Nathan slowly rose to his feet, grabbing at his blade that had been resting beside him. Always have your weapons within arms reach – even when you’re sleeping. He’d learned that after the time Cleo nearly killed him while he was taking a leak. She probably would’ve gotten him too if he hadn’t splashed her a bit. He never let it happen again.
This time, it wasn’t Cleo that was trying to kill him. In fact, she was on his side. That fact still felt strange, unnatural. Like oil and water mixing, or a pig being best friends with the butcher.
Something growled in the still night air, deep and rumbling. The faintest remains of orange coals glowed in the firepit, creating a soft, warm light. Not much to see by. But better than nothing.
He shuffled toward it, keeping his head on a swivel and drawing his blade from its scabbard with a quiet hiss. “Cleo,” he whispered. The woman was certainly awake now, but he couldn’t see or hear her. Her horse was still there too, so she hadn’t left.
“Cleo.” Still nothing.
Nathan circled around the smoldering embers of the fire, his blade glittering with the pale light. Another growl sounded, this one closer. Should’ve slept in a stupid tree.
A push of energy into his hand and a glittering emerald flame sputtered to life over his skin. He peered into the shadows as they crept back from the flame, and something glittered back. Two dark, narrowed eyes, reflecting the light of the fire.
Aw fu–
The creature bound out of the trees. A dark shape, covered in sleek, shimmering fur, bounding on all fours in the shadows only a few paces away. Its paws were great mittens with knives, clawing at the dirt as it ran. Its face was a snarling mask of yellowed teeth and powerful jaws. Something between a panther and an angry butcher, and more frightening than either.
A shimmering line of text floated above the cat’s head.
[Lunar Lynx – Lvl. 10]
It has a bloody level?
Nathan barley twisted out of the way as it leapt at him, claws raking through the air where he had been. He skidded to the side, swiping his sword at the flank of the beast as it passed. A spray of blood scattered through the cold air, sizzling as it landed on the hot coals of the campfire.
The lynx landed opposite Nathan, turning and snarling, baring its fangs. Nathan could smell the stink of its feral breath from several feet away. It hissed, the hairs on its back bristling up like spines.
“Alright you mangy cat.” Nathan rolled his shoulders and adjusted the grip on his blade. “Let’s see what you got.” He pointed his weapon at the creature in challenge and it charged, its dark limbs blurring with rapid motion.
Nathan dashed to meet the creature, his blade flashing in the mixture of orange and green light. He didn’t have much experience fighting non-human enemies, but there had been a time when he’d been forced to fight a tiger. A long story.
The creature’s powerful jaws clamped to tear into Nathan. He leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike and thrusting a flaming fist into the side of its face. The fire singed and burned, pulling strength into Nathan. If he could steal health from the monster, why couldn’t he also gain an Echo from it?
A claw curved in a shining arc and Nathan rolled away from it, the talon tearing a deep gash in the campfire and sending out a spray of embers. The lunar lynx hissed at him again, maw opening wide, its tongue slithering out like a purple snake. Nathan faded back, shifting into the shadows, the darkness clinging to him like an old friend.
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“Are you gonna help at all?” Nathan called into the trees. The slight rustle of the wind was the only response. Cleo was nowhere to be seen amongst the branches.
He dodged backward and away from the camp, letting the gnashing teeth and tearing claws miss him narrowly. Each strike a hair’s width from caressing his skin, cutting into nothing but air.
With a roar, Nathan reared back and drove his burning flames crunching into the monster’s snout. At the same time, he sliced upward with his blade, feeling its catch in the things muscles. The beast screamed, fur streaming with smoke from Nathan’s punch, and it scrambled backward.
Nathan could see it in those dark eyes. It knew that it was not the predator here, it was the prey. It hissed, but this one sounded different, fearful.
He grinned, snarling back at the lynx.
The monster took several steps backward, getting ready to run. He would not let it. Not with the prospect of gaining an echo from it. Nathan surged forward, blade and flame twirling in a tantalizing dance of death. The now terrified creature shifted its weight trying desperately to dodge out of the way. But it wouldn’t be fast enough.
Something heavy swung around and hit Nathan in the side, causing him to miss his strike – the creatures tail. It was all he could do to bring his arms down and block the crushing blow from hitting his ribs. The impact tore his blade from his hands, sending him sideways. He tucked and rolled across the ground, through the bed of coals, scattering a spray of glowing embers into the air, like fluttering fireflies.
He heard something running, growing louder. It was coming at him again. The cat would be on him in seconds, tearing with its knife-like claws. No longer trying to flee.
“Where the hell are you, Cleo!” he screamed into the trees. He edged backward, stopping low and panting hard as the blur of muscle and claw tore toward him. His sword was lying several feet away on the ground, out of reach.
“Fine,” the assassin whispered to himself. He punched both of his hands together, erupting them into viridescent flames, watching the monster bound toward him. “I don’t need you anyway.”
Nathan roared, dashing forward suddenly and then falling to both knees, sailing beneath the panther as it flew overhead. His fists impacted hard into its soft underbelly, singeing, burning, bruising. He felt his knees crunch into the dirt, forced downward by the force of his punch.
The lynx fell, twisting in the air and landing with all the grace of a bag of rocks. A whimper groaned in the air as it pushed itself to its feet, but Nathan was already upon it, hand like a claw, grabbing the monster by its face.
It screeched in pain, the flames burning the effigy of Nathan’s palm into its fur, but the screams soon faded and the creature slumped down to the ground. The now familiar rush of energy soaked into Nathan’s body and he could feel the bruises on his side lessen.
185 EXP gained
Lunar Lynx Echo gained.
Echoes Stored: [1/5]
This one had given far more than any before. Like drinking a gulp of water compared to a meager sip. He hadn’t even realized how weak the others had been until now. The feeling was almost intoxicating.
“You can come out now,” Nathan called, still seeing nothing in the trees. “It’s safe, you coward.” Was she really gone? He couldn’t–
“I’m not a coward.”
“Gah!” Nathan squawked, spinning and holding his now flameless fists before him. Cleo was smirking and leaning against a tree, like she was gloating over having been proven right. Nathan lowered his fists and glanced about, annoyed. “It’s more important that you’re right than that we stay alive?”
“As long as I stay alive,” the witch said, shrugging.
Nathan rolled his eyes. “Have you forgotten that if I go, so do you?”
“I wouldn’t have let you die.”
“The evidence points to the contrary.”
“Please, you had the whole thing handled from the start. And even if you didn’t, I’d have killed the beast with a shot to the head before it was able to scratch up your pretty face.”
Nathan huffed and turned around, walking to pick up his blade. “Are you really that adamant about this feud continuing?” he said as he slid the sword back into its scabbard. “Cause how I see it is if we’re going to be stuck together, we might as well try and get along.”
“This is me trying to get along.” Her voice came from up above, already back in the trees. He hadn’t heard so much as a leaf fall. She really had gotten quieter. “I think it’s best for the both of us if we only interact as much as we have to.”
“And obviously fighting wild murder panthers with kitchen knives for claws is not one of those moments. God, you’re a piece of work.”