Chapter 42 - Fragments of Elias
Tave had to squeeze his eyes shut tightly before the vision from Fang's perspective began to filter into his mind. It wasn't like seeing directly through another pair of eyes. More like a flood of fragmented impressions, images pouring into his head in uneven waves.
It felt strange at first, almost disorienting, like watching a film stuttering in low frame rate. The details were blurry, the clarity reduced by the natural darkness of night. Still, he pushed through it, adjusting, letting the connection stabilize.
"Fang... focus on the monster concentrations. The clusters. The areas I marked earlier. Follow the path I pointed out. Stay hidden."
Fang responded, not with words, but with movement. The wolf slipped deeper into the dark, his body now moving with more fluidity and control than ever before. He was no longer the clumsy pup Tave had first taken in. He'd grown, leaner, sharper. Still youthful, yes, more like a teenage version of a wolf, but far from helpless.
And then... the feed changed.
Fang slowed, steps careful, and Tave felt it, that moment of alertness. A stillness. The images flowing into his mind sharpened, steadied, as the wolf paused and began transmitting clearer glimpses of a specific point in the forest.
Something was there.
Clusters of Lava Hounds lay scattered among the trees, their massive bodies curled into the scorched earth, some deeply asleep while others prowled in slow, watchful circles, clearly on patrol.
Don't let them see you, Fang... go. Now.
With a silent twitch of his ears, the Shadow Wolf turned away, his body melting back into the underbrush. He continued his sweep of the area, and the images flooding into Tave's mind shifted once more. Each clearer than the last as Fang honed his stealth.
More monsters began to appear in the vision.