A New Home Part 1
Danny awoke to the sound of several humans talking. He was in a dark room that was stacked with cages with some full of sleeping animals and others that were empty. The walls were inscribed with glowing things that emitted a kind of light and an overpowering sense of calm and sleep. It was like an invading enemy which caused his every instinct to resist to go into overdrive. He stood up despite the magic bearing down on his mind. It was a struggle to keep a 1 up on the magic, and he would resist until Danny could resist no more. One of the three scruffy looking men noticed, elbowing one of the other two and directed his attention over at their capture. “You're a tough one. Aren't you?” the 2nd man said mockingly. Danny did not understand what was being said to him, but the tone of his voice spoke of ill intent.
They watched Danny struggle for a while. He felt so helpless. “Where is Ross? Where am I?” he thought. A part of Danny locked deep inside began screaming at his conscious self to figure it out. This feeling felt natural while at the same time also felt foreign. The strange noises of those men didn't really bother him despite Danny's feeling of ill intent. How could they? Even with his sense of foreboding, he had something between him and those monsters. Eventually the 3 men left leaving Danny by himself. Well not technically since there were other creatures with him. “I have to escape.” the once human cat thought. If he could just channel a little mana into his claws he might be able to get out. He tried and failed. The mana was there. He knew because he felt it. However, something was draining it from him before he could use it. That's when he noticed it. There was a weight on and around his neck. He was too weak and tried to fight on, so he let the unseen forces, his enemy take him.
Danny woke once again. This time a little soar, bruised, and unsure of where he was. The cage was covered and moving, but he was no longer in that dark room with the light squiggles on the wall. He also could not feel that oppressive force from before. He tried chewing on the bars, but stopped when he heard familiar voices. One belonged to one of the scruffy men from before and the other belonged to a woman. There was a moment of silence. FUET! Gravity took over, and the cage hit the ground with a thunk followed by a second THUNK. A moment later his cage was picked back up with the women saying “Right there! Sweet dreams you prick.” That voice sparked a memory. It was her.
Rayna arrived at their agreed meeting place, the abandoned windmill outside Dauntless Village. She knew this was going to get ugly. So, Rayna prepared by slipping on a ring of protection. It would not stop a musket or a short sword, but it would stop some measly darts, even if the firing mechanism was spring-loaded thanks to the thin barrier provided by the ring. She scouted the area for various placements for her dart guns. What surprised Rayna was not how compatible this place was for her trap, and how easy it was to disguise it. “HA! There not going to know what hit them.” she laughed. “Let alone survive” she lamented with a darkening expression. Rayna truly had mixed feelings about this betrayal. She was about to break a potentially valuable tool. One that could have been useful in the future. However, she could not let him or his group live. Too much was at stake. “This suck.” She thought, finishing the last trap placement. Rayna took out her vial of beetle snake venom, and began coating each dart tip with its venom, loaded each dart, and rigged each dart gun with a thin yet very hard to see line. She attached the lines to her finger. When the time came all Rayna had to do was clench that finger and the area would be peppered with poisonous darts. Rue (Rayna's pet mini dragon) flew over and perched onto her shoulder. The dragon nibbled affectionately at Rayna's ear.
An hour after preparations, Rayna saw Gerald's approach. He approached from the north as expected. What she had not expected was, was for Gerald to be a lone. His Lizzorse had been badly burned. She could tell by its patches of melted skin and the missing scales and fur. It was also missing its tail almost like something had bitten its tail off. Gerald looked no better. “What the hell happened to you?” Rayna asked feigning sincerity while thinking “Thanks for making this easy you dumb-ass.” She almost felt bad for the man. Whatever, he knew the risks going into this. He got off his mount with a horror glinting from his eyes-only war veterans had and said “we were attacked by a dragon. I lost my team and almost lost my Lizzorse.” Gerald unhooked the cage from his semi healed mount. “You got the money.” he asked with some confidence only to look at the caged feline only to be reminded of the horror once more. His face dawned a thousand-yard stare. Rayna was wrong. He would not have been useful in the future. In fact, this man was a tool that had outlived its usefulness. “I have your payment” Rayna said while unhooking and tossing a nice sized coin purse on the ground. The man known as Gerald bent down to pick up the bag, and that's when Rayna clinched her fist tugging the strings that activated her trap. It all happened in a flash. Darts came at them from all angles; she swatted the cage out of his hands. The cage hit the ground with a clang and a thud. This snapped Gerald back to reality, but it was too late. The man looked like a pin cushion while Rayna remained unharmed thanks to her ring of protection. Gerald who was shocked and confused at this betrayal asked falling to his hands and knees “But why?” Rayna responded “Because tools who outlive their usefulness have no purpose.” The paralytic went into full effect followed by the thud of his body collapsing onto the ground. She picked up the cage and hooked it onto her mount and road off as the man began convulsing and foaming at the mouth. She turned back one last time and thought “Guess that was overkill” She activated her comm crystal and said “new import.”
A wolf beastkin was in his room resting when his comm crystal unrelentingly sounded off. It was an unusually cold night, and the fire in his apartment was starting to die down. Gerwulf sat on the edge of his bed squinting at the annoying little thing tempted to throw it across the room for that sweet precious sleep that he rarely got. He reluctantly grabbed it. Despite being the Grand Zoo's second, he still had a boss, and the Grand Zoo could be quite unpleasant if kept waiting. After all, he had been the longest appointed living second in the Zoo's history for a reason. He pumped some of his mana into it and gave the usual coded greeting but was cut off by the words “New import!” by the caller. Gerwulf exhaled in relief. It was not the Grand Zoo. This also angered him as his precious sleep was interrupted by someone other than his boss, but he quickly stilled his anger. New import was code for valuable or legendary catch. He always saw interesting new creatures when one of these came in, but never legendary, and it was not like just anyone has a direct line to his crystal. Gerwulf checked it to discover that it was Rayna's comm crystal. Even still, these nifty devices could be stolen and used by anyone, and Gerwulf was no fool. Protocol existed for a reason. It's what had protected the exotic zoo for decades. Gerwulf issued the challenge for the second and last time. If the challenge was not answered right, he would blow up the enchantment by overloading it with his mana. After an audible exhale of what he could only assume was annoyance, the response was given. “Randall arena on the moon tide.” he stated. Translated this meant go to Randall to the easternmost sewer arena at the time of high tide. Gurwulf deactivated his comm crystal and collapsed onto his bed to enjoy the sweet sweet sleep he was being so viciously denied.
Ross woke up as a set of gargantuan jaws snapped him up. His instincts urged him to fight back... To survive. This day was one nightmare after another. They just couldn't catch a break. First their home got invaded. Then they were forced to run, and was chased down like rabid dogs. If that wasn't bad enough, Danny was still trapped in the body of a cat with his human mind imprisoned within making capture a certainty. An animals' mind was predictable in that regard. Well not today. He would not be eaten, and he had to save Danny. “He must feel alone and scared.” Ross thought. Though, he had his own problems to deal with at the moment. Ross knew he had to do something and fast, because pinned between this creature’s tongue and teeth was a half cooked human torso. A light bulb lit within Ross's mind. “CLAWS!” thought Ross as he activated his blood rage. He channeled his mana into his claws turning them a crimson red. He dug his claws into the creature’s tongue. Ross felt his new prison lurch and buck like someone who had put something too hot in their mouth. Except, this creature didn't spit him out. Instead, its mouth pointed upwards. It was at this point that Ross got an important clue as to what was trying to eat him as an intense heat could be felt coming from its throat. As soon as he felt that heat, he began climbing to the side, then burrowed underneath its tongue. If this thing could breathe fire, then using its tongue to shield him should keep him safe. Okay maybe not safe safe, but as safe as he could be at that moment.
Fire spewed from its throat. Intense heat could be felt where Ross had taken refuge. After what felt like an eternity the fire died away. Monopolizing on his blood rage, he began clawing at the creature’s soft underpart of its mouth with burning hot blood oozing from its' wounds. Ross hissed as it singed his fur, but he wasn't going down easy. He readjusted himself so that he was still protected from the flames, but also in a way where he was no longer being assaulted by the scalding hot blood. Ross would claw the creature’s mouth, and the creature would breathe fire. At the moment they were at a stalemate. His survival ultimately came down to two things. The first was whether he had the stamina to keep blood rage active and how determined the creature was to eat him. They went round per round for 30 straight minutes. Time continued to drag on. Each time the creature flooded its mouth with fire as hot as the sun, Ross would continue his onslaught followed by the creatures shrieking of pain followed by his burns which were caused by the creatures’ blood. “How much punishment can this thing take? I'm running out of stamina.” Ross growled with stark realization that he might not survive. Sure, enough his stamina was about done, and it looked like he would lose this battle when the bloody mouth that was his immediate doom spat him out onto its white scaly claw.
Ross felt for his stamina, and found he had enough to maintain the blood rage for his initial escape. The caveat was that he had enough mana for up to two more blood claws. He had been sparring with his mana so that in the event he did escape he would not fall helpless to mana fatigue. He was spit out in an awkward upright 180-degree spin that land him almost face to face with the creature. He looked at it, and it looked back at him as if it was curious as to why its food was so difficult to swallow. Ross was stunned. He had only ever seen pictures of dragons and had only known them as fantasy. Fear surged through him as realization hit “CRAP” he thought. At least he was alive. Ross wasted no time. It was do or die, and he needed to get the poo covered candy bars out of there. He focused mana into his claws and loosed a set of blood-red scythes of death at the dragon. The dragon just sat there on its haunches letting the attack hit its' snout. To Ross's dismay its scales deflected his attack. The plan was to blind his attacker and run, but fate did not seem to agree with his plan. His fear intensified, allowing his animal rationality to take over, and he jumped off its claw for his escape. At the time this seemed like a good idea, but hindsight really blows. “SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!” Ross yowled as he began falling Four stories to the ground. Cats were made to take tumbles from heights, but not from this far up. He miscalculated. He let his animal mind get the better of him, and now he was going to die.
To Ross's sudden relief, the dragon vanished only to realize he was still falling to his death. Then something unexpected happened. Shortly after the dragon disappeared a human wearing white dragon scale armor appeared below him. The human was a man with white hair with golden eyes, and had a body that would make a statue of a Greek god envious. The human caught Ross with ease. His scent was that of the dragon. Panic returned in full force, but the dragon now man had a firm but nonlethal hold on him. The not quite so human turned his head to the side. ACKK PTEW Blood left his lips, splattering the ground, and causing a tuft of grass to burst into flames. Ross took in his surroundings for the first time since waking up. He also realized now that there was no escape. Gulp The ground was black with the ashes of burnt trees and grass. The outline of several men could be observed by the vibrant grass that still remained in the outline of where they had breathed their last. The bodies that still remained were burnt beyond recognition, and were likely to soon be eaten like he himself. Ross let his blood rage end. The dragon held him out observing him with a piercing gaze that sent a chill through Ross, and took in his scent then asked “What are you, and why can't I eat you?” more to itself than anything. “I'M not food.” Ross proclaimed with a hiss. Despite being covered in 3rd degree burns, Ross would not stop until his body failed him, but the situation had changed. He just had to take advantage of it... Somehow. “What?!” the dragon said almost doing a double take in surprise. “What kind of dragon do you take me for?” it exclaimed. “I did not know you were... Wait a second!” The dragon's eyes glowed an unnatural blue. His searching gaze pierced Ross, and this time Ross felt naked before this being as if he was a pebble in a sea of thousands. “I see!” it said with a frown, eyes turning back to their golden color. He never like being the object of study. Not in the history books and certainly not like this. “What do you mean wait a second, and I see?” Ross yowled “A second ago I'M food and now you're studying me. What the hell man?” He couldn't help himself. Ross knew it could end him any time it chose, but between his burns and the anxiety of not knowing if he'd live or die was eating away at him.
Something occurred to him. Why it had not occurred to him until now was beyond Ross, but what the dragon said got him thinking. “What kind of dragon do you think I am?” He relaxed. It wasn't going to eat him. As a matter of fact, Ross's half-baked accusation seemed to offend it. The Dragon gave an apologetic smile. “I don't eat prey that can't be swallowed.” it said wincing at its own words. “And besides she would kill me.” the dragon said cryptically, but with a brief flash of guilt. Before he could renew his protest, the dragon continued “Look I was sent out here for a mission and the people I was tracking just happened to be trouncing in my territory. By agreement, I can eat what's on my land, but the lords think I should be a vegetarian. I mean what dragon in the history of existence has ever been a vegetarian? That's like making a rabbit eat meat.” The dragon finished on a tangent. Its rant somehow disarming the cat a bit, and on an instinctual level he understood. The circle of life and all that. “It must be a nightmare.” Ross said with mock sympathy for the creature that just tried to eat him. The dragon turned toward a stump to sit when Ross howled in pain. His body was no longer in shock, and he was suddenly reminded of his burns. The dragon sat down and gently set him on his lap. “At least let me heal you.” the dragon said seemingly upset at himself. He inhaled and exhaled a pink mist that enveloped Ross's entire body, seeping into his burns like a mountain of flesh-eating worms. He howled as pain blossomed at the throughout his entire being, then a cool feeling of relief spread throughout his body.
New skin rapidly grew over the scabs with fur regrowing in an instant. In seconds Ross was as good as new. “That's a start.” Ross purred “but if you really want to help, point me in the direction of those people that took Danny. He's like me.” Ross finished, tail swishing at those unpleasant memories. “They went to Coran. I'll take you there. After all, honor demands it of me.” In a voice so low that Ross could not hear, the dragon said “She demands it.”
Danny and Rayna arrived at the outskirts of Coran city after travailing for a week. Dan had almost escaped twice. The first time was three days into the trip when he set loose a barrage of steel claws at Rayna. He had discovered that he could store mana in his claw’s little bits at a time. Granted, he could only store enough for one use, but that would have to do. On the first day after his first attempt, Danny began trying to brute force his mana through the collar into his claws. Each attempt left him in mana fatigue, but by the 5th attempt he found a weak point in the collar where he could force just a little mana through at a time. That horrible woman would look in on him from time to time, but never seemed to catch on to what was happening, and he could not fathom why she'd look in on him at all. Danny continued his grueling task of brute forcing mana through the collar into his claws only to recover from the mana fatigue repeating the process until the 3rd day when his jailer opened the crate. He didn't know why the cage had been opened, but it was the opportunity he was waiting for. Danny let lose his glowing silver scythes of death out of the open face of the cage carving out grooves in the top and bottom of the cage. The women went wide-eyed as she dropped the cage, and dodge to avoid being diced into slices of human. On instinct Danny bolted out of the cage, but his captor was a little quicker on the uptake. He found himself back in the cage. His second attempt was less successful. This time he found a weak point in the cage where years of urine had soaked into the abnormally hard wood which made that part of the cage a bit soft with rot. Danny clawed his way through the cage floor. He squeezed through the hole, made a run for it, and like the last time he was caught. Unlike last time however, the women pulled out a loaded net gun like she used on the loose pixie, and found himself securely bound to a tree. Danny felt an all too familiar stab followed by his body’s betrayal. Needless to say, the cage was repaired with Danny spending the rest of his trip bound with the net that was used to catch him.
Gerwulf waited in the agreed upon location. He waited in the observation room of the arena. It had a marble floor with a sandstone-colored brick for the walls. The floor had a trap door with an observation window. The window was enchanted with analysis. This was where he did this sort of business, so he had confidence that she'd find him. He was very punctual among other things. He also held others to that same standard. So, when Rayna didn't show at the agreed upon time, he began to get a little irritated. He was very tired, and she was wasting his free time. “This had better be worth it.” he gripped to no one in particular. When he did these things, he did them on the down low, so he could prevent others from wasting his boss's time. The last new import received by the boss was a Dusk Raven which have nasty tempers, and where a dime a dozen. Needless to say, Garrick's new import clawed King's face and crapped on one of his favorite shoes. Garrick was killed on the spot, but the bird got away and now there is a hansom reward for whoever finds the bird. Gerwulf chuckled at the memory.
He was about to leave when Rayna appeared in the doorway fallowed by a trusted associate who assisted him with his appraisals. “Your late Rayna!” Gerwulf scorned. Rayna held up the battered cage revealing an unusually striped and not moving black cat bound with a net. Its mana collar glowed unusually bright. Gerwulf raised an eyebrow at the acquisition, but more out of surprise at how bright the collar was glowing than the cages condition. The collar was strained. His associate just greedily licked his lips. “Gave me some problems.” she said with a deadpanned stare. Gerwulf's associate reached for the cage, but his hand was met with a slap from Rayna. He quickly pulled his hand back with a scowl forming on his ugly face. “You bitch...” The ugly man began before Gerwulf cut him off. “There will be none of that Francis. Have you forgotten my lesson in manners?” Gerwulf finished with a cryptic and wolfish grin. Francis flinched shutting his mouth. Rayna knew the forging of a useful tool when she saw it. She lowered the cage. “I see you found a tool worth reforging?” Rayna said looking at Francis with a sneer with emphasis on tool. “Manners maketh man.” Gerwulf said pointedly. “Enough human small talk! Let's cut to the chase, shall we?” he said with finality. Rayna got the message. She set the cage down facing Francis. She knew what was about to happen when she released the creature, but changed her mind when she saw Gerwulf watching with a hint of a smile. “Damn beast kin is too smart for his own good. No doubt hoping I would get Francis injured, so he would have an excuse to not pay me. Hell! Francis's outburst was probably planned.” she mused to herself. Rayna refused to play into his trap. She faced the cage away from them, and opened the cage letting Danny slide out of it, and into an observation pit. As her dad used to say “A tree that does not bend will break.”
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Rayna watched the observation screen as though she knew what the outcome was. Gerwulf hid his emotions while watching intently. He had not expected a cat. By its own right, this creature was indeed rare. It was only when Francis went down to unhook the collar and untangle the creature that Gerwulf's expression cracked into one of surprise. As soon as the collar was removed and the creature was unbound, it jumped to its feet. Francis made a practiced dive for the door with a sudden yelp as the creature let lose 5 metal-colored scythes of death each impacting the runic door with each impact leaving a nasty gash. The collar that was lying next to the cat crumbled into ashes. “Impressive!” Gerwulf remarked. “It killed several of my men.” she replied with a knowing grin. Rayna was happy for her vindication since it came in the form of an almost diced Francis. Her thought wondered a little deeper into the enigma that was Francis. He was gifted to Gerwulf, but nothing beyond that was known about him, and that bothered her. Among other things, there was something off about him, something that she did not like. The thing was, was that she could not quite put her finger on it.
Gerwulf secretly enjoyed the display. Having decided that he'd had enough, he turned back to the screen and injected some of his mana into it. The Beast kin was a shrewd one. He had decided 3 years ago that it would behoove him to replace the screen with one of his own. Gerwulf's would send the real results to a pair of glasses that he now slid onto his snout. In short, he could control what Rayna saw while he saw the real results. Rayna shifted her gaze to the screen as well, and gave a disproving scowl, at what she saw while Gerwulf dawned a look that showed approval. It was hard not showing astonishment given what he was looking at. The name alone was cause enough.
*What he saw:
Name: Danny Anderson Race: Divine Beast Level: 2
Mana: 100/100 Regen from Stamina
Stamina: 70/70 Re gen +1.5
Skills--
Abilities--
Spells--
*What she saw:
Name: Danny Anderson Race: Demi-Beast Level: 1
Mana: 100/100 Re gen from Stamina
Stamina: 70/70 Re gen +1.5
Skills--
Abilities--
Spells--
Rayna stared dumbfounded at the screen. “How?” she thought. She was well versed in her beast lore. To be a hunter she had to be. The only beasts that would feel at home with Pixies were divine beasts, and ant men. On top of that, the area was rich with caves, and had an abundant source of wolf scorpions. No! She knew what she had. Rayna glared at Gerwulf. She began to reevaluate him as if for the first time seeing the true snake coiled within his soul. He was going to rip her off and she knew it. “Wow! A Demi Cat! Quite the rare find.” Gerwulf stated as a matter of fact. “That is not a Demi Cat and you know it” she said in challenge. Gerwulf had played this game many times. First came a contest of beast knowledge, then came the accusations. So, he made the first move. “Let me guess. You think it's something else?” He finished raising an eyebrow. “As a matter of fact, I do” Rayna stated confidently. But before he could ask what made her think that she took control of the conversation now turning to debate, “First it is a Divine Beast. Second, their natural food the wolf scorpion which is plentiful where the pixies were found.” That was bait of course. Bait Rayna knew he would take. “Third, the area houses many natural caves.” She finished leaving out the fourth and final as a trump card. Gerwulf was impressed. Who knew she was well versed in beast lore. It was his turn. While he knew his stuff, she did too. He smiled a predatory toothy grin. This would be fun. It had been a while since he matched wits with another. “And I say it's a Demi cat commonly classified as Demius Beastly. Second, their diet consists of wolf scorpions, Fire toads, and death ravens. Third, they have been known to inhabit caves like many creatures.” He finished with a tone that had an air of smug in it. His Grin only widened. He knew where she was, and especially the kinds of creatures that exist there. A dragon lived near there after all, and had to make sure that troublesome thing didn't become a problem. It was Rayna's move. She didn't show it. But he had cornered her. Gerwulf had known where she was poaching. That snake! Fine! So that's how it was. She still had a trump card. “Ok convincing I'll give you that. So! Tell me Gerwulf? What are the only 2 creatures that nest with a colony of Pixies?” Rayna asked laying her trump card down with a predatory smile rivaling Gerwulf's very own. Rayna's dad was anything but stupid. He made sure his wisdom was deeply ingrained. This helped her deal with the smartest of humans and beast kin alike. Gerwulf frowned. He saw the trap. However, his opponent was clever and had set another. He fell right into it. “Fine! I have tricks of my own as well.” He thought. “Nicely done Rayna I underestimated you.” Gerwulf said reaching into his bag. Rayna tensed hand hovering over the hilt of her dagger as, expecting betrayal. With his other hand he made a gesture and pointed to several pillars where humans were hiding with crossbows aimed at her. He pulled out a ring. Gerwulf spoke again with a hint of uncertainty. “Where did you see this creature?” He asked with mock confidence. Rayna watched as he asked his question. She noticed him glancing at the ring. Rayna understood. He was hoping to catch her in a lie. Gerwulf was using a ring of truth “That won't work.” She thought. I saw them watching us from the edge of the Pixie colony. His ring lay dormant. His mock confidence became real confidence. She cursed to herself. She lost. By saying what she said, she admitted to being watched by the creature and not being attacked meaning the creature was curious, and not defending its territory. She had walked willingly into his trap. He beat her. Rayna of all people. Well, the only move left was to accuse Gerwulf of tampering with the magic equipment. This too was a trap, and she knew it all too well. If he said it was a Demi cat then she'd ask top rate. “Fine! I want 30,000 for the Demi cat.” Gerwulf was taken aback. She saw his final trap and jumped over it. He laughed. “Done! Hope to do business in the future.” He extended his hand. Rayna grabbed it for the customary shake, but she went one step further. When money was exchanged she whispered something under her breath that only he could hear. “Next time you fuck me. I'll kill you.” Gerwulf grinned and said nonchalantly “I hope your trip back is a safe one. I hear it can be rough out there.” He turned and walked away.
Danny could feel the mana flowing through his body completely unrestricted. As a matter of fact, the well within him felt enormous. Along with it came a sense of potential. Suddenly he was unbound. “Escape!” Danny thought. He jumped to his feet facing the human that set him free. However, something about this human felt wrong. It... Must have sensed what Danny was about to do, because as soon as he let loose his attack upon the human who he would later come to know as Francis dove behind the thick door. Like before he was now trapped again except Danny heard 2 voices. One of them was familiar. It was the human women that attacked him and later took him. The other was guttural and bestial. Recently his life has consisted of one cage or confinement to another. This one reeked with a myriad smells that placed Danny even further on edge. Suddenly he felt an invisible force around him. It felt almost like a gentle hug that caressed every inch of his being. Then as soon as it started, it stopped. Danny never felt so violated in his life. He could hear the voices again. This time the female was a little upset. Ultimately it did not matter, because at the end of the day, he was still trapped. At that moment the floor beneath Danny opened up. He let out the most desperate meow for help he had ever let out in his whole feline life.
He fell, or more precisely floated harmlessly into a new cage. “My life seems to be nothing but cages.” he growled. All the smells from earlier became way stronger, and assaulted his nose. “You got that right.” came a low rumble from across the room. It was in a cage much like his. It was large enough for its occupant with room to move around comfortably. Except its cage was far more decadent. The creature inside was a lion with 5 fox tails ablaze with flames, and the wings of an eagle that had a span of 13 feet when fully spread. It eyed Danny with interest but also with superiority. “Get used to it. You're going to be here for a long time.” It laughed. Danny just curled up and ignored the beast. “DON'T YOU TURN YOUR BACK ON ME!” it roared in anger and disbelief. The other creatures jumped. It was clear that this beast was the alpha down here. But what was he supposed to do? He just missed Ross. On top of that he had caught some of what was said by the 2 voices. “What was a Demi Cat, and what was a Divine Beast?” He thought on these questions before his mind reached its' limit, then sleep finally took him.
Danny rested well. When he came to, he was not sure if it was day or night. What he heard was a familiar guttural voice and a new voice. He listened not sure what to make of their conversation. “She bought it. What are you so worried about?” the strange voice said. “She's smart. Rayna knows I screwed her. She is not going to let this go.” the other said in guttural speech “It's not like King will care about that screen business.” Said the stranger. “OF COURSE NOT YOU DOLT... Sorry! It's because of something else albeit related.” guttural voice said grimly and defeated. “Look! I have known you long enough to call you friend. I have no doubt you will figure it out, and I'll back you, but for now why don't we look at your new acquisition.” stranger said reassuringly. Danny was able to understand the conversation to a point. However, he wasn't given the time to react inside or out. His mind not only prevented it, and like all the other times, a part of him screamed in frustration. His subconscious mind could feel the cracks in that mental barrier. “All I need is one final push...” That train of thought was interrupted when a door was opened with two creatures crossing the threshold. The loud squeak of rusty hinges woke the surrounding creatures. Suddenly a brilliant light flooded the room as eight crystals flared to life. Danny's eyes adjusted to find guttural and stranger looking at him in interest. They looked at him and he stared back. Stark realization struck him. Stranger was the human he had attacked in that weird room. Something about that human was off. It unsettled him. On instinct, he arched his back, claws glowing with fur standing on end, and hissed followed with a series of growls and more hisses.
“HA HA HA you have good instincts.” the beast kin laughed. He waved a hand in front of Danny's face which sent a sensation of calm through him. Whatever he did, it disarmed him. “You're mine!” the beast kin said with an amused grin. He then turned to stranger. “This creature is mine. Treat him like you treat the Chamagriff.” Stranger nodded, but the beast kin wasn't done. “Before you ask about King I will have you know that I paid with my own money.” Stranger grinned with amusement. “Do you want to evolve it?” Stranger said with a grin that spread impossibly wide. The beast kin was quiet and looked conflicted. “Yeah! Run it through the arena, but don't kill it.” The beast kin enunciated each syllable of that last part.
They left in deep discussion. All the lights went out shortly after. The Chamagriff that heckled and jeered Danny raised his head with a mixed expression of despise and smug. “You're going to die you know.” Danny caved. “Like you would know.” He knew he had been purchased, but what did that mean? The Chamigriff sneared “You are going to fight in the arena till you evolve, and by the looks of you. Gragnock is going to eat you alive. Heh heh heh.” The Chamagriff laughed with a hateful glare. As if on que a slurping sound could be heard from the back. A shadow consumed a fat fleshy leg sucking the very flesh off its bones. It spat out its bleached white remnants onto the ground. This satisfied the Chamagriff. It went back to sleep with what Danny thought was a smile. “I have to get out of here.” he thought in panic.
The day finally came when Danny was collared and brought to the arena. In the time since he had tried everything to escape. From gnawing on the bars to striking the cage itself. He had even tried to squeeze between the bars. Whatever was used to make their prisons was strong. His strongest attacks were absorbed by the cage. When Danny tried to chew the bars, he chipped his teeth. Thankfully the cage was enchanted, because every time his teeth got chipped, they would grow back. On top of that, his every attempt to squeeze through the bars was met with resistance, and if that wasn't enough, he found himself in a stare off with a small rodent. The name Squirrel came to mind. Danny chuckled with an audible wheeze. He was hungry so why not, but every instinct told him to run. His confusion over his instincts did not last long. “Food laugh no. Belly you go. AYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA!” The Squirrel obnoxiously chided with a war cry filled with rage. To a human this would be heard as a series of anxious Squirrel noises. Although that was before its transformation. Tentacles shot out of its mouth, its mouth widened with its teeth becoming sharp and elongated, Then the creature grew 3 times its size. Danny lowered his ears and hissed. Not like a creature its size would find him the least bit threatening. It even drooled like a dog to raw steak. It was then that he understood why he wanted to run. Danny was outmatched and on the menu. Suddenly his need to survive overtook his need to eat.
The squirrel now turned harbinger of death lashed out with one of its many tentacles. They oozed with a pink, sweet smelling, viscous liquid. Danny sprung out of its way. The tentacle slamming into the ground, and what Danny saw only made him glad to have evaded it. When it struck the ground, a dark smoke rose followed by an acrid stench. It was covered in acid. If his human mind could surface, he might find it cute in a disturbing kind of way, and fulfill some child hood fantasy of discovering life on another planet. As it was, that was not the case. Danny channeled his mana into his claws. However, the Squirrel of doom and hunger did not give him a chance to unleash it. More tentacles came crashing down upon him. He dodged again and again, but his reaction time was getting sluggish. He was wearing down. If Danny did not do something soon, he would die. Another tentacle stuck out grazing his ribs. He felt a searing pain as his ribs were being eaten in half by the tentacle's viscous goop. He was not done yet. To stop was to die. As long as he could still move, he would fight. He waited for another strike, and when it came, He sprung to the side. The cat dragged its shining claws across the tentacle. A set of brilliant metal color scythes of energy ripped through it. The Squirrel reeled back in pain
Congratulations! Your Steal Claws increase from lvl -1 to lvl-2 Novice. Your claws glow with a metal element, and when unleashed, you send blades of metal to slice through your enemies. Damage is 10+X where X = the skills level.
Danny took the opportunity to simultaneously channel his mana into his claws. Only this time he channeled into both. He rushed the creature which took it by surprise. He raked his claws across the squirrel’s flank which unleashed another set of metal scythes into the creature, but the creature did not go down. Danny slid and spun after delivering his best attack to see the metal like energy impaled into the creature's side. It howled in agony. The Squirrel of death lashed out with its enlarged tail, wrapping around the cat with speed and efficiency which could only be done by a starving beast. It began to constrict and crush Danny. This severed his half-melted rib. Its remaining tentacles slowly snaked their way to him, but it would not end this way. With a little luck, the creature of death made a mistake. A mistake Danny would capitalize on. The creature held Him at just the right angle. It was all or nothing now. Danny unleashed more metal energy scythes that flew to and hit their marks. All the creature’s tentacles went slack as they fell to the ground with a wet plop. The acid covered tentacle hissed and smoked against the ground. In reaction to the creature’s new source of pain, its tail loosened. This allowed Danny the ability to wiggle out of the creature’s constrictive grip. He landed with a sharp pain wracking his chest, but he couldn't stop now. “Kill or be killed I will not be food.” Danny hissed. Then, with his remaining strength, he lunged for the squirrels' throat. He latched with all his might until the death squirrel fell.
Now that his life was no longer in danger a Deep hunger took over. Despite his injuries, Danny feasted. It would have been bliss if it wasn't for the pain. Sensing the creatures spirit stone, he ate his way to it. Danny bit into it with gusto, allowing its power to flow into him. He was greeted with a feeling power, and the following prompts.
Congratulations! Level up! You have reached level 3. Your attributes have increased.
Congratulations! You have learned the spell Bestial Defense Lvl-0 Novice. Your Fur hardens with the metal element giving the creature a defense that is 20+X were X= the skills level.
