There was not even a moments peace or silence upon being enveloped within the embrace of the river, the sheer violence of its currents and waters filling Nameless’s head with a dull, body shaking growl. He was tossed about, submerged debris slamming into him from every direction, the chaotic movements spinning him wildly without reason or pattern.

But Nameless was unperturbed.

He allowed [Proprioception] to fade, instead turning his attention to [Spatial Sense] and [Tracking], leveraging the Skills to expand his senses, and most prominently his sense of position.

While the rampant waters battered him, Nameless focused, his mind being assailed by an instance of vertigo as his Skills acted to his demands. He felt a sting from within his soul as [Spatial Sense] and [Tracking] bloomed, his desire for them straining the Skills to their very limits, but his focus did not waver.

[Spatial Sense] stretched to its utmost, filtering into Nameless’s mind a myriad of information – even limited as it was by his being submerged – producing a small bubble of awareness around him. While [Tracking] built off that more refined sense of his environment, twinning through roiling water, brushing against the wild currents, searching, hunting.

He limply spun through the water, his focus entirely on his senses and Skills, all devoted to a singular purpose-

The surface.

“There!” Nameless felt [Tracking] latch upon the border between water and air, his own heightened senses – improved further by [Spatial Sense] – allowing for him to barely discern the change in the surrounding water enough for his Skill to act. But once it did…

He allowed for a portion of his attention to peel away from [Spatial Sense] – slightly reducing the range of his surrounding awareness – while still retaining hold on [Tracking], bringing [Proprioception] to the fore once again.

Twisting with yet another chaotic blast of current, Nameless felt [Proprioception] caress his body’s every fibre, his mind expanding to contain the countless minute feelings brought to recognition by the Skill. He allowed himself to be moved by the rampant currents, his head turning to face towards where [Tracking] pointed – following an illusory gossamer string as it swirled and rolled to adjust to his constantly shifting position – waiting for himself to adjust to [Proprioception]’s returned presence… until he had too no longer.

With a sharp kick he began to swim against the current, [Proprioception] improving the power and control of his every movement within the tempestuous depths, while [Tracking] and [Spatial Sense] combined to provide guidance.

He gritted his fangs as another searing spike of pain radiated out from his core; the sudden sting creating a small hitch in his kicks, causing him to become overtaken by the currents once again. He held back a growl, his chest becoming tight with the lack of air, keeping close attention to his Skills as he reoriented.

His [Night Vision] and [Soul Sight] helped his eyes pierce slightly through the surrounding gloom as he tumbled, his legs kicking to combat the current’s erratic swirl, mind and sight latched unwaveringly to the strand of [Tracking]’s intent that pointed towards the surface.

“Move!” Nameless urged, every swipe of his legs holding a desperate and frantic strength. His lungs burned and tightened – to the point of feeling as though they had become some sort of serpentine creature coiling in on themselves – while his muscles screamed in exertion, their fibrous strands painfully twitching underneath his hide with every movement.

“Mov-” He began to urge again, when a large object slammed into his chest, causing him to unwillingly release his held breath in a pained gasp.

What little air left having escaped in a plume of bubbles; panic began to well up within his chest just as the water that was beginning to fill it. He choked as water flooded his open maw, careening wildly through the waters once more, his sight blurred and darkened by pain and lack of air.

Nameless clung desperately to consciousness, slamming his mouth closed with a muted clack, gritting his fangs to hold back from hacking up the water he felt settling in his lungs, “This will not be my end!”

Whether through instinct or hysteria Nameless found the strength to persevere, sharply snapping out his wings to either side of him, his fading sight latching onto his feeling for the surface. The currents violently tugged at the feathered wings, making his tumble through the water even more hectic, his head constantly whipping around to keep [Tracking]’s mark in sight.

As another ripple of current slammed into him, Nameless used his outstretched wings to control his spin, biting back another growl at the pain radiating up his limbs as the water awkwardly contorted them. He shifted with the flow, until his gaze settled directly upwards, his body below him with wings to either side…

And finally, could truly move.

With every amount of power he could muster, Nameless pulled his wings down and kicked with his legs, his growing air deprived delirium spurring him on, his Skills nearly forgotten in his haste to breach the surface.

Water and errant debris whipped past his face, the murk streaking past in a blur as one beat of his wings turned to two…

Then three…

At the fourth; Nameless’s sight had reduced to a narrow tunnel, his body roaring for air, his every movement preceding an acidic bite of fatigue. He felt what grasp he had on his Skills fray and slip through his claws, dread swelling within him as his body became more sluggish and his sense of direction faded.

He shook his head – quickly burying the fear before it could grow – his focus falling solely on his pursuit of the surface, of the air he so deeply desired, and the next beat his wings.

The fifth… and final.

Nameless flew straight out of the water – the surface significantly closer than he realized – his entire body leaving the river with the power behind his last push for air. He was disoriented, his ears suddenly assailed by a cacophony of noisome rage from sky and river both, no longer muted behind the confines of the chaotic waters.

Rain swirled around him, the frequent strikes of lightning reflecting off the fat drops to give them the appearance of dazzling sun crystals falling from the sky. While not peaceful, there was a certain beauty to the chaos; the many opposing violent forces clashing against one another, melding with the more minor elements – like the rain – to create a perfect scene of Nature’s vast capabilities.

Though Nameless was forced to ruin it…

He hacked and coughed in the air, expelling the water that had come to soak his lungs as began to plummet, keeping enough of a mind to extend his wings out to either side of him as he fell.

Plunging once more into the river – his wings hitting the surface with a dull *tok* – Nameless’s head fell below the water for an instant before he pushed himself above again, loudly gulping in air as the river pulled him along.

Waves crashed over him; the wild rapids of the river as violent above as its currents were below, the erratic nature of the swells forcing Nameless to sparingly gasp for air in between them… however it was of far lesser difficulty than his navigating below.

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With his wings outstretched to their full lengths, Nameless was significantly more capable of floating on the river’s surface – only needing a moderate tread to assist his wings in keeping his head above the surface – freeing the majority of his attention to catching his breath as well as regaining the aid of his Skills.

He inhaled deeply after another wave, managing to gather a tenuous hold on [Proprioception], its presence – even minutely – granting him further ease in traversing the waves, “That was a closer thing than I would have desired, and it likely would have been a far sounder idea to have waded into the waters instead of diving into them…”

“However now is not the time for commiseration.” Nameless turned his head with a wet cough, dragging his eyes across the distant shore, “I need to remain vigilant and search for a place to rest, especially after all of this.”

Nameless’s eyes pierced through much of the dark, revealing the shaded brush opposite of the shore he had dove from, “While just crossing the river would the most expedient choice…” his searching gaze paused, catching sight of a partially obscured corpse floating within the tangled growth, “It is of an extreme likelihood that the more cunning Beasts and Monsters lie in wait within the boughs, ready to strike any creature fleeing the flames by crossing the river.”

Yet another wave flowed over his head, breaking his sight, “Which means the best course I can take, despite its own risks…” He emerged from the water, turning his sight forward, down the length of the river, “Would be to allow the river to take me further down, in hopes of finding somewhere more… suitable for my rest and recuperation.”

“Though, I can only wonder how long that may take… and whether I will have enough strength left within me to continue when the time comes.”

―――――――――

Nameless's breaths came out in ragged huffs, his coat soaked to the skin, his every muscle tensed to keep himself from slipping down the slick rocks underneath his paws.

He paused to catch his breath and readjust his footing, turning his head to look down over his shoulder: the flooded river continued to rampage below, its waters having grown even higher under the continued downpour, yet more debris from the forests choking its murky length.

The roar of the river had reached an even louder tone, the constant swell and crash of its rapids having enough power behind them to be felt through the stones he stood upon, “I do not believe I could have lasted much longer…” Nameless mused, the increased ferocity of the river – with the addition of yet more water – having left him battered, bruised, and exhausted.

A large, shattered tree trunk sped along the river’s surface as Nameless watched, the wild nature of the waves causing it to bob chaotically as water violently slammed against it, “Especially if the river was to grow even more… frenzied under the attention of the storm.”

Nameless closed his eyes and dragged a long weary breath into his chest, turning his head as he opened them once more to gaze upwards… towards what he hoped to be sanctuary.

While floating along the river, he had searched frantically for anywhere that he could safely rest, his desperation increasing as time passed, the river grew rougher… and his body had begun to fail. His every kick causing him to hiss in pain as his muscles cramped and coiled with overuse, he had incessantly scoured the shores, straining his eyes under the infrequent combination of [Night Vision] and [Soul Sight] in hopes of finding even the slightest hint of a possible place to lie within.

When, finally, there was a change…

Nameless was unaware of what process had created the great shelf of sandstone and the obscured holes dotting its face, however he cared little for such things, beyond the fact that its presence provided him with the opportunity of safety he had been so madly hunting for.

Hope provided him the strength to push beyond the limits of his flagging body, [Proprioception]’s aid integral in his capacity to so much as move his head, let alone cut through the powerful waves and currents of the river, towards the rock-strewn cliff and caves beyond.

Fear had grown hot in his heart as the shore had grown closer, the worry that he would miss combining with the looming possibility of relief – that he so deeply wanted to see become true – granting him a strength he had last seen when first escaping the wildfire, lost more and more the longer he had run.

That fear had not dissipated until the moment he had put paw to stone, the solace provided through the feeling of a solid surface under his paws, being just as tangible to Nameless as the rocks themselves.

From that first step forward, he had slowly made his way up the harshly slanted rock face – darkened by the rain – its many stones as soaked through as he himself was.

Nameless had struggled to climb his way up the slick rocky terrain, his fatigue compounding with the steepness of the ascent, draining him further with ever tentative step made.

But the allure of safety was far too powerful for him to be dissuaded, no matter how much his body and mind begged for him to stop.

“Almost… there!” His fangs grinding against one another, Nameless gritted his teeth, biting back from growling as he focused on retaining his purchase on the damp sandstone below his paws.

With one of the larger – and far more accessible – holes he had spotted looming ahead of him, he scrambled up the rocks, his claws extended to provide him just the slightest bit more traction. The opening was obscured behind the same thick coat of vines and shrubbery that covered much of the sandstone cliff face, the presence of what hide behind only recognizable through the strong gusts of wind that blew through the cloying foliage, as well as the potent combination of his [Night Vision] and [Soul Sight] – whose applications seemed to be far greater than Nameless had originally believed.

His claws scratched and clattered against the rocks and his body vibrated with fatigue and anticipation, as he made final approach to the large, shadowed entrance, “I cannot get complacent now…” Nameless reminded himself, his sight sharpening to evaluate the cave entrance by every measure he could conceive, “I do not know what may – or may not – be lying in wait just beyond what my eyes can see. So, until I can put my sight upon whatever may lurk there…”

Nameless’s lips twitched up into a snarl, his fangs gleaming under the flashes of lightning still flaring overhead, “I must be prepared for anything.”

He slowly crept upon the flora choked cave mouth, spending enough of his precious attention to call upon [Stealth] for support, carefully picking each individual step, so as not to alert anything that may be using the cavern in the same manner as he desired.

He harshly suppressed his fatigue, wresting control of his body from its creeping grasp, “Nothing seems to have disturbed the plants or rocks beyond the weather…” Nameless concluded with a final examination while he opened his mouth, inhaling to scent the air, “Neither do I catch any lingering scents in the air to worry over. Though much evidence could have been lost and hidden by the storm.”

His every muscle was tensed, ready to move at so much as a threatening shadow as he paused, nose nearly touching the swaying foliage.

Nameless remained still, listening, watching… waiting for something to make a move, for yet another threat to his life to rear its head and force him to earn his right to survive…

However, the longer he waited the more he realized that there was no other surrounding presence beyond himself, the plants, the stones, and the storm.

He pushed through the wall of brush hesitantly, a large part of him still holding tight to the lingering anticipation of conflict, his eyes taking a moment to adjust to the largely darkened confines of the cave proper.

The cave reminded him much of the den he had left behind, its walls and floor, a rough sandstone, though the space was much smaller. Plants had creeped their way in, covering much of the ceiling, walls, and floor closest to the entrance; them, as well as the surrounding foliage, wettened by what rain managed blow in from the storm.

The cave quickly tapered off at the opposite end from its mouth, ragged cracks splintering across the far wall of varying sizes, some heavily leaking water likely from the rain outside. It was damp, dark, and its interior were filled with the constant howling of the wind… however it was, above all things, safe.

With the cave empty of anything but himself, Nameless staggered forward, nearly dropping to the floor immediately in relief. Any semblance of composure and control he had stubbornly retained frayed under the realization that there was no final confrontation, no last challenge or difficulty to overcome to use this space he had found to rest – one that he felt he had already well earned.

A complicated swirl of emotions swelled within his chest, the breadth of all he had experienced – in so little time – near overwhelming without another complication to distract him, “No.” Nameless huffed wearily, “I can think on all that has happened later, after I sleep. To do anything else would just be… too much for me.”

He could recognize that he had reached the end of his wits long ago, having moved and acted solely on the heady union of fear and exhilaration. But now, devoid of the constant threat of injury and death, Nameless was left with only the dying vestiges of his panic and agitation… and a bone deep exhaustion.

Large enough to fit himself as well as all of his siblings – if they slept tightly against one another – Nameless padded towards the “driest” portion of the cavern’s floor, already feeling himself sleepily drifting away, even before he had so much as begun to lay down.

His paws dragged against the ground as he approached his spot, his limbs as heavy as the lids of his eyes. He circled and pawed at the ground, feeling the cold stone against the pads underneath, beckoning him down. He shifted to put his head facing the entrance before folding his legs under himself, lying down for the first time in what felt like moons.

Curling up, the cool stone of the floor mingling with the sounds of the storm outside to tempt him further to torpor, he allowed his eyes to slowly close…

And finally, finally, earned his rest.