The Heavens Shall Fall

As they rode through the trees, Arya and Marly sniffed the air constantly, their animal senses far sharper than Siu's, doing their best to pick up Neya's scent. They remained silent for almost half an hour before Arya's tail flicked violently, causing Siu to immediately lean forward and talk to Tian.

“Slow down,” he said, watching Arya, "They caught something."

He didn’t argue, simply patted the neck of his stag, who responded instantly, its speed dropping to half of what it was. Walking through the thick snow, its hooves sank in now that its speed was reduced, yet its stride was still faster than any of them could manage. Everyone was also doing the same as Siu, looking around while waiting for him to say something... but there was nothing to see or feel. In the middle of the night, the forest felt like a graveyard, and there was not even the noise of hooting owls or noisy crickets, as winter had stilled everything.

"Siu?" Milli asked when no one said anything for the next minute or so.

"They are searching," He muttered, "But Arya is sure she caught a whiff of her before.

“Up ahead!” his fox's voice came sharply into his mind just then, as he saw her point with her tail. "Very close!"

“Stop!” Siu said at once, and when the stag came to a halt, he jumped down first, his boots loudly crunching into the fresh snow in the dark silence. The twins followed right after, while Tian slid down last, his hand resting on the stag’s neck, giving it commands to stay put and not move.

“What is it?” he asked, catching up to the trio, while Arya was hopping around in the front, melting into the snow with her white fur. At the same time, Marly was whizzing past them, gliding from branch to branch, keeping up with her sistr.

"They smell more than just Neya..." Siu grimaced, and soon, Tian noticed it, too, twitching his nose.

“Ah... Blood...” He whispered, his expression going cold.

Clearing past a massive tree, what they found wasn’t a battlefield, but it was damn close to being one. Around what was supposedly a site where the team had laid down traps, multiple massive, thick trees were broken into numerous pieces. Some were shredded like they went through a wood chipper, some were snapped like twigs, while many were still standing, but missing chunks from their trunks. Wherever one looked, shredded bark was sticking out of the snow, along with broken pieces of a metal trap and chains, but at least there were no bodies. Walking around, looking for clues, swiping the fresh snow away, they did find bloody clothes and equipment pieces... but no torn flesh or corpses.

"Whatever they got trapped was not the thing they came for," Tian said at once, recognizing the ruined tools, how the chains were ripped from the trees, breaking branches. "These are claw marks... And they are everywhere..." He muttered slowly, scanning them again, trying to reconstruct the battle that had played out in this failed hunt.

Recognizing the marks, he now saw the long, deep gouges on the ruined trees and under the snow, cut into the icy ground. He could see how his comrades had climbed up tree trunks in the battle, stopping far higher than any normal beast could reach, yet... There were still marks, dozens of meters up in the trees.

“What the hell did this?” Milli whispered both in awe and shock, stepping closer to one of the trees, running her fingers just above a claw mark without touching it.

“A beast that could climb trees,” Tian muttered, his gaze sweeping the area. "Probably one that was also very hungry and shouldn't be out here in the winter. Damn it!"

Siu said nothing, also surveying the ground where Arya found a bit more blood than a normal battle should warrant. It was dark against the snow, pools and splashes everywhere. As for where it came from, human or beast, not even Arya or Marly could tell. It was too old for that. Following from there, he pursued the long streaks of red hidden under fresh snow until they disappeared beneath broken branches and churned earth.

“No bodies,” Nilli came up to him, "Which is a good sign, though, “No parts either,” Milli added, "So they hadn't died, which is good... yes?"

“It also means that they moved,” Tian said. “Or were eaten, and that's why we are finding nothing.”

“There should be more blood if that was the case!" Siu exhaled slowly, standing up, pushing Tian's suggestion to the back of his mind, “Or… they’re still fighting. The blood where it disappeared to looks fresher than at the traps' point of origin. Meaning, it was bleeding or chasing those it bled. Marly!” he looked up, gazing at his squirrel.

“Yes!”

She was already moving, hopping from branch to branch, disappearing from view pretty quickly while Tian was bringing his stag along, following where Siu had led them, through the ruined thickets.

“Here!” Marly called out, her voice echoing in his mind. "I've got something!"

A few dozen meters further in, the terrain shifted again, ending between two jagged rock formations, where a natural crevice opened, creating a sheltered pocket hidden from most angles.

"Their campsite," Tian shrugged, "Or what was left of one. Damn... I guess the trappers couldn't deal with the creature, rushed back to here for reinforcement and..."

What remained were torn tents and shredded bags everywhere. All their supplies got scattered everywhere, and many of their broken tools lay in deep, claw-like footprints.

“This was sure something bear-like,” Tian said, running his fingers through the prints, biting his lip, "We are told to avoid them bastards at all costs, unless we are prepared and have twelve to twenty of us ready."

"Are they that tough?" Milli asked, staying close to her sister as they searched for more clues.

"Yes and no," Tian answered while flipping over shattered boxes, watching as Siu was trying to pick up the trail where it went from there, "They are savage, though. The stronger they grow, the more berserk they are, and you can hurt them, but they will make sure they either take you down with themselves or turn your win into a hollow victory. You need overwhelming power to deal with them quickly, or you will lose limbs or people."

“Yeah…” Siu muttered, "Someone had lost one already."

When he said that, everyone looked over and saw as he pulled out a hand from under the snow, already bluish in color, frozen over, severed up to the elbow.

“Fuck…" Nilli groaned, hurrying up to him as they looked at the clearly male arm, "Well, at least they didn’t die here,” Milli said, "I can't see the corpse."

“No,” Siu agreed, his voice cold. “Arya?” he called.

“I found it!” Her voice changed when she said it, “Follow me, Master! There is a scent of blood, and it's fresh! This way!”

"Pick up anything good for healing!" Siu told them, hoping to find survivors, before rushing after Arya.

The moment they were done, the others fell in behind him as he began hurrying forward. Going after Arya, the forest's destruction continued at every step, with more and more claw marks everywhere, as it chased after the injured group. It had to be indeed a fresh trail, as the marks were clearer, the falling snow failing to cover them up yet, which made Siu's breathing steady as he prepared for battle, beginning to circulate his cultivation.

“Up ahead!” Arya yelled, picking up speed, and Siu also braked into a rush.

Clearing the last torn bushes, finally, they were at the actual battlefield. There was no snow here, just the torn-apart trees and the upturned earth, making it uneven and churned into a mixture of ice and mud. Worse, what he noticed first were bodies... Dozens of them. They were scattered across the clearing, some of them unmoving at first glance, but then he noticed the others who kept writhing, clutching their wounds, gasping for breath. When his mind registered that, his tunnel vision disappeared, and he could hear the groans and pained shouts, their panicked voices trying to stay calm.

"Holy shit..." Milli grunted, coming to a stop close to him, noticing the beast in the center. “What the hell… is that?” Nilli asked, gasping for air.

The beast, which didn't look like breathing anymore, was huge, easily three times the size of a normal bear, if not more. Its body was thick and covered in a dense, dark fur, now matted with blood. It was clear that most of the blood they followed was coming from its injuries, part of its skin being flayed away on its visible side, its muscles open to the air, along with a dozen more serious injuries. As they walked around it, they saw that its limbs were long, ending in blackened, thick claws that looked like curved butchering knives or cleavers. Coming up from behind the corpse, they saw its head, having a mix of a wolf’s elongated snout and a bear's shape for the rest, with jagged teeth protruding, still bloody and wet, saliva beginning to freeze over it now that it wasn't breathing anymore. It was dead-dead... because its eyes were open and glassy, empty as any corpse's gaze would be.

“A mountain wolf-bear…” Tian whispered, sounding amazed. “Fuck... Aren't they supposed to live in the part of the forest made for the inner disciples? What the fuck does it do here?”

Siu didn’t answer because there wasn't much to say about it. What does an Icecrown Stag do here, too? It was useless to ask; the fact that the others brought it down showed that it wasn't wrong for it to be here. However, after only glancing at it once, he wasn’t looking at it anymore; instead, he was gazing over the bodies, stepping past the corpse.

“Neya!” He called out, because she and none of the other injured disciples even noticed him or the rest arrive.

Apparently, she even missed his call, because she was rushing back and forth, sprinting between the injured, her hands already stained dark red, her robes smeared with blood, telling Siu that most of it wasn't even hers.

“Hold still!” she was saying, her voice strained, doing her best to keep herself in control. “Don’t move! If you keep trashing, it’ll tear more!” As she was saying it, her hands pressed down on someone’s wounded side, doing her best to stop the bleeding and stabilize the boy. “Stay awake! Hey, look at me, don’t close your eyes!”

It was easy to hear that there was panic in her voice, but she was holding it back as best as she could. She was only focused on them, and finally, the tightness in Siu's chest had eased considerably, though not completely.

"Help them!" He shouted as everyone split up, and he rushed over to the boy Neya was tending.

"Huh?" Neya looked up when a new pair of hands pressed next to hers, finally realizing someone was there... "S-s-Siu? Huh? Eh?"

"He doesn't look good," He said, tearing parts of his sleeve off to use as a bandage. "Do you know which of them are in critical condition beside him?"

"Y-y-yes!" She nodded, pushing her surprise and questions down, and letting relief wash over her face, pointing towards two others. "Lob there... um, Konis over there, and this one, Uvhar, they need help the most! Lob lost an arm, and if we can find it, it could be reattached and... but we don't know where to search for it, and—"

"We got it," He waved a hand, picking up the now unconscious boy, who was missing a nasty chunk from his side, "Tian! You need to bring them back to the sect, post haste! Or they won't survive and bleed out here!"

"On it! Will you be alright? The blood could bring other, hungry ones over!"

"We will deal with it," Siu answered without hesitation, making the twins exchange a glance but simply sigh, helping the other injured get into a better position.

"Gotcha," Tian said without asking more, helping Neya to put the rest on the back of his stag, Spike, and was off before anyone could say anything else.

"How...?" Neya asked suddenly as she helped Siu bring another, moaning disciple over to the others.

"Had a feeling," He said with a smile finally appearing on his face, "but that should be my question."

"Master!" Marly and Arya yelled at the same time, and when he looked, he saw them standing on the corpse's back, pointing towards the trees, standing alert, feeling... anger and caution at the same time.

On a broken tree, sitting on its ruined bark was none other than... Bren. He was looking beaten, bruised, bloody, and exhausted. However, he was conscious and even more energetic-looking than anyone else, except Neya. Still, as he scanned him, his hands were the worst-looking, shredded up to his elbow, trembling constantly, and blood dripping from his fingers, but he was just looking at them calmly.

"That's how." Neya muttered, noticing his gaze, "He saved us... and killed the bear with his, well..." she smiled, "his bare hands."