"Alright." Joey says, his elbow leaning outside of the door structure. He is looking ahead of us, at all of the other movement structures - cars, I've learned - on the road. And there are so many! They are all around us, slowly moving towards a biiiig structure. It extends far past what the human ocular organs can see, even the enhanced design I'd made.

"Alright." I use the songbird syrinx, mimicking Joey's voice, and also lean my elbow out of the door structure. Oh, this is very pleasant. Comfortable. Joey makes an amused sound, and Waffles growls at the car next to us. They also have a pup, but…

Smug. Waffles' design is superior.

The other pup knows this, as its ears flatten and it cowers. Very good, Waffles. I groom it with my hand to let it know I am pleased with its territorial display, and the pup licks my hand.

"We're getting close to the gate now." Joey continues, and I nod, pointing at the big structure.

"Gate." I echo, and Joey nods.

"Well, that's the wall that surrounds the city and connects to the gate, but yes." Joey affirms, and I nod wisely.

"Wall gate." I repeat, and Joey makes another amused sound.

"Yes buddy, wall gate. Anyways, we shouldn't have any problems. If the blue boys ask to see your circlet and identification, say yeh just haven't registered for a new one after your mutation." He says, pointing at the circle around his neck. All humans seem to have that circle.

I turn to look at Joey, tilting my head. "But I never had this… circlet."

"I know buddy, just say yeh did." He says, and I gasp.

"But that is a lie!" I protest. "And lies are cowardice!"

Joey sighs, scratching his face hair. "Well, lying is bad mate, yeh got that one down." He confirms. "But sometimes yeh have to lie. If yeh don't… look, it's not cowardice if yeh lie to the blue boys."

I frown, confused. Lying is cowardice, but lying to the blue boys is not?

"Okay." I say finally. "I did not register for a new circlet after my mutation." I pause, tilting my head. "Joey, what is a mutation?"

He hums for a few moments, what I've learned now is the human noise for consideration. "You'll learn more about that at school, but… it's what happens to some folks when they get exposed to a Rift. Gives 'em a Core, makes 'em look a little different from regular folk. Like your ears and your tail… and all of your tentacles. People out in the boonies, they tend to not like it. Reminds 'em of the bad times."

I nod, understanding. "So I should not have ears and a tail?" I ask. It will be inconvenient, these structures make the human anatomy more efficient, but if it will help blend with humans…

Joey looks at me, something like the fear scent coming off of him. "What? No, I mean, yeh can keep your ears and tail. Yeh don't have to chop 'em off or anything. Big cities like Sacison and Mackadon, there are tons of mutated blokes around." He says, and I nod again.

Joey looks ahead. We've gotten much closer to the gate, and I can see two humans standing on the road. They are wearing the same superior armor structures that the humans who hunted me in the woods did. Well… not the same. They are visible.

"Alright kiddo, remember to introduce yourself. It's polite." Joey reminds me, and I groom the pup.

When we get close to the gate, one of the humans approaches Joey's door. "G'day mate." Joey greets, and the armor human - blue boy, Joey called them - nods.

"Mornin. What're you transporting?" He asks, and Joey shrugs.

"Ah, bit of goods from Razer Corps. Was supposed to make the delivery to Mackadon, but the route was shut down for Rift Containment." Joey says, and the armor human shakes his head.

"Heard about that, we've gotten a few transport vehicles comin back for that same reason." He says, sorriness in his tone. He looks past Joey, to me. "That your son?"

"Hello!" I greet. "My name is Joey Waffles, and I am very polite!"

The guard makes an amused sound, nodding. "Yes you are!" The blue boy says politely back, and I smile. Humans have been much nicer since I started to look like them. "Since you're comin back from a compromised route, I'll have to scan your vehicle. Anything I should know about?"

Joey shakes his head. "Nah, nothin too much. Oh, kiddo's mutated, that might trip your scanners." He warns, and the blue boy pulls out a strange structure.

"Shouldn't be a problem. Just a sec, and…" The blue boy trails off as the structure beeps. Joey pauses, his hand tightening on the steering wheel as the guard raises another structure.

Freeze.

Recognize that structure. Shoots the powerful pain.

"Step out of the vehicle. Both of you." The blue boy says, and I bristle. The voice is threatening.

"Hold on there mate, scanner might've bugged-"

"I said step out of the vehicle." The blue boy repeats, his tone much more threatening now. I growl, raising my tentacles behind me. Waffles growls too, sensing the threat. Joey looks panicked as he looks between the both of us.

"Calm down there kiddo. And we'll step out, officer, just a few moments." He says. The officer says nothing, only keeping the structure aimed at us.

I can kill him and the other blue boy approaching. I do not sense cores from them, it will be easy. "Joey, are they going to hurt you?" I ask, and Joey shakes his head.

"No kiddo, they won't. Put your tentacles away." He whispers. "Listen, their scanner must've tripped off of you. We'll get out, and they'll scan again."

I nod, but open small holes in my skin, preparing bone spikes and osteokinesis in case they attack. Core energy is at 86%.

I open the door, grooming Waffles as I step down onto the road. Joey walks around the car, arms raised as he stands next to me. Waffles growls as one of the blue boys approaches us, his structure raised.

"Alright." He calls. "They're both out, scan the vehicle again."

The other blue boy walks around too, holding up the scanning structure. It doesn't beep, and he turns it on us.

Beep.

They look at me, then Joey, then Waffles.

"Got two core sigs. Class 4 and class 1." The one who had talked to Joey says, their weapon structures lowering. They are exhibiting nervous behaviors. "Sorry sir, I didn't realize he was a class 4. Were you aware that you were transporting a mutated wolf as well?"

Joey looks confused for a moment, looking at me and Waffles, before shrugging. "No, I accidentally hit the pup with me truck. We were just about to take it to the vet." Joey says. I frown.

It's not a lie, I think. He hit me, but also hit Waffles.

The blue boy nods. "And is… Mr. Waffles, registered with RCO or the BA?" He asks.

Ohhh, I can smell it now. The fear scent. But why?

Joey shakes his head again. "No, kiddo mutated recently. That was the second order of business, actually."

The two blue boys nod, making a relieved noise. They're no longer raising their weapons, so I deconstruct the bone spikes. "Very well then sir, apologies for the interruption. Please make sure Mr. Waffles and the wolf pup are registered by the end of the day." He says, and Joey nods.

"Will do officer." He says, and the blue boys step back. Joey makes a relieved sound, breathing out. "Alright kiddo, let's hop back in the truck."

I nod, as Waffles growls at the officers one last time. Another wonderful threat display Waffles! All of the grooming for you!

When we get back in the truck, Joey starts driving again. The surrounding area goes dark as we drive past the gate, and underneath the wall. There are small lights on the side, but I will ask about them later. Joey looks… not scared, not nervous. But still displays slight cowardice. His body is trembling.

"Joey?" I inquire, and Joey jumps, before looking at me.

"Ah… sorry kiddo, shook me up was all. Waffles is uh… Waffles is mutated?" He asks, and I think about this for a little bit.

"You said the Core was given after mutation, correct?" Joey nods, and I shake my head.

"Then no. Waffles had his Core when he was sired." I clarify, and Joey's eyes go wide.

"Wait, he's Gifted?" Joey asks, and I look at him, confused. Joey runs a hand down his face. "Right, yeah, sorry, forget yeh wouldn't know what that means. Things born with a natural Core are called Gifted."

Ah, then if that is the case. "Yes, Waffles is… Gifted." I affirm, and Joey whistles.

"Well, that's a damn good wolf to have on your side then." He says, and I am curious again.

"Is there a difference between them?" I ask, and Joey nods.

"Aye, there is yeah. Mutated Cores are static." When Joey sees my confusion, he makes an amused sound. I will have to ask what that is called, humans have a word for everything. "It means they don't grow, get more powerful. Well, they can, but it takes a lot of work. Natural Cores, though, get stronger over time. At least…" Joey frowns, shrugging. "That's the best way I can explain it. I don't know the specifics, I'm just telling you what my wife told me. She'll be able to explain the difference better, since she's also Gifted."

I nod, considering for a few moments. "So… natural Cores are superior?"

Joey thinks about this. "Yeah, I guess you could look at it that way." He says, and I smile.

Smug. My design truly is superior in every way. I allow Joey to bask in my superiority.

Wiggle!

"Joey, what do you ca-" I begin to ask what the amused sounds are called, but stop when everything becomes light again.

THERE ARE SO MANY BIG BUILDINGS AROUND! BIG BIG!

Which means…

FOOOOOOD!

"Joey! Joey, can we stop at one of the buildings to get biomass!?" I ask, tugging on Joey's sleeve, and he rolls his eyes. Annoyance? How can he possibly be annoyed with getting biomass!? The pup agrees with me, yipping with his tongue out.

"Kiddo, yeh just ate like… an hour ago. How are yeh still hungry?" He asks, and I snort.

"We should acquire biomass whenever it is possible." I say wisely. Even pups know about this. It is okay though, I will teach Joey. "You can never have enough."

Joey sighs. "You're going to eat me out of my wallet." He grumbles, and I recoil, confused. How could he think that?

"I will not eat you. Joey is my friend!" I quickly assure him, and Joey makes an amused sound. He pats my head, and I growl. No touch!

Joey shakes his head. "Right, right, sorry I forgot. It's just a saying. Tell yeh what kiddo, we can go get something to eat after I bring you home." I freeze, and when Joey sees me he looks… sad. "A real home, kiddo. A real one. Not the lab."

A different home? I suppose that is okay. I am curious about what Joey's home looks like. So I instead watch all of the big buildings pass by. There are so many people here. More than I've ever seen. Some of them use the nuan structure, some use the human. And some use a structure that looks similar to both, but is different.

New structure? I lick my lips, then look guiltily at Joey.

Breaking the no eating promise would be cowardice… okay. If they try to attack me, I will only eat a little bit.

We enter a new area, with less people. The buildings are smaller, and there is grass outside of them. Until, finally, we arrive at a building that looks a lot like the other ones.

"Alright kiddo." Joey says, his voice pleasant. "We're home."

I hurriedly exit the truck, the pup yipping as I set it down. It runs around the grass before squatting down, removing waste product from its digestive tract. I sigh.

An embarrassing display of an inferior anatomy. It doesn't utilize all of the biomass. But that is okay, I will take care of it anyways.

I hear Joey's door close loudly, and he walks up to the home door. I tilt my head. He hesitates. Why?

But the hesitation doesn't last, and he opens the door. "Come on kiddo, let's get yeh and the pup settled. We still have a busy day." He says, before calling into the house. "Gasty? Gasty, you home?" Me and the pup walk in, and I look around. It is small inside, but… it feels nice. There are stairs that lead up, and we are in a hall that leads to more of the home.

"Dad?" I hear another voice come from up the stairs, vibrating at a frequency even lower than Joey's. Another big human comes, but I recognize his features as an adolescent human. Though his skin is darker, he resembles Joey a lot. Even with no face hair, his smile is the same.

"Come downstairs kiddo, I've got someone I'd like you to meet." Joey says, and I hear the warmth in his tone. Gasty thumps down the stairs, pausing as he sees me and Waffles. He displays cowardice behavior, his smile dropping as his shoulders hunch. Hmm…

It is alright. Joey said we would be friends, so I will teach him to stop his cowardice!

"Hello!" I greet. "My name is Joey Waffles, and I am very polite!"

Joey makes an amused noise, while Gasty looks confused. "Uh… hi. My name's Gaster." He says quietly, approaching me. The pup walks forward to assess the human for me. He sniffs Gaster, then begins wagging his tail and exposes his weak underside.

…

Amazing! Truly, he is related to Joey. He put Waffles into submission! Gaster's smile is back, as he grooms Waffles' exposed weakness. "He's cute! Or is it a she?"

"Waffles is a female!" I say helpfully, and Gaster makes an amused sound, smiling up at me. "I am biologically male!"

Gaster makes the sound again. "I kind of figured." He says, and Joey looks on with a smile on his face.

"Joey?" I hear another voice call, and everyone flinches. I bristle. The tone is threatening.

I look up the stairs again, and see a female with darker skin than Gaster standing there. Her eyebrows are scrunched, nostrils flaring. Waffles scrabbles back to his feet, about to growl before whimpering and hiding behind my legs, his tail tucked.

Waffles has sensed it. The fear that she causes in us by instinct.

This female is…

A PREDATOR.