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“Can you help me through the night?” you ask her, and the black she-wolf nods, leaping off her ledge to land beside you.

You can see now how muscled she is, especially compared to yourself.

She may not be any taller than you are, but she packs enough muscle to make you hurt for a lifetime.

“Let’s go.” She lowly growls, and you quickly follow her as she leads you between rocks and trees.

“What’s your name?” You ask her.
“I am called ‘Shadow’ here,” she answers you, leaving you to wonder if she goes by a different name elsewhere. "Some of our kind may also call me the 'Gatekeeper'.

Finally, you reach a small cave which belongs to Shadow.

“Go ahead..” She mutters when she sees you hungrily eyeing a recently killed deer in the cave, and with a quick nod, you dig in to your meal.

From the corners of your eyes, you see how Shadow fluently changes into her human form, and then, she sets to work. It doesn’t take her very long to kindle a fire, and when you’ve filled your belly, you sit back to study Shadow.

The now-human Wolf-Born is studying you as well. Her hair is a deep black, much like her wolf coat.

Dark brown, almost black eyes are peering at you from beneath dark lashes.

She’s wearing combat trousers and a black tank top to go with it, and a white brassard featuring a red cross adorns her left upper arm.

You briefly wonder if she used to be a medic.

And as if reading your thoughts, she briefly eyes the brassard herself, and smirks at you.

“I used to be a medic while I still lived among the humans. In fact, even in the Wolf-Born world, I still enjoy the benefits of my medical training. If you’re ever in need of some medical attention, then you could try howling for me. If I still like you by then, then either I myself, or a good friend of mine will be there to patch you up..”
You nod, committing this knowledge to your memory.

“As for your pack.. There are several ‘main’ packs here.. The Tachaeia, the Greybacks, the Khione, and finally, the Stormrunners.” She shows you a map of the Wolf-Born Land, with each of the pack names written in elegant handwriting over the respective pack territories.

“Each of those packs are large enough and occasionally, one of their members will leave their pack in order to form one of their own. You should see if there are any lone wolves there which would like to join your pack..”

She frowns, and you wait for her to continue.

“A word of caution, though. The Greybacks are known for their violent tendencies. I wouldn’t stray too far into their territory. It is a big pack, and they’ll hunt you down if they ever see reason to. Also, any deserters of the Greyback pack will be mercilessly hunted down by the Greybacks, even if they join your pack. Only when your pack is powerful enough to hold their own against the Greybacks, they’ll leave you alone. But it’s going to take you a long time to get there..

I would exercise caution threading around the Greybacks and their deserters..”
For someone as powerful as Shadow, it’s quite discerning to hear how she’s warning you against the Greybacks. A small shiver runs down your back, but it’s quickly replaced by a heavy tiredness.

You can’t stop yourself from yawning, and with a smirk, Shadow pushes herself up on her feet, and she swiftly changes into her wolf form.

“You should sleep. Good luck on creating your own pack..”
You nod, and thank her for the food and shelter, and wish her a good night. You barely hear the whispered ‘Goodnight’ she returns to you, before you fall asleep..

You wake up the next morning, feeling refreshed and ready to set out into the Wolf-Born Land.

A small meal of blue and red berries, along with some small pieces of meat, and a pool of melting ice water, has been laid out for you.
You can smell Shadow’s lingering scent in the cave and on the food, but the she-wolf herself is nowhere to be found.

With a shrug, you quickly eat the meal that was laid out for you, and then, you exit the cave.

It’s time for you to start looking for other lone wolves, in order to form a pack.

Where will you go now?

• To the Khione
• The Tachaeia!
• To the Greybacks!
• The Stormrunners!