When Claw collapsed onto the ground, sleep claimed him instantly. The wind passed by, wilder and louder than before.
A dark silhouette emerged, clutching a strand of thick fiber.
Claw felt a warm hand on him for a fleeting moment. He thought it was Leila and cracked open his left eye.
"L... who?"
Claw didn't move; the hand felt steady, almost sacred, something he could trust without question.
Her touch lingered, soft but uncertain, as if torn between staying and vanishing.
After a few minutes, she left and disappeared among the forest shadows—
"Don't worry, you'll be okay…" The voice drifted through the mountain, fading like smoke.
"Thank you... for saving me." She whispered
Who is...? Claw's eye closed again, consumed by pain.
The night stretched on in fragments of fevered sleep and dull ache. The wind outside never stopped.
When morning came, Claw stood up.
The first thing he saw was the tribe's hut, collapsed, smothered in ash.
"So it wasn't a dream, huh…" Claw whispered, his smile was cracked and hollow.
As Claw wandered through the silent huts, a glimmer caught his eye — golden honey seeping from a cracked jar.
He lifted it carefully, the scent sweet and pure, untouched by ruin.
Before eating it, Claw sniffed it and realized it was the only thing untouched by destruction.
"Tasty," Claw thought, a faint joy flickering behind tired eyes.
The sweetness lingered like a small lie
"No… not yet." Claw's voice was low, sticky sweetness still clinging to his lips.
"Not until I find it," he murmured, eyes fixed on the blood-marked soil.
His fists clenched, the warmth of honey fading into cold resolve. Each step sank into the dust where memories still burned.
He headed toward the battlefield; the ground there was painted in dried crimson.
"Here it is…" Claw whispered, staring at his own lifeless eye — empty, like Leila's gaze.
Then he walked to the place where they used to spend their nights together — each step toward their resting place dragged like a chain of memories.
Hopefully I kept the small human's eye there… Claw thought, approaching the spot where Vein had thrown it.
He prayed the small human's eye was still there, untouched by time or beasts.
Claw held both eyes .. one green and wild, the other small and brown, trembling in his palm.
He almost squeezed them in fury and frustration.
"Small human…" Claw whispered.
He stepped toward Wooly's body and reached for his head.
Claw tightened his fist until blood seeped from it.
"The warmth of his own blood barely grounded him , it only reminded him that he was still alive, while they were not."
His paws shook; rage and sorrow tangled like fire and ash.
"How could they be so cruel…" His voice cracked under the weight of loss.
Claw dug a wide grave into the earth, burying not just what remained — but what once was.
Then he buried everything , every memory.
Each shovelful felt heavier, as if the ground itself resisted letting go.
"I don't know if this is right…" he whispered, eyes fixed on the lifeless pieces slipping into the soil.
The scent of earth and blood hung heavy in the air.
Claw turned and stared at the dead bodies, then sighed again.
"I think there's too much work to do, huh?"
Hours passed. The mountain lay empty of all creatures, only Claw remained, staring into the distance.
The sun bled into the horizon, turning the mountain's silence into gold.
His breath shuddered out, misting faintly in the cooling air.
The leopard turned toward the forest, uncertain if the weight in his chest had lifted , or merely shifted.
"I'm not Claw… I never was." His faint smile trembled as if testing the sound of freedom.
"In fact, I dislike that name." For a moment, his smile widened; a new identity came to his mind.
"My name is..." His voice drifted, carried off by the evening wind.
In the depths of the forest, Vein dragged Gash's limp body through the mud.
"Mercy? Don't make me laugh," Vein hissed.
As he approached his place, a huge figure appeared in front of him.
"Look, look, what do we have here? Two losers."
A towering shadow stepped out from the darkness. It was none other than Grizzler.
"You both held this territory for so long," Grizzler growled, sarcasm curling through his voice.
His claws cracked like thunder as they struck.
Sparks of dirt scattered from the impact, echoing through the hollow forest. Vein froze, a big frown drawn on his face.
"Grizzler…" Vein hissed.