A school of Stram quickly fell deadly still, listening intently for the sounds of keened predators seeking for a meal. They kept their heads high, following along with their ears as they rapidly progressed closer.
The school split into two groups. One group patrolled the outskirts of the dens, making sure whatever was coming could not push deeper. The other guarded their holes in the ground.
Ensuring the pups were safe from harm while the ones on the outskirt held them off. However, they were unknowingly under attack of a much greater threat than a Cemtras.
Like thunderous fury, three figures erupted out of the greenery surrounding the school. Oria unsheathed her claws, preparing to dig them into a victim.
Her claws pierced the purple exoskeleton of a nearby Stram, piercing the underneath skull and promptly the brain as well. Killing the creature instantly.
While she stood up over her kill, she realized her attack did not go unpunished. Shards of the shattered exoskeleton dig into her fingers, aside from that she was fine.
Instantly, all patrolling Stram charged towards the trio. Stomachs yearning for the fresh kill.
Jakery threw both daggers at an incoming beast, they whizzed through the humid air and struck a target. A blade dug itself into the shoulder, another onto its neck.
Ether waited for another to creep closer. His breathing was controlled, sweet piling on his forehead. Then, when one approached, he drove the back of his hand against their head. Knocking them to the ground.
A stomach-twisting crunch rung between the group as he landed on its head, crushing its skull into a pile of gore. Tellendor felt heavy in his hand as he hacked away at the face of another Stram.
During his attack, another beast tried to pounce on him. And it did. Its weight sent him off balance, dropping Ether where Jakery was not too long ago.
Before its front legs could touch the ground, Jakery erupted up from beneath. Driving both daggers into its stomach, saving Ether from the attack. As the siblings fought in harmony, Oria was left out.
She roared and slashed away at slowly advancing creatures. Until one of her hands got clamped by a Stram's jaws, the teeth pierced the skin and bone.
While she was struggling, another Stram charged towards her. Ramming its head into her stomach, sending her onto the uncomfortable forest floor.
Oria tried to crawl away with her bloody hand, until two more Stram approached her. Each one took a leg and bit down as hard as they could. Inviting the original over to bite at her already injured hand.
The fourth Stram tried to climb onto her stomach, searching for a good angle to kill her. With every whimper, yelp, and feeble roar, Oria alerted the siblings.
Ether screamed in utter rage as he hurled Tellendor to one of the Stram. It nearly chopped the head off the one that attacked her hand, catching the others by surprise.
Jakery grunted as he tried to resist the attack. He stabbed and kicked, sending forces back. Not letting anyone get closer to them unless they wanted to be punished.
In Ether's blind fury, he forced the Stram that stood over Oria's stomach onto its hind legs. To protest against this, the Stram clamped its jaws around Ether's helmet.
Metal groaned, trying to endure. But Ether knew it would be wiser to let go of it. He twisted the helmet and pulled away. Letting the Stram keep it in its jaws.
Before it could drop it, Ether punched two holes to its ribs. Then mustered all his strength to force open the rib cage, causing the beast to die a slow and painful death as it dropped to the ground.
He kicked one of the incoming attackers on the jaws, shattering it. Then he struck the other's windpipe with a clean elbow, cutting its oxygen flow.
After finishing off another kill, Jakery slowly retreated. Only to realize the Stram were also retreating. Starting with the ones near the dens.
They took off running into the woods, leaving the pups inside. It was their hope that they could return later to find them in there.
Not long after them, those that surrounded the trio broke out into a wild charge through the forest. Leaving each other's sides so they did not have to worry about all being caught at once.
Despite the blatant victory, Ether remained in tears. He struggled to speak as he watched Oria struggle to stay awake through the blood loss.
"Ja - Jak... Jakery," Ether mumbled. "Go, go get Gl - Gloria. HURRY!"
On command, his younger brother began to struggle with direction of where they came from. Sending him to run in circles around the dying Oria and the troubled Ether.
It enraged his older brother. "JAKERY!" he screamed. "Please, for once. Be strong and mature, this is important to me. If she dies, some of me dies too."
The pressure was too much, yet he wanted to at least try. Jakery took off sprinting in a random direction for Gloria, hoping to find her somewhere.
As he ran, he felt the strange sense of dread appear over his body again. Almost like there was something following him through the woods that wanted to torture him.
Survival instincts took over, making him run faster and take all sorts of turns to avoid whatever it was. For several minutes, he ran away from nothing. Until the feeling went away.
Gloria screeched, bowing her head to greet Jakery. He felt too tired to continue, but this was no time to rest. He had to push for a little longer.
Using the last remaining bit of stamina and a lot more adrenaline, he scaled Gloria's back and managed to make her lift off the ground. Together, they dashed through the trees until they found Ether and Oria.
Hearing the familiar sound of a rumbling beast gave Oria hope, she struggled to speak, wanting to ask if Valentine was there to treat her. However, she could only feel herself getting lifted up.
Ether used pure adrenaline to bring her on Gloria's back, being as careful as he could be during the entire process. Before he got situated, he looked over his shoulder.
"We are not leaving with an injured Feral, stay here."
Jakery watched him go from hole to hole, picking up 'dead' Stram pups. Who were just acting, hoping their motionless bodies would be enough to deter whatever picked them up.
Once he had collected everyone he could find, he dashed over to Jakery. He picked them up by two's, then placed them on his lap where they continued to rest motionless.
"You are going to fly Gloria, I need to keep Oria alive," Ether said while fixing himself around his downed friend. "You are going to be fine. Here, while we were running through..."
Jakery stopped paying attention to Ether's words. His attention was solely on bringing them back to their city, where Oria would be treated for her wounds.
As they flew, Jakery overheard Ether whispering different things he imagined into her ear. While also begging the Nine to let her live, even if it meant taking him instead.