Lily's world smelled like muck and mosquitoes.
Her paws squelched every time she took a step, thick mud sucking at her feet like it wanted to drag her under. Her russet fur clung in soaked clumps against her body. She could feel the mud drying between the pads of her feet, and it made her want to scream into the swamp.
She didn't. Mostly because the first time she complained out loud, a school of needle-toothed fish leapt from the water and tried to chew on her tail.
She had punted three of them into the reeds.
Her ears flicked as she pushed through knee-deep water. The marsh stretched endlessly under a ceiling of heavy clouds. Vines dangled from crooked trees, flies buzzed near her face, and every ripple in the water made her shoulders tense. She hated the wet. She hated the smell. She hated the bugs. And most of all, she hated that she was here alone.
But she wasn't weak.
Annoyed, sure. Out of her comfort zone, absolutely. But not weak.
Her sharp claws carved into the roots she used as stepping stones. Her tail swayed for balance as she scanned for a high place to perch. She just needed dry ground. A tree branch. A boulder. Anything that wasn't this mire.
She found a half-sunken log near a patch of reeds. It looked sturdy enough. She leapt onto it and stretched her limbs, muscles rippling beneath her soaked fur.
At least the physical part was simple. Move. Hunt. Rip anything that thinks I am food.
Her nose twitched.
Then her eyes narrowed.
The water behind her heaved, bulging upward before splitting apart. Something massive rose slowly, scales glistening, slick black. Its body kept rising and rising until Lily's pupils shrank into sharp points.
A river beast. And not a small one.
Its jaw cracked open, revealing rows of long, bone-colored fangs dripping with swamp water. Its head alone was bigger than she was. Its slitted eyes locked onto her chest like she was already dead.
Her tail shot up instantly. A grin spread across her lips. Not fear. Thrill.
She cracked her neck once.
Finally.
The beast surged forward, water erupting around its body. Lily sprang toward the nearest tree, claws flashing as she scaled upward in a heartbeat. The creature crashed into the trunk below her, cracking it clean through. The upper half tilted and fell.
Lily leapt again, landing back on the half-sunken log she'd come from. The beast lunged after her. Its tail whipped around with the force of a falling tree. Lily ducked, narrowly avoiding the blow as the log shattered beneath the strike.
Her heart pounded with excitement. This swamp wanted her dead.
She wanted to prove it wrong.
The beast twisted, jaws seeking her throat. Lily sprinted straight toward its mouth and slid beneath its snapping fangs, grabbing hold of its lower jaw with both hands. Mud splashed everywhere as she anchored her feet into the muck.
Her muscles tensed. It tasted like she was trying to hold back a mountain.
The river beast jerked violently, but Lily snarled right in its face.
I am not prey.
She shoved. Hard.
The effort rattled every bone she had. The jaw wrenched up just enough. Lily darted beneath its head, claws slashing across the softer scales of its underside. The beast roared in pain, the sound rippling through the swamp.
It thrashed again, tail whipping around. This time, it struck her squarely in the side. Lily flew through the air, splashing into a deeper pool. Water swallowed her whole. The cold shocked her body. Her lungs screamed.
She kicked and swam upward. The surface broke as she burst out coughing and choking. The beast stirred the water nearby. Lily thrashed toward a twisted root hanging over the pool and pulled herself up, teeth bared.
Her ribs hurt where the tail struck. Her breathing was ragged. Still, she grinned like she'd found treasure.
Come on. You ugly fish.
The beast charged again, jaws tearing through roots and weeds. Lily vaulted upward and landed on its snout, digging her claws deep for balance. The beast bucked violently, trying to throw her.
She held on. Her legs braced. She climbed toward its eyes.
Many might flee. Many might beg. Lily only felt her blood heating up with the thrill of proving she belonged among the strong.
Her claws raked across the beast's eye. It shrieked and shook harder. She dug one foot into its remaining good eye and launched herself upward. Her tail flicked to redirect her momentum as she twisted midair.
She landed on its back.
Her hands locked tight around the ridge of jagged scales at its neck. With all the strength she could muster, she plunged her claws deep into the flesh at the base of its skull. Blood erupted in a hot spray, coating her arms.
The beast convulsed. Its body slammed hard against a high bank of mud, but Lily refused to let go. Her claws shredded deeper, ripping apart muscle and tendon. The creature's roar gurgled into a sputtering choke.
A few seconds more. A few seconds of pure stubborn brutality.
Then the beast collapsed. The water calmed. Lily hung there another breath before letting go. She dropped onto the mud, panting, dripping with swamp water and blood.
Her legs trembled in exhaustion. Her ribs ached. But her grin was feral and proud.
She kicked the beast's huge carcass just to reassure herself it was dead.
"Look at you. All big and dumb, and I still won."
She flicked mud and blood off her claws, tail swishing smugly.
"Bahamut, wherever you wake up, you'd better prepare yourself. Because when I find you, you won't escape my love."
She rolled her shoulders despite the pain and started looking for a dry spot. A kill was a kill, but she refused to sleep in the mud if she could help it.
The swamp kept croaking and buzzing and slithering around her.
But now, Lily's smile showed every sharp tooth she had.
Let the swamp send another monster. She would tear them apart, too.