Radeon turned his attention back to the boar. It lay on its side in the churned earth, eyes half lidded, breathing shallow on purpose.
Smart enough to know Radeon could see through the act. Smart enough to know he was watching.
When Radeon stepped closer, the boar pulled what men would call a fawning expression, a grotesque curl of lip that showed fierce yellow teeth.
It was meant to flatter. It only amused him.
In his last life he had read beast ecologies the way other men read prayer books, from common rabbits to void behemoths that rivaled gods.
It was how he had pushed the Paradoxical Devouring Art to the extreme, learning languages of beasts along the way.
He sent a low grunt through soundless qi, straight into the boar's ear.
"Look at me. Quit playing dead," he said.
The boar stiffened, then snorted, too loud, and heads in the camp jerked up again.
