Ryan sighed in relief after making contact with Scarlett, but more pressing concerns remained. He pretended to be too tired to stay awake and slept in the carriage before transferring his consciousness to Scarlett’s body.

Wanting to be absolutely sure that Scarlett doesn’t get on the wolves’ bad side, Ryan tapped into her vision.

Scarlett opened her eyes just in time as the mother wolf dropped her on the mushy ground. She kept her body lying still on the ground while glancing around.

The mother wolfs walked towards the largest wolf in the pack and nuzzled its sides.

However, it growled at seeing Scarlett and immediately pounced towards her.

Scarlett immediately went on all fours and tried to roll out of the way.

>Don’t try to fight back!< Ryan immediately took over and laid still.

The enormous wolf tackled Scarlett’s body as it rolled her face up. Then it bared its terrifying fangs and snarled loudly.

Scarlett’s tried her best to hide the trembling fear running down her spine as she maintained a calm expression on her face while staring into its eyes.

The confrontation lasted for how long, she did not know. Then the wolf stepped down, sniffed her body and then walked back to the mother wolf.

>Is it over?< She asked with trembling voice.

>Probably. If what I read about the wolf observations are true, that alpha wolf had just accepted you into its pack.<

>What does that mean?<

>You’re now a pack member, I think. Though I still don’t know what your position is within the pack. The mother-alpha female- wolf is treating you as her cub while the alpha male might treat you as a lower ranked adult. I’m just not sure.<

>Well, tell me when you are sure.<

Scarlett looked around. Heavily surrounded by foliage, the surrounding area was perfect for a pack’s meeting place. There were five wolves, including the two cubs.

Since only the alpha male and female wolves could have children, Ryan concluded that the mother wolf and the father were the alphas of the pack.

Everyone seemed listless as the wolves often looked around, paying attention to every movement in their surroundings. Yet the pack stayed still.

After some more observations, Ryan saw that the remaining two wolves were male. One of them seemed to have the lowest position in the pack as it was shy and often get picked on by the other members.

It seemed that Scarlett’s current position in the pack was that of a cub, as the other pack members didn’t seem to interact with her and that the mother wolf had dropped her in the area where the cubs stayed. But most importantly, Scarlett was safe.

Before he could discuss his findings with Scarlett, more wolves arrived. It was a male and female with a single cub. They promptly joined the pack after giving nods at the alpha wolf.

>This is strange, I thought that only the alpha male and female are allowed to have cubs within the pack.< Ryan said.

>They are probably grouping up to run away from the labyrinth.<

>Thats right, animals, and even people often abandon part of their social construct in desperate times.< He nodded.

He decided to discuss with Scarlett more about the situation. She was currently a member of the pack, with the other members treating her as a wolf cub. For the moment, she should follow the pack as it was the safest options. She would be protected by the other wolves and even can join their meals, though she wasn’t particularly looking towards that.

However, several problems remained. As a birdkin, Scarlett didn’t have the stamina or the endurance to sustain long periods of movement and hunting with the pack. She shouldn't expect the mother wolf to carry her inside its maw for long.

Then the cubs decided to run and play around the sitting Scarlett. One cub nudged at her back with its nose while another grabbed her arm with its paws. >What do I do?<

>Interact with them, give playful gestures. This is a good chance to improve your relation with the pack.<

>Remind me again why I should try to improve my standing with a pack of wild wolves?< Scarlett raised an eyebrow.

>You are currently trapped in the West Frontier with an injured wing and no food or gear. The most likely scenario of you traveling alone would be getting eaten by the nearest predator larger than a rabbit.<

>You don’t have to put it so bluntly.< She pouted.

>By a stroke of luck, it seemed this pack has adopted you as a strange cub. I strongly suggest that you play the part, as the pack will likely share their food and shelter with you. The only problems would be whether you can weather the harsh living condition for a little while.<

>I guess there is no other choice. Are you sure that they won’t come to tear me to pieces at any moment?<

>I have absolutely no clue. Nothing like this has been recorded before. There had been cases of people living among wolves before, but never had anyone been accepted as a cub.<

>Not even wolfkins?<

>Well, the wolfkin is a secretive race. Little is recorded about them other than the fact that they have the appearance of humanoid wolves. I know as much about them as you do. Anyway, all you need to do for the moment is to act like a wolf cub, play nice with the other cubs and maybe seek a way back to civilization after you can support yourself.<

She glanced at the playful bundle of furs tackling each other around her and smiled. >I guess this may not be so bad after all. Now how do I play with them without alerting mister scary wolf over there?<

>Copy what they do, nudge, sniff, or even tackle them, since some of them are almost as big as you.<

>Roger that.<

After observing for a little more, she began to imitate the cubs and went on all fours. Then she stealthily approached the nearest one and began nuzzling her face in its fur. The cub’s fur was soft and comfortable with a musty smell. She then began making exaggerated sniffing noises.

>Am I doing it right?< She asked nervously.

>Don’t ask me, I’m not a wolf cub.<

The cub made a small bark, turned its head over and started to lick her in the face.

She laughed and hugged its head. >I’ll take that as a yes.<

Though she’ll have to get used to all the wet saliva smearing her face and body.

Scarlett lost herself in running around and playing with the other cubs. By then, she had come up with names for all three of the cubs. Flower was the first wolf that came up to nudge her, she liked playing with the wild flowers on the grass. The second cub was the most energetic of the bunch, he liked jumping around and tackling everyone all the time, so she named him Lightning.

Both Flower and Lightning were the mother wolf - the one that dragged her here- and the alpha male’s cubs. While the third one is from the other couple that recently arrived. He was very shy and preferred to keep his distance, so she named him Nia after a friend of Tom that had a similar nature. Unfortunately, Flower and Lightning never understood the concept of personal space so poor Nia was often picked on by the two.

A bark from the alpha wolf ended playtime. It seemed the pack was getting ready to move.

Scarlett looked at the mother-alpha female- as it looked back at her. >Uh oh.<

With a quick swoop, she was back inside the wolf’s maw.

>I think she likes you.< Ryan chuckled.

To accommodate for the weaker cubs, the pack weren’t traveling very quickly. Scarlett put a hand on her chin as her body was carried once again as she watched the landscape passing by.

As they walked through the vast forests of the frontier, the scenery began to fluctuate between dense bushes and shrubs to very wide open ground surrounded by massive trees higher than skyscrapers. While Scarlett had seen the vast forest countless times from her scoutings, never had she actually traveled that close on the ground.

Her view slanted to one side as they started to climb a hill. It wasn’t a very tall hill, but by the time they reached the top, Scarlett caught a glimpse of the expanding ladybirth from the top of the trees. The blood hue slowly but steadily ate up the horizon as more helpless trees and animals succumbed to the ladybirth’s corruption.

The pack stopped at a large lake to let the cubs rest. Finally, Scarlett was released from the mother wolf’s maw and she fell on the muddy ground face first.

>I have yet to get used to this.< She grumbled.

The lead wolf stared at the water inside the lake for a good minute before signalling the cubs to come to drink.

The three cubs ran happily to the lake and jumped in, splashing water everywhere.

Scarlett looked around, removed her gear and clothes, and tried to imitate by crawling on her fours towards the lake. >This is so embarrassing. Wait, are you seeing what I’m seeing?<

Immediately, she hugged her modest chest while frantically directing her line of sight away from her naked body.

>Sorry, I’ll disconnect your vision now!< Panic flooded his voice.

>Wait, since we are sharing our consciousness, I don’t think we need to hide anything from each other.< Scarlett said, her voice a little meek.

>No, I can definitely feel that you’re not comfortable with this. I can feel your strong emotion, remember?<

>You’re right.<

>As I was saying, you should try to do what the other cubs are doing, even if it doesn’t have the same level of energy. Keeping a good relation is our most important priority<

She immersed herself in the cold water, the lack of fur on her skin allowed heat to escape her body so quickly that she had to surround herself with a thin layer of mana to prevent hypothermia.

>Is the water safe to drink?<

>We can make a crude filter later. I doubt you’ll get anything more than a mild stomach cramp.<

Since Scarlett was thirsty, She reluctantly gulped down a few mouthful of water.

The other cubs started playing around, Lightning splashed water everywhere and started tackling Nia. With a faint smile, she joined the fun and started splashing at Flower.

The fun ended shortly after the leader made a short bark and the pack once again depart. The cubs walked out of the lake and shook their body, sending water droplets everywhere.

Scarlett too was drenched. She quickly dried herself by combining fire magic with wind magic to create a very warm breeze blowing at her body.

>You are really good at mana manipulation. What level are you at?< Ryan said.

>I don’t know, never took the measuring exam. Though some of the people I worked with told me I was about the upper intermediate level.<

>That’d be the same as me then.<

Scarlett braced herself for another trip inside the mother wolf’s mouth, but before it could approach her, the leader made various barking noises while gesturing its head back.

With reluctance, the mother wolf turned around and followed the lead wolf.

>Now what?<

>Look like you’ll have to follow them on foot. Do you know any body enhancement spell?<

>I can only do a basic muscle support spell. I’ll need something more robust if I’m gonna travel long distances on foot, Birdkins’ bodies aren’t meant to travel long distances on the ground.< She grimaced.

>I’ll look up a more efficient spell later.<

Scarlett began circulating her mana around her body, concentrating on her muscles, especially the ones at the joints and biceps. The dose wasn’t high enough to make a noticeable difference in strength, but it should help alleviate muscle fatigue by increasing blood circulation. The side effect was the increased mana activity would raise her body temperature.

>Wait, should I walk on two legs or should I crawl?<

>I don’t think they mind your method of movement, seeing that they already don’t care about the stark difference in your appearance.<

She began following the pack as it moved, keeping her pace with the other cubs and trying not to expend too much effort into movement.

>It looks like you’re doing well. Tell me when you’re tired, maybe I can switch with you.< Ryan proposed.

>It’s fine, I got this.I’m not that weak you know, I’ve been a scout for a little more than five years.<

>Alright then. I have to go, I’ve arrived at Silica.<