In the end, Claire had swung her armored head upwards, smashing the oversized loading door into the ceiling in the same motion that carried her through the threshold with a single menacing step. She roared dramatically, her neck extended upwards as she held her exhalation and the pose for a few seconds before stopping.
“Did I do it right? Like the movie?” She rumbled in amusement as everyone cheered happily. A crowd of Hatchlings bounced around like toddlers in their excitement despite the adult voices they hooted and cheered with.
David laughed along with them, giving Claire a huge thumbs up and fluttering over to land next to her as everyone was shooed back to the end of the warehouse where they’d piled up soft leaves and grass into large communal bedding. The dried foliage had been pounded down a bit, and David could see the hollow depressions of dozens of nestlike circles in the bedding where people had been resting before their arrival. They straggled away, shouting various questions and requests as they went before Kai simply extended his wings and like a goalie trying to block a shot he herded them away.
“I am a grown man! You can’t treat me like a kid and put me to bed when adults want to have a conversation!” A quilled creature even smaller than David snarled furiously at the bird, “I know my rights!”
“Well, Carl, you weigh about thirty pounds and I absolutely can send you to bed. Maybe if you put in some effort to evolve so we didn't have to babysit you, feed you, and stop things from eating you like a kid you wouldn’t get treated like one. Now go’an git! Shoo! They’ve been up for like two days.” Kai replied in roughly the same tone of voice David himself used to use at work on obnoxious customers.
“OH! My goodness. My apologies I hadn’t..” The voice trailed off into the background hubbub as Kai forced them away with the rest of the crowd.
They were left standing with the group of evolved creatures, and David felt a bit of pride when it immediately became obvious that Claire was an absolute unit compared to everyone else. The iridescent green beetle and the turtle were close runners-up but lacked the sheer bulk that Claire had managed to evolve into, and they all milled around awkwardly just staring at each other after they’d been introduced. There had been 9 of the Hunt Team present when they had arrived, counting Kai and Ezra at the gate, who was exactly as tough as he looked by what the others briefly mentioned about him.
The wasp introduced himself as Dallas, though with a closer examination, it was obvious that whatever they had become was only loosely based on a wasp, much the same way certain nuclear-powered city-destroying lizards were based on an iguana. He was twice David’s size, and his chitinous armor looked quite tough, with four diaphanous wings laying restlessly on his back. The daggerlike stinger at the end of his six-legged body particularly concerned David, but the man seemed easy-going and personable, quickly excusing himself to return to his conversation with the turtle. The panther and crab-thing introduced themselves as Thomas and Betty, respectively. They seemed to have the ability to finish each other's sentences at will and seemed to be good friends, eventually drifting off back to their original spot, the panther flopping back down to sleep like only a big cat can. The enormous turtle simply nodded in their direction amicably, declining to get up from where he lay or walk over to talk to them, though Dallas had mentioned their name was Joe.
“Pardon me, budge over a bit, old man coming through.” The beetle guffawed as he shoved his way through the two herbivores still warily hanging back, “Herold Von Aeur, a pleasure to meet you both! I’m delighted, DELIGHTED I SAY! Marvelous, we feared everyone who fled into the forest during the Hatching had perished. But here you are, there’s hope yet! Hahaha! Splendid!”
David and Claire exchanged a glance at the heavily armored insect's enthusiasm, his voice was that of a distinguished elderly man but he seemed quite comfortable in his new body. Herold was genuinely excited and happy to see them, and it was hard not to like him a bit as he scuttled right up in front of them and regarded them closely. David shuddered as he looked up into the multifaceted eyes and large scything mandibles studded with spikes that extended from his wriggling mouthparts. Herold shuffled and turned to the remaining two members and shouted at them with consternation as he waved them closer with a beefy insectile leg.
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“Now that simply won't do, CHARLES! LEO! Confound you, we’re bestial in form not mind! Control your instincts and get over here to introduce yourselves properly, your poor etiquette reflects poorly on every member of this…erm…Of uh…The Woodland Society! Hrmpph!” Herold’s gruff elderly voice trailed off momentarily before he rallied heroically to finish the thought with a snort.
The bipedal goatlike being stepped forward first, waving clumsily with a vaguely racoon like arm as he clopped towards them, looking a bit odd to David. His short thick neck and lack of any sort of tail on his short-furred body gave him an almost unfinished look, and David couldn’t help but wonder how he didn’t overbalance and tip over with the massive crown of curling horns that grew from his skull. He briefly introduced himself as Charles, waving one more time without taking his eyes off Claire’s enormous jaws before turning and excusing himself lamely. Leo was, ironically, a tall creature that vaguely resembled an elk, and his antlers were wickedly sharp even in the dim light filtering in through the newly widened door and shining from the anemone firmly attached to Betty's shell. He declined to approach, instead offering an elaborate bow by bending one of his lengthy legs and inclining his head respectfully.
“Leo doesn’t talk much, you’ll have to excuse him.” Herold blustered good-naturedly as he waved them further into the building, “Come come! I have questions and I’m sure you do as well! Wendy will be returning shortly and we’ll have adequate illumination for the rest of the night, never fear!”
Claire nodded and stepped carefully after him, taking almost stork like steps and carefully placing her feet to avoid stepping on anyone as she followed him to the open space in the center of the warehouse. David followed closely behind, ears swiveling in every direction at once as he was overwhelmed with small noises, catching bits and pieces of everyone's conversations with his sensitive hearing. His claws clicked against the cold concrete of the floor as Herold finally turned when they had a bit of room and addressed them again, his voice cautiously optimistic.
“I had hoped to finish my training for the night before retiring. Consistent effort and constant practice are the keys to perfection you know…” Herold waved his long antennae at them before continuing cheerfully, “...Could I perhaps impose for a bit of light sparring as we discuss the matter of your survival in the forest before you excuse yourselves? We can, of course, simply continue or discuss in the morning…”
“I’m pretty sure I’d kill you on accident, as fun as it sounds.” Claire rumbled, “David’s been awake a really long time, and all his abilities are...”
“Yeah that sounds fun, just don’t squish me.” David replied happily, totally caught up in Herold's good-natured friendliness.
“SPLENDID! I struggle greatly against airborne opponents, Dallas has beaten me soundly in every match! I shall simply defend, I assure you I am quite resilient! Whenever you’re ready to begin, we’ll converse during the match.” Herold wiggled delightedly and turned, scuttling further away until a respectable distance separated the two of them. He turned to face the pair of them and positively vibrated with excitement at the prospect of the friendly match.
Claire let out a long rattling sigh of exasperation that quieted half of the room, “David, are you stupid? He’s like two-thirds my size. What can you possibly do besides get mushed like a banana?”
Oh, I’ve got a pretty good idea.
David simply launched into the air, darting close to the ground as he zipped straight toward the armored insect without a moment's hesitation. Herold chortled happily and presented his armored flank, angling his body to form an impenetrable wall that David simply floated above, positioning his large leathery wings to scoop air and kill his momentum while he dropped directly onto the chitinous plates. Herold righted himself quickly, and David found himself holding on for dear life as the beetle spun swiftly, the momentum threatening to hurl him away onto the open concrete. Cheers began to erupt from the crowd and the Hunt team turned to watch, jeering and calling out advice the same as they’d done when they were practicing, even Charles joining in loudly.
David slammed the armor with a cautious Nocturnal Strike and hissed loudly in pain as the talons on his wing failed to scuff the heavy plates. He perked up a bit and tried again, a bit harder this time, confident that their Health regeneration would mend any minor wounds if he managed to break through. This time the tip of one of his talons snapped off painfully, but David once again felt the rush of exhilaration and his tiredness faded a bit more. Herold suddenly locked his clawed legs firmly against the floor and braced himself, David latching down tight with all his limbs in anticipation of some sort of trick but was far too late. The enormous carapace suddenly sprang upwards, huge wings unfurling over the beetle as David was catapulted through the air with a surprised screech, a huge cloud of dusk powder exploding from his wings reflexively as he tumbled through the air.
“SHIT! EVERYBODY BACK UP! DON’T BREATHE OR TOUCH ANY OF THAT!” Claire bellowed as the haze slowly filled the center of the arena and Herold neatly refolded his wings and lowered the plates to cover them again.
Ahhhh fuck that’s not good.