The shock of his name didn't go away overnight, but he eventually learned to live with it. "There's not much I can do right now," he thought, planning to change his name someday if he had the chance. For now, there were more important things to think about.
After the naming ceremony, two things had changed.
The first was that they could now leave the house. Apparently, their cabin is the center of some kind of farm. It sits atop a small plateau. The farm is surrounded by a very dark, lush forest. Far below, houses and plantations could be seen, as well as some animals that, from that distance, looked like sheep, goats, and pigs. Wail could see paths leading away and enormous walls even further away.
The second big change was that they began eating at the main table with their mother and father. A huge animal Wail didn't recognize was roasted and served. His father served himself first, followed by his mother. The rest was left to the seven of them. As always, a battle broke out over the food, although the food was so large that eating first was simply a way of proving who was stronger than the rest, or at least that's how it was at first.
Wail let his brothers fight while he ate, without them even noticing.
His father seemed indifferent, while his mother watched the whole affair.
Little by little, the hunger of the seven grew, and at a certain point, the food their mother served was no longer enough. Little by little, they began to get hungrier, and soon the fights stopped being just a demonstration and became a necessity.
The first major confrontation came when the second brother Growl and the third brother Grul faced each other one-on-one. By then, they had already defeated the others, except for Wail, who had slipped away in the confusion and stolen enough to fill himself, so he just watched from a safe place. Grul was strong, possibly the physically strongest of the seven, but Growl was better. Growl was fast, strong, and above all, vicious. He used his claws and hurt for real. Wail often thought about intervening when he saw how cruel Growl was getting, but noticing that his parents didn't move to help them made him think everything was fine. He believed one of his parents would intervene if things got out of hand.
One day, something changed. The only one who challenged Growl was Grul, and since it was one-on-one without having to fight the others, Growl quickly defeated him.
This posed a problem for Wail, because without the distraction of the battle royale, Growl wouldn't let him steal food, and so it was. As soon as Growl defeated Grul, he turned to look at Wail—mine—he let him know. Growl let out a violent growl at Wail, who was chewing on a piece of meat he had managed to steal. The other five brothers watched them from afar. With Growl in that state, they no longer dared approach the table until he was satisfied.
Wail looked him in the eye, just like when they were babies. He knew that if he didn't do something about it, he and his other brothers might starve to death. His parents didn't seem like they were going to increase the food this time, so he decided to try his luck. This wasn't the same Growl as a few months ago. He had grown quite a bit, if not more, than his other brothers, and Wail was aware that he was the smallest, the weakest of them all. Wail stood in front of the table, slowly approaching his first little brother, but the younger brother decided to lunge at Wail first. Wail managed to dodge and get behind him. With a swift movement, he wrapped his legs around Growl's waist and his arms around his neck. Growl tried to free himself by digging his claws into Wail's arms, but Wail wouldn't let go, knowing those claws would do much more damage to any other part of his body. A few seconds later, Growl stopped fighting, and Wail let go. As soon as he did, Growl began to cough and twitch. Wail ate with bloody arms; he didn't fill himself completely, as he had to leave food for the others.
Across the table, their mother watched, expressionless as always, and if the youngsters had turned to look, they would have seen their father, Drog, watching what was happening.
The fights continued for a while, and while Growl didn't challenge Wail again, he still wouldn't let anyone eat before him, and if it weren't for Wail's intervention, his other siblings would have starved.
Until he finally challenged him.
Wail and Growl were face to face again, the five younger siblings watching the fight from a distance, and their parents were attentive this time. Wail had seen Growl's enormous growth in just a few weeks. Before, Grul was able to trade blows with him, now Growl could take on all of his siblings alone. Wail knew that if he got distracted for even a moment, it would be his defeat. Wail slowly approached Growl again, little by little, taking small steps, almost dragging the soles of his feet. He had to subdue him as quickly as possible. Locks on his limbs wouldn't work against Growl; he had to grab his neck.
And then Growl attacked using his usual move, so Wail moved again to dodge and grab him from behind. It worked; with his legs around Growl's hips and his arms around his neck, Wail considered it his victory, but Growl didn't think so.
Suddenly, Wail heard a "roar!" a roar coming from Growl.
"We're wolves, not lions god dammit!" Wail thought as he applied pressure to his brother's neck, but something had changed. Suddenly, his mother stood up, throwing the chair over, and by the time Wail could understand what was happening, his back was hitting the ceiling.
Growl had jumped with Wail on his back with such force that they had collided with the ceiling. The force of the blow forced Wail to let go. He fell to the ground, and when he got up, Growl's claws hit his chest. Blood gushed from the wound, and Wail was thrown into the wall, colliding violently with it and losing consciousness.
His parents watched Growl, and although their faces remained expressionless, they were very surprised. Growl's eyes were no longer silver; they were now red. His fangs and claws had grown, and he looked very menacing, covered in Wail's blood. "Fury? He's too young," they both thought.
That day, Growl was the only one of the seven to eat.
It took Wail two days to recover, thanks to his mother, who had cared for him and healed his wounds. Although he had long since realized that he and his brothers possessed some kind of healing factor, like in the comics from his past life. If it weren't for that, several of his brothers would have already died after so many fights.
When Wail returned to the table, things had changed. Growl ate first, and the others fought over who ate last. Now, they wouldn't let Wail escape and constantly sought out fights with him. But food wasn't enough, Wail understood, as Growl ate a lot and left very little for the others. Something had to be done.
One night, Wail had a dream. He was a young man, with dreams and hopes. He liked martial arts, comics, light novels, and all kinds of hobbies. He was a geek in a peaceful world. Until the peace ended. In an instant, his dream transported him to a battlefield, bullets everywhere, explosions, and dead bodies. Wail ran desperately, gun in hand, trying to reach the other side. He was terrified, horrified, tired, and just wanted to go home.
"I just wanted a peaceful life!" Wail shouted as he ran. "I want my computer, I want my bed!" he cried. Wail didn't know who he was fighting for. He didn't hate the enemy, and he didn't know the reason for the battle. "I want to go home!" he shouted. "I want to go home!" he shouted again. "I swear that if I'm born again, I won't let anyone else dictate my destiny. I won't fight again for someone I don't believe in. I won't fight again for a cause that isn't my own!" His fear turned to anger. "I won't let them make fun of me, I won't let them abuse me!" His anger turned to... fury.
That morning, the table was set as usual, but something had changed. Wail was expressionless. Standing in front of Growl, Wail challenged him. The other five brothers stood back, no longer daring to challenge Growl. Wail stood tall, while Growl assumed his usual stance before attacking. This time, Wail didn't approach; he stood there, staring Growl in the eye, challenging him. Growl got angrier and angrier, until he decided to lunge, and this time Wail didn't dodge him. He grabs the arm that was about to land a blow and slams Growl to the ground. A perfect judo throw, but not enough to stop Growl, who quickly recovers and attacks again, launching his claws one blow after another. Wail dodges all the blows and as soon as he sees an opening, he throws a kick to Growl's face, sending him flying into his brothers. Growl got up, his eyes once again blood red, his fangs visible, and his claws out. Wail continues to hold his ground, his eyes constantly challenging Growl, who begins an attack completely different from the previous one. The distance between them closes in less than a second, and when Growl is about to strike…
His back hits the wall. Growl was sent flying. From his position, he sees Wail standing in the same place, as if he hadn't done anything, as if he'd just stood there without moving. But something changed. Growl couldn't see Wail's face clearly. His mother stood up and had her hands over her mouth; his father's eyes were wider than usual.
Growl stood up. Whatever Wail had done hadn't harmed him, at least he didn't feel like it had.
He saw his older brother next to the food and again felt that fury from a moment ago. "It's mine! I'll go first!" Growl announced. He lunged at Wail again, closing the distance in a second. When he was close, he finally saw him. His brother's face was different, and there wasn't a hint of warmth in it. Growl launched his claws at Wail's neck, but Wail dodged, grabbed Growl by the waist, and without giving him time to react, slammed him to the ground with a near-perfect suplex. Growl tried to get up, but Wail wouldn't let him. While on the ground, he mounted him and began beating him. Growl didn't understand—"Why don't you use your claws?" he thought. Wail's blows hit Growl in the face over and over. Growl tried to use his fury to free himself, but somehow it was impossible; his older brother, the smaller one, was too strong. One by one, the blows piled up on Growl's face until he stopped fighting. His body returned to normal, and he finally calmed down.
Wail served himself some food and sat down. The rest of the group came to eat with him. That morning, the only one who didn't eat was Growl.
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Wail sat on the outskirts of the farm, hungry. He hated having to fight with his brothers over food. His "sunken" state had helped him against Growl this time, but he knew it wouldn't last forever, because even in that state, dodging Growl's attacks took all his strength. He had to think of something.
For a while, he thought about killing the sheep and other animals in the surrounding houses, but he gave up on that idea. He didn't know what the penalty was for stealing in this world; one wrong move and he'd end up with the death penalty in this world of savages.
So, as he was about to return home, he noticed something on the edge of the forest surrounding the farm.
It looked like a rabbit, but with a pig's nose—hee, hee, hee—a wicked laugh escaped his mouth.