The moderators’ remaining leader wasn’t easily convinced that it would be in her best interest to work with us, but she was at least curious about us and our plans. Like the mods we met before, new and unusual ideas seemed to fascinate her. As such, she listened with interest as I summarized my vision for a network of Guild offices, though she kept mocking me for coming up with such a plan without having seen the world beyond the boundaries of this area.

“Naive little human,” she said with a shake of her head.

I couldn't help but smile at her jab. “I believe ‘naive’ is not quite the right word,” I replied. “It’s not that I think we’ll accomplish this easily, or that there’s no chance for a catastrophic failure. But it would bring us closest to our goal, so we’re going to give it a try.”

“And what goal is that?” she asked, her tone laced with skepticism.

“We want to ensure that nobody has to live in fear of the threats that plague this world,” I said earnestly. “And if it’s much worse out there, well, then it’s even more important that we do something about it.”

She scoffed. “You want to protect humans from us beasts, you mean.”

A response to this comment didn’t come easy to me. It was factually right, but I didn’t necessarily see beasts as a senseless enemy that needed to be eradicated either. This issue was more nuanced than that.

“That’s not it,” I said finally. “Ideally, I wouldn’t want beasts to have anything to worry about either, but we can’t exactly negotiate with wild ones. And I’ll say it as it is, we need the resources we gain by hunting them, both for our personal survival and for our plans. That being said, I can promise you here and now that I would never harm a sapient creature that doesn’t pose a threat to anyone.”

My carefully chosen words appeared to surprise the wolf. Whatever experiences she had with humans, someone not demonizing beasts was evidently new to her. For a moment, her eyes scanned my face, as if looking for any hint of deception.

“You don’t loathe beasts for hunting humans then?” she asked.

“No,” I said firmly. “Humans hunt beasts as well, and both consume each other. If anything, it seems like a pretty fair relationship,” I said, following up with, “That is aside from the beasts having had the advantage up until now.”

The wolf cocked her head, considering my words. “That is an interesting way to look at it,” she said thoughtfully. “Most of us see humans only as prey, but we are prey to you as well.”

I nodded in agreement. “Mhm. And just like there are humans who aren’t interested in killing beasts, there are beasts who don’t hunt humans either.” I gestured behind myself, at the young wolf we brought. “Hati over there doesn’t even like the taste of humans.”

Her face twisted in slight distaste as she looked at Hati. “The pup has a name?” she asked, surprised.

“He does. I understand that you moderators don’t typically see a need for that, but this makes communication easier for us humans.”

She regarded me with suspicion. “I’ll admit, I’ve been wondering about him and his presence. Can I ask why he looks like a newborn?”

I smiled, pleased that she was showing interest. Based on her utterings, I guessed that wolves were born with natural fur, which would later turn black. Hati hadn’t been able to tell us much about this process.

“We reigned in his mana a little, so he wouldn’t feel threatening to humans anymore,” I explained. “It’s a reversible process, but a side effect was that his fur turned back to its natural color.”

She had a sharp glint in her eyes as her nose shook and she replied, “I smell ink on him... Did you use a script?”

I was positively surprised that she knew about scripting as well. “That’s right. What do you know about scripts?”

“Not much,” she admitted with a shake of her head. “And none of what I know I will reveal to you.”

I smirked at her guarded response. “So it’s related to the gods. I assume you know that they use scripts, and you know that awakened humans can use scripts as well, even if it’s presumably not a common occurrence,” I mused. “The gods are worried about scripters though, which might even be the whole reason they’re wary of awakened humans in the first place. Does that sound about right?”

The wolf remained silent, but her frown indicated that I was at least partially right about the knowledge she held. It was peculiar that the beings who would naturally be able to use scripts knew so little about them. In another timeline, they would be born wizards in this world. Although the gods undoubtedly made sure to keep this knowledge from the beasts, as Gallas implied before.

“We don’t have to dwell on that for now,” I said, shaking off my thoughts. “Let’s get back on track. As I layed out, there’s quite a bit of overlap in both our missions. I’m certain either side could benefit from helping the other, and for the most part you could continue your task as you have.”

“We would have to let you awakened humans go free though,” the wolf interjected, her tone blunt.

“Yes, that’d be one of the conditions,” I agreed, holding her gaze steadily. “No more hunting humans who are just trying to live their lives.”

“You’re inconsequential, human. As expected.” She sighed in disappointment. “You mean to deal with anomalies, but you’re conveniently excluding your kind from it.”

“You misunderstand,” I said. “It’s not about them being humans. If they’re a threat to others, and there is no other way to deal with them, I will even take care of them personally. In fact, it wouldn’t be the first time...” I paused for a moment, memories of Orthur flickering through my mind, before I pushed them back down. “But I don’t agree with the assumption that every Awakened is dangerous and needs to be eliminated. Rather, I believe the gods have their own agenda for wanting no humans to awaken. If you think about it, beasts have mana by nature, and on average, they are much stronger than humans even without scripts. Doesn’t it seem unfair that humans who reach the same point are being hunted down?”

I thought I had piqued the wolf’s curiosity to a larger degree, but at that last sentence, she resolutely proclaimed, “That is the will of the gods.”

“Yea, but have you ever asked yourself why that is? Doesn’t it strike you as odd?” I asked, giving it another try.

However, she was steadfast. “I will not doubt the will of our creators or the task we were given.”

I relented, recognizing that I wouldn’t get any further with her right now. “Okay, you don’t have to answer that. But if you want this deal, I need you to make an exception. I won’t force you to tell me anything you don’t want to, and I’m not particularly keen on controlling your every move either. You will have to play by our rules though.”

The wolf eyed me skeptically, thinking my words through. For once, I was wholly uncertain what was going on in the head of my interlocutor. She recognized our strength, and I had to assume that she was considering the deal as a means for survival, but I couldn’t tell whether she would agree—or whether she would try to betray us. Though I couldn’t let this chance slip through my fingers either.

“Say we were to accept your proposal,” she said cautiously, “what are the other conditions?”

“I’ll need you to give me all the information you can give me about anomalies and beasts, both inside and outside this area,” I replied. “I’ll leave you in charge of hunting the anomalies, though I need detailed reports about which ones occurred where, and I might want to accompany you some time. In exchange, we’ll help you where necessary, and we’ll provide you a safe homebase if you so desire.”

The wolf's features softened visibly as she blinked in surprise. “That’s... all you want? Information?”

“Is that so surprising?” I asked, flashing her a smile. “As you’ve noted, we’re uneducated. Right now that’s the biggest hurdle on our path.”

The wolf looked at me incredulously. “You’re truly a strange human, human...”

“My name is Miles,” I said.

“Like the creator...” she murmured. “A strange name for a strange human. How fitting.”

A grin on my lips, I waited for her to make a decision. She looked at each of us in turn, her eyes lingering on Hati in particular for a while. Then they wandered over her fallen companions to the survivors, looking back at her, beaten and weary.

After a long moment of contemplation, she turned back to me. “And if I refuse...” she said, her voice low.

In response, I let my aura spike and my smile fall, my voice taking on an icy edge as I gave my best to sound as unforgiving as I could. “Then we will make sure you never hurt an innocent human again, right here, right now.”

Riala, still crouched before the wolf, extended her arm and opened her palm, summoning a small flame that danced on her skin before flickering out. The wolf’s gaze snapped to the girl’s face, her mouth hanging open in shock.

We hadn’t discussed this beforehand. Riala was still not able to control fire properly, which is why I had told her to only use it in an emergency. However, I had to admit that she underlined my point magnificently.

The wolf lowered her head humbly as she glanced up at me once more. My expression had returned to a friendly one, awaiting her positive response.

“If you’ll allow us to continue our mission, we will consider you our leader going forward,” she said, her voice now filled with deference.

A murmur rose from her pack as one of them piped up. “Boss! We can’t! This is—”

“We can and we will!” the leader interrupted with a commanding growl. “We will continue to carry out our task to the best of our ability until the day we die, regardless of who we report to! Have I made myself clear!?”

Originating at the wolves, a collective shout echoed over the plains, “Yes, boss!”

Content, I looked down at the nameless wolf. Whether this would work out the way I hoped was left to be seen, but for now, this was a momentous victory for us and the Guild.

“Oh, one more thing,” I said, breaking the ensuing silence. “I assume you don’t have a name, do you?”

“I do not,” she replied, her tone carrying a hint of irritation.

“That’s kind of inconvenient, I don’t want to continuously refer to you as ‘that beast.’ Would you mind thinking of something? Or I could suggest something if you’d like.”

During our entire conversation, her expression had flickered between irritation and confusion. Startled, she looked back at me as she stammered, “Y-you... want to name me?”

“Well, yes. If you don’t mind.”

With a quick shake of her head, it was clear that she didn’t mind at all. In fact, she seemed almost eager for it. Suddenly, this task weighed more heavily on me. Hati hadn’t cared much about receiving a name either way, but did she?

In the spirit of sticking to mythological figures, and not because I disliked naming things with a passion, I suggested the only name of a she-wolf I could remember. “How about ‘Asena’?”

Her eyes closed, she bowed her head reverently. “Asena...” she murmured. “I gracefully accept.”

Thank god, I thought, breathing a silent sigh of relief. “Well then, welcome to the team, Asena,” I said, a grin spreading across my face.

She raised her proudly to meet my gaze. I wondered why this appeared to be a bigger deal to her than it had been for Hati, but I also felt like the question might be poorly received in this situation. Instead, another question was posed to her.

“Hi, Asena, I’m Riala!” the young girl before her chirped happily. “Can I pet you?”

“What’s that?” Asena asked, her voice filled with confusion once more.

I groaned inwardly. It had been so much simpler when Riala petted dead beasts, that didn't need to have the concept of petting explained to them.