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To my surprise they did not leave though. The woman turned first. Whoever she was she must have had a great deal of courage, or perhaps it was stupidity. There was not a trace of fear on her face, so I couldn’t imagine that she knew what Gargann was, or what he was capable of. I grit my teeth. This wasn’t how I imagined the hunt going, and I was annoyed that I had to adjust my plans because of these two interlopers. I would have to figure out the mystery of their arrival later, if we all survived Gargann.
“Get out of there!” I cried again, but they weren’t moving. She braced herself to face Gargann, while her companion looked more hesitant. I fired off more arrows, but by this point Gargann had turned his back to me and the arrows were just crashing against his flanks and falling harmlessly to the ground. Not an arrow tip had been made that could pierce the flank of this great beast. The only things that could were Naaro’s sword, and the claws of a lion.
I started running towards Gargann. If these two were going to try and face him head on they needed all the help they could get, but I also wasn’t going to leave the hunt to them alone. This was my hunt, and I deserved the trophy.
As I ran, I shifted into a lion, allowing it to burst out of me. I felt it clawing inside, bursting for freedom. My muscles strained as I felt my entire body shifting, reforming itself into another shape entirely. My smooth skin became covered in fur and a thick mane flowed across my shoulders and neck. The yells I made were now roars that thundered through the air. As I came bounding towards them the woman turned towards me and smirked. She then shifted into a lioness herself, her body lithe and strong, the strength of the muscles coiling within her. The color of her fur was pale gold, sleek as the finest silk, and she held herself with a broad stance, ready to attack.
Taking her cue, the companion shifted after her. There was something about him that did not seem quite right, as though he wasn’t quite complete. His body looked as though it was missing vital elements, vital strength. He looked gaunt, and I wondered what had happened to these lions that made them look like this. She looked strong, but he wasn’t at her level. What kind of life had they led? They clearly weren’t from Orestes, but where were they from?
I didn’t have any time to figure out what was happening because Gargann needed all our attention. He came forward, raised his paws into the air, and then brought them crashing down, sending reverberations flying through the ground. I braced myself, digging my claws into the soil and just managed to stay on my feet. The other two lions went sprawling to the ground, and that was when Gargann pressed his advantage. I ran towards him, hoping to take his attention away from the wounded lioness. Had she been in a fight already? Is that why she had come here so abruptly? I ran away from them and roared at Gargann. He did indeed follow my trail, which gave the other two a chance to get to their feet again. Gargann swiped his claws towards me. I narrowly avoided them as he dragged his claws through the earth, sending up a spray of dirt that stained the air. I twisted away and managed to evade being blinded, swinging around to try and get an advantage. I leaped towards his arm and ran up towards his shoulder, hoping to get to his neck so that I could deal some serious damage. Beneath my paws I could feel the hard, sinewy muscles that were taut. The first time I had ever seen Gargann I had made the mistake of thinking that he wasn’t that strong. The way his body was covered in so much fur made it seem as though he was bulky more than strong, fleshy and fat, but beneath the thick hide there was nothing but muscle, tightly packed and dense, sheer power contained within every fiber of him.
As I climbed, he reared up, treating me like a gnat that was annoying him. I felt the world sloping up and I was beginning to lose my balance when I was so close to his neck. I reached out and dug my claws into him, hoping to at least draw blood. As soon as I pressed against his skin he reared back and my eyes widened in fear as I saw the shadow of his paw passing towards me, a black mark of oblivion that was crashing towards me. At the same time, he shrugged, and all this movement left me falling backwards. I had to let go because the impact of his claws would have torn me to shreds and broken my bones. The ground wasn’t exactly a good option either, but it was better than being shredded by his claws.
I let myself go and flung back, allowing gravity to take me. I braced myself for the impact, hoping that from this height I would be able to survive.
Chapter Eight
Ava
This new world was not as hospitable as I had assumed it would be. We had been thrust into this fight without any warning, attacked by this beast. It was a relief to shift into a lion. The pain that throbbed in my arm faded when I shifted, becoming a dull whine instead of a sharp, aching screech. I was alive again, ready to fight.
This monster in front of us had other ideas though. The beast was bigger than anything I had ever seen. When his paws came crashing down, I felt as though the world spun. My feet were taken from underneath me as the tremors ran through the ground. I found myself sprawled on the ground with Lanas beside me. I should have expected it given the size of it. It showed how much I had been deprived of the glory of the fight; how barren my world was compared to this one.
I pushed myself to my feet and snarled, spitting out grass and dirt. Lanas came to check on me, putting himself between me and this creature, although I knew it was a show of his respect for me rather than actual ability. I pushed past him and looked towards this other lion that had warned us and then ran forward. He showed great bravery in attacking this bear and drawing its attention, giving us a chance to compose ourselves. I watched as his full, athletic body ran forward and leaped up the wide arm of this bear. I ran towards them, eager to join the fight, when I saw the lion falling from the bear. I tilted my head back and was amazed at the height. The bear might have killed him, but the fall was going to be fatal as well, especially the way he was falling backwards. If he landed on his back then it would likely shatter his spine, but I needed answers. He was the first lion outside of the pride that I had ever met, and I needed to know the situation in Orestes.
I rushed forward, getting myself away from Lanas’ attention. I ignored the pain that blazed through my body and burst forward, trying to predict the trajectory of where this other lion was going to land. My gaze flicked back and forth from the ground to the air. I darted back and forth, lining myself up with the fall, and then I positioned myself to catch him. I watched as his long body seemed to hang in the air, but really it was falling. I imagined the fall must have seemed far different for him than it would have for me, watching from afar, my feet knowing the safety of solid ground.
I reached him and stretched out my body, catching him as he fell, bearing the impact upon my ribs. The air was driven from my lungs and came out in a rushing torrent as I offered him a cushion. The pain drove into me, crushing my sternum. He yelped and then rolled off. We were a tangle of limbs and fur. His scent was striking, and there was a moment where our eyes met. His were deep and soulful, and as I gazed into them time seemed to stand still.
But only for a moment.
The bellowing roar of the beast lanced through the air and I was forced to bring myself back to focus again. A heavy paw came crashing down, parting myself from this stranger. I leaped to the side and snarled. It might have been a huge creature, but that didn’t mean it was incapable of being taken down. Anything could be killed, no matter how imposing it was.
I remember thinking that, the day my father had put that damned bracelet on me.
I looked up at the bear and then shot my gaze towards Lanas. I jerked my head towards the bear’s right flank. There was a moment of hesitation, and I did not blame him for this because it was fiercer and more monstrous than anything even out of our imaginations, but I suppose that was the price we paid for coming to another world.
I would soon show it what my lions were capable of, and what a statement it would make to the lions of Orestes if I took the kill of this beast.
Lanas braced himself and ran towards the bear, his paws stomping against the ground. He was swift and he slalomed in between the bear’s legs, running in circles so quickly that he must have been making himself dizzy. While he occupied the bear I ran in, seeking to take advantage of this distraction. The other lion was still shaking off his grogginess, but there was no time to waste.
He had a good plan to climb the bear, but it wasn’t going to work while the bear could just shrug it off. The bear needed to be brought to its knees.
While Lanas darted around the bear’s feet I charged in and swiped with all the power I could muster. I slammed my claws into its tendons and heard the bear bellow out in pain. I was yet to draw blood though, and from the size of this thing I knew it was going to take more than a simple scratch to bring it down. So, I dug my teeth into it, clamping my jaw around the tendons and biting sharply, pulling with all my strength. I seethed and breathed heavily as I tore at it with my jaws, stabbing it as though my teeth were daggers. I made a mess of it until the tendons were spooling out like a mass of tendrils, and the bear was faltering. He swiped at the ground with heavy blows, limping along on one of his back feet. Lanas then went to work on one of his front legs, and I joined him. Together we were able to massacre and mangle the great beast’s legs.
It stumbled forward, crying as it tried to put weight on its paws, failing every time it did so. I then twisted around and dug my claws into its flanks, pulling myself up as I did so, leaving Lanas on the ground. I grit my fangs as I had to focus on balancing myself against the teetering, lumbering beast as it jerked from side to side. The world was a blur around me, for I did not have a chance to enjoy the vantage point climbing this great bear gave me.
Eventually I managed to climb onto its back, and since it could no longer rear on its back legs I felt as though I was safe. It tried to buck me off, but it lacked the strength to do so. Any time it tried to put extra weight on its feet it buckled and shuddered, and threatened to crash to the ground. I ran across its back swiftly, not wanting to give it a chance to regain its strength. I had no idea just what this beast was truly capable of. It might have had an incredible capacity for recovery.
I found myself at the nape of its neck. For a moment I shared the same feeling that any hunter had for its prey; pity. There was no grand design why this beast had to die instead of me, it was just that there was an equation that only had one outcome; either it was going to die or I was, and I wasn’t ready to die. I raised my front paws and then brought them crashing down like thunder. My sharp claws dug into its skin and its neck twisted back. It reached up to try and swat me away, but when it couldn’t reach me, its paws landed on the ground again and it winced in pain, falling ever closer to slumping down. I tore my claws across its neck, stabbing and slicing away just as the bracelet had made a mess of my flesh. I roared and snarled, and by the end of it I was frothing at the mouth as I slashed its neck. I then dug my claws in and dropped down. I tore through its gullet under its mouth. Its hot breath washed over me and I looked into its eyes. I saw the fierce, unyielding rage in its eyes as I dropped down. It was not such a long fall as the other lion had suffered, and I was able to land without any difficulty. The bear crashed soon after me, slumping forward against the bracken and moss, its huge bulk now still, with dark ichor pouring from the wounds I had inflicted upon it.
I stalked to its face and looked into its now empty eyes. Then I tilted my head back and roared, declaring my presence in Orestes. This was a new world for me, but it was a world that I could conquer just like any others. It would hold no fear for me, and I would not bow to it.
Chapter Nine
Lanas
I was breathless as I shifted back into my mortal form. I was still reeling from the effects of traveling between worlds, let alone being faced with this incredible bear. I had no idea what the usual animals of Orestes were like, but if they were all like this then perhaps it would have been better to remain at home. I knew Ava wouldn’t feel the same though. She would relish the challenge, as had been shown by the way she threw herself into combat with this beast. There was no hesitation, no thought other than to show this enemy who she was and why it had made a mistake in threatening her. It was incredible to watch. I was quite sure there had never been a lion like her. If I could share her bed and help sire her children then I would have lived a good life.
