He looked back to the fortification to ensure that the children had been delivered safely through the conflict with the demon beasts. Seeing Rose and Ross standing atop the embankment unharmed, he knelt down among the bodies of the slain wolves, praying to St Michael for his safe deliverance through the battle.
When he was done, he stood up, calling out to the others, “Let’s make camp here for the night, the light is almost gone anyway.”
North End, Boston, Massachusetts
Nick stepped on a twig, snapping it with an audible crack. He ducked back into the alley as a two-ton dog turned her head to look for the sound. He was hoping she hadn’t seen him. He’d already cast bond on her five times, so odds were that she wouldn’t attack him, but he didn’t want to risk her getting angry, especially this close to the final casting.
He kept out of sight, counting twenty heartbeats before he began to slowly move back to where he could see the courtyard. He caught her tail flashing by just past the Paul Revere statue as she ducked into her den in the Old North Church. Nick glanced back at Hanover St. It was unlikely that anything would follow the undisputed ruler of the North End, but he wanted to be sure. He made his way into the church, pausing at the entrance to allow his eyes to adjust to the dim light.
She had made a den at the far end of the church from the entrance, and he realized that he could see the red glow reflecting off of her eyes as she watched him from her bedding. She was no more than a few days from giving birth, her belly swollen with the pups, but otherwise she had the shape of an overly large hound dog. Her coloring was beautiful, the coat a gorgeous blue merle, with tan trim and glacier blue eyes. Nick had no idea what breed she had been before she was changed, probably a Great Dane or a Catahoula.
Nick crept forward under the expectant mother’s watchful eyes. He pulled out the meat from his backpack and held it in front of him. He’d had to kill a rabbit, a simple enough matter with his mesmerize skill. Fish was even easier to get, but she refused to eat any the one time he’d brought a couple cod. He had stuck to red meat after that, mostly rabbits and squirrels. His target was completely capable of hunting on her own of course, but she seemed to accept these small snacks as payment for letting him get closer. Since bonding required that he be less than a meter away from her when he cast it, he would take whatever he could get.
Throwing the rabbit meat towards the hound, she snapped it out of the air, chomping down on it once before swallowing it whole. At nearly twelve feet long and seven feet tall, the small amount of meat he was able to carry wouldn’t be able to do more than put a dent in her hunger; it was more the act of providing her with food that was important. It turned him from prey into an annoyance, and hopefully in a few minutes, a friend.
Inching forward, Nick kept his demeanor calm despite the sweat dripping down his back. She was lethargic after having just returned from hunting. He assumed she wouldn’t hunt again until after the pups were born, but it was hard to get an accurate guess, given that he had never worked on a two-ton dog before. She looked at him and growled, indicating he had come close enough. It was a soft growl for such a massive beast, yet still loud enough to make his chest rattle from the reverberations. He stopped but kept his eyes locked on her red glowing ones. He stood there and waited; she eventually got bored and began grooming herself.
He took several cautious steps forward, and when she didn’t growl again, he took a few more. Repeating the process until he was a meter away, he activated bond for the sixth time. The skill had a massive cooldown, 20 hours, but it allowed him to form a bond between himself and a beast. As soon as the skill finished, she sat up, looking at him while cocking her head slightly to one side, considering him. For the first time since he had begun following her, there was no malice in her eyes, just curiosity, excitement, and significantly more intelligence than before the bond. Her tail began wagging, her ears were back, her mouth parted slightly, and her tongue lolled out a bit. All good signs.
Nick crossed the distance between him and the big dog, reaching up to dig his fingers into the hair behind her ears. She pressed her head against him, leaning into the scratching. He used both hands; her fur was almost three inches thick and difficult to penetrate, a great protection from the other predators around.
After several minutes of scratching, he stopped. She turned to look at him and licked his face. Her massive size meant she also licked most of his chest. Nick laughed. She carefully tackled him and began licking him clean, even as Nick tried to protest. There wasn’t much he could do to fight off his overzealous new pet, however.
When she was satisfied, she curled back up and sighed contentedly. Nick lay down next to her front legs and put his head against her shoulder. It had been days since he’d gotten a good night’s rest. Now that she was his, he could finally sleep, trusting in her instincts to protect them both.
“I’m going to call you Lupa, after the She-Wolf that birthed Rome.” If she responded, he didn’t hear it, as he had already fallen asleep curled up beside her.
Perdido Key, Florida
Lee was running. It was honestly a bit like a bad recreation of Forrest Gump.
He could see his destination ahead of him, a strange block of metal, slightly rounded and very organic looking. It had taken him almost two days to grow it from the shed that had been there before.
He could hear the creature behind him gaining speed. He cut to the left. The thing could really build up some steam, but it couldn’t turn for crap. Another few seconds and he adjusted his course again, moving for the entrance to what he affectionately called his gatlopp. Lee still couldn’t see the creature behind him, but from the sounds it was making, he knew it was going to be close.
Another course shift, slowing the beast down just a little bit more, and then he was past the entrance. Six feet in, he slapped his hand against the wall, causing a two-inch metal sheet to drop behind him. The beast squealed in pain as the corresponding one at the entrance to the gatlopp slammed down, cutting the creature in half with its sharp bottom. It was sharper than a razor, as his new talents allowed him to make things that science would never have been able to create a week ago.
Leaning forward, Lee placed his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. The monster behind him still squealed, it’s sharp tusks raking against the metal behind him even though its spine had probably been severed by the door. He placed his hands on the wall and metal melted away, giving him a handle and footholds to grasp. Then the holes slid most of the way up the wall, allowing him to see over the door where the mana twisted boar was slowly bleeding out.
After a moment of consideration, Lee caused another wall to fall, cutting the boar’s head off in an instant. He patted the gatlopp and descended, resetting the inner door as he did so. “Wish I had as much control over all metal as I do over the stuff I’ve grown.” He muttered to himself as he began raising the floor and started to cut the pig into portions. It was a big beast, but with a few hundred people to feed, he knew it wouldn’t last long. He’d pay his tribute to Kira and her thugs; that should get them out of his hair for a few days at least.
He cut off a portion for his own meal, and putting it on a spit, he lit the fire to cook it. He didn’t take advantage of Kira’s protection or her communal food pot, but he was also one of the few people bringing in meat. If he had a way to keep his food fresh, he’d be long gone. Nothing in the swamp could hurt him, he’d just have gatlopp march along until no one could follow him.