She had not expected her brother to already be improving his scouting capabilities. Should he not be focussing on domestic affairs at least in the near future? Even assuming this particular specimen was a brute with no affinity for bureaucracy he would have been able to enforce the rules his more talented vassals created.

She did not have time to ponder the matter further for the mut had decided to report back to his master. Or been ordered to. Whatever the case Lilith could not allow it to escape and so she chased from the ground while the creature jumped between the treetops. “Wait-” Came a voice that she cared little for.

She kept her footing with surety, each rock not a tripping hazard but a launcher that allowed her to move faster. The creature by contrast jumped into branches with the leaves now stuck in it’s fur. It never lost balance however so while it was uncomfortable the creature was by no means slower than she was. By this display however she calculated that it’s strength was likely higher than hers but not by an entire grade like Claire. She however had no concept of stamina.

She had a short thought concerning the species difference but again had to shelve the matter as the chase required her full attention. The reason for her caution became apparent when the mut started throwing the broken branches at her.

They flew straight at her as though they were arrows which was an impressive feat of both strength and motor skills that she unfortunately had to invalidate by simply moving around. Nevertheless it had slowed her pursuit slightly. Enough so that given time he would eventually get away. Time that she had been using to tire him out and now had to re-think her plans.

It was not hard to do so however. She started sending mana at his form and given that shadow mana was rather fast she was quickly able to attach it. Then she made him move rather slowly. His movements suddenly looked as though he were wading through the ocean with each jump.

Catching up became significantly easier after that and the mut clearly noticed as much. It tried flinging tree branches with increased frequency but now that slowed him down more than her. Before there was at least 4 or 5 trees between the two but now that had halved and the man noticed this quickly his expression warping into a snarl.

Lilith bared her fangs in turn but he did not take the bait continuing to jump between branches with only restrained animalistic anger for her trouble. Until he changed course. Lilith followed without hesitation though her eyes scanned all the hidden alcoves, behind the trees and among the canopy.

She also kept a keen focus on her hearing and the position of the heartbeats around her. This splitting of her attention however made her pace visibly slow showing her caution. She had practised multitasking often so she did not stumble but her sprint had become a jog as she danced around the rocks and twigs at her feet.

It was not enough for the man to escape however. Still slowed by her magic and with neither party knowing how long it would take to exhaust her mana but certain it would last, his position in this chase had not improved overmuch.

She continued to follow cautiously, watching his face for signs of stress, frustration or smug satisfaction. Even watching his head turn back towards her to make sure she is following would be a sign that concerned her. None however appeared as he continued to sprint through the forest at a rapid pace. Towards a vigorous heartbeat.

One she recognised as the creatures she believed the knights would not be adept enough to handle. The werewolf itself was one of those heartbeats. The creature they were currently moving towards was another and seemed stronger, if only mildly so.

Deciding the werewolf would not simply charge to his own doom she took precautions. She hid behind a tree so the mut could not see her should it look back and then activated Camilla’s ability. Her form did not so much disappear as it blended with the rest of the forest. Once she was certain none could see her she continued her pursuit.

She could still hear the mut’s heartbeat and it had clearly continued moving despite his pursuer disappearing entirely. She was not certain why that was. Nevertheless she followed once again keeping her eyes out for ambushes and the creature they were heading towards.

Eventually they found it and the moment she saw it she started examining it. It’s weaknesses, physiology and the like. Except she realised she had already found a similar creature when she came to Marinez but this one seemed far more tame. For standing in a clearing lacking trees was a wolf of fairly large proportions and as soon as it spotted the mut it came up to him and nuzzled the man with it’s nose.

It’s nose was black and wet two nostrils twitching constantly on full alert. It’s fur was the dark brown of tree bark with a few streaks of a green like kelp or spruce leaves. As she walked around the creature she noticed it’s heavily muscled legs and the wagging tail greeting it’s apparent master.

Of particular note to her should the matter devolve to violence was it’s significant capability of inflicting it. Claws of white keratin dug into the mud and rocks below it’s paws seeming powerful enough to tear a mountain asunder should it need to climb one. Opening it’s mouth a tongue lolled out but did not hide the jaw of a predator and the implements of tearing and piercing therein.

Fascinated with this development Lilith remained undetectable and remained close hoping to examine their interactions. Unfortunately the mut only ruffled it’s neck slightly before barking at the forest like a dog. The moment he did so the wolf’s ears perked up and it scanned the surroundings carefully.

She waited several more moments hoping that they would forget about her existence and interact in a natural manner but apparently they were not willing to be studied. Unfortunate as it was she could do little so she bit the mut’s neck. She did not intend to drink him dry and his blood only made this desire more prominent. It tasted like pork but had an unpleasant resistance as it went down her throat. She had to swallow several times just to get the blood to go down.

At least the terrible blood was not her goal here. From the corner of her eye she saw a blur of bark-like fur and confirmed that now was the time to let go. Shoving her prey towards the interruption she moved around it.

The mut flopped forwards with her push, straight towards the ground. He did not so much as stumble on his way down and the wolf realised this, quickly attempting to support his body with it’s neck. Lilith waited patiently for the moment to strike counting the seconds in her head. The moment the wolf lowered it’s neck to catch him she pounced.

Her fangs easily pierced the thick fur and hide covering it’s artery and she drank from them relishing the taste. Unlike the mut this creature did not have any useful information to convey. She drained it to nothing more than a husk and felt the much more pleasant taste tickle her tongue.

The wolf had a taste like apples and carrots mixed into a sublime, if slightly bitter, concoction. It was not her preference but she focussed on the tang of apples the most and felt that it was significantly better than the mut’s thick blood. It streamed into her mouth with each heartbeat and down her throat with each gulp.

Eventually however the stream into her mouth stopped and the blood suddenly lost something that made it feel whole. She could still suck more out of the artery but did not want to. The taste of apples and carrots was still there but it seemed empty like she was simply eating paper with the taste of nature.

She dropped the carcass and studied the difference carefully. The creature was dead of course but she intended to investigate any further changes such as the beginning of rot or the sour smell she recognised as old blood. She checked for such a scent but surprisingly the corpses blood smelled only slightly less appetising than when it was alive. It was not sour but did not draw her like the smells of the living did. A fascinating discovery and a path to further knowledge.

She controlled the blood from the creature’s body to exit and form a sphere. Then she crystallised it in front of her examining it. She spared a single glance for the mut still face down on the floor but he would not suffocate for several more minutes and she would be alerted should he move.

Once she had thought up a plan for how she was going to examine the blood and discover what it felt like at each part of the decaying process she finally turned her attention to the companions she left behind. Claire was, as ever, still in her range but it appeared the others had followed her as she heard the heartbeats near her thump in a fast but controlled rhythm.

Beside her she decided the mut had his fill of mud and turned his body upright so that he might breathe. His lungs did not heave because paralytics did not allow as such. Drool dripped from the corners of his mouth and he looked rather unsanitary to be quite honest.

She would have to wait for the effect to wear off somewhat and this would be an excellent chance for her to determine how long her… ‘Hmm. What should it be called?’ She wondered. She had apparently dubbed the liquid that turns others as a venom without notice but this did not appear to be so easily described nor was there an instinctual response.

Saliva may perhaps be the best term as she produces it in a similar manner to how humans produce saliva. But she does not salivate. Nor does it aid in digesting her food, at least not in a direct manner.

The line of thought was not conducive to further reasoning however merely an intriguing note about her new biology. So she settled for saliva and observed the effects it had while she waited for the knights to follow Claire towards her location. She had to note however that this test was performed on a healthy adult male werewolf and had very little effect on Wyatt. It was likely that results varied based on strength stat and if similar to any other drug: species, build, age and health.

She felt as though simply observing however would not be an efficient use of her time so she thought on several other tasks that would not take up much of her brain’s allocatable resources. One which she found quickly as something she wanted to rectify since she saw the man in front of her.

She contacted Claire’s pet Verdan mentally as he was not present during this journey. Her instructions were simplified and instinctual commands but roughly translated to words spelled out the following order: “Please hunt any and all nuisance creatures within the city you can find while remaining safe and bring them to the mansion basement.”

She intended to solve her intelligence problem and this was the start. Then she started dissecting the wolf before she would eventually turn it into ash. If these are going to be her enemies’ mounts then she needed to know easy ways to neutralise them.