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MHO Chapter 26! I'll go ahead and warn you, despite being a bit on the short side, this one's going to be a bit intense and scary. But just so that it doesn't overwhelm you, just know that I don't do sudden, abrupt tragic endings. Hang on till the end of the chapter!

-Llox

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Lykou was the first to stir the next morning to see that the fire had burned down to barely-glowing coals. Nonetheless, they'd remained safe through the night. As far as he could tell, there were no signs that any animal had even approached the site. Kuna crept out of the cave soon after him. They both ate their breakfast fairly quickly and set out while the sun was still rising, enjoying being on the move during the cool, calm twilight hours of the early morning for once. And this time, Kuna had his walking stick and Lykou had his spear.

"What do you suppose is going on in the spirit world, anyway?" Lykou asked, breaking the peaceful morning silence.

"I don't know, but it must be important if it's keeping Mentor busy."

"What are they like, anyway? Besides being made of fire, I mean."

"Well... it's kind of hard to say. Sometimes they're a bit mysterious and aloof, and... more or less how you'd expect most spirits to be. But every now and then they surprise me. They've got kind of a weird sense of humor. And then there's all the secrecy..."

"Well, that's spirits for you, isn't it? Keeping some things secret from mortals. 'For our own good' or something. Or at least that'd fit what I was told about them. Of course, you've got a lot more experience with them."

Kuna shrugged. "Maybe. I can't imagine why they're holding off on telling me their actual name, though. Or the real name for star magic. And of course I still want to know why they made me keep things secret from you at first. All this secrecy stuff is kind of frustrating."

"Hopefully we'll finally get some answers tonight," the konuul said, then grinned. "I'll help you wheedle them for info, if you want."

Kuna snickered. "I appreciate the offer, but as much as I want answers, I don't want to risk pissing them off, either."

"Fair enough." They traveled in silence for a while, just enjoying the slowly-awakening sounds of nature.

*****

Shortly before noon, the two decided to stop and have a light lunch. They'd finally crested the ridgeline and started to descend down the other side into a massive, sprawling forest that seemed to continue on to the horizon. There were a number of small hills and a few smaller mountains, but none as large as the ones they were leaving behind them. More birds with jewel-like wingtips and long tails soared through the sky, refracting beams of multicolored light when they passed by.

Lykou paused in taking a bite of his food to nudge his companion and point to a large creature walking above the trees on long, skinny legs, occasionally pausing to pluck some kind of fruit out of certain trees with the pair of long tendrils on its face, then bring it to a hidden mouth on the bottom of his head. There were a few more off in the distance. Occasionally one of the birds landed on one of the creatures' backs and rested. Neither seemed bothered by the other's presence.

Kuna stared at them in fascination as he slowly finished chewing and swallowed a bite of his own food, then chased it down with a sip from the konuul's waterskin. "Good thing they look peaceful," he commented, watching the distant beasts. "Wonder what they're called?"

"Whatever they are, this place sure is strange. Never seen anything like them."

"You can say that again."

The canid dug out a second small piece of salted meat and began munching on it. A pair of squirrels darted along some nearby branches. An unusually large tree frog hopped out of the way, spooked by them, and let out an annoyed croak that somehow sounded like several creatures making noise at once. A sloth-like creature poked its head out from the canopy not far away and eyed the boys, before slowly crawling down and meandering across the lower branches in search of fruit.

"I wonder if we'll find any more, you know, people out there," Lykou wondered out loud. "Looks like there aren't many clear patches for villages though."

"Not everyone leaves a mark on the landscape, you know," Kuna pointed out, arching a brow at the canid.

"True," the konuul replied, grinning back at him. "I guess they could be the sneaky sort that hides from everyone. Who knows? Maybe we'll meet another sereva tribe."

Kuna shrugged and ate in silence with a carefully neutral expression.

"Hey, it'd be nice to meet people who aren't immediately hostile. And I doubt other tribes are as cowardly and cruel as yours was to you," the canid said, wrapping an arm around the sereva.

"They were only like that to me, as far as I know," Kuna replied, staring off into the distance. "Even if another tribe doesn't know about my past, I'm still clearly, well, not normal," he pointed out, waving his hand over his head, particularly the nubs he had in place of regular antlers.

Lykou frowned and squeezed him gently. "Hey, there's no reason to assume they'll be as dumb about that as your tribe was. For all we know, maybe it's more common elsewhere.

Kuna glanced up at him briefly, then shrugged again. "Maybe. Just don't be surprised if we meet another tribe and things don't go well."

"Hey, I'll be glad to teach them a lesson in respect if I have to," the canid said with a smirk.

The sereva finally grinned back at him and leaned into the side-embrace. "I don't doubt it."

The two ate in peace a bit longer, then suddenly they both got the uneasy feeling they were being watched. They exchanged a look, and each activated their bracers before getting to their feet. Moments later, a ferocious quadrupedal beast with long tusks and sharp claws stalked out from some bushes, sniffing the air and growling hungrily. It looked like a strange mixture of reptile and mammal, mostly covered in scales, but with tufts of fur lining its back and tail, and a pair of long, pointed ears on the sides of its head. It seemed particularly interested in Lykou- or, more likely, the bag containing his food.

The canid quickly grabbed up his spear and aimed it at the beast. "Oh no you don't. This food's mine. Go find your own unless you want to join it," he threatened.

"I doubt it talks," Kuna snarked, backing up as he raised his own walking stick, ready to support his friend and defend himself if necessary.

The creature stalked around them, sizing them up as its fuzzy, spiky tail swished around behind it. Finally, it decided to take its chances, charging forward to take a swipe at Lykou's leg. The canid jumped out of the way and thrust his spear after it. Unfortunately, he missed as well, as the creature spun around and swiped with its other claw, knocking the spear back. He drew back and tried again, but the spear's tip scraped across the creature's back, barely scratching its scales.

Deciding not to risk breaking yet another spear, Lykou dropped it and pulled out his knife, jumping back as the beast snapped at him.

"What are you doing?? Be careful!" Kuna called over to him, looking for an opportunity to smack the creature's head.

"Don't worry. I've got an idea," Lykou replied, crouching down as the beast stalked around, getting ready for another attack.

Suddenly, it bolted directly at him. Instead of dodging, he blocked with his arm, letting the thing's jaws snap down on it. He winced slightly as it tried to bite down, but failed to do much more than scrape up the surface of his woody exterior. While the creature bit and gnawed and clawed in confused frustration, he lifted it off the ground and swung his other hand around, stabbing it in the less-armored base of its neck.

The creature immediately let go and made a hissing, snarling sound as blood sprayed out of its wound. Kuna took the opportunity to swing in and slam his walking stick down on its head, further dazing it. Lykou stabbed it a couple more times as it stumbled around, before it finally succumbed to its wounds and rolled over, dead.

The canid examined his arms and smirked. Some pieces of bark were scraped off and he had some scratched below the surface, but overall he could barely tell he'd been attacked. They both deactivated their bracers, and the sereva hurried over to examine him just in case. They both smiled as they saw his arm return to normal, with virtually no indication that the creature had tried to take a bite out of him.

"I like these things," the canid said, running his finger over the symbol on the one bracer.

"Definitely makes me feel a bit better about these kinds of situations," Kuna agreed. "But be more careful next time! That could have gone badly if you underestimated its bite."

Lykou rolled his eyes slightly and smirked. "Alright, mom," he teased.

"I'm serious!"

"I know," the konuul said, hugging his companion. "I was only testing it this time so we had an idea how well these things work. I'll watch it in the future."

"Good," Kuna replied, then looked over at the dead creature and frowned. "In a way I almost feel sorry for it."

"Why? It attacked us," Lykou pointed out, raising a brow.

"Yeah, but it was obviously just hungry. Wish we could have just chased it off or something."

The canid smirked. "I'd agree if it was starving, but I don't think it was. It was just looking for an easy meal it could steal."

"Yeah, I guess," Kuna said after a moment with a shrug. "Sorry, I know I'm being weird about it. Just-"

"Hey, I know, you're still not a fan of bloodshed, I get it," Lykou said, giving the sereva a gentle squeeze. "Like I said, I like that about you."

Kuna smiled at him a little sheepishly, then sighed. "Yeah, but I guess I've got to get over that sooner or later if we want to keep surviving."

"Maybe. But hopefully we'll be able to avoid too much of it. Hey, if it's still got a pulse, maybe you can try using your magic to save it? It'll probably run off at this point."

Kuna shook his head. "No, I can tell from here it's gone. No more life energy flowing through it. At least it went quick," he said, then turned back to his friend. "Like you said, at least you're quick and efficient about it. Guess you have a good eye for weak spots, hmm?"

Lykou shrugged. "I try to, anyway. The shorter the fight, the quicker the kill, the better,"

"You, er... want to, you know," Kuna awkwardly gestured to the carcass, trying not to look at it to much. "Do... anything with it?"

Lykou looked down at it for a minute. "Don't really want to sit around here half the day, but I guess those tusks might be useful for something, not so sure about the meat," he eventually said. "You mind waiting a little longer? Not going to butcher the whole thing, shouldn't take too long."

"Sure. I'll just, er," the sereva replied, looking around a bit uncomfortably. "Be, uh... over by the trees. I'll see if I can find another branch to carve."

The konuul smirked. "Sure thing."

*****

Sheong-Rya was unlike anything any living person could have conceived of. It was a massive, sprawling city deep within the regions of the spirit world that lied separately from the mortal world. Structures made from pure, concentrated essences dominated a skyline that pierced into the sky, which itself was filled with flowing energies on a deep, dark purple background and sparkling with moving stars. Countless spirits, large and small, roamed its twisting streets and went about all sorts of business beyond the understanding of most mortals, though a few particularly powerful echoes mingled among them.

A quiet shadowy figure lurked in one of the back-alleys late in the afternoon, biding their time. Finally, a smaller, whispy shadow darted between the various obstacles lining the alley and joined them. Another dark figure, this one somewhat more conspicuous, strolled down the alley not far behind it.

"I swear, this better not be some kind of prank," the second figure said in a young, masculine voice. They stepped into a patch of light as they looked around for the shadow spirit they'd been following. It was an anthropomorphic feline of some kind, though the light only highlighted how dark his fur was anyway. In comparison to all the spirits flitting around out in the main street, he looked almost out of place, if it wasn't for the pale-blue glow in his eyes, matched by the second, larger set of eyes floating in front of his face as he looked around. "I may only be an adept, but I can still make you regret it." He sighed after a moment, shaking his head and crossing his arms. "You know what? Find someone else to mess with, I don't have time for th-"

"Hello, Zynshal," the original, more mysterious figure lurking in the dark replied, opening their glowing indigo eyes at last. "Thank you for meeting me here."

Zynshal's eyes widened considerably and he nearly stumbled as he stepped back in shock. "Is... are you really...??"

"Yes, it's really me alright. Don't make a commotion though, I'm trying not to draw attention, as you can imagine."

Zynshal's expression slowly went from shock to excitement. "Oh ancients, I can't believe it's really you! I honestly wasn't even sure you were real, with all the stories and whatnot, much less that you'd have any interest in seeing some newbie li-" he began gushing, but the first shadow cut him off with a slight eye-roll.

"Please, enough with that. Don't embarrass yourself," they said with mild exasperation. "And I haven't got all day, anyway. Look, you're young, and I've watched your progress with some interest. And I can tell I can trust you." A glowing indigo grin appeared under their eyes. "How would you like to help me with one of my projects?"

"I... you want ME to help YOU??" Zynshal asked in disbelief, then quickly shook the shock off. "I-I mean, yeah, of course I will! But how? I thought you worked alone??"

"Normally, yes, but there've been some... complications. And... let's just say my intuitions are telling me it would be wise to have some backup."

"Well far be it for me to question a legend! What would I need to do?"

"Nothing just yet- but soon, I may need you to help keep an eye on two mortals that are central to my current work. The wardens are out snooping around a little too close for my liking. These boys will be moving a large distance soon, once I point them to their first arch-portal, after which I'll need to lay low for a while. You won't have to do much, just make sure they stay on the right path."

"Can do! Just let me know where to wait for them. What are their names?"

"Lykou and Kuna. A konuul and a sereva, respectively."

"Oh, traveling together huh? Interesting," Zynshal replied, rubbing his chin with a thoughtful grin. "Hey, wait, are they the ones that... you know, the Arbassla?"

"Indeed," the stranger replied, grinning again. "Kuna has... a unique talent for magic-weaving. You'll understand when you see his soul."

"Damn. I can't wait to see these two. I'm guessing you pointed them there?"

"In a roundabout way, yes. With the help of a certain oddball rima," the stranger added, rolling up their eyes. "Who you might be working with at some point, as well."

"Oddb- wait, Sulyr?? The slut snake of Glisnu Valley? They met him too?" Zynshal asked, snickering. "And you got him to work with you??"

"Believe it or not, there is more to him than his reputation."

"If you say so. Guess I'll find out."

"Try and stay focused. I know you're still at least half mortal, and young, but-"

"Hey, no worries. I can handle myself. Besides, he's really not my type."

The stranger chuckled. "If you say so."

Zynshal crossed his arms again. "Alright, where should I wait?"

"I'll have Chaiko or Baniv fetch you when the time is right. For now get yourself ready for an extended trip through the mortal world."

"Alright then. Should be nice, I've been getting bored lurking around here."

"A shame. A talented young jarzin like yourself should be starting your own projects soon."

"Tell me about it. Thanks for letting me help out, it's an honor t-"

"Shh!" the stranger suddenly said, holding up a hand and staring past him. A pair of grey spirits drifted by on the nearby street, searching around. Once the wardens were past, they sighed. "I better go. Like I said, go get yourself ready, and see if you can distract those busybodies a bit for me. I'll send for you when it's time."

"Sure thing, see you soon!" Zynshal said, turning and sprinting into the street. After a few minutes, a loud ruckus could be heard, and the stranger slipped away in the confusion, keeping to whatever shadows they could find until they reached the edge of the spiritual city.

Once they were safely out of eyesight, they stepped off to a secluded spot and their hand began sparkling with silvery light. "Right, let me just check in on those two," they said, waving their hand in a circle in front of them. A shimmering disc of light formed, then gave way to a window into the mortal world, showing a large forest. The view zoomed in on Lykou and Kuna, who were hiking through the woods and chatting with one another. "So far so good," the figure said, then panned around the surrounding forest a bit. "I'll just-... wait."

The figure leaned in and drew the scrying window's focus in on another place in the forest, not far from where the boys had been hiking. Their eyes widened. "Shit." Without another word, they closed the scrying window and bolted from their hiding place, hurrying as fast as they could back to the portal they'd entered the city through.

*****

As the sun was dipping down near the treeline, Lykou and Kuna began looking around for a good place to set up their next camp site. Unfortunately there were no signs of caves or overhangs that could help serve as a shelter.

"I guess I could always work on another tree, if we find a big enough one," Kuna suggested.

"As long as you don't wear yourself out too much before your lesson."

"Well, to be fair, that last time I'd also been running for my life from a giant."

"Heh, good point," Lykou replied, then tilted his head curiously. "Hey, is it just me or has it gotten kind of quiet around here?"

Kuna looked around and listened for a moment before shrugging. "I guess. No birdsong or anything. Maybe there just aren't many noisy things that live around here."

"I guess," Lykou said, still mildly uncomfortable. "We'll definitely want to take shifts tonight, though."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Kuna reluctantly agreed. "I can take first, as usual."

"You sure? I don't mind covering the first one for once."

"It's fine. I've gotten kind of used to it. Plus, there's no telling how late Mentor will be."

"True. I still want to at least meet them tonight, though."

Kuna smiled. "Oh I'll insist on it. Even if I have to wake you for a few minutes just to say hi, I'll make sure you don't miss them."

Lykou grinned back at him. "Good."

They searched for a while, but most of the trees weren't large enough to make a suitable hollow underneath. Eventually, they decided to instead try setting up between several trees, where Kuna could figure out something to grow between them. But they decided to set up the fire pit, first. The sereva worked on collecting the stones and some kindling, while the konuul went looking for suitable wood.

"Shit. Not a lot of branches on the ground here. Wish I had an axe. Hang tight, I'm going to check a bit further out."

"Be careful!" the sereva called out after him. "Remember the bracer, if you need it!"

"No worries," Lykou said, winking at him before stepping back through the brush.

Around fifteen minutes passed as the sereva finished preparing the pit. He went to go take a look at the trio of trees and was considering his options when he heard a loud commotion in the distance. His heart immediately began racing when he heard what sounded like a yell. The yell was then followed by a sound right out of his darkest nightmares, and his pupils shrank to pinpricks. A terrifying, twisted roar accompanied the sound of his friend's panicked shouting. "No..."

The sereva bolted into the woods, determined not to have tragedy break him twice. Part of his mind was screaming in terror to run the other direction, but there was no way he'd abandon Lykou. Luckily, within moments, he met the konuul running the other way.

"RUN, IT'S A-"

"I HEARD!" Kuna shouted back, quickly joining the canid in fleeing the monstrous creature he could hear barreling through the brush.

Lykou's bracers were activated, but already the back of his shirt was torn and a series of large, red cracks were visible on his back. It seemed likely that he wouldn't still be standing if it wasn't for the transformation. The two ran for their lives, passing their campsite in the process as they tried to find some place they could hide. They tried throwing their pursuer off by weaving among the trees, but the beast was much faster and smarter than the giant had been.

To their horror, they soon found themselves cornered against a curved cliffside. When they turned to flee a different direction, the terrifying creature burst from the treeline, splintering and felling a small tree in its path with a powerful swipe of its claws.

There, in front of them, a seven and a half foot tall, twisted aberration of an ursaran stood, glaring down at them with a twisted, toothy grin and a pair of bloodshot, bulging eyes. Much of its striped fur was missing, and its muscles were visibly exposed under its taught, stretched skin. On its massive hands, its now-serrated claws were grown to absurd, unnatural lengths.

Despite his terror, Lykou steeled himself and pointed the spear at the beast, looking for any opportunity to strike and at least distract it enough for them to flee again. But with lightning fast blur, the monster snapped the spear into several pieces with its claws and slicing a gash in the canid's arm, making him wince as bark snapped off and left more burning red lines in his temporarily woody flesh. The konuul quickly pulled his knife out, determined to go down fighting if it came down to it.

Kuna was struggling to avoid a full-blown meltdown. Using every ounce of willpower, he managed to calm himself just enough to reach out and mentally grab hold of the flow of life energy around him, then began reaching for a root poking out of the nearby cliffside.

Just then, the beast reared back to strike Kuna with a blow that would crush stone. Time seemed to slow down, as his friend jumped in front of him, taking the strike instead. Bark and blood sprayed the sereva and his surroundings, and the konuul collided with him and the cliffside briefly before tumbling across the dirt, shuddering in pain. Kuna sensed the canid's life energy weakening, and after a moment the bracer's effects faded on their own.

"LYKOU!" Kuna cried out in horror, his eyes stinging with tears.

The creature let out a twisted, distorted laugh as it licked blood from its claw-tips, then grumbled what might have been some kind of mocking words, though they were indecipherable.

As the initial shock subsided, suddenly Kuna was overcome with a burning hatred and rage unlike anything he'd ever felt, massively overshadowing his fear. He glared back at the beast as the green glow in his hands surged all the way up his arms. Just as the ravager was preparing for another attack, the root in the cliffside burst out, growing at a breakneck speed, and pierced the creature's shoulder, then wrapped itself around its neck and dragged it up the cliff, growing enormous, wicked thorns that tore into the creature's flesh.

In that moment, Kuna craved blood. He could somehow sense the monster's surprise, and wanted to feed it all the pain and fear he'd felt for years, and then some. More roots burst out and tore at the creature's muscles even as its incredible strength strained against them. Slowly, the largest root, still wrapped around its neck, squeezed and squeezed, as he was determined to choke every last breath out of the wretched thing, and savor whatever agony he could inflict on it.

But his focus was suddenly interrupted by a voice.

"K... Kuna... help..." Lykou called out to him weakly, coughing up blood as he tried to pick himself up. "We... have to... get away..."

As much as his thirst for bloody vengeance was coursing through Kuna's veins, it evaporated in an instant when he heard that voice. Without wasting another moment, he dismissed the magic and quickly bent down to help the konuul up, tears returning to his eyes. With some strain, he helped his friend stand up and the began hurriedly limping away as fast as they could to the campsite.

"Hold on, Lykou! I'll get you patched up! Stay with me!" Kuna pleaded, as blood soaked both their clothes.

When they reached the campsite, they both collapsed from fatigue and Kuna began frantically trying to patch the konuul up with whatever materials he could dig out of his bag. Somehow, he knew the damage was too severe for mere bandages, though. In desperation, he tried summoning up his magic again, to try and use it to heal the canid. But he found it more complicated than dealing with the simple plants he'd been manipulating up to that point- and in any case, he was struggling to maintain his grasp on the energy, as exhausted as he already was. Tears poured down his cheeks as he frantically tried again and again to get it to work.

For his part, Lykou weakly grabbed his friend's hand and tried to calm him even as he struggled to breath steadily. His vision was blurry, but he tried to tug on the sereva's hand as he noticed movement behind him.

But Kuna was alerted anyway when a now very-angry ravager burst out of the brush, broken roots hanging from its neck, and let out a savage roar. Feeling completely tapped out, the sereva tried to shield his friend with his own body, knowing both their ends were imminent.

However, just as the beast was hurling itself at them, it suddenly froze in place. A crackling ball of unknown energy was suddenly surrounding it. And on the edge of it, a boiling cloud of smoke and mist began to appear, then condensed into the hand of a dark anthropomorphic figure wearing a robe made of an unknown, silky material that seemed to consume any light it touched.

"Quite an unfortunate mistake you have made, to have chosen these two to sate your unnatural bloodlust." the stranger said in a voice that was shockingly familiar to Kuna, yet more menacing than he'd ever heard them. "Chaiko, Baniv." Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a wicked, toothy grin seemingly made of glowing indigo light peeking out from the darkness in the hood. "Take this little pest where they won't be bothering anyone ever again."

Suddenly, the sleeves of the stranger's outfit separated themselves, transforming into two orange-eyed shadow spirits. They began spinning around the ravager, slowly at first, but quickly picking up speed and kicking up wind as they did so. They were soon accompanied by an eerie howling sound as dark crimson and sickly green light began shimmering underneath the frozen beast. And for a moment, Kuna saw a glimpse of something in the monster's eyes he never thought it was capable of- abject terror. It began to strain helplessly against whatever invisible force was binding it, but it was clearly more than even its own incredible might could counter.

The whirling shadow spirits became a blur and a skull-like apparition appeared for a moment, looming down over the helpless ravager. The winds blew off the stranger's hood, revealing a somewhat feminine feline-like individual with dark brown fur and even darker black spots. Her eyes were glowing with indigo light, paired with a second, larger set of glowing eyes and a matching jagged grin hovering several inches from her face.

"Enjoy the twisted hells of Dalzai-Nar, little abomination. And send my regards to the bitch that shat you out," she said with a cruel venom that could rot the bark off a tree.

Suddenly in an explosive burst of light and sound, the shadows, light, and ravager vanished into thin air.

"M... M-mentor?" Kuna nervously asked in disbelief, trembling as he crouched over Lykou.

The stranger turned and looked down at the boys, her grin quickly being replaced with a serious expression. "Yes, hello Kuna. Explanations will come later. Lykou's in trouble," she pointed out as she quickly knelt down next to them. Her voice had suddenly become clearer, and less distorted. If anything, she didn't sound like a spirit at all.

Snapping out of his shock, Kuna's eyes quickly became flooded with tears again as he began pleading with her. "Please help him! Don't let hi-"

"No," his mentor said, then smirked at him. "You will."

"I-I can't, I'm too-"

"Shh, hold still," she replied, placing a hand on his shoulder. A shimmering, multi-colored light ran down her arm until it met him.

Suddenly, Kuna was struck by an indescribable, incredible surge of energy, comparable only to when he inadvertently started the growth of the Arbassla- only more complex, somehow. When it faded, he was more alert than ever.

"Now. Focus, call up your magic," she instructed.

He did so, and immediately, instinctively reached down for his friend, who had fallen unconscious in all the chaos. "What now??" he asked desperately.

"Healing is just growth by another name. Treat it the same as you would anything else. See what the problem is, then visualize the changes you need to make. Plants are different from animals and people," she continued. "You'll find some resistance. As luck has it though, in this case, the fact that he's so weak will actually work in your favor for now. I'll walk you through it."

For a while, she carefully guided the sereva through the task of saving the konuul's life, restoring his body as well as his life energy, even transferring some of his own life essence in the process. Midway through that time, the canid woke up, coughing weakly as he looked up and went wide-eyed at seeing the stranger kneeling next to Kuna. He lacked the strength to say anything just yet, but something about her stood out to him. Something he remembered from old stories that he heard when he was younger, told by older kids when they were up late on Spark Night, well past the time they should have been in bed. Creepy stories about shadowy spirits known as hounaka- and though the descriptions varied, and his vision was still a bit blurry, he couldn't help thinking he was looking at one. He was too weak to dwell on it long, however, and in any case, the strange sensation of his flesh growing back and being manipulated by magic ended up being too distracting for him to focus on it.

She briefly turned to him while Kuna was working, and the faintest grin crossed her face as their eyes met. She held a finger up to her lips and winked, then turned back to helping the sereva.

When they'd finally finished, Lykou was barely conscious, but breathing steadily. After the effort of patching him up, Kuna suddenly slumped over beside him, weakly wrapping his arm around him. "Is... is he going to be-"

"Yes. Well done, Kuna," Mentor said, standing up. She caught Lykou breathlessly staring at her and smiled down at him with slightly narrowed eyes, giving her a genuinely friendly, if slightly suspicious appearance. "Sorry to officially meet under such strained circumstances, Lykou. And I'm sure you're both overwhelmed with questions. But save them for tomorrow. For now you both need rest and recover."

"Is... it s-safe...?" Lykou weakly asked after a minute. Kuna had already passed out from exhaustion before his mentor had finished speaking, clinging to him.

"Yes. The beast has been... dealt with. And I'll see to it you two remain safe through the night. Don't worry," she assured him. She paused for a moment, then conjured up green energy in her hand. Making a gesture in the air, she caused the grass underneath the two to form into a natural, comfortable mat for them to sleep on. "And I know what you're thinking, but yes, you can trust me on that, whatever your misgivings are. It wouldn't make much sense for me to save your little butts only to turn around and harm you myself, now would it?" she added with a smirk, placing her other hand on her hip.

Lykou eyed her for a minute, then took a deep, shaky breath. "Guess not," he admitted, his eyelids drooping.

"Rest well, Lykou. And by all means you two take it easy tomorrow. We'll have plenty to talk about once you've both recovered."

After the konuul fell asleep moments later, she began walking in a circle around the two, assessing their surroundings. She took a deep breath, then held her arms up. A yellow aura flooded up from her fingertips to her shoulders. Her fingers curled in and, with a jerking motion, she pulled enormous boulders out of the ground, bringing them together at an angle around the would-be campsite, just shy of meeting at their tips. The glow on her hands then shifted to green, and with several more gestures, the grass and weeds nearby rapidly grew up into a vine and moss coating that grew and twisted around the boulders until they all formed a makeshift, all-natural shelter, with a small gap at the very top. She turned to the ground under the gap, and the glow on one hand changed to orange. She pointed her hands to the gap on the ground and in rapid flashes, a tree grew, then shattered into chunks of wood, then repeated the process several times until there was a pile of broken wood laying in a circle.

Again, one hand glowed yellow and she pulled a ring of stones up around the wood. The other hand glowed red and, when she waved it over the wood, it spontaneously caught fire. With one last use of the life energy, she manipulated the living mat the two were sleeping on, pulling them over to a comfortable distance from the fire. Finally, she dismissed the mystical energies and stepped out of the shelter for a minute. When she returned, she was carrying their things, and set them down next to them. She pulled out the blanket and draped it across them, before turning and walking out of the shelter.

With everything taken care of, she took a deep breath and reclined back against a nearby tree, staring thoughtfully up at the moon now hanging in the sky. She sighed. "Too damn close. You're slipping, Ink," she muttered to herself.

After a few minutes, clouds of dark mist appeared around her and she faded into the nighttime darkness. No creature came within a mile of the shelter for the duration of the night.