Vivienne’s expression sharpehe wistfulness of moments ago repced by a predatory focus. “That didn’t sound like Rava pung something,” she muttered, her tail curling and uncurling behind her in agitation.

  Kivvy scrambled to her feet, her ears twitg as she tried to locate the dire of the noise. “What was that? Did the ward fail?”

  Vivienne rose gracefully, her movements fluid despite the tension in her frame. “No, it’s still holding,” she said, her bck eyes darting toward the shimmering edge of the ward. It pulsed faintly, undisturbed, but the distant sound of the fight was growing louder.

  Another deafening crash cut her off, followed by a furious, guttural roar that reverberated through the ground. The sound was different from the screeches of the Duskharrow they’d heard earlier. This was deeper, more feral, and it carried an edge of pain and desperation.

  “That’s not the Duskharrow,” Vivienne growled, her body tensing like a coiled spring.

  Kivvy’s face paled. “Then what is it?”

  Vivienne didn’t answer immediately. Her gaze fixed on the horizon beyond the ward, where faint fshes of aetheric light illumihe darkened pins. For a moment, the fiery glow of Rava’s gaus fred in the distance, but it was apanied by anht—an ominous, shifting greehat seemed to pulse like a heartbeat.

  “Something else joihe party,” Vivienne said grimly. She gnced back at Kivvy, her sharp griurning. “Stay here. Things might get iing.”

  Without waiting for a reply, Vivienne pced her hand against the edge of the ward, testing its strength. Her cws scraped against the invisible barrier, sending faint ripples of energy outward. Her tongue flicked out, tasting the aether in the air, and her grin widened.

  Kivvy took a hesitant step forward, her voice a mix end exasperation. “What are you doing? You ’t get through!”

  Vivienne didn’t immediately reply. Her cws raked lightly against the barrier, creating faint sparks of aetheriergy. She tilted her head, her tongue flig out and tasting the air again. “But there’s food waiting out there,” she murmured, almost to herself. Her voice had a dreamy, predatory edge, her gaze fixed otle beyond the ward. “I taste it.”

  With a frustrated sigh, she stepped back, folding her arms. “But you’re right. I ’t get through. Not like this, anyway.” Her tail shed against the ground, the motioraying her agitation.

  She gnced over at Kivvy, her expression softening slightly. “Renzia, sweetheart?” Vivienne called, her tone switg to one of sing-song affe.

  At her name, Renzia, who had been sitting quietly on the edge of the ward, immediately sprang into a. The mannequin dashed over to Vivienne, her movements a chaotic mix of grad awkwardness. She tripped halfway, her wooden frame tumbling face-first into the dirt with a muffled thud.

  Vivienne chuckled, shaking her head fondly. “You’re so eager, aren’t you?” She leaned down, Renzia a hand, which the mannequin gratefully took. Renzia straightened herself, brushing dust off her dipidated dress with meical precision.

  “Could you fetch Rava for me, please?” Vivienne tinued, her voice calm but firm. “You don’t o fight, but I think we o have a group talk. Quickly, if you don’t mind.”

  Renzia tilted her head slightly, as if processing the request, then nodded with an exaggerated motion. She turned and sprioward the edge of the ward, her movements disjointed but swift, leaving faint iions in the ground where her feet nded.

  The mannequin darted through the barrier with effortless grace, her awkward gait smoothing out as soon as she crossed into the chaos beyond. Her head turned side to side with quick, birdlike movements, her faceless visage somehow managing to vey an intense sense of focus. Spotting Rava was easy enough—the lekine was unmistakable, a storm of fists and crag aether as she battered the t Duskharrow.

  Without hesitation, Renzia bolted toward Rava, her wooden joints creaking faintly as she moved. The giant i loomed over Rava, its tail whipping dangerously close, but the mannequin showed no fear. She reached up with a meical precision and firmly gripped the back of Rava’s tunic, her cloth-covered fingers closing like a vice.

  “What the hell—!” Rava shouted in surprise as Renzia yanked her backward with startling strength. Despite her protests, the mannequin dragged the lekioward the barrier, Rava’s boots digging into the dirt as she attempted to resist. The Duskharrow shrieked behind them, rearing ba frustration at the sudden disappearance of its foe.

  Renzia’s pace didn’t falter, and before Rava could wriggle free, they both crossed the ward’s boundary. The mannequin came to an abrupt halt just inside, releasing Rava with a slight bow, as if to apologize for the undigreatment.

  Rava stumbled a step, regaining her bance, and spun around, her fists still glowing faintly with residual energy. Her tail flicked with irritation, and she fixed Renzia with a withering gre. “What in the everloving void was that for?” she demanded, her voice dripping with annoyance.

  Renzia, as usual, offered no verbal response, only tilting her head in what might have been an i gesture.

  Vivienne, loungihe campfire with her tail curled around her, couldn’t suppress a grin. “Wele back,” she said, her voice dripping with amusement. “We needed a quick family meeting.”

  Rava crossed her arms, gring at both Vivienne and Renzia. “A meeting? Now? You had Renzia drag me out of the middle of a fight for a meeting?”

  Vivienne nodded, entirely uant. “It’s an important one, I promise. There is something else out there. Don’t know what but I think it was attracted to the noise you were making.”

  Kivvy gred at Rava. “You said my boomsticks would be too loud too!”

  Rava closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. “I did, yes. I suppose I just got a bit too into it."

  Vivienne leaned ba her hands, her grin as sharp as the glint of her teeth. “A bit too into it? Rava, the way you were going at that thing, it sounded like you were auditioning for the role of ‘thunder goddess.’”

  Kivvy crossed her arms and huffed, her gre fixed on Rava. “A I’m the one who gets lectured about noise discipline! You were practically ringing a dinner bell out there!”

  Rava opened one eye and regarded Kivvy with a faint scowl. “I’ve seen goblin explosives before. If my guess is right, your ‘boomsticks’ will be a whole different level of loud. If you’d used them, we’d have every aetherbeast in the region crashing this party.”

  “And the Duskharrow didn’t t?” Kivvy shot back, gesturing toward the still-roiling storm beyond the barrier.

  Rava sighed heavily, her tail flig with faint irritation. “It’s not the same. It’s ohing to engage a sihreat, ao announce our location to aire steppe.” She opened both eyes and gave Vivienne a pointed look. “And I didn’t see you stopping me.”

  Vivienne smirked, her expression utterly unapologetic. “Oh, I was busy enjoying the show. Besides, you seemed to have it handled—until, of course, I had to send Renzia t you back like a uppy.”

  Rava groaned, ping the bridge of her nose as Kivvy burst into ughter. “A puppy? Really?” Kivvy wheezed. “I mean, she kinda has the ears for it…”

  Rava shot her a ft look, but it did little to quell Kivvy’s giggles. “Let’s focus,” Rava said firmly, her tone brooking nument. “Vivienne, you said there’s something else out there. What do you mean?”

  Vivienne’s pyful demeanor sobered slightly, though a mischievous twinkle remained in her eyes. “Just a hunch, really,” she said, her tongue flig out briefly as if tasting the air. “Something about the way the aether feels… heavier. It’s not just the Duskharrow anymore. There’s something else stirring.”

  Rava’s lips pressed into a thin line as she mulled over their choices. Her gaze swept the camp, taking in Kivvy’s nervous energy, Vivienne’s feigned nonce, and the eerily still Renzia, who stood like a sileinel. Finally, she exhaled sharply through her nose, her arms crossing over her chest.

  “Staying put risks drawing more attention if whatever’s out there decides we’re worth the trouble,” Rava said, her voice low and measured. “But taking down the ward, even temporarily, leaves us exposed. her option is great, but at least with the ward down, we’re not sitting ducks.”

  Kivvy shuffled her feet, clearly uneasy. “If you’re thinking about taking it down, you’d better be damn sure we handle what’s out there. ‘Cause if it’s worse than that Duskharrow, we might not get a sed ce to run.”

  “I don’t run,” Rava said ftly, her tail twitg once before falling still again. “But your point stands. We’ll only disma if we’re absolutely certain it’s our best option.”

  Vivieretched zily, her tone almost mog. “Oh, how reassuring. Just dismahe thing a me handle whatever crawls out of the woods. You’ve seen me fight, Rava. You know I take care of myself.”

  Rava shot her a sharp look, the glow of her eyes dimming slightly. “You’re strong, Vivienne. But you’re not invincible. I’m not going to gamble with everyone’s safety because you want to flex your cws.”

  Vivienne shrugged, but her tail flicked behind her, betraying her irritation. “Fine, fine. But you’ll still o figure out how we’re moving forward. You know I’m ly a fan of staying penned up in here.”

  Renzia tilted her head slightly, as if waiting for a and, her unblinking stanehow both patient and uling. Vivieiced and grinned. “At least Renzia’s got my back, right? She’d make a good lookout.”

  Kivvy groahrowing her hands up. “We’ve got a shape-shifting nightmare, a thunder-pung lekine, and a clumsy mannequin that is somehow very very scary with her needles. Why does it feel like I’m the only one worried about dying here?”

  “Because you’re practical,” Rava said, a faint smirk tugging at her lips. “And practicality’s going to keep us alive. But let’s not make any decisions until we know more.”

  Rava’s gaze lingered on the edge of the barrier, where faiheric distortions rippled through the air. “We need a clear pn. And we fast.”

  “Well.” Started Vivienne. “Why don’t we see if we figure out what’s out there and then make a decision? If we think it’s too much to hah the ward down, we hole up in here. If we think we take it, we break the barrier and I feast. Sound good?”

  Rava frowned in ptioail flig as she weighed their options. After a moment, she gave a firm nod. “Yeah. I like that. Let’s go with that. Renzia, do you mind going out there and scouting with me?”

  The mannequin turoward Vivie the mention of her name, her movements smooth and precise. Vivie her gaze and gave a gentle nod. “You if you want to, dear.”

  At that, Renzia turo Rava, her metal-stitch face betraying ion but a sharp, silent uanding. She nodded once, sharply, ready for the task ahead.

  Rava’s gaze sharpened as she refocused ouation at hand. “I’ll keep the duskharrow busy for a while. It’s pretty badly damaged, but it’ll just be all the more dangerous for it. Renzia, please go see if you find whatever else is out there.” Her voice held a note enow. The situation had grown too precarious for hesitation.

  Vivieail swished zily behind her as she observed the exge, her sharp eyes sing the perimeter of their camp. “Be careful,” she warhough the tone of her voice betrayed more curiosity than . She was fined by the barrier, but her mind was already turning over the possibilities of what y beyond it.

  Rava gave a small nod, aowledging Vivienne’s words, before her attention snapped back to Renzia. "Ready when you are. Let's move quickly."

  Without another word, Renzia’s slender, lithe form darted toward the edge of the ward. Her movements were swift and fluid, a mix of meical grad unnatural precision. As she he barrier, she hesitated for the briefest moment, her gaze flig back to Rava and Vivienne.

  "Go," Vivienne urged softly, sensing Renzia's momentary pause. “We’re ting on you.”

  With that, the mannequin slipped into the shadows beyond the ward, vanishing from sight. The camp was silent for a few moments, the tension hanging thi the air. Rava stood ready, watg the area where Renzia had disappeared. The quiet was eerie, broken only by the faint crag of the fire and the distant chittering of the wounded duskharrow.

  Rava crouched low, her sharp eyes trag the duskharrow as it moved through the tall grass, its segmented body glinting faintly uhe dim light. The chittering horror’s every movement was erratic yet purposeful, like a predator on the prowl despite its injuries. She exhaled slowly, muscles coiling like a drawn b before she surged forward, c the distaween them in an instant.

  Her fist crackled with energy, faint arcs of statig between her cws as she smmed her punto the creature’s side. The impact reverberated through the duskharrow's exoskeleton with a siing ch, and a burst of static discharged from her hand, sending a jolt through its massive frame. The beast let out a screech so loud and pierg that Rava had to grit her teeth to stave off the splitting pain in her ears.

  She leapt back, barely avoiding the duskharrow's enormous stinger as it shot toward her, the poiip smming into the ground with enough force to send a spray of dirt and debris into the air. The grouh her boots trembled from the force of the attack, but Rava remaieady, her stance banced and poised for her move.

  The creature twisted toward her, its jagged mandibles snapping furiously, but it was slower now, its movements hindered by its previous injuries. Rava seized the opportunity, darting in close once more. Her cws dug into the joint of one of its damaged legs, her grip firm as she braced her foot against its armored side. With a feral growl, she yanked with all her strength, ripping the limb off with a wet, tearing sound. A thick, dark ichor sprayed from the wound, coating her arm and spttering the ground.

  The duskharrow shrieked again, thrashing wildly in pain and rage. It shed out with an, but Rava was already on the move, sidestepping the attack with fluid precision. She tossed the severed limb aside like discarded trash, her eyes narrowing as she prepared for the strike.

  It twisted its massive body, its remaining legs skittering furiously across the ground as it tried to reposition itself. Its mandibles snapped open and closed with a sharp, metallic ctter, the sound reverberating iense night air. Rava circled the creature, her sharp eyes dartiween its joints and oints, seeking another opening.

  It lunged, its stinger slig through the air in a vicious arc. Rava ducked uhe strike, rolling forward and ing up with her cws already charged. She smmed her fist into the creature’s underbelly, sending another pulse of statiergy surging through its body. The duskharrow let out a keening wail, its movements growing more erratic as the damage piled on.

  “You’re making this harder than it o be,” Rava muttered under her breath, sidestepping another desperate swipe from its cws. Her muscles coiled as she leapt onto its back, cws digging into the chitin frip. The beast bucked wildly, trying to throw her off, but Rava held firm. She drove her foot down hard on the base of its stinger, pinning it against the ground.

  With her other hand, she reached up, her cws raking across its thorax to rip away at its armored pting. ks of chitin broke away under her relentless assault, exposing the softer, pulsating tissue beh.

  The duskharrow screeched, its voi ear-splitting cresdo of fury and agony. It vulsed, thrashing against the earth in its desperation to escape, but Rava didn’t relent. She raised her cwed hand high, lightning arg between her fingers, before plunging it straight into the exposed flesh.

  A crag surge of energy coursed through the creature’s body, its movements faltering as the static fried its ihe duskharrow gave o, pitiful shriek before colpsing, its massive frame shuddering once befoing still.

  Rava jumped down from its back, brushing ichor off her tunic with a disgusted expression. Her breathing was steady, though her muscles burned from the exertion. She he carcass with her boot to e was truly dead before stepping back.

  “That’s one problem down,” she muttered to herself, gng toward the darkness beyond the ward. “Now let’s see what else we’re dealing with.”

  Meanwhile, Renzia moved with a blend of eerie grad meical precision, darting across the open expanse of the steppe. The soft glow of the campfire had long faded into the distance, leaving her silhouetted against the faint light of the moon and stars. The rolling grass swayed gently in the wind, their motion masking her swift movements as she sed the area for any signs of the unknown presence.

  Her wooden joints moved fluidly, almost too smoothly for something of her make, her cloth-ed frame blending into the muted shades of the night. Every so often, she paused, croug low to the ground, her faceless head tilting in sharp, birdlike jerks as though listening to the whispers of the night.

  The steppe was quiet but not silent. The occasional chirp of noal creatures and the rustle of tall grass provided a steady backdrop to her search. But Renzia was not listening for ordinary sounds. She was attuo something else—a faint, pulsing vibration that lingered in the air, subtle but persistent, like a whisper carried on the wind.

  As she advanced, her movements became more deliberate. The sensation of something nearby was growing stronger, an almost imperceptible hum that resonated within her core. She halted suddenly, her wooden frame as still as a stone, and tilted her head again. A faint shimmer caught her attention—a ripple in the air that seemed out of pce, as though the fabric of reality itself was ing ever so slightly.

  Renzia crept forward, her limbs barely disturbing the grass beh her. The ripple coalesced into a form—tall, sinuous, and unnervingly angur. It moved with an unnatural grace, its segmented body gleaming faintly in the moonlight. The creature seemed to glide across the steppe, its movements fluid yet disjointed, like a marioe pulled by invisible strings.

  The pulsing vibration grew louder in her perception, almost rhythmiow, as if the being itself was emitting the sound. Renzia stopped again, her faceless head tilting as she studied the figure. It didn’t seem to notice her yet, its focus directed elsewhere. She crouched low, her cloth-ed hands pressing into the cool earth as she debated her move.

  The creature paused, its head—if it could be called that—turning slightly, as though sniffing the air or sing for something unseen. Its angur frame shifted, catg the faint light and revealing a work of metallic veins running across its surface. It exuded an aura of cold aether, sharp and unnatural, like an open wound in the fabric of the world.

  Renzia remaiill, her body unnaturally rigid, waiting for the creature to make its move. After a moment, it resumed its gliding motion, moving further into the steppe. Renzia rose silently, her movements slow and deliberate as she began to follow. Whatever this thing was, it was no ordinary predator, and she o learn more before returning to the others.

  SupernovaSymphony