The forest surrounding her felt unusual, unlike the norm. She couldn't embark on official hunts, as the overseer hadn't granted her the authority to unlock that function on her collar, and it seemed unlikely they ever would. Nevertheless, she could still hone her natural skills here. The old ruined city had few buildings left, but creatures avoided it, as if the ancient shield that had supposedly protected it during its previous inhabitants still held sway.
Sniffing the air, she detected the scent of something alive. It was reminiscent of the overseer's presence when they had affixed the collar to her neck at the tender age of 8, but with a different quality, as if there were also some kind of metal involved. She hadn't encountered such a metallic scent since the machines the overseer's guards wore, their massive armored forms resembling giants to her young eyes.
Leaping to a higher branch, she stealthily navigated the treetops, making huge leaps between the trees, her innate pantherkin balance allowing her to choose an alternative route. The scent was closer now, near a small stream that provided water close to the largest remaining structure in the area, the ancient castle, which she had been strictly forbidden from entering by her mentors.
Peering closely, she discerned the footprints of the person she was tracking near the stream, and then the flattened grass where they had rested to drink. Further tracks led to a partially collapsed building.
Remaining still and watchful for any further movement, she was taken aback when she felt her collar warming slightly. Quickly retreating behind a tree, she waited to see what was unfolding.
Her hand instinctively grasped the material around her neck, which had become almost forgotten after a decade of wearing it. It had never produced any response beyond restricting her natural beastkin abilities, or so she thought. This warming sensation was new, but she faintly remembered it being similar to this when it was first placed around her neck.
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Fear of the unknown almost drove her to flee, but as her body adjusted to the sensation, her hearing sharpened significantly. The sounds of someone sleeping inside the structure overwhelmed her fear with bewilderment. No one would willingly sleep or live here to escape the stigma of being considered a demon. Even the training that the cubs underwent here was only done under supervision until they reached the age of 15. Afterward, they were given the years from that age until the next overseer's visit for temporary freedom, knowing that upon their return and collar activation, that freedom would be restricted once more.
Her curiosity ultimately triumphed as she quietly descended from a branch on the other side of the river. The slumbering figure inside the building remained undisturbed as she inched closer. However, she wasn't usually this curious, and a moment of confusion washed over her as to why she wasn't fleeing.
Several vines and roots blocked the entrance, almost forming a doorway, but she could see where someone had recently moved them aside. Now, the overseer's scent was almost overpowering, concentrated within this structure. As she cleared the path, she saw the form of a sleeping overseer, but there was something peculiar about his appearance.
The overseer was male, evident from his lack of clothing, but his skin wasn't a color she had ever seen before. It almost resembled the same type of metal that the overseer's guards wore as armor, which explained the odd combination of scents.
Even though he was still asleep, she decided she should leave, as she had no business being here if he was indeed an overseer.
But strangely, she couldn't move away; her hands no longer seemed to be under her control. Her body advanced into the space, and as she drew nearer to the man, something shifted. She had been told that when the overseer returned, she would feel the control they exerted and the expansion of her powers being released. She had always imagined it would feel like this. However, she never expected to lose control, walk over, crouch by the man, and feel an overwhelming desire to protect him wash over her.
Then came the pain, unlike anything she believed she could endure. Her entire body convulsed, but with her body seemingly out of her own control, she couldn't even scream. The sensation of something crawling and burrowing into her skin and muscles was excruciating, overwhelming everything else.