"What's in the bag?"

Rammel stood tall over me, easily twice my height, with his arms crossed in frustration and a frown on his face. His attitude only became scarier when I remembered his Fervour from two days ago. I hope with all my being that it is something he can control, and doesn't simply appear when he is angry. I don't think I should tell him that this bag was given to me by Yu, and a quick glance told me that it was literally just a bag full of fuddies. Was she mass producing them?

"Er... well... Just some things Orwell gave me for the hunt."

That seemed to appease him at least, as he turned away from me and began helping the other hunters with preparing for the hunt. Nobody asked me to help, or gave me a task to do, so I just waited awkwardly on the sidelines for them to finish. One look was all it took for me to tell that Jonglir was definitely not happy with me being here, and honestly, I couldnt blame him. He had toiled for years to join the hunting squad, culminating in a test that I definitely did not want to partake in, and here I was getting a free pass to join the hunting squad on their trip, no doubt orchestrated by Orwell, who had a mysterious amount of influence within the village. Well, I suppose it isn't completely strange, Doctors back on earth were regarded quite highly too.

"Step to it, Aralmann."

My monologuing had distracted me, and when I came to with the help of Rammel, they were already at the gate leaving, and I was here sitting with a gormless look on my face. I'm glad I made a spotless first impression with the hunting squad.

I jogged along to catch up with them, having to skip to keep pace, my small legs not being able to walk as fast as they were. We entered the treeline, firstly, the grassland was interspersed with thin shrubs and tall grass, but that soon give way, being replaced by densely packed thick trees, denying the forest floor sunlight with their wide reaching canopies. The light level within the forest was vastly darker, testing the limits of my vision immediately. The sun had just began to rise, as this was the early hours of the morning, but only a fraction of it made its way through the leaves of the humongous trees.

Whereas I repeatedly tripped and fell, my foot getting caught on upturned roots and sticks, the hunters, Jonglir included, moved through the forest floor with a practised efficiency. They avoided dry autumn leaves and fallen sticks alike, moving quieter through the forest than I was capable of doing on grassland. It didn't help them too much I presume, as I was making enough noise to compensate for the lot of us. Another point deducted from their opinions of me. I noticed various scratches lining certain trees throughout the forest, something that tickled a memory from my past life. Humans and animals alike would mark trees, a sign of potential threats when made by humans, and a marker of territory when made by beast. I guessed that the triple pronged scar that stretched the circumference of a hearty oak tree was decidedly not human made.

I traced the mark of the scar with my fingers. It was a deep, clean cut. The bark of the tree had began trying to reclaim the gap, and even though I'm no expert, I could guess that the cut was made a while ago. The scar began about a foot above my head and ended easily eight feet up into the tree. A bear maybe? The tree itself was inside a rarely spotted clearing within the forest, a rather spectacular beam of sunlight piercing through the canopy to give illumination to the tree's marking.

A snapping noise distracted me from my wonder.

I turned to see the source of the commotion, almost falling flat on my backside when I locked eyes with the perpetrator. And I would have, if not for the tree preventing my fall. A beast stared me down from behind an extremely large and thick tree. Its head was birdlike in nature, but freakishly massive, and was connected to a long, pink, snake-like neck. The creature's plume was pitch black in colour, only interrupted by a sizeable pink scar running down and through one of its eyes. The eye itself looked uninjured, unlike my own. The rest of the beasts body remained hidden behind the tree. The neck craned up and down, surveying the scene, probably debating whether I was bait or not, and even if I was, whether it would take said bait. It sniffed twice, its eyes being drawn down to the small bag I was holding.

Fuddies. It had been drawn by the smell.

Who knew my ultimate downfall would be the sweet, delectable pastry treats?

"R-Rammel. Help please." I tilted my head to the right, keeping my eyes on the creature and speaking in a subdued tone as to not spook the beast, but to my dismay, no one answered me back.

The creature, apparently satisfied with it's conclusion, reared it's head up to full height, a sight that set my heart to palpitating. It easily reached fifteen feet into the air. Revealing itself from the confines of the tree, it's taloned feet clacked across the forest floor, each step slow and deliberate, never breaking eye contact with me. It's body was that of an ostrich, if an ostrich was fifteen feet tall and looked like it weighed as much as a family car, with legs that could easily be mistaken for sizeable tree trunks. The plumes of feathers upon its head lay flat to its skull, and were a shadowy black, mirroring the colour of its eyes. It tilted its head left and right, questioning my motivations for intruding into its territory.

"Rammel! Help!"

I increased the volume this time, something I immediately regretted.

The beast lashed out behind itself with one of its legs, spooked at my sudden scream. The tree that was unlucky enough to be in its path was obliterated, smashing into smithereens, splinters exploding into the forest. The tree toppled over, clashing against a few more nearby trees before laying motionless on the ground.

I flinched, breaking eye contact to look for Rammel and his squad, paling when I realised they were no where to be seen. The creature took this as a signal, and I immediately regretted my action. According to fragments of information I remembered from reading titbits online, there were some animals that you were supposed to stare down, whereas others would take direct eye contact as a threat. Unfortunately, this one was clearly one of the former. The beast bounded toward me, already upon me when I looked back at it. Pulling its humongous frame to a harsh stop, it reared up and kicked one of its legs out at my body with unreal speed. I watched the talons fly towards me, and only by mistake on my own part, tripped over an upturned root protruding from the tree I had backed up into. My accidental stumble sent me barrelling across the debris laden ground. I had just managed to orient myself when I felt a cold gust of air slam past my face, the force of which nearly sending my flying once again. The beasts talons swept through the space where my body had only recently just occupied, glancing off of the tree instead of slicing me in half. There was a foot long cut on the tree where it had cut deep into the bark.

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The creature hopped up, switching the foot that it was using to balance upon, and swung the other straight for me. The claw magnified in my vision, the gleaming talons reflecting perfectly the now midday sunlight that shone through the canopy. I tried to throw my head to the side, a last ditch effort to dodge the beasts attack. I wasn't quick enough. I was scared, and the fear poisoned my mind. I hesitated. Not for long, but long enough to matter.

The monster reacted to my movement, correcting it's kick, dropping the height just a fraction, deciding to aim instead of centre mass.

I couldn't escape.

The only action I could take was an instinctual breath, tensing my core in preparation for the blow. The black plumed bird beamed devilishly at my surrender. It's beak and eyes hooked in anticipation of it's incoming human meal.

Darkness swallowed me, wrapping me within it's shadowy desolation. It slowed the scene in front of me down to a gruelling crawl. It emanated inwards from my peripheral, a promise of death with it's arrival.

And then the darkness spoke. A whisper on the wind, barely audible over the din of adrenaline and blood thumping through my head. It was a low and deep voice. Fiery and croaking in its cadence.

"Finally, we're free."

The beasts previously crowning eyes shot wide in abject terror, the tendrils of darkness growing, looming large over the animal, leering at it's apparent helplessness.

The beast paled at the unexpected interruption, its eyes darting between me and the newcomer, unsure of which action to take next. It hesitated for a second, it's talons retreating just a half step, and then, with a new found ferocity, it screeched, resuming its assault with an invigorated aggressiveness.

Bad idea.

Thick lances of condensed black flashed through the oncoming creature, skewering it from every angle. Limbs were severed, meat was punctured. The spears wailed as they pierced through the air, crying tears of unparalleled misery. They were the very essence of impotent, targetless rage. The personification of the punch that was never thrown. The sword that was never unsheathed, now free to seek its retribution. The icy cold ruins of a fiery rage, now swallowed by a hulking sea of water. The culmination of the phrase 'revenge is a dish best served cold'. The beasts screeches of anger turned cold in an instant, first spluttering, and then once again resuming, but this time they were screams of agony.

There, in my sight, was a boy. Alone in a forest with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company. Untolerable rage surged through his veins, and yet there existed no outlet for his suffering. He travelled far and wide, intent on finding an escape for his wrath, searching ceaselessly for a single moments respite from the demons in his mind. His tears dropped without end, yet no amount of them could quench his anger. He snapped and swung for a tree, the structure evaporating into mist, denying him the pain and destruction he needed.

Red whips of rage lashed at the impaled beast, exploding the being into a paste of blood, organs, and viscera. They pulled, crushed, flayed, whipped and licked, eager to taste the pain and suffering of their hunt. Cackling maniacally, they were the physical incarnation of fresh fury. They did not ask questions, nor seek answers. They hungered for the blood of their quarry. More than happy to annihilate first and ruminate upon it later. They drank in the deathly shrieks of the animal, only being invigorated by its futile struggle.

I saw a boy, his father and mother slumped in his arms, cold, dead corpses both. The boy's soul shuddered, releasing it's grip on reality as he descended, free-falling into a hellish pit of absolute wrath and rage. The boy fought the minions of hell without pause, crushing, mangling, and flaying their forms into mounds of mushy red paste, only stopping briefly to refuel so that he could continue his incessant assault. A wide and maniacal smile stretched across the now-bloody boy's visage, relishing in the wanton slaughter. After time unknown, the boy awoke from his stupor, surrounded on all sides by towering walls of flame and crumbled walls, the corpses of countless men, women, and children littering the scenery before him, his hands freshly wet with their blood. His stomach full with their meat. The wails of the boy went unnoticed, for no longer was there anyone left to hear them.

Within brief seconds I was drenched head to toe in bloody rags of gore. Intestines, meat... an eye. Various body parts littered the forest's clearing. The beast no longer resembled even a corpse, what were once its innards lay strewn throughout tens of metres of forest floor, some parts even reaching up into the canopy of the nearby trees. Sensing their prey's demise, the black spears retreated with an almost melancholic slowness, wisping away like a flock of sorrowful shadows. Finally they were unleashed, a target within their scope, and yet, even after they had tasted its flesh, the climax to their pain that they had been eternally searching for still eluded them, destined to be forever out of their reach.

The red whips continued to lash at the already slain foe, furious that their enemy had perished so easily, they whipped at the beaten and broken blood, splashing it morbidly across the length of the clearing. With an eerie and almost contemplative slowness, they turned their soulless forms toward me. One by one, the tendrils considered amongst themselves, debating in hushed tones, pondering sating their fury by shredding me limb from limb. For what is life but another of their prey? They creeped close, slithering along the forest floor, before instantaneously snapping toward the right.

"Aral! Are you okay?! Did the Gir hurt you?"

Rammel scooped me up from the floor, prodding me from head to toe, checking for any sign of injuries. He wiped away the blood from around my eyes, giving me a soft slap on the cheek to bring me back to reality.

"Y-yeah. I'll be alright."

Rammel smiled, and I tried to reciprocate, even though it would be a smile completely devoid of truth, but my stomach twisted in response, and I threw up it's contents, thankfully not over Rammel.

"What on earth were you thinking? Walking off by yourself?!" Rammel was right, and I couldn't find an excuse good enough to give him. I hung my head in shame. Intruding on his hunt, and then breaking from the group without even realising, forcing him to save me. His opinion of me couldn't be lower.

"We're done here, pack it up." Rammel barked some orders to his hunters, but they turned into whispers as sleep called me close. I fought against my heavy eyelids, intent on fighting off the drowsiness, but before I knew it I was once more face to face with my sleeping self in the pitch blackness.