Hackakaka.
Hacka.
The Raptors that I once viewed as inspirational and organized, the ones I felt a sliver of resemblance to.
They were now circling my perch, waiting for a moment to strike.
I gave my surroundings a once-over. Escape seemed almost impossible here.
My top speed was just barely 7 of my body lengths per second.
It sounded like a lot because it was, but these things were faster.
I released the restraint on my spatial perception, my mind slowly stretching its imaginary muscles.
Fifty meters east, a large lake shimmered within my perception, probably the Spinosaurus's territory.
If I could reach the water, I could ride the surface tension, using it as a platform to escape.
Simple enough. I just had to get down from this tree, not get torn apart midair, and still be intact enough to face my other half.
While floating multiple ideas within my mind, I failed to account for the possibility that these things could, in fact, climb trees.
Deep below me, I finally noticed it. The Raptors were… learning.
One by one, they found footing on the tree below, scaling the rough bark with their front legs.
I tried to shake them off, but my stellarium was low, and the only way to get it back was rest or from the star itself.
I glanced up, but the star was out of view.
I glanced towards the lake. A wall of trees blocked my descent.
The two main answers to this situation were cut, and to top things off, I'm injured.
It was either face these raptors or try to survive their pursuit…..
"Curses."
I twisted the torn fabric of my tunic around my hand, stopping the blood flow. I needed to fight and somehow win, or scare them off.
The first raptor rounded the lower branch of the tree, calling its pack over.
They were smarter than I expected. Momentum and surprise were my only chances.
With no time left, I jumped.
Spinning in the air to align with the highest raptor. A weightless thrust carried my glaive through its skull, driving it into the branch below.
I ripped the blade free, turned, and cut down the next one before it could leap.
It screeched, warning the rest.
Too late.
Slip.
With the last of my stellarium, I glided down the trunk, carving through two more as I fell and knocking the rest aside.
I hit the ground hard, knees bending with the impact.
Five remained, their yellow eyes burning through the dark.
My breath pulsed through the cold air around me.
I watched as the remaining Raptors, now in a strict defensive formation, circled me.
They soon sped up, the circle tightening with each second.
This was likely their method for dealing with weaker prey.
Overwhelm them with force.
The first one came at me, quickly nipping at my skin before I could even move to deflect it.
It tore a chunk of flesh out of my left thigh, causing me to collapse forward a little.
Not yet.
Another moved, this time a little more aggressively, latching onto my shoulder, its thick fangs latching on and spinning me around.
Not yet.
2 More moved, coming at me from the back. This was the killing shot.
Now.
I had been waiting for this moment, a moment they couldn't expect.
Because they did not know about stars.
The gleam of starlight lingered on my skin.
I shifted downwards, driving the Raptor locked into my shoulder into one of the attackers.
My grip tightened on my glaive, whirling it upside down and thrusting it backwards into the bodies of the two raptors lined up with one another.
Slip.
I sliced with all the might I could conjure, driving past the first Raptor and into the other's skull.
Two Raptors with one blow.
With a thud, the bodies dropped, the final Raptors in silent awe at what had just happened.
They threw away their successful hunt, two monsters that would usually be impossible to win against, for a mere greedy kill.
They acknowledged one another and left, bolting through the forest behind them.
I wanted to follow, but my left leg was in shambles from the previous bite.
My breaths slowed. Everything caught up to me in waves of fatigue. My Stellarium was empty.
Falling backwards onto the cold grass, I reached for my star.
Acknowledge this, O Star of Control. Acknowledge this feat as one of yours.
Give me the strength I so desperately need.
I waited, hanging onto my consciousness.
Seconds went by with nothing but silence. Questioning if this was truly the right way to reach it.
Then, a small pulse lit the sky.
Along the ground, I watched as small motes of light were pulled from the bodies of those I'd slain.
My eyes followed the motes as they lifted into the sky, drifting toward my star. And in return, deeper motes descended.
Each one sank into my skin, flowing through muscle and marrow, settling along my spine. The connection deepened. A quiet clarity surfaced.
I finally understood what control meant to me.
At first, I thought control was power, something that bent the world to my will.
What was control, if not domination?
But that was the mistake.
Control wasn't about forcing obedience. It was about guiding things that could move on their own.
About managing what already exists and directing what refuses to stop.
Domination was only one form of it. The crudest.
True control was knowing when to act and when to let go.
When I had finally returned from my rest, light dawned along the horizon.
I continued on my journey, the distance half of what it was yesterday.
The final stand was close.
I clenched the muscules in my legs, filling them with stellarium, and blasted through the forest at breakneck speeds.
I can't wait to see how much stronger he's gotten.