"…Up, wake up, girl!" Faral's loud voice entered her mind, and Zhu startled awake. "Ugh, what now?"
She had a headache from the trauma and lack of rest. She felt like she could sleep for days; her body had been constantly tense for a while now.
"Hey, girl, you need to get away, they are almost here," Faral said with a level of urgency she had never heard before. That urgency spurred Zhu into action. She was fully awake now and threw off the leaf. It was just before dawn, and she used the weak sunlight to help her see. She stuffed her belongings into her pockets and grabbed the crutch.
"Who are they? Where are they coming from, and where should I go?" As she rattled off the questions, she signaled the cubs to dematerialize onto her skin.
"They are hunters more than likely the ones who killed Rose and Thorn's mother. The hounds have tracked us here using the strand's scent."
Zhu held on to the stem of the plant, ready to slide down.
"No, you can't go that way," Faral stopped her. "They are sending a hunt up."
Zhu's brain was quick now that she was familiar with Faral's personality. "No, Faral…"
"Yes," Faral said calmly.
Zhu sighed as she turned to face the trapdoor part of the plant. "No…"
But her choice was taken from her when she heard a horn, low, brutal. Corresponding howls rose from different directions.
The sounds sent shivers down her spine. The plant began to shake, and what came up the stem made her automatically step back, her breath hitching.
What rose from below was not a simple beast.
The hound's head emerged first, too large, its skull elongated, its jaw unhinging wider than anatomy should allow. Rows of teeth unfolded like a serrated crown, each fang blackened at the tip as if dipped in rot. Its eyes were wrong: milky and glassy, yet somehow locked directly onto her, pupils narrowing with knowing intelligence. Saliva dripped in long, smoking strands that hissed where they touched the plant.
Then the rest of it hauled itself upward.
Its body was compact and corded, ribs pressing against grey, hairless skin as though it had been starved for centuries and kept alive by hate alone. It resembled an illegal breed of bulldog bred on the twisted mana of the Hollow Forest.
The horn sounded again.
Closer.
Other howls answered, circling below the massive plant.
Zhu staggered back, her heart slamming so hard she thought it might tear free of her chest.
"Faral," she whispered, terror threading through her voice. "That thing.."
"You have seconds," Faral cut in sharply.
Zhu's stomach turned. The Gravepetal plant beneath her feet trembled, its petals shuddering as if sensing her panic but in truth, they were being rammed by the other hounds on the ground.
"I will not be eaten," she said weakly.
"You will not die," Faral snapped. "Not here. Not today."
The hound lunged.
Without hesitation, Zhu took off for the trapdoor portion of the plant. Its claws slammed into the petal's edge with a sound like splintering stone. The hound's jaws snapped inches from her leg, teeth clashing shut with a crack that echoed far too loudly in the dawn.
The hound was hot on her heels, snapping, desperate to get a solid grip on her flesh. Their combined momentum and weight meant that the instant Zhu stepped onto the trapdoor, it gave way.
She fell feet-first and the hound followed her straight into the digestive sap.
The trapdoor snapped shut above them, and the liquid within the plant glowed a soft sky blue. Warm air rose from it, carrying the scent of sap, decay, and something metallic.
The plant was so massive that it took several long seconds before she hit the liquid. The air was humid and heavy, pressing against her lungs, carrying a deep, rhythmic pulse that matched the beat of her heart.
Zhu screamed but the sound was swallowed instantly.
The hound, mindless in its pursuit, growled at her. Once it hit the sap pool, it tried to swim toward her, uncaring of the pain ripping through its body.
Zhu couldn't focus on the hound. Pain flared through her injured side, the crutch slipping from her grip and sinking uselessly to the bottom of the pitcher. The sap scalded her skin, and she felt the cubs moving along her body in distress. She tried to keep herself afloat, but she had never learned how to swim so it was a losing battle. She wouldn't just be digested.
She could drown.
The sour sap forced its way into her nose and mouth as she sank, burning her like fire.
The hound fought to reach her, thrashing and sending ripples through the thick liquid. The sap resisted every movement, muscles bunching uselessly as saliva rained down in burning drops.
Was she going to die here?
The thought lasted only a second before determination surged. Zhu's mind went terrifyingly clear.
"No," she breathed.
She felt Faral's strength rush over her like a tide. Instead of fighting to stay afloat, she forced herself toward the ghastly hound.
Below her, the plant shuddered violently as the hound continued its assault and the hunters joined in, slinging earth and striking the pitcher from the outside. The vibrations rattled her teeth. Muffled howls multiplied, layered with barked commands, the hunters' voices distorted and inhuman.
"They're trying to force it open," Zhu gasped, panic clawing its way back.
"They won't succeed," Faral said, his voice low and steady. "This plant has a tough outer layer."
As if in answer, the walls tightened.
Zhu finally reached the hound. It snapped at her, jaws flashing, but she maneuvered quickly, Faral's strength guiding her through the suffocating, sticky sap. She grabbed its throat, shoved it beneath the surface, and used its body as a flotation device.
The hound struggled, but the effects of the plant were already taking hold. Zhu might have been too large to digest quickly but the hound was not. The sap carried paralytic elements; its movements slowed, then stilled, as the acid began working from the inside out. Forced fully under by Zhu, the process accelerated.
Eventually, the hound stopped moving.
Before Zhu could even think of relief, the plant tilted violently.
Apparently tired of wasting their efforts and unable to shake her free, the hunters began cutting down the branch of the pitcher itself.
The world lurched.
Like spilled water, Zhu came tumbling out of the Gravepetal as it collapsed, shaking violently. Sap, blood, and decay clung to her clothes and skin, glowing faintly as it sealed small cuts and dulled the pain just enough for her to breathe.
The fall saved her life and put her in even greater danger.
The hounds locked onto her location almost instantly. Luckily, she had fallen several meters away from the base of the plant where the hunters stood, and the flowing sap pushed her even farther.
Without stopping and with Faral still lending her strength, Zhu took off running.
Her heart raced as panic and fear collided, driving her deeper into the forest.
Behind her, the hunters' hounds were already closing in.