Chapter 284: Sharptooth cannibal
Irwin followed Greldo through the forest, breathing in the cool air. The cold wind and fresh scent promised more rain. If there hadn't been as much moss and grass below the forest, they would be walking through a thick layer of mud.
He was constantly looking around, ears perked for anything out of the ordinary.
The novelty of the forest had worn off after walking through it for over a week, Irwin having seen only the same dense undergrowth mixed with vast stretches of open clearings.
Coal, who had been walking just to the side of them, froze mid-stride, one of his paws a few inches from the ground. Greldo stopped almost at the same time. Although Irwin knew it was futile, he tried to hear what had caught their attention.
There was nothing but the constant rustling of leaves, the chirping of birds, and the occasional distant cry.
"Finally!" Greldo hissed as he turned around. "Coal has found another of those rabbit things and is tracking it from within the shadows."
Unbidden, Irwin felt his mouth water as he thought back to the taste of their first day's meal.
"Are we really going to chase after-"
Ambraz's complaint was interrupted as Greldo grabbed Irwin's arm and pulled him into the shadow realm. Irwin expected them to start moving rapidly, but instead, the world turned fully black for a moment as Greldo teleported them. The next moment, the muted reality of the shadowrealm reasserted itself as they appeared on the edge of a large glen.
The forest floor ended in a steep drop a few steps further to give way to a valley filled with trees and bushes. A narrow stream flowed out of the side of one of the rocky walls to vanish in the opposite one and split the entire glen in two. Rocky outcrops of glistening boulders dotted the valley, and a carnivorous rabbit sat before a cave in front of one.
All of this, however, wasn't what really drew Irwin's attention. Instead, he listened to the faint oddity in the soulforce, looking at the cave behind the rabbit. The soulforce waves that flowed from it were just a bit different from anything else he saw. Although he wouldn't be sure until they left the shadows, as they muted his perception Irwin felt his excitement grow.
Still, the longer he looked, the surer he was.