to use them well.\n\nAs he was startled trying to understand what happened, I shouted out. \"Get 'em, Noma!\" At that moment Noma leaped from the bushes and rushed at Logan. He swung at Noma but was too off-balance to get a good hit on him before he rushed back into the bushes.\n\nAs he did, I started firing regular arrows at him looking for an opening while Noma darted back and forth around the bushes to keep him off balance. At least that was the idea, but as Noma made another pass Logan tripped, falling to the ground, and dropping his axe. At that point, I simply couldn't resist. I jumped down from the trees and landed the full force of my body onto his stomach.\n\nAs my knees slammed into his gut, he stared up at me in pain. \"What the?! A beastkin brat?!\" I jumped off as he tried to swat me away. Logan staggered to his feet, charged his fists with mana, and roared as he rushed me..\n\n\"Augh! Who the hell are you!?\" He said, flailing his arms wildly. There was no finesse or training behind attacks, he lashed out like a wounded animal fighting for it's life. Noma pounced from behind knocking him off balance, allowing me to land a kick square in his ballsack, and then another in his gut sending him backward.\n\nAfter collecting himself, Logan staggered over to a pair of nearby tree trunks, ripping two of them out of the ground with his bare hands.\n\n\"CATCH!\" He shouted throwing them towards me. Even though they were slow and easy to see coming they were big and hard to avoid. It was only after I dodged the second one that I realized that he had already gotten his axe back. It was all a distraction! \n\nBy the time I realized, he was already within striking distance, and I didn't have time to react to the attack. At the last second, Noma swooped in and grabbed me just before his axe hit the ground leaving behind a small crater where I was standing. \n\nI managed to maneuver my way onto Noma's back \"Whew! Thanks for saving me Noma! Alright time to stop playing around.\" Noma went back into the brushes. And I began firing a volley of arrows as we circled Logan. Some bounced off of his thick hide, but a few managed to leave small cuts slowly wearing him down. The more arrows I shot, the more frustrated he became. That was exactly what I wanted.\n\n\"DAMN YOU!\" He shouted as he swung his axe in our direction causing the same shockwave that blew apart the clearing before. He didn't know exactly where we were, so we barely managed to avoid it. The sudden silence caused him to let down his guard, and at that moment, I fired a second shot surging electricity through his body causing him to double over in pain. Logan fell to his knees. It was over. I appeared from the trees ready to come and finish him off.\n\nLogan started to cough and spit up blood, his body smoking lightly. Even after all the abuse he's taken he's still conscious. If I didn't hate him so much, I would've honestly been impressed.\n\n\"To have survived as many battles as I have.... only to meet my end at the hands of some beastkin cub. How pathetic....\"\n\nNoma and I walked out of the bushes, slowly approaching him before stopping at a short distance away.\n\n\"Do you remember me, Logan?\"\n\nLogan coughed \"Should I?\"\n\n\"I would hope so; you killed my parents.\"\n\n\"Kid, I don't think you appreciate just how little that narrows it... Wait.\"\n\nI noticed he started staring at me \"Where did you get that?\" He asked pointing to my mom's pendant. It was an odd question, but I figured there was no harm in indulging him.\n\n\"This is the last memento my mom gave to me before you and your men killed her.?\n\n\"So... You're her kid. Heh, I see. So that's what she meant.\n\n\"What are you talking about?\"\n\n\"Kid, there's something you don't know. Your mother didn't die...at least not right away.\"\n\nI always wondered, just what happened after I ran off that night? Noma growled and was about to rush him, but I held my hand signaling him back.\n\n\"Keep talking\"\n\n\"Well, me and my boys were given a job to retrieve that pendant, something about it being a key to a long sealed-off ruin. We were promised riches beyond imagining if we got it. We thought it would be simple to grab the pendant and make our way to the ruin; but your mom? Oh she was something else. No matter how much we threatened her or her village she wouldn't give it up. And when we attacked, she would drive us off with ease.\"\n\nI couldn't help but smile a little, proud at hearing just how amazing my mom was.\n\n\"What happened next?\"\n\n\"Eventually our contractors grew impatient and told us that if we didn't get that pendant soon, we would regret it. So... I gathered my best men and..... well, I'm sure you know full well what happened next\"\n\nI stomped my foot hard \"Quit wasting my time! What did you do with my mom!?\"\n\nHe just started laughing \"Well we found her all by her lonesome and even with a busted ankle she fended off several of our men before we were finally able to capture her. When we found that she didn't have the pendant on her.... we decided to interrogate her. The things we did to her were the stuff of nightmares. Whippings, Breaking Bones, Rape, honestly, the extremes some of my men went through was enough to make even me take a step back. I guess it makes sense, considering the people who hired us. But even after all that...she wouldn't talk.\"\n\nI felt the rage boil inside as I listened, and I could feel Noma getting just as angry. Why would he tell me this? Was he just trying to mock me out of spite before I killed him? I knew I should have cut him off, but a part of me couldn't help but want to know how my mom died. So despite every fur on my body screaming at me to kill him, I continued to listen.\n\n\"By the end, her body was battered and broken. We gave her one last chance to tell us where the pendant was, and we would end her pain. She asked us how many months it had been since we captured her, and around that time it was about...three months. To our surprise, she spat in my face and started laughing, thanking us for wasting so much time on her and that she could die knowing we would never find it now. I was so upset that the next thing I knew I had already killed her. Heh, shame. She may have been a flea-bitten beastkin, but she endured longer than anybody had any right to and a part of me respected her by the time I killed her.... oh, if only she were human, she would have made a fine lover. Of course, it?s hard to love anybody when your head is split open like a melon!\"\n\nThen the bastard started laughing \"Shut up\" I moved closer to him. Everything he did to my mom and my home \"Shut Up....\" After all he did, he had the gall to laugh about it? I couldn't take it anymore! \"I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU BASTARD!\"\n\nI raised my foot hoping to stomp his face into a pile of mush, only for him to grab it in mid air\n\n\"Pretty good acting right?\"\n\nI heard a crunching sound and felt a horrible, intense pain I'd never known before. He slammed me onto the ground and threw me into a nearby tree. The impact knocked the wind out of my lungs, and I fell to the ground struggling to breathe. Noma tried to jump on top of him, but Logan grabbed his axe and cut Noma across the chest, sending him tumbling several feet away.\n\n\"...Noma?\" I said quietly, absolute terror gripping my heart. But I noticed he was still moving, very deliberately too. And the wound looked to be skin deep, thank the deities.\n\n\"Aww damn it...I must be more exhausted than I thought, even with one hand that should have at least hit some organs.\"\n\nLogan started to stumble towards me breathing heavily. As he did, I dragged my body towards my bow.\n\n\"You know kid, I'm going to be honest with ya. There was a point in that whole scuffle, where I genuinely thought you had me. That's why as much as I would love to take you prisoner, the idea that you're still sucking air makes me a little too nervous.\"\n\nI managed to grab my bow around the same time he made his way over to his axe and picked it up. I positioned myself around the back of the tree, losing feeling in my right leg, and readying one last arrow. I watched as he slowly walked towards me dragging his axe along the ground.\n\n\"So....this is how I die.\" I thought to myself \"Letting my anger get the better of me when I should have just ended it.\" I couldn't help but chuckle at my own idiocy. \"Oh well... I still have enough for one last arrow, and there's no way he can take another shot. Yeah, if I can take this asshole with me, I can die happy.\" I then looked at Noma lying on the ground. \"Noma... I'm sorry for dragging you into this. Please take care of yourself when I'm gone.\"\n\nI pulled my arrow string back ready to fire one last shot as he moved closer.\n\n\"Yes...I remember those eyes. That defiant glare even in the face of death. You really are your mum's kid\" he said as he lifted his axe over his head. \"Fine, I'll give you that final clash you want. No matter what happens, you can die knowing your death was less painful than your mum's.\"\n\n\" I pulled back on the bowstring just as Logan's axe began to slice through the air. A mighty howl rang out and Noma, his body surrounded by flames leaped into the air and dug his claws into Logan's flesh while viciously biting into his neck. Logan screamed out in pain struggling to get Noma off him, swinging his axe in wild circles.\n\n\"GET OFF ME YOU DAMN MUTT!\"\n\nAs Logan struggled Noma gave me a glare, I instantly knew what he was trying to tell me.\n\n\"Fire.\"\n\nWithout a second thought, I channeled the last of my energy and fired an arrow that pierced Logan's heart. There was no scream, just a look of utter disbelief at the arrow in his chest before he slowly turned his gaze to me as if time stopped before slowly turning\n\n\"...Damn...You...\" His final words before collapsing onto the ground, his body dropping with a thud that echoed through the trees.\n\nNoma lay on the ground exhausted and slowly bleeding out, unable to move, I finally had gotten my revenge after all these years and yet the only thing on my mind was Noma's safety. I started to drag my battered body towards him, a horrible pain coming from my right leg with every inch I took.\n\nWhen I finally got close to Noma he whimpered weakly as I held his head in my arms\n\n\"Noma... I'm sorry, I should have killed him when I had the chance if I did you wouldn't have...\"\n\nNoma started to lick the side of my cheek and I hugged him even tighter. \"I know. I know you don't blame me. Thank you, Noma,\" \n\nI looked at his wound. Just as I thought the axe hadn't hit any vitals, but he'll bleed out if it isn't mended soon. But I used up all my Mana in that last shot. There was only one choice left.\n\nI smiled at Noma. \"I won't let you die.\" \n\nI started to cast a healing spell, not using mana but my own life energy. This was incredibly dangerous and could potentially cause serious and permanent injury to the caster. But if Noma survives, I don't care. As I cast the spell, it was like a fire was burning inside of my body; it was a pain unlike anything I had ever felt before. Even so, a faint light emanated from my hands slowly stitching up the wound just enough to stop the bleeding. Once I saw that I had succeeded, I passed out.\n\nI woke again to find myself floating in an ethereal void, trying to gain my bearings. \n\nWhere am I? Am I dreaming? Or am I dead? \n\nI saw a figure in the distance, one of...my mother. \n\n\"MOMMY!\"\n\nWithout any hesitation, I rushed over as fast as I could. I had gotten what I wanted after all these years, but now what I wanted all this time was in front of me. Finally, I can... But as I drew closer, I ran into an invisible wall that stood between me and my mother.\n\nI stood there in disbelief touching the air in front of me to make sure I wasn't imagining things. But my mother slowly shook her head.\n\n\"I'm sorry Yimu.\" My mother said in a soft ghostly voice.\n\n\"...No....No....NO...NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!\"\n\nI started banging on the wall with as much force as I could throwing a tantrum like a child.\n\n\"WHY!? I did what you wanted, didn't I?! You told me to survive and I did! It was so I could kill Logan and avenge everyone right?!\"\n\n\"No. That's not it.\"\n\n\"THEN WHY!? Why would you give up your life to save mine!?\n\n\"Because I wanted you to live your life and be happy\"\n\nI couldn't accept that answer \"I was most happy when I was with you! I don?t want to go on anymore without you! I can't!\"\n\n\"So, you intend to leave them behind?\"\n\nAs she said that I heard multiple voices in my head.\n\n\"YIMU!\"\n\n\"Yimu, please wake up!\"\n\n\"Child, you better not let go, I know you're stronger than this.\n\n\"Big sis, please be ok\"\n\n\"The guild will cover all expenses for her recovery, do whatever it takes to save her.\"\n\nI could hear so many familiar voices, Nual, Lorna, Vesia, the Local kids, even the guild master, and then\n\n\"AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!\"\n\nI could hear Noma's howl, echoing through the void which snapped me out of my stupor.\n\n\"Do you see Yimu? Do you intend to make them cry?\"\n\nI looked back to see the living world behind me and then to my mother. Even after all this, I was torn.\n\n\"...Ever since that day, I thought about when I would see you again. I miss you...I miss you so much.\" I said breaking down in tears. Before I knew it, I felt my mom embrace me.\n\n\"I do too Yimu, but as I told you before, the best thing you can do for me is to live your life and be happy. The gift of life is precious and must not be thrown away so callously. We will meet again, but until then you must promise me you will live your life to the fullest. Ok?\n\nI wiped the tears from my eyes and forced a smile. \"Yes. Yes, I Promise.\" As I said that I could feel myself being pulled back to the world of the living, tears flowing from my eyes again as I desperately held onto my mother's hands.\n\n\"Mommy...I Love you\"\n\n\"I love you too Yimu....and I always will\"\n\nMy mother then let of my hands and allowed me to go back to the world of the living.\n\n\"Mommy! MOMMY!!!\"\n\nNot even a moment later, I woke up in a hospital bed, my body completely bandaged up and my hands outstretched into the air.\n\n\"Where....am I?\" As I began to sit upright. I noticed someone's hands against my side. Once my vision was clear I realized it was Nual asleep at my bedside, completely disheveled. How long was he at my side? How long have I been out? \n\nDespite all those questions, the only thing I could think to do was to pat Nual on his head. Why did I do it? I'm honestly not sure. I guess after everything that happened, I couldn't help but show a little bit of genuine affection.\n\nAs I did Nual slowly started to wake up looking groggy. He looked up and saw me stroking his head.\n\n\"Hey\" I said with a weak voice.\n\nNual's eyes went wide, and he hugged me without any warning. \"You Idiot! Don't you ever do something like that again!\"\n\n\"Yeah...Sorry to worry you.\"\n\nNuals crying slowly stirred Vesia out of her sleep and she woke up too.\n\n\"Ah, good you came back to us.\"\n\n\"That's all you have to say Vesia? Yimu's been out cold for almost three months\"\n\n\"Oh, I wasn't worried, dear. Frankly, I would have been more disappointed if she didn't make it. But as it turns out she's just too stubborn to die,\" she said with a lighthearted smirk.\n\nJust as I was about to protest, a clamoring rang out down the hall. At that moment, Noma barged into the room and rushed and started licking my face absolutely elated that I was alright. He was completely bandaged up just like me with particular care around the area where he was wounded.\n\nI softly chuckled \"Hey Noma, good to see you too.\"\n\n\"Noma, what are you doing! You can't be causing a ruckus in the patient ward; I don't care if you're a mana beast or no....\" Lorna walked in and tried to take Noma out only to stare in disbelief that I was awake. I simply responded with an unenergetic wave. Lorna took a step back before finally screaming.\n\n\"D... DOCTOR! DOCTOR, SHE'S AWAKE!\"\n\nAs Lorna ran off, I turned to Nual\n\n\"Hey....how did I get here? I thought for sure I covered my tracks so you wouldn't be able to find me.\"\n\n\"Well, I would have gotten there sooner if SOMEONE didn't insist on dragging their feet!\" He shouted glaring at Vesia who simply turned her head away \"Anyway, when we got to the forest entrance, we found Noma slowly limping out with you on his back. Both of you were in bad shape, but if it wasn't for him, I'm not sure if we would have found you in time.\"\n\nI slowly turned to Noma \"You always were there for me, weren't you?\" I said giving him a hug. \"Hehehe, thanks Noma\" Noma barked as he nuzzled my cheek.\n\nAs I embraced Noma an unfamiliar human walked into the room.\n\n\"Oh, good you're still alive. You had us worried you know that?\"\n\n\"Who are you?\" I asked.\n\n\"I am the Medic that handled your operation. You were in bad shape when we found you. Using your life energy to cast spells is incredibly dangerous you know. It can cause permanent damage to your body and even hinder your ability to use magick, even more so given the state you were in.\"\n\n\"Honestly that didn't matter to me; all I could think about at the time was stopping Noma from bleeding out.\"\n\n\"Well thankfully what you used was a rather low-level spell; so the damage to your body was relatively minimal. You're going to be bedridden for a few more months, but you will not see any permanant damage from your misuse of magick.\"\n\nEverybody breathed a collective sigh of relief, but the doctor continued...\n\n\"However, you didn't come out this in one piece.\"\n\nThe Doctor then turns on a projection device and, on the screen, which displayed a picture of a bone with several cracks on it.\n\n\"Your left leg has multiple fractures that are difficult to heal even with a cast. Did something happen during your fight with Logan that could have caused this?\"\n\n\"Well....\" I thought for a moment and then it clicked \"Actually, I do remember right as I was about to kick Logan in his face, he grabbed my leg and tossed me around before throwing me into a tree. Now that I think about it, I do remember hearing a crunching sound\"\n\n\"Ah that would explain it, I don't need to tell you that Logan was incredibly strong. When he grabbed you, he likely squeezed your leg so hard it fractured to the point where even after you've recovered, you'll have some difficulty walking\"\n\n\"Wait you're saying Logan was strong enough to crush my leg with a single hand?!\"\n\n\"Now you know why the guild was so hellbent on getting rid of him\" Lorna said\n\nNual chimed in \"That's why we told you to just forget about him!\"\n\nThe Doctor cut in \"Well, it's not all bad. See, Logan had a big bounty on him. Enough that the guild took a small cut out of your bounty payment to get you the finest treatment money can buy, and still have enough that you could live comfortably for years without needing to work. Now we have two options here. You undergo surgery to fix your leg; the process is incredibly painful, and you will still require several years of rehabilitation. Frankly, it would be easier for you to just get your whole leg amputated and replaced with a doll prosthetic. But given you're both Children of the wild practitioners, I imagine that isn't ideal.\"\n\n\"What's the other option?\" I asked.\n\n\"Well...you could always just take the money and go live quietly somewhere with your friends. Your leg isn't unusable, you can still live a relatively normal life. But your fighting days would be over. That said, from what I heard you had a very personal vendetta against Logan, and now he's dead. This wouldn't be a bad place to retire don't you think?\"\n\nHis words rang true. I finally had what I wanted...what now? Where do I go from here? I don't need to fight anymore, so do I even need my leg? And if I choose not to continue fighting, what would I do after that?\n\n\"Can I have some time alone to think?\" I said.\n\n\"I don't see why not; I know it's a lot to take in and you still need your rest. Everyone let's leave her be, shall we? And you, Nual was it? Get some sleep you look terrible.\"\n\n\"What are you talking about? I'm fi....\" As Nual said that and tried to get up, he stumbled and fell backward onto Vesia.\n\n\"Don't worry, I'll make sure he gets some rest\" she said as she hoisted him onto her back and walked out of the room.\n\n\"Well, I'm going to go let everyone know you're up. Now that we know you're going to be ok for the most part. we can finally start planning your party,\" Lorna said\n\n\"Party?\"\n\n\"You're basically a town hero at this point\" Lorna said \"Everyone agreed that once you woke up, we would celebrate. Come on Noma you help too.\"\n\nNoma looks at me, worry written across his face.\n\n\"Go on Noma, I'll be ok.\" \n\nWith a reluctant nod, Noma left with Lorna. As they were about to walk out, Lorna stopped in front of the doorway.\n\n\"Hey, just to let you know, no matter what you decide to do, you'll always have a home here. Just remember that ok?\"\n\n\"Right. Thanks\"\n\nOnce they left, I laid on my back and tried to move my leg. While I could move it, it felt numb. I took a heavy breath and plopped back onto my pillow. The next few weeks passed by quickly. I was visited by many of the townsfolk with the local kids coming often to talk and ask me about my fight with Logan. Members of the delvers guild also visited. They praised me for my work and not so subtly encouraged me to go through with the surgery so they could properly recruit me.\n\nOutside of that, I just laid in bed well into the night, thinking about everything that's happened, my endless training, my single-minded pursuit of vengeance, meeting and getting to know Nual, Lorna, and the townsfolk. But the same question kept popping into my mind. \"Why am I still so angry?\" \n\nI carried out my mission and avenged my mom and yet.... she wouldn't let me join her. The memories are fuzzy, but I know I talked to her. I felt her touch. That was real, I know it was. She told me to live, but live for what? What reason do I have to keep moving forward? I didn't want to... I didn't want to go on after this...I wanted to...wanted to...\n\nSomething popped inside my chest, and I started to wail uncontrollably crying into my pillow to muffle my screams. Even knowing all the people that clearly care for me, it still felt like I had nothing. It wouldn't be fair to them, but the pain was too much. Just as I hit my breaking point, I heard soft paw steps entering my room, but I knew right away it wasn't Noma.\n\n\"What do you want Vesia? I'm not in the mood for your sarcastic comments.\" \n\n\"I know. I'm just here to make sure you don't do anything stupid.\n\n\"You knew, didn't you? You knew that killing Logan wouldn't make me feel better.\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\nI turned towards her sharply. \"Then why didn't you...?!\"\n\n\"Because you needed to figure that out on your own. Besides, even if I did come out and tell you, you wouldn't have listened, and we both know that.\"\n\nI gritted my teeth and slumped my face back into my pillow, knowing full well she was right. A few moments passed before I finally spoke again.\n\n\"I talked to her you know...\"\n\n\"Hmm? Who?\"\n\n\"My mother.\"\n\n\"Really now?\"\n\n\"You don't sound surprised\"\n\n\"Animals have a natural connection to the spiritual world and when one becomes a Mana Beast, they start to become naturally conscious of it. So, if you say you saw your mother while between life and death, I'd certainly believe you. Still, for you to remember it so clearly, perhaps this is a sign that all your training paid off. In any case, do you remember what she told you?\"\n\n\"She told me that she wanted me to live my life and be happy.... but how? All this time the only thing that kept me going was the thought of killing Logan. And now that it's done, I feel lost, like there's no point in going on. Honestly, I'm not even sure I know how to be happy anymore.\"\n\n\"What about all the times you spent with Nual? You seemed to enjoy yourself then. And from what I gather you and that Lorna girl have gotten rather close.\"\n\n\"Nual and Lorna are pleasant to be around, I can even say I'm thankful for their company. It's not that I don't care about them, but that's not the same as I felt when I was with my mother...I honestly can't think of anybody that made me feel that way.\"\n\n\"There you go again lying to yourself. Or maybe you were so focused on killing Logan that you haven't realized it.\"\n\n\"What are you talking about??\n\n\"Tell me this, how did you feel around your mother?\"\n\nI had to think about that for a second, conjuring my memories of her \"I guess a sense of safety? Like I could rely on her for anything, and I couldn't imagine a day without her around.\"\n\n\"And you're telling me you can't think of anybody you feel a similar way about?\"\n\nWho always made me feel like I was safe around them? Who could I count on, no matter what? And who makes me feel anxious if I'm away from them too long? After a few moments, only one answer came to mind.\n\n\"Noma? You're telling me Noma is what brings me happiness?\"\n\n\"Be honest with me Yimu, you love Noma, don't you?\"\n\n\"What? Of course, I do. We've been through so much together. How could I not care for him?\"\n\n\"That's not what I meant; you love Noma, don't you?\"\n\nMy face went bright red under my fur, and I started to stutter uncontrollably.\n\n\"Wha...What are you talking about?! I mean I know I'm a beastkin but Noma is a full-on animal for fucks sake! \n\n\"Well even for a Mana beast, it's unusual to be in heat that often, and it's just as odd for their partner to relieve them at every opportunity.\"\n\n\"How did you?!\"\n\n\"What's that saying humanoids tend to have? Ah yes, the nose knows dear. It's hard not to notice the frequent scent of wolf semen.\"\n\nVesia knew this the entire time... I screamed into my pillow, I wanted to die all over again and flailed my legs against my bed while she chuckled behind me.\n\n\"Does Nual know?\"\n\n\"No. But I doubt he'd be surprised.\"\n\n\"What makes you so sure of that?\"\n\nVesia stood there in awkward silence before finally saying. \"Remember when you suddenly showed up at the cave and shouted for us to come out? Yeah you...kinda interrupted something\"\n\n\"Oh...Oooooooooh. How long?\"\n\n\"About a year after we met you. Yeah, because Nual was getting around that age where he was showing more and more of an interest in that sort of thing, and you were still too young at the time.\"\n\n\"You didn't find it weird?\"\n\n\"It was at first, but as you and Nual were training and learning from those combat manuals we realized that intimacy with Mana beasts is more common than might believe, especially among children of the wild practitioners. My advice? Be honest with yourself and let Noma know how you really feel.\"\n\nAs Vesia was about to leave I felt the need to ask her \"Why are you going through this much trouble just to console me. I thought you hated me.\"\n\n\"I never hated you, child. Rather I see so much of my old self in you. I didn't want you making the same mistakes I did.\"\n\nShe walked out of the room, and I was left sitting there stunned. Did I really love Noma like that? I must admit the times I felt most at ease were when I was with him. There was a sense of comfort and safety I never felt around anybody else. With so many others I was always on edge, though less so with Lorna and Nual. But Noma? I could let my guard down completely. It was still so much to take in; was this really, ok?\n\nSeveral days passed and I decided that I would go outside and try walking with my injured leg. Many of the medic staff protested saying I still needed to rest, but I insisted. It was better than dwelling on my thoughts all day. I went to the garden with some of the staff looking over me. I took it slow at first, getting used to putting my weight on it. Even that much felt like my leg could snap in two at any time; it was worse than I feared.\n\nThe staff offered to help me walk by holding on to me, but stubbornly I tried getting up on my own. Just as I was getting frustrated at my situation, I saw Noma looking down at me. He stood sideways towards me and knelt. We didn't need words, I grabbed the side of his body and lifted myself back up. Leaning on Noma's side I began to walk slowly getting used to moving on this leg. Every time I slowed down Noma would do so in turn; every time I tripped Noma would adjust his body to catch my fall. \n\nThis went on for weeks, I slowly started to get better at walking on my bad leg, and the staff was amazed at how quick my recovery was and how my mood would brighten up every time I was with Noma. Eventually, I was able to walk on my own. I still had a slight limp, but it was minor enough that I could at least walk normally. Noma was still beside me making sure I was ok. As we worked together, I began to feel Noma's emotions more clearly than ever before, which left me with a sense of peace.\n\nThat's when I caught a glimpse of myself in the garden's pond and I saw I was smiling, but this smile was different. I was... Happy. I felt genuine joy. Something I honestly never thought I would feel again. And that's when I realized; Vesia was right. I did love Noma, more than I thought possible. I felt safe, like there was nothing to worry about. That no matter what happened the two of us could take it together, just like we did with Logan.\n\nIt got to the point where I even had flashes of Noma's dick pop into my mind. And the more often it happened the less uneasy I felt about it. If anything, it excited me. I wanted it to happen; I wanted him inside me, to feel his warmth wholly and completely. That was when I made up my mind.\n\nA week passed, and the doctor called me, Lorna, Nual, Noma, and Vesia into his office.\n\n\"Well, Yimu I have to say I'm impressed, You managed to recover in half the time we expected. You should be good to go in a few more days.\"\n\nNual and Lorna jumped for joy and started to hug me from both sides happy that I had made a full recovery.\n\n\"Now here comes the big question, have you finally decided whether you will take the operation or not?\"\n\nI looked down for a second \"Can I give you my answer on the day of the party?\"\n\nEveryone looked confused for a moment. Then Lorna had a moment of realization \n\n\"OH YEAH! I kind of forgot. Sorry\"\n\n\"You are such a ditz...\" I said annoyed.\n\nLorna just chuckled embarrassed \"Anyway I'll go tell everyone you're good to go and start getting ready. We already got the supplies beforehand.\"\n\nAs Lorna ran out, I looked at the doctor \"Is this alright with you?\"\n\n\"Yes, that's fine. But I will need to run some tests on you to see how much longer we can afford to wait. Take too much longer and the damage will be irreversible.\"\n\n\"Ok. But do you mind if Noma stays with me?\"\n\n\"Sure, he was so important to your recovery, that won't be a problem\"\n\n\"Well, I guess we'll take off then, \"Nual said \"We'll come to check up on you later ok yimu?\"\n\n\"Ok. Thanks, Nual\"\n\nAs Nual and Vesia were about to leave, Vesia walked past me. I whispered as she walked by \n\n\"I'm going to sneak out later and go somewhere private with Noma, could you make sure no one finds out?\"\n\nVesia grinned as if she knew what was about to happen \"Of course. Have fun dear.\"\n\nThe Doctor started to examine me and decided that I would have two months to decide whether to go through with the operation before the damage became permanent. And with that, the day ended, and we went to bed early\n\nI woke up in the middle of the night and gestured to Noma who was sleeping on the bedside. The two of us snuck out and made our way to the outskirts of the settlement making sure nobody saw us. I silently rode on Noma's back thinking to myself \"I'm really about to do this.\" But what I was feeling wasn't disgust or doubt, no... I was excitedly looking forward to this. It was such a weird feeling; I was getting aroused at the thought of what I was about to do.\n\nAbout thirty minutes later I and Noma finally reached our destination; The oak tree that reminded me so much of what we'd have gone through. I got off Noma's back slowly, walking over to the tree with a slight limp and stared at it before taking a deep breath \n\n\"Noma, be honest....do you love me? Like as more than just a friend?\" I asked.\n\nNoma stared at me, and I could feel his confusion and embarrassment clearly.\n\n\"Well, Vesia told me that even for mana beasts it's unusual for you to be in heat as often as you've been.\"\n\nNoma looked down in shame, and I just chuckled and slowly walked up and gave him a long kiss on the cheek, my tail wagging faster than it had in years.\n\n\"It's ok. You've been with me ever since we met, you put up with my antics, helped me kill Logan, and even risked your life to save mine. I owe everything to you. That?s why....\"\n\nAs I said that I took off my hospital gown the only thing I was wearing.\n\n\"That's why I want to return those same feelings to you.\"\n\nI turned around got on my hands and knees and lifted my tail giving Noma a full view of my pussy and ass.\n\n\"Please. Make me your Mate.\"\n\nNoma slowly approached me, and I could feel the heat of his snout as he put it close to my pussy and started to lick it softly. The sudden sensation caught me off guard. I thought Noma's instincts would take over and he would just force his way in. I was not expecting him to be so gentle. Noma's tongue started to go faster as he moved back and forth between assaulting my erect clit and digging his tongue into my pussy. \n\nThe combination became too much, and I could barely hold my moans in. I felt a surge go through my body that left my arms and legs weak. I lay there on the grass my ass still high in the air, trying to catch my breath. I felt Noma climb on top of me. \"Here it comes\" I thought. But to my surprise, Noma used his paws to flip me over and presented his erect, bulbous dick in front of my face.\n\nNoma was staring down at me. \"You want me to...?\" Noma nodded at me accompanied by a soft bark. I stared back at the swelling penis before me. My heart pounded in my chest, and I started breathing hard as I instinctively rubbed my legs together in anticipation. I've jerked off Noma so many times before, so I found it a little funny that I was nervous now. \n\nI got on my knees, grabbed his penis, and started to stroke it slowly, using both hands for a firmer grasp. Then almost without thinking. I suckled the tip of the penis as I stroked. I was so fascinated by his shape, and I so wanted to feel it in my mouth, that before I knew it, I had Noma's entire tip in my mouth. \n\nI only realized how much I wanted this as I was sucking Noma's dick. As if all my subconscious thoughts were slowly coming to the surface. I could feel him struggling to stand as I continued my assault on his dick. I stopped and took a moment to catch my breath.\n\n\"Roll over.\" \n\nWithout any hesitation, Noma got onto his back, turning so that my rear was in front of his face, and began to suck him off again. This time, taking as much of him as I could, while using both my hands to stroke, I went faster and faster. Noma's satisfaction made clear as his tail wagged in my face. I took a second to be a little bit proud before I went back to work.\n\nI slowly lowered my head on Noma's dick taking more and more into my mouth and letting myself get used to it. I could feel his dick pulsing against my tongue, but I didn't stop. I wanted this and kept stroking and sucking faster and harder until I finally got all of Noma's dick, save his knot, inside of me and when I did Noma violently came inside my mouth. \n\nThere was so much, and the force was so intense, I could barely drink it all. I wanted to pull up and catch my breath, but I forced myself to keep swallowing. His taste and smell stuck to the roof of my mouth. Something I couldn't describe at the moment, and yet I wanted more. Soon it started to slow, and I could finally feel him stop. I pulled myself up desperately gasping for air. Once Noma got out of his afterglow, he looked at me with concern.\n\n\"I'm fine.\" I said, catching my breath \"I can keep going.\" \n\nI looked at Noma's penis; despite that large amount of cum he was still rock hard. I turned around to face him and straddled my pussy above Noma's dick. I felt a sharp numbing pain as Noma's dick entered me, and despite my best efforts, I could only get about half of him inside before I pulled back.\n\n\"Damn it, I had a feeling it would be too big...\" \n\nNoma looked at me with concern.\n\n\"It's ok Noma, I still have my other hole...that is if you don?t mind\"\n\nNoma nodded eagerly. So, I tried to take Noma's dick into my ass. I figured I'd have a better chance of taking all of Noma that way, than with my pussy. It was difficult but still possible. Even so, it was a lot bigger than I thought it would be...or maybe I'm just smaller? In either case despite my pussy dripping this whole time it felt like my ass was going to split apart the more I took inside. But the lower I got, the easier it became and soon, I finally got all the way up to Noma's knot.\n\nI sat there, taking labored breaths, tired but smiling with a feeling of triumph. I started to move; there was a continuous shock up my spine as I went up and down on Noma's dick, watching him wince and flail as I began to rotate my hips. I was losing myself giving into my more animalistic nature; right now, the only thing I could think about was breeding. I didn't care that I couldn't bear Noma's child, all that mattered to me at this moment was feeling him deep inside me.\n\nSuddenly, Noma flipped me over keeping himself deep inside me. I looked up as he let out a low growl, I could see it in his eyes, he couldn't hold it in anymore; he wanted to give into his desire to breed too. I raised my arms and held his face in my hands.\n\n\"It's ok...you don't have to hold back anymore.\"\n\nThose words were a trigger; Noma started to fuck me with a ferocity and intensity that I'd never seen from him before. With each thrust I could feel my mind scrambling, my legs were going numb, and I couldn't tell up from down, left from right, good from bad. Nothing mattered to me in those moments. And I could hear myself moaning uncontrollably and Noma grunting ferally. At that moment, Noma and I were the same. Just two animals desperate to mate.\n\nNoma's tempo sped up and I grabbed onto him knowing what was coming. Finally, Noma shoved his entire dick inside, knotting me. And I could feel a massive amount of his semen fill me up. It was so much I could see my stomach start to bloat with his seed to the point where it almost looked like I was pregnant, and his knot made sure not a single drop could get out. I could have forced myself off him at this point, but my body was too tired to move. Besides the closeness was rather...pleasant. So, I simply hugged him and enjoyed the moment for as long as I could. Noma rolled on his back and allowed me to lay on his belly.\n\n\"Noma, I love you\"\n\n\"I love you too, Yimu\"\n\n\"Who said that?\" My eyes widened and I got up looking around for that voice.\n\n\"Hmm? Why is she startled?\" I heard the same voice again; I then slowly turned my head towards Noma.\n\n\"Noma....was that you?\"\n\n\"Huh? What is she talking about?\"\n\n\"I'm talking about if that's your voice I'm hearing!\"\n\n\"...Wait. You can...hear me?\"\n\n\"Apparently!\"\n\n\"WHAT?! When?! How?!\"\n\n\"I don't know! I... wait...I can talk to you now.\" \n\n\"...Oh. We...can.\" After all these years, I could finally talk to Noma properly. We slowly smiled, and then we laughed. We were both overwhelmed by a combination of Joy and Relief. But of all the things to finally allow me and Noma to communicate with each other, it was sex. We couldn't help but laugh at how hilarious it all was, and as we did, we just started talking about...well everything. How he felt about Nual, Vesia, and Lorna, all the things we went through over the years, the food we've eaten, the places we've seen, the monsters and beasts we fought. Everything I've wanted to say and talk to Noma about just came out all at once and I couldn't stop.\n\nAbout an hour passed before Noma's knot finally deflated. There was an audible pop, followed by a slurp as I pulled myself free of him. I slid off Noma's stomach, sat on the ground, and laid my back on Nomas absolutely satisfied with my belly filled with his seed.\n\nLooking at the rising sun, I asked Noma something that has been on my mind recently.\n\n\"Hey...Noma?\"\n\n\"Hmm?\"\n\n\"Why have you been putting up with my selfish antics until now? Between me dragging you all over the place, I know it must have been hard for you to deal with me.\"\n\nNoma took a moment to think. \"I could feel it too you know.\"\n\n\"Huh?\"\n\n\"All of your emotions, I could feel them too\"\n\nI gasped when I realized what he meant. That's right.... How did I forget that? The link that allowed me to feel Noma's emotions went both ways, so I could feel everything he felt, and he felt everything I felt.\n\n\"You mean...all this time?\"\n\n\"Whenever you weren't training or hunting, I felt a constant stream of pain and grief from you. Knowing you always felt that way when you were by yourself made me sad knowing you were dealing with so much pain all on your own. And as your partner...as your friend, all I wanted was to make that pain go away however I could.\"\n\nNever in my life did I feel as guilty as I did at that moment, all this time Noma was bearing my pain along with me. Vesia was right, I had only been worried about what I wanted and didn't even realize it. Just as I was thinking this, Noma licked my cheek.\n\n\"It's fine. I have no regrets about what happened. As far as I'm concerned, your pain is my pain, and whatever you must bear, I will bear along with you, and do so gladly.\n\n I moved over and hugged and kissed him as much as I could.\n\n\"Thank you! Thank you so much!\" Tears were streaming down my face, and yet I'd never been happier than I was at this moment, my tail wagged faster than ever before. I had found my reason to live, and I was never going to let it go.\n\nAfter a few minutes, I finally calmed down and collected myself.\n\n\"Feeling better?\"\n\n\"Yeah. Sorry about that.\"\n\n\"So... Where do we go from here?\"\n\nI thought about it for a second \"Noma, how would you feel about this?\"\n\nThe big party took place a few days later. Many people knew what it was for, and some were there just as an excuse to drink. So many people came to me asking me about the fight and how someone so young could be so skilled in such a short amount of time let alone beat a notable mark like Logan. A few even asked for my autograph.\n\nApparently, I had a fan club, and I didn't even know it. It was all so overwhelming being around so many people at once, but I imagine it was also weird to have two large mana wolves casually walking around the town square. The town kids were so happy they could finally speak to Noma, and they had SO much they wanted to talk about.\n\nEventually, I got tired of the festivities and went to go sit on the side with Nual. \n\n\"Man., I had no idea so many people in town knew who I was.\"\n\n\"Is it really that surprising? A wolfkin cub comes out of nowhere and suddenly starts completing jobs that even adults would struggle with? Of course people are going to notice.\"\n\n\"That's what I get for being so hyper-focused I suppose.\"\n\n\"That aside, I still can?t believe you went and did it with Noma. I honestly didn't think you'd even be able to, especially with you being so...small.\"\n\n\"Oh, like you're one to talk; can Vesia even feel anything when you shove your tiny pecker in her?\"\n\n\"HEY!\"\n\nAs we bickered, the hospital doctor approached us.\n\n\"Am I interrupting\"\n\n\"Oh, Doctor!\" I said as I stood and walked towards him.\n\n\"Well look at you, walking about. You'd almost think you didn't have a leg injury\"\n\n\"Well, I can't run or kick the way I used to, I'm still very much grounded\"\n\n\"Speaking of which, I take it you've made up your mind?\"\n\n\"I have\"\n\n\"Very good, now what will it be? You plan to get the prosthetic, or do you intend to take what money you have left and retire?\"\n\n\"I actually plan to go to Misrana and register as an official Delver.\"\n\n\"Oh, so the prosthetic then\"\n\n\"No.\"\n\n\"Huh?\"\n\n\"I don't intend to retire, and I don't intend on getting a replacement prosthetic\"\n\n\"With all due respect Yimu, I don't see you getting very far with that leg injury\"\n\n\"Yeah, you're probably right. But...\" Noma came from behind me and rolled me onto his back \"As you can see, I have 4 extra legs right here. Isn't that right Noma?\"\n\n\"You got it!\"\n\nThe doctor just stood bewildered as Noma stood triumphantly in front of him while I sat on his back before he started chuckling\n\n\"So, this is what you plan to do. And you're sure about this? I told you if you leave that injury untreated, it's going to be permanent right?\"\n\n\"I know. But I'm content to go on like this. Besides. It's a good reminder.\"\n\n\"Of?\"\n\n\"Of what being hotheaded gets you.\"\n\n\"I see. You really are an interesting one, aren't you? Well, you've clearly made up your mind, so I won't pester you further. Well then, I think it's time I take my leave. I wish you the best little Yimu.\" The Doctor said before walking away.\n\n\"So, you're really leaving?\" Nual asked\n\n\"Yeah, I intended to leave after tonight's party; thought this would be a good time to say goodbye.\"\n\n\"Alright, when are we leaving?\" \n\n\"We?\"\n\n\"Yeah, Vesia and I are coming with you.\"\n\n\"Are you sure?\"\n\n\"This whole thing made me realize just how sheltered I've been, I figure now is a good time to see the world. Besides, someone needs to keep an eye on you and make sure you don't do anything stupid again.\"\n\n\"Fuck you dude\" I said, pouting before I started to smile again. \"Thanks, Nual\"\n\n\"Don't worry about it\"\n\nWhat happened after that? Not much really. We said our goodbyes to everyone in town and that was it. We traveled to Misrana and passed the Delver's Exam with ease and would go on to have many adventures before we finally settled down. There would be a lot of twists and turns along the way as well as personal tensions that would need to be resolved between the four of us.\n\nBut that's a story for another time.\n\n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "Several hours had passed since I left the cave and made my way to the fey forest where Logan was supposedly hiding. Noma ran at full speed, and we managed to come across various shortcuts along the way, so the trip that was supposed to take a day we managed to make in about a few hours. The sun was rising as we finally made it to the forest, and Noma collapsed on the ground in exhaustion. I jumped off and patted his head.

"Nice going Noma, this should buy us the time we need to do our business before anybody shows up." I then walked up to the entrance of the forest "I'm going to do some scouting; you stay here and get some rest"

Noma's eyes went wide; He had a startled and concerned look on his face. "Don't worry, I'm just going to find out where logan is. Like I said last night, I can't do this without you. Noma relaxed and started rolling on the floor whining. "I know I know; I'll be back before long"

Staring at the entrance to the forest was thinking Nual must be absolutely losing his mind right now. I mumbled under my breath, apologizing to Nual for making him worry like this before working up the nerve and heading inside.

I started to creep around avoiding any potentially dangerous monsters and beasts inside the forest. While I thought it would take me hours before I found any leads, I managed to find clues of human movement within thirty minutes of entering the forest, and the deeper I went the more I found. Normally I would roll my eyes at people being so sloppy, but I guess they figured nobody would ever think to look for them in such a dangerous area, so they got sloppy. That's going to cost them.

As I was searching, I started to wonder what Lorna and Nual would say if they knew what I was about to do. I chuckled thinking they'd probably say something like "YIMU! Are you crazy?! What the hell are you doing!?"  I quietly apologized knowing the stress I'm likely causing them.

As I continued to track the prints, I suddenly heard a menacing shout from close by.

"Careful with that cargo assholes!"

I moved toward the source of the shouting to find a small encampment made up of several men, among them was a large battle-scarred warrior with a giant axe next to him, barking out orders. While looking at a grunt on the ground, it looked like he almost dropped and damaged a crate.

"You have any idea how valuable that shit is? If any of that gets scratched or dinged up there will be hell to pay! Ugh...I know I was lowering my standards when I took in highway goons. But can you guys not do this much without getting tired?"

There was another grunt, then someone else shouted, "Dammit Boss, we've been working almost nonstop for three days with next to no sleep. It's not fair to compare us to your old legion. Besides they couldn't have been all that impressive if they all got wiped out."

The air went dead silent as if everyone could feel death close by. The grunt went wide-eyed, realizing what he had just said.

"Wait...wait! Boss I... I didn't mean it! I..."

Logan, despite the aura of murderous intent cut him off, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Then turned in the grunt's direction.

"You. You're new here, right? Tell me. What's your name?"

"Uh...It's Alwyn Boss"

Without warning, Logan grabbed his axe and ran up to the grunt.

"NO BOSS PLE....!"

But before he could finish his plea, Logan swung his axe as if it were a dagger. I closed my eyes thinking he was going to cleave the poor bastard in two, but rather than a slicing sound, I heard an explosion. I opened one eye and saw that the man was not only still alive but completely unharmed.

I was wondering what was going on and then started to realize what he did. The man was equally confused as to why he wasn't dead, before turning around and jumping back in horror at the sight of the area of trees behind him reduced to nothing but splinters and dust.

"You see that Alwyn? The next time you decide to be a bitch and talk back to me, that's going to be you. Am I clear?"

"Y-Yes sir"

"Good. Now quit looking at me like an idiot and get your ass back to work. And that goes for the rest of you too!"

"Yes Sir!"

The grunts scrambled to get back to work, with one of them punching the new guy on the side saying he had no idea how lucky he was. As Logan was not normally that merciful.

That move was incredibly powerful; anybody caught in it likely wouldn't live to tell the tale. But whatever it was it clearly left him tired, as he immediately sat down to catch his breath. Seeing him in such a vulnerable state, I started to pull out my bow, readied my arrow, and began charging it with mana. This would be it; I could shoot him right now while he's completely unaware and that would be that...I could at least, but...decided it was too risky.

From my vantage point, I could tell; Logan's body was battle-scarred and almost completely callused. Anything short of a headshot wouldn't be enough to kill him and my aim isn't that good. Besides if I did try to shoot him and he survived all I would be doing is alerting his men that enemies were nearby. At best I would never get another chance, and at worse.... ugh... don't even want to think about that. I needed to stick with the original plan and come back with Noma. Besides, I really wanted to know what my foot would like in his face.

I snuck away and made a beeline back to the forest entrance. I got lucky; I was prepared  spend a few hours trying to track them down. But to find their camp so quickly means I have more time to prepare and get this done before Nual shows up. I know he's probably waking up by now and discovering I'm gone.

We covered our tracks as we made our way here, so he likely won't be able to follow the shortcuts I took assuming he doesn't know about them already. Either way, it will take him a while to get here even if Vesia goes at full speed. I can't let anybody interfere. This is my.... This is our fight and ours alone.

After I made it back to the forest entrance, I found Noma fast asleep. I smiled almost tempted to let him sleep. But we had a job to do.

"Noma!" He jumped awake startled and a little groggy, slightly annoyed that I'd disturbed his nap.

I couldn't help but chuckle "Sorry Noma, but it didn't take as long as I thought it would. We still have some time so if you want..." Noma just shook his head and barked "Hehe, you're right. We should make the most of any time we have, right?" Noma nodded. "Alright, let's go"

I got on Noma's back and guided him to Logan's location, slowing to a crawl as we approached, to make sure we weren't noticed. There were five grunts in total and Logan was currently in his tent taking.

"Ready Noma?"

Noma nodded. I pulled out an arrow, took aim and fired. The arrow went straight through the first grunt's neck, killing him instantly. As he fell, Noma immediately repositioned us so they couldn't track my shots. One of the other grunts saw his ally drop to the ground, jumping back as he saw the arrow through the man's neck.

"Hey! Someone wake Logan we're being atta--" My next shot struck him in the head, ending him instantly.

In a panic, the other three started to scramble, One of them raced towards Logan's tent and I loosed an arrow into his back.  He fell into a pool of his own blood just in front of his destination. The others pressed their backs against each other, trying to figure out where the shots were coming from.

"Can you spot anything?"

"No, the forest is too thick."

"Damn it how did they find us? I thought nobody would try to search in such a dangerous place."

Logan ran out of the tent, his axe ready to fight.

"What the fuck is going on out here?! Are we being attacked!?"

"Yeah, but the arrows keep coming in different directions, we don't know how many there are!"

"You idiots! If it was multiple people, we would have been bombarded with a hail of arrows by now. It's probably one or two people constantly repositioning."

I could see him scanning the area looking for anything out of place. He pointed to my location and ordered his remaining grunts to investigate. I quickly moved to the top of the trees and the grunts both went inside the brush, only to be met face-to-face with Noma who killed one of them instantly.

The last grunt made a run for it, but Noma quickly caught up to him. Logan watched on as the last grunt was dragged back into the brush to his end. ".... This is not good" he said to himself. As he did, I shot an arrow at him, but Logan reacted quickly and easily deflected the arrow with his axe.

"Hey! Whoever you are, show yourself!"  Logan bellowed angrily

"Aww Damn it. And that was a perfect shot too. Didn't think someone as big as you would have that kind of reaction speed" I said still hiding in the trees.

"Tch, I don't know who you are, but did you really think a measly arrow would be enough to kill me? Logan Kavuldun has survived too many battles to die like that."

"Well, I had to try. But this is fine too. Frankly, I would have been disappointed, after all the trouble I went through to track you down, if that's all it took''

"HAHAHAHA! So that's it you came here looking for a fight? Ohh I don't know if I should call you brave or stupid. Tell you what, I'm going to show you just how outclassed you are. Go on shoot me again, I won't even feel it."

I got the giddiest smirk on my face. "...As you wish" I pulled back my arrow but rather than fire right away, I charged it with my mana. A faint glow of crackling electricity enveloped the arrow. I aimed my "Silver Static Shot" right at his chest and fired.

The arrow struck true, puncturing his callused chest. He grinned, clearly unphased by the impact, then the arrow's charge released, surging electricity throughout his body, sending arcs of current through his vital organs.

Logan screamed, doubling back in agony.

"AUGH! Wha...what the?!"

As I thought it worked but it wasn't enough to kill him. I only had enough mana for two more shots before I was spent for the day, I had to use them well.

As he was startled trying to understand what happened, I shouted out. "Get 'em, Noma!" At that moment Noma leaped from the bushes and rushed at Logan. He swung at Noma but was too off-balance to get a good hit on him before he rushed back into the bushes.

As he did, I started firing regular arrows at him looking for an opening while Noma darted back and forth around the bushes to keep him off balance. At least that was the idea, but as Noma made another pass Logan tripped, falling to the ground, and dropping his axe. At that point, I simply couldn't resist. I jumped down from the trees and landed the full force of my body onto his stomach.

As my knees slammed into his gut, he stared up at me in pain. "What the?! A beastkin brat?!" I jumped off as he tried to swat me away. Logan staggered to his feet, charged his fists with mana, and roared as he rushed me..

"Augh! Who the hell are you!?" He said, flailing his arms wildly. There was no finesse or training behind attacks, he lashed out like a wounded animal fighting for it's life. Noma pounced from behind knocking him off balance, allowing me to land a kick square in his ballsack, and then another in his gut sending him backward.

After collecting himself, Logan staggered over to a pair of nearby tree trunks, ripping two of them out of the ground with his bare hands.

"CATCH!" He shouted throwing them towards me. Even though they were slow and easy to see coming they were big and hard to avoid. It was only after I dodged the second one that I realized that he had already gotten his axe back. It was all a distraction!

By the time I realized, he was already within striking distance, and I didn't have time to react to the attack. At the last second, Noma swooped in and grabbed me just before his axe hit the ground leaving behind a small crater where I was standing.

I managed to maneuver my way onto Noma's back "Whew! Thanks for saving me Noma! Alright time to stop playing around." Noma went back into the brushes. And I began firing a volley of arrows as we circled Logan. Some bounced off of his thick hide, but a few managed to leave small cuts slowly wearing him down. The more arrows I shot, the more frustrated he became. That was exactly what I wanted.

"DAMN YOU!" He shouted as he swung his axe in our direction causing the same shockwave that blew apart the clearing before. He didn't know exactly where we were, so we barely managed to avoid it. The sudden silence caused him to let down his guard, and at that moment, I fired a second shot surging electricity through his body causing him to double over in pain. Logan fell to his knees. It was over. I appeared from the trees ready to come and finish him off.

Logan started to cough and spit up blood, his body smoking lightly. Even after all the abuse he's taken he's still conscious. If I didn't hate him so much, I would've honestly been impressed.

"To have survived as many battles as I have.... only to meet my end at the hands of some beastkin cub. How pathetic...."

Noma and I walked out of the bushes, slowly approaching him before stopping at a short distance away.

"Do you remember me, Logan?"

Logan coughed "Should I?"

"I would hope so; you killed my parents."

"Kid, I don't think you appreciate just how little that narrows it... Wait."

I noticed he started staring at me "Where did you get that?" He asked pointing to my mom's pendant. It was an odd question, but I figured there was no harm in indulging him.

"This is the last memento my mom gave to me before you and your men killed her.?

"So... You're her kid. Heh, I see. So that's what she meant.

"What are you talking about?"

"Kid, there's something you don't know. Your mother didn't die...at least not right away."

I always wondered, just what happened after I ran off that night? Noma growled and was about to rush him, but I held my hand signaling him back.

"Keep talking"

"Well, me and my boys were given a job to retrieve that pendant, something about it being a key to a long sealed-off ruin. We were promised riches beyond imagining if we got it. We thought it would be simple to grab the pendant and make our way to the ruin; but your mom? Oh she was something else. No matter how much we threatened her or her village she wouldn't give it up. And when we attacked, she would drive us off with ease."

I couldn't help but smile a little, proud at hearing just how amazing my mom was.

"What happened next?"

"Eventually our contractors grew impatient and told us that if we didn't get that pendant soon, we would regret it. So... I gathered my best men and..... well, I'm sure you know full well what happened next"

I stomped my foot hard "Quit wasting my time! What did you do with my mom!?"

He just started laughing "Well we found her all by her lonesome and even with a busted ankle she fended off several of our men before we were finally able to capture her. When we found that she didn't have the pendant on her.... we decided to interrogate her. The things we did to her were the stuff of nightmares. Whippings, Breaking Bones, Rape, honestly, the extremes some of my men went through was enough to make even me take a step back. I guess it makes sense, considering the people who hired us. But even after all that...she wouldn't talk."

I felt the rage boil inside as I listened, and I could feel Noma getting just as angry. Why would he tell me this? Was he just trying to mock me out of spite before I killed him? I knew I should have cut him off, but a part of me couldn't help but want to know how my mom died. So despite every fur on my body screaming at me to kill him, I continued to listen.

"By the end, her body was battered and broken. We gave her one last chance to tell us where the pendant was, and we would end her pain. She asked us how many months it had been since we captured her, and around that time it was about...three months. To our surprise, she spat in my face and started laughing, thanking us for wasting so much time on her and that she could die knowing we would never find it now. I was so upset that the next thing I knew I had already killed her. Heh, shame. She may have been a flea-bitten beastkin, but she endured longer than anybody had any right to and a part of me respected her by the time I killed her.... oh, if only she were human, she would have made a fine lover. Of course, it?s hard to love anybody when your head is split open like a melon!"

Then the bastard started laughing "Shut up" I moved closer to him. Everything he did to my mom and my home "Shut Up...." After all he did, he had the gall to laugh about it? I couldn't take it anymore! "I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU BASTARD!"

I raised my foot hoping to stomp his face into a pile of mush, only for him to grab it in mid air

"Pretty good acting right?"

I heard a crunching sound and felt a horrible, intense pain I'd never known before. He slammed me onto the ground and threw me into a nearby tree. The impact knocked the wind out of my lungs, and I fell to the ground struggling to breathe. Noma tried to jump on top of him, but Logan grabbed his axe and cut Noma across the chest, sending him tumbling several feet away.

"...Noma?" I said quietly, absolute terror gripping my heart. But I noticed he was still moving, very deliberately too. And the wound looked to be skin deep, thank the deities.

"Aww damn it...I must be more exhausted than I thought, even with one hand that should have at least hit some organs."

Logan started to stumble towards me breathing heavily. As he did, I dragged my body towards my bow.

"You know kid, I'm going to be honest with ya. There was a point in that whole scuffle, where I genuinely thought you had me. That's why as much as I would love to take you prisoner, the idea that you're still sucking air makes me a little too nervous."

I managed to grab my bow around the same time he made his way over to his axe and picked it up. I positioned myself around the back of the tree, losing feeling in my right leg, and readying one last arrow. I watched as he slowly walked towards me dragging his axe along the ground.

"So....this is how I die." I thought to myself "Letting my anger get the better of me when I should have just ended it." I couldn't help but chuckle at my own idiocy. "Oh well... I still have enough for one last arrow, and there's no way he can take another shot. Yeah, if I can take this asshole with me, I can die happy." I then looked at Noma lying on the ground. "Noma... I'm sorry for dragging you into this. Please take care of yourself when I'm gone."

I pulled my arrow string back ready to fire one last shot as he moved closer.

"Yes...I remember those eyes. That defiant glare even in the face of death. You really are your mum's kid" he said as he lifted his axe over his head. "Fine, I'll give you that final clash you want. No matter what happens, you can die knowing your death was less painful than your mum's."

" I pulled back on the bowstring just as Logan's axe began to slice through the air. A mighty howl rang out and Noma, his body surrounded by flames leaped into the air and dug his claws into Logan's flesh while viciously biting into his neck. Logan screamed out in pain struggling to get Noma off him, swinging his axe in wild circles.

"GET OFF ME YOU DAMN MUTT!"

As Logan struggled Noma gave me a glare, I instantly knew what he was trying to tell me.

"Fire."

Without a second thought, I channeled the last of my energy and fired an arrow that pierced Logan's heart. There was no scream, just a look of utter disbelief at the arrow in his chest before he slowly turned his gaze to me as if time stopped before slowly turning

"...Damn...You..." His final words before collapsing onto the ground, his body dropping with a thud that echoed through the trees.

Noma lay on the ground exhausted and slowly bleeding out, unable to move, I finally had gotten my revenge after all these years and yet the only thing on my mind was Noma's safety. I started to drag my battered body towards him, a horrible pain coming from my right leg with every inch I took.

When I finally got close to Noma he whimpered weakly as I held his head in my arms

"Noma... I'm sorry, I should have killed him when I had the chance if I did you wouldn't have..."

Noma started to lick the side of my cheek and I hugged him even tighter. "I know. I know you don't blame me. Thank you, Noma,"

I looked at his wound. Just as I thought the axe hadn't hit any vitals, but he'll bleed out if it isn't mended soon. But I used up all my Mana in that last shot. There was only one choice left.

I smiled at Noma. "I won't let you die."

I started to cast a healing spell, not using mana but my own life energy. This was incredibly dangerous and could potentially cause serious and permanent injury to the caster. But if Noma survives, I don't care. As I cast the spell, it was like a fire was burning inside of my body; it was a pain unlike anything I had ever felt before. Even so, a faint light emanated from my hands slowly stitching up the wound just enough to stop the bleeding. Once I saw that I had succeeded, I passed out.

I woke again to find myself floating in an ethereal void, trying to gain my bearings.

Where am I? Am I dreaming? Or am I dead?

I saw a figure in the distance, one of...my mother.

"MOMMY!"

Without any hesitation, I rushed over as fast as I could. I had gotten what I wanted after all these years, but now what I wanted all this time was in front of me. Finally, I can... But as I drew closer, I ran into an invisible wall that stood between me and my mother.

I stood there in disbelief touching the air in front of me to make sure I wasn't imagining things. But my mother slowly shook her head.

"I'm sorry Yimu." My mother said in a soft ghostly voice.

"...No....No....NO...NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!"

I started banging on the wall with as much force as I could throwing a tantrum like a child.

"WHY!? I did what you wanted, didn't I?! You told me to survive and I did! It was so I could kill Logan and avenge everyone right?!"

"No. That's not it."

"THEN WHY!? Why would you give up your life to save mine!?

"Because I wanted you to live your life and be happy"

I couldn't accept that answer "I was most happy when I was with you! I don?t want to go on anymore without you! I can't!"

"So, you intend to leave them behind?"

As she said that I heard multiple voices in my head.

"YIMU!"

"Yimu, please wake up!"

"Child, you better not let go, I know you're stronger than this.

"Big sis, please be ok"

"The guild will cover all expenses for her recovery, do whatever it takes to save her."

I could hear so many familiar voices, Nual, Lorna, Vesia, the Local kids, even the guild master, and then

"AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

I could hear Noma's howl, echoing through the void which snapped me out of my stupor.

"Do you see Yimu? Do you intend to make them cry?"

I looked back to see the living world behind me and then to my mother. Even after all this, I was torn.

"...Ever since that day, I thought about when I would see you again. I miss you...I miss you so much." I said breaking down in tears. Before I knew it, I felt my mom embrace me.

"I do too Yimu, but as I told you before, the best thing you can do for me is to live your life and be happy. The gift of life is precious and must not be thrown away so callously. We will meet again, but until then you must promise me you will live your life to the fullest. Ok?

I wiped the tears from my eyes and forced a smile. "Yes. Yes, I Promise." As I said that I could feel myself being pulled back to the world of the living, tears flowing from my eyes again as I desperately held onto my mother's hands.

"Mommy...I Love you"

"I love you too Yimu....and I always will"

My mother then let of my hands and allowed me to go back to the world of the living.

"Mommy! MOMMY!!!"

Not even a moment later, I woke up in a hospital bed, my body completely bandaged up and my hands outstretched into the air.

"Where....am I?" As I began to sit upright. I noticed someone's hands against my side. Once my vision was clear I realized it was Nual asleep at my bedside, completely disheveled. How long was he at my side? How long have I been out?

Despite all those questions, the only thing I could think to do was to pat Nual on his head. Why did I do it? I'm honestly not sure. I guess after everything that happened, I couldn't help but show a little bit of genuine affection.

As I did Nual slowly started to wake up looking groggy. He looked up and saw me stroking his head.

"Hey" I said with a weak voice.

Nual's eyes went wide, and he hugged me without any warning. "You Idiot! Don't you ever do something like that again!"

"Yeah...Sorry to worry you."

Nuals crying slowly stirred Vesia out of her sleep and she woke up too.

"Ah, good you came back to us."

"That's all you have to say Vesia? Yimu's been out cold for almost three months"

"Oh, I wasn't worried, dear. Frankly, I would have been more disappointed if she didn't make it. But as it turns out she's just too stubborn to die," she said with a lighthearted smirk.

Just as I was about to protest, a clamoring rang out down the hall. At that moment, Noma barged into the room and rushed and started licking my face absolutely elated that I was alright. He was completely bandaged up just like me with particular care around the area where he was wounded.

I softly chuckled "Hey Noma, good to see you too."

"Noma, what are you doing! You can't be causing a ruckus in the patient ward; I don't care if you're a mana beast or no...." Lorna walked in and tried to take Noma out only to stare in disbelief that I was awake. I simply responded with an unenergetic wave. Lorna took a step back before finally screaming.

"D... DOCTOR! DOCTOR, SHE'S AWAKE!"

As Lorna ran off, I turned to Nual

"Hey....how did I get here? I thought for sure I covered my tracks so you wouldn't be able to find me."

"Well, I would have gotten there sooner if SOMEONE didn't insist on dragging their feet!" He shouted glaring at Vesia who simply turned her head away "Anyway, when we got to the forest entrance, we found Noma slowly limping out with you on his back. Both of you were in bad shape, but if it wasn't for him, I'm not sure if we would have found you in time."

I slowly turned to Noma "You always were there for me, weren't you?" I said giving him a hug. "Hehehe, thanks Noma" Noma barked as he nuzzled my cheek.

As I embraced Noma an unfamiliar human walked into the room.

"Oh, good you're still alive. You had us worried you know that?"

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am the Medic that handled your operation. You were in bad shape when we found you. Using your life energy to cast spells is incredibly dangerous you know. It can cause permanent damage to your body and even hinder your ability to use magick, even more so given the state you were in."

"Honestly that didn't matter to me; all I could think about at the time was stopping Noma from bleeding out."

"Well thankfully what you used was a rather low-level spell; so the damage to your body was relatively minimal. You're going to be bedridden for a few more months, but you will not see any permanant damage from your misuse of magick."

Everybody breathed a collective sigh of relief, but the doctor continued...

"However, you didn't come out this in one piece."

The Doctor then turns on a projection device and, on the screen, which displayed a picture of a bone with several cracks on it.

"Your left leg has multiple fractures that are difficult to heal even with a cast. Did something happen during your fight with Logan that could have caused this?"

"Well...." I thought for a moment and then it clicked "Actually, I do remember right as I was about to kick Logan in his face, he grabbed my leg and tossed me around before throwing me into a tree. Now that I think about it, I do remember hearing a crunching sound"

"Ah that would explain it, I don't need to tell you that Logan was incredibly strong. When he grabbed you, he likely squeezed your leg so hard it fractured to the point where even after you've recovered, you'll have some difficulty walking"

"Wait you're saying Logan was strong enough to crush my leg with a single hand?!"

"Now you know why the guild was so hellbent on getting rid of him" Lorna said

Nual chimed in "That's why we told you to just forget about him!"

The Doctor cut in "Well, it's not all bad. See, Logan had a big bounty on him. Enough that the guild took a small cut out of your bounty payment to get you the finest treatment money can buy, and still have enough that you could live comfortably for years without needing to work. Now we have two options here. You undergo surgery to fix your leg; the process is incredibly painful, and you will still require several years of rehabilitation. Frankly, it would be easier for you to just get your whole leg amputated and replaced with a doll prosthetic. But given you're both Children of the wild practitioners, I imagine that isn't ideal."

"What's the other option?" I asked.

"Well...you could always just take the money and go live quietly somewhere with your friends. Your leg isn't unusable, you can still live a relatively normal life. But your fighting days would be over. That said, from what I heard you had a very personal vendetta against Logan, and now he's dead. This wouldn't be a bad place to retire don't you think?"

His words rang true. I finally had what I wanted...what now? Where do I go from here? I don't need to fight anymore, so do I even need my leg? And if I choose not to continue fighting, what would I do after that?

"Can I have some time alone to think?" I said.

"I don't see why not; I know it's a lot to take in and you still need your rest. Everyone let's leave her be, shall we? And you, Nual was it? Get some sleep you look terrible."

"What are you talking about? I'm fi...." As Nual said that and tried to get up, he stumbled and fell backward onto Vesia.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he gets some rest" she said as she hoisted him onto her back and walked out of the room.

"Well, I'm going to go let everyone know you're up. Now that we know you're going to be ok for the most part. we can finally start planning your party," Lorna said

"Party?"

"You're basically a town hero at this point" Lorna said "Everyone agreed that once you woke up, we would celebrate. Come on Noma you help too."

Noma looks at me, worry written across his face.

"Go on Noma, I'll be ok."

With a reluctant nod, Noma left with Lorna. As they were about to walk out, Lorna stopped in front of the doorway.

"Hey, just to let you know, no matter what you decide to do, you'll always have a home here. Just remember that ok?"

"Right. Thanks"

Once they left, I laid on my back and tried to move my leg. While I could move it, it felt numb. I took a heavy breath and plopped back onto my pillow. The next few weeks passed by quickly. I was visited by many of the townsfolk with the local kids coming often to talk and ask me about my fight with Logan. Members of the delvers guild also visited. They praised me for my work and not so subtly encouraged me to go through with the surgery so they could properly recruit me.

Outside of that, I just laid in bed well into the night, thinking about everything that's happened, my endless training, my single-minded pursuit of vengeance, meeting and getting to know Nual, Lorna, and the townsfolk. But the same question kept popping into my mind. "Why am I still so angry?"

I carried out my mission and avenged my mom and yet.... she wouldn't let me join her. The memories are fuzzy, but I know I talked to her. I felt her touch. That was real, I know it was. She told me to live, but live for what? What reason do I have to keep moving forward? I didn't want to... I didn't want to go on after this...I wanted to...wanted to...

Something popped inside my chest, and I started to wail uncontrollably crying into my pillow to muffle my screams. Even knowing all the people that clearly care for me, it still felt like I had nothing. It wouldn't be fair to them, but the pain was too much. Just as I hit my breaking point, I heard soft paw steps entering my room, but I knew right away it wasn't Noma.

"What do you want Vesia? I'm not in the mood for your sarcastic comments."

"I know. I'm just here to make sure you don't do anything stupid.

"You knew, didn't you? You knew that killing Logan wouldn't make me feel better."

"Yes."

I turned towards her sharply. "Then why didn't you...?!"

"Because you needed to figure that out on your own. Besides, even if I did come out and tell you, you wouldn't have listened, and we both know that."

I gritted my teeth and slumped my face back into my pillow, knowing full well she was right. A few moments passed before I finally spoke again.

"I talked to her you know..."

"Hmm? Who?"

"My mother."

"Really now?"

"You don't sound surprised"

"Animals have a natural connection to the spiritual world and when one becomes a Mana Beast, they start to become naturally conscious of it. So, if you say you saw your mother while between life and death, I'd certainly believe you. Still, for you to remember it so clearly, perhaps this is a sign that all your training paid off. In any case, do you remember what she told you?"

"She told me that she wanted me to live my life and be happy.... but how? All this time the only thing that kept me going was the thought of killing Logan. And now that it's done, I feel lost, like there's no point in going on. Honestly, I'm not even sure I know how to be happy anymore."

"What about all the times you spent with Nual? You seemed to enjoy yourself then. And from what I gather you and that Lorna girl have gotten rather close."

"Nual and Lorna are pleasant to be around, I can even say I'm thankful for their company. It's not that I don't care about them, but that's not the same as I felt when I was with my mother...I honestly can't think of anybody that made me feel that way."

"There you go again lying to yourself. Or maybe you were so focused on killing Logan that you haven't realized it."

"What are you talking about??

"Tell me this, how did you feel around your mother?"

I had to think about that for a second, conjuring my memories of her "I guess a sense of safety? Like I could rely on her for anything, and I couldn't imagine a day without her around."

"And you're telling me you can't think of anybody you feel a similar way about?"

Who always made me feel like I was safe around them? Who could I count on, no matter what? And who makes me feel anxious if I'm away from them too long? After a few moments, only one answer came to mind.

"Noma? You're telling me Noma is what brings me happiness?"

"Be honest with me Yimu, you love Noma, don't you?"

"What? Of course, I do. We've been through so much together. How could I not care for him?"

"That's not what I meant; you love Noma, don't you?"

My face went bright red under my fur, and I started to stutter uncontrollably.

"Wha...What are you talking about?! I mean I know I'm a beastkin but Noma is a full-on animal for fucks sake!

"Well even for a Mana beast, it's unusual to be in heat that often, and it's just as odd for their partner to relieve them at every opportunity."

"How did you?!"

"What's that saying humanoids tend to have? Ah yes, the nose knows dear. It's hard not to notice the frequent scent of wolf semen."

Vesia knew this the entire time... I screamed into my pillow, I wanted to die all over again and flailed my legs against my bed while she chuckled behind me.

"Does Nual know?"

"No. But I doubt he'd be surprised."

"What makes you so sure of that?"

Vesia stood there in awkward silence before finally saying. "Remember when you suddenly showed up at the cave and shouted for us to come out? Yeah you...kinda interrupted something"

"Oh...Oooooooooh. How long?"

"About a year after we met you. Yeah, because Nual was getting around that age where he was showing more and more of an interest in that sort of thing, and you were still too young at the time."

"You didn't find it weird?"

"It was at first, but as you and Nual were training and learning from those combat manuals we realized that intimacy with Mana beasts is more common than might believe, especially among children of the wild practitioners. My advice? Be honest with yourself and let Noma know how you really feel."

As Vesia was about to leave I felt the need to ask her "Why are you going through this much trouble just to console me. I thought you hated me."

"I never hated you, child. Rather I see so much of my old self in you. I didn't want you making the same mistakes I did."

She walked out of the room, and I was left sitting there stunned. Did I really love Noma like that? I must admit the times I felt most at ease were when I was with him. There was a sense of comfort and safety I never felt around anybody else. With so many others I was always on edge, though less so with Lorna and Nual. But Noma? I could let my guard down completely. It was still so much to take in; was this really, ok?

Several days passed and I decided that I would go outside and try walking with my injured leg. Many of the medic staff protested saying I still needed to rest, but I insisted. It was better than dwelling on my thoughts all day. I went to the garden with some of the staff looking over me. I took it slow at first, getting used to putting my weight on it. Even that much felt like my leg could snap in two at any time; it was worse than I feared.

The staff offered to help me walk by holding on to me, but stubbornly I tried getting up on my own. Just as I was getting frustrated at my situation, I saw Noma looking down at me. He stood sideways towards me and knelt. We didn't need words, I grabbed the side of his body and lifted myself back up. Leaning on Noma's side I began to walk slowly getting used to moving on this leg. Every time I slowed down Noma would do so in turn; every time I tripped Noma would adjust his body to catch my fall.

This went on for weeks, I slowly started to get better at walking on my bad leg, and the staff was amazed at how quick my recovery was and how my mood would brighten up every time I was with Noma. Eventually, I was able to walk on my own. I still had a slight limp, but it was minor enough that I could at least walk normally. Noma was still beside me making sure I was ok. As we worked together, I began to feel Noma's emotions more clearly than ever before, which left me with a sense of peace.

That's when I caught a glimpse of myself in the garden's pond and I saw I was smiling, but this smile was different. I was... Happy. I felt genuine joy. Something I honestly never thought I would feel again. And that's when I realized; Vesia was right. I did love Noma, more than I thought possible. I felt safe, like there was nothing to worry about. That no matter what happened the two of us could take it together, just like we did with Logan.

It got to the point where I even had flashes of Noma's dick pop into my mind. And the more often it happened the less uneasy I felt about it. If anything, it excited me. I wanted it to happen; I wanted him inside me, to feel his warmth wholly and completely. That was when I made up my mind.

A week passed, and the doctor called me, Lorna, Nual, Noma, and Vesia into his office.

"Well, Yimu I have to say I'm impressed, You managed to recover in half the time we expected. You should be good to go in a few more days."

Nual and Lorna jumped for joy and started to hug me from both sides happy that I had made a full recovery.

"Now here comes the big question, have you finally decided whether you will take the operation or not?"

I looked down for a second "Can I give you my answer on the day of the party?"

Everyone looked confused for a moment. Then Lorna had a moment of realization

"OH YEAH! I kind of forgot. Sorry"

"You are such a ditz..." I said annoyed.

Lorna just chuckled embarrassed "Anyway I'll go tell everyone you're good to go and start getting ready. We already got the supplies beforehand."

As Lorna ran out, I looked at the doctor "Is this alright with you?"

"Yes, that's fine. But I will need to run some tests on you to see how much longer we can afford to wait. Take too much longer and the damage will be irreversible."

"Ok. But do you mind if Noma stays with me?"

"Sure, he was so important to your recovery, that won't be a problem"

"Well, I guess we'll take off then, "Nual said "We'll come to check up on you later ok yimu?"

"Ok. Thanks, Nual"

As Nual and Vesia were about to leave, Vesia walked past me. I whispered as she walked by

"I'm going to sneak out later and go somewhere private with Noma, could you make sure no one finds out?"

Vesia grinned as if she knew what was about to happen "Of course. Have fun dear."

The Doctor started to examine me and decided that I would have two months to decide whether to go through with the operation before the damage became permanent. And with that, the day ended, and we went to bed early

I woke up in the middle of the night and gestured to Noma who was sleeping on the bedside. The two of us snuck out and made our way to the outskirts of the settlement making sure nobody saw us. I silently rode on Noma's back thinking to myself "I'm really about to do this." But what I was feeling wasn't disgust or doubt, no... I was excitedly looking forward to this. It was such a weird feeling; I was getting aroused at the thought of what I was about to do.

About thirty minutes later I and Noma finally reached our destination; The oak tree that reminded me so much of what we'd have gone through. I got off Noma's back slowly, walking over to the tree with a slight limp and stared at it before taking a deep breath

"Noma, be honest....do you love me? Like as more than just a friend?" I asked.

Noma stared at me, and I could feel his confusion and embarrassment clearly.

"Well, Vesia told me that even for mana beasts it's unusual for you to be in heat as often as you've been."

Noma looked down in shame, and I just chuckled and slowly walked up and gave him a long kiss on the cheek, my tail wagging faster than it had in years.

"It's ok. You've been with me ever since we met, you put up with my antics, helped me kill Logan, and even risked your life to save mine. I owe everything to you. That?s why...."

As I said that I took off my hospital gown the only thing I was wearing.

"That's why I want to return those same feelings to you."

I turned around got on my hands and knees and lifted my tail giving Noma a full view of my pussy and ass.

"Please. Make me your Mate."

Noma slowly approached me, and I could feel the heat of his snout as he put it close to my pussy and started to lick it softly. The sudden sensation caught me off guard. I thought Noma's instincts would take over and he would just force his way in. I was not expecting him to be so gentle. Noma's tongue started to go faster as he moved back and forth between assaulting my erect clit and digging his tongue into my pussy.

The combination became too much, and I could barely hold my moans in. I felt a surge go through my body that left my arms and legs weak. I lay there on the grass my ass still high in the air, trying to catch my breath. I felt Noma climb on top of me. "Here it comes" I thought. But to my surprise, Noma used his paws to flip me over and presented his erect, bulbous dick in front of my face.

Noma was staring down at me. "You want me to...?" Noma nodded at me accompanied by a soft bark. I stared back at the swelling penis before me. My heart pounded in my chest, and I started breathing hard as I instinctively rubbed my legs together in anticipation. I've jerked off Noma so many times before, so I found it a little funny that I was nervous now.

I got on my knees, grabbed his penis, and started to stroke it slowly, using both hands for a firmer grasp. Then almost without thinking. I suckled the tip of the penis as I stroked. I was so fascinated by his shape, and I so wanted to feel it in my mouth, that before I knew it, I had Noma's entire tip in my mouth.

I only realized how much I wanted this as I was sucking Noma's dick. As if all my subconscious thoughts were slowly coming to the surface. I could feel him struggling to stand as I continued my assault on his dick. I stopped and took a moment to catch my breath.

"Roll over."

Without any hesitation, Noma got onto his back, turning so that my rear was in front of his face, and began to suck him off again. This time, taking as much of him as I could, while using both my hands to stroke,  I went faster and faster. Noma's satisfaction made clear as his tail wagged in my face. I took a second to be a little bit proud before I went back to work.

I slowly lowered my head on Noma's dick taking more and more into my mouth and letting myself get used to it. I could feel his dick pulsing against my tongue, but I didn't stop. I wanted this and kept stroking and sucking faster and harder until I finally got all of Noma's dick, save his knot, inside of me and when I did Noma violently came inside my mouth.

There was so much, and the force was so intense, I could barely drink it all. I wanted to pull up and catch my breath, but I forced myself to keep swallowing. His taste and smell stuck to the roof of my mouth. Something I couldn't describe at the moment, and yet I wanted more. Soon it started to slow, and I could finally feel him stop. I pulled myself up desperately gasping for air. Once Noma got out of his afterglow, he looked at me with concern.

"I'm fine." I said, catching my breath "I can keep going."

I looked at Noma's penis; despite that large amount of cum he was still rock hard. I turned around to face him and straddled my pussy above Noma's dick. I felt a sharp numbing pain as Noma's dick entered me, and despite my best efforts, I could only get about half of him inside before I pulled back.

"Damn it, I had a feeling it would be too big..."

Noma looked at me with concern.

"It's ok Noma, I still have my other hole...that is if you don?t mind"

Noma nodded eagerly. So, I tried to take Noma's dick into my ass. I figured I'd have a better chance of taking all of Noma that way, than with my pussy. It was difficult but still possible. Even so, it was a lot bigger than I thought it would be...or maybe I'm just smaller? In either case despite my pussy dripping this whole time it felt like my ass was going to split apart the more I took inside. But the lower I got, the easier it became and soon, I finally got all the way up to Noma's knot.

I sat there, taking labored breaths, tired but smiling with a feeling of triumph. I started to move; there was a continuous shock up my spine as I went up and down on Noma's dick, watching him wince and flail as I began to rotate my hips. I was losing myself giving into my more animalistic nature; right now, the only thing I could think about was breeding. I didn't care that I couldn't bear Noma's child, all that mattered to me at this moment was feeling him deep inside me.

Suddenly, Noma flipped me over keeping himself deep inside me. I looked up as he let out a low growl, I could see it in his eyes, he couldn't hold it in anymore; he wanted to give into his desire to breed too.  I raised my arms and held his face in my hands.

"It's ok...you don't have to hold back anymore."

Those words were a trigger; Noma started to fuck me with a ferocity and intensity that I'd never seen from him before. With each thrust I could feel my mind scrambling, my legs were going numb, and I couldn't tell up from down, left from right, good from bad. Nothing mattered to me in those moments. And I could hear myself moaning uncontrollably and Noma grunting ferally. At that moment, Noma and I were the same. Just two animals desperate to mate.

Noma's tempo sped up and I grabbed onto him knowing what was coming. Finally, Noma shoved his entire dick inside, knotting me. And I could feel a massive amount of his semen fill me up. It was so much I could see my stomach start to bloat with his seed to the point where it almost looked like I was pregnant, and his knot made sure not a single drop could get out. I could have forced myself off him at this point, but my body was too tired to move. Besides the closeness was rather...pleasant. So, I simply hugged him and enjoyed the moment for as long as I could. Noma rolled on his back and allowed me to lay on his belly.

"Noma, I love you"

"I love you too, Yimu"

"Who said that?" My eyes widened and I got up looking around for that voice.

"Hmm? Why is she startled?" I heard the same voice again; I then slowly turned my head towards Noma.

"Noma....was that you?"

"Huh? What is she talking about?"

"I'm talking about if that's your voice I'm hearing!"

"...Wait. You can...hear me?"

"Apparently!"

"WHAT?! When?! How?!"

"I don't know! I... wait...I can talk to you now."

"...Oh. We...can." After all these years, I could finally talk to Noma properly. We slowly smiled, and then we laughed. We were both overwhelmed by a combination of Joy and Relief. But of all the things to finally allow me and Noma to communicate with each other, it was sex. We couldn't help but laugh at how hilarious it all was, and as we did, we just started talking about...well everything. How he felt about Nual, Vesia, and Lorna, all the things we went through over the years, the food we've eaten, the places we've seen, the monsters and beasts we fought. Everything I've wanted to say and talk to Noma about just came out all at once and I couldn't stop.

About an hour passed before Noma's knot finally deflated. There was an audible pop, followed by a slurp as I pulled myself free of him. I slid off Noma's stomach, sat on the ground, and laid my back on Nomas absolutely satisfied with my belly filled with his seed.

Looking at the rising sun, I asked Noma something that has been on my mind recently.

"Hey...Noma?"

"Hmm?"

"Why have you been putting up with my selfish antics until now? Between me dragging you all over the place, I know it must have been hard for you to deal with me."

Noma took a moment to think. "I could feel it too you know."

"Huh?"

"All of your emotions, I could feel them too"

I gasped when I realized what he meant. That's right.... How did I forget that? The link that allowed me to feel Noma's emotions went both ways, so I could feel everything he felt, and he felt everything I felt.

"You mean...all this time?"

"Whenever you weren't training or hunting, I felt a constant stream of pain and grief from you. Knowing you always felt that way when you were by yourself made me sad knowing you were dealing with so much pain all on your own. And as your partner...as your friend, all I wanted was to make that pain go away however I could."

Never in my life did I feel as guilty as I did at that moment, all this time Noma was bearing my pain along with me. Vesia was right, I had only been worried about what I wanted and didn't even realize it. Just as I was thinking this, Noma licked my cheek.

"It's fine. I have no regrets about what happened. As far as I'm concerned, your pain is my pain, and whatever you must bear, I will bear along with you, and do so gladly.

 I moved over and hugged and kissed him as much as I could.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Tears were streaming down my face, and yet I'd never been happier than I was at this moment, my tail wagged faster than ever before. I had found my reason to live, and I was never going to let it go.

After a few minutes, I finally calmed down and collected myself.

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah. Sorry about that."

"So... Where do we go from here?"

I thought about it for a second "Noma, how would you feel about this?"

The big party took place a few days later. Many people knew what it was for, and some were there just as an excuse to drink. So many people came to me asking me about the fight and how someone so young could be so skilled in such a short amount of time let alone beat a notable mark like Logan. A few even asked for my autograph.

Apparently, I had a fan club, and I didn't even know it. It was all so overwhelming being around so many people at once, but I imagine it was also weird to have two large mana wolves casually walking around the town square. The town kids were so happy they could finally speak to Noma, and they had SO much they wanted to talk about.

Eventually, I got tired of the festivities and went to go sit on the side with Nual.

"Man., I had no idea so many people in town knew who I was."

"Is it really that surprising? A wolfkin cub comes out of nowhere and suddenly starts completing jobs that even adults would struggle with? Of course people are going to notice."

"That's what I get for being so hyper-focused I suppose."

"That aside, I still can?t believe you went and did it with Noma. I honestly didn't think you'd even be able to, especially with you being so...small."

"Oh, like you're one to talk; can Vesia even feel anything when you shove your tiny pecker in her?"

"HEY!"

As we bickered, the hospital doctor approached us.

"Am I interrupting"

"Oh, Doctor!" I said as I stood and walked towards him.

"Well look at you, walking about. You'd almost think you didn't have a leg injury"

"Well, I can't run or kick the way I used to, I'm still very much grounded"

"Speaking of which, I take it you've made up your mind?"

"I have"

"Very good, now what will it be? You plan to get the prosthetic, or do you intend to take what money you have left and retire?"

"I actually plan to go to Misrana and register as an official Delver."

"Oh, so the prosthetic then"

"No."

"Huh?"

"I don't intend to retire, and I don't intend on getting a replacement prosthetic"

"With all due respect Yimu, I don't see you getting very far with that leg injury"

"Yeah, you're probably right. But..." Noma came from behind me and rolled me onto his back "As you can see, I have 4 extra legs right here. Isn't that right Noma?"

"You got it!"

The doctor just stood bewildered as Noma stood triumphantly in front of him while I sat on his back before he started chuckling

"So, this is what you plan to do. And you're sure about this? I told you if you leave that injury untreated, it's going to be permanent right?"

"I know. But I'm content to go on like this. Besides. It's a good reminder."

"Of?"

"Of what being hotheaded gets you."

"I see. You really are an interesting one, aren't you? Well, you've clearly made up your mind, so I won't pester you further. Well then, I think it's time I take my leave. I wish you the best little Yimu." The Doctor said before walking away.

"So, you're really leaving?" Nual asked

"Yeah, I intended to leave after tonight's party; thought this would be a good time to say goodbye."

"Alright, when are we leaving?"

"We?"

"Yeah, Vesia and I are coming with you."

"Are you sure?"

"This whole thing made me realize just how sheltered I've been, I figure now is a good time to see the world. Besides, someone needs to keep an eye on you and make sure you don't do anything stupid again."

"Fuck you dude" I said, pouting before I started to smile again. "Thanks, Nual"

"Don't worry about it"

What happened after that? Not much really. We said our goodbyes to everyone in town and that was it. We traveled to Misrana and passed the Delver's Exam with ease and would go on to have many adventures before we finally settled down. There would be a lot of twists and turns along the way as well as personal tensions that would need to be resolved between the four of us.

But that's a story for another time.

", "pools_count": 0, "title": "A Promise Well Kept Part 2", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "application/msword", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "2", "rating_name": "Adult", "ratings": [ { "content_tag_id": "2", "name": "Nudity", "description": "Nonsexual nudity exposing breasts or genitals (must not show arousal)", "rating_id": "1" }, { "content_tag_id": "3", "name": "Violence", "description": "Mild violence", "rating_id": "1" }, { "content_tag_id": "4", "name": "Sexual Themes", "description": "Erotic imagery, sexual activity or arousal", "rating_id": "2" }, { "content_tag_id": "5", "name": "Strong Violence", "description": "Strong violence, blood, serious injury or death", "rating_id": "2" } ], "submission_type_id": "12", "type_name": "Writing - Document", "guest_block": "f", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "0", "views": "227" }