Cedric crouched in the forest, his eyes searching the trees for his prey. He took long and even breaths to steady his racing heart and he strained his ears to hear all that was around him.

He could hear the leaves rustle and the scampering of the forest floor inhabitants moving across the forest. In the distance a slight rustle of bushes shifted his gaze. He moved towards the bushes , slowly drawing his bow and readying an arrow and taking aim, as he moved forward the forest seemed to become quiet , almost waiting to see what will happen, suddenly a snap of a tree branch above him.

Cedric leapt to the side instinctively and faced the ambusher.

Standing over the branch that was ripped from it springing from the trees, it stood at the shoulder height of a full grown man , its body lean and bursting with coiled muscle ready to explode.

The length of the body at least 7-feet and covered in plates of hard bone like armor, the color of its fur like dark rock and its eyes an unnatural yellow.It seemed to radiate power and as it stared at Cedric, its eyes were cold and calculating and seemed to not yet have decided to rip him to pieces.

Cedric froze, his hands gripping his bow and knuckles turning white from the pressure. He looked at this monster and only one thought came to his mind"oh shit" and with that he turned and sprang backwards.

The stone lion growled and went bounding after him, its enormous body crashing through the forest, its body tearing through bushes. Cedric was running as hard as he could, his clothes snagging and tearing at the seams as low hanging branches caught the fabric. He pumped his arms, his mind full of panic and trying to find a way to make it out alive. As the sounds of greenery being destroyed got closer he saw ahead a rotten log with moss growing down the side, almost like a green curtain.

He dove forwards his body slamming into the rotten log and the moss closing behind just before the stone lion came bounding through the trees, He held his breath trying to remain as quiet as he could. He moved as far back into the log until his back touched the wood, as he did he felt a warm sensation and reached back to touch. He brought his hand up to his nose and took a quick sniff of the liquid, the smell of copper coins penetrated his nostrils and as he pulled his hand away he heard the sound of crushing leaves inching closer to his hiding spot.

His heart started pounding in his ears as loud as drums and with a growl of triumph the stone lion jumped on top of the log, the wood cracking and splinters raining down on him as it's weight landed on the rotted wood, he twisted his body as a claw ripped through the wood , the claw nicking his right arm and tearing through the thin woodsman jacket he wore. Cedric felt the claw wrench deep through his arm and then felt his arm go numb.

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With a cry of rage he stabbed his knife through the opening and felt his knife sink through flesh. He pulled his knife back and rolled out of the log as it collapsed. He rolled through the moss and staggered away from the log, the stone lion ripping into the log unaware that he slipped away.

Cedric stood up and looked down at his arm, it now had a bloody gash moving downwards on his forearm. He tried to move his arm but was only able to slightly move his hand. He looked at the stone lion and looked at the sky, it started to darken and the temperature dropping.

He knew that he wouldn't make it back to the village in the dark with a stone lion chasing him. Cedric straighten his back and looked at the monster that now noticed him standing in the middle of the forest staring at him. He looked at the lion and spat out the blood that had gathered in his mouth.

He looked up with a bloody grin "Come at me bitch" and jumped at the lion.

He ducked underneath its left paw and swung upwards with his knife and nicked its side but struck only hard bone. He rolled with his hit and came up behind it.

The lion spun around and pounced towards him and caught a hold of his left leg in its jaw and bit down.

Cedric screamed in pain and swung his knife at its head, the knife sinking a few inches into the head and striking bone.

The stone lion whipped its head in pain and twisted the knife from Cedric's hand and it spun into the forest. The stone lion bit down even harder in anger.

Cedric with no choice left grabbed its head and tried to pry its jaws open, it was like trying to pry open a metal gate welded shut. The blood now pooling beneath him and by now he couldn't feel anything but the pain from the jaws clamped to his leg.

As his eyes turned hazy, he felt himself fall backwards and land on the hard forest floor, he gazed up wards to the now dark sky and stared at the stars, "so this is how it ends "he thought.

The light of the moon and stars growing darkerwith each passing second, "somewhere in the forest by some dumb animal, well screw that I refuse to give up and till my dying breath I'll fight this and I will win and spit into the eyes of death”.

With blood clenched teeth he lifted his head and started kicking the lion and thrashing about.

Suddenly a bright light came through the night sky and lit up the forest. As he stared at the heavens, and felt power explode into his body, he regained feeling in his right arm and felt his wounds start to knit together. He grabbed the stone lions head with both his hands he let out a cry of rage and snapped its neck. He watched as the light faded in its eyes and he pried its jaws open and moved his leg out. He rolled away from the corpse and sat up a few feet away and stared at his now healed leg and arms. He had a scar running the length of his forearm and his leg,the scars looking like they have been there for years.

He stared towards the sky in search of the light that had pierced the darkness and saved his life. The sky was dark except for the stars and the moon, he gazed up for a few minutes to see if the light would return but he was answered with silence. He stood up on shaky legs and looked at the stone lion, it was huge and still fearsome even in death. He gave one look at it and then set off into the woods to find his knife.