NOVEL NEXT Chapter 184
The words shot adrenaline through me, forcing me to fully shake off the grogginess of sleep and the confusion of divine conversation. I stood tall, my spine crackling from the base of my skull to the tip of my tail as I stretched. Sybil and Trai cuddled closer together on the wolfstag pelt beneath them, and Trai continued her little infantile whimpers as she settled back into a deeper sleep. The mud and filth from the swamp had dried across my whole body, and, before I focused on the threats literally surrounding us, I took a moment to miss the clean sands of our old home. Especially when they were heated by Solia…
With a forceful thought, I stopped reminiscing on the comfortable things of my past, instead redoubling my focus on Foire and what he had mentioned. Spotting the beasts that dared to hunt us. A calm air settled over me, and I stepped as silently as I could towards Foire. Though I knew he was there, he remained so still and silent that I couldn’t pick his silhouette out of the shadows until I could nearly touch him.
“Report.” I spoke just louder than a whisper, and Foire replied in the same tone.
“There are at least thirty of the creatures, and they’re constantly circling the island. They stay in the water, the only way to see them is by their eyes that poke out of the surface sometimes. We aren’t sure how large they get, since they have yet to fully expose themselves. Silf thinks they’re bigger than you and Took, but isn’t sure.” I fought not to show any reaction to that. “We haven’t got any idea if they’re still hungry, but they haven’t gotten close since Solia lit her fires.”
Foire stopped his reporting and looked at me. I couldn’t read any emotions in his face through the darkness, and I clicked my tongue as I thought. I’d heard some splashing before Foire and I began speaking, so I looked to the flames on the shore. The water there seemed stagnant and unmoving, nothing moving there even after I spent several moments with my eyes peeled and focused, watching for movement.
“Just before you called me, I heard something in the water. Any idea what it was?”
A flick of his tail. “They’re moving out there. Not sure what they’re doing or where they’re going, but it was probably one of those things swimming around.”
I sighed and began walking towards the shores, and after a moment’s hesitation, Foire followed me. Though I wanted to change my perception, to welcome the cool blues and warm reds to give me some measure of greater understanding of the world around me, I refused to do so. Reminding myself that it wouldn’t help me anyways, I instead looked at the counter in my [Skill]: [5/18]. I wasn’t willing to give that up for no benefit at all.
Though I still heard nothing, I stepped close to the water, nearly within reach. I stopped myself early enough to make sure that I couldn’t be wholly taken by surprise if one of the beasts decided I looked like dinner. Foote stood nervously behind me, and I could feel the vibrations of his nervous steps through the ground.
“See anything?” I asked, my eyes never leaving the still waters.
“No, Alpha. Can’t be sure though.” He fought against himself again, but I interrupted his thought.
“I’ll step away. Don’t worry about me.” As I said as much, I began to step back from the waters without ever turning my back. Foire stood in silence, then stepped with me to about ten feet away from the shores, where I figured we were safe enough. Though I wanted to continue watching with my best scout’s presence, he spoke up.
“If there is nothing that you need me to do for you now, then I’ll go ahead and get some rest.”
I schooled myself from showing any reaction, and sighed. “Yeah, you’ll need your rest.” I flicked my hand in dismissal, but Foire didn’t leave immediately, so I turned to look at him.
“Trai… how was she? Did she fuss or whine?”
I couldn’t hold back the little chuckle. “No, she was fine. When I left, she cuddled up with Sybil, so you might need to fight her to try to get Trai out of the Beta’s clutches if you want to spend the night with your daughter.”
Foire laughed back, the sound light and comfortable, a sound I had heard more and more frequently since Trai’s hatching. “I might give her a little space tonight, then. She tries to find me if she wakes and I’m not there, so I’ll see if she can hunt me down.” His every word dripped with amusement and his joy was infectious.
“I haven’t seen her walk or hunt though, so how will she get to you?”
“She can crawl along, so she’ll be able to move a little.” Foire continued walking towards the crest of the hill, his steps quick and light. “I won’t be too far.”
I accompanied him, and when he saw Trai wrapped in Sybil’s embrace, he sighed and his shoulders slumped, but only for a moment. Then, he strolled over to just behind Shemira and Took, maybe ten feet away from his daughter’s sleeping form. Before long, his even breathing joined the quiet snores and squeaks of the swarm as a whole, and I turned to return to the shores of the swamp before having my attention called by the spear that stood at the top of the hillock, its head pressed carelessly into the ground.
We had used it solely to wrap the few wolfstag hides that we kept around, something to carry our luggage. Now, though… I could use it to experiment. With just the beginning of an idea, I grabbed the long haft of the spear and brought it along with me.
At the edge of the water, I bounced the butt of the spear in the water, sending continuous ripples through the water as the quiet splashes echoed around. Nothing changed, at least at first. There was no sudden swarm of the beasts, though I supposed that was a good thing. Watching the surrounding waters, there didn’t seem to be any change, except for the brackish water stirring under my spear’s interruption.
I continued to bounce the spear in the water, hoping that it would somehow give me more information, but there wasn’t anything for me to learn. With a sigh, I began to stand tall to try something else, but before I could, I noticed something new. There was a log or something slowly floating towards me, and though a part of me wanted to disregard the change, I knew that this wasn’t a mere log. Instead, I continued to consistently splash my spear’s butt into the water and watched closely. The log drifted closer and closer, and as it entered the light of the guttering flames from Solia’s makeshift torch, I realized that I was finally seeing the whatever it was that had hunted my people.
A hot rage began to surge within me, but I forcefully tamped it down and continued to watch the beast. Then, there was a sudden wrenching in my arm, and the butt of the spear was destroyed by the creature attempting to ambush and devour me. The crazed beast’s assault was sudden and violent, the water splashing wildly all around as it rolled over and over as its whole, muscled body thrashed wildly.
In the low light, all I could see was thickly scaled hide and snapping jaws, but I didn’t think any further when I lunged forward and, with [Quaking Claw], sunk my claws deep into the beast’s neck.
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