When they gathered, everyone stood in front of the pups as if silently praying for them to be alright.

"Never knew that ability was this problematic, young master," Kaelor thought. "I would tread carefully when your beast uses it from now on."

Most of them agreed, nodding quietly to that, while Lysara huffed in exhaustion.

The female wolves off to the side let out soft, restrained whines, even though their mouths were closed, sounds Theo didn’t want to hear right now.

In front of him, there was faint movement in both the pups, and according to Lysara, she had managed to repair most of their organs. They only needed further healing to completely recover.

But all of it came down to one question: would the healing hold long enough, or would the pups succumb to their wounds and die first?

Theo didn’t know if the others were feeling anything for the pups, but they had formed a circle around them, so that had to mean something.

To that, Theo couldn’t help but mutter, drawing everyone’s attention. "We are not villains but tamers and knights, everyone."

"We invaded their small territory while they hadn’t done a single thing to us. They were defensive for the longest time too." Theo spoke.

Lucien glanced at him, his eyes narrowing. Theo was bringing his emotions into the group, something he didn’t approve of.

"But by trying to save these pups," Theo continued, "we can show that we’re not just heartless beings who kill and move on like nothing matters, but that we care too."

Even after he spoke, no one responded. Things remained quiet for several minutes. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Theo didn’t know why he was feeling this way. But he felt pity for these creatures.

’This is hypocrisy... I have killed so many beasts inside the Whispering Forest that I have lost count. And now I feel that this is wrong?’ he thought, trying to suppress the feeling.

He managed to push it aside but couldn’t put it out completely. That, more than anything, unsettled him even more.

A few minutes later, Lysara stopped healing. Her face was covered in sweat, and Theo handed her his handkerchief.

"Thank you," she said between breaths.

Theo nodded, then asked the question that weighed on everyone’s mind.

"Will they survive?"

Lysara looked at him, her expression complicated.

"It is difficult... the damage in some of the body parts seems to be beyond my healing’s range. My apologies..." she said, lowering her head.

"You did nothing wrong, Miss Lysara. Good job trying for it," Theo nodded, his expression unreadable.

But Lysara didn’t stop there and quickly spoke up, guilt evident in her voice, "But if we were to take them out of here and back to the camp and I rest a bit... they might still have a chance."

Theo looked at her, then nodded. "...If you’d like to try more, we can take them back too."

They stood and marked the location, just as they had done with the reptile territory. Theo closed his eyes, only to feel the spatial energy growing stronger.

"Sir Garrick, if you were to send one of your beasts to the east, it might be able to locate the gate. Can you do that?" Theo asked.

Garrick nodded with a smile. "I will begin right away."

A flash of light burst from his forehead, then shot eastward; it was so fast that Theo was only able to track it within his spatial awareness before it became a faint red dot in the distance.

With that done, they made their way back to the camp. The journey back felt a lot quieter, almost peaceful. Merek walked at the back this time, his gaze to the sides, avoiding eye contact with everyone, especially Theo.

Once they arrived, they placed the bound wolves beside the captured reptile. When the wolves saw the reptile, something flickered in their eyes, something sharp and emotional.

Clara noticed it immediately.

"Young master, I think both these beasts have clashed before," she said. "I can see it in the eyes of the wolves. They hold resentment."

Theo studied the wolves but felt nothing from them before he nodded at Clara and turned toward the two pups resting inside the hut.

Time passed, and Lysara healed them again and again. By the time night fell, Merek had already lashed out at her twice when Theo wasn’t around. But this time, the others had enough of his antics.

Kaelor was the first one to snap, followed by Lucien, who could clearly see Merek ruining the whole dynamics of the group.

When even Lucien spoke against him, Merek felt as though the entire world had turned against him. He looked around, meeting nothing but resentful gazes.

Eventually, they all took some rest until morning.

Theo kept the injured wolf pups close to their restrained mothers, hoping it would comfort both sides.

But in the morning, Lysara brought unfortunate news for the group.

"One pup is fine... but the other is paralyzed in both the hind legs, young master..."

They watched as one pup kept moving around its mother, while the other dragged half its body across the ground, trying to move close to its mother.

The sight struck Theo deeply, more than it had ever did. He didn’t want to feel pity for such creatures... but he did.

Just then, the mantis’s bond stirred, asking something through emotions.

’No... you can’t have it as food, Mantis,’ Theo replied with a sigh. ’When you are full at a time, I don’t want you eating or targeting beasts that are very young. I will explain to you the difference the next time we see them, so keep it in mind, alright?’

He didn’t think it was the mantis’s bad thinking, but it was simply nature’s course. But Theo was selfish enough to shape the mantis according to his own values.

It was going to live with Theo forever, so Theo couldn’t let it think like a ’normal’ insect. It needed to be a lot special than that.