Pain crept in from the edge of existence, drawing Dania inexorably back to consciousness.

"Fuck," she muttered, and squeezed her eyes tight before forcing them open into blinding light that stabbed into her brain.

"Dani?"

Jake. Dania fastened her attention to his voice, fought to turn toward the sound of it. Her body didn't want to move. It was like being underwater, but eventually, she managed to roll her head to the side.

"Jake?" she blinked, suddenly aware that her eyes felt full of sand. Her mouth, too, tasted like something vaguely sweet-flavored had crawled inside and died there while she'd been out…

Oh. Right.

Drop Night.

Jake's deck.

The other deckbearer.

The cat.

Morphine and blood loss.

"No wonder I feel like shit," she said, and Jake's soft chuckle accompanied another, eerie and hair-raising, laugh.

"Berto said you would," Jake said. "But he also said you'll be okay. Do you want to try and sit up?"

"Yeah," Dani said. "Help me out, would you?"

Jake grabbed her hand and her shoulder. Another hand—cold, and somehow odd=feeling—gripped her other shoulder, and Dania felt herself being levered up.

Four things became rapidly apparent. First, a cast immobilized her left arm from elbow to wrist. Second, an IV lock pierced the back of her right hand, and she was currently hooked up to a bag of something. Third, she was in a basement room she recognized as belonging to her old Army medic, Berto. Fourth, the other person helping her up wasn't a person at all. Or not a human person, anyway. It was Machairi, the shadow killer card Jake had received from Nyx as a companion, whatever that meant.

"Thanks," she said, because she wasn't sure what else to say.

"You're welcome, guardian," Machairi said, his voice echoing eerily and making her hackles rise. Still, the creepy youngster's tone held a note of respect, and when she glanced at his midnight gaze, Machairi gave her a small smile.

"We gonna be friends then?" Dania asked. Not subtle, perhaps, but morphine and pain had stripped away any fucks she had to give.

"I'm Jake's companion. You're Jake's protector. That makes us allies, at least. I…don't really know how to be friends yet."

"Fair enough," Dania said. "I'll take it."

"You guys don't have to talk about me like I'm not here, you know," Jake said, a thread of amused exasperation in his voice.

"We're not." Dania shifted in her seat, turned her head and did her best to smile at Jake. It probably came out more like a grimace, but she tried. "We were just reaching an understanding."

"Oh? What understanding is that?"

Dania turned back to Machairi and met his pupil-less stare. "That we'll both do whatever it takes to keep you safe."

"Dani—"

"Don't argue with me on this one, Jake."

"I wasn't," he said, a bit of teenage anger and impatience creasing his face. "I just…I wanna protect you, too."

"I know, but, kid, you're my responsibility, not the other way around. I know I'm not your mom…but you're my son in every way that matters. I love you, kid, and I'll kill and die to take care of you."

Jake swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as he glanced down for a minute. "I know," he said. "And I love you too, Dani. We're family…but family protects family, right? I—I want to give you something."

Dania drew her eyebrows together in a confused frown. "Give me…but it's your birthday."

Jake let out a humorless laugh and just shook his head. He reached into his back pocket and drew out a thin stack of…

Oh.

The dead deckbearer's cards didn't glow anymore, but Dania recognized them anyway. She swallowed against the sudden dryness in her throat and took the cards as Jake held them out to her.

The moment the stack touched her hand, something primal and savage reared up within Dania's mind. Hunger and rage and a fierce, unstoppable drive to protect what was hers wrapped itself around her thoughts and settled into the fabric of her psyche. She shivered, closed her eyes, inhaled, and then opened her eyes to look at Jake.

"You want me to have these? They're yours by right."

"No," he said. "They're not. You killed that asshole deckbearer, so technically his cards are yours. And from what Machairi says, he won't be the only one to come after us. One of my cards is part of a set, and it's really valuable. My deck has a lot of potential, but I don't have much in the way of offensive capability while I'm at low level, and it doesn't make sense to try and split my build with what that asshole was carrying. But if you take his deck—"

"Then we're both deckbearers, and I can guard your back—"

"While I guard yours," Jake finished, his tone carrying an iron note of will. "I know, in your mind, I'm just your baby nephew, but Nyx chose me for a reason. I'm a deckbearer, and that changes everything. I'm not going to sell my cards…I think they're too potentially powerful to end up in the wrong hands, and they will. I want to keep them, and develop my deck, and collect the whole Hidden Realm set and—"

"All right, kiddo, all right," Dania said, curling her hand around her own new deck. "I get it. I do. But if Machairi's right, and there are others coming for you—"

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"There most assuredly are," Machairi said. "Mother created the Hidden Realm set to be very enticing."

"Right. Then we can't stay here in the city. We've got to get off the grid somewhere safe, so we can train and level up and figure out a plan."

"I had an idea about that."

The gruff voice came from behind Dania, and she strained to try and turn around to see her old friend walking down the basement stairs.

"Berto," she said. "I know it's not enough, but…thanks. For patching me up, and for—"

"Shut the hell up, Dani," Berto said as he walked forward. "You saved my ass in the 'Stan. The least I can do is return the favor. This is a hell of a predicament you find yourself in, though."

"Ain't that the truth," she muttered. "You said something about an idea?"

Berto shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. Your kid told me a little bit about what happened, and I came to the same conclusion. Best if you get out of Noimoire for a bit, at least until things settle out after Drop Night. I've got a place. It's not much, just a hunting cabin up northwest a ways. It's off grid, and hard to find unless you know what you're looking for. It was my dad's, but I don't use it much. It's… a little creepy, to be honest. Haven't been back in a couple of years, so I don't know what kind of shape it's in, but it could work as a hole-up for a little while, anyway."

"That…sounds perfect, actually, Berto," Dania said. She swallowed against the sudden thickness of tangled emotions in her throat.

"Good. I called in a doctor buddy while you were out. He set your arm and patched you up. Cast can come off in a couple of weeks."

A couple of weeks? Dania grimaced, but didn't argue. She knew better than most that injuries took as long as they took to heal. Pushing it would only set her back, and she couldn't afford that.

There's so much to do: supplies, training, figuring out how to level, our decks…

"Our decks!" she said out loud. "Berto, your place is pretty secure, right?"

"As secure as I can make it," Berto said. "If you're good here, I'll head back upstairs and get working on the logistics to get you out to the cabin.”

"Good enough, Berto, thanks." Dania watched him go back up the stairs, and then looked down at the stack of cards in her hand. "Now," she muttered. "How do I make you mine?"

As soon as she thought it, that primal protective instinct swirled in her head once more, igniting into a rage that literally seared beneath her skin. Dania gasped at the pain, but as suddenly as it began, it started to fade. As did the cards she held.

She flexed her newly empty hand, then raised her eyes to meet Jake's. He gave her a tiny smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, and touched his splay-fingered hand to his chest.

Deckbearer Jacob Kinley has pulled his deck.

Dania followed suit, splaying her fingers across a spot between her breasts, and then moving her hand outward. Three tawny-edged cards appeared in the air in front of her.

#

#

Enraged Defense

Uncommon Tier-1 Immediate

1 Beast Power, 1 Any power (available)

Target a single creature. It gains x2 Attack for 1 minute, after which it returns to the deck. This may only be played if an allied non-card entity is at less than half-health.

“Do not touch this one’s cubs.”—Jason Tyne 2nd, Safari Lead

#

#

Dire Wolf Tracker

Uncommon Tier-1 Beast [Canine, Extinct, Ice Age, North America]

1 Beast, 1 Any power

Health: 15

Attack: 6

Defense: 6

Magical Attack: N/A

Magical Defense: 4

Special: Canine Tribal: +1 to attack for every other allied canine on the field

Special: Card Scent: This card can ‘smell’ a deckbearer up to 1000’ from them

“Wolves rely on pack tactics to bring in the meals, so becoming inordinately good at finding prey became one of their prime evolutionary drivers.”

#

Scimitar Cat

Common Tier-1 Beast [Feline, Extinct, Ice Age, North American] Creature

1 Beast Power

Health: 8

Attack: 3

Defense: 3

Magical Attack: N/A

Magical Defense: 3

Special: Ambush [2]: This attacks immediately upon entering with a single attack at +2.

“The Scimitar Cat, Homotherium Serum, was a smaller, rush-down version of the more well-known Smilodon, or Saber-toothed Tiger.”

#

Dania let her eyes roam over the cards, recognizing two of the creatures that had attacked them in her apartment.

"Oh! That's how he found us," she exclaimed. "The Dire Wolf has a special trait to track deckbearers! And the cat…it was a Scimitar Cat. No wonder it broke my arm with a single bite."

"Scimitar cat?" Jake asked. "Like a saber-toothed cat?"

"Not quite," Dania said. "That was Smilodon. This is Homotherium Serum, a bit smaller, more of a pack hunter, if I recall correctly. And this one…" she trailed off as she focused on the Enraged Defense card. Do not touch this one's cubs, huh? Someone's got a sense of humor.

"So, your deck is a beast deck?" Jake asked, leaning forward, even as his own trio of cards hovered in front of him. For a split second, Dania wondered what had happened to the fourth card she'd seen before, but then Machairi tilted his head to see her cards as well, and she felt like an idiot.

Of course. Machairi is already out, because he's a "companion."

Dania pursed her lips together and flicked her hand to the side in a swiping motion. The three cards in front of her slid into nothingness as three more replaced them.

"Oh!" Dania said. "This is wild! This isn't just a Beast deck; this is a Beast/Nature deck! And it's got some kind of extinct megafauna theme. That's interesting. I wonder if there's some kind of primeval companion in here. "

"Your deck is from a previous cycle," Machairi said in his eerie, skin-pebbling voice. "The Cycle of the Lost and Lonely is the first to include companion cards, so it's highly unlikely. Also, I think it equally unlikely the deckbearer we vanquished was god-gifted this deck. He wore no mantle."

"Ugh, that's a good point," Dania said, frowning. "I suppose I'll have to find a mantle at some point."

"If you want to survive to continue protecting my deckbearer, I would recommend it," Machairi said. His voice was as cold and deadpan as ever, but Dania was suddenly certain that the creepy little jerk was teasing her. She rolled her eyes.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

"Do you like it, Dani?" Jake asked, excitement in his tone. "I mean, is it gonna work for you?"

"I think it will," Dania said, swiping the cards once more. "I wish there were an easier way to see all the cards at once…" The moment Dania thought it, a summary appeared in her mind.

Dania Ellis Status:

Level 1 Deckbearer

Deckbearer Perks:

Deckbearer Perk: Primal: Gain 1 Nature Power. May have one more card on field so long as at least one is a Beast type creature. Any Beast Mantle costs 1 less power to play.

Deckbearer Flaw: Heart of Gold: May never sacrifice creatures.

Deckbearer Stats:

Cards in Deck: 10

Cards in Hand: 3

Cards in Play: 2

Length of Play: 5 minutes

Specialty Cards: N/A

Type 1 and Power: 1 Nature

Type 2 and Power: 1 Beast

Energy 1 and Power: 1 Ice

Personal Perks:

Acquired Perk 1: Survivalist: +1 Magical Defense, +5 Health

Acquired Perk 2: Trained Soldier: +3 Attack and Defense

Personal Stats:

Health: 25

Attack: 8

Magical Attack [None]: 0

Defense: 8

Magical Defense: 6

Dania Ellis’s Deck

Creatures:

Scimitar Cat x2

Dire Wolf Tracker x2

Short-Faced Bear x1

Giant Ground-Sloth x1

Persistent:

Megafauna x1

Tar Pit x1

Immediate:

Enraged Defense x1

Equipment:

Fossil Bloom x1

"Oh! Jake, you can call up a summary of your deck and perks and everything if you think about your status," Dania gasped.

"Um… yeah. I knew that already," Jake said, sharing a look with Machairi that made Dania's cheeks flame hot with embarrassment. "Didn't you?"

Dania huffed, her arm ached, and she was about done with smartass teenagers. "No, kid, I didn't. I've never been a deckbearer before, and I don't have a fancy companion to explain things to me."

"You think I'm fancy?" Machairi asked, delight in his eerie voice. "I was going for unsettling, but I can work with fancy."

"Shut. Up." Dania laughed, shaking her head. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh before opening them.

"Wanna know what my sheet says?" Jake asked.

"Yes, please."

"Okay, give me a second." Jake's eyes unfocused, and he stared off into nothingness as he began reciting the information that only he could see.