Mourning

The wolves were not as interested in the loot as Jason was, instead they collectively all walked to a corner of the camp. Which Jason noticed smelled like rotten flesh.

Jason followed the group and witnessed a pile of bones and torn flesh throw into the corner of the camp. The wolves were all surrounding the pile of bones they sat and raised their heads and collectively howled.

Jason tried to look closer into the pile of bones. He managed to see a few bits of mangled fur in the sickening pile of bones and flesh.

Bugs were already flying around the place, but the wolves jumped in and pulled out certain bones and pieces of fur with their teeth. Jason noticed that the bones pulled out were noticeable smaller then regular bones some were just smaller in size and others were thinner and looked more fragile.

Some of the bones the wolves ignored they were going through the pile as if they knew exactly which ones they were looking for. The rest of the pack including the injured that Jason had saved arrived at the camp finally, They too looked at the pile and stared at it for a while, they then went to a plot of land near where the wolves were piling up the bones they picked and started to dig. They all dug individual holes, about 3 meters wide and 1 foot down.

Jason had the thought of going to help them to earn some points of gratitude but something told him to stop, so he watched and waited at a respectful distance.

The wolves made one final check to make sure there were no more bones that they needed by sniffing around even though to Jason it smelled horrible and he was sure with the wolves even more sensitive noses it would smell even worse.

All of the wolves stood in front of the pile of bones that the other wolves had gathered. Each of the wolves took certain parts of the pile. Jason didn't know what was their criteria for choosing the bones and flesh. What he did know now, was that wolves could cry, he witnessed it before his very eyes.

One of the wolves had in his mouth a small slender skull that was similar to the shape of his head just smaller. The wolf brought it to one of the pits and placed the skull gingerly on the ground next to another skeleton which had the bones around his size and some mangled flesh and fur.

The wolf sat down next to the grave, and Jason could see tears. Clear tears falling down the wolves' face and dripping down to hit the ground. The wolf didn't howl or cry out, it just sat there silently as tears fell down.

Jason looked around similar scenes were playing all around him, some wolves buried one of two smaller bones along with a skeleton around their size. Others buried larger but more frail skeletons with mangled grey fur.

The goblins corpses that Jason didn't kill were laid all around the campground but none of the wolves paid attention to them.

The alpha wolf was the only one that wasn't moving he stood looking at the pile of bones that was steadily decreasing as the wolves grabbed more and more bones and mangled flesh to put together the skeleton of the deceased. The alpha wolf waited and waited, he didn't move from his spot.

The alpha wolf looked like just another one of the regular grey wolves, but for some reason, Jason could pick out the alpha in any pack of wolves, he just had a presence of a leader and he stood watching as the rest of the wolves started to finish and the pile started to shrink.

Now all that was left was 2 skeletons, quietly sitting at the bottom of the pile a small one and one about the alpha wolf's size. The alpha wolf finally moved and walked to the two skeletons.

It looked at the two skeletons fondly, his expression started to droop and melancholy and sadness revealed itself. One tear fell down his face, but the alpha noticed it and quickly wiped it away.

The alpha wolf started to dig, its claws easily penetrating the earth and creating a shallow hole large enough for the two skeletons to lay down in.

The alpha put the bones in soon he finished and looked around. The rest of the pack was watching and waiting for him, they too had finished and were waiting for his command.

The alpha nodded and all of the wolves collectively buried the skeletons. Nothing else was heard except for burning noises. It was like nature itself quieted down to let the wolves work in silence.

Boops figured something out but when he started talking his voice broke a bit.

' I-I figured it out, those are wolf bones and they look biologically similar'

Jason as a 15-year-old he wasn't the brightest but he instantly knew what this meant

"it was revenge"

' it was a battle to avenge and get revenge'

Jason viewed then entire burial process differently now, he could see the sorrow the wolves had been holding. Maybe they were always angry and enraged the entire time when they were together and he didn't notice it.

Boops noticed something

'Jason the bones were in a pile and were almost completely picked clean'

Jason could feel the blood rush to his head. His eyes narrowed and he clenched his fist. He growled out

"I haven't hated an entire species before, but now....."

The red glow on Jason's helmet started to move and converge. Instead of creating a small red glow on his helmet in front of his eyes, the red glow moved to Jason's left eye and started moving like a flame and got noticeably darker.

[new mission]

[revenge A]

[the wolves that you have been journeying with have finally put their past to rest, but their journey of vengeance has only just begun]

[eliminate as many goblins as possible]

[rewards: varies on the number and quality of goblins eliminated]

[do you want to accept this mission?]

[yes/no]

Jason accepted the mission in a flash, it was laughable, he had only spent around a day with these wolves yet, he now wanted to help them in their fight. Maybe it was how they expressed their thanks or how they played around with each other even when they were going to battle, but something about the wolves spoke to him.

Boops also wanted to tell Jason something

'Jason I want you to watch and look at how the alpha wolf treats the rest of the pack. There are good and bad parts to every person and now animals. It might seem silly that you're studying an animal but I can assure you from what I have seen, you will learn a bit from the wolf.

[new mission]

[study C]

[you have been requested to study the alpha wolf and understand how it leads its subordinates]

[rewards: (+5 charm/charisma, +1 level in leadership)]

[would you like to ac..]

"yes"

[mission accepted]

The wolves were looking over the mounds of dirt that they just used to bury their loved ones. They were gazing at them like they were reminiscing old memories, the alpha wolf barked once. It was the first time Jason had heard the alpha wolf bark for a while, all of the wolves understood what it meant. It was time to say goodbye.

Some of the wolves placed their snouts to the dirt, others closed their eyes, the alpha alone stood and nodded once to the mound of dirt and walked away with a determined face.

The rest of the wolves followed and so did Jason all of them had similar faces, was it a face of revenge no, that was when they were fighting, now they had calm faces but Jason knew best of all the ferocity that could be unleashed at a moments notice. Unlike the rest of the wolves, Jason looked back at the camp. Boops had marked the place on his map but he had a sad feeling that he would never be able to go back here again.

His head snapped back to face the front of the line, this time with a red fire glowing on his left eye. With his iron helmet and iron armor and sword, he ran with the wolf pack that started to run.

The turmoil and anger in his heart were slowly dissipating as he was running but the drive was still there.

Jason ran through the woods with his new comrades, he wasn't so sure before but now that they had the same mission and the same goal, for now, he was happy to call these furry creatures his comrades. Perhaps that was what they wolves had always thought of him before, and now it was just Jason's turn to realize it.

'Alright, Boops where's the next encampment?'