The tribes of the woods considered becoming a mber of the Verhen family a great honor and the next best thing to earning the title of king. The magical beasts introduced the most promising young mbers of their respective clans to the kids.
The magical beasts' role wasn't just to be their playmates, but also their magical ntors and protectors.
To the surprise of no one, Teryon followed her sister's example and chose a Ry, Falco picked a black-furred Shyf, and Lenart the biggest Byk he could find. Only Fenrir needed several minutes to make up her mind.
'Not the Byk. Please, gods, I beseech you. Don't let my daughter pick the Byk! I can't afford it.' Selia prayed from the bottom of her heart. 'A Gylad would be the perfect fit for my family.
'Grass is free and grows everywhere. May Fenrir pick the Gylad!'
"Venison!" Fenrir said, proving there was a mystical connection between mother and daughter. "I want venison!"
Alas, the reception was bad, and at those words, the Gylads turned tail and ran away, disappearing in the Trawn Woods in the blink of an eye.
"Deer!" Selia yelled in desperation. "She ans deer! She's just a child, and sotis she mixes up words!"
"Aren't deer and venison the sa thing?" Fenrir asked in confusion.
"Once they are in your mouth, yes." A Ry with a flaming, thick fur said with a laugh. "Otherwise, no, little one. Deer is the living creature. Venison is the at on your plate."
"Then I got it right, Mommy! I want venison." The little girl said, licking her lips and making everyone else shudder.
"You've just eaten, baby girl." Selia sighed. "Also, Gylads are our friends."
"I was going to keep it for later." Fenrir tilted her head. "And it looked yummy!"
Selia groaned, inwardly thanking the gods for the deer magical beast's prompt escape.
'At least that poor Gylad missed my daughter confessing that making friends is as important as choosing the cut of at she wants for dinner to her.' She inwardly cried.
Left with only the representatives of four tribes, Fenrir moved from one magical beast to another, sniffing and patting them in turns.
'Screw the tribe's honor. If she says one word about roasted chicken, I'm out of here.' One of the Crons attending the selection thought.
"I want the bird, Dad!" Fenrir said, her little tail wagging in excitent.
"You want *Mister* Bird for what, pumpkin?" Protector asked.
'At least her mouth is not watering. Maybe, she's not thinking of food.' He also thought.
"Right, I want Mister Bird." The little girl nodded, recognizing that she had been rude. "As my friend."
"That's nice of you." Protector sighed in relief, and with him the rest of the adults. "Yet Mister Bird is not a toy. We need to ask him if he also wants to be your friend."
The Cron looked at Fenrir like he would at the hungry ball of fur, claws, and deadly fangs that she hid under her cute human appearance. He couldn't help but feel that he was one late al away from becoming spit roast.
'Those two lived long enough to beco Emperor Beasts, and I've never heard about any of our kind disappearing near the Fastarrow Household. I'm just paranoid.' The Cron glanced at Slash and Crash.
"We can give it a try." He said, nervously shifting his weight from one foot to another.
"Yay!" Fenrir took the maybe for a yes and rejoiced for it. "Mister Bird and I are best friends now!"
"Not so fast, baby girl." Selia stepped between the two before Fenrir could hug the Cron and start bonding with him. "Mommy has the last word in this kind of thing."
'Since when?' Everyone thought.
Selia walked around the almost two ters (6'7") tall Cron, literally asuring and weighing him.
'On the plus side, feathers are easy to collect, and I can use them to stuff things.' She thought. 'Also, under all that fluff, a bird is quite skinny and light. He shouldn't eat too much. He has no claws or fangs to sharpen on my furniture, which is nice.
'On the other hand, the talons at this bastard's feet are not retractable, and when he's inside the house, he'll waddle awkwardly and be in everyone's way. Last, but not least, where is he supposed to sleep or sit?
'He can't curl up in Fenrir's bed. I can see many punctured mattresses and torn sheets in my future.'
"I don't know, dear." Selia turned to Ryman. "Flying is not safe for soone as young as Fenrir, and we can't demand this poor creature to stay away from his natural elent until our baby girl grows up."
"Why is flying unsafe, Mommy?" Fenrir unfurled two cute, flaming-red wings from her back and flew before Selia's face. "I think it's funny."
"Since when- Oh, right." Protector and her other kids used their wings so rarely that Selia had almost forgotten about them. "Remind , dear, how co we didn't have problems with Lilia and Leran flying away when they were little?"
"Because we kept them locked in the house." Ryman replied. "We let them go play outside only once Nalrond joined our family. By the ti we moved back to Lutia, the kids had beco responsible enough not to need construct-cages around the house."
"Right." Selia sighed. "Welco to the family, Bash. Please, take good care of my daughter and don't hesitate to snitch on her to when she misbehaves."
"Mom!" Fenrir snarled in outrage. "He's my best friend, not yours!"
"Bash?" The Cron tilted his head in confusion. "What kind of na is that?"
"Welco to the matching set, brother. I'm Crash, and she's Slash." A large feline patted the Cron's wide back.
"And if you're anything like us, your future Emperor Beast form will be nad sothing along the lines of 'stop pooping on my floor'." An equally large canine said.
"Slash, Crash, and Bash. It has a nice ring to it." Falco pondered.
"Yeah, too bad Auntie Selia beat us to it." Teryon nodded.
"Too bad it's also accurate." Selia sighed. "Are you sure you'll be okay, Rena?"
"I'll manage. Thank you, Selia." Rena replied.
'If I tell her that between the money we earn and Lith's self-repair arrays, we won't have any problems providing for three magical beasts, Selia will have a stroke from envy.' She actually thought.
anwhile, the failed applicants left the Mansion's premises after congratulating the chosen mber of their clan.
"Don't worry too much, Selia." Lith said. "I knew sothing like this might have happened, and I prepared a few things in advance. Here, you can have them."
She handed her what looked like a circular quilted blanket, large enough to accommodate a magical beast and an elliptical rough stone.
"The portable nest self-repairs and cleans. Bash can use it to sit around the house and sleep on Fenrir's bed without destroying it with his talons." Lith explained. "The stone, instead, is for sharpening his beak-"
"And keeping my furniture safe! You're a lifesaver." Selia jumped to his neck, kissing him on both cheeks. "Thank you so much. I feel much more relaxed now. Here, Bash. This is for you. Don't go anywhere in the house without it."
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