Conversation.

Minerva was awake and by Johns side. Fireball was already darting around the flames again. She was shaking him from his daze and she stood up and sheathed the sword. It was first light and from beyond the staves they could hear the growling of a number of wolves. Their silhouettes were visible as was their piercing yellow eyes. But alas the rumors didn't do these beasts justice. They were massive and were slowly circling them. The familiar feeling John had from before returned only this time he felt his hair stand on edge. He put the longer sword behind his back and grabbed the shorter sword and went to unsheathe it but was unable to.

"What are you doing at a time like this?" he whispered.

"Nothing, you were the one in a daze while you were supposed to be keeping watch." Minerva had missed the fact that he was talking to Noira.

"Remember what old man Vemuri said about me and beasts?" a voice in his head said.

John realized that he had grabbed the shorter sword more out of habit than anything else. The old man had mentioned that the longer sword was best for killing beasts but he had not mentioned the logic. This made him feel a bit uneasy. It was clear to him that the voice of the soul: Noira preferred it if John used the black blade but now was not the time to ponder such things though he was sure he heard a disapproving humph! in his mind.

He started to examine their present scenario. Minerva had gone towards the back where the horses were being louder than the wolves, they were very clearly agitated which seemed to make the wolves even more so. When John had first noticed the wolves it had been impossible to tell how many there were but now that Minerva had moved towards the back he could count six wolves. If half had followed her then it stood to reason there there were around twelve to fourteen wolves that had accosted them.

The wolves continued pacing around the staves but maintained eye contact with John. Their growls rose and fell and it was very easy to see that they were communicating since their ears rose and fell as well. Was this how wolves behaved typically, John had no way of telling this was the first time he had seen a wolf in person and he had never watched any documentaries on them in the nature channel. He could guess though that normal logic had gone out the window judging from the size of these things. They stopped pacing and seemed to get into an attack formation. Seeing this John closed his eyes and took in a deep breathe before releasing it. He stood firm with his sword at his hip one hand on the sheathe the other on the guard.

He made no unnecessary movements. A glint of light could be seem from his eyes as well. The sword felt heavier than he remember even though he held it with both hands. Noira's blood lust was clear as day as it flowed into him. He felt strong and confident but didn't let his guard down. The wolves were approaching. Three were at the front in a V shape and two on the right and left but on the same level as the one at the front such that altogether they made a W shape. The sixth wolf stood at the back quite a distance from the others and in John's mind only one word would describe it, General.

The leading wolf advanced slowly one step at a time. All of them had a menacing look and maintained eye contact with John. They pushed though the staves with ease. One wolf could pass between two with ease since it was not exactly a wall meant to keep them out but rather to keep wolves away. They seemed very familiar with them, and it was clear that this was not the first time they had come across them. They continued to advance towards the small space that was the camp. John knew it would be bad if he were cornered but he hadn't dared exit the camp since he couldn't guess how many more were hiding in the cover of the thick fog.

Just how smart are these wolves? John pondered as a cold sweat slid from his temple to the beard on his cheek. He tightened his grip and swallowed, here they come. It was as if they could read his mind because at that moment the first wolf pounced at him. Pulling back the sheathe with his left and pulling the sword out with his right he drew the black blade and slashed the wolf from the bottom up at its neck and shoulder. The blade was long which normally would have made it impossible to do a sword draw. The old man was familiar with this sword and had left a grove in the scabbard and covered it with thin leather such that the sword would cut through it as it was being drawn.

A trail of blood followed the black katana. It was long and had a wider range allowing him to cut the wolf down before it could get close. He didn't use magic otherwise the cut would have been cauterized immediately. He was a bit relieved before he immediately realized that a wolf that big wouldn't be sent flying by that move alone and it came crashing down towards him. From the height it had jumped if it fell on him it would definitely spell trouble since he wouldn't be able to lift it off and the remaining five would maul him to death. He quickly jumped back and breathed a sigh of relief. That was close, he thought.

"Too rash, too big motions." Noira lectured in his head

"Is this what you meant when you said conversation?" John asked

"You will die if you don't focus on the fight."

Just as she said this he noticed that the other two front wolves advanced as if possessed after seeing their comrades death. John had made a mistake. In front of such beasts the only option was to fight force with force, this is what the old man had insisted and yet after his first clash he had immediately let his guard down. These wolves were big, clever and FAST judging from their speed. They had no weaknesses and didn't hesitate after their comrade died. A normal human would have hesitated and would have made a retreat. John had done just that and in that moment these wolves took advantage. The one on the left pounced while the one on the right went low.

Before he had made no unnecessary movement which was why the wolves approached slowly and were on high alert, no motions meant unpredictability. His sword draw was one big unnecessary movement that left him open. His right hand was still raised and the wolf approached from below and his left was still behind him holding his scabbard low while the wolf came from the top. These were very smart animals.

John instantly activated his magic all over his body. His gloves shredded. His trousers were in flails. He released his scabbard and started releasing a surge with his left hand towards the pouncing wolf. With his speed boosted he managed to slap the wolf just as his magic released sending it flying for real this time. Those were not the only effects since he was also pushed back. This was a heavy wolf and its weight could not simply be negated.

As he was dealing with the wolf on his left he had moved quickly to stab the ground with the sword to act as shield. As soon as he activated his magic in his right had, bloody smoke had seemed to emanate from the black blade. It didn't glow, Noira was angry and her blood lust manifested from the magic. The streaks of blue lightning darting on the blade combined with the red hue of the blood lust had a purple color. The wolf dodged to the left at the same time moving to bite. Fortunately for John the push back of the attack on the wolf and the grounded sword as a pivot he forcefully dodged and the wolfs teeth hit nothing but air.

The force kept him moving though in a circle and was now behind the wolf which made as if to turn around. After the dodge John realized what was happening and booting his speed again he forced himself to turn releasing the sword at the last moment and forming a high current on his palms he hit the wolf on its side sending it flying. He wasn't pushed back because he already had an established momentum.

"Again, reckless movements, did you forget that there are three other wolves, not to mention you released me, and you call yourself a swordsman." The criticism had already begun even before he hit the wolf. He ignored her and knew it was to late to try turning around and planned to release on the the ground a lot of magic to send sparks moving in the direction of the two approaching wolves, only this time what he release wasn't lightning but fire.

"Let's go." He heard Minerva say and looked up to see two horses beside her.