At the edge of the mountain, just before another conflict, The nameless leopard bound the fiber tight. His wounds had knit with time, but his eye, and the human he'd lost, would never return.
The wind brushed against his fur, tugging at the loose strands of the bandage.
He could still smell the ash that clung to his memories.
Somewhere far below, the world was moving again, uncaring.
"So, I've been through many forms, huh…" the leopard murmured, a ghost of a smile on his face.
"From worm to bird, from beauty and innocence… to a beast," he said softly, eyes tracing the curve of his claws.
He paused for a moment, staring at his own claws.
"No... shape doesn't matter to me anymore."
The moonlight caught the dull sheen of his fur.
He flexed his claws once, then let them rest against the stone.
"Maybe," he whispered, "I was never meant to stay one thing for long."
"But what comes next… what's waiting for me out there?"
He stared at the tree beside him. The flutter of wings drew his gaze upward.
"I'm back, honey!" the mother bird shouted.
"Mom! I've been scared, Mom! That beast was lying there all the time!" the small bird cried, his tiny body clinging to his mother.
"Oh dear, he's wounded so badly…" the mother bird murmured in surprise.
For a moment, The nameless leopard smiled faintly, his gaze drifting between the two birds before easing shut—a quiet gesture of peace.
"Let's sleep, dear," the mother whispered as her heartbeat slowed, her wings folding like a blanket over her child.
"Was nature ever this kind?" He murmured, eyelids lowering in thought.
"If I hadn't met that little human… would I still be this way?"
"What is this beautiful feeling? My body feels light… like a feather—like when I was flying."
He paused for a moment.
"Am I free?" he whispered.
The night didn't feel heavy—it simply existed beside him.
The ground quivered beneath him; the calm night shattered in an instant.
"W… what's there?!" His eyes shot open, narrowing to slits of instinct.
"M-Mom!! What's happening?!" the small bird cried, blinking against the darkness.
The mother bird froze, her gaze locked on a shadow moving through the trees.
"It's nothing, dear," she said softly, though her wings trembled.
The branches above shivered, scattering a few loose feathers into the air.
"WHERE ARE YOU, CLAW?!" a deep voice boomed, rolling through the night like thunder.
The deep voice cut through the dark. "LET'S FIGHT AGAIN!"
Every creature fell into a hush, waiting for the next sound.
"G… Grizzler?!"
"I'm sure that sound was Grizzler's…"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
It was only a matter of seconds before a huge shadow appeared.
"Hey, look at you, Claw!" Grizzler's voice dripped with its old, cruel amusement.
His grin shone through the darkness, unchanged, familiar, and menacing.
"I… I'm not Claw! Not the one you once knew!" the leopard shouted, snapping into a defensive stance.
His breath came out ragged, a mix of fear and defiance.
The air between them felt heavy, like the moment before a storm breaks.
"Huh?" Grizzler's grin widened, teeth flashing like knives in the dark.
"Then who are you, coward?"
"I… I'm…" The words broke apart in his throat. "That's right… I still don't have a name."
He fixed his eyes on the ground, confusion and exhaustion weighing on him.
Grizzler kept staring, unimpressed.
Grizzler's shadow loomed closer before the strike.
Thud!
He swung his arm, throwing the leopard aside.
The ground cracked beneath his fall. Dust rose, swallowing him in a pale cloud.
He coughed, blood mixing with the dirt, yet his eyes still tried to find Grizzler's shape.
"Pathetic," Grizzler sneered. "I didn't even need to look at you."
Even half-blind, the real Claw would've dodged that pathetic swing.
Grizzler froze. That sluggish reaction… it wasn't Claw's. He thought
The realization struck deeper than any wound; this wasn't the beast he remembered.
"That filthy fur… and he buried them, all the humans," Grizzler whispered, disbelief flickering as he stared at the ground, a graveyard of humans.
Beneath them stretched a field of shallow mounds, each marked by silence.
Even Grizzler, brutal as he was, felt the stillness claw at him.
He clenched his jaw before forcing his voice steady again.
"Who are you really?" he muttered under his breath.
Then he turned back to the leopard.
"I came for honey, not pity. Stay out of my way!"
"I can't wait for Vein to spill where he hid the honey… I'm starving."
The leopard swayed, his breath ragged, voice breaking with guilt.
"About that honey… I'm really sorry… I couldn't help it."
"Don't tell me… you ate the honey?" Grizzler gasped, turning sharply toward the leopard.
"All of it," he admitted, eyes lowering in shame.
For a second, silence swallowed the night again.
Grizzler's jaw dropped, somewhere between rage and disbelief.
"YOU DID WHAT?! YOU FILTH!"
"SCREW YOU, VEIN ! AND ALL YOU LEOPARDS! I WON'T WAIT ! I'LL END HIM NOW!"
Grizzler launched forward, paws cleaving the air toward the leopard.
The leopard didn't move; as if he had already accepted his fate, he closed his eyes.
Thud!
Leaves tore apart beneath Grizzler's charge, the sound slicing through the trees like a whip.
A distant bird shrieked once, then vanished into silence.
"AAAH! I couldn't stop it!" Gash trembled behind a tree.
His claws dug into the bark, leaving thin scratches behind.
"Vein… what do we do now?" he whispered, voice barely a breath.
Gash kept whining until he heard two figures approaching.
"Thank the stars you came, Vein! And, wait, who's the deer?" Gash panted, his tongue lolling out, though he knew the situation was anything but right.
Vein froze mid-step; his breath caught, then curved into a smirk.
"What am I seeing before my eyes?" Ivy's voice trembled between awe and disbelief.
"Is that the dying leopard?…"
"Claw himself?!"
A laugh tore from Vein's throat, sharp and wild.
His tone dripped with satisfaction and something darker.
The moonlight caught his grin, glinting like a blade.
"Well done…
Grizzler!"