Wrath's Virtue

Borr entered the processing area and found it clean, except for the unavoidable stains of blood. The meat was chopped and prepared.

Flint and Gunnar were resting off to the side, covered in filth and glaring angrily at Aurelion. Nyx and Aurelion, however, were simply chatting.

The old beastman stroked his beard for a moment. "You've finished the job already."

Nyx turned to Borr. "Yes, Uncle Borr! Aurelion understands these beasts and shows them the necessary respect."

"Is that so," Borr said, his eyes landing on the two boys covered in grime.

"And what about them?"

"Those two made us clean up the filth!" Flint burst out.

"And they threw cleavers at our heads!" Gunnar added.

Borr turned and looked at Nyx.

She just laughed and shrugged. "They needed to understand the beasts better, Uncle Borr."

"Cleavers? We've talked about this, Nyx."

"Aurelion was able to catch his," she said innocently.

"I thought they could too."

"Are we maniacs like you elves to throw cleavers at each other and catch them?" Flint yelled.

Aurelion turned to Flint, his hand gently stroking the handle of his own cleaver.

"Maybe being a little maniacal would be better for you".

"That's enough," Borr intervened. He turned to the two boys.

"I didn't think the newcomers would do a good job, which is why the task reward was 7 tokens. Take these," he said, and tossed two small pouches to them.

Gunnar and Flint opened the pouches and counted the contents.

"Twelve tokens?" Gunnar asked in shock.

"Yes," Borr confirmed.

"And it will continue to be twelve tokens if you keep coming back."

Aurelion turned to the boys. "How nice. Fair tokens for your labor. I'm sure you'll earn much more than 12 tokens in the future because of the labor your gonna do."

"And they'll learn to respect the beasts," Nyx added with a cheerful smile.

Flint and Gunnar looked at each other.

"There are no other tasks right now that pay this much," Flint whispered.

"We'll talk about it later," Gunnar whispered back.

He then looked up. "Instructor Borr, we'll be going then."

"You can go, kids. I'll be expecting you tomorrow," Borr said.

The boys nodded their heads and walked away with quick steps.

Borr then turned to Aurelion.

Aurelion look at Borr too. "Nyx, I can understand and respect animals, right? I'm sure I'll be rewarded handsomely for my work as well."

"Of course," Nyx chimed in. "You worked at least as hard as I did, Aurelion. I'm sure Uncle Borr will give you what you deserve."

Aurelion looked at Borr. "I think so too,"

"I need someone to continue the work when Nyx graduates," Borr said with a serious voice.

"If you continue, you will be rewarded for your work, kid." He then tossed a pouch to Aurelion.

Aurelion caught the pouch and put it in his pocket without counting. "I have no doubt about that, Instructor Borr."

Borr turned his back. "Carry the feed," he commanded, and a few other students began to take the meat away. Borr then exited the room.

Nyx turned to Aurelion. "Now that our work is done, would you like to see how the beasts are fed?"

"Perhaps," Aurelion replied.

Nyx took off her bloody apron and washed her hands and face at a nearby tap.

"Come on, you clean up too," she said as the water washed the blood away.

Aurelion walked over to the tap. The cold water washed away the blood and the sticky heat of the work.

"Ready?" Nyx asked, her usual bright smile back in place.

"Lead the way," Aurelion replied.

They entered the main enclosure where the beasts were kept. A few other students were already at work, pushing carts loaded with feed toward the cages. As they walked down the corridor between the enclosures, Nyx began her tour.

She gestured to a cage on their left, where several panthers with black coats paced.

"Those are Shadow Stalkers," she whispered. "They hunt in packs and hate the light. They get the leanest cuts, no fat. Keeps them fast."

They passed a cage containing a giant boar with obsidian tusks. "That's Grumble. He's a Thorn back Boar. He can eat anything. Meat, bone, if you're not careful even the bucket. We mostly give him the bone scraps. He loves the crunch."

She continued, pointing out a flock of bats and a feathered serpent, explaining what each one ate. Aurelion listened silently, absorbing the data.

"There's a wider variety of beasts here than I expected."

"Yes, isn't it wonderful?" Nyx's eyes sparkled.

"It's hard to encounter some of these beasts in the wild. But here, they try to keep all sorts of creatures for those of us who... understand them."

Aurelion then turned his head towards another enclosure.

Inside, a pack of wolves with long, white manes flowing down their backs lay resting. He saw a couple of students nervously dropping portions of meat near the cage, despite the wolves being far from them. Curiously, the wolves made no move toward the food.

He turned to Nyx. "What's happening over there? Why are those students so tense, and why haven't those wolves started eating?"

Nyx followed his gaze to the enclosure. "In a pack, the others won't start eating until the alpha inspects the food, Aurelion."

"Then why isn't the alpha inspecting the food? And why are those students so tense?" Aurelion asked.

Nyx sighed. "The alpha is incredibly proud. Uncle Borr takes him and his pack out hunting almost every day, but when he's inside the cage, Kasian gets extremely agitated. That's why the students are nervous. If they act too bold, Kasian gets angry."

"This Kasian... he's the alpha?"

"Yes."

"Let's see this alpha, then," Aurelion said with a flicker of interest in his eye.

"Okey, but let's be respectful, Aurelion," Nyx warned.

"As I said, Kasian is likely on edge right now."

"No problem," Aurelion replied.

He started walking towards the enclosure, with Nyx following close behind.

When they reached the cage, they saw three Northern boys cautiously placing the chunks of meat on the ground inside.

Aurelion noticed the emblems on two of the boys' tunics the symbol of the Giant Bone clan.

One of the boys saw him approaching and hissed in a panicked whisper, "Get down, elf! Get down!"

Aurelion glanced at the three cowering boys with a look of pure contempt before turning his head to the enclosure itself.

In the shadows at the back of the cage, a pair of large, luminous white eyes were fixed directly on him.

As Wolf's eyes were fixed on Aurelion stepped forward until he was right in front of the bars, his gaze locked with the wolf's.

A massive creature emerged from the shadows. It was nearly three meters long, with pure white fur and a long, flowing mane.

It approached the bars with slow, heavy steps and Aurelion stared at each other through the iron bars.

"What is he doing?" one of the cowering students whispered.

The moment the whisper broke the silence, the wolf lunged. It slammed against the bars, baring its teeth and letting out a ferocious growl directly at the student who had spoken.

A wave of shimmering energy washed over the boy. The wolf's piercing eyes glowed, and the boy cried out in pain, clutching his head and collapsing to the ground.

Aurelion glanced at the writhing boy, then back at the wolf. He calmly stepped between the bars and the terrified student.

The wolf's gaze snapped back to Aurelion. He began to feel a wild, fierce energy radiating from the creature, trying to crush his will, but he did not look away.

"You shouldn't look him in the eye... Aurelion?" Nyx's voice was a panicked whisper, but her sentence trailed off as she realized Aurelion was completely unaffected.

He stood there, letting the fierce, white energy wash over him. He used his Void Focusing, with the help of the seals on his hands, to analyze it. He realized this wild energy had only one purpose.

Fear!

In response, Aurelion let out a low growl of his own. A dark golden energy began to seep from his scarred eye, meeting the wolf's oppressive white aura.

Nyx and the other students could only watch as the boy and the beast stood locked in a silent war of wills, growling at each other.

After a long moment, Aurelion's growl subsided, and a slowly a smirk spread across his face.

The wolf, Kasian, stopped growling as well.

After a few seconds of silence, Nyx approached Aurelion with concern. "What happened?" she asked.

"Did Kasian do something to you?"

Aurelion replied calmly, "Nothing happened. We just met."

Nyx's eyes widened in surprise. "You met?"

Aurelion turned to Nyx with a hint of mockery in his voice. "I thought you understood animals, Nyx."

As Nyx looked at him with a confused expression, Aurelion walked past the three stunned boys and picked up one of the fallen pieces of meat. He calmly walked back to the bars and placed the meat on the ground, right in front of the alpha.

The massive white wolf, looked at Aurelion for a moment before slowly leaning down, taking the meat in its mouth, lifting its head, and swallowing it in a single motion.

After this silent moment of acceptance, Aurelion turned back to Nyx.

"This alpha wants the brave, not the cowards, in front of him."