Kyupin stayed crouched, brows furrowed, as she stared at the beast quivering in front of her. It was a small thing, probably just a young cub separated from its mother.

She tilted her head, noticing a large gash stretching along its hind leg. "No wonder you couldn't walk," she mumbled, heart aching for the small animal. "Did your mother leave you behind?" Though the animal probably couldn't understand her, it let out a pitiful whine in response to her soft words.

She chewed her lower lip. Even though she wanted to help, there was nothing she could do! She knew no healing magic, had no bandages... nothing to her name except for the outfit she'd gotten in character creation and the [Starter Longbow] that had manifested in her hand at the start of the game. She was absolutely useless. Still, Kyupin didn't have it in her to abandon the beast in its time of weakness - at least not until she knew it was safe and sound with its mother again.

Humming deep in her throat, Kyupin eased forward to the injured cub, going slow to make sure she didn't startle it. It seemed to be content to watch her approach, silent.

Gently, she picked up the creature, lifting it to her chest to inspect it closer. All was fine and dandy. Until an ear-piercing scream started to echo through the forest, bouncing off trees and shrubbery until it drowned out any of the other forest sounds. It took Kyupin a moment to realize that it was the creature in her hands screeching. It took her another moment to even think of putting it down, which she scrambled to do without dropping it or hurting it further.

Large Wolf

​

The large wolf leapt from the shadows, mouth set in a snarl that revealed each of its sharp, pointy teeth. It slammed against Kyupin, knocking her away from it's howling cub and into a tree. It only spent a moment to gaze at the distressed wolf cub before pouncing after Kyupin, claws digging into her flesh.

Kyupin cried out as pain bloomed from her arms, which she'd thrown up to protect herself. It did little to help. She was easily knocked over by the weight of the larger wolf, blood welling at the gashes dug into her skin. "I was just trying to he–" her jaw snapped shut as she was forced to move again. She could hardly focus on explaining herself to a wolf that didn't care to hear her words when she was busy dodging its aggressive swipes.

Wasn't she in the starter zone?! What was with this wolf?

Her breath came in ragged pants as she tried desperately, and often failed, to twist and weave out of its attacks. In her peripheral vision, she could see her health steadily dropping until it was uncomfortably orange. Her arms and legs were littered in cuts, most shallow but a few uncomfortably deep and oozing.

Her luck finally ran out, foot twisting on a particularly large root and sending her sprawling to the ground. There was no time to think, because by the time she'd turned and tried to push herself up to her elbows, she was being pinned down by the wolf.

Staring into its gaping maw, Kyupin whimpered.

She didn't want to die. It was just a game, it wouldn't hurt, but god she did not want to die.

 

Heading through Brisshal to meet with her guild mate, Gwyn had avoided the more inhabited portions of the starter area. Things were a tad bit too unstable in the political field and she wasn't sure how the game or the non-player characters would react in terms of guild alignment and the like to the nations. Until she figured that out in a safer manner then she was more than happy to stray from the main roads and towns... not that she didn't already. A ranger was nothing without the wilds and she found herself there anyway. She simply had more reason to stick to them. She also wasn't sure how many people would be keen to meet her new partner.

A sudden sharp whine of an animal in distress picked up and Gwyn glanced down at the snake at her feet. Its tongue flickered curiously and the speed of its winding movement carried it forward in a smooth glide. It was certainly faster in the water, but it had no problems navigating any terrain that faced it. Serpents were good for that. The huntress jogged at its side and was careful to reduce the noise of her footsteps and armor. The pair were quiet as they sought out the place they pinpointed as the origin of the whole fuss. She stooped slightly and drew the smooth, black bow to her hand. There was still a slight disconnect they needed to work on in their movements, but the two were new to the partnership. There was only upwards to go.

Suddenly @Kyupin Felnya's form tore through the woods form where the sound of the sharp, shrieking whine had come from and Gwyn tensed in confusion. The wolf quickly following on the unknown player's heels cleared that up immediately. The Felis hit the ground hard and the hunter was quick to draw an arrow. The skill for the Power Shot was selected, charged, and fired. The sharp arrowhead blunted and weighted further and with the power behind her high draw weight longbow was more than enough to send it flying. With a loud thud the shot slammed into the side of the wolf and the knockback sent it stumbling back away from the pinned woman. Nathair slid forward with a rattling hiss, the body of the massive serpent coiling and looping in on itself as it posed to intimidate. The attack was higher level than the starting area beast, but not enough to kill it with the lessened damage to allow for the status effect. She didn't need a stronger shot though.

Gwyn suddenly lunged forward a step, though she was still far from the wolf, and bore her teeth with a mimicked snarl. It was answered in turn by the canine. For a moment they stared each other down as the hackles of the wolf bristled and the Human's anaconda flexed in warning. A while from the bushes cut the wolf off and it began to back away. For each step back, Gwyn took another one forward to close the distance to the new player. "Leave," she rumbled back at the wolf. It didn't understand spoken word, but her tone was clear and the fight was obviously not in its favor. The call of its pup had it turning to flee, snatching the bumbling thing by the scruff and tearing off into the woods. She straightened and huffed to the green anaconda as the creature swung around to peer at the other woman. Gwyn's eyes joined it on her. "You alright, miss? Brisshal may be the spawn zone, but it's still plenty dangerous."

 

Kyupin blinked up at Gwyn, dazed from the encounter. Her heart pounded rapidly, chest rising and falling with each quick, anxious breath. "I'm alive," she said, the words floating on a relieved, but disbelieving, sigh.

Still frightened, Kyupin struggled to smile for her savior, or show any other kind of thankful gesture. She flushed under the combined stares of both serpent and woman.

"Thank you," she started, wiping at her eyes with the heel of her palm to try and hide any tears, "I'm... okay. Thank you. For helping me." She looked to her feet. "If you'd been any later, I would be dead." Though the wolf had landed many nasty blows, it was true: she was technically okay. For now. "Not that I can blame it for trying to kill me," she shrugged awkwardly, slowly and painfully climbing to her feet. A sharp pain followed by throbbing around her ankle had Kyupin wincing. "Must've thought I was going to hurt its pup."

The pup! Kyupin's brows furrowed, expression pinched in concern. "You didn't kill the wolf, did you? The cub was injured and needs help!" she cried, recalling the nasty gash. One that was matched on her right thigh, oozing blood, though she doggedly ignored it. "We need to help it."

Kyupin Felnya

15 HP

MAX red HP

60 EN

MAX EN

Bleeding - Needs attention! HP regen slowed.

 

The ranger shifted the black longbow to her back, still equipped but leaving her hands free without a current threat to face. She'd catch on to anything else approaching with the help of her Hunting skill and Nathair was an excellent distraction for anything that could come barreling in. It had a nasty bite and was quick as a whip to strike.

She offered a hand to help the girl up and listened as she stumbled through her thanks. "Nothing to thank me for, it happens. You aren't the first or the last to get cornered by something out of your pay grade. Promise." She wasn't sure how exactly to go about soothing the poor Felis. Gwyn wasn't really the person to go to for pats on the back and band-aids. She was more the person you roped into drinking with you for the sake of complaining, or the person you asked for help beating the shit out of someone who toed the line and made the mistake of crossing it. The woman gnawed slightly at the inside of her cheek as she thought about a response that might ease some of her embarrassment, but instead the other cut her off before she got the chance. Help it? Oh no, no, no.

"Ah, I don't think that's a good idea. No, I didn't kill it, I just pushed her off and stared her down. Between Beast Taming and Hunting low level animals like that are pretty easy to ward off without too much violence." She explained hurriedly to not leave a bad impression of herself on the new player. She was a hunter, sure, but she was by no means cruel. The sounds of offspring in distress were common in this world and the real one and she was smart enough to leave a situation like that to avoid a fight. Neither her nor the beast wanted to be injured over their young. If you showed them you were no threat and weren't worth the risk of chasing off? They normally backed down. "If you try to help the pup you'll get mauled and you'll only coddle it if you manage to help. If it's strong, it'll live. If it isn't it'll die. That's sad and all, but if you help it now that just means it'll drain pack resources until it dies later anyway. Nature's cruel like that." She scratched at the back of her neck and ended up avoiding the smaller woman's eyes. Apparently she could be a little depressing about the circle of life thing according to some she'd spoken too, but it was the truth.

With a sigh, Gwyn betrayed her own stance and asked, "What kind of injury was it?" The girl was in no state to go running after the animals, but she might as well try to actually address the issue and not the morality of nature's decisions in the matter of life and death. That wouldn't be helpful, just kind of mean. Nathair, in the meantime, slid closer to the girl and harmlessly wound about her feet. It flexed muscles and coiled tight around an ankle should she not move it while it watched its tamer with sharp eyes. "You're injured just like the pup and I didn't save you for you to bleed out in front of me, kid. Sit down for a second, the whelp can wait. Here, take this." She rifled through her inventory UI before she selected a minor potion. A trash item at this point that would do little to help her, but would make much more of a difference for someone with a low base HP.

 

Kyupin's face grew more and more worried the longer the woman spoke, eyes widening and tearing up. At least the mother wasn't killed because of her own stupidity, but thinking of the poor pup, suffering, being ignored because maybe it'd drain "pack resources"? She bit down any remarks, her eyes downcast as she tried to calm her raging heart. She understood, after all. The mother wolf was trying to protect her child, and no matter what she did, it would be threatened by Kyupin's presence. And she wasn't strong enough to do anything. She'd be a hindrance. Probably make things worse, even. But... still. Clutching at her battle skirt, she meekly nodded along to the woman's words, trying not to cry.

A long sigh drew her gaze back up to the woman's face. "What kind of injury was it?" Even if it was spoken with a sigh, that still meant there was a chance this woman would help her help the pup. Kyupin's eyes sparkled, partly from unshed tears but mostly from joy.

"It was a gaA—" she squeaked as the serpent wound around her feet, squeezing her ankles, but continued on with a slightly higher tone, "—AAash! A gash. Deep one. On its hind leg, the poor thing." She frowned as she tried to recall the image of the wolf cub in her mind, but was quickly distracted by the other woman speaking again. The mention of her injury was enough to cause Kyupin to blanch, cautiously staring at the bleeding wounds.

Like an obedient pup, Kyupin did as she was told. She put her hands out to grab whatever it was, and then gasped in delight when a potion poofed into existence.

Tipping her head back, she gulped down the entirety of the potion, warmth flooding her body as the system recognized the drink and refilled her health bar. Red to orange, to yellow, to green. She hadn't realized how ragged that fight had left her until she'd taken that potion and felt the difference in her body. Like she was... lighter, and more awake.

She beamed at the woman. "Thank you, really, for everything, miss–" she blinked twice, realizing she'd yet to ask for a name, "–uh, miss beast-master-lady-archer?" The words came out rushed, almost garbled. She glanced at the snake still coiled around her feet and smiled at it too. "And you too, dear serpent."

"How can I repay you for all this?"

Kyupin Felnya

85 HP

MAX green HP

60 EN

MAX EN

Bleeding - Needs attention! HP regen slowed.

 

While Nathair's cold, snake's heart was absolutely unmoved by the sight of the saddened newbie, Gwyn fought not to show how bothered she was by what she'd caused and just how easily manipulated she felt she was when faced with a sad anything. Sad girls most of all. Sad catgirls? Unheard of until now and entirely unfair. She crossed her arms in front of her as if their were going to help shield her emotions and she shifted awkwardly. Fuck, she'd damn near made the poor thing cry. She could almost feel Akino's judging look and she hadn't even spoken to the Felis in an age and a half. The woman paused for a moment to hiss down at the snake and flick a hand, the anaconda releasing the girl's ankle though it didn't move. She flicked her hand again slightly, but it didn't budge. Stubborn beast. "Pot, meet kettle."

She sucked at her teeth in thought for a moment as she considered the whole situation with the pup. There was a good chance it either wouldn't make it due to a lameness or that its mother would abandon it if she didn't think it was worth the risk of wasted time and effort. She probably had the rest of litter elsewhere, though that brought to question why that one had been separated. Perhaps she had been moving them from somewhere? A new denning site, most likely. "A gash, huh? I guess we can do something about that. I'm no support, but anyone with common sense can make a bandage. I'm assuming you didn't take any skills with healing capabilities?" She asked, but she already knew the answer to that one. The potion dealt with a lot of the heavier damage and she was pleased to see it effective. Certainly not a healer or she'd have finished it up, the hunter guessed. With a nod to herself she carried on. "The name's Gwyn ap Herne, but as you can imagine I just go by Gwyn. That there is Nathair. And who might you be?"

"You don't owe me anything, just look out for yourself, please? Just because you'll respawn doesn't mean there isn't a negative to getting killed." The woman gestured for the Felis to follow as she turned to head after the way both the smaller girl and the wolf had initially come barreling from. She kept an eye out for wherever the animal might have gotten in that amount of time and clicked her tongue to warn Nathair not to slither over tracks if it decided to go ahead of them. It didn't seem too excited to do so and lagged a step behind her. Occasionally the red-streaked head of the green anaconda would show in the corner of her eye as it moved to the side of the two at its steady pace. "Now before we get caught up to it, in the event of combat, what do you have on you and what skills do you have? I'm assuming you just logged in for the first time." Gwyn pulled the longbow Sera had crafted for her from her back as she spoke, partially to highlight the question, but mostly to be ready in the event she did have to fight the wolf off of her or @Kyupin Felnya again.

She wasn't expecting to have to fight the mother, at least not for long. Either she'd use the skills Beast Taming let her access to quell her anger long enough to help the pup... or Nathair would give the fearsome canine a scaly hug until Gwyn was done. She'd just have to keep her fingers crossed that the massive serpent would be willing to let a meal go so easily.

 

She tried to keep her astonishment and admiration kept under wraps, but Kyupin had the sneaking suspicion it still showed in her eyes. At least she wasn't openly gaping. That would look bad, and maybe the woman would think Kyupin had low expectations of her! Not that she did. Of course not. She'd just saved her life, and— Kyu, shut up. Right, gorgeous, giant woman, talking to her.

Scratching at her cheek, she avoided making eye contact with the human. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't. I took, uh," she started to count off her fingertips, "ranged combat, beast taming, and cooking." Kyupin laughed awkwardly, head ducking down as her feline ears folded in on themselves. "Not that I'm any good at any of those."

Had she the time, Kyupin would've berated herself for such self-pitying behavior. There was no reason to blab about all these things and potentially burden the kind Miss with it. Again, she was easily distracted from her wandering thoughts, ears perking at the introductions. "Hi Gwyn," she parroted back, "and hey there, Nathair," she quickly added, waving to the snake still lazily wrapped around (but thankfully no longer squeezing) her leg. She paused, realizing with a start that the names now floated above Gwyn and Nathair, respectively, when she focused on them. Cool.

Her smile was back in place, hand instinctively reached to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. "I'm Va–" She quickly cut herself off, remembering that she'd given herself a Username when she first logged in, "–ery glad to meet you. Uh, my name's Kyupin Felnya! Kyupin's fine. Or Kyu. Or anything really, whatever you want, I guess?" Kyupin shrugged, trotting after @Gwyn ap Herne as they started walking back in the direction she'd come from. Too embarrassed by the earlier scenario, Kyupin wisely kept her mouth shut and simply nodded at Gwyn's request. She'd try to stay safe. Though how successful she would be was a different case entirely.

"What do I have on me?" She frowned, looking over her shoulder to the quiver strapped around her torso. And then to her hand, which was... empty. "Um..."

As they neared the tree hollow she'd first spotted the wolf pup in, Kyupin's gaze paused on the long bow she'd dropped long ago. Already, she could feel the embarrassment crawling inside of her. Maybe she should just tuck herself into that tree hollow instead! But no. There was a hurting pup to help.

Twigs and crisp leaves cracked and crunched under her feet, the noise only worsened by her slow, deliberate steps to the wooden bow. Her voice came out pitifully high-pitched and cracking as she lifted the weapon, showing off the plain wooden bow. "I've a bow," at least now she did, "and arrows, and uh," Kyupin quickly checked her inventory, "and that's it." Honestly, there was no reason to be ashamed about her lacking equipment, considering she'd just started the game, but her face was still blotched red. It only grew warmer at Gwyn's accurate assumption about her status. A newb. Or noobie? Whatever it was called.

Hurrying back to Gwyn's side, she squeezed her weapon, as if the pressure would help her burning face calm down.

Large Wolf

​

The large wolf's ears perked as voices carried through the wood, growing closer to its location. Though it hadn't been fatal, the wolf was certainly bruised by the impact of that shot. It nudged it's pup into a shrub with its nose, giving it a careful sniff and one final lick of the fur, before turning around to scare off the intruders. It stalked forward, loudly growling and snarling. If the strange creatures were going to finish the job, at least her pup would be hidden.

Kyupin blanched at the sound.

On the plus side, at least her face wasn't red anymore. On the other... well... it sounded like they'd found the wolf. Or at least, the mother wolf. A very angry mother wolf. "Goooood doggy," she half-heartedly cooed. She took a step back, very prepared to leave the much more capable Gwyn to handling the beast.

 

The girl seemed a little put out at her own skill choices and levels and Gwyn lifted her hands slightly as if to calm a wild animal, "That's fine! We all start somewhere and I'm still learning too, trust me. But we're pretty close. I took Beast Taming, Ranged, and Hunting." She smiled warmly at the other as she spoke, gesturing to Nathair, her bow, and the woods around them to highlight her masteries as she listed them. It seemed the other either appreciated the beasts of the wilds and her preferred method of combat... or she'd just picked whatever. Off the bat the other didn't seem the type though. A bit to earnest and her heart bleeding for the pup, Gwyn had a feeling she understood in some part the deep draw and connection that could be found in the wooded wilds beneath the boughs of the trees. Hopefully she would pick something less hostile and stubborn for her first tame though.

She grinned over she shoulder when the girl introduced herself and put one arm across her hips and another across her back to jokingly bow at the waist mid-step toward her. "Well met, @Kyupin Felnya." The sound of Nathair rasping a noise to the side drew her irritated gaze for a second. The damn creature couldn't understand spoken language, even with the Beast Taming skill, but it didn't seem to stop it from mocking her anyway. She had never had a pet snake in the real world, but she was fairly sure they didn't do that there either. Bratty thing.

Gwyn chuckled as Kyupin moved delicately over to her fallen weapon, endeared to the sight of the familiar starting longbow. There were a few options between things like crossbows, shortbows, and the like, but Gwyn had preferred the weight of the longbow. It felt more secure, more real, more powerful. It felt as dangerous in her grasp as it did safe. "That'll do! So long as you have those and some tenacity, you'll do fine. I wonder how long until you go knocking on Fine Construct's door for your own custom one." The Felis returned to her just in time for the body of the mother wolf to once more part the underbrush with a snarl as she stalked forward.

As soon as Kyupin moved to retreat, the ranger moved her arm out to stop her. "No, don't give quarter. You have Beast Taming and even if there isn't anything in it yet... you gotta train it sometime. I'll help." She cut her eyes over to meet the others for a moment before she narrowed back in on the wolf she stood snarling across from them. "We've already made an enemy of her so this might be a bit difficult. I've got a fair bit of experience pumped into mine so I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you or her. For now don't meet her eyes, don't crouch down, speak soft and calm to her. If you can you might even be able to get the pup's curiosity piqued and make helping it easier. You didn't attack her like I did so she might listen to you more." Meanwhile Gwyn tilted her body slightly so that she wasn't directly squared toward the wolf and kept her gaze just to the side of the snarling jaws. With a deliberate movement she put her bow away into her inventory and stood unarmed. Of course, she doubted the wolf in her protective fury was aware of Gwyn's not-so-little bodyguard in the nearby underbrush. She hoped it wouldn't come to using Nathair's loving 'hugs' that even she had been on the receiving side of before.

 

Kyupin tried to hold Gwyn's gaze, to communicate just how much of a bad idea it was to make her face off against the irate wolf, but the woman was quick to focus on the beast again. A good idea, honestly. She, too, focused on the wolf, her body tensing slightly.

She was absolutely terrified. But @Gwyn ap Herne had promised to keep both her and the wolves safe, and she had to trust that. Following the taller woman's movements, Kyupin shifted her right foot forwards and angled herself slightly. Her eyes dropped to the wolf's snout, her weapon popping back into her inventory with a little UI manipulation. "Okay," she sighed, swallowing down the thickness blocking her throat, "I can do this." Another deep breath, forcibly unlocking each of her coiled muscles until she was relaxed. "… probably."

Her voice was naturally a soft one, but she focused on making it even gentler. "Hello there," she said, voice slightly louder than a whisper. The corners of her lips twitched up into a smile. "I'm sorry about earlier. Your pup is hurt, right?" Kyupin's movements were slow and controlled, to make sure she didn't frighten the beast with anything sudden. "I want to help you."

Leaning forward, Kyupin tried to inch closer. The wolf growled, hackles rising. "Please?" She stopped approaching and instead held out a hand, trying to keep as still as possible.

"Let me help," she repeated sweetly, "You are safe. I promise."

Wolf Cub

Curious about the commotion and its mother's odd behaviour, the cub peeked out from the brush they'd been tucked into. It could see its mother, and two figures. One had approached earlier, and the other was a larger creature. Were they here to hurt its mother? The cub whined, slightly muffled by shrubbery, though loud enough to be heard by its mother.

Kyupin blinked, clamping down on the urge to flinch when the wolf growled again, its head snapping quickly to the side. It kept its eye on her, however. Curious, her eyes slowly wandered over to the direction the wolf had turned to, spotting something odd in the bushes.

Was that the injured pup she'd seen earlier? "It's okay," she tried to emit a soothing aura, her smile slightly growing now that she knew the pup was safe. "I just want to help them, and then we'll leave you alone," she promised. Did the wolf understand her? It was hard to tell, and the snarl still spread across its muzzle gave away little info.

She took a step closer, though. And then another. The wolf held it's position, eye tracking each of her movements. Her limbs shook with the effort of going so slowly, but still, Kyupin moved until both her hands were clearly visible to the beast. "It's okay." That was her mantra, and she repeated it many more times in her head with each small nudge forward. "It's okay." So far, neither Gwyn nor her had been attacked, and that had to be a good sign, right? "It's okay." She had to trust Gwyn's confidence. "We're okay."

Now that they were much closer, Kyupin could take in the wolf's unique appearance. Bright red markings underlined its eyes and ran from its forehead along the length of its body. The black tipped tail and otherwise pristine white fur were something to admire, in better times.

A beautiful creature. A very dangerous one too.

She swallowed thickly – it was the moment of truth. The test of courage. Kyupin closed her hands into loose fists, tucking her fingers against her palm so they couldn't be bitten off. And then she leaned in just enough to invade the wolf's space with her hand.

 

She could tell the poor thing was terribly intimidated by the whole ordeal and Gwyn figured it was probably one of the worst first experiences after logging in for the first time. So far, at least. There was still a fair chance that everything would turn out just fine and maybe Kyupin's anxiety over it would turn out all the better for the experience gained right off the bat. A shame, however, it hadn't been later.

She could have tamed the wolf herself and gained a loyal companion, perhaps help raise the pup either to join her and its mother in combat or to eventually release it into the forests of its birth. That wasn't in the stars for her this time, but none could tell what the future held and only time would tell what Kyupin would eventually find at her side. Gwyn hadn't expected her companion in the least. She was already excited to see what the small Felis might call as her ally. It would be a pleasure to see her grow to it. There was a kind of common excitement and victory for all beast tamers when another joined their ranks. She had yet to meet one not as thrilled by the companions of others as they were their own. A bone deep love of animals was their uniting trait.

It would be awfully hard for her to play a game missing a hand though and so Gwyn watched @Kyupin Felnya carefully as she began her attempt at calming the animal. As she moved forward, Gwyn eyed the tremble in her hand and listened carefully to her tone. The animals would pick up more than she could, but the nervous sincerity was plain to see and hear. The furious mother trembled too, though from her deep growls that rattled up her chest and slipped from between pearly teeth. "You've got this." The tension heightened at the whine from the pup, but despite the noise and the mother's answering snarl... Kyupin relaxed? Her voice sounded steadier in part. Gwyn wary switched between her new found companion, the mother, and what the Inspection Mode showed was the pup. The bright white of her eyes from the action faded in a moment, though she noticed that neither were considered regular wolves. Interesting, but not overly abnormal.

Kyupin moved her hand forward and the wolf's jaws opened to bite, jerking forward, but before Nathair or her could move she realized the mother hadn't bitten down. She still growled quietly, but her teeth sat just on the skin, barely dimpling it. A moment passed before the wolf let go, sniffling carefully at her wrist, but ultimately taking a single step back. The pup in the bushes poked their head out before nervously tumbling over to stand behind its parent. It limped something fierce with the wound on its leg, but didn't seem to be too bothered. Youthful vigor, perhaps. She smiled at the trio and carefully removed an item from her inventory. "Alright, I'll admit it's cute. No bandages, they'll just end up torn off or chewed up or both." With a sigh she moved forward carefully. Her eyes stayed on Kyupin and she ignored the hackles rising on the female wolf as she held her hand out to the Felis. A small herbal twig sat in her palm. "It has healing properties and I'll bet the mother will have less issue giving her pup a toy than a bandage. It can chew on it like any other stick, but also get a good bit of healing for it. I was saving it in case it was an ingredient for something better, but... this is a worthy cause." The ranger handed it over and turned her back on the wolves to retreat a few steps before turning.

Across from her, the adult wolf watched sharply, but with a dawning understanding. She'd been close enough to trigger one of the passive effects of beast taming, something that made most animals intrinsically like the tamer. Without the presumed threat to her pup, it seemed it finally had taken effect. "It's all you, kid."

 

She'd started unflinchingly as her hand was enveloped in the gaping maw, mentally willing herself to stay still – though that didn't stop her from holding her breath in anticipation. The moment that the Mother had backed off, almost bowing its head in grudging acceptance, Kyupin visibly sagged in relief. The motion was still slow, controlled, but it was as if the rest of her could relax now.

In a synchronized movement, Kyupin jumped at Gwyn's voice, head swiveling around to stare at the other woman. She'd completely forgotten about her presence!

Gratefully taking the twig, and then staring at it curiously, she nodded along to the explanation. "Thank you, Gwyn," she said, voice as soft as her eyes had become. Her fingers curled around the herb, her attention already drawn back to the wolves. Bending at the knees, Kyupin crouched in a painfully slow motion, her legs straining to lower herself without startling either the Mother or the cub. Though the cub seemed more curious than afraid.

Some final adjustments and Kyupin was sitting on her knees, one palm braced against the dirt and the other offering the twig out for the pup to take.

The mother, eyes still watching Gwyn's every movement, stepped forward to sniff tentatively at the foreign object, though it eventually seemed to nod consent and allow the pup to approach. Things were actually going well! "Hey they buddy," she whispered, twitching the twig around to catch the pup's attention. It certainly did the trick, coercing the cub to waddle closer. Once it got close enough, she held still.

Except after a single sniff, the cub deemed it unworthy of its attention, turning away as if to leave. "Uh… Look!" she playfully cried, twitching the twig around some more.

Oh yeah – that worked.

Attentive eyes watched the twigs movement. She twisted it out of reach of the wolf. It followed. This game of chase continued until Kyupin had laughingly pulled the twig to her chest. Without hesitation, the little cub pounced onto her lap and grabbed at one end of the stick. "Now you want it?" she teased, pulling on her end only to be met with a little growl. After some more testing pulls, Kyupin let go of the twig, allowing the cub to curl up in her lap and gnaw on its new toy. When she reached to try and pull the twig away, the cub yipped at her, gripping it tightly between its growing teeth. It was like… a little puppy…

Kyupin giggled, instinctively leaning forward to pet the cub, scratching it near the base of its ears. She hadn't even noticed that the pup had yet to whine, even relaxing under her touch and leaning into it. What she did notice was, when she gently lifted the pup off of her lap and lowered them near the mother, it seemed disheartened. And when she stepped away, towards @Gwyn ap Herne … it followed.

She took another step back. "Hey now, you need to go with your mommy," she said, unable to sound convincingly stern when her heart was warming to the thought of keeping the cub around. She looked searchingly to the Mother wolf, then back to the cub, and once again tried to reposition it by the Mother's side. This time, she jogged backwards quickly. The cub let out a low, keen cry, then dropped its toy to follow her. "Oh nooooo," she whispered. "But... your pack…" Her heart broke, unable to withstand the expression the cub was pinning her with.

Kyupin squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the large eyes staring into her soul. Ultimately she failed, giving in to the great power that was wolf cub cuteness. "Gwyn," she started hesitantly, "do you think I can keep it?" she asked.

She bent down again, reaching a hand out to the cub and watched with fascination as it butted its head against her palm. Having a companion wouldn't be... too bad...

Thrown die:

43

 

Kyupin took to it easy and Gwyn was proud to see her not waver under the teeth of the wolf. They had their moment and she found herself nodding slightly, approving of the interaction. She felt even more so when the Felis began to kneel down and she noticed that she was purposefully moving slow and careful not to crouch, but to sit. The ranger and the mother wolf both could tell, whether Kyupin meant it or not, that it was a sign of helplessness. With her legs under her, her movement was restricted. At that it seemed the large, white wolf was content to relax at last... though she could still feel the beast's eye on her when she wasn't watching the movements of her offspring.

She moved back a step until she could comfortably lean against the trunk of the tree behind her, crossing her arms over her chest and watching the two play over the herbal root-like item. It didn't heal for much, but for an animal as small as that? The things HP bar must have been a sliver of her own. Even Nathair could take a fair beating, though whether that was size, scales, or temperament she didn't know. She didn't particularly care to guess either, the game could already be confusing enough. She was still acclimating to some of the functions of the thing. For a first VR game, a first video game in general, she had certainly picked the most complex and realistic. Which led her to wonder if the puppy breath from the wolf pup would be just as real. Gross.

The ranger readied herself to leave as @Kyupin Felnya got up, but was surprised to see the pup whining and toddling after her. A rather odd little interaction had her snorting suddenly. "You've made a friend." She said idly, watching with amusement as she fought to get the pup to stay with its mother. Gwyn and the older wolf shared a momentary glance before she dropped her eyes in respect. She wasn't sure just how smart the beast was, much like Nathair, but beast taming came with a certain level of empathy. Even Nathair, still hidden in the brush as he was, felt like resignation. She had underestimated Kyupin's skill level or perhaps just her honest and nurturing nature. Some character trait in her that the pup had latched on to. The two shared a moment the same way she had with the mother wolf and Gwyn shook her head helplessly. Day One was looking rather interesting for the young tamer.

"Kyupin, I think you already have him. There should be a prompt in the Beast Taming UI... click the 'Tame' prompt and then 'Accept' if you want this." She smiled sadly at the older wolf, though the wise eyes of the creature didn't seem hateful or depressed per say. Perhaps she realized the pup would be safer if she couldn't heal its leg or stop it from being harmed in the first place. Maybe she simply understood you couldn't fight the dreams of children, if wolves dreamed of something as grand as a tamed companion's fate as a beloved brother-in-arms. Gwyn didn't know, the disconnect between her and an animal she hadn't tamed was too wide to bridge. "I believe it's already picked you, whatever your choice."

 

She tore her eyes away from the wolf cub to look uncertainly at Gwyn, and then to the mother wolf. A small whine finally brought her attention back to the pup, her eyes glazing over as she focused on the UI Prompt in front of her. Her hand hovered in the air for another moment before finally passing through, pressing the large ACCEPT button in her vision and dropping her hand to the cub's head. Her face was scrunched up in thought. "Vulcan," she finally said, eyes glittering with some unspoken realization. She scratched behind its ear. "Your name is Vulcan."

Kyupin's hands shook as she lifted the newly-named Vulcan into her arms, bringing it up to eye-level. Yup. A sweet little wolf boy. Her smile grew as a feeling of contentment flooded her body. "You ready, boy?" she asked, lowering him back to the ground. Her movements were a little faster, a little more relaxed, now that everybody/animal had seemingly come to an understanding. Straightening up, Kyupin coughed into her fist, then scratched at her cheek. "I'll take care of him," she promised, making eye contact with the Mother Wolf, watching as Vulcan was fussed over by his mother for what might be the last time. "And we'll try and come visit as often as possible." The massive Wolf bowed its head, as if understanding her human words.

Jogging over to Gwyn with Vulcan tumbling along right at her heels, Kyupin didn't bother to hide her flushed face nor her giddy smile. "I hope it's not a problem if I," she looked to her new companion, "uh, if we, tagged along? You're heading into town?" At least, she hoped that was where @Gwyn ap Herne planned to go.

 

Gwyn smiled warmly as Kyupin accepted the small beast as her own and named him. "Vulcan's a strong name," she nodded to herself as she spoke, "I bet he'll grow into it well with your help." With the hostilities fading, she gestured slightly toward the bushes to draw her own tame from its hiding place. The serpent kept its distance still so as to not scare off either of the canines or send them back into a fury. Instead, Nathair's head rested on the top of one of her boots and idly curled the rest of its long body around her feet and the base of the tree. She could see it eyeing the pup, probably imagining it as an easy snack, but it made no move. The mother wolf's hackles raised for a moment, but lowered quickly when the snake didn't draw any closer than required to join its master. She was likely more distracted by the loss of her pup, though there was a proud resignation. It meant her pup had a strong will and stronger heart. Taking up the call of a companion wasn't easy. It certainly wasn't safe.

She wondered idly what it would have been like to tame a beast before, when she was so new and fresh to the game. When her skills weren't rusty, but rather newborn. To tame a companion and raise and train it at your side, to grow stronger as a pair? She wondered what beast and what relationship they would have shared if she hadn't hunted down Nathair. Maybe she'd ask @Kyupin Felnya one day what it was like, when the Felis joined her in experience and skill. The ranger didn't regret her choice, as much as her curiosity was piqued by the situation. The green anaconda had given her a run for her money, it had made her work for the right to have it in battle side-by-side. Compassion, it seemed, would bind Kyupin and Vulcan where respect bound Gwyn and Nathair. Neither was weak. Neither was wrong. She knelt for a moment to smooth a hand over the scaled nose of the snake. It watched her passively. The empathy shared between them spoke of a quiet understanding that could only be heard in the roar of battle. They were different to the other two, but no less. No better. She was horribly proud of them all.

The woman stood straight when Kyupin joined her, the mother vanished into the woods with an air of mystery and wisdom. An odd beast, indeed. Gwyn grinned at the girl and her pup, wiggling her fingers in a tiny wave to the new ally not even a foot tall yet. "Welcome to the pack." She looked back up at her, gaze curious. "Yes, actually. I've a guild mate I'm meeting up with to... catch up with." She wasn't sure the two of them sharing their emotionally burdened views of the massive clusterfuck that was the Castle Dormont turned Astorea ordeal counted as catching up, but that was a bit much to get into with someone who hadn't taken part. The new kid on the block would eventually be initiated into the dangerous political landscape if she cared to, just as she had the equally dangerous wilds, in time. "I'd be happy to have the company. Nathair's a shitty conversationalist." She waved a hand to motion Kyupin to follow and set their course. They'd speak on the road and perhaps she'd clue the other into some tips and tricks about using companions in battle and the like. Perhaps they'd just talk about the weather.

She could use the cheerful company before she faced the music.

[ OOC: Unless there's anything else, Iz, this is done! ]​