Astoria Pendridge

Two

Meat scraps for breakfast. That was essentially what she ate. Of course, it was coated in some blood, and some saliva from Pendridge, but she was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. After all, she was able to eat by herself for once, with no machine nor human assistance. She scrunched her brows, a wolf didn't count as human assistance, right?

'Wait. . .it wasn't even cooked. Will I get sick? I don't feel any sicker.' She thought, realizing again what she had just ate. Though it had tasted quite terrible, it wasn't to the point where she would vomit. It had been palatable but perhaps that had been her hunger doing all the thinking. 'Hmm. . .this body is probably better than I thought. Did the voice give it to me because of how I was before?'

A stronger, tougher, body resistant to food poisoning was definitely a good thing if it really was so. In her past life, doctors had stated that it would take a miracle from God to fix her physiology. Now, she thought, perhaps that voice which had reached out to her was the man floating in the clouds, and this new chance at a new life was his doing.

'That can only be so.' Due to her, her parents had become very religious. Praying for that miracle that never came. So, although she had never attended a church, she knew a bit about God. . .at least she thought she did.

She nodded her small head and smiled brightly.

"Thank you mister," She spoke as she gingerly stood up, finding her manners and finding her body ripe with more strength than her initial impression.

The wolf before her grumbled, face scrunching in the discernable expression of annoyance.

"Call me Pendridge," He mouthed as he turned around. "And you should take a glance at your body."

"Hmm?"

She looked at her figure and realized she had grown a few centimeters taller, and the fat of her limbs had receded slightly. It was no wonder she was now standing with steadier footing.

"I grew!" She yelled as her eyes widened. Then she paused. "Why did I grow so fast?"

Pendridge took steps forward and away from her as it scoffed.

"As I stated previously, you are a Guardian Beast born from Altera's mana. Though I can't discern what exactly it is you guard," He spoke, his voice rumbling as she followed after his back, watching his dangling tail in curiosity. "Either way, you are more a mana creation than a human. A spirit, if you will. By merely eating and devouring beasts, you shall grow taller, stronger, and faster."

He paused, turning his head to glance at her.

"Though your physiology is still rather odd," He mouthed. "A Guardian Beast in human skin? I have never heard of such a thing. Certainly, if we expel enough energy, we can take the shape of a human, but that is not our natural state."

He narrowed his eyes.

"Your natural state, however, is."

She tilted her head, understanding its words, then she hit a balled hand into her palm.

"Oh then I'm special!" She said.

Pendridge scoffed.

"That or," He humphed as the wind rustled his fur, eyes boring into her own, "A mutation that will sooner die than survive in these forests."

Die? She didn't want to die immediately after gaining a new life.

"Then would you be so kind as to take care of me, Pendridge?" She asked unashamedly. She was, after all, new to this world, and she was currently a toddler. She saw no shame in asking.

Pendridge, however, scoffed.

"I won't take care of you," He spoke as he turned his gaze back forward, "I'll teach you how to fend for yourself then throw you out into the winds."

She smiled at the attitude of the wolf, feeling as if he were putting up a front of coldness. A facade of distance. Had he called himself the Guardian Wolf of the Western Winds? Perhaps the winds of the west in this world were supposed to be unkindly chilling?

"I understand, Pendridge," She replied.

Naturally, she had no idea that the name did not mean what she thought it did. Though, a different thought struck her as she followed him.

"Hey," She said, "I don't have a name yet."

She had been reincarnated but she didn't have a name yet. As far as she was aware, hadn't the main characters of those stories she read obtained their new names?

"What does that have to do with me?" Pendridge replied offhandedly.

"Hmm. . .shouldn't you name me? That's what parents do, right?"

Pendridge growled.

"I am not your parent," He replied. "No one is."

She tilted her head.

"But you'll help me learn to survive, right?"

"Certainly that is true."

"Then you are my parent."

As far as she saw it, if he would take care of her, was he no different from a parent? Since no one else was around when she was born, she seemed to latch onto the first thing willing to take care of her. Perhaps it was an effect of her past life.

"Guardians name themselves," He countered, however.

"But I want you to name me!" She countered his counter.

He was silent for the lapse of a moment, realizing that this girl was rather stubborn. In the end, he sighed, picking up his pace. The wind drifted about them in the soft hum of nature, and she realized that her senses were sharper than she thought; hearing the faint scratching within trees, and smelling Pendridge's scent distinct from that of the forest.

The wolf looked passively ahead of them.

"I shall call you Astoria," He finally said, almost dismissively, "Satisfied?"

She nodded as the name spun in her mind.

"What about a last name?"

"You do not have need for one."

No need for a last name? She thought it silly. Though, she smiled brightly at having finally received a name.

'Astoria,' She thought as she followed Pendridge's form through winding trees, her eyes shining, 'That is my name in this world.'

training arc by a tsundere wolf, let's gooo

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