The next day I eat an english breakfast at a pub, because that seems like a thing you might do around here. Then, after an appointment, cut short as the would-be customer changes their mind, I head home. I mean, I’m done here, and I want to keep up with the wolfkin.

A good choice, as the first birth, a pair of twins, took place about six in the morning, also known as ‘way too fucking early’. Well, not my problem, that’s just what the person currently ‘on shift’ tells me. The little ones, which I have temporarily designated ‘hairball’ and ‘meatball’, are about as adorable as one would imagine a baby wolfkin to be.

That won’t be their actual names, of course, but the mother (and likely father) are among the few wolfkin without any companions, and since people can’t agree on names, or who would get to decide, they’re nameless for now. Hence why I gave them really goofy/stupid (nick)names.

Okay, so I did it ‘just because’ and made up the reason of ‘that will incentivize people to figure it out’ afterwards.

And I’m not convincing everyone otherwise.

“Uh, no, I haven’t honestly thought of names. Well, not for these two specifically; I spent a lot of time thinking of what to name Lucas, and with the wolfkin being pregnant, I did think of naming in general.” I reply to the group of three.

“And what were your conclusions?”

“Conclusions? I didn’t even try to come up with conclusions, I just made a basic set of rules to follow for any name or naming pattern, and then came up with a bunch of different patterns, modifying them to fit within the rules. With nonhuman individuals the rules can be pushed a bit further since they aren’t, you know, bound by our social norms and stuff (yet), but on the other hand, the closer to human names, the easier to integrate. I do think there’s value in differentiating them, but of course that could lead to discrimination.”

“Oh, what kind of patterns did you come up with? The ones you mentioned in that video?”

“Yeah. Well, and some others, but for anyone who didn’t see the video, the main ones are adjective-noun names and description names, both are fairly common for nonhumans in sci-fi and fantasy.”

“The examples you gave were ‘Spotfur’, ‘Shimmerscale’, and ‘Dancingleaf’, for adjective-noun names, right? And… ‘Moon-over-lake’ and some others I forget for description names?”

“Wait, ‘Dancing’ isn’t an adjective?”

“Well, the answer to the first question is yes, and as I said in the video, you’d be fairly flexible. Adjective-noun names are the most common, but you also have verb-noun and other word-mash names. Well, that entire category is typically given to more primitive and/or ‘natural’ species, like goblins or elves, respectively.”

“And the second category produces long names, but you can usually shorten them.”

I nod to that.

“Personally I prefer description names, since they’re so flexible. Oh, I didn’t actually mention it in the video, but description -and word-mash, I suppose- names are really quick and easy to communicate over even limited wordless telepathy, so you could just ask the individual, or in this case, the parent, to make something up, if they don’t already have something.”

“You can do telepathy?”

“Yeah? It’s mind magic, though, so I don’t go around advertising it or anything, but it’s the basis for the mind-bond stones I sell. The basic version is a super dumbed-down simplified version of the stuff I usually do, but the advanced version, the one were the users have to insert mana, probably has enough ‘depth’ and ‘bandwidth’ for that purpose.”

“That sounds really useful! So the basic version is like the pack bond and the advanced version is like the companion bond for those who’ve had their companion for a while?”

“Euhm, I guess? That sounds pretty accurate. Speaking of the pack bond, I can somewhat manipulate that with mind magic actually. Like, I can connect myself or others to it, and temporarily strengthen it for anyone in range. I can’t mind control anyone through it or anything.”

“What’s you mana range now?”

“About sixty meters, I think. A bit above, maybe, haven’t tested lately.”

“So you could affect everyone in the Den or a hunting pack, but not much more? Would the effect last?”

“Correct, and I don’t think so. Depends on the effect, I guess? I mean, once a bond has been formed, they tend to be fairly stable, but then again I’m just mimicking the connection, not truly replicating it.”

“Why not?”

“I can’t. It uses both ki and mana, or maybe some third energy that affects both.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah, that was my reaction as well.”

“Magic has such a low range compared to what you see in movies and stuff. I can’t even do thirty meters without stretching my mana bubble. Say, Lars, how much range do you have when you do that?”

“I’m still improving steadily, but last time I actually measured, it was about a hundred and fifty meters at the extreme, and eighty with a more teardrop shape.”

““What?””“Seriously?”

“Isn’t that… triple your normal range?”

“Yeah, but it’s stupidly inefficient, and that was to maintain a simple orb of light spell. Also, my mana bubble, if you could been call it that at that point, was just a long, thin cylinder. I had to continuously drain a mana crystal to keep up with the loss, and there could be an object with an insane amount of mana just a couple meters to my side or behind me, and I wouldn’t be able to sense it. I couldn’t sense Leda. Kinda useless, in other words. About double your normal range seems to be the upper reasonable cap.”

“Wait, what’s Leda’s range again?”

“Uh, I measured it to a bit below one point five kilometers in January. Normal range, that is. When stretching it… I think she would be able to reach three times that without too much effort or loss, but she’s a monster when it comes to mana, so…”

“That’s nuts!”

“Anyway, should we try to ask the mother for their names?”

“Who?”

“The wolfkin. Whose babies needs names.”

“Oh. We got sidetracked, didn’t we.”

We chuckle at that.

After a quick decision we decide to have me form a mind bond to her, and relay our conversation, if you can call it that, to the others via the pack bond, to not overload her mind with multiple connections.

｢This-weird｣

｢Agree｣

｢{Curious}this-learn｣

｢{Annoyed, amused}Guys, try to keep things to yourself.｣

｢{Curious}Others-hear?｣

｢No, the others cannot hear you, unless you want me to relay that too.｣

｢{Uncertain, curious}｣

｢{Amused}this-communicate-demonstration｣ Ugh. ｢{Annoyed}Anyway, That’s the form I ‘hear’ your thoughts.｣

“Everyone ready?”

I get nods all around, and turn to the nursing female and her pups, forming a mind bond with her. She returns my greeting, as the wolfkin have learnt to do even in words or gestures (waving).

｢Your//the children.｣

She returns a pleasant warmth, which I feel myself mirror.

｢You-‘White’. Children-name?｣

She just returns confusion, so I try a different way.

｢You are called ‘White’. What are they called? What are your children called?｣

“Maybe try asking who they are instead?”

“Good point.” ｢Who this-child?｣

The warmth returns, and she shares an image of playing with her companion and her mate, followed by another of, uh, mating with her mate, and even with the low ‘resolution’ connection to the others, I have to clamp down on the connection until they can get over their reaction.

In the meanwhile, I return my attention to White, and she continues with an image of lying under a warm blanket in one of the alcoves, and seeing her mate return. Then she shares a memory of the birth, or the concept of the birth, followed by a flood in sensations, from images to sounds and touch. Most of all, smell, which doesn’t translate well to the human experience, though the others might have spent enough time with heightened smell to make sense of it. I have.

｢{Gratitude}Thank you.｣

I lightly touch our noses together, then carefully dispel the bond and leave the room with the others, leaving her in peace.

“Sooo… That’s what she… says. Thinks? What do you guys think? Err, of that?”

“She had names for them, didn’t she? But, like, in smells and stuff?”

“Yeah, she called the girl the smell of grass in the morning after a rainy night, and the boy a dry breeze under a warm sun in a rocky area or something?”

Well, color me impressed. Then again, maybe it was easier to make sense of when it had filtered through me, as much as I tried to just directly relay it.

“Yeah, something like that. So in description names, Morning-Grass-After-Rain and Wind-On-Warm-Rocks, or something like that?”

“Ehh, those aren’t very good names.”

“Well I think they’re charming. Like Lars said, you see them in fantasy stories and stuff. I think it fits for cute, but maybe not as intelligent or technologically advanced races.”

“Species,” I correct her. “Or cultures or civilizations. Well, I suppose you could use the highly inaccurate ‘races’ in the same way so many fantasy settings do, especially games, but still.”

“Species, then. As I said, I kinda like them, but they don’t work as well when you have to use words, you can say so much, so much faster with the mind bond! Imagine how much more you could get done if everyone could do this! You could tell people exactly what you feel, without having to use words, you could share memories and make someone really understand how it feels to be you, you could- wait, Lars, do you you use this to teach people?”

“Generally, no. Mind magic is one of the few things I have decided to keep secret, at least for now. Thing is, not only can you share memories and such, but you can fabricate new ones, plant suggestions, change someone’s mood, or, in extreme cases, completely hypnotise them, ‘shut down’ their mind, or control their body. And these are just the ones I’ve successfully done”

It takes a moment, before I realize I shouldn’t end it at that.

“Uh, I should mention all of this was done to willing participants, and I didn’t exactly do or make anyone do anything that goes too strongly against their will. For the extreme cases you need a really strong bond, and as far as I know the only way to do that is to either be able to completely dominate their mind, as I have done to insects, or cooperate with them. And the body control thing even required them to fall asleep with such a bond.”

“Okay I can see why you don’t want to teach anyone that, but what do you mean ‘for now’?”

“Well, I imagine most simple magics will gradually become more common knowledge, and mind magic is extremely useful, even if it could be used for harm. It’s also a lot easier to defend than ‘attack’. Therefore, I think the basics of the magic, with a strong focus on protecting yourself, will become part of education, and sooner rather than later.”

“Ah, so you can protect yourself with just a little bit of skill, but attacking is harder?”

“Well, the most basic attack is just sharing feelings which can influence the other person. But if you just learn to recognize which part is you, and which part comes through the bond, it should have no more effect than someone crying or something to make you sympathise. In fact, if you guys want I can teach you how to recognize foreign thoughts and how to block them. And your own. If you’re thinking too ‘loudly’ the other person can sorta kinda read your thoughts.”

“Yes please!”

“I want that too, but shouldn’t we decide on names first?”

As if on cue, the tired but happy mother exits with a baby in each arm. Oh dear, until they can move on their own, that’s going to be inconvenient, and a stroller is suboptimal around here… We should make those baby-bags women carry babies in. Do those have a proper name?

I reform the mind bonds and think about Morning-Grass-After-Rain, with the full sensory name overlaid with the shortened name in words, as I say it out loud; “Morning-Grass-After-Rain.”

She responds positively, looking down at her baby girl with a big smile, and I repeat the same with “Wind-On-Warm-Rocks” with the same result.

“Well, there we have it, welcome Morning-Grass and Wind-On-Warm-Rocks to the world.”

There’s a noticeable, but short pause, then one person starts clapping, the rest joins, and a couple seconds later it stops.

“Why did you shorten Morning-Grass-After-Rain, but not Wind-On-Warm-Rocks? Oh.”

“What do you mean ‘oh’? Morning-Grass-After-Rain. Wind-On-Warm-Rocks. Oh. Morning-Grass’ full name is a bit long, isn’t it?”

“Well, I’d say the full name is the one with the smells and other sensations, but the ‘full’ word-name is still a bit too long to use in daily life.” I point out. “Well, no matter, the wolfkin don’t really use words to communicate all that much, but they do seem to be using the pack bond more and more. The word-names are mostly just for human use.”

“I’m not sure if you’re the right one to say that.”

Laughter was had, but my revenge comes soon after as I teach them mental defences and manage to sell a couple extra advanced mind bond stones, too. The joker gets a glare from one of the women when he asks why they’re so cheap, but I just say they should call it a too-lazy-to-price-better sale and that’s that. I’m not exactly short on money.

After checking up on the other pregnant wolfkin the group splits up, with the ones who remain being the second group to get a look at Lars’ Underground Treasure Vault, where I grab some materials to make the baby carriers and to make a crib of sorts for White and her children.

Interest fades pretty quickly when I start measuring, so I get to work in peace. There’s one point where they are calm and neither napping nor feeding, at which point I get to play with them a little bit before the father comes along and I leave the family alone. Some time (and a bunch of Googling) later, I have finished two ‘baby wraps’, one twin baby carrier, and the parts for a crib (some assembly required).

After learning how to use them (put baby in wraps, wear wraps), the parents seem quite happy with the gift, and don’t even let me try to show them how to use the twin-carrier. Oh well, I set up the crib, if you could even call it that, then head off to one of the few remaining empty rooms and, after making a bunch of shelves, put the twin-carrier there.

Well, what now? The weather isn’t great, and it’s still… ah, more than two hours until I’m meeting the cultivators. Hmm, maybe I should just take a page out of the pups’ book and take a nap. Ha. Well, actually, why not? Just gotta set an alarm on my phone. There.