Mage And Wolf
Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Chapter 69

Waking up in my old room at the Pack House with Hui’Jin standing beside my bed is a surreal experience. It’s a stark reminder that the world of my childhood, heck, even the world of a year ago, is gone.

"I smell breakfast meat, but they’re kind of scary" she whispers, knowing how good our hearing is.

"They’re actually pretty nice once they know you. They just don’t see many new people." I comfort her, quickly dressing before I notice I’ve habitually put on my very Pirate looking combat uniform.

Even Hui’Jin remembered to dress casual, in the one outfit she let us buy her. Oh well, if I leave the coat, sword and shotgun behind it’s a little more... nope, still a pirate.

Good enough.

I pick her up to ride on my hip and wander down to the kitchen, pointing out the important places in the Pack House along the way.

"Good morning Judith. I’m surprised you are on breakfast duty today, we got in really late"

"Oh, I could have switched, but everyone gets cranky if I don’t make breakfast."

"That’s because you do it best love" someone shouts from the other room to a chorus of agreement.

she hands over 2 plates and I set my scaly passenger down to find our place at the tables. There’s 2 spots down by the pups who haven’t shifted yet, most not shifting until puberty unless they’re in great danger.

None of the regular Pack members but Judith has seen a Dragon Kin before, and my lovely acolyte is a huge hit with the children.

They want to know everything, from what it’s like being a Priestess, if our Goddess is friendly, if she can fly, what dragon scales taste like. Wait, no, that one is teething. I pick the pup up and rescue Hui’Jin from being slobbered to death.

By the end of breakfast she’s made many new friends and they’re begging her to come play soccer.

"The bus will be here in 20 minutes you little rascals, you’ve got school this morning" they all groan at this reminder.

"Can’t we skip today? We’ve got company, that’s more important right?" they should have known that wouldn’t work, parents are now bundling their kids up to head to the bus stop in today’s light drizzle.

"So they’re not orphans?" Hui’Jin asks confused at the sudden assistance of parents.

"Nope, the warriors like to eat in the pack house and socialize, so most of the kids eat breakfast here before school."

"Packs are like one big family" Alpha Petros explains "Kat used to eat here every day too".

"That sounds really nice" Hui’Jin has a faraway look in her eyes, so I give her my best comforting hug.

"What did you need to talk to me about this morning Alpha?" Breakfast is done, might as well get business out of the way.

"We can talk in my office. Hui’Jin, our Pack Doctor would like to ask you a few things about medicine in your home world if you’ve got time? I’m told it’s part of your training."

"Sure Alpha. I finished up the basic medicine mixing and alchemy optional training. So I’ll tell him anything I can."

"Doc is a her" Doc waves from the kitchen, her face wrinkled with years of experience. "I’d love to talk to you, maybe over tea and cookies?"

Oh she’s good. Even though we just ate, cookies always make you seem like a better person.

"So, Alpha, now that we’re away from prying ears, what did you need to ask me?"

"We’ve got a small problem here you see. The local witch coven tried to spell a portal closed, but they failed and angered whatever’s inside of it. The security forces from Drakon have sent multiple teams to investigate, but they’ve only managed to inform us that it’s a cultivation world and time is seriously out of sync with Earth."

"All went missing, but one team managed to send back a warning that the locals are very biased against non humans. The drones we sent immediately lost connection, but sent back their entire 90 minute video in less than a second before their batteries died."

Well, that’s different. So far every portal I’ve entered has had a simliar time flow to earth, even if they were off cycle from where they opened.

"The Dragons inform us a mystic herb can be used to dissipate the curse that is affecting the region, but their diviners did not find it on Earth, nor their home world. It could take months or more to get some shipped in, but there’s apparently some near the portal. You’re the strongest human appearing cultivator that we have available, and you’ve likely got some coin to buy it if it’s at the market in what appears to be a village a few miles from the cave the portal opened in.."

"You’ve got a point, if cultivators are holding it, they might not sell it to a regular Lycan, and sending a pack member to a cultivation world is basically suicide if they’re found by anything hostile." I think on the problem a while, hoping for an answer that doesn’t involve working during my vacation.

There’s really not a better way easily available, and if I can just walk in, pick or buy a herb and leave, this will barely count as work, right?

"Alright, I’ll leave after lunch. Let’s go catch up with the warriors, so I can say hello. Then I should let my acolyte know I’ll be going. Normally where I go, she goes, but the scales and wings might be a serious issue if the reports from the Drakon City security forces are to be believed."

"She’s amazingly popular with the pups, and Doc has taken a liking to her. I’m sure we can keep her happy and occupied for a little while."

"She also brought along a summoning stone from Karl. It’s programmed with what he called the essentials and she’s got the skill to operate it, but not add anything new to it. So if you’re in desperate need of something, ask her nicely, and she might be willing to make it for you. It works like a basic version of the Dining Hall spell, or the product duplication spells we have enchanted into the warehouses back in Arcana."

Petros looks very excited at this news. Too excited in fact, maybe I should reign him in.

"Just remember that if you exploit my Acolyte I will be very unhappy with you" I inform him with my best serious voice.

"Has anyone told you the voice echo and black eyes are really scary on someone so small?"

"Constantly, but I think they’re exaggerating so I don’t actually do anything mean to them." Petros laughs at my assessment and pats my head, earning him a dirty look. I’d growl at him, but in my heart, he’s still my Alpha.

We head out to the training grounds, finding the advanced class of trainees is taking their lesson right now. A whole lot of kids in their mid teens, finally getting past their awkward phase to become real warriors. Well, awkward for a Lycan anyhow.

Beta Reggie is leading them and smiles when he sees me. He’s always been one to encourage me, not shoot me down and say I should have stayed as an Omega.

"Hey girlie, how about you come teach these kids what a proper warrior fights like?" Did Petros not tell him about me cultivating? Or is he messing with the recruits? It’s hard to tell with Reggie.

"Sure, Beta. First knockdown gets a dinner on me?" It’s a trick he uses on the trainees all the time, and we all fall for it, thinking that he’ll tire out by the time he’s cleared through 20 of us. But it never works. Ever. The recruits look stoked though, I’m much smaller than he is, and when I left a few months ago, I was near the bottom of the warrior rankings. None of them can pass the warrior’s exam yet, but it’s enough to give them hope.

"Thank you Miss Kat. You heard the warrior, first knock down gets a fancy meal in town. Now step on up, we all know the rules. Human form only, no weapons, one at a time."

The first up is a very snooty looking young girl, laughing with her friends "She’s barely more than an omega, how could she stand a chance against me?"

I don’t know a lot of the younger generation, but this one looks familiar, I think this is Reggie’s daughter. I look her over, seeing if her confidence might have been warranted, but her nails are manicured and painted, so she obviously never uses her claws, and even to train, her hair is in a fancy, pinned up do. Her confidence definitely comes from her bloodline, not her training.

I shoot Reggie an evil grin and he smiles back. Good, he won’t mind if I teach her a small lesson.

I motion for her to come at me and she lunges with a snarl. What is this? A schoolyard cat fight? She’s not even throwing punches, instead going for my hair. I catch her hand, twist and kick the back of her knee, tossing her into the air in front of me before shoving her stomach and throwing her across the training grounds.

"That’s one, NEXT!"

Her 4 friends weren’t any better. But now I’m up against a strapping young warrior trainee, near 7 feet tall. Almost as big as Alpha Petros. His muscles show a lot of time spent at the gym for a teenager, being both bulky and defined. Hard to achieve so close to a growth spurt. That said, he can’t be more than about 15 years old. I don’t recognize him at all, which is odd. Perhaps he transferred in recently.

His skills are very good, his strikes sharp and well controlled. He even dodged my first two takedown attempts. Sure, I’ve slowed my speed to something close to Alpha Petros’s usual, but I didn’t expect that at all. He slips slightly on the dirt, his kick going high over my head and I duck to grab him from behind and flip him onto his back a few meters away.

"Good Job kid. You’re almost ready for the exam"

He looks a bit annoyed at his mistake but nods at the compliment.

The rest of the trainees seem quite new. They’re off target, unskilled and relying on luck to try to get that free meal. It’s hardly a challenge.

At least I got a bit of time to play on my first day of vacation.