-White Bunny POV-
Her mind whirled through the possibilities, knowing every moment standing still was a moment wasted. It was risky to hide from an unknown enemy, and fighting- well, she couldn't trust the wolf enough for that. It left only one option, one she was really starting to hate.
[White Bunny: Run.]
She sprinted away, leaping across the roots and weaving between bushes to avoid losing speed. The wolf caught up- good, he would take the target off her back- and she ran at full speed, doing everything to put distance between herself and the scent of blood.
[[Sixth Sense] has been activated!]
She heard a strange whistle, reminiscent of how the eagle sounded when he dove through the air-
Thwack. Something shot past the wolf's ear, burying itself in the dirt beside her. It appeared similar to a stick, one straighter than any stick she'd ever seen. The wood smelled different as well- sharper, more bitter, nothing like the trees in this forest. A sharp tip glinted at the end of the stick, the kind that was meant to draw blood.
[Black Wolf: What happening?]
The confusion in his voice reflected her own terror, a reminder that she didn't know what was going on. Even the monstrous wolf was in danger, and she-
She heard the same whistling sound. This time, she didn't second-guess herself, reacting on pure instinct.
[White Bunny: Dodge left, now.]
The wolf dove to the right, rolling over as another deadly-tip-stick embedded itself in a tree where his head was a moment ago. She kept running, mind racing ahead of her body. She had started running under the assumption that the hunter was located in the direction of the dead bunny, but there was no reason the hunter had to be.
The deadly-tip-stick whistled as it flew through the air. It flew, and she knew from being hunted by the eagle and owls that things flew best in a straight line-
She was running the wrong direction. The bunny pivoted sharply, forgetting to account for the companion running beside her. The wolf stumbled, narrowly avoiding tumbling over her. He recovered quickly, and a moment later-
[White Bunny: Left again!]
The deadly-tip-stick tore right through his black fur, narrowly missing his body.
[Black Wolf: What happening?!]
Panic now rang through his voice now.
[White Bunny: The deadly-tip-stick is how the hunter kills from a distance. So far, I've deduced their attacks fly in a straight line through the air, and that the hunter isn't moving. Thus, once we get out of their hunting range, we will be safe.]
Her voice was calm, unlike the racing of her pulse. If the wolf freaked out right now- she didn't know how it would end, but it wouldn't be pretty for her.
[Black Wolf: Run... danger. Use... tree. Block.]
She clenched her teeth. She already knew they were in danger, the stupid beast didn't have to remind her. Her legs burned from exhaustion, and the onslaught of deadly-tip-sticks showed no signs of slowing-
She narrowed her eyes. The wolf wasn't stupid, though. He was foolish, but he was also highly empathetic, indicating a high level of awareness. He couldn't speak in fully-formed sentences, but that didn't mean he spoke unnecessarily.
Use tree. Block. She turned the words over in her head. Unlike a normal hunter, the deadly-tip-stick could not maneuver around a tree, not when it flew in a straight line. The attacks wouldn't be able to reach them. It was almost the perfect solution- almost.
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[White Bunny: You're bigger than all the tree trunks.]
She told him, and the wolf fell silent. She heard the faint sound of laughter- the [System], she thought bitterly, but she could not be certain. The two of them kept running, paws slamming across the earth in a steady rhythm.
[White Bunny: Dodge right.]
She told him. It had become second nature to detect the whistling noise, but that didn't mean they were safe. The hunter quickly adapted the way the wolf moved, anticipating where the wolf would be and when he would be unable to dodge. Each miss was narrower than the last.
[Black Wolf: You... small. Go without me.]
The bunny ignored him, focusing on what was in front of her. She adjusted to the forest terrain, learning which roots she could ignore and which bushes were safe to run through. Her strides were short, paws only barely grazing the ground before she leaped into the air again. By comparison, the wolf's strides were absolutely massive, paws thundering across the earth and sending dust flying in his tracks.
[White Bunny: Jump!]
But his front paws had only barely met the dirt; there was only so much he could do to move.
Thunk. The wolf crashed into the dirt, painting the earth with blood.
[Health: -6]
She skidded to a halt, spinning around. Fuck. Her heart hammered against her throat, mind already bracing for the worst case scenario. He was alive, good, but he wouldn't remain that way for long if he didn't-
[White Bunny: Get up, you have to get up, you cannot stop moving-]
He blinked, slowly. The wolf stared past her without seeing, eyes glazed over with pain. He wasn't responding fast enough; the next deadly-tip-branch was coming soon.
She was going to have to leave him behind. Her stomach churned at the thought, but she forced herself to ignore it. It didn't matter. No matter what happened, she would find a way to survive.
[White Bunny: We're almost there. We're almost far enough, just get up-]
Lies spilled out of her mouth, one after another. If she could just get him to move, then she could get them out of this. There was a way; there had to be, but she needed him to stand up-
He staggered upright, dragging himself towards her. The deadly-tip-stick had embedded itself in his back leg, hindering his movements. Another deadly-tip-stick landed in the dirt beside him. At this pace, death was certain. Even the wolf could sense it, tail hanging low as the hopelessness of the situation set in.
[White Bunny: Shut up.]
She snapped before he could say anything. She would be the one who made that call. Somewhere, hidden between these trees, there was a way out, a place they could hide. She just needed to think; she needed a way to cut off the line-
[Black Wolf: Quest wants... two kills. I dead anyway. Don't... come with me.]
The bunny ignored him, focusing on the problem at hand. It didn't matter how big the tree was, only how much area it blocked. As they got further and further away from the tree, the angle blocked was constant, but the area blocked would increase.
She searched for a tree that would work, and-
[[Sixth Sense] has been activated!]
[White Bunny: This way.]
The forest was unnaturally still, as if waiting for death to pass by. As they walked, she kicked up as much dirt as she could to obscure them from the hunter's sight. The deadly-tip-sticks flew with less accuracy than before, and the whistling noise turned into just another sound of the forest. She had only just gotten clean, she thought distantly, and she almost laughed at the absurdity of that.
Left, right, left. Dozens of the deadly-tip-sticks stuck out of the earth, tips buried in the dirt. The wolf's breaths came heavy and ragged. He staggered, swaying more with each step. She pressed herself against him, pushing him forward alongside her.
One step. That was all it was. One step, and then the next.
[White Bunny: We're here. Or, I think we are, at least.]
She was prepared to explain why they were seemingly still out in the open, but- he crumpled to the ground before she could say any of it. She studied him, something uncomfortable twisting in her gut. The deadly-tip-branch stuck out of his leg, and his blood soaked into the dirt around him.
They were safe for now, but if the hunter moved... she summoned the [Tutorial Quest] again.
╔═══━━━─── • ───━━━═══╗
- Tutorial Quest: Hunt or be Hunted -
As prey, the only way to survive is to outlast fight tooth and nail against your predators this forsaken world.
Time Remaining: 6 hours
Requirements for Completion: Survive for 24 hours at any cost.
Reward: Unlock status window, ??? skill points, new ??? skill
Penalty for Failure: Death
╚═══━━━─── • ───━━━═══╝
Five hours left. Damn it. Literally any skill would be helpful with how fucking useless she was. If the hunter moved, they were sitting ducks, and she doubted any amount of quacking would save her.
In his condition, they weren't going to be moving any time soon. She sighed, settling down beside him. If she had interpreted his words correctly, the wolf needed to kill two creatures, or he was going to die.
This was all really fucking great. Before she could figure out which problem was more pressing, another problem presented itself- one which made its immediate threat very, very clear. She had only seen its shadow flying past, and that was more than enough to get her blood pounding.
She had learned that shadow damn well after running from it for two hours.