As they waited around Dorin's ego, they heard a loud bird call. Looking up, there was a large winged creature in the sky, circling them.
"How long will it take until it's done?" Morah combed through her wet hair with her hands.
"I don't know. I've never done this before."
"Right. When it is, we need to run."
After a few more minutes the river was no more, all that was left were its smooth stones and various wilting plants.
The two of them hurried towards what was left of the forest, but the flying creature had already begun to dive towards them.
"Is there anything different about your ego now?"
"The nine is back."
Morah looked at him, confused. Dorin didn't understand why, to him it was a big change. The only question was why there was still an eight on his hand.
The creature approached rapidly and they saw its black beak glint in the sun, and a plethora of gray feathers pressed closely to its body. It looked like a larger version of the birds that they just had for dinner.
"It can't be-" The air screamed as the creature neared Dorin, and he only just managed to dodge the creature by jumping to the side. It went went right back up into the sky before they could get a better look.
"That was lucky. If we can't make it to the forest, the only way we survive is if you hit it with your ego." Morah pulled Dorin out of the wet dirt of the dead river's bank.
"I don't think anything about today has been lucky. I can't even roll anything halfway decent."
"With how powerful your ego is, I think even a one might be enough to scare it away." Morah stared at his left hand for a moment with a contemplating look.
"What?"
"Nothing."
They once again saw a dark shape diving towards them, and Dorin put the ego in his dominant right hand. He felt less of a connection to it, but he couldn't be trusted to throw anything with his left.
A moment from safety, Dorin heard the scream again and turned to face the oncoming foe. He made himself an easy target, so the bird wouldn't change direction.
Just as he saw the bird's claws reach out to grab him, he let his ego fly. He felt the claws gouge into his chest, and the bird didn't let go, bringing both of them to the ground.
"Get it off me!" Dorin yelled, the pain was all he could think about. He was rolling around with the beast, bashing it with his arms in an attempt to make it let go. It flapped its wings and he nearly went unconscious as he felt the claws tear through his flesh.
Dorin looked at the gray bird to see if he managed to hit it and saw a large black two on its chest before passing out completely.
. . .
Morah peeked out from the trees and saw Dorin and the gray bird lying side by side. She rushed over, and saw bloody marks all over Dorin's torso. Putting her head to his chest, she was surprised to find that he was still alive.
The bird's chest was heaving up and down, so there was no doubt of its survival. Morah watched as the two grew to cover the beast's entire body, until it was completely black. 'He did it.'
. . .
Dorin awoke to find his chest tightly covered in cloth, and his legs wrapped with vines. He tried to sit up but a sharp pain stopped his endeavors.
"Finally awake, eh?" Morah warmed her hands by a small fire between the two of them. "It's been nearly a whole day since you passed out."
A black figure dropped to the ground beside Dorin, before putting its face gently in his lap. It threw a small rabbit towards the fire before nuzzling his legs again.
It took Dorin a few seconds to contemplate what just happened, but once he saw the pile of small animals by the fire along with the smell of cooked meat, he knew that they had gained a companion.
"Say hello to your ego." Morah said.
"That's my ego?" Dorin had been wondering about what had happened to his die, as it was no longer in his hand or anywhere in sight.
"For now. If it gets enough food then you'll get your die back but with how voracious your ego is, I doubt you'll be seeing it again anytime soon."
Dorin put his hand on the beast, gently at first, but as it let out a happy squeak he lost all fear. 'It needs a name.' Looking at it closer, it had become almost entirely black on the surface, but underneath and on its beak and claws there were tinges of blue and purple. Just above its beak there was a golden 'x', along with its golden eyes. He felt a feminine energy coming from it's protective and loving nature, something he had yearned for as a child.
Dorin tilted his head to whisper, "Anya."