Lucky took his time describing each of the classes he had been offered to Girl while she made copious notes on her phone. When he had finished, she frowned at the notes for a moment. “I haven’t gotten anything from the voices since they initialized the system. What about you, Dad?”

Man shook his head, “Nothing. We need to gather up supplies. Hopefully the car is still okay out there.”

The dog shook out his fur and rose gingerly to his feet. “I need to check the neighborhood. There’s safety in numbers.”

“We should talk about what class you should pick.” Girl protested.

Lucky chuffed out a breath, wincing as he turned toward the stairs. “We can talk while we move, I’m worried about Vinny and his Lady.”

As he padded stiffly toward the stairwell, Lucky thought back over all the changes that had happened to him in the past week. He felt like his life had been so simple before the grass-words made everything complicated. Even his very thoughts had changed. Unasked for complexities had filled his mind, making him wonder what he had missed in his life before the grass-words.

Man watched them for a moment before turning back to the destruction of the basement. “I’ll see what I can sift through and gather up the supplies we can use. Be careful. We don’t know what’s out there.”

Girl moved carefully over the debris as they climbed up out of the basement. The destruction of the upper floors was strangely patchwork. Some walls had collapsed entirely and some stood firmly upright. The floor groaned in protest as they moved across it toward the nearest hole in the walls. Once the soft grass was under his paws, Lucky started padding toward Vinny’s house next door. “Dogged Protector sounded good to me. It would let me protect you better.”

Girl rested her hand on his head as they walked side by side. “I don’t disagree, but the class is objectively weaker than Holy Terrier, with that experience boost. I’m not really much of a gamer, but it seems like the more you level up the more powerful you’ll get.”

“Is power the most important thing?” Lucky asked as they rounded the side of their home and that of Vinny and Lady came visible. The windows were all broken out and the roof was gone, but all four walls remained standing.”The End is filled with danger.” His brows drew together as he broke into a jog. “There are so many to protect.” Despite the pain in his joints, he bounded up the stairs, barking out for Vinny.

He heard a muffled bark from deeper in and followed the sound. As Girl and Lucky neared the source of the barking, they could hear pain-filled groans. “Lady is hurt.” Lucky intoned before he bounded forward as quickly as he could. A closed door stood between Lucky and his friend. “Vinny, are you okay? Is Lady hurt?”

“She twisted her paw when we were hurrying in here.” Vinny barked back. “I’m okay. We hid in the tub under couch cushions.”

Lucky pawed at the door and Girl opened it without being asked. The blue pitbull wriggled his whole body as he saw the others. She immediately went to Lady’s side, checking the old woman for obvious injuries. “Vinny says she hurt her paw.”

“Holy Terrier and Howling Shepherd of the Flock have healing skills.” She spoke over her shoulder to Lucky as she went about checking the elderly lady for twists and sprains in her hands and feet. Lady was conscious, just tired and in pain. “Maybe you should pick one of those. You could heal Lady with it.”

Vinny’s eyes followed the conversation, but he didn’t really understand much of it. “Will she help Lady?” He barked at last.

“As much as she can. Have you seen any of the grass-words yet?”

“No, but I think Lady might have. You’ll have to ask her.”

“She seems confused, Lucky.” Girl interrupted. “She might have a concussion. Did she fall?”

After translating the question, Lucky answered. “Yes, she fell into the bathtub.”

Girl grumbled something about safety in the bathroom. “What are the pros and cons of Holy Terrier?” She asked.

Lucky frowned as he looked at Lady. Would he have been able to perform such critical thought before the grass-words had come to him? He shook the thought aside and stepped up next to Girl. “I think a large con is the fact that I could lose things if my vow is broken. Also the [Holy Smite] only works on enemies ‘whose alignment is diametrically opposed to mine’.” He tilted his head to one side and then the other. “I don’t think that the world is that simple.”

Girl’s head snapped around to look at Lucky, her eyes wide and her brows raised. She seemed shocked by his reasoning. “Those are pretty big cons for the only major pro being the experience boost.” She spoke carefully. “What about Dogged Protector?”

“The [Aura of Protection] is very powerful, but [Surge of Health] would only work on me. [Interpose] feels like a skill I need more than want.”

“Right, but that’s not unique to Dogged Protector. Howling Shepherd of the Flock has that skill as well, and a healing aura that can help multiple people at once. Also, [Aura of the Shepherd] increases all resistances. The number is much lower than [Aura of Protection], but skills level, right?”

“Yes, I’ve leveled quite a few of my skills.”

“Perhaps leveling [Aura of the Shepherd] will increase the percentage. I doubt [Aura of Protection]’s percentage will level since it starts so high. Probably just the range of the aura.”

Lucky heaved a sigh and rested his head on the rim of the tub. “We know so little about the system, I’m not sure what the right choice is, but I need to choose something that can help Lady right now.” He lifted his head to nose at Lady’s cheek. She barely moved in response, seeming dazed.

“How do you accept the class?” Girl asked.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Lucky admitted. “I’m going to choose [Howling Shepherd of the Flock].”

**DA-DING!! Class accepted Howling Shepherd of the Flock!! You have advanced to level 1 in your primary class [Howling Shepherd of the Flock]. You have gained +4 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +4 Charisma, and +4 Willpower!!**

**DA-DING!! As the Chosen of Xerinos, your decision has granted you his Favor! You have gained the trait Favored of Xerinos!!**

Favored of Xerinos

Xerinos has Chosen you to act on his behalf in the End. He finds your actions pleasing and has blessed you with his Favor.

Well, that wasn’t very helpful, he thought as he read the description. He shifted from one foot to the other as he sat back, tilting his head up. He focused on the idea of his [Healing Howl] and took a deep breath before setting the howl free. Where before his howl with Vinny was sad and mournful, now the sound seemed filled with warmth and hope. Lucky could feel the warmth of the sound flowing through his spirit and filling the room.

As the sound trailed off, he dropped his chin and opened his eyes. Lady was watching him with a curious expression on her face. She reached out one hand and laid it on his cheek, petting him softly. “Thank you, you darling dog. I feel much better now, though I’m not sure why.”

Girl’s face was alight with a brilliant smile as she threw one arm around Lucky’s shoulders. Quick chattered grumpily from his perch on the multicolored dog’s neck and shifted his position away from the girl’s arm. “You did it, Lucky. Let’s get Mrs. Henderson and Vinny next door to Dad.”

“We should gather her things first. Then once she’s settled with Man, we should check on Lobo.” Lucky said as he got to his feet. “Come on, Vinny, let’s get you to Man.”

“Did Lucky just talk?” Lady asked, her voice unsteady. “Or did I hit my head harder than I thought?”

“Yes, Mrs. Henderson. Did you hear the voices this morning?”

“Yes, I did. I don’t understand what they meant though.”

“Those voices are how Lucky learned to talk. I can explain more later, for now, I feel like we need to move quickly.” She glanced back down at Lucky and continued speaking. “We’ll have to check the rest of the neighborhood after Lobo, make sure we gather everyone we can.” Girl said as she walked toward the exit with Lady on her arm.

“We need to find a defensible place to hole up.” He stepped outside and looked around, scenting the air carefully. “I have no idea what happened. It couldn’t have been just the wind, could it?”

“Maybe.” Girl frowned. “I certainly hope not.”

“Me, too.” Lucky’s ears laid flat against his skull, it would be terribly hard to escape the wind.