deep in the woods (pt3)

A monster! One that towered above not just her, but Rofaran as well. And Nellie was missing. Or well, so Kokoro thought. But as Nellie, or Nêr, speaks, Kokoro feels the fur on her back began to stand up. So there was a monster in these woods, and it was... Nellie?

Kokoro backed up, feeling her paw slip on something. She briefly spares the glance down and wishes she didn't. An owlbear skull... the rest of the bones lay nearby, and they were... clean. Was the festival just an elaborate ruse to lure phims here so that they could feast on them?

"Kokoro," Rofaran says, his gaze focused on the enemy as he slowly backed up to stand next to her. His voice was tense, and even though he looked calm, she knew he felt the same fear she did.

The beast laughs, clicking its jaws before lunging, and Rofaran and Kokoro scatter to the sides before starting to flee. Nêr follows them, their laughter shaking the branches of the trees overhead. "What do we do!?" Kokoro screeched, looking over her shoulder at it. Despite running as fast as they could, they weren't outpacing the large creature, who was prowling after them.

"We have to fight," Rofaran says, though he doesn't stop running. He looks at Kokoro, waiting for her input.

Normally, Kokoro would always think to answer problems like this with a fight. But, normally, she wasn't face-to-face with a twenty foot monster that was, at least at one point, a very kind and unassuming phim. "Fine!!!" Kokoro finally responds, and the two whirl around to do just that.

"Go right," Rofaran whispers, and Kokoro nods. The two adventurers were so experienced fighting with each other that few words needed to be exchanged in order for them to launch a synchronized attack. Rofaran darted left, and Kokoro darted right. Nêr tried to lunge for Rofaran while using their tail to try to attack Kokoro, but the two dodged it. Nêr let out a roar of annoyance, and then one of pain as Kokoro and Rofaran found their mark. Rofaran had dug into it's left shoulder, while Kokoro had jumped off of the ground and taken flight, going for an area closer to the right hip and spine.

It wasn't enough to take down the beast--there'd need to be way more than that. But Kokoro now had hope that this was possible. Nêr, however, wouldn't let the pair celebrate this minor win earlier, immediately shaking Kokoro off and whipping around at Rofaran, causing the two to flee once more.

The same thing wouldn't work twice. They'd have to come up with a new plan of attack.