Act I
It was night, the only thing warming us was the covered campfire that we were using to cook a guinea pig like Horror I wounded and Eclipsa killed. The bow I made was rough but it was good enough to shoot my [Hunter's arrow].
"I think we're ready, let's go there tomorrow." I said pointing towards a distance where orange light would flicker from time to time. It's been a few days since we collected sticks for me to make a bow from and ever since then we have been trying to explore around our base.
Even with my wolf-like senses and Eclipsa's shadow vision, our exploration was still limited. It was mostly because we only explore before dawn and hunt during the early light of morning, and why do we do this?
Simple, because outside of those brief periods in the day and night the Beast Horrors would be too active for us to avoid them. We barely escaped a herd of Longhorn Bisons, even after we circled their territory. My guess was they were part of an even bigger herd, overall we were surrounded on all sides.
"Do you really think it's other humans rather than some trap by a Horror?" Eclipsa shared her thoughts. It was not the first time we had this conversation but after so many expeditions circling our base without finding any signs of people, we need to do something to move forward or will become stuck.
"I don't know, but we can't just stay here. It's relatively safe but there's only two of us, we need more people. . ." I paused as I looked towards Eclipsa, the dark girl was less reserved but still only someone densely foolish would not notice she was hiding a lot of things.
"Sunshine, we are only one unlucky step away from dying." Her gaze held into mine for a second before she looked away and I did the same. As I once again went over her snuggly soft form fitting armor of leather and gambenson, I still can't believe how protective it was.
"Fine, atleast now you're not walking around with your dick and ass out." Eclipsa joked as she smiled and I shuddered remembering what happened as we ran for our lives, where my vine skirt broke and I needed to walk to our base naked with only sandals on.
The food was roasted so we ate, we were both silent. I did not know what Eclipsa was thinking, but I was deep in thought remembering the journals I've read, trying to recall any monster that uses light to lure in prey.
I finished my portion, but I still don't remember any kind of monster in the eastern grasslands with a predatory behavior that relates to light. The only thing I remembered was the fairy type horrors, but those things live in the fog forests somewhere in the center of the Dawn valley.
I placed a thoughtful hand on my pants, we had enough animal hide for me to make pants but not enough for a pancho to cover my upper body. . . Atleast being half naked was better than being a full on flasher.
The thought made me smile as I looked over to Eclipsa and saw her already sleeping. It was a good thing for her to sleep so quickly, then something caught my eye, it was her shadow, it was waving at me. I nodded at the shadow and then laid down myself after covering the firepot of vines, even the low heat of the fire was enough for me to warm up.
Act II
"Hey, Daniel. Wake up." I felt a hand shaking my shoulder, as I heard a familiar voice.
It made me open my eyes, but I saw nothing but darkness, that was when I summoned my [Wolf Fang]. With it all my senses became sharper, I stopped seeing with my eyes as I took a deep breath and then regretted it.
"Eugh. . . Damn, we need to take a shower soon." I spoke out as I tried spreading my sense of smell rather than focus on the nasty smelling girl infront of me.
"Is it really that bad?" She asked as I heard her take a sniff and paused, then I felt her moving as she collected what she could. I did the same, I made traveling baskets for us to use out of vines and dry grass. I took my own, mine was filled with bones and water skins, while Eclipsa was carrying the one with dried meat and rope.
Without any words shared between us we started climbing down, I felt her hand hold my own as she started leading me. It would be a handful of hours before the sun would appear, so I was pretty much blind in the quiet darkness of the early day as we walked.
I heard and smelled a great many things around us, but from how faint the smell of the animals I can sense, I don't believe any would be dangerous. Then again even with my senses, I'm blind to everything around me compared to Eclipsa.
"Eclipsa, when we find others. Do you want me to do the talking?" I asked softly, we were in a dangerous situation and from what I know, her sharp tongue makes a lot of enemies easily.
"No? Not all the talking, just the burdensome parts." Eclipsa answered as I felt her pause for a moment before tugging me forward again.
"You should be more friendly to people, Sunshine. I don't know why you're so antisocial but it wouldn't be a good way of experiencing life." I spoke like how my older cousin used to talk to me whenever I asked him something I wanted to know, and funnily enough it worked most of the time with the orphan kids.
She was silent as we kept moving, I shrugged it off. It wasn't the first time she ignored me whenever I gave her advice and acted the older brother. But still it kinda hurts, hopefully she listens even if she doesn't answer.
SHhhh* I heard something in the wind, so I paused, pulling Eclipsa back. For a moment we didn't move as I focused on everything around me, as Eclipsa did the same with her eyes.
"I don't see anything." Eclipsa whispered, as I still heard the sound of grass parting ways. Then I smelled three things that smelled like meat, sweat and dirt, they were only a few dozen meters away.
I strung my bow and summoned my [Hunter's Arrow] With a heavy pull I shot it towards the smell. CRUU* The sound cried in pain silencing the ambient noise of grassland for a moment, Crush* Movements, they were running but then their smell and sound fainted.
"Did you see what I hit?" I asked as I recalled my [Hunter's Arrow] before banishing it back into my Soul so it could repair itself.
"No, they were hidden in the tall grass, plus they were too fast for me to follow." I nodded, it wasn't the first time something like this happened.
"Let's go. . . I don't want to wait for something to react to that cry." Before I could answer Eclipsa, she was already pulling me forward.
Act III
"Look, is that smoke?" I asked, as I pointed towards the west. Dawn had come a few moments ago, and with it I was able to see a small plume of smoke.
"I don't see it." Eclipsa spoke, she sounded confused as she followed my finger, I was sure about what I saw so I led her towards it and only after a few more meters Eclipsa was able to see it too.
We started slowing down our pace as we started to scout the area as we approached the smoke plume, then I saw it. The smoke was coming from a small green hill, on its very top. I smiled, that's good we found others, hopefully it's a large group so we can finally start progressing on looking for a temple.
"Wait, Daniel, we should be careful. We still don't know if that fire is from a human camp or something else." I paused from my walk as I felt Eclipsa holding my arm.
"Let me scout it first." She waited for me to say something but I didn't. I just nodded and then strung my bow stringing, as I looked around. As I did she closed her eyes and then sat down.
I waited as she scouted, I can see a few horrors but from how they acted they're probably not the predatory type. I looked back, towards the green hill and then at Eclipsa she was smiling.
"I don't see any Horrors. . . The fire, it's human, I can see two of them." Smiling from her words I started walking forward, finally other people even if it's only two. We can keep finding more and eventually we can find a temple, challenge it and then become Bronze rank.
"Wait. . ." Eclipsa started talking but paused, after a few moments she followed me forward. Then I noticed something as we reached the base of the green hill, it wasn't a natural hill. It was some kind of ruin covered in green clover and flowering moss, I only noticed it as I accidentally pulled out the foliage as I took a step up.
"Hello! I'm a person! I saw your fire and I'm coming up!" I yelled as I climbed up, minding my steps as the foliage was being difficult, each step was careful or else I would slip on a patch of moss or trip on a tangle of clovers.
Then I felt something, I looked up and saw shards of ice the size of a fist, dropping from above. Quickly I turned back and pulled Eclipsa to my front, before laying down.
"AHhh!" I screamed in pain as I felt my back sliced and cut by the shards of ice, damnit. Are they not people? I really should have been more careful, and here I thought Eclipsa was just being paranoid.
I resisted for a few moments but the pain was too much, I felt my grip on Eclipsa weaken and then I fell on her. I felt my limbs going numb, it was a familiar feeling.
I guess living for five more years is good enough, atleast I experienced being a big brother. . . thinking about it now, it wasn't that hard to be a good one. I guess my brother from my first life was just horrible, atleast compared to the memories I have with my older sister in this life.
Act IV
Groan* I felt myself voice out pain, as I opened my eyes. I was laying down on my belly, my pale eyes felt wet, as I peered over a field of yellow grass onto a horizon of clear blue skies.
I felt at peace, but then I heard voices. My hearing returned to its peak while I wore the [Wolf Fang] dream essence charm, they were conversing about something. But without context I wasn't sure what it was, before I could listen some more they stopped.
"Are you awake?" The voice was familiar, I stood up as I felt my whole body, especially my back warming up to the point that I felt like I was in a sauna.
But then oddly enough I didn't feel any sweat, the thought fainted as I looked forward and saw a boy of pale blond hair and empty pale eyes. My mouth turned quickly as I smiled and jumped forward hugging the boy.
"Chara! Chara! You're alive! You blind lucky bastard!" I whooped in joy as I felt him stir in shock in my arms, but then relaxed and hugged me back.
"I should be the one saying all those things Daniel. . ." Chara spoke in mirthful relief, after a moment we broke the hug and looked at each other. He wasn't naked, unlike my shirtless self, he was wearing some decent woolen clothes and leather boots, with a well made tartan patterned cloak of blue and green.
"I told you, heroic people like me are closer to death than prophets like your blind self." I said with confidence which actually made him laugh, as he did I looked around and saw Eclipsa looking at us with a complicated look while another familiar face was next to her.
She is of blue silver, her eyes were cold. Yet they hold fierceness comparable to the blizzards that pounded, the shelter my Koryos made during my first dream challenge.
She was giving us a soft smile as she watched me and Chara interact, I returned her smile and then realized something. As I saw water and cold steam dripped from her left hand.
"You bitch! Why did you attack us! I already yelled, I was a human!" I said with heat and betrayal, as I pointed at her. That made her smile turn smaller, eventually she looked away, ignoring the fact I was angrily pointing at her and complaining about how painful it was to be pelted with ice the size of Chara's fists. . . Which were honestly small but still, it was deathly painful!