Ethereal Madness

Chapter 28- Little Rookie

Crap! Crap! Crap!

I ran as fast as I possibly could while maneuvering between the thick trees.

This has to be a joke, right? There's no way I can outrun that monster!

I dared to look over my shoulder, and was immediately convinced I made a mistake. Baihu was nearly caught up with me. I turned back around, and goddess bless my good reaction timing. I spun to avoid narrowly face-planting into a tree and continued my escape.

Just don't think about how he's gaining on you is all. Just don't think about it.

I heard a loud roar not too far away but knew better than to check again.

What do I do? How do I outrun this stupid beast? Running straight obviously doesn't work. Zigzag maybe? No, he's too smart for that. I tried that last time. I gazed up at the trees. Honestly? Might just be my best bet.

Using my newly acquired skills, I jumped onto the tree and imbedded my nails into the bark as best I could. I inched up like my life depended on it, because as far as I was concerned, it did. Just before I made it to the first branch, I heard the sound of the ground being torn.

I shouldn't be worried, should I? It's not like he can climb trees. He's too heavy.

Just as I latched onto the branch, I saw a snout next to my leg. Anxiety set in and I clung to the branch with all I had. I thought Baihu would fall; after all, he had to have leapt up here, right? But no, he was just hanging there, glaring at me with his one good eye.

That doesn't even make sense! Neither lions nor tigers are particularly good at climbing trees. As a mix between the two, why can you do it?

I stood on the branch, ready to jump to a nearby branch the second he pounces. It dipped and wobbled slightly and my heart sunk. My eyes fell to the floor and I just now noticed how high I was off the ground.

Baihu growled at me, but because I don't speak Ligernese, I had no clue what it was meant. He got in position to leap but was stopped abruptly.

"Baihu, ssath heougn." A voice called from below. I tried to get a good look at who it was, but as I moved my like leg, I slipped and fell.

Erm, am I dead?

I was about to summon a chain to the branch I just fell from when I noticed my fall stop abruptly when my savior who caught me landed on the ground and I flopped up like a fish.

Phew. I'm alive.

Suddenly, I was thrown onto the grass. I got up to see the twins, Min and Rin. Aside from very minor differences, telling them apart by appearance is difficult. Their personality on the other hand...

"Get up!" Rin's fierce orange eyes were as deadly as Baihu's.

"Yes!" I scrambled to my feet.

"Come down here." Min called Baihu. Her icy blue eyes gave me the impression she would be the harsher of the two, but she hasn't really been mean from what I've seen so far.

Baihu leaped off the tree, landing next to me.

Although Tali did agree to train me, she is a queen and occasionally has duties to. So she has had Min and Rin oversee my training. I glanced at Baihu. And I guess him too. She said I would be training with Kula too, but I haven't seen him at all.

"You're doing better Arthur." Min noted.

I wish I could say I was happy to hear that, but her somewhat deadpan tone made it hard to believe she was being genuine.

"...Are you sure about that?" If Baihu so wished it, I could've been his dinner.

"He's still weak." Rin complained.