It was an oddly familiar moment, the silence of deep thought mimicking that following his battle with the Jaguars, whence he was carried by Shade back to the den.
However, that silence was broken by the occasional telepathic rumble and *crack* of Shade’s whirling mind.
His brother’s thoughts had the taste of a coming storm to them, a metallic flavor that buzzed down his mind’s tongue with every conflicted roar, “It is better to sow this discord now, than to wait and try to do so as he is more settled in his beliefs…”
A flicker of disgust warped his features, before – in much the way as a rock sinks in water – it disappeared just as quickly, leaving not a ripple of its presence lingering on his face, “Though I wish I had no reason to do so at all.”
In contrast, Shade’s face was scrunched and creased, the battle within him visible in every twitch, squint, and snarl, a visage as… agitated as his thoughts.
Only risking errant brushes against the surface of his brother’s psyche, gleaning the barest understanding of what was occurring, Nameless could feel no such immediate end to his brother’s internal conflicts, “There is nothing I can do for him now but be patient… and more importantly, vigilant.”
He turned much of his attention away from Shade – leaving a portion of his focus to keeping watch over their connection – instead looking outwards, to their surroundings.
They were both exposed as they were, no cover of brush or stone to hide themselves behind if some form of creature were to look their way, leaving alertness their greatest defense.
Nameless’s eyes traced the distant shore, the brownish-red embankment leading down to the waters empty but for scattered stones, vines, roots, and fallen trees. Above, hung a heavy plant-choked tree line, interspersed with yawning gaps in which the heavy rains had caused the soil to collapse and fall away into the river, dragging the trees and brush down with it.
At first sight of the shadowed holes, Nameless let [Soul-Sight] bloom across his eyes, colours sprouting vividly with it. The world gained a heavy… definition – his vision more capable of discerning details and outlines – and with it, did some of the away darkness recede.
To aid his endeavors further, Nameless focused his intent to rouse a Skill he had been sorely neglecting as of late, [Observation]. It did that which [Soul-Sight] could not, assisting his mind in recognizing the odd and out of place details, as well as effecting those senses that yet went… unenhanced.
With the burst of colour from [Soul-Sight], so too came a striking host of sounds and smells through [Observation]. The jungle gained a greater life to it, Nameless becoming enveloped by a dizzying number of sensations, each as distinct as the last.
The musk of waterlogged wood, the rich floral scent of flowering blooms, the *qu-ree’s* of a flock of Shimmer-Crests, and the long rising bleat of distant mating Brush Deer, crashed into his mind beside innumerable more sounds and scents. The burden of so many sharp sensations dizzied him, the sudden assault requiring a near physical effort for some semblance of peace to be asserted within his mind once more.
Nameless shook his head and sneezed, the sharp expulsion making his eyes water, “I… should make time to get used to some of [Observation]’s more… significant effects, when I am so allowed.”
With another flicker of intent, Nameless harshly tamped down on the enhanced smell and hearing brought about by his Skill. Scents and sound still had more of a… presence to his mind, but were far less obtrusive, relegated to little but whisps of either tickling his nose and ears.
Returning to his vigilance – the cover of shade and plant now pierced through by his intensified senses – Nameless found the distant shore and jungle clear of threats. He carefully swung his sight down the length of the tree line and over the river, eyes then leaping to the brush closest to him and Shade.
He scented the air while he continued his search – ears twitching with the slightest noticeable sound – making sure to consider for creatures that the eyes might miss.
The jungle beside Shade and himself was little different than that across the river from them; other than its being closer – the rich greens, and myriad lush colourations of flowering plants far more visible close as they were – it was just as that in the distance… especially with there being a similar seeming lack of any threats within.
That did not mean the surrounding woods were lacking in life, however. A bevy of creatures created a cacophony of sound and movement in the shade of the jungle; Nameless caught Ruby-Eyed Tree Geckos glide between trees and a troop of Three-Tailed Macaques *hoot* while they swung off deeper into the Jungle.
Innumerable other creatures made their presence known to Nameless as he turned to search the opposite tree line, his eyes halting on Shade for a moment before moving on, “Our presence is not strong enough to create a territory as Mother… however, that no creature tries to drink from this shore is sign enough that our existence yet has some form of effect upon them.”
The jungle to the opposite side of the embankment was much the same, absent of any Monster or Beast that could harm either of them, yet filled to bursting with smaller creatures moving amongst its brush.
He stared emptily into the confines of the jungle, searching the gaps between trees and shadows within bushes for some form of threat… hoping for a distraction, “He is still lost in his thoughts…”
Even with Shade at his back, Nameless could sense the emanations of thought through their shared telepathic connection, the strings of [Telepathy] vibrating and warbling with flashes of emotion, “I will allow him his time. I can use this moment of inaction to think a few things over myse-”
Nameless’s ears twitched, his head tilting slightly to try and capture a sound that had pierced his thoughts. The light patter of rain, water lapping against the shore, the lone *howl* of a Bur’chak, and many other sounds swirled in his ears; [Observation] roused further at his intentions, the Skill twinning around his focus and assisting his mind in parsing through the chaos of sound.
“Where?” A low growl rumbled through the air, his mind struggling to find the noise even with [Observation]’s aid. Hackles raised as his instinct flared, focus narrowing down to nothing but the pursuit of sound and nothing else, “Wher-”
The sound thrummed in his skull, his ears perking up almost… pointing towards where the sound emanated from…
Above.
His head snapped upwards fast enough that his body audibly protested – his neck sending a hollow *pop* to his ears through his own flesh – but even as he hissed at the sharp nip of discomfort, his focus did not waver from tracing the noise back from whence it came.
At his insistence, [Observation] and [Soul-Sight] grew in intensity, his sight becoming so vivid that his mind squirmed under the harsh vibrancy riddling his eyes… and then stuttered to a stop altogether at what filled his vision.
[Run, Brother!] Nameless roared through [Telepathy], his fur puffing out in agitation.
With a sluggish pulse, Shade reacted to the order, his [Telepathy] filled with confusion and irritation, [Wha-]
[To the trees! Now!] Nameless didn’t allow Shade’s annoyance to manifest, interrupting his brother with a veritable flood of imagery, demanding his haste rather than rebuttal…
Especially with a huge rustle looming above them.
The name of such a flock of Monsters understated the danger that they represented. Even under the cloud muted light of the Brothers’, the Nuas’ – or Dirk Winged Herons’ – metallic feathers shimmered with every flap of their wings, each sharp enough to part flesh with ease.
Those very same feathers created the sound that had made Nameless aware of them in the first place, the dense mass of Anuas causing one’s feathers to scrape against another’s, the slight keening reaching him even at the distance between them.
Though he would have greatly preferred that that distance was not a rapidly closing one.
Their vision was likely far better than his own at a distance, and the sight of two young Sphinx on their own and seemingly unaware of their presence, likely too attractive of an opportunity for the Anuas to fly past.
With an spared towards the sky, watching the rustle dive down towards them, Nameless charged towards Shade. Noticing Shade still standing in place, his eyes clouded by the remnants of deep thought, Nameless prepared to charge through his brother and drag him to the cover of the trees if he had to.
[To. The. Trees!] Nameless ground out, his [Telepathy] lashing out against Shade’s mind like the thin tail of a Cave Crawler, eliciting a small hiss from his brother’s maw.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Nameless almost sighed in relief as he saw Shade shake himself free from the fetters of his thoughts, his head snapping upwards to view the Anuas for the first time himself. His brother’s eyes widened with shock – mouth gaping slightly – before he scrambled to his paws, stumbling into a run towards the trees.
With Shade now running to safety, Nameless adjusted his path, putting himself between his brother and the incoming rustle. He kept [Sprint] close in mind, only allowing the barest whisper of its support so as not to outpace Shade.
[Proprioception] as well came to mind, Nameless gathering a portion of his focus in hopes of compensating for his beleaguered Stamina… only to stumble as the Skill failed.
Flailing, his paws kicking up loose stone and soil, he only just managed to retain his footing, “What?”
The distance between himself and Shade having lengthened somewhat by his slip, Nameless allowed [Sprint] to open up further and improve his stride, while yet another portion of his mind inspected [Proprioception].
He felt a sharp pain in his head as he balanced his attention across numerous fronts; Shade, his own movements, the Anuas, and now whatever was preventing him from properly manifesting his Skill, “Why did you fail?”
Paws thumping against the ground as he managed to bring himself to Shade’s side once more, the *clacks* and *screeches* of the Anua grew in intensity while he evaluated [Proprioception], their closing presence causing him to grit his fangs hard enough that they *creaked* ominously.
With a glance he measured the distance between himself and the Anua – a mental claw of attention closing over [Proprioception], causing the Skill to warble – as well as his and Shade’s distance from the jungle, “The fastest of them will meet us before we can make it for the cover of the canopy.”
[Can you go faster, brother?] Nameless felt as though he already knew the answer, but still held out a small hope that he was wrong.
[No. Fast. As. Can.] Shade replied, his [Telepathy] swelling over Nameless’s mind with the harsh scents of panic and frustration.
A huff passed through his fangs, a noticeable – if minute – tightness growing in his chest, [Then just continue running for the jungle!] Nameless slowed slightly, dropping back from Shade’s side, sparing another portion of his precious attention to bring about another Skill, [I will give you time to get to the trees.]
He didn’t stop moving, but used [Deception] to… exacerbate the fatigue he could already feel building with him, making it appear as though he were weaker than he was… and came to a realization.
“Ah…” A gleam of awareness streaked through his eyes, that lingering attention upon [Proprioception] appearing to resonate with his budding conclusion, “[Scarred-Hide] and [Harrowed] have changed me too much for [Proprioception] to work correctly.”
So heavily entwinned with his understanding of how his body worked, his unfamiliarity with the manner his body moved now likely caused [Proprioception] to fail; his comprehension of the Skill still heavily attached to a form untouched by [Harrowed] or [Scarred-Hide] as it was.
Still keeping the appearance that he was tempting prey for the Anua, Nameless growled, frustrated that such an integral Skill would be unavailable to him, “Little to be done about it now! Just run, you fool!”
He felt the pressure in his skull lessen without the attention spared for [Proprioception] – the now ineffectual Skill having laden him with more tension than he had originally thought – his mind freed of a dead weight, more available to evaluating his surroundings.
Shade had made it two to three lengths away from him, his brother’s form a dark-low slung blur, kicking up a cloud of dust behind him. The jungle had become tantalizingly close, its treetops above swaying in the wind, almost beckoning them to enter into their embrace…
However, Shade, himself, and the jungle weren’t the only things that had changed distance from one another.
It was an errant glance that saved Nameless from the first strike, his eyes catching on movement to his right, body moving instinctually. He dodged – reacting fast enough that he didn’t even touch upon his Skills – lunging forward, a sharp whistle of wind passing behind him with an additional frustrated screech.
He threw a look towards Shade, finding his brother just outside of the brush, [Keep going!]
Needing complete focus, Nameless cut his end of their [Telepathy], instead devoting all of his attention to escaping the closing talons of the Anua.
A loud screech announced the coming of another of the Monsters, a combination of [Sprint], [Leap], and [Dodge] blooming to the fore of his mind to aid in avoiding yet another attack…
Only, this time, he wasn’t fast enough.
In trying to evade, Nameless felt a sharp tug and spasm along the scars of his right hindleg and back, turning a leap into more of a falter… and earning him a talon across the side.
He could almost taste the triumph in the Anua’s call as it swept away and back into the sky, a trail of blood trailing behind one of its claws, the hot sting of flesh being greeted by air making him snarl, “Ignore the pain and move!”
With a roar he charged forward, a swell of sound following behind him as the Anua chased. He dodged as best he could, [Leap] and [Dodge] greatly aiding his avoidance of far more grievous wounds, but the scars across his body proved to be far more a hindrance than expected. Inopportune spasms and twitches caused him to stumble and waver, delaying his reactions and earning him a great many cuts and slashes from otherwise avoidable attacks.
Yet another Anua swooped past his left side, his reaction slowed by just the slightest amount to allow the Monster to rake its sharpened feathers across his side. The pain and frustration of another injury caused him to yowl, fury swelling in his chest, his paw darting out to bat away the next of his attackers in retaliation.
The Anua of his focus tried to turn away, but its momentum was too great, sending it directly into the coming paw with an audible *crack*. A Stage One as himself, the Monster collapsed under his own strike, the difference between their statuses amongst Monsters openly displayed by the speed of its end…
However, their physical weaknesses were more than made up for by their speed and numbers.
Where he killed one, he earned another two shallow wounds across a wing and his back, rivulets of blood flowing freely into his fur and feathers, “Focus on escaping, there are too many to risk a fight…”
A deep growl of frustration rattled through his bones. Nameless leapt forward – glad that his scars hadn’t hindered him this time – his Skill aiding in making the jump forward a considerable one, placing him even closer to the jungle he so greatly desired to be amongst.
“Move! Almost there!” [Sprint] felt like the dry season’s heat to his mind, scalding him while he poured his focus into it, a measure of safety spurring him forward with greater haste than the threat of the Anua could alone.
Five lengths away from the jungle; an Anua slashed at the nape of his neck tearing out a great deal of his fur, while another latched onto his back.
Four lengths away; a roll crushed the Anua at his back underneath him – as well as avoided the strikes of three others – however it allowed a greater amount of the rustle to catch up.
Three lengths away; Nameless was soaked in his own blood, small cuts and gashes covering him from head to tail, the rustle of Anua swirling around him like a dervish, pecking and slashing at him from every direction.
Two lengths away… the strongest of the Anua finally joined.
Nameless had sensed their presence looming above as he had made his escape, the Second Stages circling from a distance, allowing their weaker kin to tire and injure him to the point that they felt confident they could end him themselves. He had kept his attention of them at the back of his mind, keeping watch even as he was bloodied further and further by those Anua that were threatening him directly… and he was more the glad for his vigilance, when the first among them dove towards him.
The difference in speed was considerable, the Anua nothing but a shimmering blur to his sight, its wings pressed tightly to its side.
However, ready as he was, its speed meant little.
Nameless took a pointed beak to his left shoulder and a slash of talons to his right flank, in order to avoid the path of the Stage Two… But he wasn’t willing to just evade its attack.
His frustration and anger potent enough to turn his blood to venom, he discarded his caution and escape for a singular… seemingly foolish purpose.
[Tracking] and [Observation] were harshly grasped and the [Soul-Sight] he had allowed to fade was returned in a flash of visual clarity. The entirety of his focus fell upon the one Monster – the others and his pain discarded – while he twisted out of the way of its dive.
Close as the Monster had become, it was unable to shift or break its dive, moving far too fast to do so without a great risk of self-harm. But it likely felt little fear because of that very same speed, the possibility of being struck when moving so fast negligible to its… lesser mind.
But to his, it was a reasonable one.
[Observation] and [Tracking] twirled about one another, the depth of his focus and intent making Nameless feel as though Time itself had slowed. Through the combination of Trait and Skill, Nameless watched the blur of a Monster approach, his mind working to spot the exact path it would cross… and when it did, he moved.
With a pivot Nameless faced where the Anua would pass, his every muscle tensing underneath him, not a single thread of his attention focused on anything beyond himself and the Monster.
[Observation] and [Tracking] assisted in his reading every small detail of the Monsters’s movements, working with such clarity that it – for an instant – felt as though the Skill were one, his body constantly shifting to keep himself poised to strike out at just the right place.
“Come on!” Nameless roared just as the Anua’s path came into full clarity, the Monster cutting through the air fast enough that he could feel the wind against his fur…
But it wasn’t fast enough for him.
Nameless lunged forward in advance, using every amount of information he had gathered through [Observation] and [Tracking] to time the Anua’s crossing, with claws and fangs outstretched… and caught the Anua completely unaware.
The Monster didn’t have so much as a moment to make a sound, Nameless’s bulk slamming into it, their combined momentums causing the both of them to careen wildly into the jungle.
They slammed into the ground and rolled, blood, feathers, dirt, and debris swirling around them. Nameless embedded his fangs into the Monster’s flesh and slashed his claws through its feathers into the meat below. His mouth became awash with blood, both of the Anua’s as well as his own, the sharp feathers cutting through the inside of his maw.
He savaged the Monster as they tumbled, the Anua broken and limp from the first impact, and left as nothing but a shredded sopping corpse by the time their momentum finally abated.
Nameless staggered to his paws and hacked out the feathers embedded in the flesh of his mouth, releasing deep-heaving breaths while he looked down upon the mutilated corpse below him, before turning to his surroundings.
[Brother?!] He called out, stretching his [Telepathy] as far as he could manage to find Shade.
[Brother?!] Again, he called, grinding his fangs together with growing anxiety, “You should have retained your connection, and not broken it you fo-”
[Here.] Shade’s voice whispered across his mind, preventing Nameless from degrading himself, images of his brother’s location floating across the strings of [Telepathy] to him.
Nameless sighed in relief and took step towards where he could feel Shade was in the distance, when he stopped and looked back.
He could still here the rustle just beyond the brush, their screeches and the scrapes of the feathers a discordant cacophony, far more agitated now than before, “Seems that this one''s death is as a surprise to them as it was to it…”
Leaning down he grasped the Anua’s corpse in his jaws, an errant feather cutting through his tongue, [I will be but a moment, Brother.]
[Good.] Shade replied near instantly, his [Telepathy] shaking with anxiety, [Need. Talk]
“Ah…” Nameless stopped again, corpse blood dripping onto the jungle soil, his features hardening while his mind spun, “It seems he has come to a conclusion.”