A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Erik, still grinning with undiminished confidence, challenged Frostfang's demand. "And what if I don't?" While the reason for withholding the information about the whereabouts of his companions was obvious, he wouldn't actually mind telling Frostfang everything the council knew, since their knowledge was minimal at best.

But his readiness to escalate the situation wasn't about withholding crucial secrets.

Instead, it was meant to stir the already simmering tensions between Frostfang and Victor. After all, if they told Frostfang everything, there was a chance he would simply do away with Victor, but that wouldn't necessarily be beneficial to Erik and his group.

So long as there were two groups in play, the Silver Enclave and the council, Erik and Elora could play the two against each other.

Naturally, this was a high-risk, high-reward play, but high-reward was what they needed if they wanted to get out of this with both their lives and independence intact.

Frostfang, visibly unsettled by Erik's seemingly unwavering confidence, struggled to comprehend this defiance. Never had he encountered a second rank so boldly standing his ground against him, a fact that unnerved him more than he cared to admit.

Which was exactly Erik's goal.

While on the outside he remained confidant, on the inside it was a whole other matter. "We're not ready for a fight yet, Elora!" he told Elora, with a sense of urgency. "It's time to reveal my identity, how much longer?!"

"Don't worry," the response was immediate, and calming, "it should be any second now."

Exactly at that moment, a booming voice sounded from the side, "Stop, stop!" Erik's grin widened, both in triumph and relief, while Frostfang raised an eyebrow as they both recognized that voice.

Viljar burst onto the scene, his arms flailing in a desperate attempt to defuse the obviously mounting tension.

Roused from his sleep by Nora—herself alerted by Elora's earlier warning—Viljar had been thrust into action by Nora's urgent warning of the confrontation between Erik and Frostfang.

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Naturally, the timing had been carefully orchestrated by Elora, in order to give them a little time to observe the unbiased Frostfang, before introducing Erik's identity to the mix.

Erik's uncle quickly moved to Frostfang's side, placing a reassuring hand on the man's shoulder. "Don't do anything you'll regret, Jonas," he urged, his expression fraught with concern.

This unexpected display of worry caused Erik and Elora to raise their mental eyebrows in surprise. Viljar's sudden lack of confidence in Frostfang's willingness to hurt Erik was a sudden departure from his constant assurances that Frostfang would never hurt Runa's son.

'Perhaps because the council is involved now?' Erik pondered inwardly. 'Well, either way.' He reminded himself, 'It's not like we put too much stock in Frostfang's loyalty to my mother anyway.'

Frostfang, visibly irked yet cautious, kept a wary eye on Erik as he addressed Viljar. "What's this about, Viljar? And your silence—five days without a word. Weren't you tasked with verifying Björn's claims of witnessing a ghoul's control being undone and uncovering the truth about these strangers? Your report is long overdue."

Viljar scratched his head a little awkwardly and thumbed towards Erik. "Well, for starters, Erik is not to be underestimated, especially with the kind of support he has."

His awkward expression worsened as he admitted his next point, "Even with the five of us, we weren't able to coerce him and his group into compliance. Instead, we were defeated and forced to stay."

Then he frowned and looked at Frostfang with conviction, making it clear how serious he was about this, "But even if that wasn't the case, I wouldn't have done anything to him, Jonas."

Temporarily ignoring his increasing curiosity regarding Erik and his group due to Viljar's admittance of being unable to take them down, Frostfang focused on Viljar's second sentence instead.

"Why not?" he pressed while frowning, confusion clear in his voice. If there was anyone he would name as having the second-most dedication to the Enclave's welfare after him, it would be Viljar.

Still frowning, Viljar explained, "Because Erik is my nephew, Jonas. Runa's son; returned from the dead."

A brief silence followed Viljar's revelation, with Frostfang blinking in surprise.

Victor, who had so far simply watched the situation unfold with disinterest, suddenly tensed. The revelation that Erik might be someone important to Frostfang piqued his interest and caused him to frown with concern.

'This could complicate matters,' he mused inwardly, before subtly retrieving a sigil stone from his pocket. As he discreetly manipulated it behind his back, the others remained engrossed in the exchange, oblivious to his actions.

All except one, as Elora had her own omnisense covering the entire area from the start. Something that Frostfang was not capable of, as he could only use it intermittently. 'Interesting…' she thought to herself.

Frostfang, meanwhile, scrutinized Viljar intensely. Despite knowing the man would never say such a thing unless he was absolutely sure, Frostfang searched for any sign of a lie or uncertainty in the werebear's eyes.

When he found none, he panned his gaze toward Erik, his eyes showing various complicated emotions—conflict, curiosity, and an unspoken question hanging between them. "You are… honored teacher's son?" he asked, his voice laced with bone-deep respect when he mentioned Runa.

Yet, his gaze was one of uncertainty and anger as he looked at Erik.

Erik felt a little concerned about the anger but did his best to remain casual and confident like before. An amused grin hung on his lips, "Well, I just call her Mom, but yeah, I suppose I am. Erik Gunnulf is my full name."

Erik's admission was followed by another short moment of silence, where Frostfang slowly internalized this new information.

Finally, Frostfang's expression seemed to flare with anger, and slowly, menacingly, he began to approach Erik. "You dare show up here now?!" he growled, furiously. "Do you know how much your mother suffered because of you?!"

'Hold on,' Erik thought to himself, as he realized the reason for Frostfang's anger, 'This asshole thinks he can lecture me?! He dares to assume I would cause my mother any suffering willingly?!'

A wave of fury, matching Frostfang's washed over him and he was about to retort while preparing for combat, nearly forgetting about all their plans, but luckily, Viljar intervened again.

Seeing the situation deteriorate, Erik's uncle quickly grabbed Frostfang's shoulder. "Woah, woah, calm down Jonas! I listened to his explanation and it's a good one! There's nothing he could have done!"

Frostfang paused and narrowed his eyes as he looked at Erik. "Is that so, huh? And what explanation is that?"

Despite his concern about possibly having to fight an enraged third-rank Runebound, Erik found himself unable to contain the increasing amounts of annoyance and anger he felt at this man's attitude. 'Who the hell does he think he is, anyway?!'

"And who the hell are you to judge me?" he growled angrily while tightening the grip on his hammer. His annoyance with Frostfang's presumptuous attitude bubbled to the surface.

His voice became louder and angrier, "My past, my story, my reasons—they're mine! I told Viljar because he's my uncle, but who the hell are you? I don't know you and you certainly don't have the right to lecture me on my mother's behalf. Do you really think you're more important to her than I am!?"