As soon as we got back into the den, we both shook ourselves dry as best we could, spraying the walls with an impressive amount of water. When that was done, Lily was still shivering, so I lay down beside her and she rested her muzzle across my back.

  From this position, I could tell I’d grown noticeably bigger since the last time I saw her—likely thanks to my evolution and current stage of development. I wondered how far she was from her next evolution. Experience-wise, she was probably still only level two or three. Four tops. Her thinness made me suspect she hadn’t had a successful hunt yet. I, on the other hand, had hunted and killed many monsters, including one human. Some of them were a far higher level than me, not to mention the growth I’d gained from achievements.

  I craned my neck to look at her. She kept her head comfortably on my back, eyes closed, but she still trembled. I wished I could help her warm up, but she’d have to wait until she dried. I could have worked with Ben and Jerry and gotten them to make a fire, after I gathered some burnable material, but that was now impossible.

  I licked Lily’s face, causing her to open her eyes, and then I gave a soft woof. She understood I wanted to get up and lifted her head. It was still raining, but she needed to eat, so I was going to hunt for her.

  I walked to the mouth of the den. When she realized I was leaving, she yipped and came up behind me. I looked back, and she whimpered. I woofed again and nodded into the cave, telling her to wait.

  Her ears folded back and her tail drooped between her legs, but she obeyed. If the sun were out, I would have had her hunt with me, but she was still shaking too much. Her well-being was the priority right now.

  Leaving the den, I continued down the pass a short way, trying not to look at Dad. Upon reaching the first landing—where Mom had taken us for our first hunt—I used {Pulse Sense}. Instantly, I spotted heartbeats hiding in the grass.

  Sneaking up and pouncing on one, I realized Lily wasn’t the only thing that seemed smaller to me now. These rabbits were tiny. Were these really what we once spent our days hunting? It would take a whole pile of these small things to fill my stomach now.

  I gave the creature a shake, easily snapping its neck, then dropped it and stared. It didn’t seem like enough even for Lily. I used {Pulse Sense} again and caught another, then a third.

  All three dead rabbits fit easily in my mouth as I carried them back to the den. As soon as I entered, Lily gave a relieved yip and ran to me, tail wagging. I dropped the rabbits in front of her and gestured with my nose, offering all three. Then I moved deeper into the cave and shook myself off, spraying water everywhere again.

  No sooner had I lain down than Lily was back at my side, positioning a rabbit under her paws as she tore into it. She was very hungry. She had never been a ravenous eater like Luke, who would tear through his meals quickly, barely stopping to breathe so he could plot stealing someone else’s. He really could be a greedy rascal. Come to think of it, Iris was the only one he never tried to steal food from. He’d ambush her for play like the rest of us, but he knew better than to touch her food.

  When Lily finished the meatiest parts of the first rabbit, she began picking the legs clean. She didn’t seem to understand I intended all three for her, so I got up and fetched the others.

  She looked at me, confused, as I dropped them in front of her again. When I lay back down without reaching for them, she seemed to understand and hesitantly began eating her second, glancing at me between bites as if for permission. I exhaled through my nose. “It’s fine, Lily. Please, eat as much as you can. You need it more than I do.”

  Then a familiar and welcome pair of dings sounded in my head as two overlapping blue screens appeared before my eyes.

  [Achievement! Guardian of Kin]

  You provided for and protected a sibling in need.

  Minor bonus to all stats!

  I flicked it away with my eyes to check the next one, which made my tail give a few soft wags.

  Pack Bond leveled up! 1 > 2

  In addition to previous pack-related bonuses, you and your pack now heal 5% faster while resting together, the bonus stacking for every nearby pack member other than yourself.

  5% didn’t seem like much, and it seemed it didn’t count for myself. But if we were all together again, that would be 25% improved healing while resting. If that day were to come—no, when that day came—and we were all together again, that could be a huge buff. Not to mention, I’d probably get even more bonuses as Pack Bond leveled up more.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  I watched as Lily finished the meaty parts of the second rabbit, and I bumped the third with my nose. She already looked healthier, and her shaking had stopped a little.

  When her meal was all finished for the night, she curled up next to me, and I wrapped myself as close to her as I could.

  ***

  It would be smarter for me to hunt at night. After all, my current path was tailored for it. But I opted to wait until morning, as what was most important right now was helping Lily become stronger.

  I knew how dangerous the forest could be, and there could be even greater dangers beyond the vale. If I wanted to find the rest of our pack one day, I would have to find our way beyond the mountain ridges. Luckily, the paths along the cliff faces had weak moles and rabbits for Lily to hunt, so I decided our day would be spent exploring our surroundings while finding prey for her.

  As I led Lily out of the den, I was glad to see the rain had stopped. I led her back the way I had found her. Not only was I already aware there were no breaks in the mountain towards where Dad lay, but I didn’t want Lily to have to see him either. All the same, before we made it very far, Lily looked back once and let out a sad whimper.

  I nudged her with my nose, telling her to keep going.

  We moved slowly so Lily could keep up. Her steps were surer than yesterday, and the tremor in her legs had eased after a night’s rest and a full belly.

  At a widened landing at the end of a bend in the path, I sent out a {Pulse Sense}. There was a grassy area with several heartbeats..

  I lowered my body and signaled with a soft chuff, nodding to Lily. Her ears perked, and her posture dropped instinctively. I prowled forward, making a wide arc around the grouped heartbeats, intending to chase them towards Lily. This way, there was no chance of her running into a snake if I sent her in alone. She likely did not have Poison Resist herself, and mine was still only level 1. Without Dad here to heal us, we could not take that risk.

  When I liked my position and saw Lily had understood my plan as she waited on the other end, I let out a vicious bark and stomped into the grass.

  The heartbeats instantly scattered, one actually diving off the cliff. But as planned, several burst free from the grass right towards Lily. I lifted my head to see how she would do.

  She yipped at a bunny that was running right towards her. It quickly dug its feet into the ground, trying to change its direction, as Lily jumped left and right, yipping happily.

  Lily! This isn’t a game! You’re supposed to actually attack it!

  I shook my head with a sigh, but then realized I had underestimated my little sister.

  A second Lily appeared out of thin air, right in the direction the rabbit tried to change its course to, and she pounced on it powerfully. It screeched in terror, kicking its legs at her as it tried to squirm away. One shake, and the rabbit was still moving. A second shake and it was all over.

  Lily dropped her now motionless prey on the ground and looked towards me, tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth and tail wagging happily.

  My own tail wagged as I approached her. She looked down at her kill and then up at me as if asking if it was okay. She must have thought she still owed me some from last night.

  Come on, Lily! You should know I’m not stingy!

  I chuffed at her and nodded, signaling her to enjoy her kill.

  She instantly fell on top of it, sinking her teeth into its body and tugging mouthfuls of meat free. I would need to find some food for myself eventually, but I didn’t think I could become satisfied off of these rabbits. At least not without eating a good number of them.

  When Lily was done eating, we continued, leaving the rabbit carcass behind.

  A quick scan with {Pulse Sense} showed me a few small heartbeats skittering to the far edges of the grass, but I figured we should take some time to cover a little more ground. If we were lucky, maybe we could find something else that’s worth hunting together while not seeming too dangerous for Lily.

  I was impressed with her illusion skill, though. She did seem to learn how to use it effectively. I wonder what else she might learn once she leveled up some more.

  As we made our way up an incline in the pass, I looked out over the forest. The pond at the center of it looked even more magical in the early morning fog that resulted from last night's rain. I knew I wouldn’t be making it back to that pond any time soon, though. I wished I could—there would be a chance we’d run into Genzo, and maybe he could help Lily the way he had helped me.

  But no, that deep into the forest would be far too dangerous for us for quite some time. I was lucky to have survived it myself.

  The path narrowed around another bend, and I watched my feet, being careful not to slip. When it widened again, I saw another wide-open landing. This one had many more rocks littering it than the last, but no grass. I used {Pulse Sense} sensing some more heartbeats underground. Likely more of those moles that me and Lily once hunted together.

  I considered whether it was worth stopping for another quick hunt when a sudden pain erupted from my tail.

  Something bit me!

  Was it a snake!?

  I whirled around, teeth bared in a growl, to see… To see it was Lily.

  Lily! That hurt! What the heck is wrong with—

  Her ears were folded back, and she glanced nervously up at the sky. I looked and instantly saw them.

  Three red-masked bat riders, far above and heading towards our den. They fanned out, scanning the mountain ridges, their heads visibly pivoting back and forth as they searched.

  I quickly bolted for a large boulder nearby, and Lily followed me. We huddled behind it, making ourselves as small as we possibly could. I used another {Pulse Sense} to try to track their location, but they were too high up. I eventually cautioned a peek, seeing that we had clearly not been spotted as they flew right past us.

  Of course, I should have known they would send scouts out to look for her! Lily must have been smart enough to watch out for them and has kept herself hidden this whole time. In my case, I came across scouts in the forest, but they were then killed by that Black Prowler. I bet the humans decided it wasn’t worth the risk anymore and just assumed I was dead at that point.

  Lily, however…

  They wouldn’t know what had happened to her, but wouldn’t have given up on searching for her so easily if they thought there was a chance she was just hiding along the mountains somewhere.

  I kept myself as small as I could behind the rock as I watched them. Suddenly, one whistled and pointed downward. The other two instantly changed their course and dove down along with him towards whatever he pointed at.

  What could it be? Maybe they were not looking for us and simply hunting other things in this vale?

  But then as they got lower, I realized my critical mistake—Lily’s kill.

  We left it out in the open, not even bothering to hide it! Surely they would recognize that as evidence of one of us hunting nearby.

  So stupid! I inwardly chastised myself. I’m supposed to be here to protect her, and here my inability to think ahead may have put her in even more danger!

  I looked around, realizing we needed to hide. They would see how fresh it is and come looking for us right away. I growled to Lily, “We need to run!”

  Thanks! Friends!