The Divine Wolf... or?

The trip to the Moonlit Caves went smoothly, and when they arrived, no one was around. Normally, someone would stand guard here to make sure that no one made trouble and that no monsters managed to escape, but because of the battle earlier, the place was completely empty. To make it easier for Edward's family, Ark set up a tent for them that they could sleep in.

Ark, Ephine and Atar naturally didn't need one, since they preferred sleeping in their wolf forms, but for a  regular family of four, a tent was a must.

After some consideration, Ark brought out some monster corpses and spices from his storage space to prepare for some cooking. What had originally been his plan to ease the atmosphere had only ended up frightening Edward's family even more, and Ark was dumbfounded.

He was so used to doing things like this when he was with just his family that he had forgotten those big and scary-looking monster carcasses appearing out of nowhere could be quite frightening to normal humans who hadn't seen much.

Seeing Ark's flustered expression as he hurriedly tried to explain his intentions to the children, Edward couldn't help but chuckle to himself. This big and scary wolf wasn't as scary and serious as he had thought him to be. Ark himself didn't usually act like this, but he had a hard time dealing with children. He found them both cute and hard to deal with since he had to be so careful around them.

Ark had gotten used to dealing with Atar, who was far from a normal child.

Whilst Ark thought about how he needed to be a bit more careful in the future, Atar had transformed back into his human form and was "reluctantly" playing with John and Cecily. Maybe it was because he had never really played with children his own age, or at all for that matter, but Atar didn't let it show on his face how much fun he was having.

He felt like it would be embarrassing if anyone knew, the only problem was that his thoughts were written all over his face. He was just a child, and he had no idea how to control his facial expressions yet.

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Everyone else thought his antics were quite cute, and John and Cecily had an easier time getting along with him because of it. Soon, as a subtle smell started spreading throughout their makeshift camp, a fierce growl suddenly echoed throughout the night. Edward quickly stood up and ran over to his children, Sharon following closely behind.

"Pftt-hahahahaha"

Their actions quickly halted as they were interrupted by Ark's sudden laughter and they looked over in confusion.

"Don't worry, the monster you're looking for is over there."

Suppressing his laughter, Ark pointed his finger and went back to overseeing the meat that was roasting over the fire. Edward and Sharon followed Ark's finger and noticed that it was pointing at Atar's stomach. In the midst of their confusion, they saw some drool on the corner of Atar's mouth, and the sound soon came again as he rubbed his stomach.

Realising what Ark had meant, they both looked at each other with a dumbfounded look, before bursting into laughter. Atar looked at them with a weird look on his face, before he walked over and sat down next to Ark who was still busy preparing the food.

John and Cecily were about to ask Atar why he was just sitting there when the subtle aroma in the air suddenly intensified, and they could feel their stomachs rumbling.

Edward and Sharon also walked over upon smelling the heavenly aroma in the air and found themselves a place to sit next to their children. Soon, the food was ready, and Ark called Ephine over to eat. Before he started eating himself, he made sure that everyone had taken a good amount for themselves. He didn't want anyone to be shy and not ask for more if that was the case.

After a while, the only sound that remained in the quiet night was the crackling sound of the fire and the sounds of people excitedly eating their food with relish, filling Ark with a sense of pride.

The greatest compliment to a chef was complete silence at the dinner table, or in this case, around the campfire. After everyone had eaten their fill, Ark could see that John and Cecily were struggling to stay awake. He had a quick conversation with Edward and said that they could continue talking in the morning, but for now, it was time to get some rest.

Edward and his family retreated into their tent, whilst Ephine, Atar and Ark remained around the campfire for a while.

"Did you have fun today?"

Ark asked Atar as he ruffled his hair. He was happy that Atar could act a bit like a normal child, even if just for a while. He saw Atar as his own son after all, and he wanted him to have a fun childhood. He felt bad for letting Atar fight until now.

He wished that he was strong enough to protect both Atar and Ephine without trouble and that he could put an end to whatever calamity was coming, but that was simply not the case. He couldn't always be with them, and even in battle, they would have to have enough strength to protect themselves whilst he was busy fighting.

This was one of the reasons why Ark wanted to find a place to settle down. To build a settlement, a village, a city or whatever that he could safely leave his family in if he ever needed to fight.

To do that, he needed trustworthy and strong people that were willing to live there, and although it was impossible for him to do now, Ark was sure that he would one day be able to achieve this small dream of his. Sure, it might be wishful thinking, but he needed to set some kind of goal for himself. Whether or not he could achieve it was a different matter altogether.

Atar silently enjoyed the affection and nodded, he was also getting tired, and Ark found his drowsy appearance very cute. With a smile on his face, Ark gave him a kiss on the top of the head, before he turned over to Ephine. She had originally planned to sneak a kiss on Ark's cheek, but as he turned, it landed on his lips instead.

They were both surprised, pleasantly of course, but Ark didn't say anything and enjoyed the moment. Ephine could feel a faint blush appearing on her face, but she wasn't opposed to the feeling either.

Ark had originally planned to ask Ephine what she thought about Edward and his family, but since he didn't want to ruin the moment, he decided that it was better to just ask the next day instead. This evening had been eventful and full of bloodshed and misery, but to Ark, it ended on a good note.

His affection for his family was as strong as ever, but if anything, it had grown a little stronger and more familiar. Ark had never really known what a family was supposed to be like, but if this was it, then he wasn't opposed to it.