A sudden introduction of an unexpected challenger, hardship, or strain is one of the best ways to force innovation and growth. Search these out and learn how to overcome anything.
-From Vocationals: 1:17-18
The neonate cursed her luck, but was glad she had taken the time to coat herself with the needles as the long clawed apex’s tongue flickered out.
Lightning flashed, washing out all his hues for a moment and he covered his eyes, hissing in frustration.
Now!
She darted, glad of the thunder and her camouflage as she circled away, three-toed feet pumping.
Can’t stay, need to run.
She couldn’t handle Slash alone, and with Design there it was practically a death sentence.
She zipped away, relying on her speed, vaulting over a dead log.
Something sliced along her tail and she fought down a yelp, spinning and kicking without looking first.
Design grunted softly as her toeclaws stabbed into his gut, managing to puncture his scales but not much else.
The little warrior bared her teeth, flashing black and red around her eyes.
Now? Gods damn it now?! She fought back a roar. Both knew that they had to fight in complete silence because of Slash’s proximity.
She drew her ax and stabbed with her knife.
Design ducked under the blade, but he had to roll away from her swinging ax. He rolled towards her.
What?
Trying to get behind!
Thinking fast, the neonate swept with her injured tail, ignoring the dirt and needles that got into the wood, knocking her rivals feet out from under him.
Yes!
Strike!
She continued to spin, knife ready, stepping out of it and towards him as soon as he came in sight. Matte black death shot forward fast as a kingbill’s beak.
Design twisted, but her blade sliced a thin line along his chest, right along his semi-permanent markings there.
He staggered back scraping up mud with a free hand and covering the wound to stop the smell of blood. Trying to recover.
Lightning shattered the sky, bright as noonday.
Kill! Do it now!
She followed Design, not letting up, sensing victory! Reversing her knife so it was point down the little warrior gripped the haft with both hands and gave a tremendous swing!
Crack!
It snapped through a pine sapling!
Needles showered everywhere.
Her hands jarred painfully, the black blade hummed in sympathy.
And the swing slowed enough that Design got away again.
Thunder crashed behind them, but it couldn’t possibly be as frustrated as the neonate.
So close!
Slash roared.
They both froze, and they heard the apex shredding through the underbrush. Both glared at each other for half an instant before dashing away in opposite directions and into hiding.
Design jumped up against the trunk of a tree, shuffling to keep opposite Slash as the bigger male charged forward. His almost closed eyes still conveying perfect frustration to the neonate. She had ducked behind a ruin, a toppled pile of worked stones, and glared back just as hard.
Slash lived up to his name, hacking through the undergrowth, snapping his jaws.
“Give up, whelp.” He glanced at a berry bush, his claws flashed, and in an instant it was in tatters. “I am here to collect what is due.” He growled, wiggling his claws so that they clattered together ominously.
What? Does he know I’m here?
No! Design! Focus!
She crawled along the ground, backing away, as quick as she dared, trying to get around the back of a tree so she could escape upwards. Slash tore through some ferns next, opening up a clear space about a yard wide around himself. Searching.
She was almost there.
Idiot, like anyone would stay that close to yo-
Thump-bump.
Slash’s eyes snapped in her direction as a tossed pinecone landed next to her.
Shit! Design had to have thrown it.
Run!
Slash charged towards the neonate’s location and she was forced to scramble away, fear giving her speed that she knew wasn’t enough.
He’s been dealing with Design, he knows how to hunt for camouflage! She needed to try something new, but what?
She spotted the snagged tree from earlier, the top of it rocking in the wind and rain.
Danger!
She gripped the bloodoak ax tightly. No choice!
Blinking rain out of her eyes, the neonate ran up the tree, not having to look back to know how close Slash was. Yelping as she felt something sharp whistle within inches of the tip of her tail.
Claws! Faster!
She heard him bellow behind her as she spun and scooped at the ground with the ax like she had with the abomination.
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Needles and dirt sprayed into the apex’s face as he slashed at her once more, throwing off his aim so that it only sliced into her bicep instead of her throat.
She hissed in pain, the wound bleeding profusely.
Later keep going.
Slash stumbled and fell, rubbing his eyes and snarling, and she sprinted up the angled trunk of the tree. She squashed mud from the ax head into the wound to stop the bleeding for the moment just like Design had, getting to the top of the tree and turning to face him.
Taunt him. Make him stupid with rage.
Panting, the little predator snapped her black and red into place.
Not too much! Doesn’t know!
At the last second, she managed to pull it back slightly, make it simpler, hiding her full skill.
Slash almost recoiled with confusion when he realized who she was. “The runt? Why haven’t you been culled?”
His eyes rested on the ax and the knife and his own black and red snapped into place, emphasizing his claws. The pattern outlined with smug orange.
“Thanks for getting those for me…” Menace dripped from his words. “Give them to me and I’ll give you a head start.”
Rage filled her and her hands tightened. What?
Mine! Her Instinct roared.
That would only set a dangerous precedent. And they were hers!
She snapped her jaws. “Want them? Try and take them.” She snarled, managing to hide most of her fear. She shook her head, vertebrae crackling back into place.
He snapped back, clacking his claws, prowling slowly forward. Growl rumbling like rolling stones.
She could feel the tree bounce with each step.
“Then be culled.” He hissed.
Twenty yards away.
Need to pick the right one.
His toeclaws dug deep into the bark.
She glanced to the left and right, looking at the branches.
Right. Her Instinct hissed, doing the analysis for her. The knuckles of her ax hand popped and she reversed the black blade in her other hand.
Slash took another couple of steps. Each hand spreading open, flowers of blades.
Fifteen yards.
She jumped to the right and started hacking at the partially broken branch with the ax. Fast two-handed blows as hard as she could. The knife reversed as she did so once more.
Slash roared, eyes going wide as dirty white and yellow fear splashed across his face, the smug orange washing away.
“No!” He bellowed.
He rushed in.
Ten yards.
She kept hacking, wood chips flying.
Five.
The tree shifted slightly. Almost!
One.
He loomed over her, blocking the raindrops, both hands lifted, ten-inch-long claws splayed. She swung one last time!
Crack!
The snagged tree came free and Slash tumbled down as she leaped away from his snatching claws. One grazing her knee as he fell, starting to drip blood. She slammed ax and knife into the supporting tree as she bit back another yelp of pain.
Just pain, no major damage.
Well that’s an improvement. The neonate didn’t need another debilitating wound.
She dug in her toeclaws and pulled out the knife and ax to grab with her two foreclaws instead. Quick as a grass snake she was up the tree and running to its neighbor, still trying to get out.
She found a rope she thought she remembered Design using and grabbed hold, swinging through a wide gap before landing on a tree farther away. She didn’t have any more mud, she needed to stop the bleeding.
Sap!
She sliced the trunk viciously with her knife, getting enough sap to cover the rest of her wounds for the moment. She hated how sticky it felt.
She dashed away, running along branches, hearing Slash get free in the distance, bellowing at the sky as lightning flashed again.
She still wanted to get out. Needed to-
There! A shape. Distinct.
She saw him, Design.
She slowed, and crouched low, inspecting.
It had to be him, hiding not to far away. That was the shape of a Greenscale, the three toed feet, the tail pretending to be a root. He was pressed up against the trunk of the tree, deep in the shadows.
Learning fast, he’s hiding his imperfect hues with the dark. That said, his hues were much closer to correct. She was begrudgingly impressed.
He didn’t move.
Hasn’t seen me…
Revenge. Her Instinct snarled as thunder cracked like the tube weapon.
And distraction.
She could hear Slash cursing down below, getting closer and searching for her in the trees. She slowly looked back at design. The fool left his snout sticking out! Even with the deep shadows, she could tell it was him.
If I cut that idiot badly enough, the smell of blood will be too strong to hide. And I should be able to get away before he can recover.
He’ll be found. Her Instinct hissed happily.
And won’t be a thorn in my side ever again once Slash is done with him.
Straining her skin, determined to not be seen, the little predator slunk forward. Hand over hand, belly flat against the branch. She took her time, hearing Slash searching violently, sensing the apex’s anger as she got right over Design.
Slash rushed right past him below, snarling and growling, using his claws to hack through everything in his way as he went. She ignored him once he was far enough for her to get away.
Have to make it hurt, have him make a sound.
Or mimic his growl.
She could probably manage that.
She waited for Slash to get farther away. And still, Design didn’t move, probably not wanting to make a sound that the other male would hear.
Learning so quick. His hue was perfect now.
See how you like being the target.
She dropped, still camouflaged as she went, and slashed across Design’s chest.
Bark, peeled from a log, split under the fine edge of her matte black blade. The twine holding it there splitting.
Decoy!
Behind!
She dropped low. Pain shot along her shoulder as the obsidian blade sliced along it instead of piercing it. She reached back and hooked her rival’s leg with the beard of her ax, pulling. Design was ready for that though and lifted his foot, moving in and slashing with his knife in complete silence.
No! He had had the same idea! Hurt her and leave her as a decoy.
She twisted away and the blade missed, awkwardly rolling under the following slash of the weapon before scrambling to her feet on the branch.
Slash was still snarling, looking above them now, close enough to hear, but looking in the wrong direction.
Lightning flashed.
Design kicked her in the chest and she staggered, seeing the glittering obsidian in his hand as it rushed forward.
Live!
Block it!
She lifted the matte black blade.
Thunder boomed as earthbone met stone, the obsidian blade shattered into sparkling shards, zipping away and leaving fine slices along Design’s wrist and knuckles.
Hissing he leaped back as she swung her ax, starting to run, already blending.
No! She had to compete. She needed to-
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Learn! I timed my intervention perfectly, and fortunately it was when Maruc was distracted. Reaching out from my cell.
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Her eyes widened as she looked at the darkened haft of her weapon. She dropped the ax, letting it clatter to the ground in the rumbling thunder, stuffing her hand in her bag.
The little container of dark liquid shattered like the obsidian blade against the back of Design’s head. The liquid washing over him, coating his scales to his waist in black. The rain was quickly washing them off, but remaining in the recesses of his scales. Outlining him perfectly.
He turned to glare, but so did Slash.
The neonate wanted to flash smug orange, but she blended completely instead, closing her eyes to slits.
Design turned and jerked back seeing Slash charging him, forced to flee. He ran right to her hiding place, searching, but by then she was already on the ground, collecting her bloodoak ax. Snarling he leapt to one side, barely dodging a swipe from Slash as he grabbed another hidden rope and swung off. The apex in hot pursuit.
The neonate wasted no time leaving, completely exhausted, and it wasn’t long before she walked back through what she was now calling the Design Entrance. She double and triple checked that she wasn’t leaving a blood trail, tearing up a great wad of the scentmoss and scrubbing all over the immediate area of the hidden entrance as best she could.
I am glad I got a whole bag of this. She patted the bag, stuffed with pine resin. She never wanted to go over there again. Not without finding a way to totally distract Slash.
Her Instinct grunted in agreement.
Checking one last time that she had done everything to disguise the secret entrance, she placed her hand over the little symbol and slipped inside.
She moved quickly passed the too-welcoming barrows, once again feeling that enticing pull towards them before getting back out into the main area of the temple.
She thoroughly washed herself cleaning out her wounds, scrubbing her weapons, doing a full ritual.
I survived a fight with Slash!
Compete! Her Instinct chanted happily.
She paused again at the statues of the gods. Looking up at Haan-Kezk’s.
After a moment of thought she made a thin cut along her palm. Nothing too deep, getting some blood to well up before kneeling and pressing her bloody hand to the statues feet.
Thank you for the trial.
One set of eyes that she could sense changed slightly. It became….
Bright orange? Amused?
She stood and headed back to her territory, needing to clean and bandage herself and make all of the resin into pine tar glue. She would have to check her snares afterwards.
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I am starting to think she is worthy.
“Starting?” I asked Maruc, staring at Him as He put on his ragged general’s coat, tarnished stars as buttons glinting dully in two double lines down His chest. “What do you mean starting?”
I have a few plans. I needs must talk to Sallinnia about one such though. She must be shaped into something… Spectacular. And I swear He wiped some drool from His chin.
Gulp.
Kiddo, it’s great He’s leaving but, don’t do anything too stupid. If I had to pick one, it would have been Her not Him, but with both. Things are going to get… complicated.
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