“Why can’t Foofy become a divine beast?” Val asked. Her strict tone demanded an answer.

“I do not want any of the misdeeds that you would do with that dog on my conscience.” Fang waved a hand around in the air as if he could dismiss her question just like that.

Her face turned down to Foofy at her feet. She blinked at him as he blinked back to her. “What would Foofy and I ever do wrong together?”

“I am willing to vouch for Val’s character,” Tavras said. “If she sets down a wrong path, I will personally see to it that she is corrected or terminated.”

Her body felt colder all of a sudden, the blood receding from the length of her fingers. Tavras would do what to her? With a shake of her head, she dismissed any worry that such extreme measures would be necessary. Val always intended to be good with her power.

“I am not worried about what they will do, per say, only what the dog would have to endure. He will only be a means to an end for Val. I don’t want Foofy to have to suffer any further abuse.”

Her eyes grew wider in her head upon hearing this even worse thing. Her personality may have its rough patches—the occasional flashes of her temper for one—but she would never abuse her best friend. She would not harm any animal for that matter, aside from maybe a sea serpent. The accusation made Val too sad to even feel mad. In a wavery voice, she asked, “Why would I ever treat Foofy poorly?”

“Just look at what you did to that poor, majestic animal already. You mutilated him!” A raw note of offense lined Fang’s words.

“I... mutilated him?”

As a Doberman Pinscher, Foofy had his tail cropped off to a little nub according to his breed standard. It still wiggled whenever he was happy like any other dog would wag his tail. Because of that, Val had never considered the removal of his tail as something cruel before. The thought had simply never crossed her mind.

Across the table, Iharu sneered. “Fang is upset because the dog has had his ears docked and his tail cropped.”

“His ears were changed too?” Val asked. “You mean that Dobies’ ears aren’t naturally like that?”

Equally bewildered, Fang asked, “You didn’t know that Dobermans have floppy ears and long tails at birth?”

“No. Well, I had assumed that about the tail but did not know that about the ears. I always thought that Dobermans had pointy ears like plenty of other breeds.”

“Val had not been responsible for the dock or crop,” Tavras explained hurriedly. “She had told me before that she had actually gotten Foofy from the local animal shelter near her home. Isn’t that right?”

“Oh, yes!” In her fondness of her early memories of Foofy, Val launched into story time. If only her phone still worked, she would have shown Fang all of the pictures that she had taken of him before its battery had died.

A relenting sigh passed Fang’s lips. “I am relieved to hear that you did not make the decision to crop Foofy’s ears and dock his tail yourself, at least. You are very much a friend of animals given the way that you had rescued Foofy from that shelter. I… should apologize for having made those assumptions.” He hung his head, appearing genuinely ashamed of his accusation.

Under normal circumstances, Val would have beamed at the acknowledgement in the way that she had always done her best for Foofy. The fact that Fang only rescinded his insult though, made her glance off to the side with indifference. At least he did not think that she was an animal abuser anymore.

“Personally,” Iharu said, “I would refuse to make that dog a divine beast if he did not have his tail cropped and ears docked. For a divine beast, those things would only get in the way. If Foofy gets into a fight with gods and goddesses, or legendary beasts like a behemoth or sea serpent, then he should be glad that he doesn’t have a tail. Better to cut it off as a puppy than to have it ripped off as an adult!” Dirt filled the nail beds of Iharu’s long fingernails. She bent her fingers around like a claw and tore her fist downward. A tearing sound scratched from between her teeth.

Why had that additional gesture and sound effect been necessary? Val already felt horrified enough at the thought of Foofy getting the tail ripped off that he did not even have. Her complexion paled further by Iharu’s narration.

“Ah, yes,” Fang drawled out “because mutilating puppies’ tails can always be justified with the fact that it is good for them.”

“Yes, and the same thing for the ears,” Iharu continued shamelessly. “Floppy ears can easily be caught and torn. They bleed a lot and would hurt—only a liability in a fight. Foofy would be a war dog, so having him docked and cropped is a good thing.” In a whisper aside, she said to Val, “Don’t mind Fang. He loves animals so much that he would screw a goat, but the goats rejected him.”

“I heard that,” was all that Fang had to say, in addition to a weak, “and you’re still wrong.”

Iharu burst out laughing because she had not exactly lowered her voice to keep him from hearing in the first place.

“Anyway, I do agree now,” Fang said. “We can turn Foofy into a divine beast.”

“You may have convinced Fang. He is simple-minded. I still don’t see why I should turn that dog into a divine beast.” Iharu looked down to those aforementioned, dirty fingernails and set the tip of her knife to pick at them. Something told Val that she did this more so out of boredom, not out of any care for hygiene.

“Why not?”

With a shrug, Iharu asked back, “Why should I?”

Tavras lowered a hand in front of Val, indicating that she should not go running her mouth despite how her frustration was building. “Fang, perhaps you could express to Iharu why she should turn Foofy into a divine beast.”

Fang’s attention went back down to stare at the grand king pearl. Both of his hands clutched around it, lifting it up to feel its weight. “We could sell this for a lot of money. You know Iharu, we still do not have enough money to buy food for the winter this year.”

“Bah! Only you need to buy food. I will hunt as much as always and grow fat this winter.”

“Well, yes, but if we can buy enough flour and sugar, milk and eggs... I could bake you all of the sweet treats that you want. This pearl could give us enough funds to buy food for the next hundred years.”

With a scowl on her face, Iharu seemed to consider this. “Promise me that you will bake with real milk and eggs—no nasty substitute crap.”

A massive sigh hefted from Fang’s lips. “I promise that I will bake for you with the tortured souls of animals.”

“Yes! That’s what gives it its flavor,” Iharu said to Val with a wink. “Fang is a good brother. That’s why they call him Brother Wolf!” Her head tilted back and she howled with laughter.

“Uh.” Val did not quite find their exchange that funny, but she waited for things to quiet down. “So, does this mean that Foofy will become a divine beast?”

“Sure, I’m convinced.” Iharu twirled her knife around and sheathed it at her hip. "So long as he passes my test."

"Oh, great," Val murmured as she sat back in her chair. Having to pass another test sounded wonderful.

"Iharu," Tavras said gently. "I already gave Val a trial. She does not need another one."

"Your trial is to enter the forest or go to the Summit or some such. That was her reward for your test! She still needs to pass mine. I will not let a dog ascend unless both master and beast have proven themselves worthy!"

Val looked around nervously between Fang and Tavras. Neither of them spoke another word on her behalf. Her eyes flitted to look at Iharu, at first pleading, but she could recognize well enough that a meek demeanor would get her nowhere with her. Val peeled back her shoulders and set a determined gaze. "I will pass your test, whatever it may be."

“We shall see," Iharu said with a glint of a smile. "Let’s eat first. I’m starving! Then, we will have our brawl.”

Iharu and Fang got up together, likely to prepare dinner as she had said. Iharu walked out, letting a great amount of pressure leave the room.

Val shrunk down into her chair, feeling quite overwhelmed. Her arms stayed tight around her midsection as she looked down to Foofy at her feet. Trying to relax herself, her hands ruffled around his cheeks. "You're a good doggy!"

Soon, he would become as fearsome of a presence to gods and goddesses as a Doberman Pinscher was to mortals. Val was excited for when he would become a divine dog, but first, she would have to prove her worth to Iharu. That would take place after dinner, of course.