“Are you ready for the full moon tonight?” Atlas questioned, looking over at his friend as they stood in the field that usually held the school’s P.E. classes. They’d been occupying the field for a few hours. Hati was currently trying to stretch out a ball Atlas had summoned. “It’s almost go-time.”

Hati paused from his task with a serious expression, the ball springing back to its original shape in his hand. Then, he used his hand to crush the ball; or at least attempt to, since the pressure only made it change shape to survive the force Hati was using. “I’m ready.”

Atlas held in a snort at his friends’ antics, deciding to change the subject before he started laughing. “So! Did you have fun with Milo today?”

Hati snapped his head around to look at Atlas, beaming. “Yeah!” He exclaimed. “We got a lot of mushrooms and we had fun!” Hati gave him a big, happy grin. “It was so pretty, atlas! The moss was so green from the rain the other day and the sun made everything just the prettiest shade!”

Atlas gave him a smile in return, patting his friend on the back. “That’s awesome, Hati! I’m glad you had fun. I know it’s been rough for you lately since they won’t let you go on any runs.”

Hati paused for a minute before he gave Atlas a sincere expression. “... Thanks for helping me out, Atlas. I-” Hati trailed off and looked over toward the moon rising over the tree line.

“...Hati?” Atlas questioned hesitantly. 

“It’s time.”

… … …

Milo frowned as he looked over the restored  altair site. No matter how he looked at it; this Altair site had to have been created and installed before the Great Exile. The sigils carved into the cold stone were nothing like how modern sorcerers created them, not to mention the Futhark carved around the area that Hati could read. 

Milo hadn't seen anything like the Altair Site he was standing in, towering far above him in height yet still dwarfed by the enormous trees of the forest. Not even in the museum recreations or paintings of it. Milo frowned in thought. Weren't these all destroyed when they went out of style? This place should have looked like nothing more than a rock outcropping, so why was it still untouched? Better yet, what happened to cause other sites to be destroyed? 

Crunch!

Milo turned to look into the nearby brush, twigs and leaves flailing as they loudly rustled. It sounded far too big to be a rabbit…

Eyes peered through the leaves and bushes, glittering in the patchy moonlight. Milo heard the beast walking closer, foliage crunching underfoot and leaves rustling as it brushed past them. He slowly rose from his crouch, keeping his eyes on the shadowy creature as he started planning his exit. 

Without any warning, the large beast pounced, tackling Milo to the ground. Milo's back hit the cool stone with a dull thud, using his mana to keep his head from hitting the stone after it. Large, sharp teeth, shiny with slobber and drool were the closest in Milo's vision when he opened his eyes. Milo winced, preparing for the worst. That is, until he heard a loud slurp! as something licked his face. Wait a minute…

Milo opened his eyes again, looking past the snout of the creature and into the large, golden eyes staring at him intently while the creature's tail whipped in all directions. Something was familiar in those yellow eyes. "...Hati?" Milo tested hesitantly. 

The creature lit up slightly, then bounced in a few small hops before he dipped into a cheerful play bow, letting out an excited wf!

"HATI!" A loud voice scolded, greenish threads of magic lifting the creature, who from a distance that wasn't extremely close looked very much like a large wolf. Atlas popped out of the brush with an exasperated expression and a bag on his shoulder, marching up to the being he'd magically lifted into the air. "I told you not to run off! And you can’t just tackle whatever moves! They won’t play with you, especially if you do that!  You probably traumatized some poor squirrel or someth-” Atlas finally noticed Hati’s target hadn’t been just some innocent woodland creature, then realized who it was. “Milo?!”

Milo gave a wave and a smile, the left half of his face and hair still damp with slobber. “Hey, Atlas.” Milo hummed. “Nice to see you.”

Atlas blinked as he processed and re-processed the situation. “Oh… my god. I’m so sorry about him.” Atlas said, quickly going to help Milo up to his feet again. “I didn’t know anyone was in the woods tonight. I should have done a barrier spell; sorry.”

“No, no, it’s alright.” Milo assured with a smile. “I don’t mind. Is everything okay?”

“Ah, yeah.” Atlas said sheepishly. “Hati’s just a little overexcited tonight. I ran him around the field for hours, and he was starting to tire out, but then he just took off into the woods. Again, sorry he tackled you. Usually he’s not so crazy like this.”

“No, I understand.” Milo said as Atlas’ magic let Hati’s burly and fluffy figure down. “And I know i was an unexpected variable. Don’t worry, Atlas. Seriously.” 

Atlas gave a relieved smile, not seeming to notice Hati move over to Milo and lean against his friend as a ploy to get attention and pats." Thanks, Milo, I-" He noticed then, and frantically changed the subject." Hati, no! You can't just bug Milo!"

The wolf-like beast stared at Atlas for a moment innocently before grumbling

and going back to leaning on Milo, who chuckled with a little smile. "It's alright, Atlas, I don't mind. He's actually being really gentle with me."

"Yeah; werewolves do that." Atlas explained, putting his hands in his pockets. He doesn't want to hurt you, so he's being. Super gentle while still smothering you in fur."

"I think it's pretty interesting. I really don't mind." Milo said cheerfully. he ruffled. Hati's hair, surprised at how soft it was despite its thickness. Of course, he knew werewolf fur was supposed to be soft, but he hadn't expected that. Atlas just gave a shrug. If you say so." he said, as if he didn't expect Milo to be so calm about the situation.

Milo gave a hum in thought, being quiet for a moment before speaking up again. "...hey, Atlas, do you mind if I watch Hati during the rest of the full moon's turn? It feels like Hati's not going to separate from me for a while and you honestly look exhausted."

Atlas blinked once. Then twice. "Actually, that'd be great. I really wanted to check on Tiff tonight too since full moons are rough on her too. Here, "Atlas slid the bag off his shoulder and gave it to Milo. "take Hati's turn bag. I'll stop by and check on him in the morning, yeah?"

Milo gave him a smile. "Sure." he responded. "Thanks, Atlas."

"Nah, thank you." "Atlas said. "I was really worried about how Tiff is doing and now I can check on her."

"Of course!" Milo said cheerfully. "I'm always happy to help!" Atlas gave a wave, then disappeared into the brush in the direction of the nearest trail. Milo looked down at the burly wolf with him. "looks like it's just the two of us then, huh?" he asked, chuckling when hati gave a woof! back at him.