"Thank God I escaped them!" Claw snarled, his body trembling as urine spilled.
The fire, the mountain… I don't even know what I'm seeing.
But that dark thing rising into the sky—that must be the place he told me to go.
"His paws slowed, eyes straining to understand the shapes in the distance."
Suddenly, a deer crossed his path. It froze the moment it saw Claw.
Their eyes met , a fleeting, silent spark neither could name.
"Huh... What is it doing here alone?" Claw thought.
"No, the mountain , nothing else." His focus shifted forward.
"Crude shelters clung to the rock, their frames lashed from bone and timber."
"Huts ringed the mountain's side, painted with symbols that flickered in firelight."
He pushed off the ground with explosive speed, motion blurring behind him, the grass parting in waves as he went.
Each stride shot forward like an arrow, slicing through the field, cutting through the pale stalks, his momentum growing with every step.
"But what speed is this? Faster than that flight I had… even faster than the bird… I've… eaten…" His voice dropped with each word.
As the distance closed, the night seemed to peel away.
His paws faltered, vision swimming in the blur of speed.
"W… what's that?! I can't see?!" Claw lost his momentum and stumbled to the ground.
The night thinned like smoke before him, and he lowered his speed.
"So that's it?… That's it?!"
Figures stirred within huts etched into the rock, their lives glowing faintly in the firelight.
"Are… are they those humans he told me about?" Claw thought, creeping closer, eyes fixed on the figures.
Smoke drifted upward, curling into the night air, carrying the bitter scent of charred meat.
The crackle of fire broke the silence, each spark sounding sharper in Claw's ears.
The tribal members wore white robes, a stark black circle painted at the chest. They sat around the fire camps, gnawing at their meal.
"Okay… what did Vein say? Hmm… hunting is tonight, and I'll call for them, huh…"
Claw kept staring at the figures, until one shifted his torch toward him.
On the other side of the silent forest, a growl echoed.
"He's late!" Vein said as he tore at the deer's flesh, while Gash stared at him, drool spilling from his jaw.
"D… don't you think that our leader… is—"
Gash's voice lowered, then he lifted a paw.
"Enjoying the food by himself?"
The silence stretched for a beat, broken only by the crack of bones between Vein's teeth.
Gash's ears flattened, tail twitching nervously .
"FOOL!" Vein's shout echoed.
"Claw would never do that…" His fangs were painted with crimson as he licked them.
Vein let the deer drop to the ground, then approached Gash's head as if he were the next prey.
Gash gasped, but his sack-of-bones body, frail beneath its skin, betrayed him.
"Do you know why we should wait here?" Vein said, his breath freezing Gash's spine.
"W… why?!" Gash asked, his eyes drifting to something, as if searching for an answer.
Vein recoiled, steadying himself.
"Because we do everything Claw says… we're his trustworthy followers."
"Y… YES! That's what I was about to say!" Gash said, dropping his fist into his palm, his voice trembling.
Vein paused for a moment, staring in the direction of the tribe.
Gash let out a weak smile, waiting for an answer.
The night air thickened, pressing in around them as the silence dragged on.
"Gash… the Claw we know is already dead."
Gash laughed, as if it were one of Vein's deadly jokes, but Vein's stare cut him off in a heartbeat.
He stared at him, eyes like blades.
"Let's go. Because if we don't, we'll remain here for the rest of the night."
"Who's there?!" A tribal member holding a bowl swept his torch across the grass.
I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead… Claw held his breath, pressed low to the ground.
The tribe member approached slowly; Claw's eyes glistened in the fire's glow.
It's over for me…
The grass crackled as the torch dipped lower, shadows stretching toward him.
Every breath in his chest begged to escape, but he kept still, muscles rigid.
"Rax! Do you want a second bowl?" a woman's voice echoed from behind.
"Sure, I'll take it!" The tribe member withdrew, the torchlight fading slowly.
Claw released a heavy breath, his body sinking into the ground.
"It was so close… that warm thing terrified me… is that what Vein called fire?"
"But thanks to this body… without it, I'd be killed already."
His ears twitched, scanning for the faintest sound of pursuit.
Only the crackle of fire lingered behind him, fading with distance.
Claw rushed in a blur, from one rock to another, silent as shadow.
"So what should I do now…" Claw leapt onto the nearest rock, the figures narrowing in his sight.
"They're so peaceful, just like that moment when I was a bird… seeing that blue line." Claw let out a faint smile; his fang showed, but not in threat.
Their laughter rose with the firelight, warm and unguarded.
One passed a bowl to another, their gestures calm, bound by quiet ritual.
His body relaxed, tail swinging in enjoyment.
The tribe's chatter dimmed; some entered their huts, others still drinking.
"Why would they kill such innocent creatures?"
Claw's eyes drifted shut, though he forced them open.
When his eyes betrayed him, a sudden yell snapped him back.
"Huh…?" His eyes opened faintly, catching a dark shape stomping through the huts—then the truth hit him.
The ground quivered beneath his paws, dust rising with each thunderous step.
The firelight warped across its bulk, revealing teeth like pale stones.
A huge pounding sound followed, a towering beast of fur, growling, smashing through everything in its path.
A bear.