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The cold bit his exposed skin as he shivered under the roof of trees. What little protection they gave aided little in terms of warmth, and his wounds didn’t make it any easier for him too. A constant, aggravating, deathly wave of torment pulsated from his left arm. Lux helped the only way it could; by wreathing Theron under its thick fur and size, which eased the chill from the breeze, and he couldn’t be more thankful about it.
Drizzles of his past splattered his unfocused gaze. The memories of the good, yet rare times he spent with his old friends who perished before him from a myriad of reasons; the jests and stories told and shared behind the warmth of a campfire, the harsh days where food was scarce and water, scant, each played like a soft song inside his mind. His eyes drooped from his exhaustion, and while he didn’t feel his forehead, he knew of the scalding fever heating his skin.
Under the guise of trees and moonlight, he prayed.
Night bellowed from the shivering of the forest and the howlings of the random creatures roaming about the night. Lux kept watch as Theron rested. Its eyes appeared to glow as if they acted as sentries for his safety. Scavengers appeared once in a while, munching on the corpses laid about near his vicinity, and each time Theron made sure to keep his voice nonexistent. Unseen dangers lurked about from places none could expect, so lurching outside and hunting with his condition required a prudent observation. His eyes studied the curled figure of a somewhat wolf-like creature, the darkness cladding its silhouette like a cloak. Yet, after his eyes adjusted to the sable forest, its figure unveiled itself.
A wolf. Not just any wolf. It was a horned-gray Dire wolf, exactly like Lux. He shifted his gaze toward his companion, who gave the munching figure a curious look, but its eyes turned aloof right after, uninterested in the going-ons outside their alcove. Theron wondered about the prospect of Lux hunting its kin; would it be upset if he commanded it to do so? Yet, strength was paramount to their survival. Every point of experience could spell their survival for the next day, and the day after. He winced as he turned his head back; a part of his heart protested the notion of commanding Lux to do such a horrendous act.
Then a few tinier figures emerged from the darkness. At first, he thought of them as another species, but a careful look shook that assumption off, paired with their gentle howls and whines. Wolf cubs, each smaller than he expected, nibbled on the corpses gleefully. While wolves never struck as scavengers to his knowledge, under certain dire situations where food was scarce, they would turn to days-old carcasses.
So he stayed, paralyzed by uncertainty, quivering under the harsh, biting chill.
Another crinkle of shaking leaves jerked the scene awake, with each step thudded the floor from its weight. Not cubs, Theron thought as his eyes scoured the darkness. The sole adult wolf growled and sneered upon their approach, shielding the tiny cubs behind its shivering legs. Three dark-skinned panthers appeared, their skin sable from head to toe, blending with the black of night, sleek against the glinting moonlight. Their tails extended far beyond any proportional measurement, reaching almost twice their length, their ends curved upward with a small bladed edge as their tips.
Four panthers surrounded his location. Theron kept his eyes closed, praying none detected his presence as they shifted closer to the cowering wolves. Lux stared at the four assailants, its eyes glowering, either from its instincts to hunt or to protect Theron and its kin. Maybe both.
Close enough for my ability… Theron surmised from a quick glimpse. He debated on helping those poor sods shrinking behind their parent in the distance—not that his crippling wound pointed him toward any meaningful decision either. But their cries irked a part of his psyche long gone, and he grimaced as he raised his arm, willing a short command to Lux at the same time.
We help, but let’s wait until the time is right.
The panthers enclosed the group of hapless wolves, each step baring deeper into their defenseless territory. Their dark fangs scintillated under the faint moonlight, drool from their gritting maw dripped from hunger and their desire to kill. A whiff of unknown poison scattered within their column, a scent so subtle none sensed it at first, or perhaps, there wasn’t much scent at all, judging from their non-reaction. Lux scampered away silently, its fur-padded feet nigh produced noise as it trailed the panther’s hinds. Slowly, a few of them noticed their deteriorating health, then turned their eyes around, checking their perimeter for the source of the contamination. Hidden well between the pillar of trees, Theron’s dark hair and armor melded with the forest as if they were one.
Lux struck first. Its maw sank into the neck of an unaware beast at the edge of their lineup to his left—in this case, to their right—and chaos ensued. The other wolf sensed the tides changing. The panthers’ invisible damage slowed their pace enough to be noticeable with a glimpse. Lux retreated into the forest, its eyes glimmering from the darkness, watching, spying, stalking. When the other wolf attacked, Theron had to put a stop to his active ability; he wished to do those defenseless cubs no harm. Each panther had lost at least 8-10 points of their health at this point, and their legs quivered under their weight. Lux tailed the wolf’s intent, striking at another from the darkness, claiming the life of another before a panther responded. Theron activated its ability then, a red line streaked as its jaw crunched the panther’s open mouth, teeth and blood gnashed from its overwhelming might.
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[You gained 10 experience points!]
[You gained 10 experience points!]
[You gained 10 experience points!]
The other wolf struggled against the lone panther, each exchanging a few gashes here and there, their paws and maws scraping at one another’s fur, strands of black and gray coat whisked about from their dance. Lux came in when the panther lost its balance, finishing off its life with a swift crash against its windpipes. Blood dribbled from Lux’s trembling lips as the other wolf cautioned it to stay back, which Theron commanded from the shadows to obey.
[You gained 10 experience points!]
Only ten for each… Casting his disappointment aside, he watched the cubs sniffing the battlefield. The parent wolf glowered at Lux’s calm figure, unable to determine its best course of action, but lowered its gaze when a cub whined at it, asking for food.
[Hidden event found!]
Huh?
[Save the wolf pack. Defend the wolf pack against three waves of hungry panthers.]
[Requirements: An active wolf-class Aspect]
[Reward: 1x Empty aspect core. Bonus rewards will be granted depending on how many of the cubs survived.]
[10/10 cubs remained.]
An… aspect core?
The roars of another pack of panthers shattered the glass of silence. Theron’s eyes shot open, eyeing his immediate vicinity for the incoming danger. Bushes rustled, and emerging from the dark column of trees were the angry eyes of the panthers, their irises almost glowing red from their ravenous snarls. Their blades danced as three sable figures broke into the scene—claiming the life of a defenseless cub furthest from its parent. The wolf cried in agony, watching one of its children die within a second, swearing vengeance upon them.
[9/10 cubs remained.]
Too far from me… Theron shifted his position, attempting to get a better view of the ensuing battle.
Three twirling blades blitzed toward their location. He willed Lux to intercept the two coming from the left, hoping the other wolf could fend off the other’s attack. With its ability on cooldown, it couldn’t quite finish the panthers off in a single move, yet its initial charge sent one of them flying backward. A bladed tail glanced at Lux’s side, grazing its thick fur and drawing a few droplets of blood before it latched onto its extended tail and yanked the panther toward it, smashing its exposed stomach with its paws, then devoured its insides with a nasty crunch.
[You gained 10 experience points!]
Theron surveyed the fight, taking particular note of the parent wolf’s side of the battle. The lone panther lurched to avoid the wolf’s snapping jaw, ducking and retaliating with a swift tail stab. Unable to move from its position, the wolf had to tank each hit with its own stiff body. Blood painted the panther’s gleaming tail, and it retracted its outstretched limb before its eyes spotted a lone cub shivering a few meters away from them, close to where Theron was.
Shit!
[You gained 10 experience points!]
The next assault came too fast for its parent to react. The panther’s dark coating nigh vanished with its explosive charge, using its tail to fend off any defense from the wolf. It closed the distance between it and Theron’s location in an instant, brooding over the hapless, cowering cub, before a human hand burst out from beside the tree, yanking it away before its maw crunched empty air. “Khhh!” Theron cried in pain, having to use his battered arm as a support as he reached for it. The cub weighed close to nothing as he cradled it between his arms, then retreated into his spot from the furious panther. It lurched forward, sliding past the trees with guile, drool splashing the dirt as its figure towered over Theron’s. No trees nor bushes would defend him, not here.
Yet, again, Lux came to the rescue. Its figure rushed past the pillar of trees, snapping the panther’s neck from its sudden bite, crushing it as it found the floor. Theron breathed relief; the previous message dictated that yes, it had dealt with the other panthers before it came to his rescue.
[You gained 10 experience points!]
Air seemed to grow to a halt as Theron’s arms shivered. Was it fear he felt or was it the adrenaline overloading his senses? He didn’t know. But one thing was for sure, the night was young, and the mission wasn’t close to being over.
[2/3 waves defeated.]
2? Since whe- Oh, the first group we fought was the first wave…
With a short command, he asked Lux to call the parent wolf to hunker near his position. At first, it seemed fruitless. But a loud howl from Lux later, the other wolf bounded for their location and cried when the cub held by Theron leaped to find refuge under its limbs.
“Hi?” He said weakly, unsure of what kind of greeting or reaction he should give, but the incoming peril shirked their minds off their awkward interaction, focusing on the looming danger instead. Stay close… He mouthed off his commands.
The thump of a larger entity breached the scene. Its quivering whiskers glinted under the moonlight. Theron’s heart skipped a beat upon its entrance.
Their next foe was larger than the others.