Exit, Pursued By-

To be clear, Cloy wasn't out looking for trouble. In fact, she wasn't looking for anything. As the sun sunk low in the sky, coloring the horizon with soft shades of pink, she'd decided to stretch her legs. They were finally starting to be fully reliable again. With them came the rage of the obelisk. It was still mild and she was doing her best to ignore it. Though, if she was being realistic, she knew she'd have to fight again. The tower of crystal simply wasn't patched up enough. They'd still have to linger here for some time

She was trying not to think about it. Instead, she focused on the crisp, clear air as temperatures began to steadily decline. Despite being colder than swamp winters, it was refreshing at times. She liked to feel the cool wind through her fur as she moved. Granted, it would grow old when the moon rose. She'd have to huddle with the other kin near the fire, then. But it was now. She was having a difficult time keeping her mind from wandering today, she chided herself

[Roll to progress: success]

It was a bit noisier out than she expected. Usually the mountainside was deathly still with only the sound of her own hoofbeats to keep her company. Today, though, it was as if someone (or several someones) was ambling through the nearby pines without a care or lucid thought in the world. She registered it as peculiar, of course, but thought that maybe there was a patrol of kin out that wasn't particularly experienced. She wasn't hunting anything, so it wasn't really causing her any harm. She figured she'd let them be and they'd do the same for her

After a while, it seemed the sound was growing closer. She was trying not to look, as she didn't want to make eye contact, but eventually had no choice. She squeaked in shock when she finally swung her head around. The noise wasn't coming from kin at all. Instead it was a bear. She'd been ignoring a whole, entire bear. Her heart starting beating so fast and so abruptly she felt she wasn't sure it would stay in her chest. The thing was huge and it was steadily ambling towards her. Its glassy eyes were locked onto her trail

She had to get out of there before she disappeared, becoming nothing more than an unfortunate mystery. Thankfully, her speed served her well. She burst into a gallop and, though the beast came on faster as well, it stood no chance of catching up to a spooked Kio. She didn't look back again until she was fully certain the hollow sound of hooves on stone was the only thing left echoing in the darkness

[Roll to track: fail]

Eventually, she stopped, but it wasn't until her legs started to complain. She panted as quietly as she could manage, afraid the thing would somehow hear if she was too loud. She didn't feel safe anymore. Every stray breeze and creak of a branch had her head whipping around, her ears bolt upright. Granted, she could probably still outrun a threat even when tired, but she didn't want to take the chance if she had a say so. Some bad things had happened on the trip, but she hadn't felt her life threatened quite like that

She shivered. Gasping for air as she was resulted in cooling her off when she really didn't need it. The night air felt harsh now, biting into her fur. She needed to head back. Yet, she didn't want to make a single step in the direction she came. The bear wouldn't be there, she tried to reassure herself. The thing was so loud that she would surely hear it if it was lying in wait. Besides, hadn't it been glowing? Only now was she given a chance to process that something was very off, but shock made her memory fuzzy. Hadn't the other kin said something about a crystalline beast prowling the mountains after sunset?

[Reroll to track: fail]

She did, of course, muster the courage to follow her prints in the snow back the way she'd run. She tried to move quietly as she did so, fur still pricking nervously while she was out all alone. It'd take her a while to get back to camp, especially if she wasn't shooting along full sprint. Yet, she needed to preserve her remaining energy. Just in case it came back

As she trotted, a reluctant train of thought crept into her head. It was probably her responsibility to report on seeing the beast, especially if other kin were keeping an eye out for it. Yet, she'd have so little to say... Her summary would be little more than 'I saw it and I ran away'. Anyone would be scared of happening across a bear, she reasoned, but she couldn't help but feel a twinge of shame. She was an adult. Along with that, she wasn't really in danger thanks to her speed. Others would struggle more than she would trying to figure this thing out. No matter how she pushed and shoved the thought around, the guilt continued to grow stronger

[Re-reroll to track: fail]

She heaved a sigh. It'd been a while and she'd finally found her way back to the place where she'd bolted. There was a huge blob of disturbed snow documenting her flight. Near it were the massive tracks of the bear, its huge claws leaving gouge-marks in the ice. It looked like the thing had tried to lope after her, but given up once it realized it was far too slow. There was some shuffling around, marks that really went nowhere, before it seemed to decidedly head off into the trees.

Cloy eyed the shaded pines apprehensivly. They were dark enough that she would surely see that glow again if it drew near. She tried not to think any more than that as she forced herself to step under the darkened canopy. She'd just follow the trail, see where it led, and report back to camp. Even finding a spot where the thing fed or slept would be valuable info, if only a warning for others to keep away

[Re-re-reroll to track: success]

The tracks carried on for far longer than she thought they would. She supposed she had taken her sweet time returning to the scene, but where was this thing going? It very rarely deviated from its path, seemingly beelining for somewhere she couldn't yet see. It gave her all too much time to think. Woefully, the obelisk started to push through her fear. She could probably take on a bear, she found herself thinking. She tried to shake the idea from her head, but it only dug in deeper, coiling up in the pit of her stomach. She'd win. What chance did a big, slow monster have against her?

Eventually, the pines began to dwindle away. It made her feel more exposed, but also more confused. Even with the new expanded view, she couldn't see the bear anywhere. Its glowing form should stick out terribly against the night, yet it was nowhere to be found. She shook her head to herself and just hoped it didn't wander somewhere there wasn't snow. The difficulty of tracking it would increase if she didn't have obvious footprints to trot along

[Roll to continue: fail]

The further she carried on, the more treacherous the terrain became. She might have turned back if some part of her deep inside wasn't itching for blood again. It would be all too disappointing to turn back now without getting to sink her teeth into the beast's fur. She'd gotten tired of trying to shake the thoughts out of her head. It was starting to make her dizzy. Instead, she let them sit and stew. It was what they were going to do anyway. She really had little say in the matter

[Reroll to continue: success]

Suddenly, as she hopped atop another craggy outcropping, there is was. Not the bear, but a giant yawning mouth of a cave. It was jagged and ominous, but it didn't need the help. The scattered bones and body parts littered around would have done the trick on their own. For just a second, Cloy's stomach dropped, but it didn't last long. It was replaced with an eager fire. This was the scene of a fight if she'd ever seen one. It was also the place a kin could easily be killed, she tried to push through the haze. Reasonable thought was getting difficult to come by, though. She'd been walking around with nothing happening for ages. She wanted action

Against her suffocating better judgement, she eagerly clattered down the rise she was standing on and into the valley of the creature. The smell of death and rot might have made her gag if her vision wasn't blurring red. Where was this thing? She was going to show it. She stood, prepared for battle, in front of the cave mouth. Before she could yell to draw it out, she saw a low purple glow rising in the back of the stone throat. Seconds later, a great nose poked over the ground, trained on her scent. Glowing eyes followed

[Now battling with bear. Takes 5 auto-damage per turn]

Hardly half a second later, the bear surged forward. Its speed surprised her, especially considering how she'd darted away at the beginning of the night. It reached out an arm like a tree trunk and swatted at her with a great paw. She managed to curl inwards enough that the row of claws missed her, but she took the full blow of the swing as a result. She was flung across the stony valley as if she weighed little more than a mouse. The ground came up hard and fast, knocking the wind out of her. Regardless, she bounded to her hooves. The bear was shuffling over and she'd only have a moment before it was in striking range again. Despite her teeth hardly comparing to the beast's, she snarled viciously, lowering her head and raising her hackles

Cloy: 35/40 HP
Bear: 30/30 HP

[Rolled 10 dmg]

The bear raised its head up towards the dark sky, maw opened in a deafening roar. It leaned back on its heels, raising up to an even greater height as it prepared to strike again. Cloy saw her chance disappearing as it stood on its hind legs, getting further and further away. Then, she did something obscene. She lurched forwards with as much sudden speed as she could muster before leaping high into the air. Her bared fangs latched onto the beast's throat, sinking deep into the skin. The hit had landed better than she expected and she was surprised as blood splattered into her eyes. The bear let out an angry groan, reaching up its freed front legs to bat at her hanging from its neck. Its sharp claws slashed through her fur, but she wouldn't let it deter her as she shook her head viciously, as if trying to break the neck of smaller prey

Cloy: 30/40 HP
Bear: 20/30 HP

[Rolled 7 dmg]

The creature eventually gained purchase despite not being able to see her, batting her to the ground. Again, her ribs smashed into the hard ground, but she'd gotten a taste of blood. It was fuel on the obelisk's fire. Alongside that, she'd ended up with a great chunk of flesh and fur in her mouth from the inelegant dismount. She glanced up at the towering form of the bear and found herself smirking as she spat out the gore. There was a shimmering patch of red on its neck, exposed skin that she'd tore away. It have a hard time recovering from that

Before it could swat at her again, she deftly rose and darted around to its backside. With another leap, she managed to land on its sloped back, using the strange crystals jutting out of its body as footholds. Clambering up and through the dark fur, she swiftly reached another point of weakness and opened her jaw to bite again. She latched onto the muscle between its shoulder and neck, putting as much force behind the attack as she could

Cloy: 25/40 HP
Bear: 13/30 HP

[Rolled a miss]

Its skin was thick, but she felt another spurt of blood ooze out between its dark fur. Before she could shake her head around again, tearing and chomping at the durable flesh, she was suddenly swatted away. The bear easily wrapped a paw around to knock her off, scraping her with its claws as it did so. She wasn't so much flung as she was dislodged. With her grip and balance altered, she fell down the beast's form, hitting shards of stone on the way down. Before she made it to the ground, she snapped wildly into the air, but succeeded in doing little more than tearing out little tufts of fur

Cloy: 20/40 HP
Bear: 13/30 HP

[Rolled a miss]

She collapsed clumsily on the stone, head swimming from the battering she'd received on the way down. She tried to raise herself up, but found herself stumbling. Behind her, there was an ominous thud as the bear let itself fall back down onto all fours. She forced herself onto her hooves as it turned, but she wasn't quick enough. Its claws lashed though the air again, catching her in the ribs. Her blood spattered the rock as her sides split open. Still, she sprung away before she could take a second or deeper hit. But her lungs were starting to burn and her new cuts scream...

Cloy: 15/40 HP
Bear: 13/30 HP

[Rolled a miss]

Behind her, the beast roared, sounding furious. She could hear it starting to charge, its huge paws pounding against the hard ground. She tried to dash away, but groaned in pain. Her sides heaved, sending stinging pain shooting through her with each breath. While she still wanted to fight, her confidence was beginning to fade. Fear was pushing through. What was she doing?

She could muster up little more thought before she felt her hind legs being scooped up. The bear reached forwards and swung towards the sky. Its claws raked her belly as her hooves left the ground. She cried out, flipping in the air and loosing all sense of where she was before crashing down onto the ground. Fighting panic and fury, she struggled to untangle herself before the creature grew near enough to beat her into the rocks

Cloy: 10/40 HP
Bear: 13/30 HP

[Rolled 1 dmg]

She was hardly fast enough. It was already on top of her again. Black paw pads hovered over her head as it aimed, like she was just a bug to be stepped on. She forced her bleeding body to shoot forwards, ducking beneath the oncoming swipe. Sort of... She felt its palm slam against her flanks, pinning her hind legs to the ground. She cried out in pain and alarm. She certainly wouldn't last if she was being stood upon

Spinning her head around, she bit at the raised pad of cartilage on its wrist and tried to tear it off. Although still tough, the skin was still sensitive enough to elicit a reaction out of the creature. It snarled, raising its paw away from the sting just enough so that she could slip away to freedom

Cloy: 5/40 HP
Bear: 12/30 HP

[Rolled 2 dmg]

She didn't have time to gain distance. There was nothing saying her burning sides would even let her run away. So, she did what she could. She lunged at the bear's other front paw and sunk her teeth in. She could tell she was growing weak. The attack didn't have as much power behind it and she felt she almost didn't pierce the skin. Seconds later, she was raised into the air. The bear flicked its wrist, dislodging her and flinging her away. She crashed into an outcropping rock with a crack, slumping to the ground shortly after. That was it. She didn't have anything left in her. She gasped for air and squeezed her eyes shut. Surely this would be her end. She'd never see the swamp again

Then, for reasons she couldn't fathom, the sounds of the bear started to get further away. She didn't dare peek her eyes open until several moments later, where she only caught sight of the bear's fleeing behind disappearing behind the mountain crags. Gradually, the thud-thud of its paws drifted away until nothing was left. She was left gasping and bleeding alone, only just clinging to life. She'd heard some of the kin at camp talking about a MotherFather - a sort of guardian watching over them. She would have to mentally write them a very kind letter later, she thought. The fact that she hadn't been killed was no small miracle. Now, she told herself through gritted teeth as she tried to stand, she just had to make it back to camp without dying first...

Cloy: 0/40 HP
Bear: 10/30 HP