“First, we add some larger creatures moving in the distance. The random cracking of branches and noises will help. Then we move the light to sunset, where everyone can see, but not as clearly. See how much difference it makes when your mind needs more time to process. Now, we add some random temperature variations to the atmosphere. First, near the water, it should be cooler, but we will also add a few spots of cool breeze along the pathways.”

There was a splash as one of the birds landed in a pool tree leaf, followed by a small growl as the tree’s resident protested the intrusion, and all of the kids were startled, looking around to try to place the noise.

Max smiled, added a moon to the sky, then dimmed the light a little more to find the balance between comfortable sight and slight uncertainty.

“I think that alone should be enough for the introduction. How about it? Does it look beautiful and feel a bit spooky, but not horror movie spooky?” Max asked.

“It’s perfect. Remember the first time we went to the mountain shrine, and I spent the whole walk clinging to your arm?” One of the mothers asked her husband, who smirked at the memory of how that outing ended.

“How about we walk and see how the effects work while we experience them for ourselves? After that, the girls will make their own scenario to test their knowledge of the most basic principles using premade elements.”

Everyone eagerly got up to follow him through the woods, while Max decided to remain silent and let them take in the experience.

What none of the others knew was that Max had added a Winged Wolf, the flying guard dog from Comor. The one he had programmed was the excessively friendly failed candidate that they had played fetch with, and it was programmed not to attack, but in the dark of the forest, the sound of huge wings and its mournful howl as it couldn’t find anyone to play with had all of the others freaked out.

“What is that? It sounds massive. Is that a dog? I heard about them in human movies. But they never made a noise like that.” One of the Innu girls whispered as the sound of flapping wings and breaking branches were joined by a few upset birds whose leaf pools had been accidentally emptied by the three-meter tall winged wolf, who was too heavy for the smaller leaves where the birds were relaxing.

It faded into the distance as they hiked up the hills, and the group began to relax. Finally, they made it to the picnic site, overlooking the glimmering lake Max had customized earlier to shimmer in the sun but now lit up red and gold by the twilight.

“Well, how was it? Did I explain the method well enough?” Max asked.

“Can we replace the classroom at the start with a small cabin and save this scenario? It is incredible, and I would like to actually have a picnic here at some point.” One of the fathers asked.

“Not a problem. All done. I added a standard single-bedroom cottage with a king bed and a wood-burning fireplace. Since it’s a romantic outing, the users might enjoy a little comfort and privacy.” Max agreed.

The Innu man smirked at him while the other one winked at his wife, who gave a long-suffering sigh.

“Well, ladies, should we start fresh? Perhaps we could pick a random setting for you four to work together to build?” Max suggested.

While Max saved and cleared the setting for the girls to get started on the practical part of their day’s science lesson, Nico and the technicians were busy in the lab, getting through the initial tests of the new augmentic helmets for the Canis and other sensitive species.

“I have optimized the shape for maximum sensory acuity,” Nico explained as she handed the test helmet to their volunteers.

“Isn’t that a bit much, though? I get that the face mask and armor are the same as all the other units, but with the tail sheath and the upright ears on the helmet, I feel a bit like I’m standing here naked.” The Canis girl complained, stroking the soft fabric ears on the helmet that allowed her own ears to shape the sensor array for directionality in a way that Nico hadn’t managed to emulate smoothly with their ears pinned to their head.

“But it looks like a patrol uniform, with cargo pants and hard torso armor. It’s not that different from what the warriors of your world were wearing. Should we make one in the Special Forces pattern, with the additional upper body armor and modular storage systems?” Nico asked.

Given their size, the whole armor suit had been custom-made for the Canis volunteers, and Nico had made them more naturally shaped, like the Hunters Suits, instead of the combat uniform look of the human version since Canis warriors usually fought nearly naked in short shorts.

“I hate to be the one to break this to you, but not all of us have the self-confidence of you or Rill. I prefer loose long sleeves to booty shorts and crop tops.” The volunteer muttered.

“Problem solved, just put them on over your armor,” Nico announced, throwing the girl an oversized uniform shirt and pants.

“Oh, we should modify the face as well. A wolf muzzle would give more room for sensors.” One of the Innu technicians suggested before running and hiding under the glare of the Canis team.

“Got it. No wolf face helmets.” She squeaked from her hiding spot behind the test bench.

“Even if this cloth is really hard to cut, wouldn’t a blunt impact cause a fair bit of damage still? Not just to my ears, but to the skull underneath.” One of the testers asked.

“Yes, it’s a drawback of the design. We could add a hard rear shell that would still allow your ears to move or a full hard shell that should only limit your ears’ range of motion to about half normal.” Nico agreed.

“Alright, we will make a full set, including the top armor for the tails, since everyone refused the suggestion to expand the leg armor to tuck them inside.” One of the Technicians announced, starting the printing process to make all necessary modifications.

The Canis didn’t know it yet, but the Innu had determined that they were going to make them absolutely adorable, in a demihuman super soldier way, by the time Max arrived. They had analyzed his past behavior, and if it was both stylish and functional, he was at least 35 percent more likely to not argue with some of their more questionable design choices.