Life was good for Two Socks. Well, not all good. Once again he was being separated from Alan, and also little Aki, but he was on his way back to Rubyheart, his mate. He hadn't meant to, but he had been neglecting her recently. Ever since Aki had hatched and started riding around on his head he had spent less time with her than he should have.

She wasn't as strong as he was, but she wasn't named for her heart for nothing. She never complained about the time away, she was happy to enjoy what they had. Now that he was once again free of his babysitting duties, they could get back to the way things were. It wasn't really fair to call the time he had spent with Aki 'babysitting'. By the end she was a far more lethal combatant than he was. But she still needed watching after.

Two Socks hoped that his skin brother, Alan, would be able to take care of her. It had taken a lot of convincing to get Aki to see that he was a good person, so he had to see this transfer as nothing but a good thing. It still was a little sad. But he would once again get to patrol the land around his home, that was good.

As he made his way through the dark, Aki absentmindedly moved stealthily through the short grass. Well, it was short for him, but Two Socks wasn't called a stalker wolf for nothing. Even before reaching tier two, he managed to catch two creatures unaware. The first was a type of four legged predator that he had run into in the forest as well. The second was a water deer. It was super rare to find such highly magical creatures. These were the result of mana spontaneously condensing.

Such things happened, but they were more likely to create fairly mundane animals, not something so clearly infused with mana. At first Two Socks was actually drooling at the thought of its sweet flesh, but then he slowly moved on, without the deer ever realizing how close it came to death. He could kill it now and enjoy the one meal, or let it live and perhaps return one day to find a herd. Such advanced thinking was something that set Two Socks apart from other wolves he had run into.

Once he was back in his zone, he felt more comfortable. There was a familiarity to the mana here, one that got stronger the closer he got to his home and his mate. Oh, he was going to enjoy greeting her and nuzzling her muzzle. Her crimson fur was so soft and tickled him in just the right way.

Now that he was back in his own tier, Two Socks picked up the speed. He still was moving silently and low through the grass, but he felt more at home. With the two adventuring groups now working on finishing the dungeons, along with Alan himself clearing a bunch a while ago, there were fewer monster leaks. Fewer wasn't none however, and he did run into a small pack of cepheloterras.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

These small humanoids were about a meter tall but had tentacles that dangled down almost to the ground. They had seven tentacles, all covered with hooks and suckers. Those appendages were used to latch onto victims and tear open their skin. Then they would pull off chunks and drag them back to their teeth filled mouths. There were five of them together, but Two Socks wasn't worried. Not only should his fur and tough skin provide some protection from the beast's attacks, but they weren't particularly fast or aware.

Slipping through the grass, the wolf managed to get right up to them without being detected. His paws had large, jagged nails on the ends, but he still preferred his teeth when it came to dispatching foes. Lunging out of the grass, he bit down on the head of one and then another of the cepheloterras. The bones weren't very strong, with much of their structure provided by softer cartilage. Each bite tore through their brains and killed them instantly.

Now with only three of the creatures remaining, they had no chance. Two Socks backed up a bit, giving himself some range, and then charged at their small group. They had bunched up to protect each other's backs, but that just allowed him to use his larger size against them.

Barreling into them, his massive body sent them flying, and he followed it up by running literally over top of them. Now his nails dug into their fleshy bodies, leaving giant gashes streaming blood. It was a mercy when he returned to end each of them with a single bite.

It hadn't escaped his notice as they fought how delicious these things were. Two Socks ate two of them on the spot, and then managed to fit two more into his mouth. They would make a nice present for Rubyheart. He missed Akilatjin's internal spatial storage. Perhaps he could talk Alan into making a bag or something for him. The final corpse was left for scavengers.

With his jaws already full, the wolf did his best to avoid others on his way back home. It wasn't difficult since most things in the area that did detect his presence would gladly flee the other way. Soon it wasn't just the mana that felt familiar, but the very air smelled of home. This was why he so rarely left the area, everything about it made him feel like he was warm and safe. That might be an unexpected emotion from a horse sized wolf, but who doesn't like that feeling.

Just as he had used to greet Alan when he came home, so too did Rubyheart come out to say hello. She too tried to jump up on him, just as Two Socks had to Alan, but the size difference was now the other way. Still, as she approached, he dropped the yummy treats in his mouth and braced himself for her hug. She jumped up, getting her forelegs on his shoulders and their muzzles met. Then it was the feeling of her soft fur against his own.

When she smelled the blood from his kills, she started licking his mouth to taste what it was. That led to a lot of playfulness before he led her over the carcasses and she greedily dug in. It was good to be home, Alan was an amazing man, and Aki was a great friend, but Rubyheart and Amthraxia were where he belonged.

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