William stood for a while spectating the duo, appreciating Thalgar for letting him visit his friends before they embarked on a hunt. Alas, he still had some burning questions that needed answering, especially when he thought more about what their deal really entailed… Because did he really need the company of Thalgar?...

Wasn’t it more important that the rascal got back on track, beating up Julian for future development’s sake?... Or should he perhaps keep the felon around for guidance that went both ways?

Before William inquired about this, he witnessed Thalgar continue his pestering of Boros. The dazed dino was poked, slapped, and nudged at, but still, it stubbornly refused to get up. Thus Thalgar could do nothing but put his attention elsewhere. Which got to be on the huge meal, he and his dinosaur had wasted away while dozing off.

Not picking up on Thalgar’s current disappointed mood, William had finally mustered enough courage to ask, “Is it really necessary for you to tag along? I mean, wouldn’t that just be bothersome to you?... Because I am pretty sure that you can just point out the energy’s direction for me, and that’ll be all you have to do. I’ll have no problem with that whatsoever. And once its found I’ll make sure to take it for myself afterward… So-”.

The man-beast’s eyes shut open from hearing such audacious words. He quickly forgot his common sense and with a tinge of rage, he strongly replied with a, “No!… I will guide you to it”. Not bothering to explain why.

William’s heart instinctively quivered in shock at Thalgar’s sudden burst of emotions. He failed to understand that Thalgar was greatly affected by his loss of Kaibalac’s remaining spirit energy. But what was done was done. The energy was lost and so it would remain...

Not at all sorry for having expressed his irritation, Thalgar glared at Lucifer. Its sleep wasn’t normal, so he went over to investigate it. Because in his mind, he needed them both to make the trip a successful venture.

William dreaded his approach. Not only was the closed gap a way for Thalgar’s stench to get stronger, but it was also alarming how he had locked his eyes on the little cub!

William was about to steer the dino away from Thalgar hands, when said person explained, “Do not do that!... I want to see if I can wake your fanged companion”. “Huh!?”, William uttered in awe while Thalgar went ahead and felt up the creature’s soft paws and back.

The inspection went on for a while until it dawned on Thalgar, that the thing he was searching for was kept hidden somewhere damp and closed. He crudely forced the cub’s teeth apart, only to stick his head close to its morning-breath. Then he savagely stuck his hand inside of its cavity to fish out a piece of slimy flora.

William popped his eyes in panic and flicked the hand that held the flower fragment, “It’s that troublesome flower Roa gave me! Be careful! At any moment it can knock you out with its scent!”.

Thalgar stirred around his abused wrist, appalled that William dared to whack it to get rid of his discovery. And yet, he never mentioned how dissatisfied he was with suddenly being slapped upon. He was, after all, used to living in a world where brawling and physical violence was a form of communication.

The danger was over, but was the removal of the flower enough to awaken the cub? William ardently held his gaze on Lucifer. Once he saw its amber eyes flutter, he smiled, “Goodmorning Lucifer… Did you have a good nap?”.

The dinosaur quickly came out of its slumber, only to start hissing and growling at Thalgar. Said man-beast took its hostile disposition as a compliment and he too soon smiled. Not at all with the same warmth as William. In fact, it looked more like he was preparing himself to take a huge chunk out of Lucifer’s face.

Life once again buzzed throughout the dinosaur’s being. It quickly wrestled itself out of William’s embrace and jumped at Thalgar’s mug, growling the loudest threat it could muster, not caring for the smaller details. This person was clearly out to get it! So it must die!

The man didn’t see it coming but still managed to quickly catch it by its scruff, only to give it a nasty lecture. Without mercy, Thalgar pumped his arm with strength, and the next second, Lucifer was sent flying into the mouth of another sleepy dinosaur. One, who was busy letting out a much-needed jawn.

Boros was shocked by the smooth intrusion and so it instinctively closed its big mouth shut, almost gulping down the little being that it contained. Fortunately for Lucifer, once the element of surprise had faded away, Thalgar’s dinosaur quickly threw up the foreign object while it spat further saliva and misguided feathers on the ground. Its expression was of someone who had mistakenly inhaled a puff of burning smoke. It had wet squinty eyes while its tongue defenselessly hung out to dry.

Lucifer confusedly sat on the ground covered in slime, not understanding what had just happened. It just knew that someone quite familiar had nullified its killer move, making it feel utterly powerless.

Everybody on site sent Thalgar glances of disbelief as they tried to process the event that had just passed. This silent bewilderment went on for about 10 minutes before William finally decided to speak up his mind, “What the-!? Why did you do that?”.

Thalgar shifted his gaze onto his own dinosaur and with an unaffected tone, he said, “I merely fed my companion some breakfast... Didn’t you notice? Your little friend attacked me first, even though I helped it recover”.

To this, William nodded sarcastically before he rebuked, “Yes! But that was clearly an honest mistake on Lucifer’s part. He was just confused at the sight of you, immediately deeming you an enemy... I mean, come on! You’re covered in blood from top to toe, and if I may add, full of meat-strings between your teeth smiling like a predator! You looked like you were going to eat him! So how can you blame him for making such a mistake? Even going so far as to feed him to your dinosaur without any scruples!”.

At first, Thalgar took William’s words with a grain of salt, but the more he let them vibrate through his mindscape, he realized that there might be some truth to the current misunderstanding.

He was truly shocked by William’s version of the story. For in the first place, Thalgar couldn’t comprehend what he had done to welcome such nasty snarls from the little cub. A being he had just saved.

With a face that was mostly hidden, he continued to come across as a merciless killer. William was not comfortable in his company at all, and Lucifer was dead set on slicing up his throat at any chance it could get…