Chapter 41

"So if we can't personally fight the god, maybe we can at least deal with Ethiadan for now while we figure out what we're going to do." Daryl said as he held the reins of the cart as they were on their way out of the kingdom of Dradel.

"I thought you wanted to find us help in Dradel. Why are we just abandoning that idea now?" Leo sighed as he glanced back at the fading kingdom behind them.

"Are you kidding? Do you really want to draw attention to yourself right now? I left behind word with a local that I know back there. She will deliver the news around to some others we can depend on when the time comes. We aren't abandoning Dradel, but we just can't rest back there tonight because of..." Daryl glanced over at the sleeping dragon on the cart with them with a stern expression on his face.

Bredret was snoring loudly while Celeste sat on his lap. Everyone knew what Daryl was hinting at and they all glanced over at him as well. The dragon had gotten them removed from the inn and without a place to stay the night and all the locals scared of Bredret it would cause a huge commotion if they stayed in the area any longer.

"I can't believe he got in a fight with a lycan!" Daryl's brow twitched as he felt the urge to swear to never leave his friend alone again if it involved a place they needed to avoid losing, but knew he could not do such a thing.

"The guy had said that Chynir was planning to destroy even the allied kingdoms of Cadirade. If he was really planning on doing that... I would imagine placing the lycans in the smaller kingdoms could cause some internal problems." Leo thought out loud.

"Of course! Those beasts can cause quite a bit of trouble if they swarm a location. They are suppose to be in the east. For them to come this far west of the realm is something that clearly wasn't there own idea. The lycans would never naturally try to live so close to the dragons because it's like courting death to them." Daryl knew the prince was only thinking his ideas out loud, but found himself responding anyways.

Lycans could easily blend in with humanity because they had three forms. They could choose to look like a human or a wolf, but when faced with a fight they could easily stop their transformation mid way for the sole purpose of combat. The mid form they use for combat was what the lycan in the inn had attempted to use against Bredret. They would have sharp claws, tail, and the ears of a wolf while their bodily strength and speed would reach a heightened level that could help them to slaughter a great number of warriors at once.

Vorbuk found himself studying all the information the two of them spoke about. His mind was focused on gaining every bit of it that he could for future use if he came across a situation he would need it. With his desire to get stronger he knew he would need every bit of information he could get about everything in the realm. As his eyes slowly turned he saw the cat girl, Zoe, sitting beside him smiling as she reached out to scratch his ear.

A sudden low growl escaped his throat at the sudden motion and he found himself stepping aside to avoid her touch. He back bumped into Leo's leg causing him to stop moving. Vorbuk was not use to other's trying to touch him. That sudden movement of hers had jolted his urge to remove himself from the cart. He held himself back, but the thought of being touched by another was not something his mind could handle easily. As he thought about it he could not think of a moment since he came to the realm that anyone had ever made the effort to touch him. Zoe had been the first to make an attempt to do such a thing and it felt awkward for him.

Imagine if you, a human, had a person suddenly next to you reaching out to pet you like some sort of pet dog. That was how Vorbuk felt about the idea of being touched. His body was that of a huge wolf, but his mind was still that of a human. A hand trying to reach out to pet him was like a very awkward situation that his brain could not easily comprehend. Being a wolf did not mean he had the desire to have himself petted like a dog.

"You alright?" Daryl and Leo asked at the same time. They both had seen the wolf's body dive away from Zoe as if the wolf had felt disturbed by something.

"She tried to pet me..." The wolf mumbled out the words awkwardly to Leo.

"I only wanted to pet him!" Zoe shouted at them both because she had no idea what she did wrong to make the wolf freak out. She almost felt offended by the wolf's actions.

The two men both laughed at Zoe and the wolf's situation.

"What?!" Zoe shouted in frustration as she stomped her foot in a huff. Her cheeks puffed up as she glared at all three of them.

"Vorbuk is a wolf! Do you really think even if he was a normal wolf that he would be that easy to approach." Daryl chuckled to himself.

"Yea, you really should be careful. I've been traveling with him for a good while now and even I haven't touched him and I'm able to actually speak to him. He's just not the type to handle that easily." Leo nodded as he agreed that the wolf was not something to easily accept someones attention like Zoe had done.

"Fine." She puffed her cheeks again and looked away dejected.

"Thanks..." The wolf sighed at Leo as he closed his eyes. His heart was still racing in his chest from the nervous rush he had just felt. He could see the girl looked offended by his actions, but he could not help it.

Due to the situation between Vorbuk and the girl the rest of the cart ride was filled with jokes about the girl and the wolf. They all laughed and moved along until they were a good distance from the town. When they found a decent flat place to park the cart they all hopped down and made camp for the night. Daryl and the girl gathered firewood and made a pit while the dragon prepared their meal for the night.

It was a peaceful night for them that night as they ate and chattered among themselves.

Vorbuk could see how everyone was in a great mood around him, but he was not feeling that calm. Something inside him was impatient as his instincts called out to him from the woods. He had the sudden desire to strengthen himself. A desire to hunt.