The jungle convulsed around them.
Naera's breath caught as vines recoiled violently to her left, then snapped taut again. A thundering shape burst through the undergrowth, limbs crashing through the brush with terrifying weight. Bark peeled from trees as it barrelled forward.
The bark wolf.
Not just a wolf. The wolf. Its face was half-torn from their last encounter, the right socket an empty pit, jaws soaked in old resin. The air turned thick with the stink of sap and rot. Plates of dark wood shifted over its shoulders like armour reassembling mid-motion.
It came straight for them.
Thomund didn't hesitate. His body moved before his mind could catch up. He stepped in front of her and lowered his spear, bracing it into the ground like a pike. The shaft trembled in his grip.
"Run," he muttered.
But she didn't.
The bark wolf collided with him before the word was finished.
The impact shattered the spear halfway down its length. It drove Thomund backwards through the muck, his boots carving trenches in the soil. Pain exploded through his shoulder. But he held.
Naera didn't flee.
She stood behind him, bark knife clenched, eyes wide, not with fear, but fury. He knew that look. He'd worn it himself once.
"You can't help," he growled, not turning. "That thing'll tear you in half."
"I'm not leaving you."
"You have to."
The creature lunged again, dragging him with it. The weight knocked the wind from his chest.
"I'll hold it," he gasped. "You run."
A long pause.
Then the faint rustle of retreating steps.
He didn't dare watch her go. But relief hit all the same. She'd listened. She was fast. Smart. Still alive.
He drove a broken branch into the wolf's ribs, it rebounded off the hardened bark with a hollow thunk. The beast snarled and twisted. Not just strong. Deliberate.
The vines at the edge of the clearing writhed. The ground hissed as the wolf circled, slow and cold.
Thomund shifted his stance. The mud gave under his boot. His ribs screamed. His arm shook. Still, he locked his eyes on the creature.
"I'm still here," he said through his teeth. "Come on, then."
She ran, but not far.
Naera burst through a curtain of hanging moss, fronds slapping her face, and dropped into a shallow gully slick with runoff and knotted roots. Her knees hit the muck hard, cold soaking through her clothes. She gasped, one hand sinking into the earth. The knife in her grip trembled, small. Useless.
She didn't want to leave him.
Behind her, the sounds of struggle tore through the trees, grunts, snapping wood, the bark wolf's guttural snarl, each one like a lash across her spine. She had no spear. No leverage. Just a blade carved for sap, not bone.
She crouched beneath the arch of a fallen tree, forcing breath through clenched teeth.
Think.
Thomund was buying her time. Seconds. A minute, if he was lucky.
She scanned the undergrowth. No weapons. No traps. But ahead, half-sunk in a pool of stagnant water, was a stone. Jagged. Dull grey, streaked red.
She crawled for it, slicing her palm on a thorn. Blood welled, ran down her wrist. She didn't flinch.
Another crash behind her. Then a deeper roar, cut short.
Silence.
Naera froze.
Then moved.
She tore the stone free and ran, cutting wide through the trees. Her breath came in sharp bursts. Every root tried to trip her. Every vine felt like a hand. But she didn't stop.
She found them.
Thomund, hunched, barely holding. The wolf pressed down, its foreleg mangled, thick sap oozing from the wound. His spear lay shattered beside him.
He was seconds from being crushed.
Naera didn't scream. Didn't speak.
She struck.
The stone came down, once, twice, slamming into the wolf's hind leg. The first blow glanced. The second cracked through bark with a wet crunch.
The wolf shrieked and twisted.
Too slow.
Thomund roared and drove the broken shaft up beneath its jaw. Wood scraped bone.
The beast bucked once, hard, then collapsed. Limbs twitching. Breath gurgling.
Naera dropped the stone. Her hands shook. Blood and sap streaked her arms. She sank to her knees.
Thomund leaned against a tree, panting ragged. One sleeve was shredded. His shoulder soaked. But he met her eyes and laughed, a low, broken sound.
"You didn't listen."
"No," she said.
A pause.
"You alright?"
"No."
"Good," he nodded. "Me neither."
The silence was heavy, thick and expectant. Naera knelt beside him, breath ragged, limbs buzzing from shock.
Thomund's head lolled back against the tree. His tunic was soaked down one side, the barkcloth dark with blood. He was pale. But breathing.
For now.
"You're bleeding too much," she said, reaching instinctively for his arm.
"Yeah," he rasped. "I'd noticed."
Footsteps, fast and cautious, pushed through the foliage.
Naera tensed.
Then Raif burst through the undergrowth, sweat streaking his face, spear in hand. Eloin followed close, quieter but just as sharp. Their eyes scanned the scene, then locked on Thomund.
Raif's mouth opened. Closed.
"Thomund-?"
"Still here," Thomund grunted.
Eloin dropped to his side, but Thomund raised a hand. "Don't. I'm not walking anywhere."
Naera opened her mouth to argue. Nothing came.
Raif looked from the body to Thomund's side, to the blood seeping out, then back again. He crouched low.
"We'll carry you."
"No." Thomund's voice had steadied. "You'll carry that." He nodded toward the bark wolf. It lay slumped, leaking dark resin into the dirt. "That meat'll feed us. The bark, if it doesn't rot, could pass for armour. Goss might use the ribs."
"We'll come back for it."
Thomund shook his head. "No. You come back for me after."
Naera stared at him. "You're not dying here."
He didn't answer.
Raif's jaw flexed. "You think we're just going to leave you?"
"I know you are," Thomund said. No bitterness. Just certainty. "You don't waste the kill. Not here."
Eloin's eyes swept the jungle. His grip tightened. "Something's wrong. It's too quiet."
Thomund nodded. "It's watching."
"What is?"
"I don't know. But it's out there."
Even the wind held its breath.
Thomund leaned his head back. "Go. Drag it back. Tell Goss it's got a spine like ironwood. He'll know what to do with it."
Raif looked at him a long moment. Then nodded.
Naera didn't move.
"Naera," Thomund said quietly.
"No."
"Go."
She stood. Her hands trembled.
Thomund gave her a crooked smile. "I'm not going anywhere."
She didn't say goodbye. Just turned, and followed.
They vanished into the jungle, dragging the corpse behind them. Sap and blood streaked their trail. Raif bore the forelegs. Eloin hauled the back. Naera walked beside them, silent, until she dropped to one knee and gripped the middle, fingers closing around splintered bark and broken ribs.
They didn't speak. The jungle closed behind them like a curtain.
Thomund was alone.
He exhaled slowly, head resting against the trunk. Pain bloomed through his chest, into his lungs. His fingers were numb.
It was quieter now, not just the jungle, but inside him.
He reached to his side, dragging the broken haft of his spear into his lap. Blood stained the wood.
A breeze stirred the leaves.
Too warm.
Too still.
It felt like breath.
His eyes flicked toward the trees.
Nothing.
But he didn't trust it.
"I know you're there," he muttered.
Silence.
He shifted, pressing harder into the bark. His whole body burned. But he wasn't going to rot lying down.
He pulled himself upright. One leg buckled. The other held. Broken spear in one hand. His other arm hung limp.
One more stand.
He took a step.
Something rustled to the right. Heavy. Close.
He smiled.
"Come on, then."
No scream.
Just a thud.
Then silence.
They dragged the corpse in grim silence. Every root caught their boots. Every vine snagged flesh. The bark wolf was heavier than it should've been.
They didn't speak.
Naera didn't look back.
When they reached the clearing, Lira and Goss were waiting, eyes wide, bracing for danger, until they saw what lay between the three.
The bark wolf's body hit the ground with a thud.
Lira opened her mouth.
Goss beat her to it.
"Where's Thomund?"
No one answered.
The silence stretched.
Then flickered.
The jungle dimmed, like someone had turned down the world.
[Hostile Neutralised: Category - Aberrant]
[Kill Type: First Elimination]
[Reward: +5 KE]
[Total KE: 83 / 100]
Another shimmer passed. Slower. Heavier.
Their vision blurred, just a second.
[Signal Lost: Thomund]
[+2 KE (Heroic Action Logged)]
[Total KE: 85 / 100]
Then silence.
Goss stared at the message.
Naera turned away.
Raif whispered, "He knew. Before we did."
Eloin sat hard on the ground, shoulders heaving.
Naera didn't cry.
She walked past the others into the half-finished shelter and sat with her back to the wall. Her hands were still covered in sap and blood.
She stared at them.
And didn't move.
Outside, Raif and Goss began muttering about carving the meat. Which bits could be smoked. What could be turned into blades.
Naera didn't hear it.
Not the talk.
Not the crack of splitting wood.
Not the fire, not the silence.
Just her hands.
And nothing else.