"Don't worry I know you're afraid of heights so I prepared something that can carry the both of us with ease," teased Dr. Jennings.
After ensuring that there was space between them Dr. Jennings summoned his spirit beast.
Dr. Jennings, like most spirit beast masters, practiced bone evolution since spirit beasts' growth depends on the strength of the spirit bone.
Since medicine was his passion, he decided from an early age that he had no desire to go past the intermediate stage.
As such the beast summoned was a reflection of the doctor's mentality not mediocre but nothing to brag about either.
Just enough strength to make the doctor's life easier and assist with daily tasks.
Sly questioned, "Is that an antelope?"
Irritated that his handsome spirit beast was always misnamed, Dr. Jennings shook his head.
"A deer?"
After letting out a low-pitched nasal whine the proud spirit beast tossed its head arrogantly before stamping the ground twice with its hoof in a show of defiance.
Before Sly could say anything further to aggravate the intelligent but sensitive spirit beast Dr. Jennings explained.
"This is my land spirit beast and it's called a pronghorn. This beauty runs very fast and we will reach your academy before midday."
Sly's stomach grumbled, "It looks delicious."
Alarmed, the pronghorn let out a series of huffing grunts called a snort wheeze in distress with Sly eying him like a juicy tender steak.
"My cutie is not on the breakfast menu. Try this instead."
Dr. Jennings handed Sly a simple roast beef sandwich, that consisted of a thick slab of meat between two thin slices of bread, there was no added sauce or vegetables.
Sly ate quickly and left no crumbs.
Dr. Jennings calmed down the disgruntled spirit by tenderly stroking its velvety golden-brown fur.
While the doctor adjusted a double saddle on the pronghorn's back so that their weight would be evenly distributed Sly chose that moment to ask.
"Dr. Jennings, do you have any other spirit beasts?"
"Just two others: an air spirit beast that's a peregrine falcon and a sea spirit beast that's a black marlin."
Perplexed, Sly muttered, "...just three."
"Three beasts are more than enough for the average bone user. Too many beasts can become taxing as they drain your energy." Dr. Jennings warned, "Always remember that bones can be broken or disintegrate so don't take on more than you can manage."
Since it was Sly's first time riding a spirit beast the doctor seated him in front and once Sly got comfortable the pronghorn started galloping away.
Two hours later they reached the outskirts of the town and were far away from any human settlement.
Sly had never travelled so far without a break before and even his legs felt numb but he still clutched the saddle tightly.
Afraid that he would fall from the pronghorn's reckless speed as the pronghorn waded across a wide river.
When they finally crossed over, the forest on the other side looked different from what Sly was accustomed to seeing from the window of the attic.
Everything was gigantic and overgrown.
Sly noticed that even flying insects like gnats were the size of small birds and looked well fed on flesh and blood.
Huge Venus Fly Traps were everywhere and several snapped at them when they passed nearby.
Dr. Jennings reminded Sly not to pluck any of the flowers as they passed through the Dara Forest.
Ayana always used to warn in the same manner of Dr. Jennings that some of the most beautiful flowers are the deadliest with no known antidotes to their venom.
One of the plants looked just like one of the sketches from the Foxx journal that Ayana used to study.
He vaguely remembered that it was called the purple medusa plant.
Its petals were extremely corrosive.
That when human skin came in contact within minutes their skin looked like they turned to stone and within an hour the victim would be dead.
Up ahead they started seeing scattered body parts of various furry animals like moose, wild boars and bears but there was no predator in sight and the forest was eerily silent.
Distrusting the silence Dr. Jennings also summoned his peregrine falcon.
Even though he was aware of the consequences it was better to be safe than sorry.
With instructions from its master the majestic white air beast flew without fear into the forest.
His speed was so fast it reminded Sly of a hummingbird as it moved so fast it stirred up a gust of wind and blew dirt into his eyes.
The peregrine falcon was a decent scout and skilled at surveillance and hiding itself well.
If there was any visible danger lurking nearby it would relay this info quickly to Dr. Jennings.
Dr. Jennings saw through the air beast's gaze a herd of stampeding moose heading their way.
Before Dr. Jennings could command the pronghorn to turn around.
The entire pack of moose was already a few feet away and approached the duo rapidly.
Making it difficult for the pair to safely escape the impact of colliding with the herd of moose.
Knocked off the pronghorn, Sly was separated from Dr. Jennings in order to avoid being trampled under the hoofs of the crazed herd.
Something mushy broke his fall.
Under his bum was half of a human torso with its innards and intestines crushed by the impact of Sly's fall.
The rest of the body was nowhere to be found just like Dr. Jennings.
A few feet away a dead baby wrapped tightly in a blanket with no one to nurse him the baby probably died from starvation, its features twisted in shock and terror.
Not far from the baby there appeared to be a nest of sorts made from mutilated human limbs and the heads of several types of local forest animals.
Sly thought to himself, what kind of creature has such an insatiable appetite but even more pressing, where was it?
Then he heard a loud rustling sound and what he thought was a giant nest started to move and unfurl itself.
He fell into a trap!
That macabre looking display wasn't just for show, it was designed to look like a pile of debris from far away but up close its smell was enough to ward off other predators.
Sly felt the earth tremble as he came face to face with the strangest giant predator straight out of a nightmare.
A/N: The type of spirit bone is determined by the essence it absorbs whether from plant or beast.