A spirit lynx raised its hackles, hissing at the spirit snake encroaching towards its territory. Beneath the spirit snake, a small army of natives decorated in war paint were advancing forward, their footsteps silent as if they were floating across the forest floor. “Snake! What is the meaning of this?” the lynx asked, its voice traveling across the sky. It hovered above a layer of trees with a tribe of natives living in teepees beneath it.

The snake in the distance flickered its forked tongue. “Is there a need for words? If I tell you my people were just passing through, would you believe me?”

The spirit lynx’s eyes narrowed. “So be it! If you want to devour me, I won’t hold back. Perhaps the one devoured today will be you!” The lynx roared, and the natives living in the teepees stirred. Fog drifted out of the lynx’s body, sinking into the natives’ foreheads. Once the mist disappeared, they sat up, coming out of their teepees at the same time. They exchanged glances with one another and nodded. Carrying weapons, they split up entering different parts of the forest.

Akando yawned as he traveled a decent distance away from his tribe’s living area. He faced a tree and lifted his grass skirt, relieving himself. He stared up at the stars peeking out from between the treetops. The crescent moon in the sky reminding him of the smiling lynx in the dream he just had. It had bit him, startling him into waking. His tribe’s spirit animal was the lynx and dreaming of one was usually a blessing. However, he didn’t understand what it meant for his tribe’s spirit animal to bite him. Perhaps there was danger? Only the sounds of liquid flowing could be heard. Without warning, a blinding light filled his vision as a sharp pain pierced the back of his head. He dropped down and clutched the back of his head. It was wet. “Enemy attack!” Akando shouted upon discovering the shadow of a person standing over him. He grabbed his axe that had fallen to the ground, but a sharp pain dug into his shoulder. Moments later, a cloth rope was stuffed into his mouth, preventing him from speaking.

“Stop struggling,” a gruff voice said as a heavy weight pressed down on Akando’s back. His arms were wrenched behind himself and tied together. “You’ve been captured.”

Akando lowered his head, letting his face rest on the cold ground; however, his face was burning hot. His tribe’s spirit animal had tried to warn him, but he wasn’t wise enough to realize its message. At least he managed to alert his tribe of the enemy’s advance. He’d be the only one captured unaware.

The spirit lynx’s face contorted as the spirit snake slithered towards her, its body floating above the treetops. Once it was above Akando’s body, it opened its maw and inhaled, sucking up a wisp of fog. It swallowed and flickered its tongue before smiling at the spirit lynx. “Thanks for the gift.”

“It’s not over yet,” the spirit lynx murmured while lowering her gaze onto the ground. The natives under her watch gathered up. They extinguished the fire burning in the camp and painted their bodies with dirt, sneaking into the shadows where the moonlight didn’t shine. They prayed, and mist flowed out of the spirit lynx’s body, entering the praying natives’ foreheads. A faint silver light shone in their eyes before dimming.

The natives under the spirit snake paused. After binding Akando, they waited in silence, not daring to move. A stalemate broke out. The invaders didn’t move, but neither did the defenders. One side waited to see if the other was asleep, while the other waited for the enemy to reveal themselves. However, none of them expected a third party to crop up.

“Ocelot!” The spirit lynx’s eyes widened as a blurry form jumped out from the trees below. It expanded and grew, growing as large as the lynx and snake, floating above the treetops. The snake whirled around as its tail rose up, rattling as it shook back and forth.

“Lynx!” the spirit ocelot said. “I wanted to surprise you with a gift, but who knew I’d run into a dirty snake here.” He eyed the snake and circled around it. Beneath the spirit ocelot, a group of ten natives exchanged glances with each other, pointing ahead while signaling with their hands. The spirit ocelot smiled at the lynx. “Don’t worry, now that I’m here, I’ll protect you.”

“Be careful,” the lynx said, her brows furrowing. “Snake is dangerous.”

“What kind of partner would I be if I abandoned you because of some danger?” The ocelot roared, and the leader of the natives below it shuddered as fog drifted down from the ocelot into his forehead. He waved his arms, gesturing forward with his axe. He let out a war cry and charged forwards with his nine men behind him.

The spirit snake rose up and hissed. “Then the two of you can die together!” It slammed its tail down, covering the natives below it with its rattle. Their bodies tensed as their muscles rippled. Akando, who was still bound, shuddered upon seeing veins bulge and crawl along the legs of his captor. The snake’s fifty men turned around and let out their own war cries, rushing towards the incoming natives.

“Ocelot!” the spirit lynx shouted. “Are you an idiot!? How can you let them charge ahead like that!?” Mist surged out of the spirit lynx, entering the hiding defenders underneath her. They raised their heads and let out war cries, rushing towards the area where the two previous war cries came from.

“I might not have a lot of strength, but all of it is for you, Lynx,” the ocelot said and snorted, raising his head up high.

The lynx pursed her lips. “You stupid idiot,” she muttered and stared at the clash behind the ocelot’s and the snake’s men. As expected, the fifty warriors of the snake were overwhelming the ocelot’s ten. Three of them instantly fell upon first contact, and by the time the lynx’s men reached them, there were only two warriors of the ocelot’s party who were still standing. “How can I let you die for me?”

“Since you two love each other so much, you can die together!” the spirit snake said. Mist continuously flowed into its body from the ocelot as the snake’s natives slew the ocelot’s. However, the snake didn’t grow in size as it redirected some of its mist into its warriors, strengthening them even further.

“Let Ocelot go!” the lynx said and jumped forward, plunging towards the spirit snake’s body. Her men pushed forward. There were only thirty of them, but they didn’t hesitate while charging at the invaders with their axes held high.

“Lynx! Are you crazy!?” The ocelot roared. His body had shrunk to half his previous size, but he pounced at the spirit snake anyway.

“Lovestruck fools!” The snake snorted and extended its body before lashing its tail out like a whip. It wrapped around the two felines, constricting them, crushing them together. They struggled, but they couldn’t do anything. Below, the warriors of the snake were easily winning against the rest, using their advantage of greater numbers.

A cough escaped from the spirit ocelot’s mouth. “Sorry, Lynx. I … just wanted to help.”

“No,” the lynx said, tears in its eyes. “It’s not your fault. Even if you weren’t here, the result would’ve been the same.”

“Lynx,” the ocelot said, his voice dimming. “I”—it let out a pained cry as the snake’s body constricted it even further—“love you.”

“Ocelot,” the lynx said, despite knowing speaking would make it easier for the snake to constrict her. “I love you too.”

The spirit snake snorted and waited in silence, letting the two animals have their last conversation which each other. The battle was wrapping up down below. The victor was clear. The snake’s men only lost twenty people while the ocelot’s and lynx’s were completely subdued.

A shadow fell over the snake and two dying animals. The men down below screamed upon looking up. The spirit snake screamed upon looking up. The ocelot and the lynx screamed upon looking up. Vur’s mouth closed, the screams stopping upon him biting down. And the ocelot and the lynx lived happily ever after … inside of Vur’s stomach.