“Uawah?!”
Iris shot up, suddenly waking up in shock and expecting everything around her to have changed. But a quick glance around and it was clear she was worried over nothing; everything was just as she remembered it. She checked on Lily, who was still snug in her silk hammock and undisturbed by her yell.
“Heavy sleeper.” Iris smiled, standing up and stretching her arms out, freezing when she realized something was growling.
She looked around frantically before noticing the source, attached to her arm and attempting to chew it off was a 2 meter wide round…thing? With a large maw filled with pointed teeth. The thing was covered in leathery green skin with it’s maw taking up a large majority of it’s body, it didn’t even have eyes. It was just a ball with a gaping maw and some weird leathery flaps its bottom that moved in a slithery motion as it dangled in the air.
“…what even are you?” She questioned, unbothered by its rapid biting and growling “Well, one way to find out.”
[Monster: Screuncher. A blind reptilian pack hunter that hunts by fanning out from its shared burrow. Once prey is found it will use its large maw to kill its prey. If it senses any danger or it finds its strength inadequate to take down its prey, it will scream, alerting other members of its pack who are soon to swarm to its location.]
Iris immediately ripped it off her arm and chucked it in a random direction “Yeah, don’t need that with Lily still sleeping.” She sighed “Me screaming is bad enough, that girl had a tough day yesterday, deserves all the rest she can get.” She nodded to herself, now determined to make sure nothing disturbs the little girls sleep.
“AH-HAH! Found you!”
Iris snapped to the unwelcome yelling, seeing a giant of a man twice her size enter the clearing, she instantly moved, placing herself between the sudden invader and Lily, who was thankfully still asleep.
“Woah! Fast! I knew it” The man laughed, casually moving his large form between the trees “You can hide your aura all you want, but that can only fool my senses for so long!”
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
Iris twitched “Shhh! The kids sleeping.”
“Ah, my apologies.” The man stopped being so forceful, now being careful to not make noise as he pushed his way through the trees.
“…” a bit taken aback, Iris decided to take a closer look at the man. He was twice her size with a large thick frame, with red tinted skin, red eyes, with two sharp horns on his head… ‘massive…’ is what came to her mind ‘is his fist wider then my entire body??’
The man was finally in the clearing, before making a shocked expression “Wait, being careful is not what I am here for. I am here for you!” He yelled then dashed, gouging out the dirt underneath his feet as he kicked off.
‘Seriously?!’ Iris watched as he raised his fist and swung it at her, she raised her arm and caught it ‘…wow yeah, a single finger is larger then my hand…wait no, not important.’ Iris shook her head, moving the fist to the side “Hey! The kid is tr-“
“Hrmpf?!? I cannot move my hand…” The man said, dumbfounded before a grin appeared on his face “I knew it, that massive aura I felt the other day, that was you, wasn’t it?” He chuckled.
“Wait aura? I don’t know what your talking about, but I need you to-“
“No use lying to me lady. I have been itching for a proper fight.” He laughed, raising his free fist into the air “I am putting all my strength into my fist, but it is I that is being pushed back while you remain in place, I can tell, This fight will be LEGENDARYYY-“
Iris threw him, briefly watching as he quickly became just a dot on the horizon.
“Weirdo.” She gave a heavy sigh “It would have been nice to talk to another person, get some directions, but just had to be loud while a child slept.” She shrugged then looked over to the direction he came from “Maybe that way?”
“Hnng, hm? Auh…”
Iris looked back, to a stretching Lily “Finally up?” She said happily.
“Hmn? Yeah. Morning.” Lily jumped down from her hammock, freezing as she noticed the much different terrain “Uh, what happened?”
“oh that?” Iris shrugged “Some weirdo came while you were sleeping, making a lot of noise so I threw him.”
“…Threw him?”
“Yeah, threw him, over there” She said, pointing up into the sky.
Lily followed her finger “Threw him…” she then slumped her shoulders, giving up. She then reached back behind her, messing with something beneath her dress, before pulling out a brown lump and biting into it.
“Uh, what’s that?”
“Food.”
“…” To Iris, it didn’t look all that appetizing, and by the way Lily seemed to be forcing it down there was a good chance it wasn’t. But without any alternatives Iris remained silent, promising herself to get her something better.
Shortly after she started eating, Lily climbed back onto Iris’s back “Lets go. Want to get out of the forest today.”
Smiling, Iris nodded, then headed off into the direction of where the man came from.