The group walked through the dense forest with Egosum ogling everything with his new vision. The corporeal form and soul domain overlapped on every creature, showing what their true natures were.
The idea came to him as they were walking around the largest tree they had seen in the forest that hadn’t been cut down. It glowed dimly with a deep hue of lunar mana it stored from the night before. The vibrant exterior drew his attention only for his sight to react on impulse.
The massive tree turned from a vibrant fountain of life into a sick and dying sprig. A single vein of life ran up the side while the rest rotted away. The dichotomy of life and death was apparent to him only now that he saw the inner truth of what the tree was dealing with.
The insightful first usage caused him to turn his sight all around him.
Some made sense while others were completely random. A small plant would turn into the most vibrant of flowers, displaying its hidden inner talent for turning into the most beautiful thing around. The odd grasshopper had large back legs that vibrated with energy and sent ripples into the air surrounding it. Those quickly disappeared into one of their stomachs.
He turned to his companions to see if what he saw the first time was anything different.
The most normal of the group was, oddly enough, Cinera, the classically trained mage. Her skin was a crackling cloud of ash, interlaced with flashes of bright light. Lightning was hidden deep within her body, peaking through at random intervals. The aura was entirely contained to her physical form, held as close as she could to not leak any mana into the surroundings.
He turned to look at Coyotl next and struggled to understand what he saw
His silent friend was a deep black with shades of white flashing in and out at random times. The brief moment the white took him over, the forest was brightly illuminated by the sheer radiance of his small figure.
Egosum understood Cinera's embodiment, but Coyotl’s threw him for a loop as he tried to understand what it could possibly mean.
Thunkar's thin frame stole his attention away, thoroughly distracting him as the massive figure dominated much of his vision.
A massive hulking beast appeared resting over his childish figure. The entity had long and wispy silver hair with bulging muscles and massive claws primed for disemboweling. It was a werewolf in all ways he had heard them described before but with double the muscle. The strange sight of the horrific creatures juxtaposed wildly with his normal flesh and blood.
‘If that is what Cinera saw when we first met, I can understand why I had shivers running up my spine.’
Loud crashes in the distance shocked him away from his musings. Every few minutes another large crash disrupted their journey.
“What is that? It sounds like something is barreling through the forest.” Egosum looked to the beastman for answers.
“That’s not far off. It’s the humans cutting down some trees nearby. It’s best if we avoid them.” The boy looked away and nodded his head in the opposite direction of the sound.
“So you wish to avoid them too?” Egosum probed the young boy as they fled.
“Not particularly, but what my Granny said is true. It's best if we just stay away from the fights for now. No reason to draw attention by killing some nobodies. Plus, they will be heavily guarded because they are scared of beasts coming to check out the noise.”
“I guess that makes sense. Why draw the ire of people that already want you gone? Then, did you catch the smell of something yet or are we just moving around?”
The kid stopped as he flicked his head in several directions.
“I just caught a good whiff of something. Not too far off either. Won’t be more than a few dozen minutes from here. Let’s go.” The group picked up their pace and homed in on the next prey.
They came up to a small grass-covered clearing in the woods. The grandson crouched behind the last bits of foliage before it opened up into clear lines of sight. The rest of them followed suit and searched.
The boy and Egosum located their target in the same moment
His enhanced sight allowed him to locate the beacon of life hidden in the open while Thunkar’s naturally sharp sense picked it out from the backdrop.
“There.” The beastman pointed where he was looking causing Cinera to squint.
“What is it? I don't see it.” She moved slightly to get a different view but failed to take note of the hidden creature.
“It's some kind of rabbit with a horn.” Egosum spoke up from his position.
His sight showed the creature's true nature. The physical form was much bulkier than the thing he saw. A lithe, large-eyed hare with long limbs and a massive horn pulse in and out from the comparatively large frame.
Thunkar looked over at him with an impressed look plastered on his face.
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“Wow. Yeah, it is. Unicorned hopper. Easier than the spikedeer but can catch you off guard if you are unprepared.” Egosum interrupted him before he could continue.
“Why is its horn so bright?”
The question surprised the beastman as he looked back at the beast.
“It's not right now but It probably will when we confront it. It shoots lasers out of it. It is also its weak point. It is surprisingly fragile fr how thick it is. Once that is broken, it won’t have any way to take the fight to us. Might even die on the spot.”
It was Cinera’s time to interrupt as she finally seemed to notice the creature.
“Are you sure it's a laser and not some kind of flame or jet of some kind? It's just a laser, no projectile?”
He contemplated for a second before answering her resolutely.
“Just a laser. Fires after a few seconds. We used to be able to focus light through them to start fires. Now they are kind of rare to get.”
“Good. I can cover for you when you go in. Don’t worry about the laser unless you see it cut through my cloud. Just let me open up with it.”
She looked to Egosum who merely nodded before hopping forward. The rabbit took notice as soon as he grew close.
The beast stood up on its hind legs to look at the approaching threat squared off with the toad. Its green fur and slit eyes made it perfectly camouflage if it wasn't for Thunkar’s sense of smell and Egosum’s new sight.
The creature's horn lit up on the end with a greenish-blue glow, similar to the lunar mana that was present in all of the plants nearby.
Before it could fire off the shot at the intruding toad, Cinera sent a wave of ash forward, obscuring her companion and advancing it toward the creature with surprising speed. The rabbit looked unperturbed by the new addition and finished charging up its beam attack.
It fell to all fours and pointed straight towards Egosum, startling him as the horn tracked him through the cloud. Like a round of artillery went off, the rabbit reared back as if the recoil of the blast would send it flying.
The noise was sharp and loud as the blue beam immediately smashed into the cloud yet failed to puncture through and harm its intended target.
As if the creature could see the attack was a failure, it prepared another as they approached with the cloud covering Egosum’s every move. They got within twenty paces before it tried and failed once again to obliterate its enemies.
The blast was barely registered by the defense, leaving the creature a nervous mess as it rapidly glanced around for the best point of escape.
Before it could get the chance to dart away to freedom, Egosum launched forward with his empowered legs, slamming into the vulnerable creature with his mouth wide open.
His maw slammed around the creature's throat, clamping down with enough pressure to collapse the esophagus with ease.
It thrashed in his grasp, unable to dislodge the attack. Kicks, smacks, and bucking did nothing to aid its escape, tiring out more and more by the second. As time ticked by and the creature slowly lost air, it began to channel its beam attack through the horn.
It took much longer to charge than before, finishing after ten seconds of creeping tension. Before it could finally fire off its blast, life drained from its eyes as it was choked unconscious.
After a few moments, he pried his jaws off the creature's neck and looked at the beast again. The shadowy representation of the creature's nature faded away, presumably signaling its death as the mana dissipated from most parts of its body.
Thunnkar walked over to him with his bone stake at the ready. A quick jab at the base of the skull helped bleed it dry as he swung it over his shoulder. A line of blood painted the grass as it came to rest on his back.
“How about we go for one more? That went incredibly smoothly. It would be a shame to come back with only one after the spikedeer feast you guys provided.”
The sun was still plainly visible in the sky overhead despite the tall trees fighting for supremacy over the small patch of grass.
Egosum shrugged his shoulder and nodded his head to lead the way. The trail of blood he left acted as their path as he scouted ahead. The extra vigilance in finding the next piece of meat threw him off but they still followed at a close distance.
They quickly caught up to him as he froze in place, waking his head through some bushes.
“What is it?” Cinera started to advance to steal a look at whatever it was only to be stopped by Thunkar’s raised hand.
“A settlement. Human. No one nearby. We should be fine.” He untensed as he finished checking for anyone in the vicinity.
“We should leave then. No reason to stick around.” Egosum turned back but was immediately rebuked by the boy.
“Hold on. The smell of the rabbit came from the camp. It looks like they already have the meat prepared and everything. It would be a travesty not to take it since it’s just sitting there. They won’t even know it was people with the number of animals running around.” He spoke in rapid sentences as he tried to convince the trio behind him.
“Sounds like a bad idea. Something is going to go wrong. I am certain of it.” Cinera started off in the direction they came.
“I’ve done this a ton of times. Literally dozens. Sprinkle a little blood rip the meat off the racks and topple them over. Quick and free food. No fighting needed and no red flags for the humans.”
Egosum looked at the kid before shrugging.
“I am going to be pissed if this bites us in the ass some way.” The boy lit up as he rushed into the human camp and ravaged the area, leaving a disaster in his wake as he procured the spoils.
“Of course. Of course. Nothing bad will happen.” He rushed back with the food in hand, and they made their way back to the camp. They received the same warm welcome as the village converged on them to see what new food they brought back.
A few of the kids jumped in glee at seeing the processed meat.
Morgal made her way out of her hoarder's tent and walked over to the gathered crowd.
“Thunkar, did you butcher this? It's way cleaner than normal. ” He jumped slightly as his name was called.
“Of course. Even used my teeth since I didn’t have a knife on me. We had a lot of time while we waited for the second rabbit to bleed out.” She looked over the meat with a close eye.
“Hmmm. Okay. Then, where is the horn, hide, and the rest of it?” She threw him for a loop as she regarded him again.
“Oh, that? Well, Egosum and his crew hadn’t known what to expect since it was their first one so they kind of went overboard with theopening attack. Destroyed the upper half beyond use.” His lies came out smoothly and almost practiced.
“A shame. I guess whatever happens happens.” She turned to the trio and bowed her head slightly. “ I appreciate it once again. The food is more helpful than you know.”
They exchanged pleasantries before being handed the rabbit's heart and liver as thanks.
With the meals prepared and their job done, the amphibians walked back to their tent to fall in for the night.