Shakha and Gid slowly approached the Lopus as it siphoned darkness from the sand around it.
The beast quickly noticed the two warriors and let out a low bone-shaking roar.
Shakha readied his club while Gid raised his sword.
The Lopus raised its head and let out another deep roar.
Shakha quickly noticed that wisps of darkness were gathering at his feet and so he quickly dashed away.
The ground he stood then became home to a bed of meter-long spikes.
He returned his attention to the Lopus and saw that Gid was flanking to the right.
Shakha nodded to himself before dashing to the left.
Several wisps of smoke followed Shakha and Gid as they ran and trailing behind them was a path of dark spikes.
Shakha tried dashing toward the Lopus only for a meter long spike to rise from the ground.
The needle nearly impaled him, but he quickly dashed to the side before retreating to a safe distance.
Gid then moved in to attack the Lopus only to get slammed in the face by the Lopus's large paw.
"Gid!" Shakha cried as he raised his large club to bash the Lopus.
The beast turned to face Shakha, who was already mid-swing.
The Lopa took a hit to the head and made a pained squeal before raising its other paw to attack Shakha, who frantically dashed away.
The Lopus let out a flurry of attacks and its dagger-like claws nearly ripped Shakha to shreds, but the young Rendaro narrowly avoided each strike while bashing the beast's head every chance he got.
That being said, several deep cuts appeared on Shakha's forearms as the Lopus managed to land a few blows.
As Shakha engaged in a furious melee with the Lopus, he couldn't help but feel as though his body was getting a little too hot.
No- the very air itself was getting hotter.
Shakha also noticed that the beast's movements were getting slower and so he raised his club as high as he could in an attempt to crush its skull.
The Lopus raised its paw to defend itself, but just as Shakha's club struck its large forearm, the meat in its entire right arm shattered as though it were made of glass.
Shakha gasped before noticing that Gid had gotten up. Not only that, his eyes had a pale blue glow to them.
Shakha sighed internally before smacking the Lopus's head once.
Gid responded by cutting the spot behind the Lopus's knees, crippling the beast.
Shakha then raised his club again before hitting the Lopus's head, prompting the creature to let out a whiny death squeal.
Shakha and Gid took deep and heavy breaths as they stood over the beast's corpse.
"Whew. That was… intense." Gid remarked before raising an eyebrow while looking at Shakha.
"Look at you. All covered in scratches like a stray. Come on. Let's drag this thing back." Gid said.
Shakha nodded before helping Gid carry the Lopus back to the Oasis and thankfully Gid was far less talkative this time around.
.
..
"Whoa." Gid gasped as he and Shakha approached the young warrior's hut.
There they saw that it was absolutely crowded with people who joyfully laughed and talked over the rhythmic beating of drums.
Some people noticed Shakha and Gid.
Those people loudly announced their return and a small crowd quickly gathered around the two.
"What in the world happened to you guys?"
"Whoa! That's a Lopus."
"What about their troop? Did they kill it by themselves?"
"Oi! Shut up and help us butcher this thing already." Gid snapped, silencing the small crowd.
Gid and Shakha handed over their catch before making their way towards Shakha's hut where Laïn could be seen proudly boasting about her achievements.
She quickly noticed Shakha's approach and her face went from smug to concerned.
She ran up to him and looked him over with a face that looked more frustrated than anything.
"What happened?" Laïn asked as she pulled on Shakha to guide him into the hut, but he resisted momentarily while curiously looking around.
"Don't worry. I'm fine. It was just a Lopus. Also, I brought uncle Gid over. He'll-"
"Get inside." Laïn snapped.
Shakha nodded faintly before following Laïn into the tent where Eshi and Khal sat idly on the bed.
They quickly noticed Shakha's blood-covered arms and rushed to his side and like Laïn, they seemed more upset rather than worried.
"Sit down," Laïn instructed.
Shakha did as he was told while the girls brought various boxes to him.
"Just a Lopus," Laïn muttered softly as she grabbed Shakha's arm. The scars that covered it weren't too deep, but they were plentiful.
She then dipped a small piece of cloth in a clear liquid before gently wiping the blood off of Shakha's arms.
He felt a slight sting from the liquid, but it didn't bother him too much.
The girls quickly wiped Shakha's body down before wrapping it in bandages.
"Now, you're going to sit here and rest. I'll tell everyone to go to uncle Gid's so that you can rest peacefully-"
"First off, you're all overreacting again. Secondly, today is your day. Don't let me ruin it for you."
"I didn't say the celebration was over," Laïn said as she stood up.
"I just don't want anyone to disturb you while you recover." She said before leaving.
Shakha looked at Eshi and Khal for answers, but they maintained their prior expressions.
"Are you at least gonna hear me out?" Shakha asked.
"It's not that she or we don't wanna hear what you have to say. We can pretty much guess what happened. You probably didn't hesitate in attacking and recklessly putting your body in harm's way just to trade blows with your opponent." Eshi said as she too stood up to leave.
"Try not moving around too much." She said as she left.
Shakha turned to Khal, who simply laid by his side.
"I'm guessing you don't want to cuddle." Shakha said as he rested his head.
"I do, but I'll settle for just watching over you as you recover," Khal said.
"I see." Shakha said as he looked at the ceiling.
"I… mmm…" He struggled to say.
"Don't worry. Just close your eyes and sleep." Khal said as she placed her small hand on Shakha's, who gently squeezed it before eventually closing his eyes to sleep.