"Seriously, what kind of meat is this anyway?"

Beryl, Vaughn, and I were sitting around the small fire pit outside the temple. Lunch was mostly finished. All we had left were some strips of dried beef that we were currently each chewing on.

"It's a kind of cow. Mother Cressida said something about a 'By-son'? Not sure if I'm saying that right, though. She bought the meat from a merchant the other-"

Beryl struggled to take another bite as the meat was tough.

"-day."

Oh? Do bison exist in this world?... I shouldn't be surprised, but I haven't seen any yet.

Finishing her sentence, Beryl returned to chewing, clearly content. Taking a bite from my own, I didn't struggle initially, but the meat also tore inconsistently due to my strength and tooth structure. Vaughn, however, had nothing to complain of. Looking to him, Vaughn was busy enjoying the smokey, peppered flavor of the meat. Strangely, while it was dried, it maintained a texture on its interior quite similar to a steak. With his human teeth, Vaughn was probably enjoying the meat to its fullest.

"It is- "

I swallowed a portion before continuing.

"- super good, though. Just look at Vaughn; he's smiling like an idiot."

I motioned to Vaughn, who appeared lost for a moment before realizing Beryl and I was both looking at him. By the time he realized, he'd stopped chewing and looked to each of us before slowly resuming.

"Snnrrrk- Hahaha-"

Beryl fell into a fit of laughter from the response.

From there, the afternoon went smoothly, but for some reason, something felt off. The nausea subsided, so I was sure it wasn't the issue. Something felt off, as if in the background, something wasn't allowing me to truly relax like yesterday or the day before. It was like a suffocating presence.

"For real, Vaughn, your face was like this!"

Beryl was now caught up teasing Vaughn over how he'd been eating his food; the faces he'd made were giving plenty of material.

What is this feeling? For real? I'm eating... I don't feel sick anymore... but-

"Seriously, I don't get what's so funny! Kiyomi, back me up?"

Vaughn tried prodding at me for aid against the normally mellow serpent.

"I don't know, Vaughn? Was that one cloud a bird or a frog?"

I asked, raising a brow as I tried my best to veer from my thoughts. For a moment, Vaughn was speechless. Unfortunately, now that they remembered that argument, Vaughn and Beryl were snickering at me instead of each other.

Great, I brought that back on myself.

Rolling my eyes, I took another bite of the dried beef and stood.

"I'm gonna grab some fresh air in the tower; want to join?"

"In a minute, in a minute. We'll be up."

Beryl waved her hand at me as she wiped a small bit of drool from her lip.

"Suit yourselves."

Shrugging, I walked back towards the stairwell. Throwing the last bit of the dried Bison into my mouth and chewing it as I went.

Air... need some fresh air.

I was enjoying the time together but just wanted to think some things over. I'd been in someone else's presence nearly every waking moment for the last couple of days; it wouldn't hurt to take one for myself. Passing through the doorway to the stairwell, I pulled a scrap of paper from my pocket. Looking down at it, It was a rough sketch that Vaughn had made. It was what he thought the city would look like after all the new housing was complete.

It's nice; the kid definitely has more vision than I could ever hope for. It definitely seems fit for his future... maybe... yeah, let's ask to sit with him while he works. It could also take my mind off of Mama.

Light flooded my sight as I exited the top of the stairs, the light of the sun. Covering my eyes as they continued to adjust to the change in lighting, the rather pleasing view greeted me. One couldn't see over the tree line; the recess in the ground was too extreme for that. However, one was also given a concentrated view of the small lake and its lush surroundings; and while it was currently interrupted by the orange Slime at the center, it floated there without moving. It gave its own serene charm as if it were a flower or a lily pad. Closing my eyes and taking in the moment, I felt at peace if but for a second. Taking a seat at the ledge of the steeple with my legs hanging off of it.

Mama could be home any day now... so will Callum, Stannis, and Chessa. I really should give each of them more of my time... On the note of spending the time with Vaughn, asking for time, in general, would be nice. Even spending more time with 'Auntie Avery'... as smothering as she is...

Thinking back to Vaughn and Chessa, I knew I needed to spend more time with them. I learned plenty of Vaughn this time around, and I could do well to learn some more.

Beryl will definitely come next. Maybe some girl time? I still struggle with this hair; Mama usually handles it for me. Maybe she can- ugh-uh-huh-

I felt my body shiver uncontrollably for a moment, out of surprise at what I was thinking.

Okay, yeah, make-up. If Kiyomi is sitting by and experiencing everything, too, can't keep her away from it.

The last person to consider of the three was Kiyomi. She only came last in this manner because everything felt wholly correct in this order. Placing her over them surprisingly did not make me feel good for some reason. In fact, it felt worse than not considering her at all.

I still need to look into Va-ren... and our dreams. If I could give you your life back, I would. But for now, we're both just a little girl... a little girl with super-strength, yeah, but comparatively still a little girl.

Focusing my attention back across the lake, I settled with my thoughts and went back to relaxing the best I could. Which surprisingly, was abruptly ended with a *DING* sound.

What the- Oh, Fuck.

----------------------------------------

Warning!: Status: Hunted

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Fuck!

It had been two years since something like this had come up; the last time was when I first awoke. It could not have been at a worse time considering we were out here alone and unarmed-

Fuck! Vaughn and Beryl! Status!

Thinking to see what was bringing on the 'Hunted' status once more, I was given a further description.

----------------------------------------

Hunted: You are being hunted by an Apex Predator!

----------------------------------------

Fuck me!

Looking back at the lake, the slime was unmoving. As always, the water was placid; straining my ears, I couldn't hear anything, nor could I see anything as I looked around rapidly. The only thing that seemed different is that dirt was shifting some at the walls of the depression.

"Hey, guys?"

I started going down the stairs as fast as I could manage, shoving Vaughn's picture into my pocket.

"Guys!"

Coming through the doorway, Vaughn and Beryl were both looking at me with surprise.

"What's up? Kiyomi, you look horrible."

Beryl started moving towards me, Vaughn standing just behind her.

"We need to go, NOW!"

"What, why? What's wron-"

*DING*

Another ding noise hit my ears, this time all of us falling silent at once.

----------------------------------------

Alert! Party formed by the Goddess, Solah.

Party constituents:

-Kiyomi Jormanr

-Vaughn Baros

-Beryl Halkias

Objective:

-Eliminate or escape 'Orion's dog' - Bulette, Apex

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

Reward:

-Survival, ???, ???, ???

----------------------------------------

What the fuck?! Solah?... Orion?... this... fuck all... are we stuck in some kind of fight?

"... "

Each of us stood there, panicking in our own minds. Beryl was staring forward blankly, possibly still in shock. Vaughn's mouth opened and closed as he gulped in some air, the sound breaking the silence. In my own mind, I was terrified more than I'd ever been so far.

They're stuck here with me... they're caught in this...

I looked to each of them for a moment, each of us now visibly sweating.

I need to get them to safety! I can't let anything happen to either of them.

"Hey... you two."

My voice was shaky, and it may as well have been trembling.

"You two run; I'll try and give a distraction."

I'd attempted to force my words out, but Vaughn beat me to the punch.

"Vaughn, no!"

Beryl pushed Vaughn, her face contorting in anger.

"You tried the same thing then, and you barely got away! This isn't some idiot mercenary! This is a Bulette!"

"Do you have a brighter idea!? We'll never all make it if we run together!"

What the hell are they on about?

Vaughn strained his voice as he shot back at Beryl. Both of them hesitated to speak further, though as if they didn't want to say anything around me.

"Uhm, what are you two talking about?"

After I spoke up, Beryl broke the stagnation.

"Vaughn, this is a Bulette! An Apex too! Of all the things, you can't just 'distract' it."

Of all the things I'd learned, I'd never heard of a 'Bulette.' At least outside of a projectile.

"What's a Bulette?"

Beryl's next words were stifled as she and Vaughn looked to me then back to each other. Nodding, Beryl looked to me and gave the quickest explanation she could manage.

"Imagine a giant armored lizard with a shark fin. They're common down south; it's probably one of a few monsters Vaughn and I could both identify at a glance. They're...gigantic. "

Beryl sat back onto her tail.

"Oh, gods, I don't want to-"

Beryl placed her face in her hands, attempting to stifle her words.

"We can't run, Vaughn! We can't hide!.. We can only fight..."

Beryl's words seemed to trail off as she stared at the floor.

"Tch."

Looking back to Vaughn, who'd clicked his tongue, his fists were clenched, and he was attempting to look away from the two of us. For a moment, we were silent, with the exception of the occasional bird noise.

"I thought you were learning combat magic from your mothers?"

Vaughn was the first to break the silence.

"Wha- yeah, but... I'd never used it before... I'm afraid I'll miss."

"Think of this as really dangerous practice! Beryl, we don't have a choice."

Looking to Beryl, I couldn't help but ask what exactly she learned.

"What exactly can you do now?"

Beryl looked up to me, seemingly perplexed.

"How are you not afraid right now?!"

I couldn't tell her that I was afraid as hell, particularly that I was only keeping it together to try and get them out of this.

"I'm just not; what did you learn?"

I tried keeping Beryl on topic.

"I-I learned 'Arc Lightning', but I still haven't used it! It auto seeks the closest thing in its path. If either of you gets hit-"

Vaughn grabbed Beryl by the shoulders, holding her still as he did so.

"Beryl, you won't hit either of us. Can you do it?"

"I hate to interrupt, but we should figure out what we can do to esca-"

The ground rumbled, the sound of tumbling debris could be heard from outside. Running to grab my sword from the table in line with the door, I caught a glimpse of something pressing its way out of the ground just as I felt my collar yanked from behind.

"Get in the stairwell, now!"

Vaughn threw me back towards the stairwell with surprising strength, causing me to stumble my way to Beryl. Catching me just before I managed to fall, Beryl began slithering into the stairwell with me in tow. Vaughn was close behind, looking back almost every step to see if we were being assailed yet.

"It just came out of the ground!"

Vaughn whispered, continuing to usher Beryl and I higher before stopping us just before the top. Pushing past us, Vaughn slowly approached the top of the stairwell, where he could look out of the steeple. As light could be seen striking his face, he dropped back down and held his mouth closed. One could see he was terrified, and he was struggling not to panic. After seeing this, I wrenched my arm free from Beryl. Doing my best to reach the top without making too much noise, the monster that I saw was more than I could have realistically expected. At the least, under normal circumstances. Under the circumstances of a God giving us the alert... it felt normal.

Well... I've... seen bigger? Oh, who the fuck am I kidding, the largest monster I saw on earth was this size, and it looked like some kind of angelic abomination covered in fire. We at least had tanks and other shit to fight those... it's just us here... we're on our own.

I gulped as I took in the sight of our assailant. It must have been nearly the size of an elephant. What clawed itself free of the root-filled soil was the size of an elephant, plated across its entire body. Looking at its features, it looked like a giant armadillo with a head more suited to a predator, all four of its limbs ended in massive claws, its tail was stout, and it had what looked like the dorsal fin of a shark on its back. The Bulette sniffed at the air, raising its massive head as dust blew from its nostrils. After a moment, it began slowly moving along the grass and prodding its head, presumably following scent trails.

Fuck! If that thing just came from the ground, how can we expect to outrun that thing?!

My mind jumped from one pessimistic thought to another.

Fuck, think... okay...maybe... its- grrr.

I'd suddenly become frustrated over us being traped here. Taking a moment to breathe, I slowly unsheathed my sword. Realistically, the only ones who could fight were myself and Beryl. Beryl in her sheer firepower, and myself in my strength and experience from Earth. Vaughn though? The most he had was from fighting Callum, and he was unarmed.

"Hey, you two-"

I found myself speaking without thinking, Beryl and Vaughn both looking at me. Whispering, I continued.

"I'll hit it as hard as I can... You two... try and r-"

I felt a sudden fierce grip on my horn as my head was yanked forward and lined up with Beryl's.

"No! We do this together! We're not leaving anyone!"

Beryl borderline hissed the words out, only a sudden groan of the Bullet outside cutting her mood. As each of us waited for some kind of response, Vaughn spoke up.

"We can do this. I won't be able to do much except run around... But Kiyomi, we have your sword and your strength. Beryl, we have your magic. We can do this; we just need to be careful!"

Vaughn rubbed at his temples, trying to think of what to say further.

"The fin! Kiyomi, you saw the fin, right?"

Fuck, I guess?

"I think it was just above the shoulder blades?"

Vaughn nodded, motioning to Beryl for her to lean closure.

"Your mothers fought them, right? On our way along the borders?"

Beryl nodded in response.

"Yeah, the fin is only armored along the front of it. The rest is soft."

Looking back out of the stairwell, I caught another glimpse of the Bulette, now focusing on the fin. True to their words, the Bulette's 'dorsal fin' was simply reddish flesh. Not an ounce of plating on it, even along the base where it went into the back.

But how was it going to get us anywhere? I doubt I could get to it!

"How do you propose we do that?"

I prodded, causing Vaughn to fall into silence.

"We'll have to improvise... "

Beryl spoke now.

"When my Mothers hunted Bulettes in the path of our Caravan, they had to find them while they were asleep. That was the only time they had the edge... we're at a severe disadvantage."

Beryl looked down with her words.

"Kiyomi, if you and Vaughn can distract it long enough... I can charge 'Lightning arc' and land a hit-"

Beryl breathed in before continuing.

"As long as there's some kind of exposed flesh, I can hit it."

So that's where we are... no plan... other than hitting it.

"Vaughn?"

I looked to Vaughn, wondering about his thoughts. Shaking his head, Vaughn looked to me with his brows furrowed.

"We've got nothing else. I can keep it distracted, but the minute it agro's to you, I don't have a way to catch its attention."

Agro...

"I can run around it; it will be risky, though. The bigger ones aren't agile, but they simply have to throw themselves around, right?"

I struggled to think of much else Vaughn could do in this case.

He'd only ever used a sword with me and Callum, which we didn't have. He could distract it as bait, but I could even feel Kiyomi was displeased from it... unless.

"Hey, Vaughn... how do you feel about shields?"

Vaughn looked at me with his head tilted for a moment.

"And where do you propose we get one?"

Motioning for Vaughn to follow, I slowly led him behind me back down the stairwell.

"Raoooooouuunnnnn... rrrrrr"

The occasional noise could be heard from the Bulette, causing us to freeze in place from time to time. It was getting fairly close, as I could feel the thing scraping its hide against the building. Slowly, I led Vaughn back to the basement stairs, waving for Beryl to make her way back up the steeple.

"Vaughn, I can make a shield with that door-"

I kneeled to the lowest hinge, pulling the lower pin to the door. Looking to my sword's sheath, I placed the sword on the ground and cut one of the leather straps free.

"I won't be needing the sheath for a while. We can use it for the shield. Think you can hold this?"

I asked, pulling the next pin and tiptoeing to push out the final one.

Fuck, I could barely reach it.

"I can, yeah... but I won't be able to hurt it with this."

I shook my head as I lifted the door to the side.

"Won't need to, Vaughn. This is to make sure you're safe. We need you in this fight..."

I took the leather strap I'd cut free and used my own arm as a template. Pushing two of the pins in through the strap and into the wood with my fingers.

Still, God damn weird that I can do that. That's gotta be a strong-man thing or something.

"You have the confidence to let me help you like this?"

Vaughn's face was plastered with a particular emotion. It wasn't fear; it was concern. Concern for Beryl and I. Nodding to Vaughns's question, I placed the final pin into the door after bending it.

"Hm-hm, Vaughn, we're party members... I trust you more than myself."

I attempted to talk him up some, trying to establish his confidence. Handing Vaughn the shield, I picked up my own sword.

"Vaughn... I want to see both of you happy... I want to see some of those things you wanted to build... I want to see you build a castle, a bridge or even a simple inn... I can't very well see any of that if we end up as monster food here and now."

Vaughn smiled weakly, attempting to hold in a snicker.

"Right, what was I thinking... whenever you're ready... Leader."

It still feels cringe every damn time.

"Maybe just call me Kiyomi like normal?"

Vaughn smiled even wider.

"Say the word, Kiyomi."

Smiling myself, I nodded before looking back up into the stairwell.

"You think that bell weighs a lot?"

I asked Vaughn, hoping he'd know somehow.

"Wait, what?"

----------------------------------------

What the hell is her plan?! She's been really stoic lately, so I thought I'd let her take the lead. Especially since we had nothing to really suggest either, but is she really going to lead with that?

Vaughn's thoughts raced as he awaited his signal, a splash of water from the pond. When Kiyomi threw a brick into the pond, Vaughn was to run out and grab the Bulette's attention. Based on his speed with Callum, as long as he kept to the creature's haunches, he'd have the greatest chance of evasion.

I trust her, but damn... there really isn't a better method right now. Even with her strength, we're at a disadvantage.

Vaughn continued straining his ears for the sound of the water splashing, and after roughly a minute, the signal was given.

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When the beast heard the sudden activity come from the water, it pressed forth around the perimeter of the building it was told to search. It could not comprehend most things, other than 'food' or 'elf,' yet it could discern its current goal. While she was to feed her pups, the Bulette was to prioritize a small morsel as her game. To 'kill the red one's offspring.' she would kill the runt, and her offspring would be taken to territory away from her own so she wouldn't have to kill them to maintain the territory she wielded already.

Food?

When she came around the opposite side of the building, she saw nothing. The Bulette was met with ripples on the water as she slowly approached.

"Hey!"

Hmm?

The Bulette was surprised to see such a small morsel for once. Other creatures would appear smaller, but this was a stick wielder, a particularly small one compared to those she'd killed years ago.

"Raoooaaaooorr!!!"

Her meal was before her, driven by the excitement of killing her next meal, the Bulette swung her massive body around. The ground trembled underneath her weight, and dirt and grass flew as her claws rended at the ground beneath them.

"Roooooaaar!"

She pressed forward; her mass propelled forward by her massive legs. The stick wielder looked as if it were any other morsel about to be consumed. This meal would be a simple hunt for such a wonderful deal. The only thought in the Bulettes head as she ran forward was how voraciously she would tear it apart. That was until her thoughts suddenly became scrambled, and she was completely disoriented by the sudden impact of something against her head. With this, her sight became lopsided. It was as if both of her forward-facing eyes were no longer aligned. With this, the feeling of something warm ran along her snout and maw, with the taste of its content flooding her sense. This was blood, her blood, and it infuriated her.