Vivienne’s panoramic view of the damp halls gave her a constant awareness of Rava’s frequent glances, the lekine stealing looks whenever she thought Vivienne wouldn’t notice. Despite the careful mask of calm Vivienne had worked to patch together, she couldn’t ignore the fear and uncertainty radiating from her new companion. She wasn’t sure why it stung, that lingering mistrust—perhaps because Rava’s fear seed aid directly at her. Vivienne could taste it now, that faint pulse of wariness, and if she was being honest with herself, part of her hungered for it.
The revenant, however, had been an entirely different matter. The mont she’d sensed it, her hunger flared, dark and primal, an almost ecstatic craving that left her mouth pooling with shadows, her new body trembling with strange desire. The image of its twisted shape, the pure fury of its aether, teased at her mind even now. Maybe we’ll find another one, she thought, a shiver of excitent washing through her before she caught herself. She was here with Rava, a mortal whose exhausted, wary essence was not sothing she could afford to lose—not like the revenant, whose violent aether had drawn her like a siren’s call.
What did Akhenna do to ? she wondered. It was one thing to beco a tool of chaos, quite another to have this… hunger. She hadn’t asked for this monstrous appetite or the confusion it brought with it. Rava, powerful as she was, clearly feared the revenant, yet Vivienne had felt nothing but hunger and excitent at its presence. Why?
She was still spiralling through her thoughts when Rava suddenly stopped, holding up a clawed finger to her pale lips. The warrior’s eyes, though filled with suspicion, were also laced with an unmistakable fear. Vivienne could practically feel it rippling off her, sparking a pang of guilt she hadn’t expected.
“There are two Sunwake Lynxes ahead,” Rava whispered. “Not as dangerous as a revenant, but still a big threat.”
Vivienne peered around the corner to see two radiant felines sprawled across the floor, apparently asleep. As she took in the sight, a feeling surged through her with the force of a freight train. She wasn’t afraid of them exactly, but her instincts scread danger. The sickly, radiant glow radiating from their fur made her entire form ache, a searing discomfort that rippled over her like poison despite the distance between them.
“I don’t like them,” she rumbled quietly.
Rava raised an eyebrow, caught off guard by Vivienne’s response. “They’re blocking the way we need to go,” she said softly. “I’m no longer injured, but I’m dehydrated and malnourished, so if they sense , there’s a good chance they’ll attack. But why don’t you like them?”
Vivienne hesitated, her body tense as she tried to pinpoint the feeling churning within her. “Sothing about them… it feels wrong, like they’re not just dangerous to us, but to . Their aether—it’s too bright, overwhelming, like… sothing that would tear apart from the inside if I got too close.”
The wolf-woman’s gaze softened ever so slightly. “That’s probably wise.” She flexed her claws, looking from the lynxes back to Vivienne. “They’re Sunwake Lynxes, blessed—or cursed, depending on who you ask—with an overabundance of dawn aether. They can sense injuries or weakness, but their aether doesn’t just nd. It… overheals, causing growths to form in their target. Whatever it touches, it doesn’t stop restoring until it becos a twisted mass of growth.”
Vivienne’s eyes narrowed as she watched the Sunwake Lynxes shift in their sleep, feeling her new mouth’s jagged teeth gnash involuntarily. She’d never been “whole” before, and she didn’t want to risk finding out what it felt like to be devoured by dawn aether.
“So, we can’t fight them without risking… that.”
“Exactly,” Rava said. “Either we wander the halls trying to find so other route or we’ll need to slip by, quietly. This ti, really quietly.”
Vivienne shrugged with her tendrils. Despite the growing mistrust she could feel coming from Rava, she was very clearly experienced, perhaps even a bit worldly. It was fortunate that she was so near when she woke in this form.
Fortunate, hmm?
“I don’t like the idea of being near them… so whatever you think, I will go with.”
Rava gave a slow nod, her gaze drifting toward the lynxes as she calculated their next steps. "Alright," she whispered, glancing back at Vivienne. “Stay close, but let lead. If they wake up, run— in your case, slide. Dawn aether senses the flow movent as much as intent—stay still, and they might lose interest."
Vivienne’s tendrils curled inward reflexively, tension coiling through her as she studied the two felines’ radiant forms. She hated the feeling of vulnerability—the sensation of those creatures being a threat to her, of all things, was foreign, and it made her skin crawl. But she trusted Rava’s experience; after all, her companion knew things about this world and its creatures that she didn’t, and the idea of wandering these halls alone… unsettled her.
“Alright,” Vivienne murmured, watching as Rava took her first cautious step forward, every movent asured. The Sunwake Lynxes seed almost carved from light, their faintly shimring fur casting an eerie glow against the stone. Even as they lay sleeping, the atmosphere around them was charged, like the weight of dawn itself pressed down on the hallway.
One step, then another, Rava moved carefully, silent ballet of muscle and control. Vivienne followed as lightly as her tendrils allowed, each touch to the floor like a whisper. She tried to keep her new gnashing teeth hidden, hoping the glint wouldn’t catch the creatures’ attention.
Halfway past them, a faint whisper drifted through her mind—Fortunate, indeed. The words were not her own, and the familiar feeling of Akhenna’s presence sent a chill down her spine, urging her to look away from the lynxes and toward so unknowable direction, as though the goddess were near.
“Keep moving,” Rava murmured, her voice snapping Vivienne back to the mont. She almost stumbled, but caught herself, hating how easily she could be shaken, even by a whisper.
As they crept forward, every muscle in Rava’s body was tense, her attention shifting between each cautious step and the sleeping Sunwake Lynxes. The light they emitted seed to pulse faintly, casting elongated, shifting shadows on the walls. Vivienne did her best to mirror Rava’s steps, her tendrils brushing the floor with barely a whisper, but the growing proximity to the creatures set her nerves alight. The dawn aether radiating from them was like a blazing sun against her skin—an ache, a searing presence that made her instincts scream to flee or strike.
They drew within a few paces of the lynxes, the warm glow of their radiant fur casting flickers of pale orange across Vivienne’s own dark, amorphous body. She forced herself to keep moving, but her thoughts spiralled with every inch that brought her closer to that burning aura. If Rava felt anything similar, she didn’t show it; the wolf-woman seed a picture of quiet concentration, inching forward in perfect silence.
A faint rustle behind Vivienne nearly broke her composure, and she froze, her new mouth clamped shut to stifle a gasp. Rava shot her a warning glare, but her own attention wavered as the larger of the lynxes shifted, one glowing eyelid slowly cracking open. Vivienne’s stomach twisted; that one, half-opened eye seed to lock onto her, and a fresh wave of burning aether rolled off the creature like sunlight piercing through fog. Her skin prickled painfully, her senses screaming as though she were in direct sunlight.
The lynx’s lip curled in a low, rumbling growl, its pupils narrowing as its gaze sharpened. Rava’s eyes darted back to Vivienne, her claws flexing in anticipation of whatever might co next.
“Move!” Rava hissed, breaking her careful stance to sidestep the creature’s line of sight, beckoning Vivienne to follow.
Vivienne’s body moved without thinking, but the heat from the lynx's gaze was relentless, suffocating. It rose from its resting position with a fluid, deadly grace, its eyes locked on Vivienne. The second lynx stirred as well, lifting its head, its gaze trailing the first as it rose to its feet, their twin glows intensifying and rging into a blazing dawn aura that flooded the hall. The sheer force of it sent her reeling, her tendrils curling inwards defensively as she struggled to hold her form together.
In a blur, the first lynx pounced.
Instinctively, Vivienne lashed out, sending a wave of tendrils spiralling toward it, but as they struck its radiant fur, they disintegrated as if burned by the dawn. She staggered, her limbs buckling as the aura carved through her essence like acid. The lynx was on her in an instant, its claws raking through her tendrils, every touch an excruciating pain that left seared, smoking patches in its wake. Her form wavered, fragnts breaking off as she fought to withdraw, but the creature was relentless.
Rava leapt forward, slamming her shoulder into the lynx’s side with a snarl, but even she flinched from the burning aura, her own body steaming where it made contact. The lynx barely staggered, its focus unbroken as it locked onto Vivienne again, its eyes narrowed with the intent to consu, to purge her of every trace of darkness.
Vivienne staggered back, her vision blurring with flashes of light and darkness as the dawn aether clawed at her core. She tried to pull herself back, to retreat, but the aura had gripped her, digging in like a parasite, forcing her body to swell and shift uncontrollably. She felt parts of herself splitting, tearing under the scorching heat, as if her very essence were being pulled apart.
The second lynx advanced, stepping between her and Rava with a low growl. She was surrounded, her monstrous mouth gnashing in a mix of agony and desperation. She needed to fight back, to consu, but these creatures—they weren’t like the revenant. They were noxious to her, a kind of poison that her body recoiled from instinctively.
Rava’s voice cut through the haze, her tone frantic, almost pleading. “Vivienne! Get up—move!”
Vivienne gritted her teeth, her mind struggling to override the pain as she forced herself to focus on Rava’s voice. She lashed out, swinging her tendrils in wide arcs, hoping to force even a sliver of space between herself and the lynxes. A tendril scraped against one of the walls, shattering a crystal as the light splintered and refracted, briefly blinding the lynxes.
The light fractured in sharp, blinding bursts as the crystal shattered, montarily confusing the Sunwake Lynxes, who shrank back with a startled snarl. Vivienne took the chance to regain her footing, her tendrils curling around her, shielding her form from the radiant aura still searing her flesh. But the pain was relentless, and she could feel her body struggling to hold its shape, every brush of dawn aether eroding her like acid.
Beside her, Rava bared her teeth, her eyes glinting with fierce determination. Without a mont’s hesitation, she flexed her hands, and tempest aether roared to life around her fists. Storm-lit energy crackled and coiled like a feral thing, wild and barely contained. The air grew thick with static, and Vivienne could feel the prickling electricity, the tempest aether surging off Rava in waves. She’d summoned this power once before, but this ti it felt different—stronger, angrier, a storm barely kept at bay.
“Stay back,” Rava growled, her voice carrying a guttural edge as she stepped between Vivienne and the advancing lynxes. She locked eyes with them, daring them to make the first move.
One of the lynxes responded with a furious yowl, and, undeterred, it lunged at her, claws extended. Rava t it head-on, driving her tempest-charged fist forward, the strike colliding with the creature’s radiant fur in a crackling burst of energy. The impact forced the lynx back a step, but even as it staggered, the dawn aura clung to Rava’s hand, leaving faint scorch marks on her fur. She hissed in pain but didn’t falter, the tempest aether in her other fist crackling in anticipation.
Vivienne watched, half in awe and half in desperation, as Rava battled the lynx head-to-head. Every ti Rava struck, the dawn aether retaliated, searing her in response, but she fought on, relentlessly. Vivienne could sense her resolve, fierce and unyielding, a wall of strength that didn’t flinch in the face of dawn’s devouring light.
The second lynx circled toward Vivienne, its eyes narrowed with sharp, predatory focus. She braced herself, her monstrous mouth still gnashing in pain and frustration, her tendrils lashing out in wild arcs. She couldn’t bite down, couldn’t consu—not with the way that dawn aether twisted inside her like venom—but she could still fight. With a trembling snarl, she drew her form inward, condensing her energy around her core, focusing every ounce of strength she had left.
The lynx crouched, preparing to strike, and Vivienne lunged first, her tendrils snapping forward like whips. The lynx dodged, but not before her tendrils caught its hind leg, yanking it back just enough to throw it off-balance. It twisted mid-air, clawing wildly as it fell, the dawn aether sizzling against her tendrils as they made contact.
The lynx’s shriek echoed through the halls, sharp and grating. It twisted and snarled, the dawn aether around it flaring brighter, as if the pain had triggered a primal fury deep within. Vivienne’s tendrils tightened, her grip like iron, but the radiance from the lynx’s fur burned through her, sharp and relentless. Her tendrils recoiled, hissing with the intensity of the aether’s searing touch, leaving small bursts of blackened mist in their wake.
The lynx righted itself, springing forward with terrifying speed. Vivienne’s monstrous mouth opened in a guttural roar as she lashed her tendrils again, but this ti, the lynx anticipated the move. It darted to the side, its claws slashing toward her, glowing with the sa dawn aether that swelled around it.
Vivienne barely managed to block with a wave of her tendrils, but the force of the strike sent her reeling, her legs buckling beneath her. The world blurred as the dawn’s light surged through her, burning her from the inside out, her body spasming with every pulse of radiant heat. She could feel the cracks forming, her essence warping and stretching under the pressure of the sunlit poison.
Rava’s battle with the first lynx had grown more brutal. Each swing of her tempest-wreathed fists collided with the creature’s body, sending shockwaves of energy that threatened to shatter the air around them. But the lynx, though staggered, was relentless, its fur blazing as it retaliated with jagged claws, each strike t with a searing flash of dawn aether.
Vivienne’s vision flickered, dark edges bleeding into the radiant glow of the lynx’s aura. She could feel the beast’s gaze fixated on her, its predatory instincts honed by the pulse of the dawn aether. Her head throbbed with the rising intensity, and she could sense the lynx preparing to pounce again. She needed to move, to get away—but her limbs felt like lead, weighed down by the overwhelming, burning light.
She could hear Rava’s grunting battle cry as she fought back, her lightning-wreathed fists striking the lynx in powerful succession. Yet it was clear the tempest aether wasn’t enough to stop the creature’s ongoing assault. With every hit, the dawn aura forced its way into Rava’s skin, leaving behind seared marks that hissed and burned.
Vivienne’s teeth ground together, her monstrous mouth snapping shut in frustration. I can’t… she thought, the weight of her body heavy, her form struggling to stay together. Her mind scread to retreat, to run, but her new instincts rebelled. She wasn’t designed to flee. She was designed to devour. To consu.
With a guttural roar, Vivienne extended her tendrils one more ti, swinging them forward in a last-ditch effort to control the lynx. But this ti, the lynx was ready. It leapt high, avoiding her strike with a savage grace, its claws outstretched, aid directly for her exposed side.
The impact was blinding, a rush of heat and light that surged through Vivienne’s body, forcing her to the ground. The claws dug deep into her skin, searing her from the inside out. Her vision went white with agony as the dawn aether burned its way deeper into her being, poisoning her in ways she couldn’t fight against. The taste of it, the sting, spread through her like wildfire, turning her insides to ash.
Rava’s voice sounded so distant, as though it were being carried across an endless void, her words muffled and distorted, like she was shouting from the other side of a vast chasm that separated them. Each syllable seed to stretch and echo, slipping away from Vivienne as if the very air between them was too thick to carry sound, leaving her struggling to grasp the urgency in her words.
Vivienne’s eyes, wide and unseeing, stared at the flickering shadow of Rava’s form through a haze of light. Her body jerked, her breath shallow and ragged, and for a mont, it seed like the world would tear itself apart. But deep in her chest, in the abyss of her corrupted heart, a spark of clarity ignited.
She couldn’t lose. Not here. Not now.
With a force that shook her very being, Vivienne pulled herself back to her feet, tendrils snapping out in a flurry of wild motion. Her vision blurred between the blinding dawn light and the suffocating darkness within, but she fought through it. Her body trembled, but she clenched her jaw and focused. She could still fight. She had to fight.
One lynx still stood, its fur flaring with a burning intensity. Vivienne didn’t give it a chance to act. With a feral scream, she lunged, her tendrils stretching wide as she collided with the creature. She wasn’t sure if it was her desperation or the storm-surge of energy within her, but for the first ti, her tendrils were like weapons, cutting through the lynx’s glowing aura. She wrapped them around its neck, pulling it toward her in a crushing grip.
The lynx writhed and howled, but Vivienne squeezed harder, her body radiating a fierce, chaotic power as she fought the overwhelming dawn aether coursing through her veins. She felt the lynx’s struggles slow, its form growing heavier in her grasp, as if the light around it was burning out.
Not yet, Vivienne thought, her vision focusing just long enough to see the creature’s struggle. Not yet.
And then, with a sickening twist, she snapped its neck, the lynx’s body going limp in her grasp. But even as it fell, the dawn aether around it crackled, the light inside her flaring in response. The aether was not done with her, not yet. Vivienne staggered back, her body trembling with the aftershocks of the battle and the heavy weight of the poison inside her.
She could hear Rava’s voice, distant and shaky, but it wasn’t enough to break through the haze of her pain.
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