Forest clearing, Blake and Saffire vs. The Greater Wolf

"What's wrong, dog? Did my words make you freeze up?" Saffire mockingly asked as she looked down at the Greater Wolf that had come out to deal with Blake's recuse for the Nobleman Stefon.

The Greater wolf smirked at the statement going down low. "Nah, I'm just thinking of how many days I can live off your meat!" He suddenly shot upwards with eye-dizzying speed and took a bite at Saffire's neck that had enough force to get through her thick scales with a sizable chunk getting ripped out of her. "Mmm, a little thick but not bad." He muttered after landing on a tree branch.

"Grrah!" Saffire whipped her tail out at the wolf, but it was easily dodged by another one of the wolf's dashes. "Stay, still!" She turned around to slash at him with her claws tearing through most of the trees around her, but none of these wild attacks hit as the Greater Wolf zipped around her while taking more and more bites out of her, with each snap of his fangs a gush of blood was sent flying. "Tsk! Is that best you got!" Saffire was bleeding from the high-speed assault, but she still held on strong and pulled back her head. "Burn!" A stream of fire erupted out of her mouth that set one side of the clearing ablaze.

"As expected for a Dragon! Haha!" A loud laugh came from above Saffire, making her look to find the Greater Wolf with the tip of his tail lightly burnt by the flames. "All power and no speed, right?" He asked, baring his fangs when Saffire growled up at him and dived down quickly. "Which means I've got the upper hand!"

"Demon Stab!" From below, Blake shot a beam of purple up at the falling wolf.

"!" The Greater Wolf snarled then changed direction to a branch allowing him to dodge the attack narrowly. "Well, then aren't you more than meets the eye, eh, human?" He asked, looking curiously at Blake then sniffed the air. "Your smell changed from last time too."

"Heh, thanks, wolf," Blake smirked up at the wolf holding Risabeel over his shoulder with Baba held up just in case. "By the way, the name's Blake!" When he gave out his name as a shadow appeared over him. "Huh? What's up?" He asked, looking up at Saffire and frowned when she turned her head to the wolf. "Seriously? You're mad that I helped? Damn, a Dragon's pride is huge, huh?" Blake joked a little and returned to the wolf, watching them from his side. "Well, aren't you being a good spot!"

"It's been a long time since I actually had a good fight, and you're looking like you can give me one, Blake." The Greater Wolf answered and moved down to the ground level. "I might not even eat you afterward, out of respect."

"Who says I'm the one dying, wolf?" Blake rushed for the wolf, taking a downward swing to fire off a Demon Slash that was dodged by its target jumping to the side.

"Back to step one with yo-!" The Greater Wolf paused in his taunt to jump out of the way of Saffire bringing down one her claws that were lit on fire leaving behind a cloud of smoke where it passed. "Nice tr-!"

"Gale Shield Bash!" Blake's voice rang out as he jumped through the smoke with swirling winds around Baba which was slammed into the wolf's face sending him spinning into one of the many oak trees around the clearing knocking it down on top of him. "Got you!"

"GRRR!" The Greater Wolf rose back up with the fallen tree rolling off his back, the fur on the left side of his face where he got hit was twisted around and he had to close his left eye but instead of a menacing scowl or a murderous showing of fangs, he held a wide toothy grin on his face. "My turn!" He darted forward right at Blake, giving him little time even to bring Baba up.

"Shit!" Blake was about to get hit by the wolf's dash when Saffire swung her claws out to pick Blake up. "Thanks!"

"RAH!" Saffire blasted a stream of fire down at the wolf covering him in red-hot flames then held Blake to her face. "See! I didn't need your help!" She barked loudly and shook Blake around a few times.

"Well, good for you, Hot-Head," Baba dryly said if she could, she would be rolling her eyes right now. "And mind not being so rough with my hubby? Breaking him in is my job."

"Breaking me/him in?" Both Blake and Risabeel thought the first worried and the second confused by the statement.

"Then, you should get on with that while you can!" The Greater Wolf's voice came from the raging inferno at Saffire's feet right before he shot out of it to rammed into the underside of Saffire's jaw making her stagger back and loosen her grip on Blake which was all the wolf needed to swipe his claws at Blake.

"Tck! Like hell!" Blake luckily met the wolf's claws with Baba, stopping the wolf from tearing him apart but he landed on his back while the wolf moved to a tree branch where he shook off the last bit of fire on his fur like it was water and his coat looked even brighter than before. "Argh, looks like you're fireproof, huh?" Blake groaned after getting back on his feet.

"More or less, as long as I don't sit still, that is." The Greater Wolf answered, licking some his scuffed up fur on his paws then readied himself for another attack and charged down at Saffire still recovering from his earlier sucker punch. "Best to take out the one who messed up my coat!"

"AH!" Saffire whipped her arm out, catching the wolf off guard and into her claws. "I would say it's an improvement, but all you furballs look the same to me! You're just bigger!" She growled, keeping an intense vice on the wolf while her claws were starting to getting hotter. "Now bur-! Son of a bitch!" She dropped the wolf when he bit down on her claws.

"I'd rather not!" The Greater Wolf smirked once back on the ground and turned his head to see Blake coming down with a two-handed swing. "Quick on the pick up I see? Not bad!" He smirked, jumping away from Blake but Blake followed him with a flurry of slashes. "Back off!" He growled, clawing at the ground to send dust into Blake's face.

"Yeah, right!" The dust was blown away by a gust of wind from Blake swinging Baba around. "And you're good on your feet, of course!" He took another slash at the wolf which was evaded like the others, but Saffire was there to follow up with a tail slam forcing the wolf to bite on her tail as not to get knocked back into Blake's slash.

"Stop biting me!" Saffire took her chance and smacked the wolf chewing on her tail into some of the trees before whipping him off of it.

"Grr! You two are starting to get better." The Greater Wolf got back on his feet quicker than Blake and Saffire would have liked, but he still showed signs of damage with patches of blood all over his body. "I might have to fight seriously." He bared his fangs and sharpened his eyes as a light glow came off him but...

*ARRRROOOOOOOOOO!?!*

Before he could continue the fight, a bellowing howl came from deep inside the forest followed by another and another... "Tch!" The Greater Wolf lowed his head then raised it high to let out his own howl silencing the others. "Lucky you!" He snarled lowly before jumping to a tree.

"Hah! Running away with your tail between your legs, furball!" Saffire laughed up at the wolf, but he just smirked back at her. "Grrr!"

"Don't worry; I'll be back for your hinds after seeing what's got my pack in a pitch." The Greater Wolf explained and made his way deeper into the forest.

Blake breathed out. "Phew! That was rough." He groaned loudly with Risabeel resting on his shoulder. "But what could a pack of wolves have trouble with out here?"

"Sir Blake, if I may speak? I believe that it is likely Sir Lutwig's doing, judging by the beast's direction." Risabeel answered thoughtfully with signs of worry in her voice.

"~Oh ho ho~ The Elf and Fairy are quite the resourceful pair," Baba mused more surprised than worried.

Blake felt the same as Risabeel looking at where the wolf was going. "If that's the case, then we need to get over there, fast." He looked up at Saffire all smiles.

"No..." She let out a low growl after her refusal and stomped her claws down next to Blake trying to scare him, and it worked since he jumped back. "...I'll just go after him by myself! Since you don't have the backbone!"

"HEY! HEY! HEY! Watch it! He's got a head start on us, and Nash definitely can't keep up with him..." That remark made Nash blow air from his nose loudly. "...shut it, you! Anyway, do you think you can handle him on your own?" Blake pointed at Saffire's bleeding claw and the rest of the bites taking out of her. "I'm the one who should be getting hurt, right?"

Saffire just lowered her head down to Blake's level. "...Fine."

Stefon's caravan before Wolf's howl

While Blake and Saffire were dealing with the Greater Wolf, his pack was terrorizing the poor Ovis noble Stefon. "Why is this happening to me!?!" Stefon cried in fear for his life, bunked down in his carriage, crossbow shaking in his weak arms, teeth chattering and sweating pouring down his face along with his driver who was there at his side in a similar state. "You check to see if my men are winning..."

"..." But the driver shook his head not wanting to have his neck bit through by a wolf in waiting.

"Useless..." Stefon groaned and took in a deep breath to slowly bring his head up over the carriage's side to find 13 of his once 20 fully armored and equipped bodyguards barely holding off the 15 wolves that had attack them earlier but not only that his houses had run off, so there was no way for him to get out of here. "Dammit! What good was the gold father spent on them if they can't do their blasted JOB!" Stefon yelled out in a fit of rage from the wasted funds allowing him to forget about his current position standing up with a fist in the air.

"Eh?" He was then reminded of that when three of the wolves turned their heads towards him, and now Stefon was staring at them. "AH!" Before quickly ducking back down covering his mouth. "Curse my father's tongue! Now I am truly done for!" He whimpered in his mind, hearing the sound of paws stepping on fallen leaves and the sound of their nose sniffing the air likely smelling the fear coming from the noble. "Oh, Goddess on high! Please save my soul!?"

"Lu! Look at this place it's a bloodbath! Told you; you were going too slow!" A familiar voice rang out into Stefon's ears after making his final prayer. "Now let's kick some ass! WOOOO!"

"What!?" Stefon quickly looked around and standing on a tree branch were Lu and Rena having just arrived. "My fair, lady Lu! What are you doing here!? Please don't come any closer!" He yelled up at them, fearing for Lu's safety, not noticing 2 of the three wolves were in mid-jump behind him.

"Lord Ovis, behind you!" Lu pulled out two arrows from his quiver and fired, quickly hitting the heads of each wolf making them fall on either side of Stefon then he leaped down swinging his bow around to strike down the 3rd. "Rena! Snare Vine Shots!" He yelled to the Fairy in his quiver and pulled out five arrows then fired them at the feet of Stefon's guards and out of the arrows came vines that quickly caught a wolf and dragged them towards the guards.

"Huh?!" One of the guards gasped in shock at what was happening in front of him. "Whatever!" But quickly raised his mace high then brought it down on the wolf closest to him as did the other guards bashing the heads of their once attackers.

"Eh?" Stefon looked down at the dead wolves near him then back at Lu reaching for another arrow pulling it back while pushing a hair that was in his face aside. "...Simply beautiful." He muttered quietly to himself, mystified by Lu's looks and skill. (Someone tell him!)

"Just ignore the way his looking me, just ignore it," Lu whispered to himself with sweat running down the side of his face after hearing what Stefon said because of his ears. "!" Then set his eyes on the wolf, he knocked away earlier. "What?" But before he could let his arrow fly it let out a loud howl followed by the rest of its pack.

"Lu! I've got a bad feeling now." Rena whimpered while covering her ears to block out the howling as others could be heard from around the forest until one last howl louder than all of them came around. "Eeep! What was that!?"

"That would be the alpha, I guess..." Lu answered with his ears flickering up and down, listening to the sound of paws beating the forest floor. "...and the rest of the pack." He added then snapped to his right to fire an arrow at a wolf running towards him with more on the way.

"..." While Lu was dealing with the wolves in front of him, one was sneaking up from behind.

"Huh!?" Stefon spotted it and grabbed his crossbow. "Fear not! My lady Lu! I shall deal with that foul beast!" He yelled, trying to set an arrow in his crossbow but thanks to his loud mouth, the wolf noticed him in time to dodge the arrow. "Ahaha, who could've done that?" Stefon laughed with his crossbow behind his back when the wolf growled at him.

Thankfully before the wolf could get at him, a quick smack from Lu's bow came down on its head. "Thanks for the good distraction, Lord Ovis." He sent Stefon a warm smile that the Elf boy would soon regret.

"She smiled at me!" Stefon felt a wave of happiness flow through him, giving him a new level of courage. "Have at me, you dirty dogs!" He declared towards all of the wolves in the area with his crossbow raised high.

"What's gotten into him, I wonder?" Rena asked, looking at Stefon with a question marks around her head.

"Just ignore him, just ignore him..." Lu continued saying that to himself while Stefon was giving him a thumbs up and a creepy smile at least it was easier to pick off the remaining wolves now along with the aid of Stefon's guard.

Things were going their way until a flash of white tore past Lu's side ripped through the last of Stefon's guards, knocking them all out and on the other side of the clearing was the Greater Wolf, Blake and Saffire were fighting. "Tch! Was this all you called me out for?" He growled at his pack, making them back way. "Where the hell are your backbones!" He moved behind them before they could get away.

"Giant talking wolf!" Stefon screamed at the top of his lungs after taking in the full view of the massive wolf that appeared out of thin air. "WHY, MEEEEE!?"

The Greater Wolf let out a deep sigh at that. "Back to the same old." He muttered, not even giving Stefon a half glance and turned to Lu aiming at him with an Iron Thorn Shot. "*Sniff* Oh? An Elf and a Fairy, eh? Interesting, this still might give me a thrill." He bared his fangs and got down low to shot forward at Lu.

"Lu, dodge!" Rena yelled as the wolf blasted towards them.

"I know that!" Lu quickly rolled out of the way then fired his arrow, but for once he missed his mark as the wolf moved too fast. "Damn it!"

"Arrows, really now? Unless you can shoot faster than the wind, you ain't hitting me with those!" The Greater Wolf remarked, starting to circle Lu. "But you were able to dodge me, so that's good..." He paused when Lu reached for an arrow with a bud on the end of it then snapped behind to fire it. "Told you, not hitting me!" He jumped to the side, letting the arrow fly by.

"Wasn't trying to." Lu pulled the string of his bow, and the Seed Bomb Shot exploded catching the Greater Wolf off guard as he was covered by smoke.

"Ugh!" After jumping out of the blast, the Greater Wolf was covered in light burn marks. "...Grrr! Well, sneaky little Elfin!" He brushed off the attack, then charged Lu without warning.

"Tch!" Lu shot a Snare Vine Shot at a tree to swing upwards once he landed on a branch he pulled out three arrows and took aim at the wolf, jumping up after him. "Trying dodging now!" He fired them in a wide arc.

The Greater Wolf rolled in mid-air to dodge the arrows while landing back down then ran to the base of the tree Lu was on. "Now, get down!" He clawed at it, and with a single swipe, the tree came crashing down.

"What's up with this guy!" Rena cried almost getting tossed out of Lu's quiver as he did some flips to land back safely, but the Greater Wolf was already on him.

"LU!" Both she and Stefon yelled.

"GRAH!" The Greater Wolf lashed out with his fangs, but Lu shot another vine to pull himself out of there. "Haha! Good! Good! Keep it up! Make this fun for both of us!" He smirked about to go after Lu again when his nose twitched. "What!?" He raised his head to the sky and at an opening in the trees was Saffire coming down on him. "Oh, the Dragon?" But his nose twitched again as something fell off from Saffire's back.

"Gale Shield Bash!" Blake yelled, coming down on the wolf at top speed.

"And the red-head!" The Greater Wolf smirked at Blake while jumping back when Blake hit the ground a large gust of wind whipped around.

"Dammit! Thought I had him with that one!" Blake stood up with Risabeel and Baba at the ready, which was when he noticed Lu a few feet away. "Having trouble?"

Rena answered for Lu. "Shut it, you! Took you long enough to get here!" She yelled at the Smith-Knight. "We could have died, you know!"

"Sorry, my ride had some issues." Blake joked, just as Saffire became down almost crushing him under her claws. "Hey! That was a joke!"

"And so was that!" Saffire growled, trying to whip her tail at Blake. "By the way, where's the guy you wanted to recuse?" She looked and found Stefon, just staring blankly at her. "What's wrong something on my face?!" She leaned down with embers starting up in her mouth.

"A-a-a-a! D-D-Dragon!" He mumbled over his words as the last series of events were a bit too much for him. "First those wolves attack me, then a bigger one came that gave my lady Lu a hard time and..." He turned to Blake who was staring down the Greater Wolf either of them making a move yet. "...now that lowly smith comes in riding on a Dragon...wait? What if he sets it on me?!" He thought, dreading the words he used on Blake now. "Ahaha, my dear, smith Blake, could you and your party kindly dispatch of that wolf and his pack? I would gladly do anything you'd like afterward!" Stefon offered with a broad smile and hands in prayer for Blake to help him.

"Huh?" Blake just looked at Stefon oddly only taking notice of him just now. "...Sure! I was planning on saving your noble ass anyway, throwing in a reward sounds good to me!" He accepted the request if there's loot in it for him then by all means, but a rough laugh from the Greater Wolf got his attention more. "What's so funny, furball?"

"Hah, oh you and that Dragon were having a tough time with me? Weren't you? Think, adding one more will better your odds? Well, I'll have to fight you at my best." The Greater Wolf's fur rose up on end, and his eyes sharpen as his body let off a light shine as if he was glowing. "Get ready for a real fight!"

"Looks like you're getting serious on us, then I should too, right, Saffire?" Blake looked up at said Dragon.

"Fine, but make should you end this quickly." Saffire nagged as she charged into a giant pillar of fire that came down on Blake, surprising the wolf and Stefon.

The flames kept raging on until Risabeel's blade cut through it revealing Blake now in his Dragon armor. "Ready to face the real power of fully equipped a Smith-knight?!" He smirked at the wolf. "...and his Elf companion!" He added shortly afterward, pointing at Lu.

"So you went from three to two, there's strength in numbers, you know?" The Greater Wolf snarled confidently but kept his guard up remembering that with each item Blake gets gives him a new power. "The strength of a wolf is his pack after all..." He growled lowly then howled to call out some of the wolves that were still around the area surrounding Blake and Lu from the left, right and back while he stayed in front. "Let's see you two fight off an Alpha and his Omegas!"

Lu turned around to face the wolves behind them. "Blake, you'll have to take the big one alone. We'll keep the smaller ones off of you." He readied his bow with an arrow.

"Well, you are better at crowd control than me, so it's fine, now here I come, wolf!" Blake nodded and charged forward at the Greater Wolf with Risabeel held high.

"That's all you got?" The Greater Wolf jumped up, leaving behind a faint trail of white behind him as Blake smashed the ground where he was. "Did he get a bit stronger?" He thought right as two of his Omegas came up to Blake from both sides until two arrows shot them dead. "Grrr! Maybe I'll deal with your friend first!" He dashed forward at Elfin archer.

But Blake jumped in his way and blocked him with a Gale Shield stopping the Greater Wolf's dash. "Heh, you're fighting me!" He smiled at the Greater Wolf before pushing off from the clash.

"~Oh~ Hubby, don't you mean 'us'?" Baba half-heartily asked while Blake was swinging his arm around to get some of the feeling back in it.

"Sorry, got carried away," Blake answered, holding Baba up to guard against another of the Greater Wolf's dashes. "Granted without Saffire's added strength and defense I might have broken my arm just now...and thank you for that, Saffire."

"I didn't ask for that, Scaleless," Saffire muttered after hearing that, tightening the armor around Blake and his scales thicken.

"You seem stronger now after getting that armor..." The Greater Wolf said, staying back with some of his Omegas coming to his side while Lu was handling the majority. "...You get stronger by leeching off of your pack members, weak!" He snarled at Blake then shot forward his Omega following him.

"Huh, didn't you just say something about the strength of a wolf is his friends or something?" Blake asked, blocking the attack then took a thrust at the Greater Wolf with Risabeel, but his Omegas pushed Blake away right before he could land the hit.

"True but at the end of the day, the strength of the pack is the wolf!" The Greater Wolf growled and dashed at Blake, but this time when it was blocked, he swung his head up, knocking Blake off balance. "You're mine now!" He lunged forward at Blake going for the neck.

"Not yet!" Blake fell on his back allowing the Greater Wolf to go over him and let him take a swing with Risabeel getting a clean slash at the Greater Wolf's underside. "How's that!?" He rolled back onto his feet quickly.

"Lucky shot!" The Greater Wolf smirked despite bleeding from his underside. "And it's the last one you're getting!" He dashed around Blake quickly each time he moved dust kicked up into the air hiding him from view.

"Going from a sneak attack, eh?" Blake held Baba up high and let out a gust of wind that blew away the dust. "What the!?" But the Greater Wolf was nowhere to be seen.

"Above us!" Baba called out, and Blake looked up to see the Greater Wolf coming down on him.

"Burn! Dragon Flame!" Blake shot a stream of fire from his hand right at Greater Wolf, but he went through it and swung at Blake with his claws. "Rggh!" Blake took a hit to his shoulder with some of his scales breaking off. "Forgot, you can take the heat!"

"And you can use fire now!" The Greater Wolf shook off the fire only lightly burnt and his fur shined brightly. "All it does is make me look good." He dashed at Blake then moved to the side when Blake tried to block him. "Too slow!" From there he stroke out with a claw to Blake's side.

"Grrr, he's starting to change things up." Blake groaned just in time to see Lu somersault over him while firing arrows at a pair of Omegas coming after him. "Having fun I see," Blake said, noting a few claws marks on Lu.

"More or less," Lu answered, reaching for more arrows which were running low at this point. "...What about you? Done with the main one yet?"

"Working on it." Blake got back on his feet with some help from Lu holding out his bow.

"Working on it, my ass!" Rena popped out to add her words in, but Blake just ignored her. "Just hurry up with it cause Lu doesn't want to say it, but he's having a hard time!" She puffed out cheeks with that last comment.

"Fine, I will so your 'Lu' doesn't get hurt anymore." Blake walked up back to the Greater Wolf to continue their fight. "You know? I can't tell if you want to kill me or not since you keep giving me time to get back up?"

"A kill's not worth it if it can't fight back, right?" The Greater Wolf answered, getting down low and smirked. "Besides I'm starting to like you the more we fight!"

"Too bad, I'm more of a bug person," Blake smirked back at the Greater Wolf with Risabeel and Baba at the ready. "Time to end this hunt!"

"Oh? I can agree to that, Blake!" The Greater Wolf leaped high into the air far higher than he'd done before. "Don't try dodging or blocking this one. It'll get a lot messier than it has to be!" His fur suddenly glowed brightly to the point that he almost outshined the sun.

"Well, that looks bad..." Blake chose to hold on to Risabeel with both hands charging her up until her blade turned completely purple. "Let's go, doggie! Either you crush me, or I split you in two!" And without any words, the Greater Wolf came down at full speed turning into a white meteor. "Demon Slash!" Blake met him with a full powered swing sending shockwaves throughout the area until a violent blast of purple mana shot up through the air.

"*pant* That *pant* got messy *pant*" Blake was breathing hard and was using Risabeel as support with most of his scales gone and crack across Saffire's armor. "Right wolf?"

"Grr!" The Greater Wolf was just in front of Blake barely holding himself up with a massive slash going from the base of his right ear over his right eye and down the left side of his mouth showing one or two of his fangs. "Looks like it..." He snarled weakly with each word a stinging pain hit him, and high pitch whimper escaped his mouth. "Haven't done that since I was a pup. You did some work on me with just one hit, haha." He laughed then slowly dropped to the ground.

"Huh?" Lu lowered his bow as the wolves he was fighting off suddenly stopped and surrounded their downed Alpha with some trying to lift himself up while others were licking him.

Despite that, Blake walked up to them, getting snarled and growled at by the Omegas. "Can't really let you go now." He said after getting as close as he could.

"Agreed, I wouldn't pass up a chance like this, either." The Greater Wolf rose back up and walked over to Blake with his head low to the ground. "Have to admit if you weren't about to off me, I might've followed you around after this." He smirked at the dumb thought.

"Who said I was killing you?" Blake just raised a hand to the Greater Wolf's head, and the mystical light of Orefication covered him followed by the usual transform of turning into an Ore that was white with black fangs, but there was also a large crack running through it. "...Well, that's a first, but I think I'm getting the hang of this now...Whoa!" He had to hold it up high when the wolves around him tried to sniff at it. "Hey, I'm not sure if he's alright, so back off!" Blake threw his arms out, trying to scare them off, but they just sat next to him. "Why couldn't you act like that earlier." He groaned just in time to see Mari and Nash come up with the cart. "Perfect timing, you guys!"

"Waaaait!? Did you guys really leave Mari by herself!" Rena shot out from Lu's quiver and into Blake's face while Risabeel, Saffire, and Baba returned to normal with Saffire taking her human form. "How could you!? You idiot!"

"I like I said earlier; my ride had an issue, Nash was too afraid to let Saffire carry him and the cart no matter how nicely we asked him, so to save time to help you guys we left Mari with him..." Blake explained his actions then leaned in to whisper to Rena. "...That and I don't think it's a good idea to leave any of them with the cart." He said, pointing to the girls.

"Hmm?" Rena floated upside-down to think it over. "...That's oddly understandable, no fair!" She went back to Lu's somewhat grumpy.

Blake just waved her off. "Yea, yea, now let me drop this guy in the furnace, and everyone else do your own thing for a while." Blake declared to the others after tossing the Greater Wolf's Ore into the furnace which was soon surrounded by a pack of wolves. "Damn dogs."

"*Ahem*" Came from Stefon walking up to Blake now that everything had calm down. "As much as it pains me to say it...thank you for your assistance in my rescue, smith Blake, you are quite the fighter by even the capital's standards from what I've seen." He lowed his head, and his voice sounded slightly annoyed, but he pushed it aside for the moment.

"Whatever you say, Stefon, I only came here cause everyone else wanted to save your sorry ass," Blake admitted dryly with a thumb pointed towards Lu and the others. "If you got to thank anyone thank them, I don't need or want it."

"Did this lowly commoner just brush me off like that?" Stefon raised his head to see Blake getting into the cart to change into his smithy gear and grab the anvil. "Utterly disrespectful ingrate! Most people would beg for a compliment from me!" He muttered under his breath then turned around with a heavy scowl right into Lu's face surprising him. "Ah! Excuse that distasteful look I had a moment ago, is there anything I can help you with, my dear?" He apologized to Lu and held out a hand.

Lu hid his hands behind his back and forced a smile. "Oh, not really, I was just going to ask if you needed any help with recover?"

"Hmm?" Stefon took a glance at what was left of his traveling company; his remaining eight guards were picking themselves up and moved on to taking care of the bodies of their fallen comrades, both of his carriage and large cart were fine admitted without any horses to pull them. "...other than the loss of some of my guards and horses everything seems to be in order, I will simply replace what has been lost after getting back to the fort...on foot...however it would have gotten much worse without your help." He sent Lu a devilish smile and reached into his shirt to pulled out a silver badge with ram head engraved into it. "Please have this it will be useful to any of your efforts in Gorz, I can assure you of that."

"O-Oh, thank you, Lord Ovis." Lu held out a hand to take it, but Stefon suddenly clasped his hands over Lu's. "A-a-ah!" He screamed with his face turning red when Stefon started rubbing his hand.

"Also that offer to come with me still remains, my dear?" Stefon spoke softly and invitingly to Lu, pulling him closer, making thing worse for Lu. "I can give you anything you could want..."

"Know what I want?" Rena asked rather calmly while hovering next to Stefon and Lu, making them turn to her. "For you to back off from my Lu! Rich boy! RENA KICK!" She rammed her foot into the side of Stefon's face and sent him flying into the arms of a guard then faced Lu. "Come on! Blake's about ready to wake that wolf up!" She tugged at Lu's hair while steam came out of her nose.

Once they came over to the cart, Blake was already working on the Greater Wolf Ore, sparks were flying off like fireworks and hammer strikes came down like thunder and a pack of wolves was at the Smith-Knight's feet until a light glow came off the Ore making them backed away.

"A STRIKE TO FREE YOUR POWER!" The first of the three extreme swings came down on the Ore, and it gave off a radiant glow. "ANOTHER STRIKE TO GIVE YOU SHAPE!" With the next one, the Ore was changed into a glowing axe. "AND A FINAL STRIKE TO FORGE YOUR NEW LIFE!" The final caused a shockwave to come forth, knocking away the wolves that were too close to Blake.

"Oh? This time it wasn't a tornado...good." Blake took this one better than the other times.

"Well, this interesting." Came from a rough voice under Blake's hand looking down he found the Greater Wolf looking back at him with his one good eye while the other was covered by a nasty scar across his face left by Blake's last attack. "Are you about to bash my head in that?" He eyed the hammer in Blake's hand then back at the Smith.

"Depends? Are you going to bite my hand off?" Blake asked in return with his hammer ready just in case and rubbed the wolf's head lightly.

"...No, and by the way that I feel right now you helped me..." The Greater Wolf rose up from the anvil and sniffed himself. "...and I smell kind of like you now, so you marked me?" He muttered, sniffing Blake from head to toe when he went down he found Mari next to Blake staring at him and sniffed her too. "Oh? This your sister or something?"

"Doggie!" Mari reached her arms out to pet him even though her hands barely reached around his head.

"And she's just as weird as you." The Greater Wolf raised his head with Mari hanging off of his face then swung his head around to let her rest on his neck. "So what did you do to me anyway?"

"Indeed, I would like to know as well," Stefon asked, keeping his distance from the Greater Wolf. "Taming a wild beast is a handy ability."

"I will but first do you have a name, wolf? Or I'm going have to give you one," Blake asked since he was getting tired of calling his new friend wolf, doggie, and other such things.

"It's Gram. Got it, Alpha?" Gram answered and also gave Blake a new nickname.

"Other one?" Blake muttered, but no one knew what he meant by that, so he sighed. "...whatever let me just explain..." Afterward, he told Gram and Stefon about his powers.

"So I can turn into an axe now, huh?" Gram looked at himself after Blake was done with explaining things. "Let's give it a try, then!" A glow covered him as he thought about it and in a sudden flash of light, he turned into a one-handed axe. Its handle was black and went up to a silver wolf head with a white gem on its forehead, from the wolf's gaping mouth came a thick axe blade that had a crack starting at the edge of the blade to the right eye of the wolf head.

"Oh, even has the same scar as you." Blake reached out to the axe as soon he did a fluffy red tail grew out from behind him. "Huh?" He just looked at it for a bit then it swung to the right and left.

"Someone looks happy," Saffire said with a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing too much.

"Sh-shut it! You!" Blake yelled at her, but his tail had another idea and seem to be wagging even harder now maybe because Saffire was smiling at him. "Stop it!" He grabbed hold of it and noted how soft it was rubbing his hands over it a few times.

"Ohohoh! Wound the doggie like a treat or an ear rub?" Stefon offered, finding Blake's new appendage a bit cute even going up to him and gave Blake a light pat on the head until Blake lifted him off his feet with one hand and brought Gram up to his face. "Ahaha, That was only a joke, smith Blake..."

"Man, you have no backbone at all." Blake dropped Stefon back down after seeing how fast he took back his joke. "Well? Doesn't feel like you gave me much of strength boost probably in speed and maybe your sense of smell?" He asked Gram spinning him around in his hands while sniffing the air around him, and sure enough, he was picking up on smaller animals and plants that were around them. "Damn! Your nose is good!"

"Heh, not a problem just try not sticking it somewhere foul or it's going to stay with you." Gram warned then turned back to normal. "Much better, hmm?" He stretched out his neck then noticed the remaining members of his pack still around. "Hey, I'll be right back." He moved over to the pack once there they exchanged a series of barks, sniffs, licks and finally one big howl together before the pack went off into the thickness of the forest.

"What was that about?" Blake asked once Gram came back to the group.

"Just told them to get out of here and that they're on their own now," Gram answered and made his way over to Risabeel, Saffire, and Baba standing in line with them. "Cause it looks like I've got a new pack to be the strength of, as Gram, The Greater Wolf Axe."

"Who says that your our strength if any you're better at running away, furball!" Saffire puffed out some smoke at Gram, getting it in his face.

"Oh? I'm going to have to put an Omega in her place." Gram snarled and bared his fangs at Saffire.

"Ah! Saffire! Gram! There is no need for conflict between us anymore!" Risabeel tried, getting between them before they got into a fight but Baba pulled her back.

"~Oh~ Let them be Risabeel, the only thing those wild beasts have in their heads is violence," Baba informed Risabeel with a smug look on her face.

"What was that!?" Both of the 'beasts' yelled with their heads rubbing against each other while glaring at Baba who was just smiling at them now the main focus of their rage and Risabeel had given up on stopping this.

"Well, good thing teamwork isn't a thing they have to do a lot of," Blake muttered with sweat running down his face along with everyone else that was watching the four interact with each other. "Anyway, ~hey~ Stefon about that reward you were talking about?" He asked, turning to the noble with his hands to together.

"What!? First, you brush off my thanks for completing a task, and now you come looking for the pay!?" Stefon spat out with his arms crossed.

Blake nodded a few times. "Uhm? Yes? That's how quests work, or you could take it up with them?" He pointed behind to Saffire, half-turning herself into a Dragon and Gram's fur letting off a glow of power.

"Ugh!" Stefon hanged his head low, then snapped his fingers for his driver to come to his side. "Fetch four bags of 100 gold coins of him, would you." He ordered in a small weak voice with Blake all smiles as the money was handed to him.

"Haha! You should get in trouble more often Stefon I could make a killing off your wimpy ass!" Blake smirked at the sound of jiggling coins when he shook the bags.

"I'd rather not." Stefon gave out a dry retort growing more and more annoyed by Blake's lack of respect for him by the second. "Where on earth are those worthless fools from, Fyrilk Fort! I sent out that signal shot some time ago!"

"True but we're still pretty far from the fort at this point," Blake pointed out, remembering that they were about an hour into Fyrilk Forest not to mention any amount of time Stefon took trying to get away from Gram's pack. "But that's your problem now, Stefon, I'm getting out of here, wasted too much time here as is and I don't want those guys to mistake Gram or Saffire for the reason you shot that warning signal in the first place." He went over to put away the gold then jumped into the driver's seat getting a hold of Nash's reins. "Alright! Everyone, we're moving out!"

"I hate it when he gets all bossy always in a rush..." Rena groaned while laying on Lu's shoulder.

Lu gave her a little pat on the head with his finger. "Well, it's that or walking the rest of the way." He went back on top of the cart.

After he was settled in, Mari, Risabeel, and Saffire took to the inside of the cart while Baba stayed outside with Blake and Gram walked alongside them as they pulled out of the clearing. "Big and meaty." He took a long hard stare at Nash, making the horse quicken his pace.

"Farewell, my dear Lady Lu! May our paths cross again!" Stefon called out while waving a white handkerchief, he pulled out from somewhere, and Lu instantly let out a groan.

"Haha, aren't you going to say bye to your sweet, rich boy Ovis, eh, Lady Lu?" Blake teased lightly after hearing Stefon's goodbye just now to the Elf boy.

Chapter End