Jagón allowed himself a small sigh.
Leave it to that crazy cat to make such a grand point in such a vulgar way.
Still, the panther was more than grateful she stepped in while there was still some chance of turning this all around. However, his relief was short lived as a roar erupted into the room.
All turned to locate the source, finding the youngest judge, Richta Candori, standing with her fists tightly clenched.
This was the same Candori family Oust, Aster's most recent opponent, was from. Aster noticed Richta's head lacked the orange tint her brother's bore. Before him was a pure white humanoid tigeress with a more narrowed black stripe pattern than her brother's.
"None here are foolish enough to consider this hairless rat before us a threat, mage. But what we do consider him to be is a cloud of incompetence looming over all of Alora! By letting him survive, we display our mercy upon our enemies, that the edge of our blade has dulled alongside our conviction!"
She slammed her fist against her empty chair, easily splintering the wood and sending it flying back before she continued in her half growl, pointing towards the boy.
"That human stands as a symbol of our weakness. General Venatus was allowed to cultivate that weakness in his grand disillusionment, and before us lies the result. A truly cancerous existence that believes itself our equal. That it could hold it's own in our army. That kind of cancer can feast on entire kingdoms from the inside unless it is cut out and culled back immediately, as any such sickness or weakness should be.
"General Venatus and his entire house should be executed immediately as such a cancer to our country. That is how my father would vote were he here to witness how far such a mighty house has fallen, and how I, Richta Candori, the sole heir to the Candori line, shall vote in his absence here today."
The deadly tigeress remained standing, her abundant breasts heaving from her anger. She never took her piercing red eyes away from Aster, making sure the human felt every word.
Aster saw his brother Talan look towards the tigeress and inhale, obviously about to defend himself and his family name, when the prince seated in front of him simply held up two fingers, stopping the guard in his tracks.
From the seat furthest from the King's own came a heavy grunt as an old wolf braced himself with his cane and stood from his seat.
Byron Aschefell began cautiously walking to the center of the room, his cane making a light but sharp tapping sound as he slowly paced himself to stand before the boy.
He placed a reassuring grip on Jagón's shoulder in passing as he shuffled by his former student, moving to stand before his adoptive son.
The old wolf had a certain young pup barking at his consciousness. Byron could only smile about it though, it was rare for his daughter to show such interest in anything, so the silver canine decided to humor his pups curiosity, and make his choice known in one fell swoop.
Aster jumped a bit when he felt the wolf's digits cup his jaw. But the grip was nothing like the King's before it. It was... Tender. The coaxing hand gently lifted his face to meet the gaze of the elderly wolf that stood before him.
Aster could've sworn he saw a flicker in the wolf's right eye for a moment when he first made contact. Looking up at the large wolf now bearing a familiar, fanged smile before him, Aster realized who he was looking at.
The jagged silver star on his forehead eliminated any further doubt, Aster had just met the father of the she-wolf he had befriended during the Selection, Stahl.
The gentle soul held his gaze for a moment, seemingly struggling to focus his eyes on the boy. In truth, he was only giving his lovely daughter the better view she had desired. He spoke in a surprisingly deep voice, even deeper than Jagón's.
"What did you hope to accomplish by competing in the Selection? What was your goal? Why do you fight?"
Aster would've told him the truth even without the spell, the old wolf before him basically emanated calmness and kindness, things that Aster weren't used to being shown as a human by that point.
"I just want to prove my value, that I too can play a small part in protecting the people that need it. I want to make my father proud of me. I wish to bring true honor to the Venatus name he chose to share with me, not shame for something I could not control... For being what I am." Aster trailed off, but to his embarrassment, felt compelled to add a bit more by the spell.
"Thank you for being kind, Sir. I think you're the first one outside of my family to see my face and still do that."
The boy considered for a moment that maybe dying wouldn't be so bad after all. Little did he know he'd died once before.
The silvery old warrior just chuckled and dropped his hand from the boy's face, turning to Jagón before asking something so simple, but so powerful.
"In the deepest etches of your heart, in the parts of your very soul where a father's love for his children resides, Jagón, do you feel this human is your son?"
The panther knight did not hesitate for a second, speaking clearly, and a bit louder than before.
"With absolute certainty."
Many of the judges gasped, but all fell dead silent as the clock ticked on. After thirty eerie seconds, the large wolf grinned, and turned himself back to address the rest of the gathered beasts.
"A father's love may truly know no bounds. Were that a lie, he would be long dead by now. What I see here today is not weakness, but love, lady Richta." The old wolf smiled towards the young tiger, receiving a scowl in return. He continued anyways.
"What I see before us is no crime, only a warrior determined to meet the odds stacked against him with bravery. One that undoubtedly trained dubiously to overcome his shortcomings and weaknesses compared to us beastmen. All of this in hopes of earning the right to be treated as an equal for the first time in his life. To make his father proud and to honor the family he was gifted with, a gift he has not taken for granted it would seem."
Aster felt his throat tighten, and his eyes misted a bit at hearing the defense. The old wolf looked to the panther kneeling on the floor next.
"Losing a cub is the deepest sadness that any real father would hope to die before enduring, Jagón. We know that better than any here... You and your cub deserve a fair chance." The tired wolf faced the judges to state his final decision on the matter.
"We have a skilled young warrior bravely come forth to fight for us. One that does so, even still, as those very people he desires to serve decide whether he should be allowed to live. A warrior hailing from one of the greatest families in our kingdom's history at that.
"No crime was committed today, or any day, by this father or his son... I vote to dismiss both of any charges, and further request the human be allowed to finish the Selection to join our ranks and fight by our sides, just as any warrior hailing from our lands should be allowed."
Before most could even register what the wolf had said, Alice jumped up and boldly seconded the motion.
***