"I got ya now! You disgusting freak!"

Stúfur could barely be seen through the darkness, but Stella recognized his insufferable voice anytime. It almost could shake the girl's fear, but you know... giant Cat.

Speaking of, Jólakötturinn stood on his four legs, just as intimidating as last time. However, Stella also found the Cat... kinda cute. Colossal as he was, it was still a fluffy feline at the end of the day.

Such a shame that the giant creature looked at her with a displeased expression. Of course, the Cat would hold a grudge for that whole "golden shower" stunt.

The weirdest aspect about him, besides his size, was his expressiveness. Jóla did not emote like a regular cat, instead operating in some cartoon logic. His eyes were narrowed, and his "eyebrows" were furrowed.

So he was a Monoke, too. Did that mean that he was sentient? Why didn't he speak? So many questions that made Stella momentarily forget about the gravity of the situation she was in.

Stúfur continued giggling, much to the Human's discomfort. "Can't do shit without your guide dog, can ya?!"

Even though it was some stupid taunt, it held some truth. Stella only survived this far because of Lien. Even if she had what it took to knock Ketkrókur down back then, by the time the black Cat would enter the picture...

And now her mind went back towards the Wolf, the one she left behind, who was probably dead because of her cowardice.

"Hey! Where's that annoying pup?!" Stúfur's question caught Stella by surprise. It prevented her from breaking into yet another pathetic display of tears.

Stella straightened her posture and clenched her fists. She looked at the ground, not bearing to look at anyone in the eye.

"S-She..." She used all of her mental fortitude to not let her sadness drip into her voice. "Your father got her."

Stúfur laughed maniacally. Stella's fists clenched so hard that her nails threatened to tear the skin of her palms. She had half a mind to turn around and turn that son of a bitch's face until it became a bloody mess!

Until...

"Didn't know father had it in him! That man is too lazy to capture someone by himself!"

Capture... Not kill...

Now that she thought about it, Lien did not sound as desperate as one would be when facing certain death, even if she had an unusually laid-back approach to things.

Though that giant dude definitely had some killing intent towards Stella. However, that could be because she was a Human, and her people were feared by these creatures for some reason.

Wait a minute...

"Alright, Jóla! Get 'er!" The chubby Ogre commanded.

The Cat took his first steps towards her. However, he froze with the sudden laughter coming from Stella. The giant Monoke stared at her with his widened yellow eyes as if he were in the presence of a crazy person.

"W-What the hell is the deal with ya!?" Stúfur asked. The girl could not see him, but she could taste the apprehension in his voice.

Perfect...

"Poor Ogre... You still haven't realized what I am." Stella made her best attempt at an intimidating voice. It seemed to be working.

Silence. Then, Stúfur's annoying voice again. "WHAT?!"

Stella's eardrums almost broke. The Cat shared the same feeling, recoiling at the sound attack.

However, Stella continued her villainous speech. "Have you not realized I am unlike any Monoke you've ever seen?"

Stúfur's voice tried to come across as courageous but failed miserably. "Y-Yeah! So what?!"

Stella resumed her supervillain laugh, opened her arms wide, and looked upwards. "I am the creature that comes from the outside world!" She declared her true nature by shouting at the top of her lungs. "I am the one who takes the clothes you forget to keep tidy! Who steals your toys and replaces them with rocks!"

The girl had to try very hard to not break character while saying all these silly things with such a tone. But she pushed through the silliness and delivered her evil monologue!

Stúfur's voice was stripped of any fake bravado. "Wait! Does that mean..."

Stella slowly turned towards the Lad with a devilish grin. Now, she could see Stúfur's terror in more detail, though most of it was obscured still.

The girl didn't say anything, waiting for the Ogre to squirm just a little bit more. His voice cracked into a pathetic sob. "Y-You're a-"

"YES!" Stella cried, making a dramatic gesture with her arms stretched. The stubby Lad stumbled back by the jumpscare and fell on his butt.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

The girl made slow steps towards him, who frantically retreated until he hit the back of his head on a tree trunk.

Stúfur looked at her with such terror. His eyes were silently pleading for mercy. Stella loved that. She loved seeing this pathetic bully who gave her such problems with his mocking laughter squirm!

The girl slowly spoke the last blow in a serene tone. "I... Am..."

She paused to gaze at Stúfur's eyes, terrified with anticipation.

"A HUMAN!" Her face twisted into a maniacal smile. The Ogre screamed like a scared toddler. His eyes widened to a comical degree, and Stella swore she could see some tears falling from them.

He ran past her and went to the Cat! At that moment, Stella broke her facade. Did she overdo it? Was Jóla going to deal with her for good?

"Jóla! Get the hell outta here!" Stúfur cried while climbing the Cat's head.

To Stella's relief, the Cat obliged and led the chubby Lad far away. When they were out of sight, the Human fell to her knees. She had done it! She managed to survive yet another brush with death with only words!

After that, she needed a breather. A long one!

She walked a bit further to hide under a fallen, rotten trunk. It was a pretty gross hiding place and very susceptible to diseases. However, it was what she could get, so she took it in stride.

After two minutes of gathering a sliver of courage and energy, Stella was back on track! Knowing that Lien was not in a life-or-death situation did wonders for her motivation. Of course, she still loathed herself for putting the Monoke in that situation, but she could make it up to her!

She could have walked faster if not for the problem of the blinding darkness that spread through her surroundings.

She spread her arms carefully to feel the trees, bushes, and rocks to traverse through them. A glimmer of hope came when the girl could hear the sound of the river.

It was... kinda loud, actually. Earlier, the Human was right next to it, and it was a lot quieter than now.

After one more minute of walking, she saw glimpses of the river through the shadowy flora. However, Stella stopped and hid behind a tree when she saw a strange figure on the body of water.

At a distance, it looked a whole lot like a snake, a freaking enormous one at that. Regardless of what it was, it scared her a little.

She thought about going the same route Lien wanted them to take, but it was too risky. She needed a faster way to escape the Ogres' territory. And that might be going to the mushroom forest on the other side of the river.

That snake-like creature was scary, but Stella was sick and tired of being afraid. Because of that, Lien was captured by those bastards. If she had to go through whatever that Monoke was, she would gladly do it!

The Human took a deep breath and then marched towards the river. No Monoke would make her diverge from her mission!

However, as the Human got nearer, the more intimidating the river Monoke looked. She could now notice more minute details of it. Its scales had a mixture of brown, silver, and black coloration, with a pattern of circular white spots down its spine. A dark mane also followed the same path as the spots.

A snake with fur? Sure, why not?

The river raged with an intensity that Stella had not expected from it. She wondered if the Monoke had anything to do with it. The problem was that it was practically impossible for the girl to reach the giant fungi in these conditions.

Unless the "snake" helped her. It stood firm amidst the fierce current.

Finally, Stella was close enough to the creature. Because of the loud noise of the current, the Human shouted as loud as she could to get its attention.

"HEY! OVER HERE!" She frantically waved her hands.

The snake thankfully heard Stella's pleas and turned to see who called its attention. The Human was taken by surprise to see the creature's whole appearance. It had... a fox head? Along with two arms and hands with dangerously sharp claws at the end.

The fox snake was pouting, and its arms were crossed. It seemed to not be in a great mood. That is until her crystal-blue eyes met Stella. Her demeanor turned a lot more relaxed.

The river even returned to its regular state. So it was the Monoke's doing.

A feminine voice came from the fox snake. "Oh, my! Hello there!" She waved her right arm. Stella waved back, nervous.

The Monoke started to watch and analyze the girl in front of her from many different perspectives. She sniffed Stella once, making Lien pop into the Human's mind again.

She really missed her fluffy friend.

The river creature's face got uncomfortably close to Stella's face, which made her give a step back. "What are you, dear? I believe I never met your species before."

Of course, Stella already knew that Humans were not well seen by the Monoke. And though this could be useful to someone young and gullible like Stúfur, this would not be ideal with the adults, like that brute that snatched Lien. But what would she say to this one?

"I... Am..." Stella paused in the middle of explaining her identity once again. Though for a different reason. She slowly panicked as the charming blue eyes of the fox snake gazed at her with more curiosity by the second.

Her mind searched for multiple ways to hide her true identity until a marginally solid one came to mind.

"An Ogre!" Yeah, Ogres were kinda similar to Humans, correct? Even though they had enough differences to destroy her fake story, it could be convincing enough to someone disinformed. At least, that was what Stella hoped.

The Monoke raised an eyebrow. "You look very odd for an Ogre, don't you?"

Shit! She didn't buy it! Stella's mind went into a frantic search for a good excuse again. That might have been something she could use.

Think, Stella! Think!

Her problems were solved by the river creature of all beings. "Are you sick or something?"

Bingo!

"Y-Yeah!" Stella hated that she stuttered, but there was no time to dwell on that. "I'm those Lads' sister. I don't know if you heard of them. I'm just a little sick, that's all!"

The Monoke frowned in response. Did she catch Stella in her lie? The Human became even more apprehensive.

"I didn't know those Lads had a sister! And dear me, this sickness did a number on you!" The fox snake gently lifted Stella's chin with her finger, and then she rotated it to get a good look at her features.

The river Monoke took her finger off her chin and then resumed her pouting for some reason. The river restarted its rough current, much to the girl's dismay.

What the hell happened?

The creature turned her head away. "I prefer to not get myself involved with your family of brutes!" Great, she wasn't a fan of them either. Pretty neat, if not for Stella's disguise being based on them.

Stella scratched the back of her head. "Any... particular reason for that?"

The Monoke gasped in an overly dramatic manner. Her expression was one of pure shock, as if she just discovered her partner cheating on her or something.

"You dare ask why I despise your entire bloodline, AFTER MY RUINED CIENTOCIQUENTEAÑERA!" She pointed her right index finger at the "Ogre" as if she did the most horrendous crime to ever be registered.

Stella was dumbfounded. After that show of drama, the creature started to explain all the minute and delicate process of her cientociquenteañera, whatever that was.

The girl was too shocked to even pay attention to the ranting Monoke's words. Stella cursed her existence as the fox snake kept overwhelming her with all these names and events that she couldn't care less about.

She sat down and put her hands on her face. "I could have said that I was a hairless Wolf."