The jungle was quieter now, but not in a way that brought comfort. It felt like the air had thickened, like a breath held too long, or a string pulled too tight, waiting to snap. Even the orb pulsed faintly, its glow dimmed and unreadable in the stillness.
Raif moved through the clearing slowly, inspecting the perimeter where they'd reinforced the wall of vines and brambles. It was little more than a visual deterrent. He knew it wouldn't stop a determined attacker, but it gave the illusion of safety. And sometimes, that was enough to hold morale.
The boundary they had set up during the first few nights seemed to have faded. He didn't know when it had happened, when the jungle had started pressing in, but he knew it had. Every time they ventured further, they found more threats. Predators, real ones. Not just the wind and the rain anymore.
Raif paused near a section where the makeshift barrier sagged, the vines wilting under the humid air. They'd built this quickly, unsure of its effectiveness, but hopeful it would work. Now, it was barely holding. His fingers traced the frayed edges of the foliage, and he muttered, "This won't hold. Not again."
He glanced toward the dense jungle, its shadows hiding whatever danger lurked beyond. His mind turned over their meager resources, sticks, mud, vines, stone. Not much. But maybe enough.
He turned toward Eloin, who was crouched by the fire, checking the edge of his spear tip. Raif approached, voice low but serious.
"Eloin. A moment."
Eloin looked up and nodded. "What is it?"
"This wall's a joke," Raif said. "If that thing comes back, we'll be lucky to last five seconds. I know we made it before, but that was when we didn't understand the dangers."
Eloin didn't answer right away. He was silent, but Raif saw the same thought in his eyes. He'd been thinking the same thing.
Raif crouched beside him, pointing to the weak barrier near the edge. "You used to be a stonecutter. Could we do better? A real wall, even if it's just woven wood and mud?"
Eloin ran a hand through his hair, thinking. "Wattle and daub, maybe. We weave the branches, seal it with mud, maybe clay if we can dig some up. Primitive, but effective. But it'll take time, and time isn't on our side."
"Exactly. We don't have time. But we have necessity. Start figuring out what we'll need. Prioritize the weakest spots in the clearing. We'll build it section by section. It may not look like much when we're done, but it'll make any creature that comes through have to go around it."
"Just the two of us?" Eloin asked.
"For now. The others are stretched thin. Naera and Thomund are scouting. Lira's with Goss. We hold the line."
Eloin gave a grim smile. "I'll get to it."
Raif nodded. "Let's make something that can stop teeth."
As Eloin began gathering suitable branches, Raif moved to the supply stack, stripping lengths of flexible wood. The clearing still hummed with tension, but for the first time in hours, Raif felt like they weren't just reacting, they were preparing. It felt like a fresh start. Like they were becoming a team. No longer were they at odds with each other. No longer were they unwilling to do what needed to be done.
Naera and Thomund had left the clearing not long ago to scout. The jungle had become unpredictable. More than once, Raif had watched Naera stop, crouch near a vine formation or an unusual patch of soil, her eyes narrowing as she inspected it. Thomund followed her, keeping a few paces behind, his quiet strength a steady presence.
"This one's fresh," Naera murmured, brushing her fingers along a vine that had coiled around a fallen log. "It wasn't here yesterday. I don't even need to have seen it to know."
"You sure?"
Naera nodded. "Yes. It's grown, at least twenty centimetres. It's thicker too, and moving."
Thomund rubbed the back of his neck, looking up at the canopy. "The jungle's pressing in. Or maybe we're pressing out."
She gave him a sidelong glance. "You think we've overstepped?"
"I think this place doesn't like it when we get comfortable."
Naera didn't respond right away. She moved forward, brushing aside thick ferns as she inspected claw marks etched into the bark. "It's not just the vines," she said quietly. "The tracks are changing. Larger."
"You think it's the same wolf?"
"Same… or similar. Can it grow in just one day? What makes it bigger? Sunlight? Food? Either way, it's circling. And it's close. Not far."
A long silence passed between them. Then, unexpectedly, Thomund spoke again.
"You don't talk much about your past."
Naera blinked but didn't stop moving. "Neither do you."
He smiled faintly. "Touché."
She paused, her hand resting on the bark of a tree, fingers lingering as if she could pull memories from it. "I remember herbs. Needles. The weight of silence. I was apprenticed to a midwife. It was just one of the many jobs I had. But we didn't only handle births. We treated illness. Death. Sometimes... mercy."
Thomund's voice was low. "Mercy?"
"There were times," she said softly, "when easing pain meant ending it. A mother's duty sometimes means their end."
He didn't respond immediately. He just looked at her with quiet understanding. "Hard job."
"It taught me to watch. To wait. People say a lot when they're dying."
"What did they say?"
"That they weren't ready. That they wish for another chance. That they... regret."
The silence that followed was heavy, but not uncomfortable.
Thomund adjusted his grip on his spear. "If something happens today, you keep back. I'll take point."
Naera looked up, her gaze steady. "I can handle myself."
"I don't doubt that," Thomund replied. "But I'm not risking you."
She tilted her head slightly. "Why me?"
"You're the only one who still listens to the jungle. Raif might be the leader according to the orb, but you're different. He'll need you, and you'll need him. Whether you know it or not."
Naera didn't smile. But she didn't argue either. Maybe she already knew. Maybe she just didn't want to admit it.
Back in the clearing, Lira had taken it upon herself to watch over Goss. He sat propped against the shelter, sweat dotting his brow, but the fever had passed. His eyes were clearer now, but quieter. His mind seemed to be racing, but he wasn't thinking.
"You're awfully calm," Lira muttered, sitting beside him with a stick in hand, poking the fire.
"I'm tired," Goss replied, his voice hoarse. "Tired of pretending I'm not scared."
"That's new," she said dryly.
He gave a weak laugh. "I think nearly dying broke my sarcasm gland."
Lira glanced at him, a softness flashing behind her usual guarded expression. A smile tugged at her lips, breaking the cold mask for a moment. "You were brave. When it mattered."
He looked away. "I don't feel brave. I feel useless."
"You're not," she said, her voice low. "I'm the one who's been limping around like a burden."
"You're still standing," Goss said. "And I'd follow you if I could."
That surprised her. She didn't speak for a long time. Then she reached out, resting a hand on his forearm. "Just get better."
They sat in quiet companionship, two people scarred in different ways.
Further out in the jungle, Naera and Thomund found the tracks again, heavier, deeper, and with more splintering of bark where something large had brushed past.
"It's close," Thomund said.
Naera crouched, studying a paw print. "Within five hundred metres."
"Plan?"
"We circle. Try to find its nest or a trail point."
As they moved, the canopy thickened, and the sounds of the jungle dulled. Naera stopped abruptly, holding out a hand to stop Thomund.
Ahead, just at the base of a sloping ridge, the vines shifted.
Then they rose.
A bark wolf burst forth from the underbrush, not just lurking, but lunging, its body low, teeth bared, eyes burning with green fire. Its roar boomed through the jungle, silencing everything else.
"DOWN!" Thomund shouted.
They dove, narrowly avoiding the full force of its charge. Thomund rolled to his feet first, planting his spear just as the wolf turned again. But he had cornered himself. The trees were too close, and there was little room to maneuver.
Naera scrambled to her feet, breath ragged. "It was waiting!"
"We walked into its trap!"
The wolf lunged again, jaws snapping. Thomund intercepted, driving the spear into its side. It howled, but didn't fall. Naera flanked, slicing at its hind leg with a sharpened shard of bark. Both attacks barely made a dent. They both circled, surrounding it.
The beast twisted, snarling.
Their blows landed again. A symphony of splinters breaking, but it wasn't enough.
And this was just the beginning.