'Agagaga! We're gonna die!'

Bo ignored the mouse and ran harder; the presence of the big-brute was getting stronger by the second.

'Agagaga! This is the end! Ahhhhh!'

'Shut up!' he snapped. Although, with the mouse in his mouth, it came out as: 'Thup uh!' But he was sure the mouse got the message as she stopped shouting and instead resorted to a pitiful whimpering.

Bo supposed he should be scared; the big-brute could kill him in an instant, he knew. But he had a mission. He just had to get back to the burrow before Michi got suspicious and no pathetic Leaper Mouse or screeching big-brute was gonna stop him!

He used [Tail Leap] to propel himself even further and landed roughly on the ground; the mouse didn't fare much better. It yelped: 'Are you trying to kill me? Oh, wait. It doesn't matter. We're gonna die anyway! Agagaga!'

He once again ignored the mouse and used [Tail Leap], but made sure to lift his head when he landed so it didn't slam into the dirt again. Unfortunately, the impact made him sink his short but growing incisors into the mouse's body, which started to sag soon after.

Terrified he had killed the mouse, he dropped her and gently pawed at her limp body. He heard a groan and then a whimper as the mouse turned her wide eyes to him.

He wondered how he should go about carrying her when he heard a whoosh. Every fiber of his being knew that if he didn't move, he was going to die right then and there. In a flash, he yanked the mouse back up and leaped as far and as high as he could. He glanced behind him as he heard the outraged screech and then another woosh. Another mighty leap across the grass. This time, he didn't look back and leaped once again.

He was covering a lot more ground this way but was burning through his Stamina and Mana twice as fast. He didn't know how long he could keep this up but he knew he couldn't stop. Couldn't stop till he and the mouse were safe. His Proficiency reached 2% just as he ran out of juice

His awkward landing knocked the mouse out of his mouth and sent searing pain up his shoulder. It was dislocated! He fell to his side and stayed there, too exhausted to try and move. The mouse ran over to him and gripped him with her tiny paws.

'Agagaga! It's coming! It's coming!'

Glancing over at the speeding big-brute, he saw it was running at a furious pace towards them.

Bo whimpered. He'd barely been alive for a week and now...now his time was coming. He never even got to say goodbye to Michi...

'Ow...ow...' he moaned when the mouse accidentally jarred his injured shoulder. 'I don't...want to die...'

The mouse suddenly stopped shaking and looked down at him. The terror was still plainly written all over her face, but now there was something else. Determination.

'Hare,' she said with a surprisingly calm voice, 'what's your name?'

'B-bo.'

She nodded. 'Mine's Lima Bean. I'm the youngest daughter of eight and I've never been the most motivated to do anything but eat lima beans but...'

Her grip on Bo tightened and she thrashed her tail against the ground, staring hard at the big-brute. 'That griffin is not gonna kill us today. Not now and not ever. What do you say, Bo? You with me? You wanna take down a griffin?'

He snuffled. 'O-okay.'

'Good. We're gonna do this together, as a family.'

{You have gained the title [Mouse Kin]! +6 Constitution, +3 Dexterity, +3 Perception, +2 Endurance, +2 Intelligence. You have gained the Mouse Proficiencies [Sensitive Whiskers], [Dexterous Legs], [Ultrasonic Communication], [Super Nose], and [Enhanced Cuteness]. You have gained the Magic Affinity for 'Earth'.}

{For being named [Mouse Kin] by a Leaper Mouse, you have gained the Leaper Mouse base skills, [Tail Leap], [Wind Gust] and [Wind Chop]. You have gained the Magic Affinity for 'Air'.}

{Because you have already gained [Tail Leap], it has evolved into [Tail Glide]. Mana costs doubled and the partial flight is gained when using this Spell. Due to recent exertion of the Spell, Stamina cost of 2 SP is added.}

Lima Bean smiled up at him as he slowly got to his feet. With a slightly trembling, but excited chitter, she said: 'You ready?'

When he nodded, she grabbed a very sharp rock and held it tightly. 'We're gonna run at the griffin. You're gonna distract it while I throw this rock at it.'

Bo thought about that plan and then used [Trickery]. 'Why don't we just lead it to the lion bugs?'

Lima Bean was silent for a moment before she said: 'Good idea. I'll throw this rock and then you run as fast as you can towards the swarm! And hurry!'

Bo nodded and launched himself away from the griffin. The landing jarred his shoulder a bit, making him wince, but he kept running. Lima Bean kept leaping beside him, ever so often shooting a glance back at their pursuer.

But he wasn't worried. They were going to kill this griffin.

And Bo couldn't wait.