Flinging itself to the air, its maw opened to take in the prey it thought to be the most dangerous and most mysterious here.
However, it had severely underestimated how truly peculiar the figure before him truly was.
Twisting her body unnaturally, she barely dodged its maw.
No problem for it thus far, for its claw round up as a second attack.
But....
Seeing in real time how Iye phased right through the claw, made a deathly chill run down like a shock.
It could feel damp fur on its neck.
Blood, a red paint and with an unbearable smell to the ordinary stained its fur.
It had then realized.
It had been cut, deeply wounded the instant it tried to hastily strike the woman.
Not even 10 seconds had passed until it could realize.
This prey....could bite back, and with much more voracity than it could ever exert.
Falling to the trees, it attempted at using its insight to conjure up an illusion of Iye's biggest and darkest fears.
But it couldn't do so.
Iye had long since fled from the fight, her stench long gone in the breeze, as if the world itself could not shine light on even her fabric.
Seeing how hasty moves could easily end its life, the platys hid within the dense leaves and branches.
Waiting for another chance where it could kill and feast.
It sat for a long time, hiding from the light and conversing with the shadows.
Until, movement was sensed.
Pupils dilated at the small figures walking through an Ohrn Tree, being deadly close to the fog.
It kept observing them, not wanting to make the same mistake of overestimating itself again.
As if it were a mirage, it faded into the surroundings, and in its place.
A platys with tusks curved to the side prowled.
Guoooooo!!!!!
It roared, drawing the attention of the small group.
*
*
*
"Just a little more"
Am reassured, Famu and Tiju kept looking around, nervous of what could be in the shadows that they could perceive.
"The Tierre Path is just up ahead"
Famu walked closer and whispered, so that Tiju could not hear.
"Isn't that the old path though brother?"
Am glanced slightly at Famu, most of his attention still at the front.
"Yes"
"Eh? But I thought that path was broken and beyond repair though?"
Am sighed and spoke, snorting slightly at what he heard.
"It still works"
The perplexity growing in Famu's face grew tenfold.
"Then why?"
"It is a bumpy ride, nothing more"
In truth, it was because he knew a platys followed them or may have been following them.
Going to the mainly safe path while a dangerous predator may have been potentially following them would have caused the deaths of many innocent Oksi.
While the Oksi didn't have much of a lifespan, aside from the noble ones.
Slowly and steadily, they evolved to live longer, sometimes they lived a day longer, but eventually. That 'day longer' had become the average.
The change was gradual with each generation that passed, but undeniable progress.
For the sake of future generations, they could not hinder their other comrades scattered around looking for food.
That is why this Old Tierre Path was used as an emergency path in case of being chased by a predator.
Am stopped, carved out a symbol with a sharp claw that signified their use of the path and swiftly moved.
The tree would regenerate that part in a few days anyway, so it didn't matter much.
Eventually, after minutes of walking.
They held in their noisy breaths and blankly stared at the blood residues.
Am dropped to the floor and deducted what this could possibly be.
'A leg injury?'
The bloody prints, splatters of blood each time it stepped suggested that, whoever was here.
Had their leg heavily injured, or just very wounded to move.
'Hm?'
Looking at another print, Am frowned. Specifically at the print where the wounded person fell.
'Did they carry someone?'
It felt too large to be just a single person.
'Is it perhaps another comrade of mine?'
Just because they lost a comrade of their own, didn't mean that Am was the only one who might have lost something.
Each day after all, someone or something would be lost without there ever being a giant enough reward for what they lost.
He could faintly make out the figures in the residue.
"....?"
But a shiver tracked through his spine when he did.
A detailed eye could be seen on the residue of blood.
And, it stared solely at Am.
The residue of blood slowly, without him even noticing, elongated to an image of an Oksi carrying another on its back.
There were gaps in where part of the torso should have been, as if expressing the injuries the Oksi suffered, the image didn't physically make sense.
Rubbing his eyes, he blinked and saw the original print again.
"Brother?"
Famu called out with a low voice, wary of whether or not he should even speak in this creepy situation.
"I'm fine...let's continue...."
He forced himself to trudge further in.
Unaware that a beast could very well be walking leisurely behind him.
Walking so far, the group could see the fog recede for the first time ever.
Finally, a gap they could safely walk into.
"Wait"
But the bloody mess became more pronounced as they drew closer.
A trail of fresh blood led to the adjacent Ohrn Tree far away, so they couldn't help but see it.
The trail that traced the roots to the very top which they could not see and the occasional shaking that happened.
From the tree, it jumped elegantly down, the moment its soft paws killed its fall and even sound.
The platys which they couldn't find before, pursed its lips right in front of them.
Am moved back.
'We're still a great distance away from it'
The platys had jumped down to the gap where the fog receded, coincidently literally in front of the old Tierre Path.
'Seriously?'
Am wanted to click his tongue in frustration, but held himself back and thought only of how to combat this bullshit.
He looked above, but there wasn't much that could be used efficiently.
"Can we use this now?"
"...?"
Hearing a voice call him out, he looked back at Tiju, the monster that upon closer inspection had fungus sprouting from parts of his body.
"Use wh—"
Am's words caught inside his throat.
"...."
Tiju, from the very moment they began walking again after their first encounter with the platys.
Brought a giant, wide pointy stick with him.