Where the Predators Prowl: [Ch 29-35] (Patreon)

29: Not Ready

I watched with growing amusement as Kristi adopted a strategy of weaponized hospitality. The raptor girl had apparently decided that if this was going to be a contest of "taking care of the pack," she was going to demonstrate her superiority through the most passive-aggressive feeding routine I'd ever witnessed.

Upon having fed me and Candace, the raptor declared pat-smacking Candace on the head, “there, there! Everything a growing fox needs to maintain her… energy levels."

"Growing fox?" Candace giggle-sputtered. "I'm eighteen, not eight! The only direction I can grow now is spherically, like this chubmonster." She waved a paw at the snoring cheetah.

"Age doesn't matter," Kristi commented relentlessly. "What matters is ensuring pack members receive adequate sustenance. Here, have some fruit salad. The vitamin C should help with your pale complexion."

“I'm not pale, my fur's silver,” Candace laughed.

I gave Kristi an 8 out of 10 for execution. The passive-aggression was masterful, the delivery flawless, and the way Candace couldn't stop snickering suggested it was having exactly the intended effect.

A knock at the door interrupted our spectacle. Goebel Sartre entered the room, looking impeccable in his long gray coat despite carrying what appeared to be several large equipment cases.

"Miss Rhinehart," he said with a slight nod. "Your armor order, as requested."

"Goobs!" Candace lit up. "Perfect timing. Just set everything down wherever."

The bloodhound Scrutimancer quickly and efficiently unboxed and arranged three sets of delving armor on the empty chairs and tables. Even to my untrained eye, the equipment looked expensive—sleek, form-fitting designs with subtle runic patterns etched into the dark material.

"Top-tier gear," Goebel noted with professional pride. "Hexamesh fabric with integrated protection matrices, adaptive sizing, and standard delver enhancement packages with magisteel plating. The total came to—"

"Don’t care," Candace waved dismissively. "Daddy can afford it. Shoo, shoo. Gett-out-ta-here ya mutt butt."

As the Scrutimancer departed, she quickly undressed me down to my underwear and pulled the armor on me, clipping the belts together and linking and empowering the various runes. Then she spent about twenty minutes twirling around me and huffing, hands and eyes flashing as she bonded the armor set fully to my body.

"There," she panted, flopping onto a seat. "The armor’s properly bound to you now. Check yo stats, it should provide decent stat boosts across the board."

I pulled up my stats, curious to see the changes.

| Name: Alec Benoit Foster

 | Species: Human
| Level: 3
| Core Affinity: Reconstitution
| Health: 74/100%
| Reconstitution: 2/100%
| Depictomancy: 36/100%
| Syntropic Fusion: 27/100%
| Strength: 14 (+8)
| Agility: 4 (+12)
| Dexterity: 12 (+6)
| Vitality: 36 (+15)
| Charisma: 9 (+3)
| Foresight: 2 (+5)
| Intelligence: 37 (+5)
| Wisdom: 30 (+5)

| Skills: [Reconstitution], [Depictomancy], [Syntropic Fusion]
| Dagaz-bound packmate of Candace Rhinehart and Adelle Dallia.

"Damn!" I breathed. “That's amazing! Thanks, Candace.” 

"Yep, yep. Shower me in praises and pets. Quality gear makes all the difference," Candace said with a tired look, accepting the head pat from me with a smile. "Shame I'm too wiped to bond the other sets properly. Me n’ sphere-cat will have to make do with unbound armor for today's… activities."

“If you're this wiped out, the other teams are going to be completely dead,” I said.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I pray that maybe Fern will take it easy on us, but know that she likely won’t.”

She turned to where Adelle was still snoring in her chair. "Ads! Wake up, mah pregnant beauty!"

The cheetah's eyes cracked open, unfocused and grumpy. "Wha... five more minutes..."

"Do you want food?" Candace asked, wiggling an orange slice in front of the cheetah’s nose. "Still got some leftovers left.”

"Ugh, buzz off," Adelle groaned, wincing and shoving the fox away with a dark padded-paw. "What I want is anti-food. Need to reverse this bowling-bowl swallowing disaster."

"Anti-food?" I chortled. “That’s… a thing?”

“It might be,” Candace tapped her chin. “Oi, nurse!” She yelled in the direction of Redstriss. “Got something to help this orange beast not be so rotund from overeating?”

“Yes.” Nurse Redstriss emerged from her office with a steaming mug. "Here. Weight-loss digestive tea," she announced. "Accelerates metabolism and aids digestion. Should have her feeling normal within an hour or less."

"Bless you, wonderful medical mistress," Adelle said gratefully, accepting the mug and downing its contents in one go. 

In twenty more minutes, we slowly made our way to the gymnasium, now properly armored and ready for whatever Professor Fern had planned next. The weight of the enhanced gear felt reassuring, and I could sense the magical enhancements humming just beneath the surface.

The gym looked like a medieval arena with raised platforms, weapon racks, and ominous magical barriers crackling at the edges. Only six other delving packs were present, each centered around a human leader with their newly-acquired pradavarian teammates.

From the general chatter, I learned that most of the other students were apparently still in the nurse's office or with their family doctors, recovering from their various injuries and magical strain from the morning's brutal practical.

"Hey gals," a familiar voice sneered from across the arena. "Look what crawled out of the medical ward."

Katherine Strand entered the gym with five other raptor girls, tagged with red triangles that marked them as "dungeon monsters". The remaining Ferguson Firestorm teammates had clearly decided to embrace their villainous roles with great enthusiasm.

"Pff," one of the raptors called out, pointing a dark claw at Kristi. "A Strand Prima who declared a human her Alpha! Have you no shame, Krissy?"

"Ignore them," I advised, but I could see Kristi's feathers beginning to bristle.

"Look Kirra," Katherine laughed, her voice carrying across the arena as she elbowed her sister. "I couldn't imagine such a ludicrous scenario in my wildest dreams! Our eldest, following a level-three human like a lost puppy. How the mighty have fallen!"

“Ha ha,” Kirra nodded. “What the heck dude, you like him or something?”

Kristi’s cheeks flashed violet.

"At least she didn't get an F, like you losers," Candace fired back.

"What was that, junkie fox?" Katherine called out. "Did the Topaz addict say something?"

"Keep yapping shit ‘bout my new pack and I'm going to rip your beaks off," Kristi growled, her claws extending.

While the Strand sisters continued to escalate their taunts, I walked over to the other human captains.

Unlike the red-tagged pradavarians who seemed to be reveling in their "monster" roles and looking ready to tear us apart, the newly elected human leaders appeared haggard and worn.

The six human leaders bore visible evidence of the morning's trials—burns that hadn't fully healed, bandages peeking out from beneath hastily-donned armor, some featuring the unmistakable thousand-yard stare of a traumatic experience.

I approached a tall, lanky boy with sandy brown hair and square glasses. His armor hung awkwardly on his thin frame, like he hadn't had time to properly adjust it.

"Hey," I said, extending a hand. "Alec Foster."

"Yes, we know. You’re da man that got us all out. Thanks for that, by the way. I’m Mark Chen," he replied, shaking my hand. "This is my team." He gestured to a female wolf and a fox who stood close behind him, both looking weary but alert.

"Rough morning?" I asked.

Mark laughed hollowly. "You could definitely say that. Never thought I'd have to drag Lirra and Alice off an obstacle course while they tried to claw my face off." He rubbed a taped up line of claw-made deep scratches on his cheek. "Nurse Redstriss said I was lucky they didn’t slice through a vein."

"Tell me about it," said another human leader, a girl with short-cropped black hair and determined eyes who approached us. She quickly introduced herself as Lisa Wright. "My teammates were ready to kill each other over who could run the fastest."

"I definitely don't know what I'm doing," admitted another human captain who introduced himself as Owen Wayland. “My prad teammates aren’t cooperating or listening to me. Instructor Fern threw off their prad hierarchy or whatever and they’ve been at each other’s throats for the past hour.”

"Yeah," a blonde boy with bandages wrapped around his forearms commented. “Eric Copperfik,” he shook my hand. "My 'team' spent the entire lunch period arguing about whether they should listen to me at all. Urik finally agreed, but only because he said I 'smelled determined.' The others are still busy sniping each other."

Similar complaints came from the rest of the human leaders.

As we compared notes, a common theme emerged—none of the humans felt prepared for whatever came next. Their pradavarian teammates were still exhausted, and the humans themselves were physically and emotionally drained and had no idea how to deal with their new packs.

“Right,” I said. “From what I understand so far—the key to captaining is to give your packmates a challenge.”

“What kind of a challenge?” Mark asked.

“Any kind of a challenge that will help them sort out their ridiculous prad hierarchy without violence,” I shrugged. “If they’re not sternly told what to do they go straight for the jugular. I told mine that I’m rating them on how well they can take care of their packmates. Whoever is most ‘supportive’ gets to be number two and so on.”

“What?” Lisa sputtered. “Seriously? And that… worked?”

“Observe,” I pointed at my packmates. 

"That’s enough barking from all of you!" I barked, shaping my hands into the shape of a megaphone. "Save the violence and angry verbiage for the dungeon sim. Team, line up!"

The effect was immediate and startling. Kristi's feathers flattened against her head as she snapped to attention, her posture shifting from hyper-aggressive to alert in an instant. Candace bounced to my right side, her tail swishing with what looked like genuine pleasure at being commanded. Even Adelle, still looking bloated and uncomfortable, straightened up and fell into line next to the fox.

"Whoa," Mark breathed, watching my team. "How the heck are they so...?"

Before I could answer, a black and white blur flashed from where she was standing with her friends. Nessy jogged over to me, tail wagging frantically.

"Sorry I'm late, cap!" she saluted me, sliding into position beside Kristi. "My friends tried really hard to... convince me to stay with them… again. Had to sternly tell them that my decision is final."

“Aight,” I turned back to the other human captains. "See? It's all about giving them structure. Prads respond to clear leadership and expectations. Don’t back down, don’t show fear or indecision." I gestured to my team. "Ladies, for those of you who were at lunch or napping, I shall remind you of my challenge for pack hierarchy formation: whoever shows the best pack care and support for the entire team today gets second position in our hierarchy tomorrow. That means I'm rating how well you're helping each other, not just me. Start… now!"

I clapped my hands.

The effect of my words was almost comical. The tension visibly drained from my four pradavarian teammates as they were given a framework to channel their competitive instincts.

Kristi immediately produced a water bottle for Adelle from her dimensional backpack. "Here, hydration is important after medicinal tea," she said formally.

Not to be outdone, Candace began adjusting the straps on Nessy's clearly hastily-donned armor. "Your shoulder guards are misaligned, dawg. This could limit mobility in combat scenarios," she explained, her delicate fingers working quickly.

Nessy, looking slightly bewildered but pleased, turned to Krisi. "Hey, Kris! I'm glad you're on our team, you're an awesome gal! Hrm, I smell that you've got a deep tension strain," she murmured, gently examining a dark patch on the raptor's arm. "I could hum a minor healing riff if you'd like? It won’t heal the cuts, but it will relax the muscles!"

“Holy shit,” Mark let out. “What?! They’re… being nice? Prads can be nice to each other… as a contest?!”

Lisa stared in amazement. "You can say that again! They're actually helping each other instead of fighting."

"Because they have a clear goal," I explained. "They're still competing, but for who can be the most supportive rather than who can dominate through force. Remember, you're captains--you set the stage for their behaviour.”

"Smart," Owen nodded appreciatively. "Redirecting their competitive nature. Thanks, Alec. I’ll try it on my team."

The other human captains exchanged thoughtful glances, clearly considering how they might apply similar strategies to their own teams.

Our conversation was interrupted by the distinctive click of magisteel-reinforced talons against the gymnasium floor. Professor Fern approached, her burning eye sweeping over the assembled students with calculating intensity.

"Ah, my surviving delvers!" she thundered. "I see you've managed to arrive on time for my afternoon test. The question is: are you ready for the dungeon simulation?"

The human captains glanced at each other, uncertainty written across their faces. I stepped forward.

"No," I said firmly. "We're not."

Professor Fern's one remaining eyebrow arched slightly. "Oh? Do elaborate, Mr. Foster."

"Our teams need time to recover and coordinate," I explained. "Half of us still have injuries from this morning, our pradavarian teammates are exhausted from magical compulsion, and we've barely had time to establish basic communication and coordination protocols."

"Plus I ate waaaaay too much, cus of your shenanigans," Adelle added, showing her cheetah canines at the Instructor. “My armor won’t fit properly.”

Professor Fern ignored the cheetah and studied me for a long moment, her burning eye seeming to look straight through me. Then, unexpectedly, she nodded.

"A wise assessment, Mr. Foster," she said. "A capable dungeon delver captain knows when they are not prepared for a delve and makes the hard call to postpone rather than pushing forward unprepared."

Katherine made a derisive sound from where she was standing with the other ‘monsters’. "Of course the weakling human wants to delay. Scared already, Foster?"

Professor Fern turned toward the red-tagged group, her scarred face twisting into something like disappointment.

"Silence," she commanded, and the word carried magical weight that seemed to press Katherine back a step. "Your eagerness for violence betrays your immaturity as a delver, Miss Strand. A dungeon isn't a playground for your aggression—it's a calculated risk requiring perfect timing and preparation."

"But we're ready now," Katherine protested. "We've got our gear, our weapons—"

"You have gear, yes," Professor Fern interrupted. "What you lack is discipline." She pointed at the floor. "Fifty push-ups. All of you. Now."

"What?!" Katherine sputtered.

"Let's make it seventy-five for your cheek," Professor Fern said coldly. "And if I hear another complaint, it becomes a hundred."

Katherine squawked in outrage, emerald-violet feathers fluttering.

"Would you prefer two hundred?" Professor Fern asked mildly. "I can accommodate your enthusiasm, Miss Strand."

The red-tagged students stared in disbelief before reluctantly dropping to the floor. Among them, I spotted Sage and Vivianne, looking particularly bitter as they began their push-ups.

Professor Fern turned back to the human teams. "Mr. Foster is correct. Your teams require recovery time and coordination training. The dungeon simulation will take place every morning through the week. This will give you the necessary time to establish proper pack dynamics and give me the time to instill discipline into my Sentinels. Each team will go alone into the dungeon.”

“Alone?” Owen sputtered. “But that means that…”

“The Dungeon sentinels will greatly outnumber the delvers,” Professor Fern nodded. “As is normal. Be glad that you aren’t facing the Superstore where the number of potential things that desire to kill you is… infinite.”

“Tt-they are going to destroy us!” Lisa stammered out. 

“As is expected,” Professor Fern repeated. 

“Last year the delvers and monster teams had an equal number of…” Mark began.

“Mr. Chen,” the magic fire above the Instructor’s damaged mane flared for a moment. “I’m preparing you for delving, not playtime or cooking dinner. This isn’t home ec. If you don’t like my teaching methods, you’re welcome to transfer to Delving 101 with Professor Lickshmidt which will prepare you for a career as a house husband taking care of his delver prad wife.”

30: Gate Remnants

As Professor Fern stalked away to continue berating the ‘monster’ students, the delver teams fell silent, contemplating the daunting task ahead. The weight of what we were facing settled over us like a heavy cloak—we would be going into the simulation massively outnumbered.

"So," Mark said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "We should probably exchange contact info, yeah? Share strategies and stuff?"

"Good idea," I agreed, pulling out my battered phone. "Pradstagram work for everyone?"

The other human captains nodded, and we quickly formed a circle, tapping phones together to exchange contact information. Within minutes, we'd created a group chat titled “Human Leaders Support Group 🙃” featuring tags such as "#Human Alpha Training" and "#Because nobody told us how to do this shit."

The chat quickly populated with messages.

[Markyrrplaya🫥]: Thanks again for the hierarchy tips, Alec. Going to try that with my team ASAP.

[Listerroni👾]: Same. My prads are literally at each other's throats. Will report back on how it goes!

[OwenTheUnprepared😹]: Anyone have advice on feeding?

[Markyrplier🫥]: Feeding?

[OwenTheUnprepared😹]: Lion GF wants steak for din from Slash House but the owl insists on lemming sprinkled with seeds from The Burrow. They’re ready to cut me in half. Halp.

I smiled and pocketed my phone, leaving the others to sort out their issues, turning back to my own team. The four pradavarian femmes were still engaged in their supportive competition—Nessy was now humming a soft melody and kneading Kristi’s shoulders while Candace was helping the others with their armor adjustments.

"Team meeting," I announced, drawing their attention. "Since class is effectively canceled for the rest of the day, we need to figure out our next move."

Adelle yawned in my direction, opening her mouth unnervingly wide as all cats do. "Sleep? Please say sleep."

“You’re gonna be a bottom at this rate, my dude,” Candace commented.

“Eh.” Adelle shrugged. “Too tired to fret around like some loopy foxes are. Need a power nap or three before I can mentally get into this whole hierarchy domination through support biz.”

“I, um, would like to leave the gym,” Nessy commented, glancing at the ‘monsters’ being tormented by Fern. “Before my… friends finish their pushups and…”

“Say no more, my dawg,” Candace said. “As far as I know, Kris has the biggest vehicle that’ll fit all of us. Let's head to her glider. If we're going to be a team, we will need a base of operations.”

“For sho,” Adelle agreed. “Gon’ need a new domain. Something… magically potent. That reminds me. Hey, Kris, what’d you do with my bike?”

“I, umm… dropped it off at Alec’s farm last night. Dad would have thrown a fit if he saw it in my van,” Kristi said. “Figured nobody would bother to steal it from there if it was surrounded by a mountain of other random broken junk.”

“And how would yo dad kno’ wats in your van?” Adelle asked, squinting at the raptor, clearly annoyed at the implication that her bike was junk.

“Garage scanner,” Kristi sighed. “Estate Ward identifies absolutely everything that everyone brings in. He gave Kaledonya a three-hour long lecture when she brought a paper spider she found in the valley last year as a pet.”

“Fine fine,” the cheetah said. “Then let’s go to Alec’s farm. I wanna see if I can get my baby fixed up.”

"The farm it is," I decided. "Fair warning though—it's pretty much a junkyard with a burnt shell of a house in the middle."

"Can't be worse than some of the dungeons we've crashed in," Adelle shrugged.

"Don't be so sure," Kristi muttered. "I've seen that place. It's... something else."

“You’ve been to his house?” Nessy asked with what was possibly a jealous look.

“Uhhh… yeaaaa,” the raptor replied as we reached the parking lot. She pressed a button and the doors slid open. “I wouldn’t call it a ‘house’ at this point though.”

Ten minutes later, we were soaring over the forest in Kristi's sleek pink Strand Glider. The vehicle was quite spacious inside, offering plush leather seating and panoramic windshields that offered stunning views of the landscape below. Kristi tapped a button and the floor became transparent too.

"Whoa," Nessy breathed, looking at the Ferguson valley below our feet. "Dis the fanciest car I’ve been in."

“Eh, daddy’s got fancier shit,” Candace commented, draping herself over Adelle and me. 

“But would he let you fly it?” Addie asked. 

“Noppers,” Candace clicked her tongue. “His entire fleet has dedicated human drivers as is tradition for the rich n’ wealthy these days. Fuckers never let me drive anything. ‘Oh no, Miss Miss Rhinehart, I can’t possibly let you fly her, this car is bound to my soul and… bla bla blah.’”

"It’s just a standard Glider family model," Kristi said with false modesty, though I caught the hint of pride in her voice as she expertly guided the vehicle through a cloud bank. "Nothing special."

"Nothing special," Candace repeated with an eye-roll. "Just casual anti-grav tech with weather-shielding and what looks like military-grade cloaking and barrier shield capabilities. Totally pedestrian."

The raptor huffed at the fox from the driver’s seat.

As we approached the farmhouse, I could see the familiar landscape of twisted metal and strange wire sculptures through the windshield. From above, the property looked even more bizarre—the random-seeming piles of junk creating strange patterns across the clearing.

"Holy shit," Nessy whispered as we descended. "What happened to this place?"

"My grandfather happened," I explained. "He apparently went a bit... eccentric before disappearing."

"Eccentric is putting it mildly," Candace said, her nose pressed against the window. "Wait... What in Slayer’s name… Kristi, can you take us higher?”

"Higher?" Kristi frowned. "Why?"

"Just do it," Candace insisted. "I wan’ a better angle of this thing."

“Mmmkay, this better count towards my team-support points,” Kristi grumbled.

“It will,” I smiled.

Kristi complied, pulling back on the controls and sending the Glider climbing into the afternoon sky. As we gained altitude, the view of the property expanded, revealing something none of us had noticed from ground level.

"By the Slayer's sword," Candace breathed. "Do you see that?"

From this height, the seemingly random arrangement of junk and wire sculptures formed a perfect spiral pattern, centered on what remained of the farmhouse. The wire webs, bone chimes, and metal structures weren't chaotic at all—they were meticulously arranged in a massive fractal design that only became apparent from above.

"It's... beautiful," Nessy said softly. 

"Uh-huh. In a really creeptastic, effed up sort of… way." Addie added. “Loops, you recognize this shape or something?”

"Maybe! Take us down," Candace commanded, her voice tight with excitement. "I def’ need to scan this thing in person."

“Down it is,” Kristi said, making the glider descend.

As we landed at the edge of the property, Nessy's eyes widened with recognition. "I've driven past here before," she said. "Years ago, when my parents took me to visit relatives up north. It wasn't like this then. There was a real farm here—fields, crops, even some animals."

"What happened to all the plant life?" Adelle asked, gesturing to the barren earth surrounding the junk spiral. "Nothing's growing. Not even weeds."

I had no answer for that. The absence of vegetation hadn't registered during my first visit, but now that Adelle pointed it out, the unnatural barrenness of the soil was disturbing.

“Mega high magrad release,” Candace sniffed the air, her eyes lighting up silver as she jumped out of the van. “Whatever happened here fried everything alive within the radius of about a thousand meters. A good thing that this place is in the ass end of town close to the mountains.”

She darted between piles of scrap with frenetic energy. Her eyes flashed continuously as she cast Identify on everything she passed, touching the random piles of rusted metal and wire webs.

“Where’s my bike, dude?” Adler asked, poking Krysanthea.

“I’ll take you to it,” Kristi replied and the two departed, leaving me in the van with Nessy.

The husky also sniffed the air, choked and then slid over to my side.

“What?” I asked.

“Bad vibes,” she said. “Very, very bad.”

“You can smell vibes?” I asked.

“I can smell lots of things,” she replied. “I’m basically a low end Scrutimancer. My second skill after Riffweld is Scrutiosmia.”

“So… is this stuff dangerous then?” I asked.

"Not exactly," Nessy replied. "It smells like a dead battery—still contains residual magical energy, but not enough to do anything significant. Whatever your grandad built here, it required insane amounts of power to activate. Basically, everything living died, was turned to ashes when this thing… was activated. I can smell the echo of Death clinging to everything. It smells like sacrifice… like a greater arcane gate…"

“A gate?”

“A path to elsewhere,” Nessy nodded. 

“Manchester?” I muttered.

“I don't think that this place connected to UK,” Nessy shook her head.

“Def’ not our Manchester,” Candace appeared, darting back to the van. 

"I thought the farm burned down," I said, glancing to the blackened shell of the house. "But maybe it wasn't an ordinary fire?”

“Definitely not,” Nessy said, wrapping her hand around my elbow. 

“Yeeee,” Candace nodded. "Those burn patterns are consistent with high-level magical discharge, not conventional fire. Seems like your grandfather left in a hurry. The kind of hurry that doesn’t give a shit about the other locals. Everything here got slanted sideways."

“Meaning?”

“Meaning it was dipped in and outta the deep Astral,” Candace said. She kicked at a pile of junk making it topple backwards. “Check it out.” She pried a rusted metal car door away from the ground.

Beneath the rusted door the ground was partially glassified. Crystalline-metallic silver glass stalks were blooming from broken glass. 

“Huh,” I said, climbing out of the van to examine the small, strange looking plants. “It looks like…”

“Dungeon-edge life,” Candace nodded. “The magical nuke that basically went off here caused a miniature Systemfall blip. Things that REALLY shouldn’t bloom are blooming, becoming aligned to Syntropy, Entropy and Infinity at random.”

“That’s… great!” I smiled. 

“What?” Nessy blinked at me. “Alec, dungeon-edge life can be incredibly dangerous, poisonous… deadly!”

“It’s fine,” I said. “I can go through these plants, test them on myself, see if I can find something that heals me.”

Candace and Nessy stared at me like I was completely insane.

“What?” I looked back at their shocked expressions. “I did it at the edge of Highway 69. It worked out. My Syntropic Fusion skill can fuse magical grass together to amplify its effects.”

“You… you went to the edge of Highway Sixty Nine?!” Nessy choked. 

“He sure did,” Candace sighed. “Would not recommend. Ten thousand out of ten. Almost died. Lost my bike and all of my artifacts and armor.”

“Alec, WHY?!” Nessy barked.

“Yeah, why?” Candace repeated the husky’s question. “When I felt that you went there via our bond link… I freaked out pretty bad, made Addie get off her ass ASAP. I thought that you were going to go in and that I’d never see you again!”

“Because I needed to heal,” I said. “Because… I wanted to do anything to help you, Ness.”

"How the heck does going near that horrible place help me?!" Nessy demanded.

"Because I thought I could find dungeon-edge plants there to make healing artifacts," I explained. "I was sliced up, exhausted, and claimed by drunk bikers. I needed to heal so I could... I don't know, function properly, think clearer. Be strong enough to save… you.”

“Save me?” Nessy blinked, crossing her arms. “I… I don’t need saving, Alec! I’m not some damsel in distress trapped in a crystal tower.”

“Mhmm,” Candace nodded. “Our brave, immovable Alpha was quite distresso about… Some husky girl, he went right up to the edge and taunted the Magnetic Lynx. TAUNTED her! Called her names, n’ shit!"

"You WHAT?!" Nessy's voice rose to a near-howl. "Alec, that thing is a legendary-tier Sentinel! People don't even take photos of Highway Sixty Nine for fear she'll sense it and hunt them down!"

"She seemed nice enough," I shrugged, trying to downplay the encounter. "Just a bit misunderstood."

Kristi and Adelle returned, the cheetah looking annoyed as she kicked at random pieces of scrap metal.

"Can't believe you dumped my baby in this heap," Adelle grumbled at Kristi.

"Your baby is clearly fine. What's going on here?" Kristi asked, noting the tense atmosphere. "Why does Nessy look like she's about to bite someone's head off?"

“Cus I am!” Nessy growled. 

“We’re collectively shaming Alec,” Candace nodded. “I just explained to Ness how he went to Highway Sixty Nine, picked flowers at the dungeon edge, and had a friendly chat with the Magnetic Lynx. You know, as one does when feeling a bit under the weather.”

“Yeah that was pretty whack,” Adler smirked. “I’m not gonna lie, boss, am hella impressed with ya, but also hella pissed about the state of my bike.”

"Look," I said, starting to feel defensive under the collective scrutiny of four prads glaring at me, "Highway Sixty-Nine has been around forever—so the edge vegetation had to be potent. It was a calculated risk."

"Calculated risk?" Nessy repeated incredulously. "The Magnetic Lynx has killed professional delving teams! Entire packs of high-level pradavarians! And you just... went up to her domain and picked flowers?"

"And insulted her blue vest," Candace added helpfully.

“Magnetic fucker forced a quest on him through me as Quest giver,” Kristi muttered. “To reach the end of the highway and to kill its avatar.”

"WHH–WHAT?! YOU DID WHAT?!" Nessy flashed to my side, claws digging into my leather jacket. “ALEC! Please tell me she’s joking!”

I raised my hands in surrender. "Okay, yes, it was incredibly stupid now that I think about it. But, it allowed me to get all of you together, so there’s that. Silver lining! And now we know this farm is full of similar magical vegetation, so I won't need to go back there.”

“You will have to go back there, idiot,” Kristi growled. “Because if you don’t the Lynx will murder everyone in Ferguson.”

“WHAT?!” Nessy spun to Kristi. “WHEN DOES HE HAVE TO GO BACK THERE?!”

“The Magnetic Lynx didn’t specify a timeline,” Kristi shrugged. “Welcome to team Alec, dog. Hope you enjoy the existential dread with a side dish of inescapable cosmic horror.”

Nessy stared at me, her blue eyes wide with horror. "Is that true?"

“Yep,” I let out.

“You… you don’t smell like you’re kidding,” Nessy shuddered, eyes darting from me to Kristi, to Candace to Addie.

“Yep, he’s supposed to reach the heart of Highway Sixty Nine and break some time loop or something, or she'll systematically murder everyone he’s ever met," Adelle added, walking past the distraught-looking husky and climbing back into the van. "But I reckon we've got time to figure it out n’ sheet. Right, Sweet-Loops?” She glanced at the fox. “Kay, I’ma have my nap now that I know that my baby’s fine here. Wake me up if something tries to eat me.”

She flopped onto the wide leather seat and curled into an orange fur ball, eyes closing. 

Nessy let go of my jacket and sat on the edge of the van’s door, burying her face in her white paws and trembling.

“Slayer. This… All of this is my fault, isn’t it?” she let out, her eyes filling with tears. 

31: Dagaz Loops

"How is any of this your fault?" I asked.

"I don't know," she whimpered. "But everything feels connected. The dreams, you, the Quest... It's like I'm at the center of something terrible that I can't exactly remember. If I wasn’t so damn weak, if I just believed in my dreams, waited longer for you to show up… if I didn’t let Vivianne drag me to the Hare Krishna temple, you wouldn't have gone to the highway, wouldn’t be bound in an impossible, inescapable Quest, wouldn’t…”

She broke down into sobs.

"Hey," I said gently, sitting beside her. "Ness. Come on, it’s not your fault. I made my own choices."

"Incredibly stupid choices," Kristi added helpfully.

"Yes, thank you," I shot her a look. "Very supportive."

“Incredibly daring choices,” Candace hummed, tapping her chin. “Choices that bound us together in inescapable loops. Two triangles. Me n’ Addie from one side facing Alec. Ness and Kristi from the other. Wait… hold up. That’s…”

“Ughhh, please don’t go there,” Adler’s half-asleep voice commented from the van.

“A Dagaz loop!” Candace clapped her hands. “Slayer! You… him, me, us… we’re all bound together. Two pyramids facing each other. Alec at the center. It’s a Dagaz Rune! An inescapable fate… set in motion by…”

She fell silent, white whiskers twitching. Then she rushed over to Nessy’s side and grabbed the husky girl’s hands, staring into her eyes. 

“What?” Nessy blinked.

“Shhh,” Candace said, her eyes igniting silver. “Lemme see.”

“See what?” The husky blinked at the fox.

“Everything,” Candace said, her voice distant. “The origin of it all. The Binder of this loop.”

Candace’s silver-white hands, still holding Nessy’s, started to tremble. Her normally sly expression went slack, gray eyes went wide and unfocused, the silver light within them blazing into an almost blinding supernova of pure, raw magical energy. Fractals of impossible geometry erupted around her and reality seeming to bend, wobble and warp in her immediate vicinity.

Dagaz loops entwined from Dagaz loops rushed across the ground and her body.

A low moan escaped Candace’s lips, her body stiffening. “The loop…” she whispered, her voice raspy and distant, "It's not just a claim… It's… oh, Slayer… THE Slayer…"

“What… what’s going on?!” Nessy yelped, trying to pull her hands away, but Candace’s grip was like iron.

“The Leviathan!” Candace gasped, her head snapping back. “Wormwood Star… falling FOREVERMORE… the end of everything… everything breaks… except the concept of love…!” Her voice cracked, a fleck of foamy spittle appearing at the corner of her mouth. "It's so pure… so reinforced, that it cannot be stopped! Not by death, not by the void, not by the Numbers! An absolute weapon written into existence… a gun designed to kill a god…”

Kristi and I exchanged horrified glances. Adelle, jolted awake by the sudden surge of magical energy and Candace's strangled cries, scrambled out of the van with a startled, "Fucking hell!"

“It’s you!” Candace shrieked, her gaze fixed on Nessy but seeing something far beyond. “It’s always been you! The anchor! The heart! And him!” Her head swiveled unnervingly towards me, her silver eyes blazing with an intensity that felt like it was peeling back layers of my soul. “The tree! The roots! The branches of duplicate souls entwining, reaching across realities! She died to save you. You… you killed HER to save everything, to reset everything! You wished… for Systemfall! Are you happy, Slayer?! ARE YOU SATISFIEFSHHH WITFHHH YOUR WISHSHHH?!”

She frothed at the mouth, letting go of Nessy and falling backwards.

Adelle leapt from the van’s door to grab the frothing fox. "Not this shit again."

“Again?” I blinked.

Adelle physically pulled Candace away from Nessy, who sat frozen in shock, and dragged the silver fox back into the van. With surprising gentleness, the cheetah settled Candace on her lap and began stroking her head methodically.

"Sorry about that," Adelle sighed, continuing to pet the fox who was still mumbling incoherently. "She gets like this sometimes when she does deep Astral diving.”

"What is she talking about?" Nessy asked, her voice small and frightened.

"Beats me," Adelle shrugged. "When she gets like this, she rants about the end of everything, Slayer, wishes, endless loops, numbers, System Wizards, etc. Usual Binder nonsense when they stare too deep into the magical Abyss underneath reality."

Candace continued to mutter from Adelle's lap as her eyes faded from pure, glowing violet-silver back to their usual gray. "...a love so pure it cannot be stopped, not by death, not by time, not by the Systemfall itself... you found each other again because I, because we… Triangle of absolute Love… entwined souls… because you… because you, her, him, them, us… were meant to find each other… again and again… forever… no matter what.”

"See?" Adelle rolled her eyes, petting the trembling silver fox. "Complete gibberish. Just ignore it. She'll be back to normal, eventually. An hour tops. It’s just… Astral overload, or whatever the fuck. Sees too much, fries her circuits. Shhh, Loops. It's okay. You're okay."

Candace was still muttering, though her voice was fainter now, her body trembling. "Love… so pure… an absolute anchor against the void… a Dagaz that… infinity… she died to save him… he became an Astral tree to find her… a fungus blooming across the Underside, seeking her out… always… always… forever… no matter what comes…"

Her eyes fluttered closed, and she went limp in Adelle’s arms, a thin trickle of blood seeping from her nose. The edges of Candace’s hair lost their silver luster, becoming painted with rainbow-blue streaks.

The rest of us stood in stunned silence.

“That’s… Topaz poisoning,” Kristi stated, looking at the shimmering blue flocks.

“It’s not her fault,” Adelle said. “The world is fucked by Systemfall. The t-dust helps her not see all the cosmic horror bullshit, but she's been clean for two days now… so she’s doing it again.”

“Why has she been clean?” Nessy asked.

“Because she feels really bad,” the cheetah said. “About what we did to Alec. About how she held him while I sliced him up. As do I. We really went overboard. Me n’ Donutz, we’re damaged goods. The longer she goes on without Topaz, the deeper she’s gonna slide into… this. First time she tried to scan something too deep, I thought she was gonna die, never wake up again.”

Nessy looked at the trembling fox.

Her blue eyes flashed with determination as she opened and closed her fist, as if making a decision.

"This is my fault," she muttered, climbing into the van. "All of it. But I'm not going to give up again. Never again. I’m done running from my feelings."

She settled beside Adelle, who was still cradling Candace protectively. With gentle movements, Nessy placed her black and white paws on either side of Candace's head, her fingers lightly touching the fox's temples.

"What are you doing?" Adelle growled, tightening her grip on her packmate.

"Helping," Nessy said simply. "Riffweld isn't just for battle or entertainment. It can heal, too."

“You can help her?” Adelle asked.

“I can… try,” Nessy nodded. “It’s just music, it won’t hurt hur.”

“Fine,” the cheetah said. “Do your thing, dog.”

She closed her eyes and began to hum. The sound started low and soft, almost imperceptible, but gradually built into a melody that seemed to resonate with something deeper than mere hearing. I felt it in my chest, in my bones, in the branches of that strange tree-consciousness I'd been discovering within myself.

As Nessy's voice grew stronger, her tail and claws thumped against the floor of the van creating metallic and wooden background drums and riffs, a melody took shape into a song, the words flowing from her as naturally as breathing:

“Fractals in the darkness spinning,
Caught between what's lost and winning,
Rest your weary mind tonight,
Let the chaos fade from sight.

Binding loops that strangle tightly,
Chains of fate that hold unsightly,
I release you from their grasp,
Break their hold with every gasp.”

As Nessy sang, something extraordinary happened. The rainbow-blue streaks in Candace's fur began to recede. The fox’s breathing evened out. 

“Dagaz rune of dawn approaching,
Freedom's light on pain encroaching,
Balance found between two worlds,
As your spirit gently unfurls.

What you've seen beyond the veil,
Let it drift like ships that sail,
Far across a distant sea,
Not your burden now to be.”

The husky’s voice rose another octave resonating impossibly inside the van’s interior.

“Ancient knots now slowly waning,
Find the peace that's yours for taking,
Return to us from distant Astral shores,
Remember what you're fighting for.

Remember faces, names and places,
Hearts connected through all spaces,
We will face what comes together,
No matter what, no matter whether.

Breathe in light and breathe out sorrow,
Trust there will still be tomorrow,
You are safe, you are not alone,
Follow my voice and find your way back home!”

Nessy sang out and hummed, swaying and tapping Candace’s temples with her claws.

I couldn't speak. The song had affected me in ways I couldn't articulate—like it was calling to parts of me I didn't know existed, awakening memories that weren't quite memories.

Candace's eyes fluttered open. They were clear gray again, no trace of the manic silver light that had consumed them moments before.

"What happened?" she asked weakly, looking up at Adelle and Nessy.

"You had another episode," the cheetah explained gently. "But doggo here seems to have pulled you out earlier with some fancypants singing."

Candace turned her head to look at Nessy, confusion evident in her expression. "You... helped me? Why?"

"Because that's what packmates do," Nessy said with quiet certainty. "They help each other. And because whatever's happening to all of us... I think we're meant to face it together."

"The Dagaz loop you were ranting about?" Kristi asked, leaning against the van's doorframe.

"Yes," Candace nodded. "But not just the claim mark I put on Alec. There’s something older, something truly eldritch between Alec n’ Ness. Something... fundamental. Inevitable. The kind of a loop that I cannot unbind."

"Yes, yes, loops and other freaky real deep shit," Adelle commented, stretching out. "Can you like deal with it without frothing at the mouth and waking me up every five minutes?"

“Maybe,” Candace wiggled her ears. "Ughhh, my head still feels like a throbbing drum."

"You've got Topaz in your body," Kristi said.

"Wut? Nu-huh," the fox shook her head. "I unbound it from myself."

"We saw the tips of your hair," the raptor girl added. "They blue."

Candace's entire body went rigid at Kristi's accusation. Her silver tail bristled, and her eyes narrowed to slits.

"No," she snapped, her voice taking on a sharp, defensive edge. "That's impossible. I unbound it. All of it. Every last molecule!"

"Your hair tips were literally rainbow-blue," Kristi insisted, crossing her arms. "I know what Topaz poisoning looks like, Rhinehart. Half the delvers at Ferguson High have experimented with it. You might think that you’ve unbound it all, but that shit is extradimenshional and builds up in body and soul.”

The fox girl growled, jumping off the cheetah’s lap. 

“Growl all you want,” Kristi shrugged. “It doesn’t change the facts. I know Topaz eats away at your mind over time. I know it makes Binders see things in the Astral that aren't really there. And I know it's why your parents were trying to put you in that rehabilitation program this summer—"

"SHUT UP!" Candace shrieked, her claws extending. "You don't know anything about my parents or why they wanted to lock me away!"

Adelle caught the fox by her shoulders before she could lunge at Kristi. "Whoa, Candy, chill. Breathe."

"Let me go!" Candace struggled against the cheetah's grip, her eyes wild with sudden rage. "She doesn't get to judge me! None of you do!"

“Candace, down,” I ordered. “No need to maul us, we care about your well being.”

"I… unbound it! I always unbind it," she growled, her eyes sparkling with tears at the edges.

"Then why were your hair tips blue?" Nessy asked gently.

Candace stopped struggling, her expression crumpling into something vulnerable and lost. "I... I don't know. Maybe... maybe I missed some. It happens sometimes when I go deep. The Astral... it's bigger than any of us realize. Looking into it is like trying to count all the stars in the sky. Maybe I… missed some stuff. It doesn't matter, I’ll find and unbind it! I’m good!”

32: Uninvited Guest

Adelle released her grip slightly, and Candace sagged against her. "It's not like I want to be like this," she continued, her voice smaller now. "Do you think I enjoy frying my brain by looking at things no prad was meant to see?”

"Why do you do it then?" I asked.

Candace laughed, a hollow sound devoid of humor. "Because I can see the loops, Alec. I can see how everything is connected, how one choice ripples through reality like a stone dropped in a pond. I can see what's coming."

"And what do you think is coming?" Kristi asked.

"The end," Candace uttered with a desperate expression. "Always the end. Over and over and over again. Different paths, different choices, but always the same destination. Everyone dies in the end. I just want to find a path forward where everyone isn’t turned into radioactive sludge at the end of time!”

An uncomfortable silence fell over us. Even Adelle looked disturbed.

"Okay," I said finally. "Let's... take a step back from this inevitable end biz. We're all tired, stressed, and this place isn't exactly helping with the creepy vibes. Candace, if you need help managing your... Astral diving, we'll figure something out. Together. As a pack. Yes?"

"Whatevs," the fox muttered, her eyes not meeting mine. "M'fine now."

"Right," I said, not believing her for a second. "How about we do something productive instead of standing around? This place is full of weird magical plants—maybe we can find something useful.”

"Sure, whatever," Candace shrugged, clearly eager to change the subject. "Let's dig through magically-irradiated junk. What could possibly go wrong?"

We filed out of the van, spreading out across the property. Nessy followed close behind me, her expression concerned but supportive. Kristi moved toward another section of the spiral, methodically overturning debris to look underneath.

After about twenty minutes of careful examination, Candace wandered away from the group, muttering to herself. I watched her go with concern but decided to give her space. When she returned a few minutes later, her eyes looked noticeably dilated, her movements more fluid and relaxed.

"Find anything good?" she asked, her voice slightly too cheerful.

I stared at her, noticing the subtle shift in her demeanor. Her pupils were wide black pools in her gray irises, and a slight smile played at the corners of her mouth.

"Did you just...?" I began.

"Just what?" she challenged, meeting my gaze steadily. "Have a moment to myself to clear my head? Yeah, I did. Problem?"

"Candace," I sighed.

"Look, I need some T’ to think straight right now," she explained. "Especially in this place. The patterns here—" she gestured broadly at the spiral junkyard, "—they're not random. Your grandfather was trying to build something. Something big. Something whack and big that could reach across realities. It could be important. No, IT IS important. Important to everything. Every path of every great Wizard eventually leads them to Manchester."

“You’re high and ranting nonsensical shit,” Kristi commented curtly.

“Am not! Manchester is real! This place is, no, was a one-way fucking gate to Manchester!” Candace growled.

“And?” Kristi arched an eyebrow.

“And… I don’t know what that means yet or how it's useful for us!” Candace huffed, head snapping left and right. “But I’m going to figure it out. And… aaah... oh shit."

Her head snapped up, ears swiveling toward the darkening sky above us. Her dilated eyes went wide with alarm.

"EVERYBODY DOWN!" she screamed.

I had just enough time to grab Nessy and pull her to the ground before something massive swooped overhead with a deafening screech. Wind buffeted us as enormous wings passed just feet above where we'd been standing.

"What the fuck?!" Kristi yelled from where she'd dropped behind a pile of scrap metal.

The thing banked sharply and came around for another pass, giving us our first clear look at it. What at first appeared to be a dragon was actually a massive wyvern-like beast made entirely of what looked like ceramic pottery shards fused together. Its wingspan must have been thirty feet across, and its serpentine body gleamed with an unnatural iridescence in the fading daylight. Instead of eyes, it had two glowing violet orbs that tracked our movements.

"Ceramic Wyvern!" Candace shouted.

The Wyvern let out another ear-splitting shriek and dove straight for us, its mouth—a jagged collection of broken porcelain teeth—opened wide.

"SCATTER!" I yelled.

We split in different directions as the beast crashed into the ground where we'd been standing. Shards of ceramic exploded outward like shrapnel, and I felt several pieces slice across my forehead as I rolled away, plinging off my back. The creature recovered quickly, whipping its tail around in a wide arc that sent more debris flying.

"My armor!" Nessy gasped, looking down at her torn delving suit. "It cut right through it!"

“Your armor’s jank and whoever bound it to ya is a knob,” Candace commented, nursing her bleeding hand. “The fuck kind of Bard are you? Sing to distract it!”

The Wyvern swiveled its attention to me, eerie violet orbs fixing on my movement. It opened its maw again, but instead of another screech, a jet of what looked like molten glazing liquid shot forth. I dove behind a rusted car frame just in time, the liquid splattering against metal with a hissing sound as it began to eat through it like acid.

"Alec!" Nessy called from somewhere to my left. "Don't move!”

She stepped out into the open, planted her feet firmly, and began to sing. Unlike the gentle healing melody she'd used on Candace, this was a battle song—harsh, discordant notes that seemed to physically push against the air around us. The Wyvern shook its ceramic head as if disoriented, its dive toward me faltering.

But the distraction only lasted moments. The creature recovered and turned its fury on Nessy, rushing at her with terrifying speed. I watched in horror as its massive claws extended toward the husky girl.

Candace appeared seemingly from nowhere, tackling Nessy out of the way just as the Wyvern's talons slashed through the space where she'd been standing. They rolled across the ground together, coming to rest behind a large metal drum.

The ceramic monster was already coming around for another pass. Nessy and Candace had regrouped and were attempting to distract it by throwing pieces of metal at its wings, but they might as well have been throwing pebbles at a tank.

Kristi was frantically pressing her key fob.

Just as the wyvern descended, the hum of anti-grav engines cut through the air. 

The impact was spectacular. The reinforced front end of the Glider smashed into the Wyvern's chest, sending ceramic shards exploding in all directions. Both the vehicle and creature went tumbling across the yard in a tangle of wings, metal, and broken pottery.

When they finally came to rest, the Glider's front end was crumpled, smoke rising from the damaged engines. The Wyvern lay nearby, its body cracked but still moving, violet orbs flickering like dying lightbulbs.

"Did she just..." Nessy began.

"Ram it with a million-dollar vehicle?" Candace finished. "Yeah, she did."

The Wyvern pulled back, seemingly stunned by the unexpected crash. It shook its ceramic head, pieces of its "face" cracking and falling away to reveal more pottery-flesh beneath.

With a snarl, an orange-black blur flashed out of the semi-crumpled glider van. Armored fists smashed into the head of the wyvern. The beast wailed. Kristi came at it from another side, smashing the wyvern’s neck with a rusted door.

The cheetah and raptor pummeled, clawed and bashed the downed beast, pottery pieces cracking and flying.

Each punch from Adelle's powerful fists exposed more wyvern innards. She targeted the suddenly visible brown-silver-violet, glowing core, her expression one of single-minded fury as she tore into the creature. The Wyvern thrashed weakly, but it was no match for a pissed-off cheetah valkyrie in full battle rage.

“Fuck you! I’m trying to… have… a nap!” With a final, sickening crack, Adelle drove both fists into the glowing beast core. It shattered like glass, releasing a burst of energy that momentarily lit up the entire junkyard. The Wyvern's body went limp, the glow fading from its eyes.

We approached cautiously, still not entirely convinced the thing was dead. Adelle stood atop it, breathing hard, her armored fists almost entirely obliterated, hands bleeding from where sharp ceramic edges and magisteel bits had cut through her knuckles.

"Addie, you okay?" Candace called.

“I’ll live,” the cheetah sat atop of the downed wyvern and began pulling out pieces of metal and ceramic from her fists wincing. “Why the fuck is this high level beerch here?”

“Cus this place is outside of the town barrier,” Candace sighed. “And it’s hella magical so it's attracting other magical shit to it that wants to snack on the blooming goodies under the rusted metal. We… no, I need to buy us a high level beast-repelling wardstone. Plus a barrier wardstone and ward obelisks if we want to keep digging around here without more flying shit attacking us.”

33: Aftermath

As the ceramic wyvern's body slowly crumbled into lifeless shards, a silver notification materialized in my eyes:

[Congratulations! Your pack has defeated: Ceramic Wyvern (Level 41)] 

[XP Distribution: Shared amongst active combatants] 

[Special Achievement: "Utterly Unprepared Yet Somehow Still Alive"] 

[Note: The Wyvern's seventeen children would like to formally announce their vendetta against you. Not that you asked. They're quite upset about the whole "murdered mom" situation. Perhaps consider moving to another continent?] 

[Bonus Achievement: "Pack Formation Speedrun" - You've managed to assemble a functional delving pack in record time! The System is absolutely shocked that none of you have killed each other yet. Congratulations?] 

[You have reached 100% XP required for Level 4! Would you like to level up now? Y/N. Warning: Due to your old, internal injuries, you will pass out during levelling process for the duration of eight point one hours.]

I stared at the system message, blinking in surprise. "Slayer, last time I levelled up was years ago.”

“Years ago?!” Nessy blinked at me. “Wait. What level are you?”

“Three.”

“How?! Why so slow?”

“Don’t know,” I shrugged. “Got the worst mana regeneration and also the worst XP gain rate in the universe. Or at least I did, until Candace bound me to herself and Addie.”

"Level forty-one?!" Kristi choked. "That thing was fucking level forty-one?! How are we not dead?!"

"Team effort," Adelle grunted, still perched atop the ceramic corpse. "You hit it pretty hard with your glider. Plus I'm a pro at killing high level wyvern asshats, as long as they stay on the ground within reach of my fists. They got a crunchy center, see?"

“Precious crunchy,” Candace bent down, collecting the beast core shards into her leather side bag.

I considered what to do next, looking at my battered and bleeding team. 

I turned to Nessy, an idea forming in my mind. "You mentioned your second skill is Scrutiosmia, right? Can you use it to sniff out healing plants?"

The husky's ears perked up. "I... I can try. I've never specifically looked for newly bloomed healing plants before, but if they have magical properties, I should be able to sniff ‘em out, yeah."

"Great," I said, arriving at a followup idea. "Oh. And Nessy, use your Riffweld to boost your own sniffing. Kristi, follow us and help move the heavy metal pieces so she can access whatever's underneath."

Nessy tilted her head, black and white curls bouncing. "Hum. I've never tried combining Riffweld with Scrutiosmia on purpose or to target myself with my own music. My teammates were usually the ones demanding all the boosts.”

“Lemme guess,” Candace said. “Cus gunslinger Viv was your pack leader and she constantly needed hand-eye coordination focus enhancements?”

Nessy nodded.

She closed her eyes and began to hum a low, steady melody. As she sang, her nose twitched visibly, nostrils flaring as she took in deep breaths of the junkyard air. After a few moments, her eyes snapped open, bright with excitement. “This way!”

She moved along the junkyard, sniffing left and right, still humming softly to herself.

"Here!" she pointed toward a particularly dense pile of scrap metal near what looked like it might have once been old snowmobile treads. "There's something under there that smells... alive. Helpful. Potent."

"Kristi," I continued, turning to the raptor, "Take this pile apart."

Kristi flexed her claws with a nod. "Can do.”

"Candace, keep watch for more ceramic monsters," I instructed. "Adelle, just... try not to bleed to death over there."

"On it, boss," the cheetah mumbled, giving me a thumbs-up with her bloody hand as she started to lick her cuts.

Kristi flipped the last rusted piece of debris aside, revealing a patch of vibrant orange plastic-looking moss studded with small pink-white flowers. The moss seemed to pulse slightly, as if breathing.

"That's it," Nessy confirmed, sniffing deeply. "That one smells like... life. Like regeneration."

Before anyone could stop me, I plucked one of the small flowers and pressed it against a cut on my forehead. The effect was immediate and startling—a warm sensation spread from the point of contact, the pain reducing immediately.

"Perfect," I breathed. "This is even more potent than what I found at Highway 69, thanks Ness!"

"Slayer, Alec!" Kristi hissed. "You can't just keep putting random magical plants on open wounds!"

"Why not? It's working," I grinned, already gathering more of the orange moss and pink-white flowers. "Besides, my Reconstitution would eventually fix any horrific problems if something went wrong."

"Eventually isn't immediately," Nessy pointed out with concern. "And your skill takes forever to regenerate, yes?”

"Which is why we need these plants," I countered, continuing my harvest.

“Don’t demolish them all,” Nessy commented. She ran off away from us and returned with a ceramic pot and relocated the remainder of the moss into it. “There. Now we can take care of it n’ grow it in a garden or something!”

“Great idea,” I nodded. “You can handle that. I suck at gardening. The one cactus I had in my room died.”

“How do you manage to kill a cactus?” Nessy asked.

“Don't know,” I shrugged. “Too much sunlight?”

The husky shook her head at my joke.

Candace circled the perimeter, occasionally stopping to stare into the distance with a somewhat unfocused, Topaz-enhanced gaze. 

Once I'd collected a suitable amount of the moss, I sat cross-legged on a relatively clear patch of ground. The fox rushed over to me and flopped at my side. “Let's work together. You fuse em’ and I’ll Bind the result into greater permanence. Sounds good? Here, let's use these wyvern core shards too, they’re basically pure crystallized mana. Should make it extra potent.”

I nodded.

“Oi, doggo, sing us a motivational tune!” She added.

The husky stepped behind us, wrapping her paws around us both. She started to hum something about running under her breath.

Closing my eyes, I reached for that tree-consciousness within me, channeling what little mana I had into my hands.

"Syntropic Fusion," I murmured.

The familiar silver glow emanated from my fingertips, but this time as Candace assisted me with her skill, holding onto my hands, and Nessy sang at us, the action felt different – stronger, more focused. The orange moss and crystal fragments seemed almost eager to be combined, melding together under my guidance with surprising ease. As I worked, weaving and infusing the materials, I could feel the high mana cost draining my skill. Yet it wasn't as draining as quickly as usual, likely because Candace was somehow sharing her mana with me.

The materials slowly began to shift and merge under my guidance. The orange moss wrapped itself around the violet-silver-brown core fragments, the pink-white flowers blooming and then crystallizing. The entire mass contracted, glowing with silver-orange light as it took shape—a bracelet formed of crystallized moss with the wyvern core fragments embedded throughout like multifaceted gemstones.

When the glow faded, I held up my creation. It looked far more refined than my previous flower bracelets—this one had an actual design, with intricate patterns reinforced by the crystallized moss fibers.

[Congratulations! You have created: Revitalizing Wyvern-Heart Bracelet (Medium Quality)]
[Effect: Regenerates 3.5% Health per hour, increases natural healing by 75%]
[Duration: Permanent. Mana: 200/200. Fuse more cores shards in once mana runs out.]

"Whoa," I breathed. "This is actually... good. No, that's the best I've ever managed!"

“Das’ right!” Candace grinned at me, wrapping her fluffy silver tail around me and mussing up Nessy’s grayscale  mane. “With our Bind and Fusion powers combined we form…”

“Three dweebs,” Adelle commented from where she sat.

I stood up and stretched with a groan.

"Here," I said, approaching the grumpy cheetah. "Hold out your wrist."

She looked at me suspiciously but complied. I slipped the crystallized bracelet onto her wrist. Immediately, the bracelet flowers ignited with a warm glow pulsing like a heartbeat. The bleeding from her knuckles began to slow and tiny bits of metal and ceramic rained from her hands, coming out from her fingers on their own.

"Fuck me sideways," she breathed, watching as the cuts on her hands began to close. "That feels nice. Way better than chugging overpriced healing potions from the Superstore with dubious side effects. Thanks, tater, candy n’ paws.”

She stood up and smothered our trio in a furry hug.

"It should heal you up in a few hours," I told her. "After that, we can take turns wearing it."

With our immediate medical concerns addressed, we turned to the matter of transportation. Kristi's once-immaculate Strand Glider lay partially crumpled against a pile of scrap, its anti-grav systems occasionally sputtering and raining sparks.

"My dad is going to absolutely murder me," Kristi groaned, staring at the wreckage.

"Got insurance?" I suggested.

"Yeah, but still," she sighed, pulling out her phone. "Ughhhh. He always said I'd wreck it with my reckless driving. Guess he was half right."

As Kristi called her insurance company to report a "wyvern-related accident," Candace pulled out her phone and started to type rapidly into me.

"Ordering us a flying taxi from Pawber," she said to me. "We can get back to town that way quickly. Also, I booked the same room for us at the Moonshard Inn!"

"Aight, thanks,” I nodded tiredly.

We watched as a flying tow truck arrived to retrieve Kristi's damaged vehicle, strapping it to its underside with magnetic clamps.

"There goes my allowance for the next decade," she muttered with a sour look.

"Pfff, your dad can afford it," Candace said, patting the raptor's shoulder. "Plus, wyvern attacks are totally covered under the act of Slayer clauses!"

The Pawber glider arrived just as the sun was setting—a sleek, black Glider van piloted by a German Shepherd prad in a crisp gray suit. He eyed our bloodied, dirt-covered group with professional disinterest.

"Moonshard Inn?" he confirmed as we climbed aboard.

"Yes, please," Candace replied cheerfully.

"Been delving?" he asked conversationally as we lifted off.

"Something like that," I replied, not wanting to explain the whole "my grandfather's farm is a magical junkyard death trap" situation.

The ride to the Moonshard Inn passed mostly filled with Candace’s chatter. 

Once there, Candace rapidly handled check-in. The girls went together into the large walk-in shower. Candace attempted to pull me in too, but I resisted and she gave up quickly.

By the time we were all showered and changed into the complimentary white hotel robes, a knock at the door announced the arrival of room service—a lavish spread of food on a double-decked hover table that Candace must have ordered while I was in the shower.

"Dinner to share!" she announced proudly as we gathered around the large table in the suite's dining area. "I got all the things on the menu! I figured we could all use the fuel after nearly becoming wyvern chow."

The spread was impressive—steaks, pasta, potatoes, fresh salads, bread baskets, and an assortment of desserts that made my mouth water just looking at them.

"You didn't have to go out this much," I said.

"Pfft," she waved dismissively. "I wanted to. Supporting the pack, remember? I'm definitely winning that number two spot!"

"In your dreams, fox," Kristi scoffed, brushing Nessy’s curly mane. "I saved everyone from the wyvern."

"By crashing your dad's glider," Adelle pointed out, reaching for a huge steak.

"It was a calculated collision!" Kristi fired back primly. 

“Did you just steal my excuse?” I smiled.

“I did, what are you gonna do about it, human?” she laughed.

"Was the calculation 'I pray this effin’ works'?" Nessy asked innocently, leaning into the raptor-provided brushing.

Kristi's somewhat indignant look sent us all into a round of laughter.

"Nah, I kid. It was badass is what it was," Nessy said, tail wagging. "I've never seen anyone ram a level 41 flying monster with a glider before. I like ya a lot, Kristikins."

“You… do, do you?” The raptor arched an eyebrow. “Hrmmm… Might as well get over it now, so it doesn’t hang on my soul anymore. Why did you reject me back in grade eight?”

“Reject you?” Nessy blinked. “I don’t remember… hum. I’m sorry. What happened in grade eight?”

“I… asked you out,” Kristi let out, blushing violet. “I heard you sing about a raptor girl who’s skills Highway Sixty Nine took and fell in love with your music. You said you were going to think about it and then never replied, acting like you didn’t know me.”

“Ummm… shit,” Nessy said, lowering her eyes. “I’m so sorry. That was ‘bout the time the Krishna monks assigned me to the Well of Severance. It must have erased any feelings I had for you.”

“Ugh, now I feel bad about hating you for so long,” Kristi sighed.

“Ah! Ah! I knew it! Ha! There’s an effin’ triangle there!” Candace clapped, piling extra-rare steaks onto Nessy and Kristi’s plates. "Also, since Kristi's dad is going to kill her, should we start planning her funeral now or after dessert?"

"After dessert," Kristi deadpanned, putting down the dog-brush and digging into her steak. "I want to enjoy my last meal."

What followed was possibly the most aggressively supportive dinner I'd ever experienced. Kristi and Candace competed to fill my plate with the best cuts of meat, trying to cut it up and feed me, getting into each other's way. Nessy joined in by offering me tastes of different sides, her eyes watching carefully to note which ones I enjoyed most. Even Adelle, still nursing her healing hands with occasional licks, got into the spirit by regaling us with increasingly outlandish stories of her past adventures.

"So there I was," she said, gesturing wildly with a half-eaten bread roll, "hanging upside down from this chandelier in the Iona Lord Marshall’s mansion—"

"Why were you hanging from a chandelier?" Nessy interrupted, giggling.

"Well obviously because the floor was covered in carnivorous carpet!" Adelle replied as if this was the most natural thing in the world. "Those fancy man-eater rugs they import from the Eastern Reaches? Turns out if you spill enough tequila on them, they wake up and try to eat your toes!"

"That is absolutely not how imported rugs work," Kristi said, but she was struggling to keep a straight face.

"Are you calling me a liar, bird bae?" Adelle demanded.

"I'm calling you a dramatic storyteller with a loose relationship with reality," Kristi countered with a smile.

"That's fair," Adelle nodded sagely. "Carry on then."

"So," Nessy asked between bites, "is life with you always this exciting, Alec?"

"Slayer, I hope not," I laughed. "I've had enough excitement these past couple days to last a lifetime."

"It's def never boring with our new Alpha," Adelle confirmed, already on her second steak. "One day you're getting your ass kicked by me n’ my gang at a gas station, the next you're bossin’ four pradavarians like a pro!"

“I’d like more deets about this please,” Nessy demanded, squinting at the cheetah and the fox. “Start from the beginning of how you two met Alec, please.”

"Well," Adelle began dramatically, "picture this: our innocent little Alec, alone at a remote gas station close to Highway Sixty Nine, when suddenly—five drunk, high, horny biker prads show up…”

34: Tall tales and Revelations

"So there I was," Adelle began, gesturing with a dinner roll at me like it was a weapon, "absolutely blitzed out of my mind after TurboFluff challenged me to a drinking contest to celebrate our defeat of the wild Skinwalker in the boonies, when I spotted this adorkable human!"

"Ye, Captain Adler, she was feeling real friendly, right?" Candace interjected, her silver tail wagging. "So she went up to him, and you know what she did?"

"I sauntered up to him—" Adelle stood up dramatically, attempting to recreate her drunken swagger, "—and I said, 'Good day there, finest specimen of humanity! I am the legendary Captain Adler Silvertail, commander of the deadliest delving gang in seven territories, slayer of one hundred dungeon bosses, and collector of many human males!'"

She struck a pose, one hand on her hip, the other extending the dinner roll toward me like a scepter. "Then I launched into my most exuberant recruitment speech! I told him how joining the Skid Marks would transform his mundane human existence into an adventure of epic proportions! How he'd ride with legends, get his own bike, feast with champions, become part of pradavarian history and help us conquer the Infinite Superstore and punch the dark gods in the face!"

She began strutting around the table, gesturing grandly. "I explained our dental plan, our retirement benefits, our team-building exercises! I offered him protection from the harsh realities of life, the warmth of pack bonding, and free oil changes for that rustbucket he calls a car! I even boasted of my collection of rare dungeon artifacts and promised him riches beyond his wildest dreams!"

“Wow,” I laughed. “If that was your original sales pitch, then I'd already be riding at the front of your bike.”

“That's what I totally wanted to say, cross my heart and hope to die!” Adelle huffed.

“What did she actually say?” Nessy asked.

"She slurred something along the lines of 'Hey tharr, pink tater,'" I said.

"The essence was there between the words!” Adelle defended herself. “So then this absolute legendary tater—" she pointed at me with the dinner roll, "—looked me straight in my eyes and said—"

"'Nice jacket,'" I supplied.

"He complimented the outfit I designed personally and challenged me to five-on-one combat with his unyielding gaze!" Adelle exclaimed, throwing her arms wide. "He faced me with nothing but his bare hands and the courage of a thousand million delvers! He spoke with such firm belief in his own superiority that I could take it no longer. I had to tag him there and then!"

“The Captain asked me to Identify Alec’s skills. So impressed she was by the rarity of his Reconstitution that Addie dug into her g-string, went down on one knee and blessed Alec with her… flowery scent,” Candace wiggled on her chair, snickering. “Right across the face! Tagged his shirt extra hard too, so that no other prad would dare approach Alec in Ferguson. Way too many single man-poacher’ beerches there!”

“What?” Nessy sputtered, while Kristi just shook her head in disbelief.

“An act of pure devotion!” Adler declared. “The offer of my bared heart! Which he immediately rejected, taunting me further! As the fist-elected Captain of the Great Skid Marks, I couldn’t take no for an answer, could not back down so easily!”

“Come to think of it,” I said. “Why are there so many girl prads in Feguson?”

Candace's eyes lit up as she jumped in to explain. "It's what I call the magical desire theory loop. See, pradavarian mothers have this unconscious magical influence over their offspring's development. Most prad femmes want daughters because prad females tend to be physically stronger, and generally more magically gifted than males."

“Right. Prad girls are generally taller than guys, which is the opposite of human sexual dimorphism,” I nodded.

"Yep," Kristi nodded, setting down her glass. "The average female pradavarian has about 30% higher mana capacity than males."

"Exactly!" Candace nodded. "So it creates this feedback loop. Mothers want magically gifted daughters, which leads to more daughters being born, who grow up wanting daughters themselves."

“Is that the only reason?” I wondered.

"Oh, it's definitely not just that," Candace agreed. "The bigger issue is what happens to the boys who do get born here."

“Oh?”

"They vanish," Kristi said flatly.

"Vanish?" I asked. “Why?”

“Mhmm,” Kristi nodded, her expression serious. "My graduating middle school class started with about forty male prads. By senior year, we had twelve. The talented ones especially—they just disappear. Doesn't matter if they're in a pack or not.”

"Corporate headhunting," Candace explained. "Big corpo gals from outside Ferguson come in and offer insane recruitment package blood contracts to promising male delvers. Five to Six-figure starting salaries, company housing, personal trainers, the works."

"Because male prads are already rare," I realized.

"Bingo," Candace snapped her fingers. "Male delvers with rare skills become status symbols for female corporate execs. My cousin Ralphie got recruited right out of junior year by some magitek company CEO from New Chicago Citadel. Now he wears custom suits and attends fancy parties as her arm candy, last time I heard."

"Trophy husbands," Nessy said with distaste.

"Pretty much," Adelle nodded. "My brother was courted by seven different companies before he even graduated. Some fancy femme CEO from uhhh… North Acadia Wendigo Frontenachii Omnicorp got got him on a lifetime work contract. Haven’t heard from him since. Not even a single phone call or gram message. Fucker too fancypants for his little sis now, I guess."

"That's why most of the pack leaders at school were female prads before Fern threw a wrench into it," Kristi added. "The top-tier male delvers get whisked away before they can even establish themselves here."

"And that leaves Ferguson with what we've got now," Candace concluded. "A town full of ambitious femmes competing for increasingly limited resources. Outside town, it's even harder to find guys, as the wild noms them faster than girls since they're easier prey. Is why Addie got focused on you like a very drunk laser beam."

“Mhmm. Let's get back to the Alec-claiming,” Nessy commented, looking at me, tail wagging.

"Right. Anyways, our brave, drunk Captain wouldn’t take no for an answer. I was blocking his car door to see what he would do next, whether he was a weakling or a potential delving partner. It was then that he pulled out THE pepper!" Candace declared jovially, grabbing a pepper container from the table and shaking it over Addie’s steak. "Not just any pepper. Military-grade black ops assault pepper! ‘She-shah! Pocket pepper!’ He declared and cast it all over Captain Adler’s face, permanently blinding her! She couldn’t see and was crying for days after!"

"It was regular ground black and red pepper from the dollar store in a plastic tube," I clarified with a smile to Nessy. “Also, this was literally yesterday morning.”

"He launched this pepper-based weapon directly into Captain Adler's face without remorse!" Candace continued, disregarding my corrections. "She was sneezing so hard that her green mohawk nearly took flight! Little pieces of colorful confetti were coming out of her nose!"

"I don’t recall any confetti,” I chortled.

"Having blinded me with deviously clever human tactics, the dastardly human tater tactically retreated into the gas station’s Mini-mart, challenging me to a battle for Alpha-dominion over my biker gang from within!” Adelle resumed. “Lieutenant Donutz attempted to grab at him, but he was too swift for the fox! Once inside—" Adelle leapt up, committed to her reenactment, "—he…"

"Procured a tactical combat snow brush!" Candace interjected, grabbing a butter knife for emphasis. "With a retractable ice scraper bayonet! The deadliest weapon found in the Mini-Mart!"

"A regular steel and plastic tip snow brush from the automotive section," I corrected again.

“Using it, he swiftly dealt with our advancing forces!” Candace struck Adelle into her chest with the butter knife. Adelle, for her part, pretended to die dramatically, falling backwards onto her chair.

"—he started swinging the ice-scraper weapon around like a Slaya-damned French musketeer!" Adelle came up again, making exaggerated fighting motions. "He was all whoosh! Kapow! Pow! One minute he'd be there, the next he'd be gone!”

“Like a ghost ninja with a snow brush!” Candace laughed.

"Wow, you're making it sound like I was some kind of action hero," I said dryly. "I was mostly just trying not to die."

"Then!" Adelle declared, "This absolute madman unleashed a concealed chemical weapon of eternal agony! Banned by the United Pradavarian Nations against use on civilians!"

"Regular wasp spray," I muttered, making Nessy giggle.

"Bark-n-Bite got a face full of liquid death and went down screaming!" Adelle mimicked falling dramatically, nearly tipping over her chair. "She was rolling around on the floor going 'My eyes! My beautiful wolf eyes! I'll never be able to judge anyone with my wolfy judgmental glare again!'"

"She didn't say that," I said.

"She was definitely thinking it," Adelle insisted. "Meanwhile, this human was flashing through the store, like a pro delver, deploying tactical smoke grenades—"

"A pocket fogger I got from a street vendor," I clarified.

"—confusing our enhanced pradavarian senses!" Adelle continued. "He was everywhere and nowhere! A ghost! A phantom! TurboFluff thought she was having a religious experience—kept saying she saw the Slayer himself walking through the smoke!"

"I was mostly hiding behind chip displays," I said.

"But then!" Candace added, eyes wide with theatrical glee, "He pulled out the most devious invention of all—an ultrasonic pradavarian mind melter!"

"A high-frequency sound emitter keychain," I corrected. "Also from a street vendor."

"Our brains were exploding!" Adelle clutched her head dramatically. "Our ears were bleeding! He was turning our own bodies against us! Tequila Sunrise was convinced she was a chicken and started pecking at the floor for seeds!"

"That definitely didn't happen," I said firmly. “You only got confused by it for a bit.”

“We were blind, deaf and anosmic!” Candace fell into Addie's arms as both of them made silly faces. “Suffering from awfulest sensory deprivation caused by pepper, smoke n’ sound emitter combo!”

Nessy was now laughing so hard she was wheezing, while Kristi had her face in her hands.

"So naturally," Adelle continued, lowering her voice for dramatic effect, "Captain Adler had to unleash her ultimate power!"

"Shadowstep," I said.

"Dimension-ripping teleportation!" Adelle corrected with a grin. "Feeling desperate and nearly defeated, my sanity melting, I phased through reality itself to appear behind him!”

“Unfortunately, she was so drunk she actually teleported into a rack of news and adult magazines first and got stuck for like thirty seconds!" Candace included with a sly grin.

"That's news to me," I said, raising an eyebrow.

“I tried to taunt him with my dimensional-step powers but he remained unmoved!” Adler praised. “But he didn’t back down, didn’t lower his gaze! Just kept glaring at me with those deep emerald eyes of his.”

I couldn't help but laugh at her absurd retelling. "My eyes are hazel at best."

"In the heat of battle, they glowed like the ancient jade fires of the Endless Forest of Borria!" Adelle insisted, waving her hands in the air. "I was mesmerized, hypnotized even!"

"She was so stunned by Alec’s magnificence," Candace added with a mischievous giggle, nuzzling into Addie, "that she completely forgot she was supposed to be capturing him and instead started reciting poetry!"

"What? I did no such thing! Get outta my face, loops!" Adelle protested, shoving the fox away. “I was too submerged in his unmoving gaze to compose poetry!”

“You were drunk and wobbling,” I said.

"Yes!" Adelle affirmed. "And then I cried for mercy when this devious ninja suddenly struck me with his electric 'Fist of a Thousand Suns'!"

“What?” Nessy laughed, sliding closer to me.

"It was a plastic stunner that barely had enough juice to charge a phone," I corrected, rolling my eyes. "And it wasn't my fist—it was literally a little plastic box anti-prad zapper with two metal prongs."

"The electricity it shot was blue like dragon fire!" Adelle insisted. "It coursed through my veins like liquid lightning! It jolted some primal in me, an ancient need that could not be contained! Nearly downed, but being the legendary Captain that I am, I rallied my troops for one final assault!"

"You had Donutz hold me still while the rest of you took turns punching me," I clarified dryly.

"We engaged in an honorable pradavarian packmate testing ritual!" Adelle countered, looking slightly offended. "The same ritual I put Donutz, Bark, Fluff and Tequila through! It's how we determined if someone was truly worthy of joining our ranks and which position they would take up!"

"By beating them unconscious?" Kristi asked skeptically.

"Unconscious?!" Adelle leaned towards me. "No, we basically smack each other until one of us cries for mercy and lowers their eyes. That's it. It’s how we established the hierarchy. I came up with it.”

“Slayer, you guys are so mean,” Nessy wrapped her tail around me protectively, sliding even closer to me and looking as if she wanted to open a portal back into yesterday to protect me from the mean bikers personally.

“It was the most impressive thing I’ve seen,” Addie declared, “Not even exaggerating now! Alec didn’t go look away, didn’t pass out, didn’t cry! Let me tell you, this crazy human—" she pointed at me with reverence, "—passed my test with flying colors! Most boys would be crying and begging for mercy within seconds, looking down in submission! But not Alec! Oh no! He took every hit and claw slice with stoic dignity! Like a true warrior! It was then that I knew that even though my Lieutenant held him in her foxy embrace, I had lost our match, that he was a true Alpha, higher than me!"

"Uh-huh. I was a tad too concussed and mentally disoriented to do much else," I muttered. “Mostly I took it because my nerves were fried by my brother’s Pyromancy.”

“And you?” Nessy glared at Candace. “You just held him? Five against one? Doesn’t sound very fair at all!”

Candace suddenly grew quieter, her expression shifting to something more serious.

“No it wasn’t far,” the silver fox lowered her eyes. “Again, I’m sorry for hurting you, Alpha. I was very high after our Skinwalker fight and thought that we were playing a fun game.” 

The mood in the room shifted slightly as we all looked at her.

"When I used the Speed Multiplier I got from the Superstore—" she began.

"The red candy you ate to go faster," I nodded.

"Yes," she confirmed. "It did more than just speed me up physically. It accelerated my mental perception too, amplified my Binder Astral sight. And when I grabbed Alec's wrists, something... happened."

"What?" Nessy asked.

"I scanned him," Candace said, looking at me with an intensity that felt almost uncomfortable. "Not just a regular Identify scan, but a deep Astral reading. And what I saw..." She paused. “Was so utterly profound that it paralyzed me into blind, confused shock.”

“What did you see?” Nessy tilted her head.

"I saw an endless, liminal Astral tree," Candace whispered, her gray eyes seeming to look through me rather than at me. "An unyielding spirit with branches stretching across realities. It was... batshit terrifying and beautiful. I'd never seen anything like it. That’s when I knew that… that Alec was special. Not special as in ‘look it's a cute human with a rare Reconstitution skill’ but special in terms of whatever he really is in the deep Astral."

Adelle looked confused. "Wait, you never mentioned this to me."

"Because I was scared," Candace admitted. "By the time I came back to the physical, stopped gazing at the infinite tree, Alec was already in the dumpster. And I realized I had just one option then—to bind myself to the Astral tree with the Dagaz rune, so that I would not lose sight of him, to spend all my mana just to rest under the whispers of those endless branches again."

The room fell silent. I stared at Candace, unsure if this was just another over-exaggerated part of the story or something more.

Kristi broke the tension with a comment. "That's... an interesting way to put it, fox. A tad over-the-top though. Alec does have something about him. Inner strength of sorts."

"Ha ha! The cosmic tree of life branches into the stars!" Adelle added, clearly assuming Candace was still playing along with her tale. "The loopy fox seeks the Astral fruit of destiny!"

But Candace wasn't laughing anymore. She just kept staring at me with that same intense expression.

"You're joking, right?" I asked her quietly.

“Noppers,” She shook her head.

“Riiiiiight. Moooving on from the fox-bae’s Alec-Astral evaluation,” Adelle resumed. “I was feelin’ hella pissed, drunk, shocked, impressed, bedazzled, peppered, zapped, n’ soakin’ wet! He beat me. He beat me by losing! I saw how Bark and Fluff were looking at me. I was done as Captain. Done, my status in shambles, on the edge of ruin. So I made the strategic decision to…”

“To throw me into a dumpster,” I said.

“A terrible tactical error,” Adelle nodded. “An attempt to bring you down when I knew I had already lost. At this point a human girl would probably wrestle her partner into submission and then go on one knee and offer the man who captured her heart a gigantic diamond ring and a bouquet of man-eating flowers.”

“That’s definitely not how human marriage proposals work,” I said.

“I don’t know and don’t care how human marriage proposals work!” The cheetah waved me off. 

Candace sighed. “I was still half-daydreaming about the endless tree when I saw that Captain Adler was so impressed by his resilience that she performed the most ancient pradavarian claiming ritual."

I poured water from one glass to another, not saying anything.

“She what…” Nessy growled.

"It wasn't just any claiming ritual," Adelle insisted. "It was the legendary Platinum Alpha Claiming! Reserved only for the most worthy of warriors! I bestowed upon him my personal scent mark—the highest honor a follower can give! A declaration of surrender to a new Captain!"

“What?” I let out. 

"The liquids I shared were infused with all of my mana!" Adelle continued undeterred. "Each drop invigorating and potent!"

“Huh,” Nessy sniffed Adelle. “She’s not lying.”

“What.” I turned to the husky girl. “Are you telling me that…”

“She saw you as her Alpha,” Nessy nodded. “That she did was essentially… an ancient prad gesture of absolute submission. I mean, doing that in public is hella ‘effed up. But… yes.”

“See, the dog gets it!” Addie declared with a grin. “Your mana went up after, right, tater?”

“I thought that was because of Candace’s Dagaz thing,” I huffed. 

“Don’t be ridiculous. Candy’s loop thing can’t transfer mana over great distances that well,” Addler shook her head. “I essentially completely soaked you in my mana. Candy’s binding thing should have allowed your body to absorb and integrate it all.”

“I see,” I said. “Welp, this makes me feel marginally better. Only marginally though.”

"So that's how we met," Candace concluded with a flourish. "A classic love story, really. Boy meets girls, girls beat up boy, boy becomes girls' boss. Tale as old as time."

"You know," Nessy let out. "I'm still mostly stuck on 'Hey there, pink tater.'"

"Not my best pickup line." Adelle admitted.

"Not your worst either," Candace added. "Remember that time with the lion girl in Iona? When you tried to impress her by saying you could fit her entire head in your mouth?"

"Slayer, don't remind me!" Adelle elbowed the fox. "She dared me to do it and I nearly dislocated my jaw!"

"Aight! Mana-infused wine time!" Candace proposed, snapping a wine bottle open and filling everyone’s glasses. The Topaz high seemed to have worn off, leaving her less hyper and more relaxed. I wanted to figure out how to help her with her addiction but had no idea where to start.

Maybe Nessy could help. She seemed like the most level-headed prad in our quirky group.

“To not dying horribly!” Candace declared, raising her glass.

"To not dying horribly," we echoed, clinking our glasses together.

“Candace, what do you usually see in the deep Astral?” Nessy wondered, seemingly reading my thoughts and looking at the fox.

Candace sighed, putting down her now empty glass. "It's hard to explain. When I dive into the Astral, I see connections—loops and threads binding people, events, places. Like a cosmic spiderweb. But sometimes, when I touch certain nodes in that Underside web, I see... more. Too much."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Like..." she struggled for words. "Like alternate versions of reality, vastly different worlds featuring the same souls. Like possibilities that could have been or might still be. Like the truth behind the System." She shook her head. "But it's not meant for linear prad minds to comprehend. That's where Topaz helps—it slows, dimensionally expands my perception, makes the incomprehensible liminality just... confusing instead of mind-breaking."

"And what did you see when you touched Nessy?" Kristi asked.

Candace glanced between Nessy and me, her expression unreadable. "I saw... a connection. Something old and unbreakable. Something that's survived... more than it should have."

"Verrrry specific and helpful," Adelle snorted, reaching for the wine bottle and chugging it without a glass.

"It's the best I can do!" Candace protested, puffing up. "Try describing a color to someone who's never seen before! Or explaining how a five-dimensional object casts a shadow in three-dimensional space!"

"Don't worry about it," I said. "We're all friends and we're just trying to understand."

Candace deflated slightly. "Sorry. It's just... frustrating. I know things are connected—the Astral tree, Dagaz, you, me, Addie, Nessy, the quest, the Magnetic Lynx, the Superstore, Manchester... but I can't see the whole picture yet. Just fragments."

"Maybe we're not supposed to see the whole picture yet," Nessy suggested quietly. “Cus that’d break our minds. Unmake who we are?”

"Maybe," Candace conceded. "Or maybe I'm just a junkie having hallucinations." She laughed, but there was no humor in it.

"Either way," I said, steering the conversation back to safer ground, "we need a plan. For tomorrow's dungeon simulation, for classes, etc,"

"Including the seventeen baby wyverns that now hate our guts," Adelle added cheerfully. "Don't forget those!"

"Thanks for the reminder," I said dryly.

“What we need, is absolute trust between us,” Candace said. 

Kristi arched an eyebrow.

“For... our eventual, inevitable dive into Highway Sixty Nine,” the fox added.

Kristi immediately lowered her eyes.

“Nu-huh, bird,” Candace said. No sadness! Look, I'm totally down. Who else is down?”

“Down?” I repeated.

“Down to be together no matter what,” Candace said, putting her hand on the table, white paw pads up. “Until the end. Until we get strong enough as a delving team! Until we bring down the Magnetic Lyx, beat the Infinite Highway and save Ferguson!”

Adelle put her hand atop of Candace’s. I reached out and put my hand atop of theirs. The ex-bikers smiled at me. Nessy’s hand covered mine, her pink paw pads feeling warm and soft. Kristi’s scaled hand covered ours.

“All for one and one for all!” Candace yelled, gray eyes flashing across our faces. “No take backs! No letting go! From now and forever!”

We all nodded.

“BIND PACK!” Candace barked, putting her hand atop of Kristi’s. “Absolute Dagaz pact!”

35: Pack Bond

A Dagaz rune flashed out of her hand, reaching itself and wrapping its loops around our hands.

Silver-violet light coursed through our touch, the magical energy running up our arms like electrical current. I felt a warm pulse through my chest as the magic connected us, binding our hands together in shimmering light. The sensation wasn't painful—more like the feeling of stepping into a warm bath after being out in the cold.

I breathed out as the light intensified, pulsing with each heartbeat.

Candace's eyes were glowing with an inner silver fire, her expression one of intense concentration. The rune between our joined hands spun faster, trailing fractal patterns of light that spiralled outward, wrapping around our wrists and forearms.

"In the name of Infinity Paradox Proxima," she intoned, her voice carrying an otherworldly echo, "I connect these souls in absolute trust. Five points of Dagaz, four prad souls entwined in love and trust focused on our human captain! Let no force tear asunder what has been joined here. Let nothing come between us!"

The magic surged, a final burst of light that was almost blinding. Then it collapsed inward, seeming to sink into our skin like water into sand. The glow faded, leaving us staring at our joined hands with various expressions of bewilderment and wonder.

“Ah, pretty,” Addie commented. “Everyone gets even more shared XP now n’ sheet? And we’ll be able to voicecast each other?”

“Yeah,” Candace yawned. 

"What exactly did you just do?" Kristi asked.

"Maximum possible pack bond," Candace replied simply, looking very drained but immensely satisfied. "Not just your temporary claim or standard pack link. A true bond. Mega unbreakable. Till the end. Maybe, past the end? Like everyone agreed!"

Kristi opened her mouth and closed it.

“Welp, I’m gonna rest for a bit. That took all the mana outta me.” Candace relocated to the couch, curling up into a silver ball in a white bathrobe.

There was a lot of new System text floating in my eyes for me to process. A lot more than usual, more than I had ever received at once.

[System Notification: Congratulations, Alec Benoit Foster! You’ve Expanded Your Pack!]

[Look at you, collecting pradavarian femmes like they’re rare dungeon loot. The System is reluctantly impressed by your ability to not die while surrounded by claws, fangs, and questionable life choices. Your pack now officially includes:

• Candace Rhinehart (Silver Fox, Binder Extraordinaire, Currently High on Topaz)

• Adelle Sylvia Dallia (Blood-bound-Orange Cheetah, Punch-First-Ask-Questions-Never, Food Coma Enthusiast)

• Krysanthea Strand (Emerald-Violet Raptor, Easily Ruffled, Cursed during your last attempt at life. Secretly a Softie.)

• Nessy Whitepaw (Black-and-White Husky, Riffweld Bard, Dreaming About You)]

[New Skill Unlocked: Pack Leader!]

[Effect: You can now issue commands to your pack with a 25% increased chance of them actually listening, particularly when facing opposing Charmchain magic. Boosts pack morale and coordination by 10%. Warning: Does not prevent overall bickering, flirting, or attempts to feed you soup.]

[Achievement Unlocked: Harem Protagonist Starter Pack! The System would like to remind you that managing four pradavarian femmes is a full-time job. Maybe invest in some knee pads? (+5 Charisma Bonus!)]

I blinked the notification away, my face heating up at its jabs. “Really, System? That’s what you’re going with?” I muttered under my breath, sitting on the couch next to Candace.

I glanced at the line that described Kristi.

Cursed during my last attempt? What?

“What’s it say?” Candace wiggled slightly and opened a single gray eye. 

“Uh, just… pack stuff,” I said, clearing my throat. “It’s official now. You’re all listed in my stats. And I got a new skill—[Pack Leader].”

“Oooh, fancy!” Adelle grinned, sharp canines glinting as she leaned back in her chair. “You got enough XP to level up now, yeah?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “It’s going to knock me out for eight hours.”

“What?” the gray eye from the silver fluff stared at me. “That ain’t right. Nobody passes out for that long.”

“I’m special,” I shrugged.

“Sounds like another one of your weird quirks,” Adelle said, stretching her arms above her head, her robe riding up to show a flash of toned orange thigh with black dots. 

"That's not normal, Alec," Nessy said, her brow furrowed with concern. "Most delvers are out for a few minutes at most, maybe an hour or two for really high-level jumps."

“You sure you’re not secretly an alien?” Candace asked.

“What?” I blinked at her.

“One of them spoopy extradimensional invaders,” Candace commented, wiggling her ears. “The prevalent theory is that they stole all top prad positions and that most of our government is made entirely from cheeky reptiloids. You ain’t a secret invasion reptiloid, riiiiight?”

“I don’t think so,” I laughed and then glanced at Kristi who snorted.

“Not raptors,” the gray eye blinked at the raptor girl. “The word in the Astral is that Strand family are just figureheads. I’m talking ‘bout Cryptids!”

“Calm your fox tits. The government is not made from cryptids, loops,” Adelle commented. 

“Says you.” the foxball huffed, the eye closing. “Don’t come crying to me when it turns out to be the truth.”

“Anyyyyways,” I redirected the conversation away from cryptid conspiracy back to my issue. “It’s a long blackout, so I should probably do it soon, get it over with so I don’t sleep through school tomorrow.”

“School is for tools,” the Candace-ball huffed. 

“You’re not doing it alone,” Kristi suddenly declared, crossing her arms, feathers ruffling. 

“Not doing what alone?” I blinked.

“If you’re out for eight hours, someone needs to keep an eye on you. What if you stop breathing or something?”

“I’m not gonna stop breathing,” I protested. “It’s just leveling up. I’ll be fine.”

“Famous last words,” the fox ball said. 

"We should take turns watching over you," Nessy suggested. "Mmmm… Just in case there are complications."

"That's really not necessary," I protested. "I'll just be asleep."

"Levelling for eight hours?" Candace-ball pointed out with a yawn. "That's not gonna be regular sleep, that's some kind of whack magical restructuring. Whaaaack.”

“Like what if you start floating or glowing or something cool? We'd miss it!" Adelle laughed.

"I'm pretty sure I won't be floating," I said dryly.

"You don't know that," Adelle countered. "Maybe leveling up unlocks your hidden anti-gravity powers!"

“What?" I chortled. “I'm not a gravity mage!”

"Look Alec," Kristi interjected, "unusual level-up durations often indicate… some kind of complications. We should monitor you, period."

"It's what a good pack would do," Nessy added softly. "Let us take care of you, Alec."

Surrounded by very determined pradavarians, I knew when I was beaten. "Fine," I sighed. "But you all need sleep too. Don't stay up all night staring at me like creeps."

Kristi’s cheeks flashed violet. Maybe that was her plan all along.

“I’ll do it,” she declared, her voice firm. “I’m the most responsible!”

“Excuse you?” Candace’s tail bristled. “I’m the one who just bound us together. I’ve got the highest level Identify senses for monitoring vitals. Plus, I’m cuddlier. Look at all this fluff!”

“Cuddly isn’t the goal,” Kristi snapped, her claws flexing. “Reliability is. You’d probably get distracted, or look too deep at him in the Astral and will have to get high to destress again or something.”

“Low blow, bird!” the Candace-ball growled, but there was a playful edge to it. “I’d be mega-focused. Alec’s my Alpha, after all.”

“I should do it,” Nessy said quietly. “I… I owe him. For saving me. For believing in my dreams when even I didn’t.” Her blue eyes met mine, and I felt my chest tighten at the sincerity there.

The room erupted into a flurry of arguments, each girl insisting she was the best choice to “watch” me, except for Addie who didn't seem interested in watching me sleep.

“Slayer, stop fighting or I’ll subtract so many points from all of you,” I commented. “You were doing so well playing at cooperation today.”

"Fine! We can take shifts," Kristi declared. "Two hours each should cover it."

"I'll take the first watch," Nessy volunteered quickly.

"Second," Candace called.

"Third," Adelle yawned, stretching her arms above her head. "By then I'll be done digesting this feast."

"I'll take the last shift then," Kristi concluded. "Now that that's settled, you should go level up in the main bedroom so you're comfortable."

Before I could protest further, I was pulled from the couch and herded toward the suite's master bedroom.

Seemingly threatened by point subtraction, the girls fussed around me extra hard, fluffing pillows and tucking me in like I was a kid with the flu. Candace even tried to slip a paw under the blanket to “check my bod’ temperature,” but I swatted her away, earning a playful pout.

"Alright," I said. "Here goes nothing. Level up!”

[Level Up Confirmed]
[Beginning reconfiguration process...]
[Estimated duration: 8.1 hours]
[Entering chrysalis stasis...]

The world began to fade around me, my vision tunneling as consciousness slipped away. The last thing I saw was four pradavarian faces watching me with various degrees of concern.

. . .

I drifted through something that wasn't quite sleep. 

Fragments of memories that didn't feel like my own flashed through my mind—dancing with Kristi at the spring formal; carving a Dagaz rune into my hand and clasping hands with a younger Nessy as rain poured and a thunderstorm flashed outside the small cavern; running with Nessy and the Strand sisters through endless aisles of a store that seemed to stretch forever; a silver RV parked in an aisle with a slightly older Vivianne staring at me with sad, desperate eyes; a black and white husky whom I lost and found again; fighting giant staple spiders with a two dimensional sword while wearing a blue vest; holding a blood-spattered “Maxima Pawsome” Superstore employee tag.

There was pain too—not physical, but the deep ache of loss, of something precious torn away over and over again. I felt myself reaching through a vast emptiness, branches extending across an infinite void, searching for something I couldn't name but desperately needed to find.

Through it all, I sensed a presence—no, four presences—anchoring me, keeping me from drifting too far into that strange not-sleep. Warm hands on mine, soft voices murmuring reassurances, the gentle weight of someone's head on my chest.

I woke to warmth. Not just the ordinary warmth of blankets, but the encompassing, living warmth of bodies pressed against mine from all sides. Opening my eyes, I found myself in a nest of fur and feathers.

Nessy was curled against my right side, her black and white head resting on my shoulder, one paw draped across my chest. The Candace-ball had somehow wedged herself at the base of the bed, her silver tail wrapped around my leg. 

Kristi was on my left side, a scaled, violet hand entwined with mine.

Adelle’s snore resounded from somewhere beside the bed.

I tried to move, but Candace’s tail tightened around me, and Nessy let out a small, contented whimper, nuzzling closer. Kristi’s claws flexed, grazing my arm just enough to remind me she was there. 

All four of them were fast asleep, their synchronized breathing creating a soothing rhythm in the quiet room. Early morning light filtered through the curtains, casting a golden glow across our improvised pack nest.

I should have felt uncomfortable, crowded by their presence. Instead, I felt... safe. Relaxed. Protected. Like I belonged exactly where I was.

"So much for you all taking shifts," I murmured, careful not to wake them. I noted that the healing bracelet we made had relocated from Addie's hand to my own wrist.

I wiggled my right hand slightly. It wasn’t even slightly numb. There were no pins and needles, no expected discomfort of being trapped under Nessy’s head and chest.

Weird. Maybe the healing bracelet eliminated transient paresthesia?

Nessy stirred slightly at my motion, her ears twitching before she settled again with a soft, contented sigh. Her paw tightened almost imperceptibly on my chest, as if making sure I was still there.

I checked my stats, curious about what had changed with my level-up:

| Name: Alec Benoit Foster

| Species: Human

 | Level: 4

 | Core Affinity: Reconstitution

 | Health: 100/100%

 | Reconstitution: 100/100% | Depictomancy: 100/100% | Syntropic Fusion: 100/100%

 | Alpha Authority: 100/100%

 | Strength: 17 

 | Agility: 7 

 | Dexterity: 14 

 | Vitality: 40 

 | Charisma: 11 (+5)

 | Foresight: 5 

 | Intelligence: 40 

 | Wisdom: 33

| Skills: [Reconstitution], [Depictomancy], [Syntropic Fusion], [Pack Leader]

| Bonuses: Bound Armor (currently not on), Alpha (+5 Charisma)

| Dagaz-bound Pack: Candace Rhinehart, Adelle Dallia, Nessy Whitepaw, Krysanthea Strand

| Available Stat Points to Allocate: 20

“Slayer,” I uttered. “Finally! Yessss, I’m so fucking back!”

My declaration woke up Nessy. She wiggled her mane against my side and then offered me a cheek lick. “Morninnnnnnn, Alpha!”

The husky’s voice woke up the others. The pradavarian pile around me stirred in every direction. The foxball unfurled into Candace who stretched languidly, completely shameless about the fact that she wasn’t wearing anything.

"Morning, Alpha," she purred, clearly noticing that I was staring at her assets. "Someone looks refreshed!” She grinned, jiggling aforementioned assets. “How was your overnight magical coma?"

“Invigorating,” I outputted. “Many weird dreams though.”

“How about some inspiration for the day then?” She suddenly darted forward. Before I could process the sight of her looming over me, she leaned in, her gray eyes glinting with mischief, and planted a quick, warm kiss on my lips.

“Candace!” Kristi growled, her emerald-violet feathers fluffing up as she sat up, her own robe barely clinging to her shoulders. “Keep your paws off him! Also, put some clothes on, you menace!”

“How am I supposed to seduce him with clothes on?” The fox laughed, flitting off the bed faster than raptor claws could swat at her.

She tripped over Addie on the floor. 

“Ha! Caught me a sneaky fox!” Adelle grabbed hold of Candace and squeezed her, making her squeak. 

“Noooo,” Candace fake-cried, burrowing into the cheetah and then swinging left, making them both roll around the floor. “Am captured by an orange cling-beast. What a terrible fate! Save me, Alec!”