My Wild Beast
Chapter 62: Failure (1)

Chapter 62: Failure (1)

[Music Recommendation: Mountain Oath by The Last Retinue]

Atia dropped their kill, muzzle dripping with blood as he looked up, his senses prickling with sudden unease. His gaze flicked to Aiyana inching forward, camouflaged in the bushes, playfully stalking Atia after he took her prey. She’d started to wiggle her backside, intent on pouncing on him, and then froze. As alluring as Aiyana was, especially when she was in this mood and not one where she would usually attack him for his crime of taking her thunder, he couldn’t drop the distinct feeling that something bad had just happened.

Aiyana shifted then, bones cracking, fur retracting and body transforming rapidly within a few seconds. She remained crouched, the vibrant green leaves keeping only a fraction of her concealed now. "Did you hear that?" Aiyana breathed out, eyes wide, glowing as she searched the canopy, panicked.

Atia transformed as well, tilting his ear. The forest was quiet, sounding emptied. It was unsettling, and now that the song of the hunt wasn’t pumping through his veins, unease settled into his gut, warning him of the nearby danger. Danger. His breath hitched. Nova. His gaze snapped back to the spot he’d left her.

Aiyana dashed by him, the leaves whipping his features from her force. She’d already come up with the same conclusion and leapt into the trees, swinging from vines until she landed on the thick branch Nova had been sitting on.

"So help me, mother of Isla, I’ll wring your neck if this is a joke," Aiyana threatened the stillness of the tree. Nova’s scent still lingered, and the spot she’d been sitting on was still relatively warm.

Aiyana’s gaze roamed her surroundings with feline finesse. Atia landed beside her, not quite as elegant or silent, but he aimed for speed rather than stealth as the hairs on the back of his neck rose to his disquiet. Aiyana followed her gut as Atia smelled the air beside her. They paused at the new scent coiling around Nova’s.

"That entitled chicken wing," Aiyana snarled. "Do you smell that?"

A low growl ripped from Atia’s throat, eyes glowing as he, too, smelt Vulcan. As one, Atia and Aiyana leapt off the branch, shifting mid-air into their jaguar forms and set off at a sprint, weaving in and out of trees and bushes, leaping over uplifted roots and rocks. Neither of them needed to speak. Years of hunting and sleeping almost under the same roof together led them to have silent conversations, understanding each other without the need for words.

They settled into hunting mode. The restless energy grew within them at their failure to protect Nova. They ran in the direction of Ixana’s lands. There might only be two of them, but they could take down an eagle or two to curb their vexation.

They dashed through the trees the sloths resided in, avoiding Apatka territory, needing stealth to carry them forward and not alert the Crocs or any other tribe to the Oncari on the prowl, seeking blood and vengeance.

After passing River Soluma, Atia and Aiyana snuck along the riverbank, hopping silently across rocks and bushes, leaping into the trees and sinking into the darkness, their colouring and spots easing them into invisibilty. To the naked eye, Atia and Aiyana had all but disappeared, prowling along nature’s playground in search of their newfound friend.

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

The Silver Feather trees were straight ahead of them. They remained at a distance, surveying the giant birds, scanning the trees for a tiny woman who, if she was a man, had balls of steel. Nova may claim she was petrified of most ’creepy crawlies’ and the vampira bats, but if they posed her a threat, she would no doubt put up a fight—whether that was by using her shoes as weapons or talking their ears off. Atia was confident Yoa’s little snack would grapple with her nails and teeth to survive.

She was Yoa’s snack, after all.

They observed a while longer, but their blood roared with the call of the hunt. Vulcan had taken from them, and he would pay for it. Would Yoa be disappointed in them if they created a civil war? Who needed the beak brains anyway?

Aiyana nipped Atia’s ear, halting his growl to grow louder. It rumbled from his chest as thoughts played out the cruel acts Nova might be going through. She also inclined her head to the giant trees and leapt forward, expecting him to follow.

Although this was a complete and utter calamity, and Aiyana took full responsibility for failing Nova and Yoa, she also couldn’t withhold the thrill of rushing through blood from sneaking around the Silver Feather flock lands. As quiet as a mouse, she used her claws to leap and cling to the tree trunks, slowly venturing up one of the trees.

Two jaguar heads popped up at the bottom of a landing site on one of the trees. Their amber and green-golden eyes flashed in the moonlight before dipping back under to hide themselves from a passing eagle shifter. When the light vibrations of the footsteps resided into nothingness, the pair leapt up onto the solid ground of the tree branch before racing up along one of the nests straight into the leaves above.

A woman peered out of her nest, sharp eyes flicking from side to side and checking out the roof of her nest. Her suspicions dwindled at discovering nothing amiss, and she strolled back inside to the sounds of young children arguing about a toy. Atia and Aiyana shared a look, eyes squinting into crescent moons momentarily before their hunting continued.

They snuck around Silver Feather without making a sound. There were only a number of guards flanked on some of the higher trees that homed the more ’elite’ of the eagles. Their Queen, the Sky Matron, at the grandest and tallest tree. With the new heir still young, more guards were positioned around the nest, focusing on the fledgling rather than any potential threats to their tribe.

Besides the Oncari, who would dare attack the elite eagles? They were situated logically between two of their favourite tribes—Tomaq’s tribe and the Vohraki. Both were smaller prey, monkeys that wouldn’t seek them out in an act of vengeance.

Tomaq was a peacekeeper, and the Vohraki were more than satisfied to fight when the eagles attacked, killing more than a few of the savages in the process. Warriors who honoured their tribe by taking a harpy eagle down dawned their hair or home with the silver feather, promoting their status to a Silver Warrior, regarded as one with great strength.

After hours of searching, Atia and Aiyana withdrew from the flock empty-handed, and fear gripped their hearts. They couldn’t track her. Nova’s scent wasn’t even subtly lingering nearby.

"I swear to the almighty mother, if Nova dies, I’m going to kill her myself!" Aiyana snapped, stomping away, following the river upstream. Even moody, Aiyana’s ’stomping’ was as light as a feather, the instinct to be quiet naturally, even now.

Atia’s darkening gaze followed the rushing river as they stopped to regroup and form another plan. "That conniving featherhead," Atia growled, gaze sweeping back to Aiyana, who was bouncing on her toes, ready for a fight, pent up with rage and the desire to prove herself not a failure. "He knew we would go to their nests."

Aiyana’s eyes narrowed as anger flashed behind those amber eyes. She was such a fiery little thing, Atia chuckled under his breath.

"Once I get my claws on that entitled beak brain, I’ll rip him to shreds-"

"I thought you might be glad Nova is out of your hair," Atia mused, watching her from the corner of his eyes, spurring her on even though he knew the girl didn’t have a single bone in her body that was bad or any ill intentions towards anyone that didn’t deserve her ire.

Aiyana scowled. "I never said I didn’t like her," she grumbled under her breath. Atia arched a brow at her, remaining silent for once.

"Yoa holds a lot of responsibility. A storm is coming. We can all feel it. The island is shifting, restless. She needs to be stronger, capable of standing beside him..." She stared off. "I don’t want anything to happen to the first good thing that makes Yoa genuinely smile and laugh. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen him, so... at ease. It could destroy him..." Her gaze flicked to Atia. "I can see the obsession, Tia. She could be his Serakai."

Atia brushed some of her hair away from her face, thumbs lingering on her cheeks for a bit, searching her liquid amber eyes, dipping momentarily to her lips before he roamed behind her and started threading his fingers through her long, silky midnight locks and began styling it into a plait. "You’re worried for her, as well, huh?" He murmured quietly, aware Aiyana wouldn’t want to disclose just how big her heart really was.

Aiyana didn’t comment. Her gaze fixed on the central tree of the harpy eagle territory. From this distance, they could still make out the throne in the middle of the oversized tree, Ixana being pampered by her Nokari.

Aiyana sighed, staring at the Sky Matron, who happily sat on her throne of bones. A shiver ran through her at what Ixana might do to Nova if she got her hands on her. "She was lucky Yoa found her first-"

"Actually, Nova found him. Saved him from the Oncari."

Aiyana’s eyes widened subtly, somewhat impressed. Then she smirked, "For a pipsqueak, she really does have guts."

Atia finished plaiting her hair, his hands lingering on her lower back a second too long for it to be considered friendly. He internally scolded himself and cleared his throat, "Where do you think Feather Brain took her?"

Aiyana’s eyes glinted murderously back at him as she turned to face him, inspecting one clawed hand like she could envision Vulcan’s blood already dripping from it. "We should retrace our steps near the marshlands."

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