“What it there to talk about?” Harper countered. “I was hunting, sneaking away from a bear, and you gave my position away. Then you helped me kill it. You can have the majority of the bear, core included, and I’ll take some of the less valuable components. Is that acceptable?” Harper let no hostility creep into her voice. She just wanted to stay as uninvolved in his affairs as possible.

  “No- I mean yes- I mean...” He scratched his head. “I wanted to speak about something else,” he said hesitantly. “Over there,” he added, pointing a short distance away.

  Harper shook her head and folded her arms. She knew what was likely coming, and wanted him to say it in front of the other rangers. His pride could take it, she was sure. “Whatever it is, say it here or not at all.”

  Gavin gritted his teeth. “Very well.” Looking like he’d rather be fighting the bear again, he resumed speaking. “I apologize for the manner I treated you when we first met, and for challenging you to the duel. You didn’t do anything to deserve that, and it was my own assumptions and plans that caused issues. I would hope that we can start over and build an amiable relationship.”

  Harper paused for a moment before responding. “We can start over,” Harper said neutrally, being careful not to commit to anything. As far as she knew, he was still pursuing the mysterious group with similar motives to the Unshackled. If he tried to include her in his plans, she would immediately distance herself.

  Gavin, despite how much he still irritated her, would be a valuable associate to have. He was known to be competent and was generally well liked. In fact, the only time she had ever heard something negative about him was from his own father, after Gavin had challenged her to a duel.

  His influence in the rangers was particularly important to her. If she were to attempt to obtain a Magnate core, other than saving up to buy one of course, then the rangers is where she would seek assistance.

  In the past, Harper had briefly considered hunting a Magnate creature, with Vayuhn’s help. She had very quickly dismissed it. Even if they found a Magnate creature that they were well suited towards and was considered generally weak, it would still be too great a risk.

  Every integrated Domain made a person around a quarter more physically potent. While a being twenty-five percent faster and stronger didn’t seem like much of a difference, it was an enormous advantage in battle. It was said that the average Magnate, discounting the use of Aliuses, could best two others that both possessed a single Domain and fend off three. That wasn’t taking into account unintegrated Domains and Apex Domains, of course.

  Creatures were different. It was guessed that the advantage they gained was closer to another third their previous strength, in addition to the increasingly lethal bodies they had. Humanoids made up the difference in number and cunning, but those only went so far. It would be foolhardy to take on a Magnate as she was now.

  On broaching the subject, Vayuhn had strongly agreed. In fact, he had laughed at her for even considering the idea. While he wasn’t afraid to be in their general area, he would never go looking for a Magnate creature specifically.

  So, the rangers were her best option. It would be expensive. Hunting the creature and letting her retain the core, even if nothing else, would still be almost as expensive as buying a Magnate core outright.

  With a connection to the organization though, in the form of Gavin, she may be able to make something happen. She just needed to collect enough favors. Harper didn’t care much for the political games they played among the nobility back in Quilen, but that didn’t mean she was bad at them. She would play as long as she could get what she wanted.

  Harper turned back to where they were still skinning the bear. “You have an exceptional first Alius,” she mused, acting as if the previous conversation and subtle animosity had not taken place. “I’m glad. Few other single Domain Aliuses would have let you face that thing head on,” she said, gesturing towards the corpse.

  He nodded. “My father wanted me to take a bird Alius, follow in his footsteps. I felt that it didn’t quite fit and waited for another option. The rangers were tasked with hunting a bear attacking travelers a few years ago. I was still new to working with them, but they let me come. After seeing the power of the beast, I convinced my father to purchase the core. Fortunately, it didn’t take me long to manifest my first Domain and fortunately, it was the same as the bear. The Domain of Nature.”

  Harper gave a small chuckle in amusement. At seeing Gavin’s slightly offended look, she hurried to explain. “If I had done what my parents wanted, I would be getting a bird Alius as well. It was actually the very reason I’m here on Vanax in the first place.”

  Not wanting to divulge anything else about herself, Harper changed the subject. “What are you doing out here? I assume it wasn’t hunting this bear.”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  He confirmed her suspicion a moment later. “Indeed, we were not. We were scouting for a wolf pack seen in the area. You shouldn't be hunting in these parts; the pack is said to be led by a dire wolf. Hunting alone in general is a poor idea,” Gavin said.

  Ignoring his unasked-for advice, Harper wondered at his last statement. He’s fishing for information, she realized. He doesn’t believe I was hunting by myself. It rankled slightly that he was correct, if that was what he was getting at. Harper made a shrugging motion. “I’ve faired fine on my own. I mostly hunt smaller prey. If you didn’t yell out a greeting, I would have easily evaded the bear.”

  "I had heard about the wolves,” she continued. “I thought that their presence would displace other prey. I have no plans of getting any closer to their last known location.”

  Gavin frowned. “How did you hear about them? Word only got to the rangers yesterday, and we have been suppressing the information for fear of opportunist getting themselves killed.” He raised a brow and looked at her meaningfully.

  Harper panicked internally at the question, quickly coming up with a lie, and not a particularly good one. “A traveler told me about it; I was asking him for details for hunting up here.”

  At Gavin’s query to the traveler’s name, Harper shrugged, just explaining that they were passing acquaintances. Gavin didn’t look as if he believed her but didn’t call her out on it. Harper was glad; she doubted it would get to the point that she would have to reveal her relation with Vayuhn, but further questions would only make it more obvious she had a source she wasn’t revealing and sour their renewed rapport.

  Given time, Harper probably could have come up with a more convincing lie, but not in such a short time frame, and it would still likely be flimsy. If she had given the name of someone she knew, there was the possibility that Gavin would talk to them in an effort to plug the information leak.

  Gavin changed the subject this time. “Would you like to come with us? We’ll be heading back soon, and we can divide the profit as soon as we do.”

  Harper opened her mouth to reject his offer and meet back up with Vayuhn before stopping. Going with him would help lessen the suspicion there was someone else out here with her. Plus, she didn’t have the aetherspace room to take her share of the bear anyways.

  “I will accompany you. As long as we’ll be back by tonight, of course.” At Gavin’s assent, Harper took her knife back out and got back to work on the corpse. As she did, she glanced into the forest. Vayuhn will be fine, she decided. He was probably even safer without her, carrying a core as she was. He would understand and make his way back alone.

  If Gavin was surprised that she, a noble from Magnon, was on the ground with them disassembling the bear, he didn’t show it. A few prodding questions about her knowledge of hunting were easy to answer. She just claimed her family were avid hunters. It wasn’t too far from the truth anyways; she just had to exaggerate her own experience.

  Harper had learned most of what she knew here. The hunts in Quilen were far more curated, and the messy parts handled by the staff. Her parents hunted using their Aliuses, but she had no part in that. She hadn’t experienced true woodcraft until her time here on Vanax.

  Once they were done, and the parts stored in the ranger’s aetherspaces, they set off in the direction the wolves were last seen. They were extremely cautious to not walk into an ambush. It was a scouting mission only. They were to find signs of the wolves, not the pack itself.

  They didn’t end up finding anything in the allotted area and turned back. Harper was delighted to find she was not the least graceful in the group. One of the rangers, the man, was at least as loud as her. She supposed that her expectations were high considering she spent time sneaking with both Vayuhn and Vermon, both masters of stealth in the forest.

  The walk back was peaceful, full of idle chatter between the rangers. Harper herself rarely contributed. She felt like an outsider among them and made no moves to become more familiar. Gavin tried to draw her into the conversation a few times, but Harper just tactfully responded neutrally and verbally retreated. She wished to keep their relationship strictly business.

  Gavin didn’t seem off-put or irritated; he merely tried again after a while. Harper got to see some of the charisma and social acumen he was so known for. If not for their previous interactions, Harper would have liked him well enough. As it was, she treated him as she would another noble of similar ranking from Quilen, polite and friendly, but at a distance.

  Due to the extra time it took to scout, it was nearing evening by the time they got back. Harper and the rangers registered the kill with the receptionist and split the profit. The rangers themselves would get a small bonus in their biweekly salary. The materials would go to the guild, to be redistributed wherever they saw fit.

  Harper was given a monetary reward as well, instead of any valuable parts of the bear. According to the policy, she would have gotten a meagre amount, but Gavin stepped in. He explained that she had contributed more than either of the other rangers and was the one to encounter it in the first place. She walked away from the counter slightly richer than she had anticipated.

  The ranger’s common room was nearly empty. The other two rangers bid their farewell and walk into the back rooms, probably to drop off equipment. Harper turned to leave, but Gavin lingered.

  “Harper, wait a moment, please.” Here we go, she thought sourly. He would ask some favor, probably pertaining to his agenda. It was likely to act as bait, or something equally ridiculous.

  “You are an impressive fighter. Thank you for giving me another chance,” he said softly. He turned and headed to the back rooms as Harper’s eyes widened slightly. His words had seemed genuine. His eyes had not appeared calculating, only earnest.

  Harper had not expected it. Her resolution not to trust him had faltered slightly, but only slightly. She would still be watching him.