Instead of seizing the moment while the young mossbear busied itself snorting out the poison, I stood there, caught up in mulling over whether I had just managed to doom myself. [Never-Dying] was a weave tied to the runes on my chest - more about my inability to die than any fancy regeneration. At least, that’s how the first circle described it.
Then again, I did gain three glyphs today alone, patching up my broken and charred body, so maybe…
'Maybe I wasn't that screwed?'
According to the old human librarian, I should always remember something of the weave I learned. Besides, every time the poison killed me, it happened after having my nose buried in Sage's hair all night.
'So by all means, I should be fine.'
With a sliver of uncertainty still lingering, I shifted my full focus to the young mossbear. It sniffled and pawed at its nose, my poison clearly still burning it up.
Seeing that I didn't quite yet throw away my chance, I beat my wings, launching myself straight at it. My claws sank deep into its side, and I went for a bite. Terrible idea. Hair and blood filled my mouth - nasty and strangely satisfying all at once. The mossbear’s pained howl? Pure music. Made me almost forget the mess in my mouth.
The mossbear lashed out, trying to snap me in its jaws or rake me with its claws. Each time it twisted or lunged, I moved with it, staying just out of reach. Its frustration was plain, and honestly, I felt it too.
This fight? Nothing to be proud of. I would have loved nothing more than to meet the mossbear as an equal. But when had life ever cared about what I wanted? I was the runt here - smaller, weaker. Still, I had my edge - faster, sharper, and a bit cleverer than it liked.
Not that the mossbear didn't try hard enough to prove otherwise.
At first, it tried to tie my paws down with those moss shoots. When that didn’t pan out, it rolled onto its side, aiming to crush me with its weight.
I won’t lie - it came close.
My teeth were buried in its flank when it twisted, pulling my head down as it rolled. A heartbeat later, and I wouldn’t have escaped. The fight would’ve been lost right there. Snarling, I lunged again, unwilling to give up. The mossbear lay on its side, wide open for another attack. But the beast wasn’t stupid. It quickly realized that all it had to do was roll its bulk around, using its massive size like a shield. That weight was its greatest advantage, and it wielded it now with smug ease - much like I had been relying on my speed.
The tide had shifted.
Where once it had struggled with me, now I was the one at a loss, fumbling to stop whatever it was doing. My only option? The tail. So when the moment came, I moved in close and let the poison loose again.
It may have left me with mana for one or two uses at most, but it did the job. And tits, the relief. Draining my tail’s poison sacs was like the best kind of relief, like finally finding a bush after hours of holding it in. So damn satisfying, especially when it worked as planned. My opponent, instead of rolling on the ground in an effort to crush me, shot out of the cloud of poison, sneezing.
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'Chance!'
This time, with no second-guessing, no hesitation, I hurled myself at the mossbear. My claws and fangs found their mark, sinking deep into its flesh. It groaned in pain, trying to shake me off first - a little more labored than before.
'Did my poison work?'
It hadn’t felled the beast, but it seemed to have taken a toll. Worth celebrating? Not really. I had managed to rip through its thick fat and lay bare its ribs - a sickening sight - but there was no chance an injury like that would take it down.
'Weak spots!' I thought of the words of my human. 'Eyes, nose, ears, belly - balls if it's a male. Was this a male?' Not that it mattered much. Even if it was, going after its balls seemed as impossible as trying to bite its belly or get near its nose. 'That spot, maybe? Nah...' Even though mossbears short tail didn't cover their asshole as well as Sage, I didn't see how attacking there could help. Sure, it would certainly be unpleasant - for both sides - but at most it would piss it off, not take it out of the fight.
Dodging the mossbear’s claws and fangs, I danced around it, unsure what to do next, except rip into its hide. 'How’d the workhand pull it off? Luck - something I sure didn’t have.'
As if this cursed world could read my thoughts, my rotten luck struck. I was just about to unleash my poison again, still hammering away at the mossbear’s side, though it had gone back to its usual trick of rolling, when my wing swept across the ground as it had countless times before. I couldn’t say if that was what the mossbear planned - if it was, I had to give it credit - or if it had just hoped to trap my leg in moss, and missed. Either way, those damn shoots tangled my wing.
More precisely, they got hold of my feathers. And bloody hell, my hind legs buckled. Having a hair pulled out didn’t even come close to having a feather plucked out. Or at least as far as the big ones on the tip of my wings were concerned.
Of course, my opponent, though numb by the poison, did not hesitate. It stomped on my tail and sank its teeth into my wing. If I had whimpered before, now I howled.
?Let go of me!?
'Eat this!'
Without thinking, more from instinct than reason, I let loose the poison that had been building up in my tail. The cloud was a little thinner, but it still did the job.
- You were poisoned
This time, though, the mossbear didn't seem to mind. It bit harder into my wing, pulling me beneath it. When it stepped on my foot, the bone snapped, and then another when it brought its full weight down on my lower body.
A pained yelp tore from my throat, stealing what breath I had left. The pain blurred my vision with tears, yet I didn’t stop. I twisted, scratched, and bit at the mossbear on top of me, fighting with whatever I had. It was instinct, nothing more. Reason told me this fight was lost. If I somehow got free, my bones were shattered, and who knew what else had given way beneath its weight. Yet I didn't give up - I fought on, clawing and biting. My opponent’s blood soaked my fur as I did everything I could to stay alive, refusing to just lie there and die.
If giving up had been my nature, I would never have made it out of that cellar.
?That... is... enough, cubs,? Esu’s growl shook me to my core, his voice making my shattered bones ache. I swallowed a whimper and gave in, dragging myself to accept my defeat, though every part of me hated it.
?You won.?
No reply came, though. Rude. Actually, the young mossbear wasn’t even budging. 'Did it intend to disobey Esu?'
?A good... fight.? His warm fatherly praise left me as baffled as the massive moss shoots separating me from the young mossbear lying limp and barely moving. It was not dead, I could see it breathing, but - my poison had to get to it.
'W-Was this a draw, then?'
?Now rest.... cubs... gather... your strength... you need... to learn... more.?
Whether I won or not seemed to fade in the face of Esu’s words. As the moss started to spread across my battered body, the Big Runes spoke once more.
- 100th sigil was carved on your array