A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Slowly, the snake of Enkarian warriors started picking up speed again. Within the hour, they were once again on their way to Enkare Nkai. No one had gotten wounded in this attack, mostly due to Erik's protection, but Naeku still became a little sullen afterwards. With her eyes downcast, she appeared to be in thought.

Next to her, Erik strolled calmly, his hands entangled behind his head, his eyes looking up at the sky. "We'll find a way to get them back into the cities," Erik muttered absentmindedly.

Startled and ripped from her thoughts, Naeku looked up at Erik. "W— What?"

Grinning, he glanced sideways at her. "That's what you were thinking about, right? How we need to get the particularly stubborn among our people to retreat back into the cities, now that third-ranked beasts will start appearing?"

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Smirking wryly, Naeku looked away from him. "Am I already that easy to read for you…?" she cursed softly.

"To me and most others, I bet," Erik chuckled as they continued to walk. "You're not exactly a complicated person, Naeku."

Narrowing her eyes, Naeku pouted as she glanced at him indignantly.@@novelbin@@

"It's a compliment!" Erik shrugged with a teasing smirk, fingers still entangled behind his head.

"If you say so…" Naeku grumbled, before turning her attention back to the front of the road and falling silent.

A few moments later, she spoke again. "But yeah, you're right. Many of them are… stubborn," she quipped jokingly, clearly not particularly fond of this particular subgroup of her people.

But then she sighed helplessly, with an amount of emotion that suggested she cared even for the fate of those she didn't agree with or even like. "I'm afraid even the appearance of third-ranked beasts won't make them head for safety."

"We could always force the issue," Erik shrugged, not particularly concerned with enforcing his will on those too stupid to protect themselves.

"No!" Naeku immediately denied, vehemently shaking her furred head. "It's our duty to protect them, not enforce our will on them!"

Erik smirked and countered casually. "Well, perhaps you'll have to make a choice between the two. You're right to say it's a leader's duty to protect their people, but that's not mutually exclusive with enforcing our will on them if that makes them safer."

Naeku fell silent, softly chewing on her lower lip with the sharp fangs in her werepanther snout. Fortunately, the skin of her lips was pretty tough.

Respecting her silence, Erik continued walking with a casual gait. Honestly, he was a little bored. The fight was fun, and playing around with Naeku before that was no less so, but ever since then, Naeku had no longer been in the mood.

Suddenly, Naeku glanced at him with narrowed eyes. "Are you not going to throw around your new authority…?"

A small grin spread on Erik's lips, and he glanced back at her meaningfully. "Would you like me to…? I can think of some very… interesting ways in which I could throw around my authority with you."

Naeku's yellow cat-like eyes widened as a blush spread under her fur. With a huff, she looked away indignantly, muttering curses under her breath. "D— Don't be a pervert! J— just answer the question!"

In response, Erik simply smiled, satisfied with his attempt to distract Naeku from her doomerism, before shaking his head. "No, I won't try to use my new authority on this issue. My agreement with your father specifically stated that I'd let you rule your territory however you liked, within certain guidelines."

He shrugged indifferently. "That means that, as long as you actually manage to keep your people safe, I don't care how you do it." Glancing at her, he winked, "And I have every confidence in your ability, dear Naeku."

With lightning speed, he grabbed her transformed hand and planted his lips on the soft fur covering the back of it. "But… if you'd like any help, I'm always there for you," he smiled charmingly.

His actions did not aid Naeku's efforts to calm herself down as the blush worsened. "S— Shut up! C— Cheeky rascal!"

Yet, all she did was turn her face away while leaving her hand in his. Her mind was a mess, and she was certainly not focused on the earlier problem anymore. She was surprised all over again when she realized for the nth time how easily Erik could pull her off her game.

Before long, they'd gone back to teasing and flirting to pass the time. Occasionally, Naeku would still become a little sullen, but she'd decided that thinking about this problem could wait until they got back to the city.

***

It took them twenty-four hours of continuous marching to reach Enkare Nkai again, but eventually, they returned to the massive stone jungle city that was the capital of both Ankhur's kingdom and Erik's fledgeling empire.

The gates were flung wide open, and a large crowd was gathered to hail the return of their victorious warriors. Using the communication sigils, they'd already received news of their victory, so joy was in the air… only slightly undercut by an aura of tension.

The fact was, they only knew there'd been a lot of casualties, but… exact numbers or names were never mentioned. Many of them were anxious to see their loved ones and confirm they were okay.

In the end, it wasn't Erik who first marched through the gate to be hailed by the crowd, but… simply the first row of warriors carrying the carts of wounded. The marching snake was far too long to be left without third-rankers at every point, especially now that third-ranked beasts had made their appearance.

Thus, it was the regular warriors who came first. Filing into the city, they were quickly met by a large group of people assigned to take over care for the wounded.

After them came a nearly endless stream of warriors who all filed back into the city like a flood, where many of them were greeted by their loved ones. Fortunately, Enkare Nkai could easily hold millions of people.

Finally, halfway through, Erik, Ankhur, and their respective families entered the city next, having left Enkai to protect the final troup. As expected, they were hailed as saviours, and Erik's somewhat asocial wives were forced to engage with the crowd for a while, a situation where only Erik, Elora, and, to a lesser extent, Emma and Runa thrived.

Yet, the payoff was obvious. People already knew who Erik and the members of his family were, but seeing them here, among the warriors, solidified their place in the Enkarian hearts, a position that would only strengthen over the next few days as the warriors shared their tales of the massive battle thought against their enemy.