V2Ch84 New Shadows

I awoke to the sound of Kurio and Goldie talking to each other. They were arguing about whether or not to push me for the truth of what happened last night.

*squeeze*

I sat up in a jerk reaction. Babur's hand was on my crotch and she was still asleep. I lifted her hand off of me and dropped it to her side.

"Hmm, nya nya nya."

I stopped hearing the other two voices. I looked over to see Kurio's angry eyes and Goldie's concerned look.

"Pervert."

It looked as though Goldie was about to say something to Kurio but stopped herself.

"So, if it's not my fault, I'm still a pervert. Interesting."

I stood up and was about to walk outside when.

"HEY!"

"Stop it!"

Kurio raised her voice and Goldie was trying to get her to sit down. Babur sat up from the shout and began rubbing her eyes.

"Nya?"

"What happened last night? I don't think I can be comfortable traveling with you if you can't tell me and my mom the truth."

"Kurio! Stop."

I shrugged and removed my hood.

"Come outside and I'll show you."

I only caught a glimpse of them after I took off my hood. I couldn't tell if they were surprised by a human or by my willingness to show them what I did last night.

It was a cool morning. The sun was just starting to kiss the area with its warmth. I wandered over to my seat and waited for the others to exit the tent. Babur was the last and took the longest to come out. As soon as she did, I turned my gaze away. Her shirt had begun to sag on one side and was nearly revealing her breast.

"Uh... Babur?"

"Nya-AAAHHHHHH! Nice stretch."

"Babur! Cover yourself!"

Kurio demanded.

"Oh! Oops."

I don't know why I'm so shy around her like this. I only remember being like this with Sophie when we first met. After that, I was pretty non-sealant with the others.

"Ahem. Does anyone want some meat for breakfast? Would someone be kind enough to start a fire?"

Babur hadn't even put any thought into it before she wandered over to the fire pit and began attempting to spark a fire. Kurio came over to Babur's side.

"You need fresh wood. This old charred stuff won't work."

Kurio put some spare wood in and removed some of the old. I was concentrating on finding a bird. I listened for chirping or cawing. I saw some in the distance on the other side of the river. Shadows began to swirl around me.

"WHAT'S THAT?!"

Kurio shouted.

"You wanted to know what happened. This is basically it."

...

"Got ya."

A tiny sparrow was caught by my shadow and began convulsing. It was consumed by a solid black mass and grew almost as large as a house in a matter of seconds. The girls were scared at first. I saw Babur glance my way. She must have sensed how calm I was and tried to get the others to calm down.

The shadow bird took flight and disappeared over the horizon of trees behind our camp.

"I need to concentrate for a bit."

I closed my eyes and Fear made the connection with the bird's eyes. After I took control, I stumbled mid-flight a few times but, I caught the flow of wind quickly after. It was an unusual feeling. Much like it was to have eight legs. My sight was not as broad as the spider. It was enough to spot movement on the ground.

I found a group of wild boars that were grazing. I pulled my wings in and dove. I released my wings too early and simply scared the animals away. The stopping power of opening my wings was almost instant. I had to account for that on my next attempt.

Since I scared that group away, I decided to aim for something else. It wasn't long before I spotted a few deer crossing an opening between thick forest land. I wasted no time diving at my target. The largest one had massive antlers and 6 legs. I got close before one of the smaller ones saw me. It started to run but the largest one took the time to look. That was its last mistake.

I caught its head in my beak. I crushed the antlers and slammed both of our heads into the ground before my wings popped open. I felt no pain in this form. Whether I stopped in time or not was an unknown. All I know is that I had secured our meal.

I took to the sky with my prey in my left claw. I found our camp and landed nearby. I left the carcass closer to my own body and stepped back. I released my hold on the sparrow. My human eyes opened once more. I turned in time to watch the shadows let go of the bird. It flew out of the darkness, leaving behind a trail of black mist that looked like a claw reaching out for the helpless creature. The shadows collected into a single swirling spot and rushed back to me before disappearing into my own shadow.

"I sent my shadows to three toads last night and had them hide nearby. I can give the shadow creatures simple commands or I can take direct control. I had a feeling that assassins would come. I was ready to stay up all night, just in case."

"Are you really a human? I've never seen one before."

Goldie asked.

"Yeah. I'm human."

"I thought they died out over 300 years ago."

"No. They were surviving on Missing Star. As far as I'm aware, they were wiped out within the last 40 or 50 years. I couldn't tell you if I'm 'the' last but, I'm one of the last."

"What about your parents? Were they around while humans were in decline?"

"Ah... no. I guess you could say I grew up in a foreign land and was forcibly brought to Missing Star."

"How do nya have so many powers?"

"I fell to my death and was revived by the potion of Rage. It's the source of my power."

I spent some time talking about my past while we all began prepping and cooking the meat I brought back. Goldie made an amazing meal out of the deer and used some special containers to keep some portions for later.

By mid-day, we were back on the road and I was still answering questions about Missing Star and the races that inhabit it. Babur seemed to take it at face value while Kurio was ever skeptical. Goldie was the one who was most interested in learning more. I had a feeling that she was trying to commit them to memory for stories to tell in the future.