With the return of the rapid surface team, Lyca returned as well, and with her, she brought something that caught Shurry's nose the moment they arrived back at camp. So, the day's play was cut short as he ran on all fours right back to camp, looking as happy & harmless as could be with his tongue sticking out to the side.
Sliding as he came to a stop right in front of Lyca, he looked up, placing his jaw up against her belly, wagging his tail, and licking his chops, sniffing the air, he even whimpered a little.
Lyca giggled, massaging Shurry's ears just like one would to a puppy. "Hey there Shurry, did you have fun playing?" She continued giggling, and momentarily glanced towards Empress, narrowing her gaze for a moment before sigh lightly deciding to ignore it, and refocus back to the incredibly excited puppy. "Like I promised before, I 'm going to show you the best spot only for us Werewolves, and this time I made a stop there to get one of their best seasoned cuts. I told my friend there about how excited a young pup I knew was to try it. Do you want it now?"
Shurry's tail wagged faster, practically digging a hole as it went side to side with incredible force. "Yes, please! It smells delicious!"
"Okay!" Lyca smiled, taking off her bag, removing the specially wrapped large steak.
The moment the wrap used was removed the scent filled Shurry's nose, and he went berserk with excitement. He crouched down, ready to play for it, butt up in the air, tail vigorously wagging. Then his head went side to side, panting in anticipation. His paws lifting up, and patting down, doing his prancing happy puppy dance.
Lyca, able to fully understand this behavior, having a similar desire to eat the very same piece of meat, giggled, and fully unwrapped the steak. The steak was raw, and well seasoned. Usually raw meat was a huge problem for people, but for werewolves- especially in their wolven states- it wasn't an issue, and actually preferred depending on the source of meat. And so, wanting to add to the playful actions of the puppy, she grabbed the steak, and tossed it into the air.
In a rather impressive display, the seasoned steak flew through the air, glistening in the crystal light. It was indeed a rather good toss, having gained a little distance and a ton of height. Shurry, following it with a quick, snappy movement of his head, he prepared to leap, and then pressed off the floor, jaws open, snagging the tasty morsel directly from the air, twisting on a dime, chomping as he fell back down, landing perfectly on all fours.
At first the steak was half hanging out on both sides of his chops, he smiled, and chomped away, enjoying the flavor of the specialty steak with gusto… In other words, he gave the term wolfing it down a whole new meaning. And then as to not lose any of the seasoning, or blood he continued liking his chops, and then looked over to see that Lyca had indulged in the little blood that remained on wrap, he still ran over checking to see if there was any more left over.
"Sorry, Shurry, I couldn't resist it any longer. It just smelled so good." Lyca apologized with a really satisfied tone, paired with an equally pleasant smile.
Shurry sniffed the wrapper, and then her bag, obviously looking for more. "That was super yummy! Thank you aunty!" He spoke, happy, but also left wanting more of that delicious meal he just had.
Seeing that this wasn't going anywhere other than perhaps people forgetting this was the dungeon, Maxim stepped in to end things with a cold bucket of water called: Dungeon advancement plans.
"Alright, we've got one more day before we make our next push deeper down. This means that we're going to be pushing down through and arrive on the 39th floor. It'll be a much longer march than before, so Shurry, I want you to begin playing a more supporting role from here on out. If you could carry the twins on your back, that would be ideal-"
"Can do Uncy Maxy! Luna also wants those other crystals too!" Shurry quickly answered, then he smelled something in the air, and immediately ran off, coming back a few moments later with a giant stag, and the twins on his back. "We can cook this up right? I'm still hungry." He asked, placing the stag down.
"Ugh, we just made a trip to the surface, what are we going to do about the valuable materials…" A weretiger man sighed with grief.
Shurry tilted his head confused. "Eat them, it's just the innards right? They were delicious!"
Lyca laughed. "You'll share them with everyone right?"
"Uhm, uh, fine… I guess everyone can have some."
The members with weaker appetites decided against eating the innards, and so they were left to Zald, Shurry, Lyca, and a few other animal people. Others gave it a try but quickly realized they weren't able to stomach it. That night, Shurry slept in his wolf form once again, he was really getting used to it, Alfia & Meteria used him as a pillow while they cuddled each other.
…
The morning came, and the time to move out arrived along with it. The party advanced with caution, having their level 4s, minus Alfia, in the vanguard ready to fight through the new enemies that would appear. Many were still a little anxious, clearly not having as much experience in the vanguard for this floor. Though for Shurry, he felt at home in this place, the Dense Forest Ravine, that was the name of this place, and it didn't matter what floor they were on in this part, it all felt primal… Almost like these floors knew exactly what tickled a wolf's fancy.
Even so, it was still incredibly dangerous down here due to the monsters around the place. However, the party grew by one shortly after the members defeated the Monster Rex on the 32nd floor. It was a wolf type monster, yet it seemed like it had been completely tamed by Shurry, simply sitting there, not even thinking of attacking, acting entirely harmless.
"Shurry, what's that monster doing?"
"He said he'll follow me from now on, I don't know why though?"
Maxim sighed, putting a hand to his head, and rubbed his temples. "Tell it to stay here and wait for your return instead, and then let's get moving."