"Running? I'm more of a... brisk walker in a crisis!" Robin wheezed, his lungs burning as he tried to keep pace with Lunara's long, effortless strides.
Lunara didn't slow down, but she did glance back, her silver hair whipping behind her like a banner. Despite the grim news they carried, she looked almost amused. "A brisk walker? No wonder the Sable-claws thought you were an easy snack. Lift your knees, Robin! If you can fix a fence with stones, you can run a mile without collapsing."
"Easy for you... you have... extra joints!" Robin managed to shout back, gesturing wildly at her digitigrade legs.
They burst through the thick foliage of the Elder's Grove, sliding down the final mossy embankment. Mina was there, pacing back and forth near the Mother Tree. When she saw them, her fluffy brown ears practically stood straight up, and she let out a tiny, high-pitched yip of relief.
"You're back! You're back!" Mina scrambled over, her short tail wagging so fast it was a blur. She skidded to a stop in front of them, her hands hovering over Robin as if she wanted to check for holes. "I heard the rocks! And the screaming! It sounded like metal teeth chewing on the mountain. Are you hurt? Did the rot bite you?"
Robin bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for air. "I'm... fine. Mostly. Just... cardio."
Lunara placed a calming hand on Mina's head, her fingers gently smoothing down the girl's agitated ears. It was a soft, maternal gesture that Robin hadn't expected from the woman who had just decapitated a void-monster. "The guards are gone, Mina. But Robin was right. It was a siphon. Someone is intentionally draining the mana from the root."
Mina's face fell, her green eyes shimmering with a sudden, heavy sadness. "So the forest didn't just get sick? Someone... someone hurt the trees on purpose?"
"Yeah," Robin said, finally straightening up and wiping sweat from his forehead. "And they left a little souvenir. A black pedestal and a spider that definitely wasn't a local."
Mina shivered, hugging herself. "The trees are still humming, but it's a nervous sound now. Like they're waiting for the next strike."
"Which is why we're going to the Chief," Lunara said, her tone shifting back to the serious, commanding edge, though she kept her hand on Mina's shoulder. "Mina, go to Mother Kaia. Tell her the grotto is clear for now, but she needs to ward the entrance. Robin, with me. We don't stop until we reach my father's tent."
The report to Chief Fenris went about as well as Robin expected—which is to say, there was a lot of low-frequency growling and the sound of a massive axe being sharpened.
"Void-touched," Fenris rumbled, his voice vibrating in the floorboards of the great yurt. He looked at the small, black stone Robin had managed to snatch from the pedestal before they fled. "This is not the work of the beast tribes. This is a sickness from the deep dark."
"The spider, Father," Lunara added, her tail lashing irritably against her leg. "It was watching. It knew we were there."
Fenris looked at Robin. The old wolf's gaze was less skeptical now, replaced by a grim respect. "You have a knack for finding the rot, human. Perhaps the stars didn't just drop a builder; they dropped a scout."
"I'd prefer 'architect' if we're choosing titles, Chief," Robin said, trying to inject a bit of lightness into the room. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife.
Fenris actually chuckled, a sound like grinding tectonic plates. "Titles are earned in blood here, not preference. For tonight, eat and rest. Tomorrow, I send the runners to the other clans. If the Weaver is truly stirring, the Lunawolf will not face it alone."
As they left the Chief's yurt, the sun was setting, painting the village in shades of orange and deep gold. The atmosphere had lightened as the news of the grotto's clearing spread. Warriors were laughing by the fires, and the smell of a rich, savory stew began to waft through the air.
"I am starving," Robin admitted, his stomach letting out a roar that rivaled a Sable-claw.
Lunara laughed, a genuine, melodic sound that made her ears tilt forward. "Finally, a sound I recognize! Come. I won't have my squire fainting from hunger. It reflects poorly on my training."
They headed back to Lunara's yurt. Inside, the fire was already crackling, and a large iron pot was simmering over the flames. Lunara moved with a fluid, feminine grace as she began to ladel out two large bowls of stew. She had shed her heavy bone armor, wearing only a simple, sleeveless tunic that showed the elegant lines of her shoulders and the faint, white scars of past battles.
She sat on the rug, patting the spot next to her. "Sit, Robin. Today was... a lot."
Robin sat, taking the bowl. The stew was incredible—tender meat, sweet roots, and herbs that made his head feel clear. For a few minutes, they just ate in silence, the only sound the crackle of the fire and the distant howls of the village pups playing.
"Hey, Lunara?" Robin said, looking at her.
"Hmm?" She didn't look up, busy gnawing on a bone with a focus that was both primal and strangely cute.
"Back at the cave... you seemed worried. About the Weaver. Is it really just a myth?"
Lunara slowed down, her tail going still. She looked into the fire, her golden eyes reflecting the flames. "In this world, Robin, myths are just histories that people got tired of remembering. The Weaver was said to be a queen of the shadows who wanted to turn the forest into a silent larder. My grandmother used to say the trees grew silver to reflect the moonlight because the dark things couldn't stand the glow."
She looked at him, and her expression softened. She reached out, her fingers—now devoid of the tension of battle—brushing against the sleeve of his leather tunic. "But you... you're not a myth. You're just a man who gets tired and smells like mud and makes weird jokes about levers."
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[BOND LEVEL: LUNARA 18%]
[TRAIT UNLOCKED: 'COMFORTING PRESENCE' – SLIGHTLY INCREASES ALLY MORALE DURING REST PERIODS.]
Robin smiled. "I'll take 'weird lever guy' over 'star-fall omen' any day."
Lunara smirked, her ears twitching. "Good. Because tomorrow, 'weird lever guy' has to help me repair my practice gear. You pulled a strap loose when I was lifting that iron-oak, and since you're the builder..."
"Wait, so I'm your tailor now too?"
"Squire, builder, tailor, 'brisk walker,'" she teased, leaning back on her elbows, her long silver hair spilling over the furs. She looked remarkably relaxed, her powerful frame lounging with a feminine ease that made Robin's heart skip a beat. "You're a multi-talented human, Robin. Don't sell yourself short."
She reached over and nudged his shoulder with her foot, her toes surprisingly nimble. "Now, give me your bowl. You look like you're about to fall asleep in your stew, and I worked too hard on these furs to have them smell like gravy."
"I've got it, I've got it," Robin laughed, handing her the bowl. As their fingers brushed, the system pinged again, a soft, golden glow in his mind.
[BOND INCREASE: LUNARA 20% (RELIABLE COMPANION)]
[NEW QUEST AVAILABLE: THE SHAMAN'S GARDEN]
Robin lay back on his furs, his body finally relaxing. The danger wasn't gone—the spider, the Weaver, the rot were all still out there—but for the first time since the truck hit him, he didn't feel like an outsider. He felt like a part of something.
He watched the ceiling, the bone rafters glowing in the firelight, until his eyes grew heavy.
"Goodnight, Lunara," he whispered.
"Goodnight, Robin," she replied, her voice soft and warm.
He was almost asleep when he felt something heavy and warm drape across his legs. He peeked through his eyelashes. Lunara's tail, thick and silver-grey, had flopped over his shins, the tip twitching slightly in her sleep. It was a gesture of trust, a literal anchor to this world.
But as the fire died down to embers, the system's warning from earlier flickered one last time in his mind.
[WARNING: TRACKING MARK ACTIVE. DISTANCE: 1.2 MILES AND CLOSING.]
Robin didn't see the tiny, eight-legged shadow crawl over the top of the yurt, its many eyes fixed on the smoke hole. It stayed there, silent and waiting, as the village of the Lunawolf slept.