The scream ripped through the quiet morning air of the Badlands, sending a flock of ugly, vulture-like birds scattering into the sky.
Chaos erupted instantly.
Hei Yan bolted. His arms instantly shifted into massive, fur-covered panther paws, his claws extending fully as his purple eyes darted around wildly. "Who is attacking?! Where is the enemy?!"
"I will kill them!" Sha Chen roared, leaping to his feet and instinctively thrusting his spear forward. Unfortunately, because he was disoriented, he drove the blunt end of the spear directly into Jin Xuan's stomach.
"Oof!" Jin Xuan wheezed, curling into a ball in the dirt.
Qing Lin, startled out of his cold-blooded slumber, hissed violently. His massive python tail contracted in pure reflex, accidentally tightening around Xin Yi's ankles and dragging her three feet across the grass like a captured mouse.
