The Geeders suddenly started acting strange. They began sniffing around, restless, moving their heads from side to side like they’d caught sothing. Slowly, they started coming closer to where Kaya and the others were hiding.
Kaya quickly covered her mouth and nose. She didn’t dare make a sound. Even her heartbeat felt too loud. Sweat ford on her forehead, and she could feel her palms getting wet.
The problem wasn’t their hiding place—it was the sll. If those beasts caught their scent, it would be over. They couldn’t keep fighting and running in this desert forever. One small injury here could kill them.
Her hand automatically went to her gun, but she stopped herself. She really didn’t want to use it. If these creatures were anything like hyenas, there wouldn’t be just one or two—there’d be a whole pack. And the sound of a gunshot would bring them all here.
Kaya sighed quietly in regret. If only she had packed a silencer. But she didn’t. Now, the gun was almost useless unless things got really bad.
The Geeders kept getting closer, their steps slow but steady. Kaya could hear their growls and the sound of sand shifting under their feet. She stayed completely still, her muscles tight, afraid even to blink.
On the side, Veer clenched his fist. His eyes glowed faintly, that deep amber shade that always showed when he was angry. If it wasn’t for Kaya, he wouldn’t be sitting here quietly. He would’ve flown straight up and hunted those beasts one by one.
But now... he couldn’t act recklessly like before. He glanced at Kaya from the corner of his eye and let out a silent sigh. This small woman was really sothing. She looked strong but was actually fragile in ways that made him worry.
He still rembered that ti she got scratched by a tree branch. It had taken three whole days to heal, and he’d been restless the entire ti. What he didn’t know was that the wound had been far deeper than it looked — sharp enough to reach her bone. If not for the magical herb she used, the wound could’ve gotten infected, or worse... she might’ve lost her hand.
But to beastn like him, Kaya was still considered weak. Her healing was quick, sure, but her body—too delicate. So now, he stayed still, hiding with her.
The Geeders ca even closer. Their sniffing grew louder. Now they were right beside them—just one step away from standing on Veer’s wings. The beasts bent down, noses twitching, and let out that strange, laughing growl.
"Hee-hee... hee-hee..."
Veer froze. Even Kaya’s breath caught.
Then, out of nowhere, the hyenas scrunched their necks and stepped back with disgusted faces. Without a warning, they turned around and hurriedly ran off into the darkness.
.....
After about twenty minutes of waiting, Kaya didn’t feel any movent around them. She slowly turned to Veer and gave a small nod. Veer carefully lifted his wings, moving as quietly as he could. When they sat up and looked around, the Geeders were already gone.
Veer, Kaya, and Cutie exchanged looks and then high-fived each other — a silent, tired celebration. Thank god their plan worked.
Just a few hours ago, when Kaya had been preparing to sleep, she’d rembered the biggest flaw in their setup. Even though she had done everything to stay hidden from sight, she’d completely forgotten one thing — the beasts’ noses.
In her world, even normal animals had sharp senses of sll. But these weren’t animals — they were beasts. So how much stronger would their senses be? And the worst part? There was nowhere to hide their scent. No sewers, no caves, not even a hole deep enough to mask their sll. If any beast ca close, they’d find them instantly.
That’s when Cutie had pulled out a small ceramic bottle. And at that mont, Kaya had really wanted to ask him if he was secretly Doraemon. Like seriously, every ti she got into trouble, this little guy pulled sothing out of nowhere — dicine, herbs, food, whatever she needed. If he didn’t have a Doraemon pocket or monkey ears like Chimpu, then what did he have? Where was all this stuff even coming from?
Jokes aside, she’d asked him what it was. But the mont he opened the lid — good god — Kaya felt like she had just slled a corpse flower that had been rotting for days. It was that bad. The stench hit her so hard she almost threw up on the spot.
It was like a mix of rotting flesh and sothing worse, sothing unnatural. Just one whiff made her head spin, and her body felt like it was rejecting the sll altogether. Her nose burned, her eyes watered, and she could swear her senses were dying one by one.
Then Cutie finally told her what it was — a mushroom called hek. According to him, it was one of the stinkiest mushrooms in existence.
Kaya blinked in disbelief. "Where the hell did you even find this thing?" she asked, staring at the bottle like it was cursed.
Cutie just shrugged and said he got it from so beastman while traveling. That was all the explanation he offered.
Kaya didn’t even bother to listen to the rest of his story — it was nonsense anyway. Seriously, she thought, what kind of idiot just accepts random things from strangers? Especially sothing that slls like a corpse mixed with a dead skunk. Just imagining the poor soul who harvested it made her want to gag.
Still, Cutie had a point when he suggested they spray a little of the mushroom’s liquid around their sleeping spot. "The sll will drive away any nearby beasts," he said confidently.
To be honest, Kaya was impressed. It was actually a smart idea — disgusting, but smart.
But then, with a slow smirk, she asked the one question that had been running in her mind.
"Well, mister genius," she said, crossing her arms, "maybe you forgot sothing. We have noses too. And mine happens to work a little too well."
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