[center][b][h2]Mortie gang[/h2][/b][/center] [center][h1]&[/h1][/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/HCUjfxk.png[/img][/center] -1- Big Smoke ran through the rainforest, ducking and weaving through the wild vegetation. Behind him, ancient kapoks exploded into splinters or were thrown far away, because chasing him was a whole school of gigantic flying fishes. Who would’ve known that they would find his trail of smoke that appealing? That they would have wanted to eat him up so much that they were willing to come crashing down onto the earth just for a chance to catch him? The shadow panted. He was not used to walking, much less running, and so his newly materialised muscles struggled to keep up with what he knew his body was capable of. Finally, he ran into a particularly dense part of the rainforest, so dense that the canopies did not allow the flying fish to track him from above. Instead, they had to wiggle their way into the forest and look for him the old-fashioned way, and fish were definitely not good at tracking others that way… Or so he hoped. He ran into a shallow cavern and threw himself onto the ground against the cold muddy walls, sitting to try and regain some of his stamina. [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMoFAUkh4jo]The last few days had been horrible for him[/url]. Ever since he’d gotten separated from his friends, nothing had gone right. He’d lost his possessions and parts of his body, he’d been tracked and hunted not just by beasts but by non-shadows. He didn’t have much left in him. He was far away from home, lost in a strange land and completely alone. Memories flashed across his mind. Even though he was in danger, even though he could hear the slithering and clumsy tracking of the Iwaks above ground. He remembered his first smile, when Astarte had given him his name and gender. He remembered the first tears he shared, when Lorelei had come to him crying in the middle of the night. Faces he’d never made. Words he’d never used. He truly was glad to have chosen to follow the cat and the spirit, to have disregarded his purpose as a servant of trade. It was the only and best decision the shadow has ever made in his short life. To think that only a couple years could be so meaningful to a shadow… He exhaled. The earthen flow within his body dissipated. His form became diffuse and weak once more. And then he saw the pair of glinting, wide set eyes in the darkness at the depths of the shallow cave. The nesting Iwak lunged at him, mouth gaping, and engulfed him. -2- “I can’t wait to find him! He always runs off in the worst direction, y’know!” Astarte explained with a giggle and a hop. “He went v-very far this time…” Lorelei sighed, her tail swishing behind her and her ears laying flat against her head. She kept walking, however. It would be easy to locate Big Smoke, considering Astarte’s strange ability to track residue… And apparently, following the path of destruction through the rainforest was the correct way to go. Lately, she seemed to only ever chase trouble rather than evade it, Lorelei thought. Astarte smacked her lips after licking a particularly pulverized tree, spit out a few pieces of bark, and nodded in satisfaction. “Yep! Big’s that-a way!” She grinned, pointing at the densest part of the rainforest, only visible from so far away due to the lack of canopies or tree trunks in the way. Lorelei nodded in response, walking a bit faster but not without noticing the schools of Iwaks circling the rainforest above, nor without noticing the several sets of eyes watching her and Astarte’s moves from the shadows of the rainforest. Hungry, hostile eyes. “G-Gotcha. Keep an eye out, Astie. We’re being w-watched.” The [Feline Tinkerer] said as she pulled out her collapsible quarterstaff and pretended to use it as a walking stick. -3- It happened in the blink of an eye. One moment, Astarte was leading the way through the thick rainforest. The next, half a tree trunk exploded into bits and the self-proclaimed goddess was tackled into the thorny overgrowth. [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLsu9ro6Tv4]Screams rang out[/url]. A massive shadow stabbed into the overgrowth with two of its many legs. Lorelei’s eyes widened, and she sprung into action. She blasted forward toward the monster and swung her quarterstaff, hitting one of the monster’s legs so hard that it cracked. “[Sweep]!” She shouted. The skill activated and carried her strike through, fully breaking the leg. The monster had eight legs, though. While it screeched in pain, it lashed out with three of its other legs. Lorelei barely dodged the wild barrage until she had to deflect one of the legs that would’ve gone through Astarte’s prone body. The catgirl overextended to defend her friend. The monster pressed its advantage and lunged forward and before she knew it, Lorelei’s side hit the ground and the full weight of the monster trapped her legs. The spider-thing stabbed down with two legs. Lorelei deflected the strikes and ignored the searing pain on the left side of her face. As the monster prepared another barrage, Lorelei took in a sharp breath and struck upward with an open palm. “Lion’s Palm!” The Monster was launched off of her with yet another sickening crack. Lorelei’s stance wobbled as she jumped up to her feet. She felt a warm liquid drip profusely from the left side of her face. Her vision blurred. When the spider monster started to charge, an even bigger shadow crashed through the rainforest and swallowed the monster whole. Several cracks echoed through the damp darkness as the spider traveled down the gigantic fish’s throat. One tense moment later, the fish turned and looked at Lorelei with big glowing pink eyes. She couldn’t make its features out too well, due to an aura of shadow around it, but she could at least tell that it wasn’t hostile and not only because it was an Iwak. Immediately, the catgirl stumbled over to where Astarte was writhing and sobbing on the ground, holding back a gasp as she saw the massive gash across her friend’s shoulder and the black coloration and horrible swelling that the wound had. Lorelei dropped to her knees and fussed over the wound, not sure where to start. They didn’t even have any antivenom on them! A cold sweat broke out throughout her body. Was she poisoned as well? She touched the side of her face and her hand came back completely coated in blood. She also couldn’t see out of her left eye. What was she supposed to do? What could she even do? Lorelei felt like throwing up while Astarte whined and cried there on the floor. She had training, so why…! Wait, she had training? Besides Lektoria’s? Before it all? “I-I’m… scared…” Astarte muttered, barely audibly. Lorelei’s heart skipped a beat. “Focus on water, Astie! P-Please! Just like earth makes us stronger, water will cleanse you. It has to!” Astarte gagged. “B… Big… Vestec…” And then she passed out. “No! Wake up, d-dumbass!” Lorelei sniffled. Two more spider-monsters appeared from the tops of the trees, and yet Lorelei couldn’t even find the strength to stand up. A bowstring sung, and the sound of flowing water filled the air. Two crimson projectiles found their targets, whose veins exploded in a shower of boiling hot gore. Lorelei fell to the ground next to Astarte, her eyes only seeing the dark skin of her savior’s legs as he ran up to the group and started to look through his pouches. Then, she passed out as well. [hider=Summary] Mortie gang is seen once more after having been split up by some off-screen event near Heavenfall. Big Smoke is seen on his own, running away from a school of Gedhe’Iwaks that think he looks like a tasty treat. Astarte and Lorelei are trying to look for him, tracking the path of destruction the chase left after the fact. When they get close to finding Big Smoke, they’re ambushed by a massive spider monster. Astarte is immediately taken down via surprise attack but is not killed thanks to Lorelei’s quick spring to action. She fends off the monster for a while and eventually a big shadowy Gedhe’Iwak arrives and swallows the spider monster whole, saving the catgirl and self-proclaimed goddess. Lorelei realizes Astarte and herself have been envenomed by the Spider monster and even though she tries to direct Astarte to utilize Lektorian element-manipulation to cleanse herself of the venom, they both fail. Two more spiders appear but are quickly dispatched by a pair of crimson arrows that make the spiders’ blood boil and veins explode, and the last thing Lorelei sees before passing out is her savior running towards them. [/hider]