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Rain strode forward, ignoring the fretting sheep girl. It was strange being back in Lynthia. Everything looked so incredibly… small. What had been a vast building that loomed over Rain in his past life was now… kind of tiny looking. He knew exactly where he was and exactly where he was going of course, he knew Lynthia like the back of his hand, well the parts where low levelers were allowed to go anyway. Gated areas and high leveler reserved areas were still unknown to him. 

A Human woman carrying a pile of scrolls and books in her arms appeared around a corner as he passed. She screamed and fell back against the wall, dropping everything, looking up in open terror at Rain as scrolls bounced and rolled across the cobble around her feet. He snorted a laugh. He wasn't even doing anything yet they feared him this much? He considered how he felt about that. The contrast between how it had been when he was last in Lynthia and now was almost painfully jarring, going from something people felt contempt for to something that made them fear for their lives. They were afraid of him now, he could almost relish that change.

He took them down alley after alley, avoiding the main streets, deeper into the low leveler’s quarter of town. The buildings rapidly became more run down and decrepit, trash and horseshit were scattered across the unpaved roads and sketchy vagrants huddled in quiet corners doing gods knows what. The occasional waft of sewage and the rank smell of trash left out too long in the sun drifted past, all competing with the more isolated aromas, the ashy scent of a tobacconist, the distant stench of a tannery, the burnt tang of a blacksmith, even further away, the chemical stink of a leatherworker and the fragrance of a flower-seller, all blending together to create a unique miasma that took a sledgehammer to the nostrils.

Rain did not remember the lower leveler quarters smelling quite this terrible and he wrinkled his nose in distaste. Apparently his sense of smell was a step up from when he had been Human. He wouldn’t call it anywhere near as good or as useful as an actual wolf, or even a dog, but it was good enough to be distracting while walking through town. He almost wished he had his Human sense of smell back and could ignore it more easily. He hoped that his new nose would get used to it after some time and naturally filter it out.

Well, despite the strange change in building size, and the more intense smell, it still felt like one thing, It felt like home, as rough and as dangerous as a home it was.

Thinking about it it was a minor miracle he had survived as long as he did when he was Human. He supposed it was a matter of luck and knowledge, easy to avoid getting into trouble if you simply avoided being around trouble altogether. Avoid this alley between noon and evening, only go to that street late at night, never ever go near that building. Rain had found late night and very early morning the least risky and the best time to scavenge. Survival meant figuring out the gaps in society and slinking between them. It wasn't a good way to live but it was a way to live, and that was what mattered, he’d never given up despite hanging on only by his fingertips most days, despite most people he met either being dismissive of him or wary of helping him for fear of the Ranker. 

A wild eyed man with an unkempt red beard suddenly burst from an alley. He held a rusted sword in his hands, the wobbling point aimed at Rain. 

“The gods sent you, didn’t they! They knew I was stagnating with my leveling, they sent you for me to kill! To level me up! To make me strong!”

Rain stared the man down and he practically wilted under his gaze, his shoulders slumping and his legs trembling.

“Sorry sir but you are mistaken, this is a leveler, not a monster, an easy mix up, it happens,” said Lyra coming up behind. “Have you seen or heard of a monster species that looks like him before? Why would the town guard let a free monster into town? Come on, think about it,” she scoffed.

The man looked at her sceptically. As he did so Rain reached forward and ripped his sword from his hands sending the man stumbling. Rain then turned and threw the sword into the sky, literally, the sword went up and it just didn't come back down, becoming a dot and then vanishing from sight in the blue above. The bearded man was left gaping, his arms limp at his sides as Rain strode by.

“Clean your act up,” growled Rain in passing. 

The man blinked, taking a moment to realise the monster had spoken to him. He stared in confusion at the monster's back as it turned a corner and disappeared from view.

“Someone you knew Rain?”

Rain stopped and turned on the sheep girl, she took a step back instinctively. 

“I forgot to come up with a name for you to call me while I’m here. I shouldn't have spoken to that man, It’s better to avoid any connection to my old life if possible. What should I call myself?”

“Let the Goblin name him,” came a muffled voice, a sense of amusement in it.

“Yeah, Boner’s right, I should come up with your leveler disguise name, I’m good at names.”

“I’m pretty sure both of you are absolutely terrible at names…” muttered Lyra.

Opal tapped a finger on her chin, thinking deeply. “How about Nightfang?”

A cackle could be heard from with the pack.

“I think he needs a really boring name to fit in amongst levelers… Barry?”

The cackling went up a notch.

Rain stared at Lyra. 

“M-maybe not?”

“My Father’s middle name was Fitz. I guess that will do for now.”

“Fitz… That’s a nice name.”

“It’s a common name so it won’t be noticed, it’s good enough. There’s somewhere I want to check before we go to the mid leveler areas of town, it won’t take long, it's right here.”

Rain turned and passed from the alley and into the street. He took a few steps forward and turned toward a larger four-storey building. The larger building was run down and poor like the other buildings but it clearly saw a fair amount of use and someone had put some care into basic maintenance. Which was surprising considering it was quite clearly a whorehouse. 

A scantily clad woman who was standing outside smoking went pale as a sheet seeing Rain and ran inside.

“Why are we here?” said Opal. “Is that building special somehow? Why are you looking at it that way?”

“I used to live here, or rather, I used to live in the old shed out back. I found refuge here when I Couldn't elsewhere.” 

Opal turned to Lyra who was looking at the building a little uncomfortably.

“You know something don’t you, tell me why he’s acting weird.”

“It’s ah where he used to live, I don’t think it’s more than that, but this is a place where people go for, uhm, sex, to pay for sex from, ah, professionals.”

“Huh,” said Opal, looking at the building with new eyes. “Well that explains some things. I did wonder how he knew so much about that stuff.”

Opal gave the entrance one last glance before she wandered after Rain who had disappeared around the back of the building. There she found him looking over a dilapidated shed cloistered at the back of a weed filled dirt yard. It was fortunate the shed wasn't a small one as Rain would not have been able to fit inside, even so he had difficulty getting through the front door and part of the wooden door frame collapsed around him. He dug around inside until he found what he was looking for underneath the floorboards. Then he withdrew, a very raggedy stuffed teddy bear with half its fur and a button eye missing held in his paw. He flipped it over and began picking at it with his claws, not very successfully as his claws were simply too big. 

He was getting frustrated until Opal put a hand on his arm and gently took the bear from him. She turned it over in her hands with curiosity, examining the worn away fluff and loose stitches. Whatever it was it was obviously very old. 

“What is this?”

“It’s a stuffed bear.”

“...what do you use it for?”

Rain scratched his jaw and looked away.

Opal squinted at him, clearly wondering why he wouldn't answer.

“It’s a momento, most likely, Opal. Young children use stuffed toys to hug, for comfort and a feeling of safety, it’s a commonly done thing,” said Lyra.

“Oh... Nobody gave me something like that when I was young...” Opal actually looked a little bothered by the discovery.

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She fiddled with the back of the bear as Rain had been doing and after a moment managed to open it. She gently pulled out a paper rectangle and unfolded it. Inside were two lockes of dried hair pinned to the paper, black and brown.

“What... is this?” said Opal furrowing her brow in confusion.

“Lockes of my parent’s hair, it’s all I have left of them... You can put it back now.”

Opal stared at the hair in silence, touching a small finger to the dried out lockes, gently running her fingertip along the hairs. She swallowed, trying to clear her suddenly tight throat. Rain’s parent’s hair, she was touching something held dearly, something that was deeply important to him, she could practically feel the reverence that Rain held for them, to be so cared for- to hold onto for so long despite everything...

“That’s-… A Gobbo… would not do this.” Opal looked away from Rain as she very carefully put the refolded paper back in the bear.  “You really loved each other, as a family, there was never… there was never anything like that in my old tribe, not even once.” She hunched her shoulders and made herself small. “G-gobbos don’t c-care, they don’t c-care… I wanted, I just wanted… to have that t-trust, b-but they wouldn’t, they, they-.” Her small shoulders shook and she brought a hand to her eyes as tears rolled down her cheeks, she trembled, she couldn't believe how strongly seeing the love of Rain’s family had hit her, it was just so so far from the backstabbing bitterness that her old tribe had been filled with, the physical manifestation of why she had wanted out. Dungeon Gobbos didn't do family, that was just the unfortunate mistrusting nature a dungeon bred, it was just how it was.

She rubbed her hand over her face repeatedly, trying to get the flood of tears to clear, but along with the falling feeling in her gut and the horrible tightness in her throat it just didn't stop. She trembled as she held out the stuffed bear for Rain to take, her eyes firmly glued to the ground, she didn't want Rain to see her like this, this was embarrassing, it was just hair, this reaction was ridiculous. 

A paw reached out, and then passed the bear and wrapped around her, She sobbed as Rain knelt and pulled her close to his chest, squeezing her tight, surrounding her with himself.

“You don’t have to feel that way anymore Opal. We are a family, I would do anything for you, I’d do anything for you. I’ll never abandon you, I’ll find you no matter where you are, I’ll always find you and hold you close. Do you trust me?” 

Opal was no longer capable of speech as she bawled her eyes out into his chest fur but she nodded her head as her small hands desperately clutched at him. 

Rain held her tight, letting her work through it.

Behind them Lyra stood. She was having a hard time keeping it together herself, her hands were over her mouth and tears were gently rolling from her eyes. She felt like she’d just been attacked with how un-monster like Opal was compared to what she had been taught. It hurt to see the monster girl like this, so emotionally vulnerable and defenceless, as much as any leveler could be. Lyra felt physically ill that she had ever thought of Opal as a sub-sapient and lesser developed being. 

Rain held Opal for a few minutes letting the Goblin have it out until he started to feel her body relax against him, her breath slowly calming, becoming more even as she recovered.

“Get away from it! Run!” 

Lyra blinked and turned to see that the back of the whorehouse had gotten busy.

A man stood in one of the doorways, he held a crossbow up and pointed at Rain, the scantily clad woman who had originally seen them out front hung off his shoulder, an accusing finger pointed at Rain where he knelt. Above the door the various windows of the building were filled with people, dozens of them, going all the way up to the fourth floor, most of them had bows or rocks in hand, all were looking at them fearfully.

“H-hey, hold on, you can’t! They’re like us! Please don’t! Please!” begged Lyra.

“Get out of the way you stupid bint! Move!”

Lyra shook her head, not even sure what she was doing anymore. 

“You don't understand! There- they’re- don't hurt them!”

Lyra bit her lip and then stepped in front of Rain and Opal, spreading her arms wide, daring them to shoot.

“What's that crazy Half-Elf doing? That thing is going to rip her apart!”

“Fuck her, fire around the silly bitch.”

“Wait, you can't, we’ll hit her-!”

The scantily clad woman in the door grabbed for the trigger on the man's crossbow and the twang of a bow string filled the air. Lyra felt her heart jump into her mouth as the ground by her sprayed dust into the air and a bolt embedded itself in the earth. Everyone seemed to take this as the starting signal, pushing their frayed nerves over the edge into action. The air was filled with the snapping of strings and the throwing of stones. 

Lyra only had a fraction of a moment to realise she had thrown her life away.

Then everything went black in a rushing blur of motion.

It took her a few seconds to understand that the black wasn’t her loss of consciousness but that she was now wrapped in black fur, pressed up close to her face. She turned her head to see Opal blinking at her in confusion. What…

Everything was quiet, surrounded by fur.

Then the spat spatter sound of blood dripping broke the silence. Lyra pushed her hands against Rain’s chest and he let her go from his embrace. She took a step back and walked around the wolf, dismay already in her eyes. His back was a pincushion of arrows. 

“But… I said not to,“ she murmured, horrified.”

Rain suddenly stood up fully and turned. He put a paw on Lyra’s shoulder and gently pulled her behind him with Opal. He glared at the people in the building and they pulled back from the windows in fright, as though his gaze was physically pushing at them. The woman in the door actually ran away, disappearing into the building.

“I’m not here for you, but press me and you’ll be put on my list. You don't want to be on my list,” growled Rain.

“G-go away monster!”

“If you didn't want to harm us why come here?!”

“Someone find me more bolts! Quickly now!”

Opal ran her arm over her face, drying the last of her tears. “Fuck them. Kill them all, they don't deserve to live.”

Rain gently shook his head. “I... know all of them. They’re kind people. They’re just… I can’t tell them who I am, even if they believed me it would just end badly for them.”

“We should go,” said Lyra, “This isn't something that can have a good outcome, we should just go.”

“...You’re right... this isn’t constructive.” 

Rain rolled his shoulders and most of the quarrels felt from his back and clattered to the ground. That quieted the onlookers down by a lot, all of them made suddenly awkwardly aware of just how ineffective their attack had been.

Rain gave them one last intimidating glance, snorted, and then turned and left. The girls hurried after him as he disappeared down the nearest alley.

 

 

 

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