CHPT 385: The Hunt, The Growth and The Journey Beyond.....

The hunt. The chase. The battle. The struggle of leading many others when leading even yourself was a challenge. Claude experienced it all under the Full Moon, and for the first time, he did something remarkable. Many things for that matter.

The shift didn't physically brutalize him-- it didn't tear down his thinned walls of control and leave only the Lupine to run wild within the Tangent of mystery. He was there. Not fully-- but more than ever. Just like when he'd first learned the key to triggering his shift.

His disdain-- his urge to suppress what he'd become, was what held him back. It made him weak. It still did. But slowly, he was learning to embrace the good and the bad. To take it all in. To wear his scars like armor-- and achievements like medals.

Still a work in progress. But progress, nonetheless. He was present in mind, sharing the space with The Lupine within. A physically sentient ball of chimera-like instincts and hybrid magics. A monster in it's own right. One that didn't need taming, but instead, synchronization..... togetherness..... blending. A Union of a dozen forces held within.

The very lesson Romulus had been trying to instill through this magical madness he'd crafted.

And the more he understood, the longer he could stay connected to his pack. The longer he could help Ursula.

Not that she seemed to need it at the moment.

As he ran up a damp dirted jungle on all fours, he could feel her at the back of his mind. He could feel all of them through the spider-webbing network of mental-linkings that kept them connected as a pack.

He could see-- through their thoughts, their smells, what drove them.

Behind him, Ursula chased down the final groups of Cyclops still running through the jungle now covered in snow, ice and one-eyed giant corpses.

The combination of their elemental magics had turned the jungle into a twisting monstrous biome of giant tree's and glacial spikes. All blending into a wintry jungle.

One of the Cyclopes had fallen suddenly. As he bobbed and weaved through a collection of mangrove tree's he could feel Frosty's bloodlust rise with every bite he delivered to the giant's throat. He could almost taste it.

His stomach rumbled and his hackles raised.

The remaining had fallen at the hook-like claws of Ursula. Despite their difference in level, she'd made rather quick work of each opponent in the dark iced lands. It seemed the GiantKiller's were made for power and defense. He could feel her stamina waning though. Tiredness slowly shrouding her ravenous thoughts.

Luckily, they were nearly done. At least he'd assumed so. Between them and the Canines in the dark, they'd slain at least eighty.

Quite a bit for a Tangent full of Giants. Horde or not.

No matter. He'd rip through a hundred more to get through the night as planned.

With that thought in mind, he scaled the rest of the steep hill in a flurry of leaps and bounds. His quad muscles burned with every jump, and every time he rose above the canopy and felt the Moonlight wash over him, the burn faded as if it were never there.

By the time he reached the top of the hill, the smell of Cyclops was potent. Their mannish roars and blasting eyebeams rattled his sharpened ears.

He dropped to a lower crouch in the darkness as he followed the scents, his predatory instincts transforming the battle into a hunt.

Blood..... sweat.... body odor.... fear..... confusion... blood.... blood....

His mind became a simple processor of his sensory perceptions. He allowed it. Took in the thrill. Let it empower him. In response, everything became clearer-- the night, brighter and more informative.

A quieted growl escaped his lips as he located six Cyclopes' at the edge of the cliff ahead. In the dark, their muscled backs and bald heads appeared in flashing images with every fiery blast of their eyebeams.

Frothy saliva spilled from his jaws, adding a feral gleam to his sabered fangs.

His muscles tensed, turning to sectional plates of lupine powered armor beneath his furred skin. The hand that gripped his spear began to bleed as his claws extended and stabbed into his palm.

The dark ignited as his arms became sheathed in a green film of energy. It flowed and followed the winds like a flame. The most recent skill he'd gained from the god that seemed to live in his nightmares. Fenrir's very own, (Strength of the Jotunn).

Suddenly sitting still felt wrong. It was time to move.

He burst from the woodland with a snarl. Blackbeak followed behind, lending his traits to Claude as he closed in with a trail of shadowy feathers in his wake.

"RAHHSH!" Claude roared and thrust his spear at the closest Cyclops, plunging it through the back of it's head so deep that the blade burst out the other side through it's eye. The green film of energy in the shape of his arm mirrored his movements, sending a second stab to the deceased giants head and causing it to split.

Claude removed his spear and dropped low just in time to dodge the Cyclops at his left swinging a flaming club at his head.

As he dropped, he spun and swept the Monster with a low kick causing it to fall to the ground and be swallowed by root and vine.

The rest fell in stride, failing to counter the doubling effect of his god-granted skill combined with the power of the Moon.

After a minute or so more of grisly combat, silence fell. Save for the huffs of each breath escaping his maw and Blackbeak feeding on the eyes of each dead Cyclops.

Claude finally rose up on two legs-- the action suddenly felt odd as he walked to the edge of the cliff.

He activated (Sensory Focus) and listened to the night. The forest below him looked like an endless sea of greens, browns and white. Within the shadows he could see things moving, eyes glowing, fur shimmering under his gaze... blood reflecting the moons rays.

The Cyclops' had fallen.

The final one held still by the throat in his grip. Holes lined it's stomach and it's eye steamed from how many bolts it fired. It was already dying. Not without putting up a fight-- like the rest. Shown in the deep gashes running across Claude's arms stomach and the cuts on his snout.

CRSHHCK!

He squeezed his hand, sinking his claws into the sides of it's impossibly thick neck. After a second a cracking sound rang out through the jungle followed by the spilling of blood.

[+160 EXP]

DING!

[You have Leveled Up! You are now Level 36!]

[+3 Stat Points]

[19 Stat Points Available]

It seemed Ursula had leveled up a fair number of times as well. Naturally, it was her first Silver Ranked Tangent. As a matter of fact, it was his as well.

And to think, just a couple months ago-- the sight of them froze him where he stood.

He still had a long way to go....

So impossibly long. Something he thought of as he stood with the Moon gleaming overhead. Would it watch him on this journey forever. Would it save him-- would he learn the secrets of it's power before it was too late?

Would Ursula be given the same fate because of what he'd done to her?