When I opened my eyes, it was only partially dark. I learned that it was early morning, meaning I had slept the entire day away, and through the night. One of the wolves was by my feet, the other one cuddled up next to me. The other bed held the three other wolves, none touching each other. I took a deep breath and groaned again as I pushed myself up to a sitting position. I slid off the bed, stretching and moving around a bit to get rid of the stiffness. I washed up in the little restroom before gathering all my stuff and slinging the backpack over my shoulder. The wolves were still resting, so I began patting their furry sides to wake them up, and eventually we all made our way out of the room. There was no dining area, so I was going to have to go to a different place if o wanted to eat. And I felt like a hot meal.

I asked the wolves if they could hide themselves in the sigils, which earned me snorts all around. But I watched as one walked to a shady spot in the alley, and appeared to disappear in the shadows. I grinned, "good. Stay safe, and out of sight. I'll be back soon." They all obeyed, finding places in the shadows to hide away. I entered the little diner, seeing that there was very few people since it was early in the morning. Finding a seat, it was only a few minutes before someone came to serve me.

I got a simple hot sandwich, paid, got it in a few minutes, and left. After I went to a butcher shop and bought a whole deer for the wolves. The butcher allowed me to let the wolves come and eat it in the back room where all the waste goes anyway, so I took the time to eat my sandwich while it was hot. By the time I was finished, the deer was practically reduced to bones. I thanked the man, and left, the five wolves close behind.

The smallest wolf nudged my legs, whimpering. I felt something in the back of my head- like someone was telling me something without speaking, and I got the sudden feeling I was being watched. One of the betas moved closer as the rest made a tight circle, and we continued forward.

Suddenly, there was a younger man in front of me, grinning with his mouth, and was wearing a blindfold, "why, hello little boy." I didn't reply, only stopped as the wolves pushed themselves closer. The man took a step forward, as did the largest beta. My wolf growled softly as the man only grinned, "ah, so you've found your hound?" More of my wolves growled, making the man frown, "ah, I see. You haven't." He moved closer, only to be stopped by the harsh, loud growl of the beta. This made him smile again, "you'll learn, little boy, of the gift you have. You'll learn, you'll learn, you'll learn..." he kept repeating it as he slowly walked away, and as soon as he was out of sight, I began praising the wolves. They didn't seemed used to being pet and hugged, but the smallest one enjoyed it the most, and acted more like a dog than anything.

With that, I double checked I had everything, and made my way out of the city gates. I was probably another two major cities away from the capital, my ultimate destination. I was maybe a good three day walk to the next village, and another two weeks away from the next city if I kept a good pace. It was nice not being alone in my travels, and the wolves seemed to understand what I was saying. At some point I asked what else they could do, and each one did something different, and I took the chance to give them names. The largest beta did their thing first, howling and snarling as it grew larger, almost twice its size. Next to it was a shadow form, and it looked like there was two of them. I named him Ulric, since he was the largest. The second beta earned his name Tunstall after he burnt down a tree with lightening that came from his mouth. The smallest was able to run so fast, it looked like she was teleporting. I decided on Cana for her. Lupus was able to make little lights that looked like stars, so I decided to name him after the constellation. He was bigger than the last wolf, Conwenna, who was bigger than Cana. She was able to pull weapons out of the ground, and when she was done showing me her trick, I then had a pile of swords and shields. Not knowing what to do with them, I went ahead and left them there, later laughing as I saw someone trip over it. I then explained to them their new names, which they liked, and that if something were to happened to me, Ulric would be their alpha. Tunstall didn't seem too happy about it, but didn't argue. I then told them that if they wanted food or to stray away from the group, it was two at a time, and either Ulric or Tunstall had to stay with me. The smaller wolves didn't see happy about that, but I reassured them by saying I didn't want those two fighting over something stupid.

I felt like a crazy person for talking to the wolves like they were people, but they listened and responded in their own ways that it made me feel better. At some point Cana and Tunstall wandered off, later returning with a few rabbits. They all shared, I denied any offers, and the road ahead showed no troubles for us. While night was inevitable, I felt more prepared than ever.