We decided to stop for the night in a glade by the river. I pitched my tent on the uneven bedrock and we went to gather wood for a fire. I was hungry but didn’t dare go hunting and leave him alone, so we made do with a scrawny 'rabbit' I caught by chance. It had barely enough meat for a meal, but it sufficed for my human form. I had some water in my inventory, but it wouldn’t last long.

Our progress had been much slower than I anticipated. Even in my feline form, we couldn’t move quickly. This wasn’t a place for a level one human like him, so we had to advance cautiously, and I had to clear a path for him.

The myriads of stars lit the sky with strange, unknown constellations as we settled down to sleep. I watched as the red moon rose and sighed. It would have been such a romantic setting if I wasn’t exhausted, with a boy I had no romantic feelings for, and being relentlessly hunted by flocks of mosquitoes.

We had only one sleeping bag, mine, and he wanted to sleep without it, but that made no sense—the night was too chilly. I had my old bed, but it wouldn’t fit in the tent. At least I took out the pillow. We huddled together on the ninety-centimeter-wide latex mattress I had, using the sleeping bag as a blanket.

The tent had a mosquito net, so we didn’t need to close it completely. Despite the net, mosquitoes were annoyingly active, only partially repelled by my aura. My aura works against mosquitoes if I concentrate it, as I do when I 'disinfect' the boys, but I can't keep it that concentrated all the time. That requires active mental effort. Maybe I could train my aura more, to do it automatically, like creating cleaning bubbles. It would be wonderful to develop an anti-mosquito repelling aura!

We hadn’t talked much since the revelation about the curse’s source, each of us trying to digest the information. Killing the pesky mosquitoes with my aura provided a distraction that eventually helped me fall asleep.

It was a relatively restless night, with us waking each other up countless times. At one point, I got an elbow to the nose as he fought something in a dream. We had to go outside for the toilet several times, and I forbade him from going alone, wanting to keep him within my aura's protection. When we finally stood up early in the morning, we were both more tired than when we went to sleep, unable to enjoy the vibrancy of the nature around us.

I scrounged some food from my inventory for breakfast, but as we were packing up, I saw trouble coming: a sybrex had appeared, sniffing at the edge of our glade.

Sybrex are a reptilian species, partially similar to Earth's Komodo dragons, but more agile. They move on four legs but stand higher and hunt in packs. They look like large wolves or bears covered in scales, with reptilian heads. They are ferocious and stubborn hunters.

I wanted to kill it, but by the time I told Mike to stay put and switched into my lynx form, it had run away. I couldn’t risk following it and leaving Mike alone. We set off again, but after about ten minutes, I saw the sybrex trailing us.

"Fuck, we're getting into trouble," I said with a growl.

Mike looked back and saw the beast. "You mean that crocodile?" he asked, showing he partially understood my growling.

I growled back, telling him it wasn’t a crocodile. The sybrex crouched low, like a cat ready to pounce. Just as I thought of transforming back into human form to talk to Mike and put him up in a tree while I chased the trailing sybrex, a whole group of them appeared in front of us.

Did the first one call the others? It could be. The problem was that the smaller sybrexes could climb trees, so that option was moot once the pack showed up.

The first sybrex was level fifty-six, but the new ones were level nineteen, sixteen, seventy-one, and seventy-five.

"Don’t worry about me, save yourself," Mike said, misunderstanding the situation. He thought I was in danger.

I pushed him towards a natural redoubt formed by some rocks. The beasts weren’t here for me; they were after him.

“Is this my curse again?” he sighed.

It wasn’t. This was just bad luck. We were in the pack's territory, and they smelled easy prey. The sybrexes communicated with low and high-pitched sounds, showing an uncanny level of coordination. Their tactic was simple but effective: one or two would provoke me, simulating attacks, while the others waited for the moment to strike at Mike. It was the same way they would hunt a lone rhinoceros with its calf.

Any time I moved to follow one of the attackers, another would prepare to jump at Mike. I was constantly on the defensive. They knew my strength and tempered their attacks to easily disengage, not letting me capitalize on any opportunity. It was a game of patience and endurance. The first mistake would be fatal, and they had time and numbers on their side, while I was alone.

"Leave me and go away!" he insisted, but I growled, unsatisfied with his suggestion.

After a while, he came up with another proposal. "Could you outrun them?"

Now, this was a bit more optimistic. I growled back: yes, I could outrun them, but not with him on my back. The jungle was too dense.

As time passed and more sybrexes arrived, their attacks became less frequent. We were now surrounded by twenty-some beasts. Were they waiting for something?

I was trying to think of my options. I could try to fly with Mike, but it was too risky. First, with such a heavy load, I would need too long to fly high enough to be protected from their attacks. Secondly, they could follow, and I would soon run out of mana. I could tell Mike to climb a tree, but the trees around here were not that huge, and the sybrexes were better climbers than he was.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

What other options did I have?

What would Lynx do? He would simply disappear. Could I do the same?

As the sybrexes remained calm at a distance, I transformed into human form, spelled a protective mirror around us, and then transformed back into a lynx. The sudden change managed to confuse the beasts, and one of them came to investigate.

This was the mistake I had anticipated, and I pounced, sinking my fangs into the intruder. The other sybrexes desperately tried to free their comrade, attacking from all sides, but their efforts were in vain. By the time they managed to reach me, their companion was already dead.

I had hoped this would deter them, but it only seemed to strengthen their resolve. As I stood there, eating the foul-smelling, poisonous creature, more sybrexes arrived, and their levels were even higher. Several were now in the eighties. They didn't attack outright but drew the circle tighter, forcing me to push back by jumping and attacking repeatedly.

It was a massive pack, likely split into smaller groups that could quickly assemble if their territory was challenged. They seemed to mistake me for a rival beast with its cub, trying to establish a new territory. This, I theorized, was why they were so compelled to kill Mike.

We were still there by nightfall, and I was out of ideas.

"You know something?" he finally asked.

"What?" I growled, turning on the other side.

"You can't fly with me because I'm too heavy, and they'll give chase, isn't it?"

I growled, confirming the fact.

"Can you transform me into a bird?" he asked.

That question took me by surprise. I guess I could do that, but would it make sense?

"Look, as Ju said, this is not a game. I've been studying a book on transformations for a while, and I might be able to transform you, but you should know that transforming you would alter your soul. Plus, things can go awry. Every spell can fail or misfire. What if something goes wrong?"

He listened patiently to my long growled speech, but I guess he didn't understand a word. He kept silent for a while, and I thought he had given up on the idea until he spoke again.

"I had always dreamed of flying. I wanted to join the delta planning team, but my parents wouldn't allow it. They said I wasn't trained enough and that if I took up some sports, they might consider it eventually. As if they ever would!"

I huffed and shifted my position, forcing some of the sybrex to retreat. "Will it come to a showdown now?" I wondered, but they retreated.

“Oh, Mike,” I growled, “just because your parents didn't let you try delta planning, you want to be a bird? Which kind? A hawk? A vulture? An owl? A parakeet? Every bird has a different personality, so which one do you want mixed with your soul? By the way, don't forget that I am a feline!”

He chuckled, seeing me lick my lips.

“A feline and a bird! Oh, come on, try something else to scare me. Delta planning would've only been a surrogate. Now I have the chance to fly for real! But I don't want to look like those stupid avians we saw earlier. They looked like dumb turkeys and weren't even good fliers. I want something totally different, like how you're a feline. But I want to be a bird.

You said that you often let magic decide because it finds the best option, the one that suits you most. Why not let magic decide what kind of bird I become? I'll be able to fly, and as a bonus, we'll be out of this jungle soon!”

I shook my head and took a deep breath. This idea had some merit, offering us a potential escape route. Were we desperate enough to try it? I transformed back into a human, attempting to keep myself unseen. I cast an illusion around us once more but remained in human form for the moment. It was risky, but we needed to strategize our way out. I whispered to him.

“Mike, this might work, but there are risks. Are you sure you want to take them?”

He snorted.

“The sooner we're out of here, the better! Besides getting away from these beasts, we were moving too slowly even without them. Just make sure it can fly fast!”

I was tense, my heart beating faster in my chest, but the sybrex weren't advancing.

“Fine!" I said. "Just one more word, there are plenty of flying creatures out there, and you'll still be low level. Just stick close to me, okay? Normally, I'd suggest sleeping on it, but…”

He chuckled.

I heard movement in the bushes and growled a warning. The steps retreated. I turned to him.

“Alright, let's do it!”

I touched him, and he hugged me briefly. I focused on the spell. Letting magic decide seemed like our best bet since I hadn't studied birds. I hoped it would work out correctly.

My magic swirled around us, uncertain, like a dark cloud. Thankfully, Mike kept his eyes closed with a smile on his lips. In the next moment, the magic concentrated over his form and he disappeared.

“Mike?”

I stood up, looking around. His clothes lay in a heap on the ground. Where could he have gone?

“Mike?” I asked again, fear creeping into my gut.

Something trembled under his shirt. I quickly took it off and found a small bird trapped within. A swallow?

Just as I freed the trembling bird, I sensed imminent danger — deadly danger. I flapped my wings and took off just as a beast landed where I had been moments before.

Other beasts jumped, attempting to reach me as I gained altitude with the tiny bird in my grasp.