Land of Armonia

Chapter twenty one

Amante ventured further up the hill, the snow gradually grew deeper and deeper until he could hardly see above it. He had to transform into his human-like form just to walk above the snow. On the downside to that, it only made him colder. His skin was mostly bare. The wind slapped and bite at him, with icy nips and whiplashes of snow.

He rubbed his hands against his arms to gather some body heat, but the snow seemed ruthless. Once again he saw the massive figure up ahead, but this time closer. It had a large mighty head, but the details were hidden in its shadow. It stoops about 10-20 feet tall, with long nimble limbs and tall pointed ears.

"Herogi." He said aloud to himself, his heart instantly swimming with fret. His mind raced as if his thoughts were causing a stampede of anxiety. He felt his body stretch and grow, as his head flew higher form the ground, higher than his thoughts.

He had transformed into his supernatural form, something he desired not having to do. He felt his mind blacken, and his vision became foggy (as if the snow hadn't done that). The figure was now only a blur against the ever harshened winds.

There was a reason he strongly disliked having to go supernatural. Often he had to strain himself from losing control. It was like someone else held the wheel to his body, and he was a mere overlooker, attempting to interfere. He felt the tug of aggression within his chest as his own body galloped through foothills of snow. He felt like he was watching from afar, but he saw the world through his own tainted eyes.

He was soon face to face with the silhouette. He didn't recognize it, which gave him a glimpse of hope that it possibly, wasn't Herogi. It was a large spotted cat, with matching eyes to his female friend of hazel auburn. It had a cold figure, traced with ice and snow. Its fur was so white, it could easily disguise itself in the snow, except for the spots of black, red, and blue.

Amante felt the urge to kill it, but his willpower was too strong to do such a thing.

The beast, in its supernatural form, had the opposite intentions. The next thing Amante knew was that he was laying on his back in the cold snow. The snow beast bore it's fangs, snapping its jaws at his throat. Amante kicked it off with his hide legs and threw himself back on his feet.

If it wanted a fight, it was going to get more than it asked for.

Amante charged, thrusting his sharpened long claws at the beast. It attempted to dodge it, but Amante had managed to snag its ear. It retaliated, shoving its claw onto Amante's side. The cats fought as if dangerously dancing. Their tails swished anxiously back and forth.

It had been a good few minutes of this mayhem, and both had begun to tire. But neither could ever give up, neither of them was willing to lose. They bore almost matching shallow scars amongst their sides, from their now bloody fight. The snow around them was turning into a pinkish color, being trampled by their gigantic feet.

Amante was thrown to the ground, the beast's curved nails latched onto his skin. He yelped in pain, his black gleamy eyes squinting in agony. The monster tossed him to the side before repeating the same thing. Amante let it do it. He had no energy to fight back, after all this time and his travels. Maybe it was a good thing.

He slipped into unconsciousness, only hearing the thing roar mightily into the sky before he was completely out.

In the distance, up at the top crevice of the hill, was Herogi. She had made it up there just in time to see the to shadowy figures topple over one another, only one coming to stand. Juntul was at her side, shifting her wings nervously.

"You don't think-" Juntul began but Herogi interrupted her.

"It is." Her voice was pained as she said this. Without realizing it she had begun running downhill, as fast as she could. The snow kept grabbing her feet, causing her to fall repeatedly. But each time she'd get up, her exhaustion never getting to her mind of a fret.