It was rare to see snow in the royal city because their mountain ranges never reached high enough, and the lower lands never experienced cold enough winters. Sometimes the cities and districts closer to the north would see a light layer of frost, but by the afternoon it would have melted. Because of this, Wang Bao was not made for cold weather. Wang Bao woke up when he felt Nakai sit up and he instantly felt the chill in the air. Nakai quickly wrapped the blanket around Wang Bao before he stepped out of the tent. Compared to the humid forest the day before, the campsite was almost a new place; the ground was still visible but a light layer of snow was covering the tents, as well as the small space where the fire had been. Ala was already awake; she was busy gathering wood to start a fire to make breakfast, as well as warm the area. Nakai squatted down by the fire pit and started building the fire without talking. They continued to work in silence until the flames had melted the snow around the pit, and Nakai ripped the gauze from his hand. With only a fresh layer of pinkish skin indicating any kind of injury, Nakai threw the gauze into the growing flames before turning to Ala. Both Alo and Wang Bao were asleep, and Nakai wanted to keep it that way while he talked with Ala. His voice was quiet but Ala could still hear him from the otherside of the fire.

 

“I don’t expect you to like Wang Bao, but if you can’t hold your tongue then I won’t treat you kindly.”

 

Ala stopped adding wood and looked at Nakai with a dark glare before spitting out.

 

“He’s useless, I’m only stating the obvious.”

 

Both Alo and Wang Bao came out of the tents reluctantly, and they heard what Ala had said. Alo turned to Wang Bao and saw some of the light in his eyes dim; running over to his sister, Alo angrily whispered in Ala’s ear before she stormed off into the forest. All Wang Bao wanted to do was retreat back into the tent, but he knew it was best to deal with these sorts of things sooner rather than later, and he quickly followed Ala. Wang Bao didn’t expect her to walk faster when she noticed him, and he struggled to keep up. It wasn’t until Wang Bao could no longer see the camp that he stopped moving, the dark trees gave an odd feeling to the atmosphere and Wang Bao slowly called out.

 

“Ala?”

 

Wang Bao felt his gut telling him to move and he quickly dove to the side. Ala had thrown a rock the size of her head at Wang Bao, and he barely moved away in time with the rock landing where he had just been standing. Wang Bao felt the cold even more as he stumbled to his feet. Because the rock would have most likely killed him, Wang Bao paid more attention to his surroundings while staying light on his feet. All of a sudden Ala sprung out from behind a tree, and ran at him with an angry snarl. Her large hands were bent like claws while she swiped at Wang Bao’s face. Her strikes were fast but sloppy because of her anger and Wang Bao was able to block most of them, the ones that did slip through left his cheeks burning with painful scratch marks. After Wang Bao managed to block several attacks in a row, Ala let out a loud screech. Before Wang Bao could expect it, Ala lunged forward and knocked him to the ground. Wang Bao felt the air leaving his lungs once he collided with the cold wet ground. Ala’s claw-like hands had now closed into fists, with every heavy blow, Wang Bao managed to protect his face but his arms were becoming tender from the constant hits. With all of his strength, Wang Bao bucked his hips up before rolling on top of Ala. He struggled to hold her wrists down while shouting at her frantically.

 

“Why are you fighting me?!”

 

Instead of answering, Ala screamed in Wang Bao’s face like an animal and he could see her eyes change from a warm brown to black. Wang Bao suddenly felt scared for his life and held nothing back as he punched Ala in the face. After the blow, Wang Bao wanted to retreat, but Ala had become even stronger than she already was, and he was rolled onto the ground again but his face pressed into the ground. Before Wang Bao could fight back in any way, he felt his arms being pulled back painfully, as if Ala wanted to tear Wang Bao’s arms out of their sockets. Thinking he was actually going to lose his arms, Wang Bao let out a terrified cry. All of a sudden both Wang Bao and Ala heard fast footsteps running across the damp dirt, and Alo quickly tackled his sister to the ground. Nakai wasn’t far behind as he scooped Wang Bao up from the ground, checking over his body with gentle hands. Nakai could see Wang Bao wasn’t seriously injured, save for some dark bruising and sore shoulders, but he was trembling from the shock of everything; seeing Wang Bao stare at him with a wild yet distant gaze, Nakai couldn’t help but turn around to see where Ala was. 

 

Pressed against a thick tree trunk, Alo held Ala’s face firmly as he tried to get her to slow her breathing. Luckily they were in the earlier parts of winter still, but it would be troublesome if Ala changed. Ala’s eyes shifted between black and brown rapidly while her skin crawled beneath Alo’s large hands. From behind, Nakai grabbed a hold of Alo’s shoulder, trying to move him out of the way in order to get to Ala, but before he could attack her, Wang Bao held onto his arm. Wang Bao wanted to tell Nakai and everyone else to calm down, but his words became stuck in his throat when a strange gurgling sound came out of Ala’s throat. Alo quickly pushed Wang Bao and Nakai back before turning to his sister, desperately pleading with her.

 

“Please Ala, just breathe and think about what you’re doing!”

 

Ala’s skin began to squirm as if there were insects living inside of her. Wang Bao’s eyes widened and his feet were glued to the spot as he watched Ala’s skin tear away from her flesh, revealing a giant brown bear. Wang Bao had never seen a bear, but he knew they weren’t supposed to be as big as Ala was. Her large brown paws landed against the ground with a heavy thud before she turned to face Wang Bao, her wide mouth opening ferociously as she roared in anger. Alo reacted quickly and stood between Ala and Wang Bao, waving his hands as he tried to distract his sister, but before it could take any effect, Wang Bao turned on his heels and ran. In the distance behind him, Wang Bao could hear the loud breathing of Ala’s bear form as well as Nakai shouting after him.

 

“Wang Bao!”

 

Nakai left Alo alone standing in the middle of the snowy forest, as he sprinted after Wang Bao and Ala. Seeing everyone leave him behind, Alo sighed angrily and changed into his own beast form. Wang Bao’s lungs burned from the cold air while he ran on the hard frozen ground; the heavy breath of a bear behind him became louder with every step he took, forcing him to push his legs to move faster. Nakai was hot on their tail, moving with great agility through the weaving trees; before Ala could snap her jaws around Wang Bao's neck,  he shoulder barged Ala’s head. Ala’s body was thrown into a thick tree, and brown feather leaves started falling all around them. Wang Bao watched from behind a tree as Nakai and Ala faced each other; Nakai was standing in a fighting stance while Ala stood on her hind legs, towering over Nakai as she roared. Before Ala attacked, Nakai shouted with a booming voice.

 

“Alo, hurry up!”

 

Wang Bao started running again, not sure what to do and if he could trust Alo. Before he could get too far, Wang Bao’s path was blocked with another giant brown bear. Wang Bao froze on the spot and clenched his eyes shut, but the kill shot never happened. Wang Bao peeked through a small slit in his eyes, and saw Alo nodding his head impatiently. Moving his stiff legs forward, Wang Bao crawled onto Alo’s furry back and held on tightly. Far behind them, Ala roared angrily when she caught sight of Alo running with Wang Bao, and she tried to bypass Nakai but a large arm wrapped around her neck. Nakai threw Ala to the ground and looked down at her, he was breathing hard as he told her.

 

“The last time we met, I told you to get your anger under control.”

 

Ala dug her claws into the solid ground before lunging towards Nakai. 

 

. . . . . . .

 

At the campsite, Wang Bao climbed down from Alo and watched as the bear returned back into a man, a naked man. Wang Bao was quick to look away, and Alo quickly entered his tent to find some clothes. It was a few minutes before Alo returned outside, but Wang Bao was still feeling jittery from the adrenaline and paced around the small fire. Alo was the complete opposite, and he calmly added wood to the fire before cooking breakfast, as if his sister hadn't turned into a bear and was now fighting a Giant. Wang Bao only sat down once his stomach rumbled, and the smell of the food caught his attention. Alo served a bowl of meat and grains for Wang Bao while talking in a soft voice.

 

“Don’t worry, Nakai and I knew this was bound to happen. But we were hoping it would be later in the trip because in the winter season, our bear form would be slower and weaker. Don’t take the attack too personally though, Ala has anger issues and they cause her to change forms every now and then.”

Wang Bao felt it was a little hard to think the attack wasn’t personal, especially with Ala’s rude comments towards him. Poking his food around, Wang Bao couldn’t help but ask quietly.

 

“Why doesn’t she like me?”

 

Alo quickly served his own food before sitting next to Wang Bao. After shovelling a large spoonful into his mouth and swallowing, Alo explained in a hushed voice..

 

“You can’t tell her I said this, but she and Nakai used to have… A thing. It wasn’t anything serious…It was more of a crush on Ala’s part. We met Nakai years ago when we were teens; he was on one of his travels through our country up north, and Ala fell head over heels for him but he rejected her straight away. After that Ala tried everything to get Nakai’s attention, but nothing worked. Until one day she snapped and changed forms in front of him. She tried to kill him that day.”

 

Alo quickly took a break to eat some more. After a few mouthfuls, he continued talking to Wang Bao who was too stunned to eat from what he had just been told.

 

“He was able to calm her down enough to change back, and not much damage was done to either one of them, but after that day whenever they would see each other she would just change and attack him. Her feelings went from love to complete hatred and it made it difficult for us to meet. One day Nakai snapped back and almost killed her. He told me that if she didn’t get her anger under control then the next time they met, he would kill her.”

 

Wang Bao felt his blood run cold and he looked in the direction they had come from, but Alo shook his head while saying calmly.

 

“Nakai would never kill her. Besides, she’s gotten better but I guess seeing how close you two are triggered her in some way. When you see Ala next, she may be a bit snarky but she won’t attack you again.”

 

Wang Bao found that hard to believe but his sluggish mind was more focused on something else, and he spoke hesitantly. 

 

“....Was there really nothing between them?”

 

Alo spooned a large bite of food into his mouth, thinking he was done explaining things, but when he heard Wang Bao’s question, he stopped mid chew to look at Wang Bao with a dumbfounded look. Just when Alo went to reply, Nakai slowly walked out of the tree line opposite them. He looked tired and a little worse for wear as he sat down; there were dark bruises and shallow cuts all over his arms, while his right eyebrow was bleeding with a trail falling down the side of his cheek. Nakai wanted to tell Wang Bao he was fine, but before he could get a word out, Wang Bao ran into the tent with anxious steps. Nakai wiped at the small trail of blood on his face to stop Wang Bao from worrying but it was too late. From the inside of the tent, Wang Bao shouted with a mix of anxiety and anger.

 

“What did I tell you last night?”

 

While Wang Bao searched for the first aid kit, Nakai talked with Alo quietly.

 

“Ala is back to her regular form, but she won’t be joining us until we’ve reached the hut on the mountain. She said she would take care of the gear herself and meet us.”

 

Alo looked at Nakai’s bruised fists with a sullen face, before asking quietly.

 

“Is she okay?”

 

Alo had told Wang Bao Nakai wouldn’t kill Ala, but it didn’t mean she would go unharmed. Nakai compacted a small ball of snow from the ground and rubbed it on his hands. He gave a long sigh before finally answering.

 

“She’s fine. I went easy on her because I already knew I was pushing her limits when I asked you two to do this. I only hit her enough times to tire her out in order for her to change, then we talked some things out. The next time we see her she will be all healed.”

 

Alo clapped Nakai on his shoulder, clearly grateful for his understanding. While Alo stood up to get Nakai some food, Wang Bao ran out of the tent with the kit in his hands. Nakai tried to explain again that he didn’t need it, showing Wang Bao his already healed hands as proof, but it went in one ear and out the other with Wang Bao. By the fire, Alo watched curiously at the interaction between the two men in front of him, and he could understand why Ala had snapped earlier than they thought she would. Nakai said one thing with his mouth, but it was obvious in the way he looked at Wang Bao that he enjoyed being taken care of. It was surprising for Alo to see how stern Wang Bao was with Nakai too, but the young man also compromised easily. In the end Nakai only let Wang Bao clean his eyebrow and cuts because the bleeding had already stopped, and it wouldn’t take long for scabs to form.

 

Before they left the camp, Nakai ate his lukewarm breakfast. Wang Bao was still hungry, and he picked at Nakai's food whenever Nakai would be chewing. Once he had eaten half of the meal, he left the rest for Nakai and helped pack up. By the time they were ready to move, Nakai was hungry since his breakfast had been cut in half, and Wang Bao was tired because of all the running he had done. Alo led the way with a chipped mood while Nakai kept a keen eye out for any vegetation he could snack on. By mid day, they made it out of the forest and into a snow covered back road with empty fields on either side. Nakai quickly noticed some pear and apple trees lining the empty dirt road; there was also wild spinach and lettuce growing in large patches throughout the clearing. Alo and Nakai picked the pears while Wang Bao was given the task of picking the leafy greens. Within twenty minutes, they were able to fill three small bags of food. The three snacked on the almost frozen pears as they walked along the dirt road; in the distance the snow covered mountain ranges could be seen with a wide valley running through the middle. Alo pointed to the valley between two mountains, speaking with a full mouth.

 

“Ala and I are from a small country through that valley. We travel the ranges often when we  want to trade with other countries, or need to travel without documents.”

 

Wang Bao looked at the valley in the distance, the clouds covering most of the warmth and light of the day made it hard to make out anything, except for the large gap between two mountains. After looking around for a couple seconds, Wang Bao asked.

 

“What is Werebeast Continent like?”

 

Alo thought about his answer, failing to hide the complicated expression on his face. After a few seconds, he simply shrugged while replying.

 

“In certain areas it’s great and the people are really welcoming. But in other places, it’s filled with a lot of crime and land theft. Because Werebeast continent was originally separated into small countries based on species, over time people started believing they were better than other Werebeast. Land wars are constantly happening, and it forces a lot of Werebeasts to leave the continents all together, in hopes of a better life.”

 

Wang Bao thought back to Pou’s and Ma’s crew; the majority of the members had been Werebeast, and he couldn’t help but think out loud.

 

“I wonder if that’s why Ma took in so many Werebeast.” 

 

Wang Bao continued asking Alo about Werebeast Continent and it helped the journey pass by quickly. Alo explained how the countries separated by beast species were more like states that combined made up regions. It had become very common for larger states to take over small neighbouring states, choosing to either kill off the species or sell them. A lot of genus were killed because of this, and it made the majority of small countries group together, with the hopes of preventing them from going extinct. Nakai chimed in as well, and explained that there are still localised wars going on inside the continent but it isn’t published internationally. Sometimes these wars would get so bad that secret sectors from Giant country would step in to protect the states that had no military. If it was known that other countries were stepping in, it could start a world war. Because of the secret takedowns, Nakai had seen his fair share of discrimination and trafficking in Werebeast continent, but he didn’t see it ending anytime soon. After the heavy topic, Alo went quiet and he looked at the far away valley. After a little bit of walking in silence, Alo perked up again and said.

 

“It’s okay though, Ala and I do what we can to help. All you can do is keep pushing through until you’ve reached a better path.”

 

Wang Bao felt this was how he had been living his own life, and he quickly agreed with Alo. 

 

“That’s a good way of putting it. Hopefully in the future, everyone can live peacefully.”

 

The group had been walking non stop, and the sun was beginning to set now with more snow beginning to fall. At first Wang Bao didn’t know how they would be able to travel up the steep rocky mountain, but it wasn’t long before they had reached a skinny dirt road that would take them up the mountain, and the three people started their trek up the gradual incline. The path they were using had been originally made for old carts to transport goods back in the day; from behind they could hear the heavy breaths from a horse, and they moved over to let the people behind them pass. Alo watched closely as an old couple sitting on top of an open wooden cart that was filled with wood, his eyes then darted to the large brown horse pulling them up the road. Wang Bao thought they would carry on once they had the room, but he was surprised at how angry Alo looked; He wanted to ask Nakai what the problem was, but Nakai had the same look of disgust on his face. It was only once the old people had disappeared around a bend in the road that Alo finally commented in a hushed voice.

 

“Old bastards, they dare still use beast slavery. That horse is obviously a werebeast,  and they dare go against the laws so openly?!”

 

Wang Bao quickly looked at the bend in the road where the elderly couple had disappeared. He had thought the large horse was like any other animal, but both Nakai and Alo had known they were a Werebeast. Looking at Alo who was kicking the side of the mountain angrily, Wang Bao asked with obvious worry.

 

“H-How did you know the horse was a Werebeast? Are there any obvious telltales?”

 

Nakai chose to explain to Wang Bao because Alo wasn’t in the best frame of mind to talk.

 

“Size can sometimes help, because a normal horse won’t grow that big. But the easiest way to tell is the eyes. All werebeasts’ eyes turn pitch black in their beast form. We should watch out for their tracks and release the werebeast.”

 

The last part of Nakai’s sentence was directed at Alo who agreed without hesitation. Wang Bao felt a sinking feeling in his heart, and he thought back to the warehouse in T City. Without any hesitation, Alo started to stomp up the hill; Nakai’s strides also quickened causing Wang Bao to pick up his own pace. As they moved, Wang Bao’s stomach growled with a loud gurgle, and Nakai over at him before asking.

 

“You’re hungry already? We won’t be able to eat until we reach the hut.”

 

Wang Bao was surprised at his increased hunger as well, and shrugged his shoulders before replying.

 

“I’ll just snack on pears until dinner.”

 

Wang Bao tried to open the bag attached to Nakai’s back, but the Giant had already pulled the pack to his front. Nakai reached into his bag quickly and handed over one pear, stating in a serious voice.

 

“You’ll get hives if you eat any more.”

 

It was clear Wang Bao was disappointed because he knew this wouldn’t take care of his hunger, but he made due with the small snack and nibbled on the pear slowly.

 

. . . . . . .

 

The sun had not long set when Alo had led them off the path and through some trees, luckily there was still the twilight hour to give them enough light to see. In the distance between some small trees was a small wooden hut. Alo didn’t bother going any further now that Nakai could see the hut, and he motioned back to the way they had come before leaving. The plan was for Wang Bao to stay in the hut, while Nakai and Alo took care of helping the Werebeast. Once Nakai opened the tall door, he stepped inside and opened the bedroom door to his right. Wang Bao was close on his heels, happy to be out of the cold. In the bedroom, Nakai placed his backpack on one of the two beds, and took his guns out followed by his knife. Wang Bao’s eyes widened at the sight of the large weapons, and he quickly asked in shock.

 

“What are you doing? I thought you were going to just release the Werebeast.”

 

Nakai quickly took his weapon holder belt out as well, and put it on while replying to Wang Bao.

 

“We are. I’m going to hunt on the way back. We’re running low on meat already, and if I can preserve a big enough beast while we’re staying here, then we should have meat for half of the trip.”

 

After speaking, Nakai quickly built a fire in the main room fireplace and chippy. With the inside of the hut warming up quickly, Nakai took Wang Bao back outside to show him something. Outside, the sky had darkened fully and the air had grown bitterly cold. Wang Bao huddled close to the side of Nakai, while he watched Nakai point at the mixed sized trees surrounding the hut.  In a quiet voice Nakia started saying.

 

“When collecting wood, keep the hut in your view and don’t stay out too long. Alo and I won’t be too long, so you can start cooking dinner.”

 

Wang Bao hummed to show he was listening, then stood on a round rock sticking out of the ground beside them. When Nakai came to stand in front of him, Wang Bao quickly planted a light kiss on Nakia’s lips and jumped down. Nakai couldn’t stop himself from grinning because of Wang Bao’s antics, and he quickly picked Wang Bao up to kiss him more.

 

Alo was freezing his everything off when he finally saw Nakai come back with a grin on his face. He asked what the Giant was so happy about, but all he got was a chuckle and shake of the head. Alo figured it had something to do with Wang Bao, and didn’t bother digging for answers as they continued following the horse and cart tracks. Despite the freezing air, the snowfall was light and the tracks from the cart were still visible, making it an easy follow even in the limited light. When they saw the tracks turn off to an old gated property, Nakai felt a little weary and he looked at Alo before asking.

 

“How common is it to have property up here?”

 

Alo narrowed his eyes at the wide paddock gate. His anger from earlier was firing up again as he explained calmly.

 

“Not common at all. The hut we’re staying at only exists because Ala and I built it ourselves. The next known property isn’t for another thirty kilometres. But it’s been a few years since we’ve come up this way, usually we take the central route.”

 

Nakai looked down the long dark dirt driveway, there was no property in sight because of the winding road. Nakai turned to look at the old dirt road that continued up the mountain, there were no tracks at all and he sighed before looking back at Alo to say.

 

“This is going to be harder than I thought, we may find some things we weren’t expecting as well. Should we wait for Ala?”

 

Both Nakai and Alo knew the wait would be too long, and with people like the ones they were going to encounter, who knew how long they would stick around. Alo shook his head lightly before nodding towards the driveway, his voice suddenly a lot more serious.

 

“I can handle it. Let’s hurry up and deal with this.”

 

Alo started to climb over the paddock gate while Nakai stepped over easily. Once they were on the property, Nakai and Alo moved into the dense tree line and followed the driveway. There was just enough light from the moon to help keep them on track, but it wasn’t enough to peek through the trees. The long driveway was close to two kilometres long, and by the time they had made it to the end, the temperature had dropped even more. Using the cover of the dark trees, Nakai and Alo saw a very large old traditional wood home. The entire house was dark, as if no one was home but through a few cracks in the window boards, it was easy to see warm light from the bottom floor. Close to the driveway beside the house was a large barn, and a few open stables with dense bush wrapping around the back of the grand property.  It was in the stables that a cry could be heard clearly; Nakai was quick to hold Alo back before coming up with a plan.