When Nox woke up again, it was in the middle of the day. he was currently laying in a shallow pool of water, connected to a half-underground river. 'The stream must have carried me here..'. Trying to move, a jolt of pain ran through his body, it was only than he realized that he was injured. From what he could see, his left wrist was sprained at most, and the rest of his injuries were only scrapes and bruises. He truly was lucky there, that fall could have killed him but he survived with almost no injuries at all. It was almost suspicious. 'maybe I've been out cold longer..? Just enough for my body to heal a bit, maybe?' It seems to be the case as he swears that the event happened in the middle of summer, But now it was the beginning of fall. The leaves were starting to turn brown and fall of the trees, it was also starting to become colder. Anyway, he could no longer sit here and waste time. There was creatures lurking in the area and people might still be looking for him.
After getting out of the hole, Nox looked around and realized that he had no idea where he is. The only thing he could gather was that he was somewhere between Heberigge and Meriah if the lush greenery had anything to say in it. He didn't want to be near any of them.
Picking a random direction, he began to walk. The further and further he went, the more he began to feel utterly lost. At some point he was convinced that he was only walking in circles.
A flock of birds flew high above, their song tainted with fear over an unknown danger. From deeper into the forest a roar was heard. Nox froze in his tracks, sinking to his knees next to a tree. While holding his breath, the creature crept closer to him. From here, it was now visible. It was bigger then the nearby bushes, its fur a dark gray with red tinted paws, stomach and ears. It had horns going from both sides of its neck and downwards it's long rat like tail. Its head and body structure was that of a cat.
It turned its head and looked straight at Nox, spotting him. For a second everything went still, nothing moved, and there was no sound. Suddenly, the creature went for the attack. Nox almost didn't have time to dodge. Rolling to the side he began to run from it, getting a head start as the creature stumbled around after hitting its head on the tree. But it didn't take long before it was right behind him. The only reason Nox have been able to dodge it so far was due to the many trees making it difficult for the creature to easily reach him, and it seemed that it was injured in its hind leg. With how its limping after Nox.
He was running out of stamina.
Was a dreadful realisation as the creature came closer and closer. 'Is there something I can use? anything?' looking around trying to find something to help him escape, he arrived at a dead end. A ravine with stone spikes at the bottom separated him and his one visible chance to live.
The beast stood menacingly before Nox, staring at the small child, getting ready to pounce. In return, nox grabs a wooden stick next to him. It doesen't have much use, but it's better than nothing. The creature seemed dumb, so maybe there was a way to trick it?
Ratcat, as Nox named it in his head, charged ahead. In a matter of seconds it was right in above Nox. Nox darted to the right forcing Ratcat to twist in the air towards him, seemingly forgetting about its injury. As it landed a screech echoed across the field, scarring away a few birds. Its eyes locked on Nox's again, deeming him the source of its agony. In fury Ratcat attacked over and over, littering Nox's body in cuts this time however its was much slower, slowly circling Nox, bringing him to the edge once again. The Ratcat was wearing itself out, slowly but surely. In an attempt of one last attack, it did the same move as before. Quickly soaring above him, though this time Nox didn't dodge to the side. Instead he ducked, falling completely to the ground, watching as the Ratcat flew above him and into the ravine. For a moment Nox simply laid there, not believing that it worked. How could he? Internally he knew he was lucky, it was stupider then average and it was also already injured. But it was a victory none the less.
After about a few minutes, Nox decided to get up and move again. Being mindful of his injuries, which was pulsating painfully with every move he made, he got up on his feet. Looking down on himself covered in blood. He decided that it was better to find something to patch himself up with. If he left them unclean for to long it might get infected, besides Nox did not enjoy seeing the sticky blood cling to him, radiating a metallic smell which was sure to attract more predators.
Now that he was limping through the forest, it gave of a calming feeling over him. He hadn't noticed it before in his panic, but it was peaceful here. Starting up to the sky, which was almost completely covered by the leaves of the trees. A few clouds could be seen. The sound of the birds songs coming from all directions made him realise that he was currently laying on the ground. 'When did I get here...?' The thought didn't last long as the day came crashing in on him. Everything that has happened made him feel tired, and the blood loss didn't help. Just as he was about to pass out a figure could be seen from the corner of his eyes.
'Was that..
a deer...?'