The next day, after another long day of classes, Baron stood in the warm spring sun by the street near their dorm. While Baron used his phone to call Abel, he looked around for them as it rang a few times until it was answered. Past him, people pushed to get around him and the traffic beside him stood at a halt.
“You ready?” Instead of Abel, Dawn answered, as he must have been preoccupied driving Baron assumed.
“Yeah, I’m by the dorms. Where are you guys?” He looked around for their car past the series of unrecognizable vehicles.
“Bet. We’re pulling around now.” Still sounding tired compared to her normally vibrant energy, Dawn spoke unenthusiastically .
“Alright, bet,” Baron said. Off the curb, he stepped next to a tightly packed row of cars, which were parked parallel to traffic.
“We’re turning the corner now.” Baron noticed the old, red four door Camry turn the corner with the slow flow of vehicles.
“Hey. I see you guys!” He waved his hands high to get their attention. “You guys see me?” he asked, before he took a step in their direction.
“Yeah-” Before Dawn could finish, she was interrupted by Abel, who said something short and unintelligible through the phone’s microphone.
“Abel asked you to walk over. He’s being lazy and he’d rather take the next right to the shortcut than sit in traffic.” With probably a few words added to Abel's message, Dawn worked as the communicator; though Baron wondered why she didn't simply turn on his phone's speaker.
“Yeah, no problem.” He hung up on them. Lightly, he jogged against the flow of cars. On his back, his backpack full of books and homework jumped on his shoulders with the bounce of his stride.
It was a short, easy trip, even with Baron’s muscles and ligaments, which still felt somewhat tight from yesterday. He made it to the Camry. It had gloss that flaked away from sun exposure and age. Beside the car, Baron pulled on the handle to enter the rear-passenger side.
On a seat of torn cloth chairs, he shut the door behind. Abel turned back to greet him with a casual dap, and Dawn moved to do the same.“I'm going to take the gateway,” Abel said with his raspy and quiet voice. Already prepared to cut through the busy lanes of traffic, Baron watched him as he made a tight right turn.
“Remember how to get to Greenbrooke?” As Baron spoke and locked in his seatbelt, grungy rock played as Baron spoke. Pleasant on his nose, the smell of warm pizza mixed with the aroma of his pine car-freshener filled his nose.
“I’ll need directions at some point.” Abel flicked on his blinker to navigate through the cars of the busy roads.
“Just tell me when.” His eyes flickered to Dawn, who’d been quieter than normal. Seems she’s still not exactly herself… He noted it to himself. “So, how’ve you guys’ been doing?” Baron asked as Abel maneuvered through the busy traffic for them.
“Eh. Been better. But bro got us pizza, so I’m not complaining.” She lifted up the two boxes of pizza from her lap for Baron to see. Smart move, Abel.
“Damn, really?” Since Baron and the two of them were broke college students, gestures like this were always greatly appreciated surprises. “I can give you some cash, if you’d like.” He tried to offer.
“I’m chillin,” Abel responded plainly. But Baron could pick up on the stubbornness in his tone.
Since they were stronger willed than him, Baron knew better than to argue with either of them. After all, he believed they were much cooler than him. “Dand. I really appreciate that dude.” With a smile, Baron thanked him through Abel’s rear-view mirror, where a set of fuzzy, pink dice hung and swung with the car’s suspension.
“Yeah, what Baron said.” Dawn punched Abel in the arm softly. Despite the pain he likely felt, Baron knew it was her own way of thanking him. A good sign of her starting to feel better. Which was their goal today, since Baron had mentioned Dawn’s downtrodden mood to Abel last night. “Though, it would be nice to get a bite in before it gets cold.” With an unserious side-eye to their driver, a familiar smirk returned to Dawn’s face.
Abel turned into a long alley, and shook his head disapprovingly. “No eating in my whip,” he reminded her. Baron felt the car slow to a crawl as Abel drove them through the two-laned pathway.
“Yeah, we know.” Playfully, Dawn rolled her eyes at him, though she respected his no eating rule; even if the smell clearly seemed to entice her from Baron’s position.
“It’s alright. Just wait until we get to my house,” Baron said from the back as he looked out the window. He watched as they passed through Old York Alley. A less popular gateway to the Haven.
Above them, the cloudless, blue sky rippled with a subtle, yet intense, multi-colored fuzz that overtook and warped it as they passed through the alley’s unchanging street. The graffiti and trash in a flash. The shockwave pulsated. Seamlessly out to change the midday scenery into a starry night sky, which lay untouched by light pollution.
“You know…” As Dawn rolled the window down to prop up her legs, she seemed to momentarily relax at the distracting sight of atmosphere between dimensions. A purple galaxy of nebulas and alien bodies of stars shone with a layer of reality that grew more distorted the further they drove. “You’ve suggested coming out to meet your dad a lot. Hopefully it's all you’ve gassed it up to be,” she teased, while still mesmerized by the morphing sky above them.
“I think you’ll enjoy it.” As they made it closer to the ally’s end, the foreign space slowly faded for a brighter, and more familiar sight of day as a strange pull dragged on their bodies. It felt like the border between dimensions didn’t want him to leave, which happened nearly every time someone passed through.
“If you say so.” Dang it. It doesn’t seem to be working yet. Unfortunately, even the brief beauty of the alien heavens couldn't make Dawn return to her carefree and self-assured tone she tended to have.
The warm, but refreshing air blew in as it slowly became colder, and colder, and colder, until Baron felt like he stepped into a walk-in freezer. Luckily, after a short few seconds it passed as a familiar air - not dissimilar from New York’s own - warmed them with the same spring weather.
“Either way, it's good to get her some enrichment.” Unbothered by the temperature change, Abel glanced toward Dawn with a playful smirk. She snickered at his verbal jab, which was contagious to Baron despite her lowered energy. It made him giggle along with them as he smiled.
“Shut up, you dickhead.” With a jovial punch to his arm, her fist made Abel wince lightly as he quietly laughed along with her. Nice. He’s not retaliating like normal. The last thing we want is to accidentally make her more upset.
Above them, the luminous, star-filled sky rippled with a subtle, yet intense, multi-colored fuzz that overtook and warped it. Further on, they passed through the other end of the alley’s unchanging street, graffiti, and trash. In a flash, pulsated seamlessly out to change the night sky into a similarly sunny day, though this time there was a heavier blanket of clouds than when they were in New York.
Abel took a right turn to begin driving on the old, stone road of the Haven, where he drove along with the less dense traffic. He eventually yielded at a roundabout, where they were surrounded by grandiose domed halls and spiraling towers. They still shined a marble white despite their age. Baron knew that most of these were mage-colleges or academic facilities of Yew Grove - a small, quiet district that had grown around the infrastructure of the academics. Though they leaned more into the mystic arts and supernatural, instead of science and the more mundane professional skills that normal colleges specialized in.
As they circled through the roundabout, students with modern backpacks, extravagant wizard robes of velvet, and a diverse population of non-humans and humans walked to their classes. Few even flew over top the streets with bird-like wings, or magically propelled themselves with a controlled tempest of wind. Each of them with a casual energy as they flew.
At one point, Baron actually considered going to one the universities offered here. But he thought it unnecessary, as he already had an advanced mastery of Life Magic, and a more refined control of mana then most achieve. To Baron, it felt almost meaningless to learn something he probably had a greater mastery of. Gee. Sounds a bit narcissistic and egotistical when I think about it like that.
“Alright, where now?” Through the mirror, Abel made eye contact with his subtly vertical pupils.
“Just keep going down this road, until we get near the old Apothecary, and then you’ll want to turn right,” Baron responded as they passed through the posh and cleaned-up distract. However it was not exempt from the less safe areas. All over the Haven there were shady streets and dangerous blocks, where the city’s PD had little control or found too dangerous to patrol like other, safer parts of the city. Some more than others sadly.
“Bet.” Abel made a right turn at the building with a sign labeled, ‘Devil Child Potions’. It looked even more ancient than the surrounding area. Instead of the marble carved roman-like architect, this was built like a traditional english, country home with its rigid, grey stone walls, clay roofing, and equally spaced-apart windows on all three stories.
“Dude, speed it up. Our shit’s getting cold. You may not appreciate a warm meal, but some of us do.” Dawn said as she touched the top to feel the box's lowering temperature.
“Keep yapping and I’m gonna make you my next meal.” With Baron and Dawn laughing at his threat to suck her blood, Abel continued down the paved, asphalt road, until it became an old-timey stone road. The change made the car shake until Abel grabbed the wheel tight against the bumpier terrain.
After this transition, Baron rolled his window down like Dawn’s to watch as the buildings around them grew more sporadic and rural. More space was taken up by a forest that grew more dense the further they went. “Alright, just take that left there.” Baron pointed toward a smaller brick road as the fresh air of Greenbrooke filled the car.
As instructed, Abel took the turn after setting his blinker and waiting for the car in front of him to pass. He then drove his red car down the one-way.
“Okay, just a little further until you make it to the gravel road,” Baron said with an innocent smile as they kept driving. Remaining silent, Dawn tapped on the pizza box as they became more immersed by the untamed sounds of nature and vibrant colors of spring flower that brought the foliage to life
Abel found it quickly, and made the final turn down the overgrown road of gravel as the car’s beat-up tires rolled over a pothole. It made them bounce the three from their seats, though it wasn’t worth reacting to. In the front, Dawn and Abel looked around. He watched as both of them took in the dense forest around them. The dense forest that I grew up in.
“This makes sense,” Dawn commented, before they pulled into a small dirt lot with only enough space for a few cars. At the same time Abel started to park.
“So, where’s your place?” Abel asked before Baron climbed out of the car with his backpack in hand.
“It’s a little ways in. We’ll just have to head there on foot,” Baron spoke, and took in a deep breath of fresh air as he closed the door behind himself. After him, Abel exited with Dawn beside him.
“How far are we talking?” Though she sounded annoyed by this journey, Dawn still followed them with an overly cautious grip on their pizza boxes.
“Not too far, like maybe half a mile.” Baron walked across the lot to a cover of shrubbery and dense foliage. With a touch of Baron’s mana, he gently encouraged the tangled mess of branches, leaves, and vines to crawl backwards until they cleared to reveal a trail.
“Damn.” Disappointed sounding, Dawn replied as her and a passive Abel fell in line behind Baron, who guided them through the overgrown path. Luckily, he'd traveled this path and these woods enough times to walk through it blindfolded.
“Quit whining,” Abel commented, before Dawn flicked him in the back of the head. Over them, birds sang melodical music through the surrounding woods.
“Shut your ass up and go faster,” Dawn snapped back. Abel smirked at her reaction, though it wasn't too dissimilar to hers when she was the one to irritate him instead.
“Not much further now.” Without using his magic to clear their path, Baron continued as he talked. Fortunately, it was unneeded, now that the shaded path was mostly cleared from the continued usage of animals - evident to Baron through the two-pronged tracks of a group of deer.
“Hope so,” Dawn said with a snark. Though unseen to Baron, she kept a strong grip on their food.
“Come on. Just a little more.” From the front, Baron called back to encourage her. Now he could see where the dense forest of vegetation broke at the tree line.
With a step into the clearing, the sight of a sprawling meadow of soft grass revealed itself, which had been hidden by the surrounding forest. A feeling of comfort came over Baron as wind waved over the field of life. Vibrant wildflowers attracted bees and butterflies, along with a spotted deer that fled at their sight.
Behind Baron, Abel and Dawn broke through the tree line. At the same time as them, he took in the scenic view and their reactions. In particular, Abel flinched when he reached the much sunnier plot, and raised his hand to shield his sensitive eyes from the day-light to get a better view.
“Damn…” Dawn said. Told you it would be cool. He enjoyed the mostly speechless state she was in. Backwards, he walked as he faced them, and guided them to the center of the peaceful plot. There his cabin-sized greenhouse sat on the top of a little hill.
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“I told you it wasn’t far.” Over unbothered grass he softly stepped. Filled with a welcoming, sense of home, he still watched his friends’ impressed reactions.
Moving forward before Abel, Dawn took the lead behind Baron. “Is that really your house?” She sounded amazed, which was a nice contrast to her dreary attitude yesterday. It's starting to work!
“Yeah! Dad had it built when I was little,” Baron responded as he reversed up the gentle slope.
“Well, it’s beautiful.” Dawn sincerely commented. In agreement, Abel nodded, but even if he remained mostly unreactive, Baron could see the spark of creativity in his eyes. Most likely meant that he’d sketch or paint the view later.
“It really is…” Abel simply added, though he continued to shield his face from the brightness of the field.
He turned to face forward again, and led them to the entrance of the building. In front of the door, he looked around for his dad, who’d be hard to miss in an open area like this. “Not sure where Hugo is right now, so let's take the chance to eat real quick,” Baron said, before he led them through the door he unlocked.
Baron stood to the side of the entrance to the one-roomed house with a glass roof, which filled the room with natural lighting. Not only did it warm the room, it fed a plethora of hanging vines, sprouting buds, delicate orchids, a small bushel of strawberries in the corner, and many more types of plants that made the cabin’s air fresh.
“Jesus…” She stepped inside and turned her head to look around. Abel joined her, though he made his way to a corner of Baron’s house, where a cover provided shade over a small table and strung-up hammock. “This place is really incredible.”
“You really think so?” Baron asked. An excited tone rose with his voice, and he gathered a set of reusable plates for the three.
“Definitely.” While Dawn talked, she gently placed down the boxes of pizza. To Baron, she seemed overcautious, but he didn't feel the need to say anything.
“Yeah. It’s beautiful,” Abel said, before he took a seat on one of the wooden chairs around the table.
“Thanks guys! I really appreciate that!” I knew they would like it here! And how cool is it to finally have friends over here?! With a set of plates, Baron sat down at the table and handed them out. Baron and Dawn, both grabbed a few slices. On the other hand, Abel only took a single slice. Instead he pulled out a plain white ‘juicebox’, and pushed a bendy straw into it.
In silence, Dawn ate through her slices like she’d been starving, and while Abel nibbled on his food, he primarily sipped on the crimson, blood-filled ‘juicebox’.
Baron, himself, took a short time to quietly eat. But Abel was much quicker to finish his packaged blood, and stood to take his dirtied plate to the sink - the other two went in for seconds. Unlike before, Baron watched as he walked through the beaming rays of sunlight with little more than a hesitant flinch. Much more unbothered, he traveled through the bright parts of the room.
While Baron continued to eat with Dawn and moved on to seconds, Abel, after he finished his dish, began to quietly explore Baron’s cozy cabin. Though there was not much to find of interest in the baron's own opinion. Abel pulled back on a cloth to unveil Baron's modern-day record player and the cabinet it sat on.
To himself, Abel smiled and lowered to open the cabinet. Through Baron’s wide range of vinyls, he looked through old and new ones. All organized neatly between genre and alphabet, which seemed to make Abel smirk as he explored.
Looking up from his food, Baron saw Abel, who already picked out a record to examine closer. “Oh… You found my records…” The anxiety of his peer’s judgment filled him as his friend found his little hobby. Personally, he thought of it as embarrassing - not because the act of collecting music was weird to Baron. He just had music some people may judge.
“You’ve got some dope stuff in here,” Abel responded as he continued to browse with an expressionless look. No way… He likes my music?
In that moment, he decided to not worry about what Abel might find. He didn’t judge yet. Maybe it’ll be alright. Instead, Baron washed his plate and Dawn’s at her request, who was now preoccupied with a smile as she joined Abel endeavours. Baron exhaled with a relieved sigh, maybe they'd not find the ‘girl pop’ part of Baron’s collection. But the chances felt slim.
“Thanks dude.” Baron said as he rushed through the dishes, before he rejoined the two of them. Except he got distracted by the vibrations of his phone, which immediately became the sole focus of his attention.
Stood in place, Baron, now unable to hear his friends, grabbed his phone to open it, hopeful that it would be Rose on the other side.
Luckily, there were no other notifications - except for the school-related ones - then Rose’s. She in fact did message him back, which was something he was still afraid would suddenly stop. ‘How’s Dawn doing?’ Her texts and calls still made Baron blush and feel a tinge of anxiety in his stomach, even though they’d been talking for a few weeks now.
Baron, with a love-struck grin, typed out his own message. ‘Yeah she seems to be doing a lot better’ he sent. Anticipation filled him as three dots appeared by her name - the indicator that Rose was currently typing, and more importantly, still showed that she was interested in talking to him.
‘That’s nice to hear. What did you guys end up doing?’ Her response only made Baron wait a short time.
While he was still excited for her to message him back, Baron, sadly, couldn’t be entirely honest, since she wasn’t a Cognizant like him. Nor do I want to risk her thinking I'm some insane person, if I tried to explain it. But still, he needed to think of something to say, even if it was just a stretched truth.
‘Just ate now we’re currently hanging out and waiting for my dad to tell us what he needed help with’ Baron sent the message, before he waited for her response again.
‘Sounds nice. Hopefully it's a good time :)’ Rose’s virtual smile threatened to melt him away. However, before he could respond, the distinct sound of a familiar, pop song began to play through Baron’s speaker.
Finally pulling his attention up from his phone, Baron looked to his friends, who laughed at an unheard joke. Quickly, he typed out another message. ‘Sorry gotta go. Text you back when I can :)’, he sent before his attention returned to his friends as the early 2000s hip-hop continued.
“Damn Baron. This is some good shit,” Dawn jested as she rhythmically tapped her foot to the song.
“For real.” Abel seemed to enjoy the music, which Baron used to be embarrassed of liking all through high school.
The elation of their praise tickled the back of his head, and made him smile awkwardly. “Anything that you like?” He was interested in what Abel thought with his musical talent - though he wouldn’t mind Dawn’s as well. Baron just knew that she didn’t enjoy music at the same level, and she preferred to dance over anything else.
Before Abel could respond, the room was suddenly eclipsed in a shaded shroud of branches, though there were no nearby trees when they entered. He looked upwards with an excited expression, and led his confused friends out of the front door. Outside, they now stood in the once-clear meadow, which now had a tall and round oak tree a few yards in front of the entrance.
“Thanks for taking care of the place, Hugo,” Baron called out toward the tree. He gave the tree a hug around its base. Unseen to him, his friends looked between themselves with a silent concern.
“Hugo?” As Dawn asked, a wrinkled face shaped of bark and wood rotated around the thick trunk toward the three. With a warm smile and human-like eyes, Hugo stared down at Baron and his friends.
“Yeah, this is my dad, Hugo. And these are my friends, Abel and Dawn.” He released the hug, and stepped back as the tree lowered one of his limbs. Gently, he wrapped around and shook both of their hands for a formal greeting.
“It is truly a pleasure to be acquainted with the two of you. Baron’s told me lots.” His voice, as it tended to, sounded gravely and muffled through an overgrown beard of moss.
“Oh, uh…” Dawn spoke first, but she paused to seemingly take in Hugo’s appearance. “It’s nice to meet you too.” Without much to say, she greeted him.
“It’s a pleasure meeting you as well.” With little more than a slight smirk, Abel spoke plainly as he accepted Hugo's welcome.
“Firstly, I’d like to thank you two for sparing the time to visit an elderly man as myself.” The roots beneath Hugo slowly and harmlessly burrowed through the ground to the surface, where three chair-like roots formed for them. “I know social calls traditionally tend to remain dull for your young, eager minds, but I believe my request may be more enticing to you three.”
Silently, Baron took a seat. The other two followed behind him, and sat on their own natural made stools.
“As I’ve requested of Baron many times, I’d ask that the two of you aid him this time with the capture of a more dangerous predator. One that was unfortunately displaced into this forest.” Hugo slowly spoke.
Both Dawn and Abel sat up in their seats, though Baron remained mostly relaxed, but he’d often look between everyone with an innocent smile.
“I’m definitely game. It even sounds fun, but how does an animal get displaced into this weird little city?” Dawn asked with an eager energy. The same kind of familiar energy that they hoped to get out of her today.
“Traditionally, animals are incapable of entering through the Haven’s gateways on their own, which in theory shields our ecosystem from invasive threats. But if a person brings them through, then the animal is treated as a passenger the same as them.” A gust of wind blew through Hugo’s green leaves, gently rustled them before he continued on. “This, unfortunately, gets taken advantage of by greedier individuals, who look to illegally profit from the more mythical and exotic creatures of nature. Oftentimes, these beasts - and sometimes even people with rarer magics - manage to escape into these forests. Normally I’d only send out Baron to aid them, but from the looks of its last prey, a pack of ravaged dire wolves, this one may prove more dangerous than I’m comfortable with placing on him alone,” Hugo finally finished.
“Why not hire a team of professional hunters or mercenaries?" From Abel’s silence, he spoke with a monotone voice. “Hopefully you don't take this the wrong way, but isn’t it a little irresponsible to send three college students out to deal with a monster that ate a pack of dire wolves?”
“It’ll be alright. I’ve been doing this sort of stuff for a while.” Baron turned his head back toward Abel. He went to speak before Hugo delicately interrupted him.
“No, he's not wrong, Baron. But their methods tend to be cruel and end with the unnecessary death of a scared animal. However, I know my son is capable of discerning the kindest path before him, and if he trusts you, then it must mean you’re both reliable and good-hearted,” Hugo replied with a compliment. The complimentary words caused Baron to bashfully scratch at the back of his head as he stared at the grass.
As Abel remained quiet, Dawn stood to her feet with a charismatic smile and began to stretch out. “Cmon Abel. It’ll be fine with the three of us there,” she said with an unworried tone.
“Yeah, trust me if someone like me can do it alone, then we’ll be more than capable with you two there.” With them, he felt a secure confidence uncommon to him. Not Spriggan though.
A short period of silence passed before Abel finally stood with them. “Fine, I’ll help. But if it looks like our lives are on the line, I won't hesitate to kill it if we can't capture it,” Abel said plainly before he paused to stare and quietly mumble, at what Baron assumed was the spirit that followed him.
“More than reasonable.” With a gentle and understanding tone, his roots returned to their place beneath the ground.
“Bet. But before we head out, let me grab something,” Baron said before heading back inside to open his backpack for his Spriggan gear, which remained where he left it in the bag. Baron stared down at his protective suit, and felt a dumb child, who really considered playing dress-up in front of his friends. Yeah, they knew about Spriggan, but them actively watching me act like someone cooler than I am makes me feel stupid.
Finally deciding, after he took the time to insecurely think, Baron reached in to pull stuff out before heading back outside, where his two friends waited for him.
“Alright, I’m good. You guys ready?” Two seeds sprouted to life with a touch of mana driven through the fibrous stalks, until his arms were supported by the coiled vines.
“Hell yeah,” Dawn said excitedly with an upbeat tone. Next to her, Abel nodded in agreement. “But how’re we gonna find this thing in this massive-ass forest?”
“Yeah, doesn’t it extend past Greenbrooke?” Abel asked his own question before he drew out his handheld sketchbook to hold. Closed, it remained in his relaxed off-hand.
“If you don't mind my interjection.” Hugo slowly spoke again. “Yes, while the forest extends further than the mapped district and endlessly sprawls past the outskirts of the city, Baron here has more than enough experience with navigating these woods, tracking in them, and it should only be a short trip north to the watering hole. So I’d place it within the surrounding area there.”
After Hugo finished talking, Abel silently nodded. His dad’s generous words in front of his friends made him smile, even if it made him feel somewhat uncomfortable, but, frustratingly, he always seemed to feel that way when someone said something positive about him.
“Don't worry guys’, we’ve got this, and I’m sure it won't take long at all.” Baron took the lead them through the field as Hugo waved them off with a branch, until they reentered the thick collection of trees.
…
“Okay, maybe we should just head back…” Dawn said. Her energy was lowered with the sun in the sky, which softened into a cool-aired afternoon. And not long ago, Abel checked his watch, which said they’d been out here for nearly two hours already.
“Maybe…” Baron arose from where he had inspected the large track of a predator. Except this was a native species. A juvenile cerberus, judging from the size and shape. “I’m sorry guys, I feel like I ended up wasting everyone’s time.” Baron felt the guilt escape through his words.
“Nah, it's been fun and…” Before Abel could finish, he was cut off by something unseen that stole his attention. “Shit! Our backs!” He swiftly opened his journal.
In the seconds that passed, it became apparent from the sound of sturdy branches snapping and the birds that flew away. Something dangerous quickly approached violently through the tree line.
First to react in these short moments, Abel placed his hand onto the art of one of his pages, where he grabbed onto the sketch. With his fingers gripped onto the air, he tore it free from the paper. In that instance, a swarming cloud of small, mockingbird sized, owls were freed. Out of the pages they poured like a high-pressured stream of water, until they fully flew into life with their inky appearance. The mass grew into a size similar to Baron’s cabin.
This summoned swarm engulfed Abel, which took him out of Baron’s sight as they darted away toward a tall branch. Onto the perched position, Abel was left behind in their swooped flight.
He followed Abel’s lead as he tended. Baron took the chance to zip upward onto a nearby branch. Quickly approaching, the sounds of destruction broke through the foliage. Now in sight, a pair of large wings and hulking feline features came into sight as a beak crashed into Dawn. Luckily, she managed to transform her soft, fleshy, and freckled human appendages into her longer and more sturdy draconic arms. Lined with scales that glittered and reflected the sun’s light.
Unable to aid her in time, both Baron and Abel were stuck in place as the beast crashed into Dawn. She managed to form a protective guard with her naturally formed pauldron-like draconic scale-mail. It seemed to defend her well enough, but still sent her soaring meters backwards through a bush. She tumbled uncontrollably, until she grabbed the ground with her powerful grip and stabilized herself with a slow skid back.
Still on her knee, Dawn stayed low as blood trickled down her leg from a scratch on her thigh and a gash on the side of her head. At the same time, the griffin - apparent from the eagle head, wings, and lion body - stepped forward with a desperate screech. But neither of her friends were going to allow that to hurt her further.
The converging and shifting, cloud of owls dove downward in an interlocking formation as they passed by and rubbed against each other. The friction caused sparks of electricity that increased in voltage until they flew by the griffin. There before it could move in on Dawn, they discharged a low powered shock of lightning.
Though it didn’t seem to do any real damage, it gave Dawn the chance to stand with her traditional boxing guard up.
“Crap. You okay, Dawn?” Unsure how to best react, Baron called out. Abel, on the other hand, leapt to another nearby branch to quickly reposition to better aid Dawn.
Unresponsive, Dawn stepped forward to meet the griffin, who cried out as it lunged forward with its beak again. This time, Dawn planted her left foot forward to create a strong base with her legs and body, which she channeled into a powerful overhand. As Dawn snapped her torso into it, she met the griffin’s attack head on with the collision of her impossibly hard fist.
For a brief second Dawn directly clashed with the much larger and stronger creature.
While short, the stressful tension in the air was cut, by the griffin being sent reeling sideways as Dawn gracefully slid backwards over the dirt and grass from the impact. Her back met the base of a large tree at the end of her trip to interrupt her journey.
“Don't worry about me, I’m having a great time,” Dawn finally answered with a wild look and raised shoulders, which helped guard her jaw and chin as she held up her arms.
