—Orion—

  We wandered into the forest a few hours after sunrise, the events of the morning delaying us for an hour. However, I was satisfied with leaving it unspoken, and completely unmentioned. I was still struggling to process what I’d just dreamed of, let alone discuss it with Sally. It was mortifying to wake up like that in front of Sally.

  But that event, and the strange images of being held down and tightly restrained by… something, were left behind in the village. I relinquished them for the thoughts of the peaceful sanctity of the forest ahead.

  With half of my arrows in the quiver, and the other in [Barbarika's Quiver], I moved silently between the trees, my eyes peeled for predators. Well, given that any animal could be a predator, I kept looking for anything that moved.

  However, the forest was strangely quiet today, there was an almost complete lack of creatures in the surrounding area. Excluding the faint chirps of bugs—and Sally's usual noises—I couldn't hear or see any recent signs of animals in the area.

  "Te-scht-Ing." Sally scared me. He had gotten better at speaking recently, but had hit a wall that he hadn't been able to overcome. He did not seem capable of getting rid of the teeth-y lisp his mouth gave him, or the off-kilter rhythm of his words. It made him sound distinctly inhuman.

  He was also in a better mood than this morning, and I was hoping that he had decided to ignore... the incident. While things were not as good as they were in the cave, they had been slowly creeping back to that closeness we'd had before. Sally was still extremely adverse to me touching him in any way, but he was becoming more tolerant of me, and I hoped that I could cultivate that.

  The progress had made me optimistic for the future. If Sally was already more comfortable around me than any of my old teammates were, and I already understood him better than them, it made me wonder how much better the future could be.

  "He-ait Fro-m fi—Agh!" Sally attempted a practice phrase, aborting the failed attempt with a groan of frustration. I decided to try reassure him, as I've recently realised just how much Sally values his ability to speak. It was probably tied to his need to be independent, as dangerous as that could be for an infant animal.

  "I'm sure that you will find a way to overcome your current inability to speak soon. Maybe evolving again will help with the struggle to learn the typical way?" I suggested. Sally's squawking immediately stopped as I finished talking, and after a few seconds of stillness, her—his talons tightened their grip on my scalp. The Dragon leaned down in my vision, lips curled enough to reveal his teeth, a low emanating growl reverberating from deep in his chest.

  Though it did sound squeaky, which could only be expected from a creature Sally's size. If he was anywhere near the size I expected a dragon to grow to with maturity, it would've been a lot more threatening. And something… else.

  But, without taking the time to analyse what I’d said wrong with my previous statement to Sally, I let another excited reply slip past my lips without a second thought.

  "Growls and other sounds are also a great way to communicate." I noted, attempting and failing to invoke a positive tone into the sentence. What was initially meant to be reassurance that he could still communicate intent to me, instead sounded completely different from what I wanted.

  But the comment did stun Sally for a moment, shutting his mouth as he quietened immediately after recovering. He then retreated back to the top of my head, and left me wondering how he'd received my words. I was almost desperate enough to wish for him to claw my head again, just for some sort of feedback. A negative response was at least an answer, but when compared to the anxiety of not knowing at all, I wasn't sure which I preferred.

  With Sally silent and worryingly still, I decided to investigate the environment instead of trying to help him with whatever issue he had. I'd caused it, and I'd probably only make it worse if I interfered again.

  Though, even as I did my best to find any clue that'd lead me to living prey—something I could hunt—but, the area was still empty. A full ten minutes of walking hadn't revealed any fresh evidence.

  *Crack*

  I froze as something snapped underneath my boot, the sound crisp and loud for something far too big and delicate to be just a twig. I carefully removed my foot, and saw that underneath a thin layer of moss, I'd stepped on a bone. It was far too large to be from anything smaller than deer, but the bone was straight, half a metre in length, and resembled a femur, all details that made it extremely unlikely to be a bone from a four-legged animal.

  I crouched by it, and gave the half-crushed material a closer look. It wasn't thin, and with its sun-bleach colouration and fragility, it must've been left outside and exposed to the elements for a long period of time. I brushed the vegetation off of the bone, and noted how clean it was, with moulted black spots—likely mould—covering its surface. It was also rather undamaged, for a body left out in a forest at least. I couldn't see any of the usual signs of scavengers or predation, no nicks or bite marks from teeth or claws. It was as if nothing had bothered to eat a single scrap of flesh off of the body before it all rotted away.

  Highly unusual for a forest with many active predators in it.

  I searched the area around that first bone, and amongst the strange amount of exposed roots, found many more in quick succession, both from the same body and others.

  I followed the trail of bones up the body, and given that each bone still lay together like they would if they still had ligaments connecting them, the body must've been left here undisturbed since it perished.

  But as I reached the head of the corpse, I realised that the skeleton had to belong to a bipedal species. And what I’d originally dismissed as a moss-covered rock was too round and cylindrical to have had been the head of an animal with a snout when it was alive. I wasn't very surprised when I brushed off the dirt and dust, and revealed a human skull.

  I stood up with the bone still in hand, and identified at least five different human skeletons littering the surrounding area, most of them nestled between the roots of the trees. The winding limbs of the plants had weaved themselves through ribcages and skull, adding years to the plausible time I thought the remains had been here.

  "To Beh, or no-Ht to be?" Sally suddenly said, his abrupt commentary scaring me. I did my best to hide my fright as I tried to figure out why he'd just said such a random question. Was it a quote?

  I decided to ignore it, as I knew that showing him my ignorance would not make me seem more reliable.

  I placed the skull back down where I'd found it, and continued picking through the site, finding a total of seven skeletons. Each set of bones was complete, not a single rib or toe more than a few centimetres from where it should be, even the roots had not shifted them out of place. It suggested that no animal had even investigated the site, since even a curious scavenger would move and push the bones around to search for an edible morsel.

  A glint of reflected sunlight caught my attention, and I moved over to it. I dug inside the chest cavity of a skeleton to find a small metallic item hooked onto a rib. I picked it up, and was surprised that the metal object was fascinatingly undamaged—preserved far better than the body that presumably wore it.

  It was a pendant, made of a copper alloy, and covered with an oily substance to protect it from rusting. I grimaced and used my sleeve to hold it in my left hand without having to touch the wax, and wiped off the greasy sensation the first chance I could.

  The item itself was uninteresting. A simple design probably made from scrap metal, the long, thin sheet of copper had been twisted into a messy loop and knot, which reminded me of fettuccine wrapped around a fork. The small loop at its top for a string was what made me think that it was a necklace component.

  It was all so strange. That it had survived what could've been years in the wilderness unblemished, while the clothes, flesh, and presumably the twine that it'd been tied to had all completely rotted away.

  [Waxed Copper Pendant – Level 1 accessory]

  [A mundane item used as the lowest form of jewellery, mostly valued for sentimental reasons.]

  [A component of a peasant’s necklace, with no unique of special properties, even by mundane standards.]

  The result of [Appraisal] was even more baffling. If it had been a magic item, then it would at least explain its resistance to corrosion, but it being completely normal only made the situation even harder to explain. Even with a protective coating, the copper should've oxidised and fallen apart far faster than everything else.

  I put the item into a pocket, and looked around to see if there were any more clues.

  ***

  "LeH-t's go." Sally eventually interrupted my fruitless search. It had been half an hour since I’d started looking for anything that might connect this strange graveyard to the beast we were currently hunting. These bones most likely weren't victims of the monster, given how whole and intact they were. But they couldn't be relatives of it either, given how they were the most typical human I’d ever seen. It also made the theory of the creature hunting and wandering into town because it had been orphaned unlikely. I had thought of it after seeing these bodies, assuming they might be its missing family, but given that these were untouched human remains, it made the idea doubly unreasonable. They weren't its family, and it's improbable that a herd of—presumably—human-focused predators leaves the remains of a few people undisturbed.

  "Our time would be better spent getting food." I agreed, forcing myself to say it out-loud rather than staying quiet, as I would usually prefer. But I was forcing myself to be more vocal than I normally would be, having realised that it's what most people do when spoken to. It was a common conversation pattern, to respond to others even when there was nothing meaningful to say. I struggled to understand why people liked it so much. Though, as much as it confused me, I could see—and feel—how much Sally liked it.

  As I began to walk back into the forest, I heard the guttural caw of what sounded like nearby crow. I stopped and looked around with mild surprise, not expecting an animal to suddenly appear after many hours of their complete absence.

  In the direction of the call I saw a black shape darting between the trees, and I immediately realised that it was far too large to be any corvid I was familiar with. I began to reach for my quiver when I realised that the black blur was moving towards us at an extremely fast speed. As the adrenaline began to flow I remembered that my bow was currently slung over my shoulder instead of in my hands. I had stashed it there while I searched the bones for clues, and would take a few seconds that I didn't have to fetch it.

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  I changed plans at the last moment and ducked behind a tree instead of trying to grab my weapon. Only after I was behind cover and watching the bird swoop where I’d been standing a second earlier did I start to reach for my bow.

  I observed the eagle-sized, black bird fly away through the trees—weaving between the tree-trunks as it arced back towards us—and took the opportunity to get an understanding of my opponent.

  [Raven Mocker – Level 12 Beast]

  [The heart is said to house the soul, and the best of the worst hunters know this well.]

  In a time before Man-Gods, the beasts ruled.

  They hunted human-kind in the forest, in the plains, caves, seas and from the sky. Even in death.

  One day, the clever Black-Feather watched a human bleed out on a battlefield, and taunted them all the way to their final breath for its own amusement. But then it glimpsed the soul that wandered after. It ate it, and tasted the phantasmal power of [Soul], and the wonderful spice misery gave the final meal of men.

  It could not crack the hard seed at the centre, but it could not go back after tasting the outside layer. The magics and power it gave were simply a bonus.

  It taught its kin the trick, and soon the first flock of Raven Mockers descended upon the lands of man.

  While the protections the Man-Gods gave humans did stymie the huntable souls, they never stopped waiting for their next meal.

  [Conditions: [Starvation]]

  I hoped that this beast would be less of a struggle to deal with than the deer was, and fortunately it seemed to have a fraction of its health. Even a single off-centre arrow would be enough to kill it.

  I raised my bow, an arrow from my quiver slotted onto its string. While I was tempted to practise hunting without using any skills, [Power Shot] was too useful to not utilise in a situation with an unknown enemy. Even if it was weakened from starvation.

  I tracked the bird's movements as it flew perpendicular to us through the forest, and I waited for it to begin charging straight towards us again for an easier shot. As it turned, I saw that it was in a rough state already, many of its feathers missing and leaving its pale chest completely exposed. It had a bat-like appearance where its feathers no longer covered its skin, its head was also misshapen. Its beak longer than necessary, with a slight downwards curve, and the skull had obtuse ridges, ugly and Cro-magnon compared to Sally's elegant features.

  [Conditions met! Activating [Archery Mastery]]

  [[Strength] Increased by 24%! 28 -> 35]

  [[Dexterity] Increased by 24%! 24 -> 30]

  [Using: [Power Shot – lvl 10]]

  [Held for: 3 seconds]

  [Damage increased by: 30%]

  [Penetration increased by: 10%]

  [MP: 25/25 -> 15/25]

  I shot at the bird as it attempted to dive bomb us a second time, the arrow beelining for the sickly beast with an accuracy that satisfied me. It was perfectly accurate as it hit the bird, causing it to explode into a puff of feathers with a squawk.

  I hesitantly relaxed as I saw no signs of it after I successfully landed the shot, and began moving away from my cover to investigate the bird's corpse. Maybe it was edible? Though I doubt it would be safe, given how sickly the animal appeared.

  But as I walked towards where the bird's body should've fallen, I realised that I couldn't see it, only a few scattered feathers proof of my successful shot. I searched the ground for the Raven Mocker, and became concerned when I failed to spot any sign of its existence.

  [[Hunter's senses] automatic activation!]

  It had been a while since I’d last felt it, but the instinctual knowledge and sensations of a predator about to strike from behind flooded me without warning. Through practice and the primordial terror the skill inspired, I leapt forwards without hesitation onto the ground in front of me. Sally unleashing a panicked screech as he tumbled off of my head with me, and both of us painfully skidded through the root-packed dirt.

  I heard the Raven Mocker's croak and loud swoosh above us a moment after my dodge. I glanced upwards, and saw the exact same Raven Mocker that I'd hit with an arrow, its long nigh-metallic talons outstretched where my head had been.

  With a quick glance at my Path's information window, I realised that it'd never shown anything about hitting the animal, or killing it. It must have a unique quality for it for it to have survived that arrow.

  But I didn't have time to theory craft as the Raven Mocker landed on a branch, using it to jump off of it back towards us and reverse its momentum far faster than it could've by just flying. I had only a second left to attempt to come up with a solution, but the awkwardness of my sprawled, face-down, body left me with few decent options. In the end, I barely had enough time to attempt to roll over and use my weapon as a flimsy barrier between me and the animal's threatening claws.

  "Su-ck it!" Sally screamed, a lack of fear in his scaly voice as a white projectile flew into the Raven Mocker's flight path. I watched as the ball exploded upon contact with the bird's beak, a white fluffy mass covering its face as it expanded after breaking.

  The Raven Mocker let out an awkward croak as it was blinded and flailed panickily in response, its wings attempting and failing to halt its momentum. Sally's magic clouds stuck to its face with a surprising tenacity, and the bird's blind, tumbling body missed me as it flew head-first into a tree a few metres behind me.

  With a squawk of pain—and a crunch that made me wince—the bird tumbled to the ground, its broken body completely flaccid and limp as it lay in the dirt.

  I made sure to check the Path to see if it was actually wounded this time, and didn't see the notification that would be there if it was actually dead. I grabbed another arrow from my quiver as I stood, stalking up to its prone body with the readied weapon aimed at it at all times.

  I investigated the body, and saw that the bird's head was twisted at an unnatural angle, its mouth and eyes still twitching, gasping raspy breaths. It did not take an experienced hunter to figure out that the animal had broke its neck on impact.

  But as I drew back the bowstring to put it out of its misery, its eyes locked onto mine, and a strange croak left its mouth.

  [Raven Mocker has inflicted you with a condition]

  [New Status Effect: [Vicious Mockery]]

  "Sally is only tolerating you because he has to." The bird croaked, a wheezing hiss that somehow formed understandable words. I froze as the bird picked its way right to the centre of my fears and anxieties.

  "And why would he? You're too weak. Can't even protect yourself. What would Father say?" The Raven Mocker continued to insult me. A raspy laugh wet its mouth as it repeated to me things that I'd only ever thought to myself late at night.

  "The only reason Sally's stayed is because he needs help."

  "He will leave you behind the first moment he can."

  "Have you told him yet? What you did-" I finally broke out of my emotional shock and released the arrow, plunging the projectile directly into the bird's head, eviscerating it and its cruel words.

  [Strike dealt to [Raven Mocker]!]

  [Critical hit! Damage increased by hitting a vital area!]

  [Damage: 19 -> 49]

  [[Raven Mocker] [HP: 12/16 -> -37/16]]

  [Killed: [Raven Mocker – Level 12 Beast]]

  [Condition Cured: [Vicious Mockery]]

  [Experience received: 29]

  [New level: 15 (83/150 XP)]

  [Skill Level-Ups!]

  [[Hunter's Senses]: 13/50 -> 15/50]

  I dismissed the surprising double level-up of [Hunter's Senses], incredibly scared that Sally might've figured something out from the Raven Mocker's comments.

  "Sally, did you…?" I tried to ask, my throat drying out before I could finish the sentence. But after an uncharacteristically long silence from the dragon, I began to grow even more concerned.

  "Sally?"

  It seemed that the second question was enough for Sally to begin moving again, the dragon running down onto my shoulder and jumping off. He used his wings to cushion his fall as he landed next to the Raven Mocker's corpse.

  Sally anxiously paced back and forth, my fear that he'd might've heard something that exposed me smothered, a feeling from [Animal Companionship] perplexing me. The [Notable Emergence] was telling me that he was scared—wanting, needing to avoid some approaching event, instead of the anger she was right to feel.

  "I Don-t know wh-Aht y-ou unders-Tood." Sally began, h-h-her voice smoother than it had been a few hours ago. I also realised that Sally had grown physically as well, and must've gained a level from the Raven Mocker. But her voice was captivating, it'd become smoother, with a velvet softness beginning to appear between the awkward tone. I already could envision what it would become, a hushed, husky voice that had the power of a dragon's lungs behind it. Yet, even with the bassy resonance and deep sound that came with that size, her alto voice never losing its femin—

  I shredded the mental image as I realised that I’d fallen back into old habits, envisioning a future that he'd never want.

  Strange ideas about his voice aside, Sally's words seemed to be focused on himself, which was incongruent with what I had thought had just happened. Was it not clear that the Raven Mocker had been speaking to me?

  "Did you hear it talking to you?" I asked Sally, my question halting his anxious pacing as he gave me a nod. Relief flooded me as I realised what the notification that appeared just before the bird's speech actually did.

  The condition [Viscous Mockery], must've caused the both of us to hear things that would cause us pain. It seemed unnecessarily cruel, but somewhat fortuitous—if it meant that Sally hadn't heard anything that alluded to my mistakes.

  "Did you also receive a status effect called [Vicious Mockery]?" I asked.

  "Yes, ju-St befo-re it spoke? Did it do some-Thi-ng?"

  "Yes, I think it made the both of us hear different things. Things that would cause us pain." I explained. I saw his muscles untense at the explanation, my answer to his question desirable enough for him that he let out a barky laugh of relief.

  "Th-Hank fuck." Sally sighed. I felt his anxiety disappear as well, leaving me curious about what he'd thought I heard. If it was strong enough to cause me to feel it through [Animal Companionship], he must've felt very strongly about the thing the bird had taunted him with. I just barely held myself back from asking about it, even my meagre experience was enough to know that Sally would not react well to me poking at this painful topic. It must be, if the Raven Mocker used it to intentionally inflict pain upon my companion.

  I looked back at the corpse of the Raven Mocker, and felt uncomfortable at the idea of eating it. While I was usually firm in my conviction of avoiding waste at all costs, the idea of eating the crow-like animal was nauseating. It was a big bird, but most of that was skin stretched over a bony frame, and had barely any flesh underneath its sickly, patchy, feathered body.

  I do not know if it was magic that allowed it to talk, or if it was intelligent enough to, but only used the skill to taunt, but I disliked the idea of eating anything smart enough to do either.

  "Should we find something else to eat?"

  "Fu-hck yeah."