Open The werewolf beggings his journey

[Ailuros]

Ailuros listened, head slightly tilted, as if weighing the road itself along with their words. Artemisios’s easy smile earned a quiet nod of agreement, her expression softening just a fraction.

“Townmates until then,” she echoed. “That sounds reasonable.”

Roki’s enthusiasm drew a faint, amused breath from her nose—not quite a laugh, but close. When he leaned in to comment on her eyes, her ears flicked back briefly in reflex before settling again. She did not step away, only met his gaze steadily.

“They see different things,” she said simply. “Both are useful.”

At the raven’s call, her posture shifted—subtle, but deliberate. Her tail stilled, and her attention brushed the treeline once more, confirming what her instincts already told her. No immediate danger. But not peace, either.

When Roki called out to the others and proposed traveling together, Ailuros considered it for a heartbeat longer than necessary. Then she inclined her head.

“This stretch of road favors numbers,” she said, calm and certain. “And shared watch means shared rest.” Her eyes moved briefly toward the mage and her companion down the road. “As long as everyone understands we move with awareness—and don’t rush the woods.”

She adjusted the strap at her shoulder and took a few unhurried steps forward, clearly accepting the arrangement.

“If we’re traveling together,” she added, “then we watch out for one another. That’s the only rule I insist on.”

Her gaze returned to the road ahead.

“Come on. Let’s see what the road has planned for us.”

 

[Aysel]

"That's it." Her mentor could no longer handle the whining, the whimpering, and the crying over the people just ahead. Any second, Aysel kept muttering, any second, any second, any second. Aysel picked her eyes away from the trio to watch blue eyes go from mild frustration to blazing, exasperating annoyance. She grabbed Aysel's arm, pulling her off from the road and to the side, beneath the trees.

"We're going to wait here because you were bad. Hey, don't look at them, look at me."

"But I see them, I smell them," Aysel said, glancing away from the blue eyes to only get her arm jerked to force her back into attention.

"Bad Aysel." Aysel looked down, crumbling beneath her mentor's gaze. "Stay." Aysel felt the whine creep into her throat. She wanted to try explaining it all over again, how she saw them and could smell something different but also the same as her. She wanted to rush up to them, investigate those strangers, and make sure she could trust them. "No. No." Aysel hung her head lower.

They wouldn't leave the spot until many minutes later, the Cazadore ensuring that there was plenty of space between them before continuing down the same path at a slower pace than before. Aysel would only be able to glimpse the trio like small black ants before the road forked and her Mentor took her far away from them.