CHPT 198: Wolves. Hate. Gnolls.

For a long stretch of seconds, he laid in the grass— trying to breathe as lightly as possible and not awaken the waves of pain he was fated to feel.

It stayed that way until he came back into his mind and a single fact rose above the importance of every outside influence around him.

"Frosty…." He thought before trying his hardest to get up, only to be met by more pain. His body was already working overtime. In response to the pain, he was transforming further— his body and mind actively responding to the danger he was in and overriding the fact that he lacked the ability to unlock his true power at will.

All he could do was fight to crane his neck against the grass and look at the forest behind him while the Phantom Wolves ahead continued to run down the others.

The steam rose, creating a wall of white that blocked his vision. But he could hear, everything.

The Gnoll and Frosty's canine snarls morphed and combined into one joined sound of ferocious anger in the midst of battle. Afterwards, the sounds of swings and jaws snapping together took precedence in his ears.

He shook angrily in pain while his muscles bubbled into a higher realm of power and his clawed fingers grabbed handfuls of dirt.

"[Breathe, Claude.]" Arne said calmly.

"The fuck do you mean, breathe? Frosty's in there alone!" Claude raged.

Arne spoke again, more firmly, demanding Claude's rational mind instead of the other that was fighting for dominance. "[Listen! Even if you can't move. Remember one thing, your a Beast Tamer.]"

Claude was completely confused by Arne's words until he was reminded of what part of his anger was attributed to.

"Frosty….the link." He thought.

"[Mhm.]"

Immediately, Claude focused. Eager to hone his thoughts into a direct and perfectly understandable message.

He drowned out everything after a few failed effortful tries. The sounds of madness ahead, the scents of fear, the cries of the Raiders and even his own anger. Being overly emotional would fray his thoughts and risk Frosty's health. No amount of anger would overcome his urge to keep the last of his family safe. The Lupine Potential's intense level of Focus channeled through him, sharpening his mind into a bladed point amidst the sounds of battle— as bladed with focus as any emotional and violent Lupine's mind could be, at least.

The silence came quickly, and the turquoise colored steel rope stood firmly in his mind. The bluer end vibrated and shook while flaming tufts of mana burst from the cord like sparks. Frosty's mind was clouded with anger and intensity in the heat of battle. The greener end of the cord looked similar— only it was stilling. A byproduct of Claude fighting to calm himself.

He could communicate his thoughts through the link now.

He put everything on the line, hoping Frosty somehow understood exactly what he said through the unknown magic of a Beast Tamer's link to their Companions. It had to work.

"Fro—….Frosty. The club!….Dodge the clu..b…..make it hi— hit a tree. And…go f-for the…legs. Crus…sh that b-bastard!" He spoke difficultly through the link, finding it incredibly hard to speak complete sentences as if every burst of of mana from the cord sent his words and thoughts out of existence.

Oddly enough, the cord within his mind stilled for a moment and went full turquoise. No blue side or green side, just one perfect blend.

Soon after, the the sound of wood smashing against wood caused him to jump painfully. The sound was backed by a wolfish snarl and meaty crunch.

"AASRGSHP!!!"

The yelp was so loud it silenced everything inside the forest and clearing.

"The back! It's a trap! Leave the ones you're chasing and go to the back!" The WereWolf said in a panic that betrayed his previously cold and maniacal demeanor that he showed when dealing with Rikah.

There was silence for a moment before the man growled and spoke again, only his voice was back to its previous cold ferocity that he used to rule over the now fearful Gnolls. "LEAVE THE SHADOWY FAKES AND GO BACK TO ERADICATE THE REAL PROBLEM!!!!...you bastards won't interrupt my plans…..you won't get in the way of what's coming to the humans..YOU WONT!"

The Gnoll's fear swept across the forest before they barked replies in the distance and moved towards the WereWolf.

It didn't take long for Claude to hear them approaching soon after, sniffing the floor in search of him and his Companion— who was still fighting, although it was oddly silent.

"Shit!…..shit!…shit!" Claude cursed before trying to get up.

He was too late.

In the distance, he could see the vicious humanoid canine monsters eyeballing him. Their twitching snouts froze as they caught his scent, followed by them all raising on two legs and snarling at him fiendishly. The WereWolf stood behind them, holding the odd pendant while his eyes glowed.

He could hear the Phantom Wolves in the distance— adrenaline bringing his senses to a higher degree.

"STAY!" He yelled to them with the Gnolls thinking he was speaking to them and approaching in response.

He eyed his opponents as calmly as he could muster while his mind scrambled. A new plan would be needed because something changed as soon as the Gnolls approached him.

Two things actually.

The mental link he imagined in his mind that connected him to his wolven brother thrummed with power— like the string of an instrument being played in a calm yet chilling cadence. And the Gnoll that knocked more than half his health off was dead. Dead as hell.

CRUNCH!

[+100 EXP]