Wolfe was not the most subtle or open man, but at the very least he was able to help them. Apparently, Wolfe had recently leveled up into a [MonsterTamer]. As the name indicates, the class is based upon finding and taming monsters and using them to do his will. He had been out in the wilderness to try to find a suitable monster, but due to the closeness to civilization, the best he could find was the silver wolf Gina. They had spent the few days since getting in sync and testing their skills together. They had been in the middle of a game of hide and seek to test her tracking and his stealth until Wolfe caught wind of humanoid scents where they rarely travel. Sending a quick summons to Gina, through the companion link, he ran to discover the source of the disturbance. He didn’t expect it to be the cub who had hunted him down last month, but was pleased at the cub’s growth, and that the grizzly old man wouldn’t be sending him out to check up on him after all. As for the fox who lead him here, well the old man would have to deal with her too.

“You two are headed for the den, right? This trail doesn’t lead anywhere else.” He asked, mostly to the woman still pointing a bolt at his chest. There didn’t seem to be much threat from her, given that one thought from him and Gina would be having rabbit for supper. Since both had the others scent rather strongly on them, he knew they were at least close. There’s no hiding from his nose.

“And exactly why should Hare and I want you 2 to travel with us?” Val asked keeping Wolfe in her crosshairs.

“Why?” He asked incredulously. “Because that grizzly old man knows about bunny boy over there, and if another few days pass without him arriving, I’ll be sent to go track him down and be sure he’s still ok. I’m not some new friend you made that’ll solve all your problems. I assure you, I’m doing this purely out of selfish reasons.”

Jake asked

“The problem Hare, is that the world we live in now, is a world of monsters. Just because he gave us a believable reason doesn’t mean it’s the truth or we can trust him! We’ll get in without his escort.”

“I’m afraid that’s impossible. Without me, neither of you will get in.” Wolfe said bluntly “We’ve added security in the last few months. Certain people who have gotten in shouldn’t have been allowed to enter or leave for that matter.” Jake couldn’t help but notice the anger in the scowl Wolfe was giving Va… “Foxy”. He had no choice but to go along with her, but he also didn’t think Wolfe wanted them harmed either. If both wolfs had come after them in the initial attack, he would not have stood a chance.

“By the way, I know your friend is being careful not to reveal your identities to me, but I’ve already seen you as human” he said to the rabbit next to him. “You’re still bleeding from the bite and being thrown. While it won’t fix your HP, reverting to human will stop you from bleeding out at least. … Assuming she’s ok with you surviving of course.”

“Stop him from what?” Val asked looking over to Jake. “Oh my!” She said lowering her crossbow to rush to Jake drawing his attention to his side she was staring at. It would appear when he was thrown, something must have been caught in Gina’s teeth ripping a chunk from his fur, muscle, and skin and he had apparently been slowly bleeding out from the beginning of this conversation. He also suddenly noticed his eyes sliding out of focus as he heard the tears and desperation in Val’s voice calling out to him “Change back! Become human again!”

Obeying her command Jake focused the best he could, and little by little slowly became human again. The mental strain was too much for him however, and once he became fully human he smiled happily if dreamily at Val’s concern easing at his no longer bleeding torso and he lost consciousness.

When Jake woke up, he only knew the sun was almost completely set. Without moving his head, he saw that he hadn’t been moved much. He was still in the clearing by the pond. He tried sitting up, but after a moment of trying found a white furry hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t push yourself Hare” Foxy said, which while showing her support, reminded him of the situation. She couldn’t help herself, and taught Jake firsthand what it felt like to make out with the snout of a hybrid. He preferred her elven lips and tongue, but it was still very nice. “but I’m glad ok”

“I thought you were tighter than friends” Wolfe interrupted the pair walking out of the woods with a grin on his face, Gina in tow. “Not that it changes anything. How are you feeling?”

“Not too bad” Jake replied trying again to sit, this time successfully. “How long was I out?”

“Not even 2 hours.” Wolfe answered, wincing as he put his bag down “Nice kick by the way. I’ll be feeling that for a while”

“Thanks. I got a stitch myself. That wolf of yours has a strong bite. I don’t understand though, we got hurt as animals.”

“I can answer that sweetie,” Foxy interrupted. “The transformation back to human repaired your physical injuries, but you’ll still feel the pain at least until you are back to full hit points, whenever that is. Additionally, don’t expect your transformation to cure things like poisons, curses, sicknesses, or missing an entire limb. It may on a case by case, but don’t depend on it. We are lycanthropes, not immortals. Our race doesn’t protect us or save our lives.”

“But it does give us some benefits” Wolfe added. “Speaking of which, how soon until we’re ready to move?”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll be mobile in the morning.” Jake said with certainty, wondering how long he’ll be able to play with Foxy

“We’ll be a long way away by morning. We can be at the den by tomorrow evening if we leave soon.” Wolfe insisted.

“That quickly? What, do you have horses ready to ride in a close clearing? Because otherwise we’re looking at another 3 days” Jake said exasperated.

“Horses?” Wolfe replied with a chuckle. “You haven’t been one of us long.”

“But I have! And he’s right!” Foxy insisted.

Wolfe shook his head. “No, 3 humans can’t get there that quickly. However, 2 wolfs a fox and a rabbit can without the aid of horses.”

“We can’t just leave all of our supplies here”

“Of course not,” Wolfe said pulling his bag from his shoulders, and pulling and unfolding a wolf sized harness-bag contraption out of it “but you don’t have to. My bag can fit most of your gear and transforms with me when it’s on my shoulders. The remainder can be carried by Gina by these secure … umm… well, for lack of a better term… saddlebags.” About 2 hours later, the 4 animals were underway.