Chapter 201: Mud And Consequences

The rain faded to a thin drizzle hours later, and Tera and Calis ended up spending the night in the small tunnel until the rain fully cleared the following morning.

Tera woke up refreshed, and more than happy to be able to use her legs again.

The walk back to the pack was quiet.

The forest floor was a mess of fallen branches, churned mud, and puddles that reflected the grey sky above them. The air smelled wet and heavy, and every few steps, a branch would release a delayed shower of collected rainwater on their heads.

Calis had offered to take her on his back in his wolf form, but Tera had refused, wanting to walk at least. However, she noticed Calis deep in thought for most of the walk, which slightly saddened Tera.

But when they reached the pack, her stomach sank.

Some of the animals had escaped, and three had died. One of them had been the same species as Puff Dumpling.

She felt guilty for not fully thinking about the pack and the animals while in that cave with Calis.

It had rained before in this territory. The wolves were used to it, and the animals had survived every previous downpour without issue. But this storm had been different. It had been longer and heavier, and even if a few animals had escaped each time it heavily rained, none had died.

But Tera doubted that. They could have died, just not here.

The pen had held, and most of it was still intact, but a section of the ground beneath it had shifted from what looked like a small mudslide, tilting two of the walls at an angle that had let those animals run off.

The dead ones frustrated Tera the most, and the ones that still lingered were shivering and scared. Only a few seemed fine.

How could she have forgotten this other aspect? Sure, she had never grown up on a ranch, but it was common sense that kept animals needed shelter, and she should have considered that since they were dealing with an unstable climate.

Anything could happen.

A few of the wolves themselves were still feverish, and the females especially were still in their wolf forms, tired and sleeping, while a lot of the males looked drained.

Shelter was not a negotiation, whether they were beasts or not.

There were no shelters, no roofed structures, nothing to protect the livestock or wolves from weather that went beyond a normal downpour.

Calis felt so much guilt and frustration too. He should have gone into the rain to bring his pack to the tunnel. Even if they wouldn’t fully fit, they could have all huddled in and managed the discomfort.

Calis hadn’t given it much thought until the rain had grown heavier hours later, when Tera was fast asleep.

He had never seen or encountered this much rain before. Only mostly drought.

Now, his wolves were not only in this state, but they had lost some of their food too.

Tera noticed the heavy guilt and frustration on Calis’s face, and it saddened her.

She walked toward the pen, and when she noticed an animal on its side outside the pen, she rushed to it.

An elder had been about to kill it to end its misery.

"Wait, stop!"

Tera intercepted him, rushing to the animal.

At the very least, let her analyse it.

The injured animal was a stocky brown creature lying on its side, its breathing shallow.

Tera knelt beside the animal and ran her hand along its side. The fur was matted with mud, and she could feel a swelling beneath the skin along its ribs.

[Two broken ribs]

[This animal has punctured organs]

[(◞‸◟)]

[It is in pain. The right move is to kill it]

"It is suffering," the wolf frowned. "And it would be good for the females to eat something before it dies and is unsuitable for eating."

Tera felt terrible, but understanding the situation, she let the old wolf carry on.

When she moved to the farm, some wolves were also there, and she was met with a disheartening sight.

Her whole work had been destroyed.

The heavy rain had flattened the freshly planted rows, exposing sapling roots and seeds. A few of the transplanted seedlings had been uprooted entirely and lay on their sides in muddy pools.

’Fuck...’

[This system is saddened]

[The work Host has put into this task has been disrupted]

[(っ◞‸◟ c)]

But Tera could not even say anything in response. Not even in her mind.

She had less than two months left. Months that she had intended to use to prepare for the next major task.

Now she had to redo everything.

"And I was so close to finishing this..." she whispered, clutching her chest.

[(⊙_⊙)]

[Host, please, don’t worry so much]

[On the plus side, the seedlings Host transplanted are mostly intact]

[And in a full day’s work, the heaps can be dug again]

[The soil is still mushy and soft and easy to pull up, and the plants are still suitable for this water content]

[One just has to pat the mounds down to be more solid and firm]

[(..◜ᴗ◝..)]

[Please, cheer up, Host!]

Tera felt slightly better, but a heavy silence hung over the wolves as they surveyed what hours of work had produced, was now reduced to mud and scattered plants.

The wolves stared at the ruined rows with the exhausted resignation of creatures who were used to things going wrong and had stopped expecting otherwise.

One wolf muttered, "We did all that work for nothing."

Another shook his head. "Something always happens one way or the other."

The energy was draining fast, and if Tera let it, the entire group would spiral into despair, and they might not even want to do this again.

They had been so excited earlier too.

No. She wasn’t going to let that happen.

"Hey!" Tera clapped her hands together, and the sharp sound made several wolves turn to her. "It is not as bad as it looks!"

They were confused.

Tera gestured across the farmland, explaining the situation and how everything could still be salvaged.

"The seeds that washed out can be replanted. The mounds can be rebuilt. We have done this before, and we can do it again. It is frustrating, I know. But this is what farming looks like sometimes. Things go wrong, and you fix them. We can only enjoy the result of what we do if we keep fixing them."

A few wolves exchanged uncertain glances.

One of the younger males shifted on his feet. "But what if it rains like this again?"

"Then we fix it again." Tera bit her lip. "But this will not happen again if another heavy rain does not come soon. I will do something about this, and eventually, we will build something that can handle the rain. But first, we need to salvage what we have. We especially need to plant food you will eat."

The wolves looked uncertain, still appearing defeated, but hope appeared on some of their faces.

The words sat in the air for a moment before Calis stepped forward and crouched beside a fallen seedling.

Then another.

Then three more.

They were using their bare hands to put the mounds back up.

"Wait, stop!"