[Argus City - Eight Years in the Future]
In the forest, on the outskirts of Argus City, Kirio stood in the middle of a clearing, smiling as she held an enormous two-meter-long spoon resting on her shoulder. It was a rather unconventional weapon, but more than enough for her current activities.
"¡Fiu, fiu, fiu, fiu!", she whistled quite calmly, knowing she did not need to move. She was certain that her little pups would come when they were ready.
She didn't have to wait long.
"Crack!"
The sound of branches breaking made her stop. She did not even need to turn around to know who they were. Her Aura immediately activated, ready to receive them.
"Come on! Don't be shy!" she teased.
As if responding to her provocation, two nearly identical wolves, with white fur and a few purple markings, shot out of the bushes from opposite sides of the clearing.
Kirio was delighted to see her twins, Luna and Luca, working together, although she was not all that surprised. Despite their constant squabbling, they had always been the ones who worked best as a team.
Taking advantage of Kirio being lost in her thoughts, both wolves acted at the same time. The first one's body became covered in flames, while the second was surrounded by electricity.
"They still have a lot to learn," Kirio thought, making a mental note to remind them that their Semblances could have different effects on their users' bodies.
This was a good example. The wolf covered in lightning had become much faster than the one engulfed in flames, completely throwing off the coordination between the two.
Kirio moved the spoon, spinning it a few times just to show off.
"Well, I've always said that the best way to learn is through practice..." she said with a laugh.
The twin wolves quickly reached her and, as expected, one arrived before the other. With its jaws open, it leaped straight at her, but Kirio, in one fluid movement that caught it completely by surprise, swung the large spoon underneath the wolf.
She immediately lifted it in a perfect arc and launched it toward the opposite side, right where the other wolf had just arrived. Both wolves widened their eyes in surprise, especially when she smashed the first one directly into the second one's body.
"Ouch!" x2.
Two small yelps of pain were heard before both wolves stopped moving. They were not injured, although they had been completely knocked out by the impact.
"Two down~" Kirio thought with a motherly smile, watching her sleeping pups fondly.
She did not get to admire them for long.
"ZAS!"
Kirio suddenly moved, narrowly dodging a huge chunk of ice that embedded itself into the ground. Although the surprise attack had failed, the attacks did not stop. Dozens of glyphs began forming around the trees, all of them aimed at her.
"This is Sylva's doing..." Kirio thought, beginning to move at incredible speed.
At the same time, the glyphs activated and began firing different elements throughout the area. Lightning, ice, water, and fire tore through the clearing from different directions, but Kirio avoided the attacks without much difficulty.
However, her attention was not on the projectiles. Even as she moved through the barrage, her eyes constantly scanned the forest, searching for her daughter.
She knew that, although she was intelligent, she was also far too lazy to have moved very far.
She smiled when she spotted a small glimmer among the treetops.
"I found you!" she murmured, and without stopping her evasive maneuvers, she grabbed a rock and threw it.
The rock flew in a perfect trajectory until it reached the trees, where a small whimper could be heard.
"OUCH!"
A moment later, a little girl with purple hair streaked with white and a large bump on her head fell from the tree, accompanied by a huge pointed hat. Kirio stopped dodging the moment she saw her little girl fall, and all the glyphs automatically vanished.
"That's three, two left..." she thought victoriously.
Even so, she did not let her guard down. One of the two remaining ones was precisely the most troublesome of the five.
She tried to move to search for him, but she had not even taken a single step when a small fist emerged from the ground directly beneath her. Kirio moved just in time, dodging the blow as she stepped back and watched in surprise as Sylas emerged from the ground without breaking it.
His hair was completely white, just like his father's, and his body seemed to have become intangible as he passed through the earth.
"I didn't know he could do that..." she thought, adding another ability to the already extensive list of things her pups could do.
Sylas did not stop to chat or lose his momentum. He launched himself at his mother, attacking so quickly that Kirio barely had time to react. She quickly swung her giant spoon, using it as a shield.
"Bam! Bam! Bam!"
Sylas's small fists slammed into the metal as she was forced slightly backward with each impact.
"Don't tell me you used your siblings as a distraction for a surprise attack," Kirio asked, shaking her head in disappointment as she continued blocking the blows. "I've already told you that you should work as a team."
Sylas smiled discreetly.
"That's exactly what we're doing! NOW!" he suddenly shouted.
Kirio did not understand what was happening until the spoon she was holding was ripped from her hands, flying directly toward a powerful magnetic glyph that Sylva had kept active even while still on the ground.
Kirio tried to move to retrieve her weapon, but she couldn't. Her feet simply refused to respond. When she looked down, she discovered why.
Her two twins, now in their human forms, Luna and Luca, were each holding onto one of her legs.
She tried to grab them and pull them away, but Sylas would not allow it. He lunged at her hands, gripping them with all his strength to prevent her from freeing herself.
Kirio tried to move him, but the little boy was practically glued to the ground, which made her immediately understand what was happening: she had fallen into an ambush.
All her pups had worked together perfectly.
Although one was still missing.
At that moment, Kirio sensed danger. She turned her head just in time to see an enormous hammer heading straight toward her face.
It was huge, and holding it by the handle was her missing daughter: Lyra.
She was the strongest of all her pups and also slightly taller than her siblings. Half of her hair was purple, while the other half was white, and she was the only one strong enough to carry that enormous hammer.
Kirio braced herself for the inevitable impact and instinctively closed her eyes, but no matter how long she waited, the blow never came.
When she opened them, she discovered that the hammer had stopped just a few millimeters from her face.
"OH, COME ON!" Sylas complained, immediately releasing his mother's hands.
The twins followed his example and also let go of her legs. "That's not fair! We had her!" they both complained as they stepped away.
Lyra nervously lowered the hammer "I'm sorry..." she whispered, barely audible.
Sylva soon emerged from the bushes, now wearing her hat and using it to cover the bump on her head.
"What happened?" she asked, sounding more curious and sleepy than annoyed.
"I didn't want to hurt Mom... I don't want to hurt anyone," Lyra apologized, lowering her head in embarrassment.
Luca gave Luna a small smack on the shoulder. "I told you she couldn't do it!"
"No! I told you she couldn't do it!" Luna replied, hitting him back harder.
The hits quickly escalated until they both lunged at each other and started fighting.
Kirio, seeing that Luna was about to cry, hurried to intervene.
"Enough!"
Sensing the danger, both twins immediately stopped fighting, separating and standing at attention in front of their mother.
"It's not her fault," Kirio said as she hugged Lyra. "It's okay. You're a very good girl."
Sylas sighed as he watched his mother spoil Lyra too much. He knew that was one of the reasons his sister was too soft, despite being physically the strongest of the five.
"That's not fair!" Luca complained, still annoyed as he crossed his arms.
Kirio could not help but laugh in amusement. "Oh, really? What exactly isn't fair?" she asked, even though she knew perfectly well what was bothering him.
"Why can YOU use Aura during training, but we can't?"
Luna nodded several times, supporting her brother's complaint. "We learned how to externalize it too! So why won't you let us use it?"
Kirio could not help but repeatedly pat her twins on the head. She found them far too adorable whenever they tried to act intimidating.
"I already told you that you can only use your Aura in emergency situations."
Both twins, still annoyed, quickly brushed their mother's hands away.
"BUT WHY?!"
Kirio snorted. "Because you're werewolves. You don't need it. You're already strong without it."
Sylva, who was resting on the ground and had remained out of the conversation until then, decided to intervene.
"The werewolves of Menagerie use Aura..."
Both twins ran over to their sister and pointed at her when they realized she was right.
"THE LAZY ONE IS RIGHT!" x2.
Kirio fell silent, thinking. She hesitated for several seconds over whether she should tell them the truth, until she finally decided they were old enough to know.
"I think it's time you learned the truth..." she said seriously, capturing the attention of all her children, who gathered in front of her, intrigued.
"I never told you who your father was..."
The moment she said those words, all the children immediately lost interest.
Sylas snorted. "He's the White Wolf of Argus who appeared eight years ago," he said with complete confidence.
Although he was completely right, Kirio continued speaking without paying any attention to him.
"It might be difficult for you to believe..."
"We're sure he's the White Wolf of Argus!" the twins said at the same time.
"But I swear it's the truth..."
Sylva dropped her head against the ground, tired. "Mom, you have a picture of him in your room."
Lyra nodded behind her, remembering the portrait of the White Wolf that was framed and accompanied by lipstick marks on her mother's nightstand.
[Image]
Finally, Kirio gathered her courage and finished saying it.
"YOUR FATHER IS THE WHITE WOLF OF ARGUS!"
All the children stared at each other in disbelief for several seconds, until their expressions completely changed, turning into feigned shock.
"REALLY?!"
"I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED!"
"I'M SHOCKED!"
The twins, pretending to be unable to contain their excitement, fainted at the same time.
"I understand your surprise, my children..." Kirio nodded, understanding their reactions. "But that is precisely why you shouldn't rely on your Auras."
She looked at them with affection and a hint of pride.
"You all have your father's genetics, so there is no limit to your strength. Relying on your Aura will only slow down your growth. Understood?"
Everyone nodded, including the twins, although they did so reluctantly. Seeing that they had finally understood, Kirio smiled with satisfaction. However, that smile did not last long, as her expression gradually changed until it became much more serious.
"Now... are you going to tell me where you got that war hammer?" she asked, pointing at the weapon that had almost hit her.
The hammer was large, heavy, and of very good quality. Kirio was completely certain that, with the allowance she gave them, none of them could have afforded something like that.
Sylas stepped forward, ready to speak or lie depending on what was necessary, but before he could say anything, his siblings beat him to it.
"We bought it!" the twins said in unison.
The clearing fell into an awkward silence for several seconds.
Sylas slowly turned his head toward them and gave them a deeply reproachful look.
"What?" the twins asked, confused. "We did."
"Hahaha..." Kirio laughed with a predatory smile as she slowly approached Sylas.
As the self-proclaimed leader of the five, he was the one who made the plans and, therefore, the one who had to answer whenever something went wrong.
"Tell me, dear son, how did you get the money?" Kirio asked.
A shiver ran through Sylas's body as he felt his mother's breath right behind him. He quickly tried to think of a convincing lie, certain that his mother would not be happy to hear the truth.
[Start of Flashback]
The center of Argus had become one of the city's main tourist attractions. People from all over the world came to admire the great statue of the Wolf of Argus, buy a poster, or even take home a doll of the famous wolf.
The image of the White Wolf had been exploited for the past eight years and, much to the delight of the locals, it had worked wonderfully. His image had become one of Argus's main attractions, generating all kinds of merchandise and bringing in more and more tourists.
Of course, the plaza was not only filled with vendors. There were also a large number of street performers trying to capture the visitors' attention with their shows.
However, in a somewhat secluded corner of the plaza, there was a duo who, unlike everyone else, could not manage to attract a crowd around them.
It consisted of a little girl and a wolf, both dressed as clowns. Of course, they were Luna and Luca respectively.
The locals barely spared them a glance before hurriedly walking away. Even so, neither of them was offended by people's reactions, as they understood perfectly well why everyone preferred to keep their distance.
"Come on, folks!" Luna shouted while juggling. "Come and see the great... BOBO!" she added, pointing at the wolf wearing a jester's hat.
"Come and see his magnificent tricks!"
Luca did not like his stage name at all, but he decided to put up with it and performed a double somersault in the air.
Even so, people barely paid them any attention. Without letting themselves get discouraged, the two continued juggling and performing their tricks until, finally, a few curious tourists approached.
"Oh, look, it's a wolf," a woman said in amazement as she pulled out her wallet to give them some coins.
This did not go unnoticed by Luna. The moment she saw the bills, she quickly sprang into action.
"NOW!" she suddenly shouted.
Luca reacted immediately. He dropped onto all fours, turned his head, and pulled a small club from his back, gripping it with his teeth.
Without giving the tourist any time to react, he repeatedly struck her leg with the little club.
"AH!" the tourist screamed, collapsing on the spot.
As soon as she fell, the twins wasted no time and quickly pounced on her, taking not only her money but also any valuables she had on her. They even took her shoes, not because they were worth anything, but simply because both of them thought it was funny.
As soon as they finished robbing her, Luna jumped onto Luca's back, and the two of them took off at full speed, quickly disappearing into the crowd.
"Ahhh..." the tourist complained from the ground, catching the attention of one of the locals.
"Help me! A wolf just robbed me...!"
The man sighed tiredly. Instead of helping her up, he simply pointed toward a nearby sign that read, in fairly clear letters:
[Beware of wolves. Possible risk of assault. The city is not responsible.]
As soon as she finished reading it, the tourist stared at the local in disbelief.
"Are you serious?!"
The man simply shrugged. There was nothing he could do. No one could do much, after all. A White Wolf had saved the city eight years ago, and ever since then, attacking one of them was considered bad luck and was also a crime punishable by law.
[End of Flashback]
"Uhhh..." Sylas thought, knowing he was running out of time.
"We've done several small jobs around the city..." he lied, "...and managed to save enough to pay a blacksmith..."
His words made the twins step closer, clearly annoyed.
"What?!" they shouted in unison, with Luca being the most upset. "If you guys already collected the money, then why do we have to keep robbing tourists?!"
"Yeah, that's not fair!" Luna complained. "This is labor exploitation! I'm telling Mom!"
Sylas did not even bother trying to shut them up. He simply turned his head to glance at his mother, and sure enough, her Aura was already activated as she held the enormous spoon in both hands.
"RUN!" he suddenly shouted.
The five of them transformed into wolves and took off in different directions, desperately trying to save their lives.
At that moment, each wolf was on their own, although they all knew that sooner or later, their mother would catch them.
—*//*—
Author's Note:
A not necessarily canon chapter that I wrote in one afternoon. Nothing much to say. I hope you enjoy it, and if you find any mistakes, let me know. The app that helps me translate is really screwing me over.
Kisses and hugs.