On their way back to camp, they passed by the body of the zombified horse that Mike had taken down earlier. Slowly, Nat went up to it to investigate, see if she could find out how it was able to move in such a state. However, before she could, the body melted into black mist, then shooting off like an arrow into the woods where they just left. It must have been returning to Eugene, just as Bryden had returned to her Soulscape. Mike almost chased after it, were it not for Stephanie's grasp on his arm. They had to drag him back, as he stared off into the distance, following the mist as far as he could with his eyes before it disappeared between the foliage.

As they got back to camp, Sophie ran out of Shannon's arms and embraced Nat hard. When Natalie and the canines had run off after Mike, Shannon had to hold Sophie back from running with them. She had been so worried this whole time, the fear of losing someone else close to her had gripped her fiercely. Being able to hug her and make sure that Nat was safe and sound temporarily placated that fear, but it still lingered in her mind. Those feeling, and that fear were transmitted into the strength of the hug she gave, as well as the tears that rolled down her face. Natalie may not have known much about children, but she could understand what that strong hug had meant, especially with the tears that came with it. Softly, she returned the embrace, and waited until Sophie pulled away first.

When she finally did let go, Natalie bent down and gave a peck on her forehead, before wiping away the tears that had stained her face. "Don't worry Soph, we will always be here for you, and promise that nothing bad will happen to either of us, let alone you. Shannon looks about ready to start making up some lunch, and i am positive she would love to have her assistant give her a hand. Why don't you go over and help while I make sure that no one is hurt?" Sophie just meekly nodded, rubbing her face to try and deal with the remaining tears that lingered, before walking back over to Shannon. She positioned herself right beside Shannon, so as to keep getting the relief of comfort that the two seemed to give to her while she helped lay cheese and meat over top the bread.

Making sure that Sophie was at least being watched over and supported, Natalie took her time before turning to address the 'danger couple'. Steph had not let go of Mike in the slightest since they caught up with him, nor had he tried to shake her off at all. He had not admitted any wrongdoing in their questioning of his rash actions however, fully in belief that they were the right thing to do. After giving his reasoning on why he believed that, Nat was hesitant to disagree with him as she understood where he was coming from. The black mist was proving more and more dangerous as time went on. The fact that there was a person who could send out constructs like the shamans to infect others with it showed that. If anything, right now she felt slightly ashamed of herself for not trying to pick him off with an arrow beforehand. They had shared the sensation of the mist entering his body, and the thought of that happening to anyone else was nauseating. Regardless, they still did berate him and admonish him for what he did admit what he had done wrong, which was that he ran ahead on his own without any assistance. Stephanie was far angrier about that than anyone else, but it was agreed that she was justifiably so, given her personal feelings.

When it came to the wolves' health, Natalie noticed that Mike was entirely fine. He may have expended a little of his energy through enhancing his body as he went on his chase, but otherwise he was in picturesque health. Thankfully, none of the black mist nor the horse seemed to impact him at all. Though, with seeing how hard he slammed his body into them, there may be a bruise later to show for his efforts. Steph was in a similar position, save the fact that she was running almost empty on her energy reserves. That, and she was very unlikely to develop a bruise. Thankfully, it did not seem as if the mist had run through the connection back to her when she blocked it, showing that it was possible to stop the mist in its tracks just as it was able to stop them. This led to her being the center of attention, as everyone tried to understand how to project the energy outwards. Sadly for them, she had done it completely by accident, and had no idea how to recreate it.

Thus, after a very hearty and delicious lunch of cold cut sandwiches, most of the canines attempted to project energy. They ended up just burning through their reserves at a rapid pace, unable to create anything. While Nat was done with her check-ups that she needed to do that day, she still had to make progress in her personal growth. Natalie was relegated however, to just working out for the afternoon, as her energy was constantly being drawn upon by her bonded as they attempted to grow in their energy manipulation. She was left empty and exhausted, but according to Shannon it should have been great practice. After all, she would not always be able to move at her best, so functioning at her worst should prepare her for the more harrowing of moments. It made sense to her, and just fueled her distaste for those words even more.

As for the gorillas, they finally joined everybody, but only did some light exercises. They still were not at their physical prime, but in terms of weight lifting they already surpassed what the canines were capable of. It was expected, given their size and mass, but it was still surprising to see in action. Sophie was working out alongside them, now seeming to have moved past the fear that had gripped her earlier. But if any of the pack had been able to see inside the little girl, they would see that she was just keeping that fear there, using it to fuel her desire to grow stronger.

Huge thanks to my Elder Wolves Viktor, Saganatsu, Eeleater, John, Hades, Onean, Neal, Sebastian, Ethan, Sir Hellington, Adam, and Kevin for supporting me and my writing! Remember that I keep Patreon ten chapters ahead at all times. Our next goal on Patreon will be getting up to 50 patrons, which I will then spend more time each month writing some side stories and shorts that show other perspectives throughout my stories!

 

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