❝bare your teeth, little one, for you are made of stardust and divinity.❞
It is said, in the era before the mother of our mothers, when the ancients first built their ruins, we were not alone in this world. Creatures flitted through the skies above...
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The dark spots in the forest always unnerved Tip.
There was a pressure in those places. It was the first sign that one had wandered where the forest did not want them to go. The air was dense and heavy. It did not necessarily make breathing more difficult but it ensured one was always aware of the constant expanse and collapse of their lungs.
The shadows grew wild in the dark spots, twisting into unnatural shapes that were too long or too wide. There was no sun to subdue them. The trees clustered together—their branches and leaves tangled into a tapestry that blotted out the sky—too tightly for any taming light to break through. This allowed shadows to cling to every blade of grass and pool between the roots of every tree. Sometimes, Tip swore he felt the shadows sticking to his fur.
Despite Tip's own discomfort, it wasn't uncommon for members of the herd to enter the dark spots. Sometimes, on migrations, they had to pass through one. However, in those instances, they had the Chief Elder to guide them and plenty of Practitioners of Protection to guard them.
With only Ituha and his spear, Tip felt as though he had the right to be a bit unnerved.
"I don't like this," Ituha said.
Tip had not liked it to begin with. His tail snapped violently. Mushrooms might've grown densely in the dark spots but that did not mean the children entered this one to find them.
"We might have to head back." Ituha's tail started to flick. "It's getting late and I have no idea how two brats could even get this far out." He frowned. "Something... something must have happened. No one could get this lost."
"I could," Tip said.
"You really don't have anything in your head, do you?" Ituha snapped. "Come on. We're heading back."
Tip nodded, more than eager to leave the dark spot.
"And make sure you don't lose sight of me again," Ituha said, starting to march in what Tip assumed was the direction of the camp. "You have one working eye so you might as well use it to watch where I'm going instead of letting it get distracted by every little thing."
"I did see something then," Tip said.
"Yeah?" Ituha threw a mean glare over his shoulder. "Well, next time, tell me instead of wandering off by yourself! The last thing we need is another missing child!"
Ituha continued to rant as Tip followed happily behind him.
And that was when Tip smelled it. Tip had always had a keen nose, keener than most of the other members of the herd. Perhaps he had been born with a superior sense of smell or perhaps it had developed to compensate for the lack of his other senses. Regardless of its origin, Tip always knew what they were eating long before he saw the bowls of food and he was able to track scents with relative ease.
This scent was unlike anything that Tip had come across before. His paws ceased moving without his command. He turned in the direction of the wind and inhaled. Something in the back of his mind prickled. His pupils dilated.
