The sky had begun to turn orange, shading into purple on the horizon as thick fluffy clouds drifted overhead at a stately pace. In all directions the greenery was lush, with rich dark soil supporting a gamut of vegetation, even the moss and weeds growing to exaggerated sizes a short distance from the river. The forest was thriving, healthy, and full of buzzing insects accompanied by the musical calls of something that may have, arguably, been birds at one point in the past. Their calls were fair and horn-like, rising quickly to fall slowly, ending with a small chain of hooting cries. As the calls quieted, the faint sound of rushing water could be heard in the distance if one listened hard enough.

Silence reigned for several minutes before they deigned to move, their splotchy brown plumage and long storkish bodies blending into the rough bark of the pines perfectly, their illusion shattered by movement. The trio of creatures moved with an almost businesslike sense of purpose, and they advanced in a single file line through the underbrush, never slowing or pausing in their bouncing stride. Their wings were stubby and useless things, tucked tightly to their sides, and insignificant next to the large spear-like beak and thin agile legs of the creatures. Footfalls beat a precise rhythm, and each one of the beasts stepped in time with the others while they moved. When at last they slowed their journey they took measured, stately steps as they observed their surroundings cautiously.

Seemingly satisfied they resumed their motionless vigil, each creature stretching its body out as they stood close to the trunks of the pines, pressing themselves into the bark.

David had to admit, they were very hard to see with just your eyes, but it was becoming increasingly hard to hide from his Echolocations. He hadn’t been following them long and had stumbled on them by accident more than anything, with a single Echolocation returning a still image that caught the profile of a single beak. He’d taken his time circling them, creeping from tree to tree with care not to alert them to his presence, ears straining to catch anything that might give him away. David had taken a headcount, then pulsed the entire surrounding area with more Echolocations, convinced there must be more hiding nearby. Finally satisfied, he began to slink down the trunk of the tree he had perched in, orienting himself head down and clinging tight with his back claws to prevent himself from slipping.

Okay, one right below me, one more right there, the last one is…hmm…Oh, there it is. I’d feel worse about this if there wasn’t crusty blood all over that one’s beak. Why’s everything gotta be so murdery…Ah, yeah, well I guess I can't complain about that when I’m out here testing chemical weaponry on the wildlife. Here goes nothin’.

David carefully released his grip on the bark with one set of talons, lifted his right wing free, and extended it slowly out from his body. He shook it gently, allowing the silvery markings on his wings to be disturbed not only by his actions but also by the branches of the pine itself. A steady haze of fine powder drifted free with each motion, the once pure silvery glimmer of the tiny hairs now marred by swirls of dull greys and faint hints of bronze. It sank more quickly than it did previously, despite the particles still being only slightly heavier than air it was noticeable to David as he watched the cloud descend onto the head of the creature. If the bird noticed the debilitating Ability descending on it, it showed no sign nor seemed to care, and he glanced over to his readout to confirm that anything was even happening.

–Health: 105/105–

–Stamina: 248/250–

–Bloodletter Heron has been inflicted with |Gloom| |Paralysis|–

David grinned and ceased his covert efforts, slowly retracting his leathery wing and reestablishing his grip on the trunk as he watched with interest, quite glad that the Soporalytic seemed to be working, even if the sedative component had been resisted. His ears snapped forward and he dedicated all of his attention to the beast as a small amount of Gloom continued to drift downwards for a few moments while the Heron remained convinced of its concealment. He began to count in his head, and by the time he’d reached 9, his readout pinged again, and David smiled wickedly at what he saw.

–Bloodletter Heron has been inflicted with |Gloom| |Paralysis| |Sleep|–

–Bonus: Control Combo |3|–

–Gained 9xp!–

Within moments of the alert pinging below his now omnipresent resource displays, the creature began to act erratically. Its large amber eyes dilated and its gaze began to dart about, tracing senseless patterns along the forest floor as the Gloom built in its body by the second. It twitched its head suddenly, its long beak pointing like a spear into a dense section of shrubbery as its head began to bob drunkenly. It stamped a foot into the thick covering of dried pine needles below it, and David observed through a quick Echolocation that the other two animals were watching with apparent bewilderment. Before he had a chance to begin to reposition himself the animal let out a whistling cry, darting out from its hiding place and stabbing its beak ferociously into the shrubs it had been eyeing with less and less coherence for several seconds.

The other two beasts reacted instantly and without hesitation, hurling themselves out in the open and joining the assault, stopping only when their fellow jerked suddenly to the left, leg folding up beneath it as it bit senselessly at the ground. The two unafflicted Bloodletters slicked down their plumage and extended their necks in alarm, leaping back a few steps from their third member with their heads held high, observing from arm's length uncertainly. When the creature continued to lay on its side, leg twitching violently, they approached curiously as they dimly attempted to discern the reason for its behavior.

Oh, well, that works too I guess. Huh, it did my job for me. I should be a little more patient with how these effects work, maybe try sneaking around more now that I have better instincts for it. Okay, phase two. Let's see if this works as well.

David bunched his muscles, aimed carefully, and hurled himself from the tree like a panther, wings held loosely at his sides as he descended in a smooth arc. He inhaled as he fell, smoothly angling his body to bring him right above the creatures before they began to react, their long beaks already turning to face him as his shadow fell over the center of the group. David’s Screech poured out in a wave, concentrating its effectiveness in the area just below him as he aimed his jaws precisely at the space between the two Herons. Both animals stumbled in surprise as the Ability slammed into them, tiny useless wings beating at the air as their beaks opened in agony. David braked hard, flapping his leathery wings unnecessarily roughly, scattering a thick cloud of Gloom into the air above them as he hovered for a few rapid heartbeats and hammered Echolocations into the pair of creatures.

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–Health: 105/105–

–Stamina: 212/250–

–Bloodletter Heron is Stunned–

–Bloodletter Heron is Stunned–

–Unnerving Mutagen has leveled up!–

–Gained 3xp!–

David sped unnaturally downwards as he activated Nocturnal Strike, wing talons extended, clawed hind feet reaching greedily as he impacted the Heron furthest from the center of the group, ignoring the downed creature entirely. His hind claws struck first and he grabbed hard, feeling his claws rip through feathers and lock into flesh, and he used the leverage to swipe hard at the creature’s long and vulnerable neck. To his shock the creature threw its neck and head away from him, the flexible vertebrae allowing it to lay almost completely flat along the creature's own back as his strike went wide and he overbalanced slightly.

David’s eyes bulged as the creature leveraged its neck like a whip and hurled its head forward in a motion that utilized almost its entire body to deliver the blow. He briefly perceived the tip of the Bloodletter’s beak before it shifted out of focus oddly and some ancient part of his brain immediately recognized the hammerlike peck was aimed at his eye. David slammed out a Glare with pure panicked reflex, the Ability barely connecting in time to allow him to slip to the side, and he felt the wind from the dangerously pointed beak as it was retracted nearly as quickly.

–Bloodletter Heron has been inflicted with |Gloom| |Paralysis| |Sleep|–

–Bonus: Control Combo |3|–

–Gained 18xp!–

He shifted his grip and hurled himself away from the creature, sending it tumbling towards the remaining Heron as it quickly oriented itself on him through the haze of Gloom, a single eye dilated slightly as it also threw its head backward in preparation to strike. David crouched low to the earth, readying himself to leap into the air again, confident that he was far enough away to safely regain the sky. The second Heron’s head whipped forward and its neck popped loudly, an explosive series of grisly cracks ringing out as the neck elongated weirdly and he failed to react in time.

–You have taken 31 Piercing Damage–

–You are afflicted with Bleeding–

–Health 74/105–

–Stamina: 167/250–

David snarled loudly as the creature jerked its beak loose, leaving a wide circular wound in his thigh and a large tear in his left wing where the beak had simply skewered through it. The pain of the wound radiated out into his guts and made turning difficult, and he was certain that he couldn’t leap into the air now. Seeing no other choice, David interrupted the follow-up attack with a Glare and sucked in another breath, quickly hammering the pair of animals with Screech. He maintained the Ability for slightly longer than he thought was necessary as he desperately flapped his wings and rose unsteadily into the air, blood splattering the ground under him as it was scattered by his wings. The Bloodletter Herons staggered again, forced back a few steps by the sheer intensity of the ringing pain in their ears while David was forced to improvise.

He snatched at the limbs of the closest pine, stretching out his wings and covering as much area as possible while the branches sagged under his weight, dropping perilously low but managing to hold him. He panted and tried to ignore the faint taste of blood and the oddly cold, weak feeling in his side as hot blood ran down his leg to patter to the ground below.

Bullshit! How the fuck don’t they break their necks doing that, that one’s neck was all floppy when he pulled it back! Oh, my god that hurts, he got me pretty deep. Nobody is ever gonna believe that c’mon Gloom, how many seconds has it been? I didn't count!

The Herons darted below him quickly, hurling their beaks upwards like spears to the grisly sound of their necks extending violently. David crawled a bit higher into the tree, sharp talons easily finding purchase on the branches to drag himself higher. The attacks from below continued for several seconds before the birds began to stagger, rapidly losing coordination as the Gloom began to rob them of their agency one sense at a time. David watched grimly as one specimen failed to retract its neck correctly, its beak open and gasping as he stared blankly at the sky though remained standing somehow. The second Heron began to collapse shortly after, its legs kicking weakly as though it were running with the same bouncing gait as when he found them, head firmly pressed beneath its own body.

Now now now!

David released his grip and slid from the branches like a pool of oil, activating Nocturnal Strike as he fell once again, to much more satisfactory results. Talons shredded the creature's body as his wings rose and fell furiously, his fangs crunching through the delicate bones of their now unguarded and defenseless necks. Prickly feathers filled his mouth with an unpleasant, dirty taste that was quickly washed away by that of hot blood. It was over in seconds, including the time it took him to hurl himself bodily atop the first creature he’d afflicted with gloom and crush its neck in his jaws with a wet pop.

He stood there panting and snarling for several seconds over the corpses before it occurred to him that his side didn’t hurt nearly as much anymore, and he refocused on his readouts.

–Health: 91/105–

–Stamina: 104/250–

–You are no longer afflicted by Bleeding–

–Your |Gloom| |Paralysis| |Sleep| has faded on Bloodletter Heron x3–

–Glare has leveled up–

–Gained 3xp–

–Glare has leveled up–

–Gained 3xp–

–Soporalytic Mutagen has leveled up–

–Gained 3xp–

–Soporalytic Mutagen has leveled up–

–Gained 3xp–

David stared stupidly at the nearly closed wound in his side for a long time after closing his readouts and taking a long shaky breath.

Draining Attacks…ah man, I love this Evolution. Okay, now we just...do it again?