A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

The trio stared at Erik's hand with trepidation.

Anne spoke up, still a little cowed but getting some defiance back. "Are we… supposed to just trust your strange green magic?"

To which Erik shrugged. "Trust it or not, you know the consequences of refusing."

Surprisingly, it was not any of them who first grabbed Erik's hand but Viljar. "I'll go first."

Erik raised an eyebrow in surprise and then frowned. "There's no need, Uncle. I already said I trust you."

But Viljar was unflinching, clearly having made up his mind. "And I trust you. That's why I want to do this. I know you won't bring me any harm with this magic of yours, and I want these guys to accept, so I'll show them there's nothing to be worried about."

Björn tried to stop him. "Wait, Boss! There's no nee-"

But Viljar interrupted him by sticking up a hand. "Quiet. This is happening." He turned to Erik and continued. "I understand why you're doing this, Erik. Even though you've obviously changed a lot, you are still as caring a person as you've always been. And right now, you're just trying to protect the people you care about.

But, so am I."

Erik could only grin genuinely at his uncle. "You really haven't changed much, Uncle Teddy Bear." He would have preferred for Viljar to stay out of this for the simple reason that it felt wrong to do this with someone he already trusted.

Yet, he could see where his uncle was coming from, and thus, while holding Viljar's hand and making the covenant magic swirl, his expression became serious. He named the same conditions as earlier and then asked, "Do you accept?"

The moment Viljar nodded and said, "I do," the magic disappeared into the back of Viljar's hand while leaving Erik alone. After all, he had no part to play in this deal.

Viljar inspected the new mark on his hand with wonder before turning to the trio beside him. "There, it's done, and I'm none the worse for wear. You guys are up next."

They still hesitated for a moment, but then Björn stood up. "Fuck it, then. I'll be next." He grabbed Erik's hand and looked him in the eye. "You're a great warrior, surrounded by competent and beautiful women, and I have nothing but respect for that. That said, you realize this is not a good way to start a friendship?"

Erik laughed softly at Björn's remark. "Perhaps not, but I do what I must." He grinned slyly, "But you seem like a man I might enjoy having as a friend, so I hope we can move past this someday."

Björn nodded thoughtfully, "Perhaps we will. I do admit to looking forward to the training tomorrow. Anyway, do your thing."

Soon, Björn, too, had a mark on his hand. He scratched a little at it with curiosity but then shrugged and turned to the others. "Well?"

Nora sighed but soon had her own covenant mark. Now, only Anne remained.

Yet, surprisingly, she offered no objections and soon sported a covenant mark as well. Her expression was one of defeat. "Just… promise I won't have to deal with any of your humans."

Noticing the haunted look in her eyes, Erik sighed inwardly and wondered what had happened to her exactly. Yet, it was not his job to solve the psychophysical problems of a stranger. So he nodded and gave a non-committal answer, "I'll see what I can do."

When they all had marks, Viljar pointed towards a bored-looking Emily and a glassy-eyed Olaf, who stood behind Erik. "What about Olaf?"

Erik looked back at the enslaved werewolf, having nearly forgotten he existed. 'I originally planned to leave him like that for a while as punishment, but perhaps I can turn him into a peace offering instead.'

He turned back to Viljar and shrugged before answering. "You tell me. He hasn't seen anything of note right now, so I don't mind simply releasing him in a couple of days without ever needing to agree to a covenant. Alternatively, you can try to convince him to agree to the covenant in exchange for being released early. I don't mind either way."

The four shapeshifters shared a look and quickly came to a unanimous decision. Soon after, Olaf was released from his slavery despite a disappointed Emily.

The werewolf was a little agitated, but soon, he, too, gained a covenant mark. Although there was a lot of grumbling and angry glares involved. The news that Erik defeated Viljar and nearly killed Anne had sufficiently cowed him into not making a fuss.

As the main peacemaker between these two groups, Viljar sighed in relief when it was all over. "Alright, now that everything is settled, why don't you four go rest in my old home, and I'll talk with Erik regarding… well, everything. I'll come by later to tell you guys what I can."

Despite their still many unanswered questions and doubts, the four shapeshifters trusted their leader to explain more later and trudged off toward Viljar's home with various complicated expressions.

After watching them walk away with a thoughtful expression, Erik turned to Viljar. "Are you sure you want to do this now? It's not like we're in a hurry, so you can rest a little first if you like."

But Viljar turned to him with a happy smile. "Forget it! That strange green magic and my natural regeneration have already taken care of most of my wounds. I'm just a little tired. But that won't stop me! I haven't seen you in seven years, thinking you were dead, and now I want to know everything!

Especially about how you turned out this way…"

Despite his words, Erik could see the concern Viljar felt towards him. Clearly, his behavior and some of the things he had seen had worried Viljar.

Regardless, he hoped to put some of his Uncle's concerns to rest during their talk. For now, though, he smirked jokingly. "Don't tell me you don't like the new me, Uncle?"

Erik's words caused Viljar to sigh. "No… that's not it. Not exactly. The new you is appropriate for the times, and that's good, although I can't deny missing your old self. I guess I'm still just a little in shock about everything." Then he nodded. "But I think hearing your story will help."

Erik answered thoughtfully, "Alright, but before we go, although you keep it hidden better than those other four, I can see the hatred you have inside for humans. I have two humans and a vampire inside my house. Can you play nice with them? If not, we might be better off having this discussion in your home instead."

A shadow mirroring disgust and anger passed through Viljar's eyes, but he quickly suppressed those feelings and nodded. "I'll be fine. Or at least, I promise not to create a fuss."

Smiling, Erik beckoned Emily over, who was still standing not too far away from them. "Good, then let me introduce you to Emily Ashcroft."

Emily's feelings about Viljar were mostly indifferent, and Viljar still had a long way to go before he'd be comfortable around humans again, so their introduction was a little cold.

That said, the three of them soon made their way to Erik's house, where they found a happy Emma waving at them in her usual maid outfit.

Immediately, Viljar staggered a little and turned to give Erik a strange look. "A maid?"

Erik chuckled as he waved back at Emma before grinning slyly at his uncle. "She likes it. What am I supposed to do? Deny her?"

Viljar rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, I'm sure you hate it."

Erik chuckled and didn't deny anything.

Soon, they reached the house. The barrier had already been removed. After all, with all the newcomers now bound by covenant, they had become unable to harm anyone except for Erik. He did this purposefully, as the training they would start from tomorrow onwards would otherwise become rather dull.

Emma nearly skipped to Erik with her signature bright smile and hugged him. "I'm so happy you found some living relatives, Sir!" Unlike Emily, there was no jealousy in her mind at all.

That didn't mean she had no desire to find some living family to reunite with, but these were two completely separate issues to her. Jealousy was simply not in her vocabulary.

Erik smiled at Emma, something he found himself doing more and more when this bright-eyed girl was around and patted her head while turning to his uncle. "This is Emma Ashcroft, Emily's younger sister. Emma, this is my uncle Viljar."

While staying in Erik's arms, Emily turned her sparking, mismatched eyes and bright smile toward Viljar and said, "Hello!"

Viljar nearly had a heart attack as he looked at Emma's cute face full of kindness. 'Such expressions still exist in this world?!' he thought as his face twitched due to his inherent disgust towards humans, which was now crossing swords with the instinctive desire to protect and cherish that most would have upon seeing that face.