While the first day of class was ongoing, a certain pair of canines were going around doing their rounds.
"Fufi, catch!" one yelled, and the large golden mutt turned and barked, his tail wagging playfully.
He opened his large mouth to catch a mouthwatering piece of Mooselion steak. His movements were large and when he landed after a jump, the nearby people would feel a slight shift in air due to his mass.
Meat on mouth, he turned to his companion, who was also called somewhere else.
"Snow, Snow! Here!" Another yelled, but threw the slab at a higher angle.
The wolf's agile form glided through the air, gracefully jumped, and caught it with its mouth—landing gently on the ground as if she just floated.
This was in stark contrast with Fufi, who could cause vibrations when he lunged, forgetting how big he was now.
Anyway, seeing his girlfriend was fed, he started to taste the nice meat already in his mouth.
After that was gone, another slab of meat flew towards the two, which they also caught with contrasting finesse (i.e. with Fufi decidedly lacking any of it).
Snow though was as graceful as ever, and one could not see even a bit of stain from the meat in her fur.
"Gorgeous!" The thrower yelled, and some bystanders clapped their hands.
Don't look at them slacking off. Everyone there was actually doing their usual activities, whether it was shopping, selling, exercising, or the like. However, when the two dogs passed by, they would pause and just watch them with smiles.
They also always had some food in their space, not only for their own emergency supply but also for treats.
Anyway, they hunted a lot, and no one lacked meat with the amount of beasts outside. If they could make the doggos happy, then their days were made.
Anyway, the two dogs had—along with the babies—become the official mascots of Alterra. They were greatly loved, getting fed every few blocks they passed by.
Like the kids, they also got their own fanbases. If Pepper had 'The Spices', and Meatball had 'The Munchkins', then Fufi had the 'Golden Paws Squad' while Snow had 'The Snowflakes'.
Anyway, the doggos' metabolic rates were great and they had a high rate of activity so they didn't really get too flabby despite their consumption.
Also, Althea had started a program to teach them what was poisonous or would cause their bodies harm. She rarely did it herself lately due to her busy schedule, however one of her assistants like Gus or Lily (the doctor) would do it for her.
This way, if some evil mind decided to try to harm the dogs with treats, they wouldn't succeed, and would even be caught immediately.
The lessons were taught in the barracks so the soldiers would also be taught.
This was not to say the soldiers were afterthought, of course. Ahem.
The pair moved a couple more blocks, getting a few more treats, even from aborigines like Betty.
The aborigines were very shocked about it too at first, as Battle Pets were relatively uncommon even in towns, but now there were two roaming around freely in the territory with their own matching collars as their 'uniform'.
Sometime in their rounds though, the two dogs paused almost simultaneously, growling in a direction. They howled, and everyone around looked at them with furrowed eyebrows.
The dogs didn't move though, just looking in a direction. Then the alarm bell shortly after, followed by an announcement.
Apparently, a mob of about a hundred or so monsters had arrived. This was followed by the bell ringing.
It only rang three times to announce and then… nothing else.
This meant the threat was, well, not much of a threat and they could continue as they were.
It was enough for everyone to know they were being attacked without having to endure the constant noise to distract their every day activities!
Anyway, the bell alerted all the interested fighters. They converged towards the gate, ready to get out as soon as the gate opened. Meanwhile, the rest of the territory just went ahead with their day.
On the battlement, Chris looked through his scope, soon seeing a team who were trapped outside by the mob.
They were probably outside when the mob attacked and escaped getting surrounded by finding high ground and dosing themselves with beast repellents.
They had probably been exhausted so they hadn't fought their way through the mobs.
One of the members outside saw the reflection of the scope and flinched. He then waved around his hand, signing with his hands. He was saying that they were fine and to just get rid of the mob already.
With a shrug, Chris signaled for the gate to be opened, both the interior and the minor coralle outside, letting some monsters in to handle.
As such, people who were eager to get some meat, money, and contribution points filed out the gate. They were holding out their weapons, shields, and the like. If they were awakened, then their elements could be floating around them.
Spearheading this group were, amusingly, the Mauin Villagers. They had nothing when they arrived, and they knew nothing of the industries here so they couldn't get good jobs inside the territory.
What they had been doing their whole lives though was fighting!
Even the women who weren't able to secure jobs like cleaner and gardener jobs joined in. They had experienced a lot of wars, though they were usually tasked to protect the children.
Before, they were both too scared and biased. They didn't think it was an option for women to have a job outside the door after marriage.
However, after going to Alterra and seeing female guards and leading figures—especially the respected leaders like Miss Althea, Miss Mathilda, and Miss Winona—their perspective on their limitations suddenly got overturned.
The group charged towards the mob, hearts filled with the fire of battle.
They will fight! For a good life!