[Bloodlust skill deactivated]

I took the screaming crowds, the blood painting the arena, and the notifications from the [System] as background noise as I actually felt the effects of the duel catch up to me. I was bleary-eyed, and my head ached, but that was inconsequential and drowned out by the horrendous pain in my arm and knee. Both hurt in different ways, but I figured that I could itemize and figure out exactly what I wanted to do about that later.

My pack approached, and I looked directly at what was previously Percral's pack.

"So, do you want to join me and my pack? I will treat you fairly."

Percral's beta (a male) looked to be about to say something when Shemira spoke up.

"Keep in mind," She said, stalking forward, "that there are multiple packs to choose from. There is safety in numbers." Shemira grinned and shrugged flirtatiously over at me. Damned snake waited until now to speak up...

Tieran chimed in with his gentle tone, "You ladies will be well treated in my pack, keep in mind. All I need is for you to submit to me. We also welcome all hunters." Damn them both, this was MY opportunity to become an alpha!

"While there is safety in numbers," I began to retort, "I am a proven warrior and have never sustained a loss in a hunt." I figured that I didn't want to give a speech or anything like that, but would focus on my keelish-like qualities to garner support.

After a moment's indecision, however, the two living females from Percral's pack left for Tieran's pack, and the males to Shemira's... with one exception.

The beta approached me. "You're strong. I follow strong." He nodded self-assuredly at this and grinned. Oh... He's pretty thick in the head. I guess he was the beta simply because he was the biggest, and, post-evolution, was bigger than Percral. He stood at nearly 60cm, just a hair smaller than Shemira, but was different from her, in that his jaw and neck were brutish and square, instead of her elegant lines and manner. He was notably bigger than the "Brute" Took, who was narrower and shorter than him, at just over 50cm.

I looked him over, and asked, "Took here is my beta. You ok with that?"

He shrugged. "I'm follow you."

"So you'll follow what she says?"

Another shrug. "If you tell me."

"... Ok. Then listen to what she says from now on. Let me know if you think she isn't worthy of being beta."

I could see the wheels slowly turning in his head. He then hesitantly nodded. "Ok."

Well. He's about as thick as a couple of bricks, but he's made it this far, so, here's to hoping I guess. I was still disappointed that I wasn't going to immediately qualify to evolve into an alpha.

"Ok then, let's get back to the den. I need to rest for now." The pack followed me, and I limped my way back into the den, where I then laid down, gingerly protecting my lacerated knee. Fortunately, it seemed like it was mostly surface damage, and not to the internal structure, but I still wasn't about to go out on the hunt myself.

"Took, you take Oncli, Treel, Foire, and our new friend..." I turned to him, "What was your name?"

"Brutus." ... Figures.

"Yeah, take them and Brutus on a hunt. Listen, go North, and go slow. Find one pair of bullfrogs, kill them, and immediately return. I don't know if the wolfstags are waiting for us to come out, but let's not risk it. There will be casualties if you encounter an adult. Clear?"

Took nodded gravely.

"Do not eat in the forest. Immediately after the kill is secured, return. Otherwise... rip and tear. Show no mercy."

Took trilled to the roof, and the new hunting party rallied around her, and they quickly set off. Brutus was hopefully going to fill my spot satisfactorily while I was incapacitated... Dammit, he doesn't know the signals. This might be bad.

...

The hunting party departed, leaving Vefir, Silf and I alone in our den. They both squatted there somewhat awkwardly, until Silf, in his surprising bass spoke.

"Thanks for taking care of him for us."

Vefir nodded enthusiastically.

"Well, he was a thorn in my side too. Don't worry about it."

"T-Those hands of-f-f yours-s a-a-are c-cool." Vefir spoke up.

"The way you blinded him was awesome. Did it hurt your hand at all?" Silf continued.

I held up my hand, fingers pointing in the wrong directions.

"Now, I'm quite tired, and would like some rest. See if there's something for you to do around the den." The twins scurried off.

Finally, I could address the flashing [System] notification.

[Growth achieved. Status updated. Evolutionary Progress: Young Bloodletter Alpha: 7/10.

[Status:

Name: Ashlani

Race: Young Keelish Bloodletter

Current quest:

—Kill three Young Thunder Wolfstags. Reward: 1 Constitution, 2 Strength, 1 Magic.

Stats:

-Constitution: 4

-Strength: 8

-Agility: 12

-Intelligence: 4+1=5

-Magic: 0+1=1

Skills:

Bloodlust—current evolutionary progress: Unknown

Dominance—current evolutionary progress: 7/100

Improved Vision--current evolutionary progress: 0/18

Evolutionary foresight

-Adult Bloodletter: live 30 days. Progress: 6/30

-Young Bloodletter Beta. Prerequisites: Young Bloodletter. Requirements: Invitation to be Beta beneath Young Alpha Keelish. COMPLETED

-Young Bloodletter Alpha. Prerequisites: Young Bloodletter. Requirements: acquire 10 followers. Progress: 7/10]

When I saw that magic stat, I internally cheered, then began muttering the Words of Power under my breath, attempting to Call fire. Nothing. I couldn't feel the surging of magic pass through me. I attempted a basic reinforcement magic. Nothing. I tried every chant I could think of, but nothing worked.

[System], the hell is this?

[The Words of Power vary by species. Reasons for this: The Administrator has deemed it unnecessary to divulge that information. However, that decision may be rescinded, depending on your future growth.]

SO WHAT DOES THIS MAGIC OFFER ME?!?

[You currently have no innate spells, and cannot currently cast any magic, as you are unfamiliar with the Words of Power for keelish.]

I was livid. I ran out of names to call the [System], and the sheer quantity of profanities I came up with were impressive, in hindsight. I now, apparently, had the beginnings of the ability to cast magic, but had no idea how to cast it, and didn't even have an idea of where to start.

I'd worked myself into a furor, but I couldn't move. My hand was constantly throbbing in agony. I had broken a couple of fingers in my past life, and that was nothing compared to this. I looked at them, and realized that I almost certainly needed to set them, in the hopes that they heal straight, but my other hand lacked the dexterity to do so in a clean fashion, so, after a couple of vision-whiteningly painful attempts, I gave up, and decided to leave it for when Foire returned. My knee, however, simply needed space, air, and time. Fortunately for me, this body, whether by dint of my youth or species, healed itself much faster than my old human one, so at least I would have a shorter recuperation time.

After exhausting myself in my attempts at treating my own wounds, I ended up crawling back to the [System], hoping that there was some loophole I could exploit, maybe even acquire some sort of healing magic?

How can I gain a magical skill?

[The Administrator has deemed it unnecessary to divulge that information. However, that decision may be rescinded, depending on your future growth.]

Who knows the Words of Power for keelish?

[The Administrator has deemed it unnecessary to divulge that information. However, that decision may be rescinded, depending on your future growth.]

Do I currently know any skills that can be enhanced with magic?

[The Administrator has deemed it unnecessary to divulge that information...]

... Dammit all.