After everyone was finished eating we all mounted up and continued on our way. We stopped periodically for a meal and pee breaks but we did not come across Xian at all. I was starting to feel a little discouraged.
"It's okay little mate, we still have the scent unless it smells like ~" He stopped all of a sudden causing the herd to tense and circle around us.
"This smell, that's too much blood and that's definitely not a Spiked Devil Bear." Altias concerned voice softly whispered.
"Yea I know, what's even more concerning is that it's mixed in with the scent trial we were following." Here Shadow sends me a quick, "I'm so sorry little mate I don't think they are alive any longer. "
I could feel through the bound his unease at the unknown scent and the want to protect me, my clan, and the herd.
'Hey it's okay, let's turn around and head somewhere safe for the night.' I said while patting his head starting to feel anxious myself. My new skill Gut Instinct was beginning to kick in and I had a bad feeling.
'Shadow, we need to run now, I'm not sure what it is but it's bad news. We need to hide, now!'
Shadow sensed my emotions and with a deep bark he had the entire herd turning around and heading back towards a cave we had passed earlier. It wasn't a perfect place to hide but that one had huge blue shrubs infront of it that provided some coverage. As long as we could get there I felt like we would be okay.
My heart felt like a jack rabbit thumping against my chest. My gut instinct was screaming at me to reach our destination quicker. I couldn't breath. Closing my eyes I tried to picture black sheep hoping over a fence. 'One black sheep, two black sheep, three black sheep~' I felt my chest losen as more air circulated in my lungs.
All sounds around me dissappeard, all I could sense was my inner mana flow and some tiny beast baby thing that was nestled in my belly. 'I thought that thing went away after the ceremony? It looks like I'm pregnant with a baby.' I thought as I looked at it. This time really looked. It was tiny, and balled up with it's paws covering its snout. It was all black with red streaks of fur going down it's back to the three fluffy tails that were tucked up under it's chin. It's eyes were closed, and the ears were flattened against it's skull. It was just hovering there in a little ball of mana that was a swirling red and dark purple.
Suddenly it's eyes opened and I was looking into the purest white eyes I've ever seen. It, no...she was looking at me and then I felt a single thread of consciousness weaving itself with my own. Suddenly a tiny pure voice broke into my thoughts.
"Hello, can you hear me now? I've been waiting to meet you."
I gasped as my senses returned and my eyes opened to us entering the cave. The herd had already circled Raji, Layla, and Mimi who were sitting together looking confused. Shadow padded lightly through the circle and let me off, wrapping himself around me. Altia then wrapped herself around the herd and faced the entrance to the cave growling softly in her throat.
Everything was tense, I felt like the earth was shaking. No it was shaking. Something was coming, something big.
"You are possibly going to need my power and we've yet to officially link together. I am you, and you are me. We need to complete the link soon otherwise you won't be able to face what is coming."
'Wait you know what is coming? Also you are me and I am you?' I asked the tiny female voice in my head.
"Look we don't have time for your world's twenty questions. In short I'm you, the one who was born into this world and knows it because I'm a native. We are one and the same being and if our seperat minds don't sync up soon then that thing out there IF it finds us will definitely kill us."
'Okay sync up our separate minds, tell me what to do.'