The first full day at the Primeval Forest's edge had so far been somewhat less eventful than the evening before. Strong River had been shaken awake by an all-too-chipper Blue Ripple at dawn's first light. Ever the resourceful hunter, the matter of the broken drawstring was resolved with a length of flexible leather cord. Then the two had emerged from the tent for all the usual morning routines, the breakfast on hand a choice of the previous night's spicy stew mixture reheated once again or a bowl of an oatmeal mash with slices of fatty meat stirred in.

The invisible divisions in the camp felt more pronounced than they had been the night before, the neutrals in neither faction on an unspoken agreement deciding to place themselves between the two factional groups. The new arrangements made it such that River did not so much as catch a glimpse of Soaring Wave and Stumpy, although a few hard stares from that side of the camp still did rest on him.

After breakfast, Blue Ripple and his cadre prepared to head out to the forest. The other members of the group were amiable but still distant, with Blue Ripple again doing much of the talking as River assumed was the likely natural state of things in any group. Mister Black's silence throughout the trek was ominous but not unexpected, given he had announced he would be focused elsewhere for the time being.

The trees at the forest's edge had the thickest trunks he had ever seen, with some large enough for a man to puts his arms around and have his hands not quite reach each other. The other warriors grinned as they watched him discover the reality of what a forest was, having only seen young and lithe trees sparsely dotting the grasslands the clan inhabited. Every one of them had once been in the same position, they assured him, also telling him about how the trees grew even more massive the deeper into the forest one went.

The rest of the morning then went into observing and learning about how to move through the forest -- with a good-hearted ribbing that River needed some new boots -- and emphasizing the routine in traveling there, particularly the necessity of keeping track of the direction in which to reach the edge again. He took pains to remember all the little tricks the men employed in keeping their bearings, as it would soon become useful if not essential for him to know.

"How very exciting," Mister Black drolly observed some time after the direction of the sunlight's rays through the tree branches indicated it was past noon. "You do realize you aren't going to run into anything unless you go much deeper or you split up, yes? Eight men are too hard a target for most of the beasts at this level."

"Welcome back, Mister Black," River somewhat acidly replied within his mental space, having been startled at the sudden commentary from nowhere. "I should have known that," he conceded, "but I was busy trying to get as much information as I could about surviving here. While you can tell me everything around and lead me in and out of the forest, it's not a good idea to always be relying on that, right?"

"I do think you are rather old to be babysat, yes," Mister Black replied.

"Hey bro," River said, flagging Blue Ripple for attention, "so, um... when do we split up so we can actually find some beasts here? Or is today going to only be a tour?"

Blue Ripple frowned and scratched his head in consternation as a couple of the men laughed at him. "Busted, aren't I?" he announced sheepishly, sighing. "I guess we can all split into pairs. Brother River, you're with me. Everybody, remember to head back before the sun is completely gone."

The others mumbled at the obvious instruction as they too split into pairs. Blue Ripple picked a direction and headed off, River rushing a little to catch up with his long strides.

"Sorry, bro." River apologized once they were out of earshot.

Blue Ripple laughed. "No worry. It was silly of me to think you wouldn't catch on, and rather dumb of me to limit our haul by dragging it out. It's your first time out here, that's all. This is where you can make it or break it."

"Am I going to do that bad?"

Blue Ripple shook his head. "It's not about judging you that simply, bro," he replied, voice grave and rather quiet compared to his usual boisterous volume. "Cultivation is one thing, you can build a physique just with some breathing exercises and lifting things, but actual fighting experience and ability to fight... wait, shh. Listen." Blue Ripple cut short the explanation and lowered his voice to a whisper, holding an arm out to signal a stop in movement.

From a distance came the soft sounds of rustling undergrowth, a crunching of leaves and slow sweeping of a tail. Every so often a faint exhalation like cackling could be heard. To an average person the creature would still be too distant to hear, but with the physique tempering levels of the two young men, the sounds were clear and audible.

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"Hear that?" Blue Ripple whispered, and River nodded in the affirmative. "Moss Jackal. Adults peak in the third-grade. Gotta watch out for the front claws. Wanna watch?"

"Watch?" River scoffed but still kept his voice low. "Let me take it. Just make sure it doesn't run away."

Blue Ripple frowned, sighed, and nodded. "Okay. I'll be right behind you."

River took a deep breath, visualizing the Passion Sublimation Technique's black hole, and then launched himself forward in the sound's direction. Each step propelled him a good ten meters or so ahead as he wove his way between the trees, dodging branches and trying to minimize the amount of noise he made as he closed in on the beast, mainly propelling himself off the tree trunks rather than the leaf-carpeted forest floor.

"Remember, no Blood Devouring Palm here," Mister Black chimed in. "You'll probably not want to do anything too spectacular like rip it in half with just your arm strength, either."

"I know. I have to keep it to a reasonable level. I have a plan." River leapt up onto a sturdy branch as he reassured Mister Black and looked down into a small glade up ahead.

The beast was there. It was an odd creature, a wilder looking variant of the dogs some in the village outside the clan kept, with sharper features and a fuzzy coat matted with green patches like the mosses and lichens that clothed some of the rocks and trees in the forest. A torn apart small carcass lay at its feet, mostly devoured now. The creature's muzzle rose, sniffing in the air.

River shoved himself off the tree branch and propelled himself to the forest floor some twenty meters in front of the moss jackal. It snarled and cackled at the open provocation. Then it charged at him.

River leapt forward, twisting himself aside at the last second to avoid the creature's sharp teeth and claws and then cuffing it on the side of the head as he passed it. The two figures turned, the youth smiling while the jackal shook its head back and forth, regaining its balance after the unexpected blow. Then they leapt at each other again.

And again.

And again.

Each time the moss jackal aimed itself straight and true, and each time the young man would dodge at the last second and slap the side of the jackal's head. No matter how well the creature positioned itself, it wasn't enough to land a blow of its own.

River's initial exhilaration at entering the encounter dulled, but he continued in this way, each time trying to push the edge of his reaction speed at that very last instant. Finally, after a few more goes at it, he decided to give the moss jackal a firm kick in the ribs, propelling it to the edge of the glade.

Huffing out the air in his lungs and then taking a deep breath, he charged at the cackling beast that was scrambling back to its feet. He dodged its jaws, avoided its claws, and circled around behind it, reaching out with a hand to grab its tail. Taking hold and being careful of the force he exerted, he swung the whole beast like a club at the nearest tree.

There was a scream and a snapping sound as the moss jackal's back broke against the tree trunk. River let go of the creature and allowed it to thrash in futility on the forest floor. Grinning, he looked up and met the stare of Blue Ripple, who stood across the glade leaned against a tree. The man's blue eyes were wide in shock.

The jackal's thrashing ceased as River stepped on the back of its neck with a loud crunch. "Adequate?" River asked his compatriot.

"Yoooooo..." the usually garrulous Blue Ripple had a temporary shortage of words and then slapped his forehead. "Crap. I totally screwed up, didn't I? You don't have any kind of weapon on you."

River laughed. "If it makes you feel any better, I have no training to go with a weapon anyway. I always did my exercises with my hands. A weapon'd only be a liability right now."

Blue Ripple blinked, processing everything for another moment before smiling. "You're pretty damn fast, you know? I guess you can at least run away if crap goes bad. That's good. That's good." He seemed relieved and talking more to reassure himself.

"Um, bro?"

Blue Ripple jumped. "Yeah?"

"So what do we do with this thing now?"

"Oh heavens, I really am just worse than useless today, aren't I..." Blue Ripple mumbled and then came over and started chatting about proper handling of carcasses.

"That was a bit theatrical." Mister Black observed in the midst of the lecture.

"A bit," River admitted to his inner occupant. "I need him thinking I'm good at the running and dodging thing, though, right?"

"Adequate, I guess. Once you're a bit stronger, you'll be able to use some techniques to enhance that."

"Well, with what's planned that should be pretty soon, right?"

"Maybe. A couple days..." Mister Black sighed. "You're going to have to really push yourself in that time, you know."

"I know," River affirmed. "No pain, no gain."

"What you'll be facing won't be an over-glorified stuffed dummy like that dog, young man. Since we only have a couple days, you will be facing some rather dangerous creatures if you want to break through."

"What's the alternative? Sitting in a room meditating for the next thirty years?"

"You could stay in the forest," Mister Black offered.

River caught himself short of shaking his head, as externally he was still obediently listening to Blue Ripple lecture about beast carcasses. "I have things to do back in the clan."

"It's your life and death, young man," Mister Black gave in. "However, you might want to get some more experience in before the real tempering begins, then."

River silently agreed and returned his focus to the outer world.

"Hey, bro," he interrupted Blue Ripple mid-lecture.

"Yeah?"

"How about we get a few more of these and then you can cover that all at once?" River coyly offered.

Blue Ripple sighed and shook his head. "Have it your way. At least I can show you how the blood can be used for luring..."

Blue Ripple launched into another lecture on beast lures as he bundled up the moss jackal corpse in cloth from a small pack and tied it with twine.

Together, River and Blue Ripple continued with their session of hunting and training, absolutely oblivious to a certain immortal spirit's affirmation of a plan neither was privy to.