Gino didn’t know what to do facing this new predicament. He was already stressed out with figuring out how he should proceed with his daunting environment. The presence of the dog-like creature in front of him only further complicated things. With cliffs leading to a cavernous abyss right behind and the fear of the unknown creeping around him, Gino could only grind his teeth in frustration as he hurriedly planned out his priorities.

Worrying about cliffs and mirages are worth shit if the creature in front of me could kill me. Two things I can immediately do right now. Run or wait it out, but that seems stupid. This thing has to be responsible for creating that insane illusion- that, it covered this entire mountain! Fuck.

But at the same time, I can’t rule out that it didn’t make the illusions, the real culprit could be some other creature hiding. But where would it be hiding? Down below or up in the sky? Neither make sense because why is it still waiting to attack? I’m stranded and unmoving, a perfect target for any predator.

So that leaves the creature in front of me. It appeared as soon as the mirages dissipated and tried sneaking up on me. That at least proves that it knew about the illusions, avoiding them as it’s the only beast I’ve seen here besides that bird brain on the outskirts. But why didn’t it just ambush me when my back was turned? Unless… Don’t tell me that it’s actually weak compared to its strange ability. How does it survive then, doesn’t it need to eat - ah right. Like me, not all creatures in this world need to eat.

Then… what is it doing right now? Pretending to play dead in front of something that could kill it is stupid even for a beast. But… now I’m thinking about it, I don’t think it’s purposely luring me to attack it, either. Otherwise, it would have directly approached me without being sneaky or using those illusions. It’s definitely not like me, I can at least say that. I have a feeling that two entities having the exact same Concept isn’t possible… I can’t think of what other Concepts the thing might have, but it sure as shit won’t be able to use them while unconscious - or dead. There’s a chance that it using its ability for a long time exhausted it.

Decisively making his choice, Gino enacted upon it instantly. He cautiously took a few steps toward it before accelerating as fast as he could. Watching for any suspicious movement out of the creature still lying on the ground, and, seeing it continue to remain motionless, Gino reached for it within the span of milliseconds and grabbed the scruff of the furred bundle of onyx. He swiftly turned it around and raised it high, as far from him as possible.

Because he had concluded that the creature really was knocked out, Gino, at the last second, changed his mind about killing it. Unlike any other beast he had witnessed so far, this was genuinely the first time he felt that powerless from a single creature. It had employed a variety of tactics reminiscent of human ingenuity, Gino analyzed; in other words, he felt that he was toyed around with. Initially, the creature could have attacked anytime when he was climbing the ‘mountain’ as he was unaware of the illusions during that time. However, when it most likely observed Gino unfazed by the fake flora, the beast must have waited to see if he would fall down the precipice instead, demonstrating abnormal intelligence as well as patience. Lastly, when Gino failed even that, it chose to attack from behind stealthily - probably understanding it was no match for him as it had probably witnessed the huge Lesser Roc dying. Gino narrowed his eyes in contemplation, trying to decipher more of the clues he clearly missed and other wayward thoughts.

I get how I fell for the illusions as I have no way to detect them so far, but something else doesn’t make sense. If the illusions failed, then why didn’t the creature just run away? Why bother sneaking up on me? Is there something special about this place, or is it protecting something? I’m not understanding any of this.

But there’s no fucking way an animal is more intelligent than a human - than me. It looks like I’ve been taking everything too lightly. Shit.

From his various intimate experiences with creatures of this world, Gino didn’t view many as dangerous - some he even considered adorable or respectable at the very least. The Antlions in particular were neither. They weren’t notable creatures to him either despite successfully trapping him. Their attempts at roasting him alive failed because he didn’t feel pain and his ability to reflect attacks negated actual damage. The sole reason Gino believed why he was captured by them was due to the Antlions’ numbers, not their intelligence or skills. However, the beast he held was of an entirely different mold. It had both potential and acuity to effectively maximize its strengths - and that frightened Gino. He mentally prioritized researching more about unknown beasts and their Concepts in the near future.

Still holding on to the small creature by its scruff in his left hand, Gino examined it with wariness and noticed nothing remarkable aside from its amber eyes which were currently closed. He touched its fur that was still covered in the typical black coating, briefly dwelling on why every creature he encountered was enveloped in that gunk before picking up his dropped feather-shield and carefully returning to the direction he had come from. Gino stuck to the direct center of the trail that he made earlier, fearing that it had been tampered with in some way when he had passed. Although he safely managed to reach the bottom of the ‘mountain,’ he had a nagging suspicion that the creature really did weave traps throughout his trail but at the moment, investigating such a matter was not of importance.

Gino glanced at the beast to ascertain it was sleep, and elected to head on home as fast as possible. He didn’t know what new monstrosity would fill in the power vacuum left behind by the absence of the two beasts, and he didn’t even want to know, for now at least. Gino would have to return for the feathers he had buried anyway. He ran at his full speed while ensuring the creature was unconscious for the most part. Gino stopped frequently, constantly changing directions and backtracking to form numerous fake tracks along the way so that whichever beast claimed the cliff would have an immensely difficult time tracking him if it decided to partake in the endeavor. He faintly recalled the harsh lessons he had learned in his first year; almost always, after every short venture into the wild, he would discover that he had been followed hours or even minutes later. New beasts he had never seen before often surrounded his base, forcing him to constantly relocate. It took many failures until he had mastered the art of covering his tracks - and wasting time.

Gino, finally seeing his base in the distance, subconsciously sped up and started to feel relieved. The journey had been long and unexpectedly stressful. All he wished to do was curl up in a ball, rest, and daydream despite feeling energetic and wide awake. Wondering how many hours had passed while he was away, he looked towards the moons. Gino didn’t know how much time had passed ever since his watch was eaten, but he predicted at least 24 hours went by. After having spent so much time alone, he became a little bit more sensitive to it. He didn’t acquire a new Concept, however. It was just something that Gino took for granted as a successful survivor and veteran of paranormal escapades.

He soon arrived at the perimeter of his estate and thoroughly began checking out his humble abode for anything unusual. Not seeing any unwanted inhabitants or hints of traps, he sighed before preparing himself for what was about to occur; Gino was impatient and simply wanted to get it over with. The creature he basically beastnapped awoke since long ago. It had been trying to feign unconsciousness many times but failed miserably as it kept sneezing from wafting dust and sand during the journey. Plopping the creature that was still pretending to be asleep on the stony floor, Gino sat down as well and didn’t bother raising his vigilance as there was no longer any reason to, having categorized the beast as a miniscule threat mainly after what it chose to do throughout the travel. Additionally, Gino didn’t want to live in the same space as something that had tried to kill him earlier, so he already intended on confronting it as soon as he could. He still hoped to investigate the especial creature, though.

On the way back to his base, Gino had deliberately offered numerous opportunities for the beast to escape, testing to see if the beast would stay and cooperate, or attempt to escape and face forced obedience. Surprisingly, despite the rough-handling by its captor, the creature stayed put for the rest of the rough ride. Observing it at a close distance once more, Gino waited for it to 'awake' on its own for several minutes and then tried to yawn - ultimately failing. He frowned at his body’s blatant refusal just before he saw from the corner of his eye a sparkle of intellect from an orb of amber vying for subtlety. It vanished under a dusty eyelid as soon as it appeared. Gino could only sigh after witnessing such an unusual spectacle. He started.

“Okay, then. I'll be blunt. I’m not sure why you didn’t run away when you had the chance, but I’m guessing you want to be here for some reason.”

The creature remained motionless for a moment before opening one eye again, this time staring straight at its supposed captor. Gino couldn’t tell exactly what it was feeling, but he could discern that it was curious and oddly unafraid. He furrowed his brows as he had a hunch that the beast could actually understand what he was saying. Gino internally noted to himself to further investigate later.

“Soo… you probably understand our situation, right? I want something from you, and you want something from me. How about we work something out?”

The creature kept staring at Gino without moving until it revealed its other eye. For several minutes, the two of them looked at each other, as if holding an unlikely conversation between two pools of vibrant, amber liquid and two voids of indescribable darkness. Soft swirls of winds slowly sauntered through the uncovered doorway and window, surrounding them and seemingly shaping a simmering connection between one of light and that of dark.

“So, we have a deal?”

Bbbaarrk!

Gino watched with interest as it loudly proclaimed their clearly undefined agreement before it trotted over to him and licked his face with a sloppy, wet tongue. Surprised, he laughed before gently nudging it away, feeling strangely satisfied. But just as he was standing up, a small notification popped up in front of him, nearly sending him to the ground in astonishment. He hastily read.

Gino Faulkner

Of Balance [T] → [JM]

Huh, I guess that went well.