When the decision came to make this forest my home, it was under two working assumptions. The first, that I was small enough that most anything around wouldn't notice me. Second, anything substantially larger than myself would, more or less, not have the ability to reach the highest branches of the forest. Neither of these assumptions, however, took into account how much differently this world functioned compared to mine. Nor how naïve I was in underestimating the dangers lurking here.
My presence detection prickled, almost painfully, which was something I hadn't experienced before. It lent weight, an immense gravity to the thing before me.
Hm...
Now that those two assumptions are well and truly busted, I'm left with only one other recourse. What else, other than to run as fast as inhumanly possible from the set of wicked fangs bared in front of me?
Beyond those pearly swords and the mouth bearing them, I could see a swath of freshly felled trees. Apparently, the creatures of this world were loth to settle with a normal tail. Jagged, deadly sharp edges rimmed the tip where, if compared to a rattlesnake's tail bulb, would be. The clean cuts through the fallen trunks evinced its mortifying degree of shearing power.
It was strange. Although I knew to run, I didn't feel the fear one might when subjected to a visage of horror like this. Cortisol, adrenaline, hormones I'd otherwise be overdosing on right now were strangely absent. I was clear headed... or clear-blobbed as it were. No doubt a consequence of my gooey physiology.
Following my inestimable sobriety, I booked it. Although I still wasn't entirely used to clambering around with my arms, my motive difficulties were the least of my concerns. Every ounce of concentration, every bit of strength I could muster I put into elongating and manipulating my tentacles toward the branches of another tree.
The snake must have been waiting for movement. At the first sign, it threw its head forward in a gaping lunge. Its ghastly white fangs grazed me as I pulled myself out of its way.
I glanced back from my new perch to see... holy... it ripped the tree from the roots from its momentum. That's a lot more destructive than I expected. It toppled slowly under the resistance put up by the snake, but inevitably pinned it in a rather pitiful display of stupidity.
An eldritch Basilisk from the pits of hell, is all I could describe it as. It had coiled it's entire length around my old tree, completely enveloping its stately ten meters. Obsidian-skinned, with dark emerald eyes set within a diamond head turned up towards me with relentless ferocity. It was trapped, if only temporarily, underneath the fallen timber. That wouldn't be for long though. Serpentine muscles rippled, undulating underneath to dislodge the offending tree from its coils.
Now that I think about it, how did it see me up there? Leaves completely obscured the spot from view, so how could it possibly detect me? Heat pits? Snakes do have that sort of thermal perception, but assuming I'm not a warm-blooded creature, it couldn't be that -unless I was completely mistaken about my physiology.
This was almost the same as that girl...
No, this is a snake and a human girl we're talking about here, there's no comparison there. It had to be a coincidence, right? But it happened all to quickly for that to be true. Or could it?
I do recall seeing birds fleeing from around the affected oak. Could it have been after their nests? There were a number of the starling-like fowl, darting between branches in their frenzied Exodus away from the snake. Elongated, white-colored versions of the familiar avian. I'm sure they laid a sizeable nest of eggs, given enough time.
As much as I wanted to assuage the tumult of questions I had, there wasn't enough time. My assailant succeeded in freeing itself from its bonds. While it didn't look like it wanted give chase after its failure, I wasn't going to sit around baiting it.
From tree to tree, I swung myself along my tendrils' lengths. I was about to make good my escape. There was a clearing up ahead, where the trees stood a good deal further apart from each other. It was a reassuring sight, but my relief wasn't meant to be. Yet another shuddering of the earth and branches above dislodged my tentacles, catapulting me forward.
This was a joke, right? I hoped I'd never see the thing that made those footprints from earlier. But it appears I had the misfortune of meeting it. Head on.
I couldn't stop myself from hurling right into the behemoth. Though the monster didn't seem perturbed at all. In fact, it seemed entirely oblivious to my presence.
It was truly massive. Four mighty legs, corded in thick strands of muscle led to those familiar three-toed soles. I anticipated a more reptilian figure overall, but to my surprise it was a mixture of many things. What vaguely resembled the armless torso of a man contrasted sharply with it's lower lizard half. Attached atop its shoulders, upon one human neck, were the heads of various creatures I could both recognize, and some I hadn't any clue what to call them.
One was eagle-like, another an anthropomorphic interpretation of a bull's head, which I would assume is similar to that of a minotaur from Greek mythology. The rest were either too abstract or too maimed from whatever battles it fought previously to classify.
I bounced off its chest, and fell to the ground. Fortunately, the impact wasn't injurious. Being soft had its advantages. However, I wasn't out of danger yet.
The basilisk finally freed itself from the tree, and reared its head high to gauge its oncoming opponent.
What is this? Some kind of old kaiju battle re-run? I'm not some cheap prop for the monsters to topple, you know? Sure, their attention wouldn't be on me, but those things were going to clash while I took the brunt of it sandwiched between them. As fragile as I was, death would be a certainty if a misplaced foot or that snake's tail crushed me.
I have to get out of here. But my path forward is blocked by the hydra ahead of me, and the snake behind barred any retreat. The flanks were my only option.
All the branches were too high up for me to reach. Great.
There wasn't a slope anywhere for me to roll down. Fantastic.
I should've used [Rudimentary Shape Manipulation] to try modifying my tendrils for ground-based travel earlier. It slipped my mind, since there didn't seem to be a need for it. But now, when I needed ground mobility most, there just simply wasn't enough time. The two titans were already lumbering towards each other.
The snake glided effortlessly along the root-veined forest floor toward the hydra, head swaying cautiously. Unsure of whether or not to strike, or to let things go, no doubt. I suppose snakes can be just as wise and cunning here as any other world.
Its adversary had other ideas. Rather than letting the great snake steel itself for battle, it plunged into a reckless charge. The ground began to vibrate as its many heads let out a muted roar. Good thing I couldn't hear it. Would probably be bleeding from the ears if I did.
I barely managed to avoid trampling by its massive feet. Its sudden charge took the basilisk by surprise. The eagle and minotaur heads gouged their beak and teeth deep into its nape, while the rest buffeted the snake's diamond head around to keep it from regaining composure.
The whole fight transpired right overhead. Feet and bloody coils thrashed about in the chaos, unpredictably slamming the ground dangerously close by.
Just one opening, that's all I needed.
A scaly claw crashed centimeters away from me, unsteadied by a new development in the tumult. This was the snake's counterassault. Fangs flashed and the end of its tail whizzed by, while purple ichor erupted from the hydra's midriff where the bite of its fangs and razor tail sunk deeply in. Both of them looked to be weakening, but neither gave ground.
As they slowed, the coils and feet parted to reveal the slimmest of chances.
Now. While the path was still open.
I flopped as quickly as I could. The snake's tail whipped around, legs tangled, and the both of them fell to the ground. A writhing, struggling mass of predatory aggression.
Then...
I was free.
The edge of the clearing was just in view. Low-hanging branches beckoned for my sweet retreat.
A morbid scene laid behind me. I looked back at it as my tendrils lifted me high into the canopy above. This forest...
It's another world's version of Natural Selection's gauntlet.
Why did I decide to come here?