Without even thinking about it, Severance left Olen behind and dashed out of the room. Two big steps carried him from the doorway to the edge of the balcony, where he gripped the railing with both hands and leaned over.

Tayci and Mirren were both there, looking wide-eyed and frightened. It was to Severance's great relief that he saw no blood and no obvious injuries. Both children appeared fine, but their distress was obvious even to him. Something must have happened.

"I'm here," he called down. Both children's heads whipped towards him. The second Tayci saw him, she burst into tears and started blubbering incoherently. Mirren's little face maintained a stoic expression, though his dark eyes were suspiciously shiny.

Oh, Severance thought. What was he supposed to do with this? He wasn't good with kids. Whether they were playing, screaming, or doing exactly what they were told not to do, he had absolutely zero idea of how to deal with any of it.

He stood frozen on the balcony for all of two seconds, then the thought that someone had to be hurt struck him. Why else would they be screaming and crying so much? Before he knew what he was doing, he'd trotted down the length of the balcony to the stairs at the back of the Hall.

Bounding down two steps at a time, he reached the bottom and approached the two upset children. Tayci was a mess of snot and tears, and the way she was rubbing her eyes only smeared the mess across her face even more.

Gross, Severance grimaced. Should he try and wipe her face? A second look had him deciding that no, he wasn't going near that disaster with a ten-foot pole. Instead, he turned to Mirren, who seemed far more composed.

Severance paused. There was a suspicious lump under the boy's shirt, which he held carefully with both arms. How had he missed that before?

"Hey," he eyed it warily. "What's going on?"

"S'gonna die!" Tayci wailed. This was followed by a wet sniffle and a hiccough.

Mirren shifted, carefully lifting the hem of his shirt while holding the bundle with one arm. Something silver and furry was revealed, though what it was exactly, Severance couldn't tell.

"It's hurt," Mirren whispered. He looked up at Severance, eyes big and watery. "Can you help it? Please?"

Those pleading eyes were too much for Severance to bear. It was like being stabbed in the heart and shackled with the immense weight of responsibility. Here, he was the adult, holding the enormous hope of a tiny child in his hands. There was a choice; if he so desired, he could crush it with barely any effort by turning away, or he could touch that strange, probably diseased, bundle of fur and see if he could somehow save it.

It wasn't much of a choice. He reached out gingerly. "Let me see it."

With great care, Mirren deposited the furry bundle into Severance's hands. It was very small and very soft. He could have easily held it in one hand, but cradled it in both as if afraid it'd shatter at the slightest disturbance.

Four tiny paws poked out from the fur, though the toes seemed slightly longer than what he was used to seeing. There was a tiny snout too, topped with a shiny black nose. As he looked it over, he saw that its little side was heaving with shallow, weak breaths. He was no veterinarian, but he was pretty sure that was a sign of distress.

Well, time to see if I can Mend an animal.

Since he needed his hands for this, he carefully sank to his knees and sat on his heels. The tiny creature was placed on his lap. Both Tayci and Mirren gathered around, uncomfortably close as they watched, but he didn't have the heart to shoo them away.

At least Tayci stopped crying. She sniffled and wiped a noseful of snot on the back of her hand, then wiped said hand on the hem of her dress.

Severance pulled his war fans from Inventory, careful not to jostle the small creature on his lap. It didn't seem very aware, which was probably a good thing. Who knew where the kids had found it?

Raising one closed fan, he murmured, "Earth Dance." Energy swelled within, warm and calm, while outwardly, a soft rustle of wind spun around him in playful green trails.

There was no real way to tell how much health the creature had, nor what exactly was wrong with it. Thankfully, none of that really mattered. As long as it wasn't some freaky disease that turned people into living rocks, Severance was pretty sure he could heal it.

He snapped the one fan open, then held both over the creature. "Mend," he said and released the skill.

Both kids watched in rapt attention as pale green wind sifted through the creature's fur, the wind gradually dying out and the green gently soaking in. For a moment, nothing happened. They all watched anxiously. Severance even began to wonder if he needed to cast a second Mend.

Then luminescent eyes snapped open. Everyone froze. The tiny creature lifted its head, craning it way back so it could stare at Severance. Their gazes met, and Severance was struck by how stunning its eyes were. At a glance, they appeared silver, but upon deeper observation, he could see blue tints around the dark pupil.

The stare-off only lasted a moment, for the creature lowered its head and got to its feet. Once on all fours, it looked like a puppy, albeit one with strange eyes and a very long, slender tail.

"You did it!" Tayci exclaimed, her whole face as radiant as the sun. Mirren smiled quietly, though his eyes practically shone with relief.

"Looks like—" Severance went rigid as tiny teeth clamped onto his wrist. It didn't hurt, but he felt the pressure of it. It was enough of a shock that it made his fingers go slack, his war fan clattering to the floor.

It bit me? The jerk!

Before he could go to pry the thing off, the creature loosened its jaws of its own accord. It gave the injured wrist a couple of little licks, whether as an apology or out of satisfaction—who knew? —before it jumped off Severance's lap.

Giggles came from Tayci and Mirren, finding it hilarious. Severance didn't share their viewpoint. This was the gratitude he got for saving its life? He glared at the animal. It glanced back at him, jaws opening into a toothy kind of grin.

See if I heal you ever again, you ungrateful beast!

He couldn't glare for long, however, for Tayci tackled him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She pressed her snotty face against his coat, wriggling, no doubt smearing the gross slime everywhere.

Severance sighed, letting her hug him. He gave her an awkward pat on the back with his uninjured hand. When she finally released him, Mirren came up and shyly offered Severance his fallen war fan.

The boy's eyes darted to Severance's bitten wrist, prompting Severance to glance down. Blood trickled from a tiny bite mark on his skin. The little creature had quite the set of chompers on it to be able to do that kind of damage.

"Sorry," Mirren muttered, gaze dropping to his feet.

"It's fine," Severance smiled slightly. "No big deal when I can just heal it, right?" To prove it, he cast a quick Mend on himself. The injury faded instantly, leaving no sign it had ever been there save for the already-drying trails of blood. Severance wiped his arm on his coat, thankful that the material was black and would never show it.

Huh. Maybe Tayci's on to something there...

"Where did you two find it?" That was Olen's voice. He'd come down and joined them during the commotion. He was, Severance noticed, eyeing the little critter with a great deal of interest.

As if sensing it, Tayci immediately ran to the creature, picked it up, and held it tightly to her chest protectively. The poor thing squirmed and whined, but she wasn't letting it go.

"He's ours," she told Olen with narrowed eyes. "We found him outside."

Arching a slender brow, Olen tilted his head. "Did you and Mirren go off the property again?"

She froze. "N-no?"

Olen looked to the other child. "Mirren?"

Wordlessly, the boy nodded. Tayci shot him a scowl.

"You know you're not supposed to go anywhere without taking someone with you," Olen chided her. His tone remained gentle, but there was no denying the sharp look of reproach in his gaze. Both children flinched. "It's too dangerous. Do you even know what kind of animal you're holding?"

Tayci shook her head, then buried her face in its soft silver fur. It didn't seem to like that any more than it did being held, and its struggles intensified.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Olen briefly closed his eyes. "Please put it down, Tayci. It's not a doll."

She glowered, unwilling to obey, but in the end, the decision wasn't up to her. The little beast twisted and writhed and managed to wriggle out of her grasp. It landed lightly on all fours by her feet, before it bounded away from her and over to Severance, who immediately took a hasty step back.

Undeterred, the creature scampered closer, its long tail lashing out to coil around one of Severance's legs. He froze in place, staring down with wide eyes as the creature promptly sat on his foot, its tail still loosely wound around his leg. It looked up at him, pink tongue dangling out of its mouth.

"Uh..." It was undeniably cute, but Severance still remembered the sting of its bite. He looked to Olen. "It's not dangerous, is it?"

The Veiled man lifted a hand to cover his mouth, coughing lightly. "It's a Vastlhidan. They're apex predators native to the mountain region in the north. The pups are safe enough, as you see, but the parents tend to be very protective and very aggressive. They'll fight to the death to protect their young. It's strange to see some this far out. Tayci and Mirren, the two of you are extremely fortunate you didn't run into the adults."

"Maybe it's mommy and daddy are dead," Tayci sniffled. "That's why it was all by itself. There wasn't anything else around."

Mirren nodded slowly. "It was sick," he offered softly.

"For it to be abandoned, then yes. It's most likely." Olen eyed the little pup from where it sat on Severance's foot. It hadn't stopped staring at Severance either. "Well, I suppose it's too late now. It seems to have made its choice. You'll have to take care of it."

An ear-splitting squeal came from Tayci. She jumped up and down. "Yes! Thank you, thank you! We'll take good care of it, we promise!"

"I know you will," Olen finally cracked a smile, a fond light entering his gaze. "And you'll have to get Severance to help you. Did you know it only likes to eat Mountain sheep?"

"It does?" Tayci blinked. Then she ran over to Severance, stooping once to pat the little creature's head. It eyed her, as if uncertain if it wanted her this close, though it tolerated the treatment silently. Its tail tightened around Severance's leg.

Tayci straightened after a moment, reaching out to tug on Severance's coat. "You'll help us, right? Olen says it needs Mountain sheep to eat. You have to get us some!"

"Hold on-"

A System chime interrupted Severance's protest. Familiar text began to scrawl before him.

Received Quest: Bring five flanks of Mountain sheep to Tayci

He narrowed his eyes. The System had to be kidding.

"Well, if you're going to hunt some sheep, you may as well bring back their hides," Olen threw in. Predictably, the System chimed once more.

Received Quest: Collect five Mountain sheep hides for Olen

Severance groaned internally. Yet, once glance at the two excited kids, and he couldn't find it in himself to raise a complaint.

There was just one problem, though. It currently sat on his foot, its tail firmly wound around his leg. When he glanced downwards, blue-silver eyes met his.

He narrowed his eyes at it. It panted happily, drool dripping from its tongue. With a grimace, Severance abruptly bent down and grabbed the little Vastlhidan and lifted it off his foot. The thing wouldn't relax its tail, so he had to tug gently a couple of times before it seemed to get the idea.

"Here," he dropped it in Tayci's eager arms. "I'll go find it some food. And you, why don't you think of a name in the meantime?"

"Okay!" She beamed, arms tightening immediately around the creature. It wiggled and whined, but Tayci's grip was unrelenting. She wasn't going to let it go this time, no matter what.

"Great." Severance turned to leave, intent on getting this over with so he could forget about the strange animal. It was almost as bizarre as a child, in his opinion.

As he left, it gave a short, high-pitched yip. It was followed by a squealing howl, which went on and on until the clan House's doors closed behind him, effectively cutting off all sound.

Animals. More hassle than they were worth. He felt bad for poor Olen, having to listen to that racket. Severance shook his head, strolling across the courtyard, before he stopped suddenly.

Right. There was just one small detail he'd forgotten. He had no clue where to even find these Mountain sheep.