A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Frostfang's frown deepened upon hearing Erik's question. 'How does he know me?' he wondered silently. 'More importantly, if he knows me, he must be aware of what I am, so why does he look so calm?' Despite recognizing Erik as only a second-rank, Frostfang noted the lack of intimidation in his stance.

Frostfang had so far been limiting his third-rank pressure, but now Erik made him grow a little more cautious.

He released his pressure to try and intimidate Erik while continuing to frown, "I suppose I must be. Although it appears you have me at a disadvantage."

Waves of power surged from Frostfang, rippling through the frigid air. The snowflakes around him danced in a sudden whirlwind, and the morning air shimmered. His aura, a visible force of nature, painted the scene with an otherworldly glow. Next to him, Victor groaned a little and he took a step back with an aggrieved face.

Erik, however, felt the pressure wash over him like a cool summer breeze.

But that was only to be expected, after all, since he had merged with another third-rank being—Elora. Although Elora's offensive capabilities were limited to sigils, her third-rank essence meant that Frostfang's pressure had no effect on her, and by extension, on Erik.

Frostfang, noticing Erik's unflustered reaction, became even more guarded—which is exactly what Erik and Elora wanted from him. The more cautious he was, the more hesitant he would be to act hastily.

Erik pretended like nothing just happened and simply answered Frostfang's question, a casual smirk still hanging on his lips, "My name is Erik." He chuckled lightly, "There, you're all caught up now."

"Yes, well…" Frostfang began, his eyes narrowing in suspicion, "You appear remarkably composed and self-assured, given you're unaware of the intentions of the formidable individual before you."

"What makes you think I'm unaware?" Erik began, before panning his gaze towards Victor with a knowing smile. "You've brought a council toady with you, after all. His intentions are not hard to guess."

Victor's brow twitched at being called a toady. He opened his mouth to strike back, but before either he or Frostfang could say anything, Erik continued with a curiously raised eyebrow, "Although I do wonder how you found out my location?"

'I suppose that means they know the council is after them,' Frostfang thought to himself, then turned towards Victor and said, in answer to Erik's question, "I'd like to know the same thing, actually."

Victor understood the underlying implication of Frostfang's question—it wasn't just about the informant but also about why the council was pursuing Erik and his group, something that Victor had thus far refused to share with him.

Suddenly finding himself under the scrutiny of both Erik and Frostfang, compounded by the weight of Frostfang's pressure that was still being released, Victor took another step back.

His brows furrowed, and small beads of sweat appeared on his forehead while his skin and muscles appeared to tremble, as if ready to transform at any time. Yet, his demeanor betrayed none of his inner turmoil.

"First reign in your aura, Frostfang," Victor managed to say, his voice betraying a calmness that belied his stressed state. His request, bordering on a demand, highlighted his discomfort. "It may not affect that guy for some reason, but it sure affects me."

Frostfang snorted in contempt, suddenly comparing Victor to Erik and finding the former lacking. He did, however, dial back his aura. He still needed Victor, after all.

Elora took note of the fact that Frostfang seemed incapable of regulating his aura to ignore certain individuals, which was the hallmark of someone in the lower spectrum of third-rank individuals.

"It doesn't seem like their relationship is particularly harmonious," Elora's voice remarked inside Erik's head. "That could be beneficial."

Erik nodded thoughtfully towards Elora in his mind but outwardly remained as casual as before.

With Frostfang's pressure gone, Victor quickly recomposed himself, wiped the sweat off his brow, and straightened his clothes.

He harrumphed and stepped closer to Erik and Frostfang again, before turning to Frostfang with a serious expression. "You know our deal, Frostfang. No support or information, until I actually have the people I'm looking for."

Elora perked up her metaphorical ears when she heard what Victor said. 'That sounds like an opportunity to sow some discord…' she thought to herself. 'But we need to wait for the right moment.'

While Erik looked at the pair in front of him with apparent curiosity, Frostfang snorted and grumbled, "Fine. Have it your way."

He knew why Victor was being cagey about the details. After all, if Frostfang knew exactly why the council wanted these people, he might want them for himself instead. Or he might decide that Victor's contacts in the council aren't worth the chance he might be betrayed, and bring them to the council himself.

Frostfang lifted his nose in the air and sniffed in an attempt to detect the location of everyone currently in Frostvik. He quickly turned his direction towards Viljar's old house. "The only people I can smell are Viljar and the others," he mumbled, before frowning and turning towards Victor.

"Are you sure they're here?" he asked with slight annoyance, now thinking he came here for nothing.

But Victor rolled his eyes, "Of course they are." He pointed an accusing finger at Erik, "Since he can hide his smell, why wouldn't the others be able to?"

Of course, it was a little different, as Elora was actually hiding the smells of the others through sigils, unlike with Erik, but the result was the same.

"Right…" Frostfang said, raising an eyebrow, "And how are they doing that again?"

"Stop probing for answers, and just use your omnisense," came Victor's annoyed response.

Frostfang narrowed his eyes and fought off the urge to stomp Victor like the bug he was. After a moment, however, he snorted and closed his eyes for a moment.

At the third rank, both Runebound and Arcanists gained the ability to extend a kind of rudimentary sixth sense in a spherical area around them. This, and Frostfang's speed, were the main reasons why it would have been pointless to run away from him.

Fortunately, Elora had a sigil to block detection from that as well. Unfortunately, this sigil could only be applied in an area, and not on a person, like the sigil for blocking scent. Thus, blocking the omnisense was only useful for hiding, and not for running.

When he couldn't find anything once again, he turned towards Victor with narrowed eyes, "Nothing."

Now Victor looked annoyed. 'Don't tell me those little shits actually have a sigil for that as well…' he thought to himself. Then he turned to Frostfang, not intending to give anything away, "Perhaps they have a way of blocking your sense. Regardless, I'm sure they're here, and the support you want depends on it, so I'd try real hard to find them if I were you..."

Frostfang's nose twitched and wrinkled, while his eyes narrowed. He was getting increasingly irritated about this whole thing.

"Alright, enough of this." He growled towards Erik, now finally deciding to throw in his weight as a third rank.

"You have two options," he began, his eyes narrowed, and his stance threatening. "Tell me why the council wants you, or tell me where your companions are. Actually, scratch that. You'll be telling me both, but you can decide the order."

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