Shadow Slave | School Days

For reference, most if not all the animals in the dream realm are drug enhanced to be supremely dangerous. The reasoning behind this will be explained in future.

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After returning to the main clearing, Sunny continued to make himself busy, not offering the slightest glance to either Cassie or Nephis as he continued his attempts in making a house large enough for the entire group of them. It certainly wasn't a process he could complete in a single day, but progress was there.

Currently, Sunny was staring into an open part of the field, attempting to make a mental image of how he wished the house to be. Several logs of wood surrounded him, preparing to be cut for the sake of providing wooden flooring within the house. He was no builder, but he had watched enough YouTube videos to have some level of competency.

The wooden frame of the house was already taking shape, its sturdy walls already promising shelter, but before anything else a floor had to be built. One which could hold warmth through the cold while also not boiling the group of them to death within the heat. For someone who spent most of his time fighting, building creation was a welcome change.

Sunny stepped into the skeletal structure of the house, boots pressing into uneven earth. The ground beneath was rugged, littered with roots and small rocks that would make bare foot standing unstable. Gripping a self-made spade, he began cutting away at the surface, removing anything that would interfere with the foundation.

Stubborn roots quickly succumbed to his will, tossing aside stones gently and ensuring the soil was compact and level. For added stability, he continuously made his rounds from the lake and back, adding a fine layer of gravel over the earth and spreading it evenly with the back of the spade.

--

Meanwhile, Sunny was being watched with unanimous fascination as the seven women watched him build a house with practiced ease. If their opinions on Sunny hadn't already reached their height, they surely would have soared higher upon seeing him work with such diligence.

Eubin was the first to break from her stupor, fearing blood loss from the amount of red life-giving fluid that poured from her nose as she watched Sunny's muscles coil and relax with each movement. Turning to the group, she coughed slightly, doing nothing to hide the redness on her face as she spoke.

"While Sunny is looking ama—I mean working. We should make ourselves busy too, no? I'll handle hunting. Does anyone want to help Sunny build?" Immediately, all the hands barring Cassie and Nephis shot into the air as Eubin released a sigh. "I'll go with Changing Star and Cassie to hunt, the rest of you help. That means no looking below the waist!"

At this, even Nephis was forced to blush, memories of happier times dampening her mood further as she sighed. Eubin had told her what she needed, and yet those words held such a distant meaning that it hurt trying to grasp them. She knew she was gaining strength, quite rapidly, but resolve?

What did having resolve even mean?

Suddenly, Sunny was in front of them, crossing the distance in what felt like a single step as he stared at the group with a ghost of a smile arriving on his face. "If you all are going to hunt, I'll tell you this. All the animals here are aggressive and stupidly strong compared to outside the continent. Especially that fucking horse. So, if you see anything you can't handle, just run."

Sunny's tone radiated with extreme seriousness and a hint of malice as he spoke of a horse. To Nephis' knowledge, horses were the only animal that Sunny expressed a degree of prejudice bordering upon malice towards. Each time he would witness one in a movie, he would tense with a light amount of fury.

"Why would I be afraid of animals? Most of the ones here love me!" Eubin whined, confused as to how her charm didn't work on these creatures. Upon hearing her complaint, a ghost of a smile arrived on Sunny's face as he stared at her. "These ones are particularly unreasonable, remember though, don't fight the horse. He isn't the type of thing you guys can handle."

"What could they possibly be feeding the horses to make them that strong?" Clara asked, her voice tentative and curious as she stared at Sunny expectantly. Each of the sisters struggled to resist a laugh as they watched Sunny boil with mild anger at the mention of the horse.

"Look, I don't know. Last time I saw it, it had canines like a bear. And I spent so much time making a house for myself just for the little shit to destroy it!" As he spat out the last part of his sentence with venom, Sunny stared at the sky before inhaling deeply. A frown arrived on his face as he sighed.

"It's going to rain in two days, the house needs to be done quickly. I assume we're listening to Eubin?" Everyone barring Jessica nodded as she stared at her sisters with a smug expression. "Since when did you guys listen to her like she's the leader?" She asked, shaking her head with mock disappointment as Hel raised an eyebrow.

"You say that like you have a better idea." Jessica simply laughed off her statement, scratching her head sheepishly. "I don't she just said my idea before me, so technically you're listening to me. Don't worry, you can sing my praises once we're done with the house."

Avoiding all chances of counter argument, she simply ran off towards the house as Sunny stared at the rest of them expectantly, each of them followed soon after as Sunny stared back at the trio with a torn expression. "This…unfeeling monster, was it? Has picked up a new hobby, hope you're proud of me. I wonder though, does Cassie feel the same way?"

Upon hearing her name, the girl visibly flinched, unsure how to respond and yet she could see the crooked smile spreading across Sunny's face. "Yeah, you do. I'm sure you're probably thinking 'My life would have been so much better if I didn't meet him.' I don't blame you." With that, he turned around with a sigh and left.

Finally leaving the trio to themselves, an air of coldness deeply contrasting the warm summer rays that beat down upon them arrived on the three. "You're coming with me, don't speak, don't think, don't even breathe. Anything might piss me off right now." As Eubin finished her sentence, she spun on her heel, walking away quickly as Cassie picked up her rapier.

The expedition was going to be uncomfortable.

Dense, twisting vines hung like serpents from towering trees, their bark gnarled and ancient, wrapped in a suffocating embrace of moss and creeping foliage. The jungle was alive—not just with the distant cries of unseen creatures, but with something heavier.

A predator just outside their view.

Leaves the size of shields dripped with moisture, their surfaces slick from the oppressive humidity that clung to every breathe. Eubin moved first, her steps ghostly silent, boots brushing against the moss-covered branches as she led the way. Cassie followed, her rapier being gripped firmly within her hands as she moved, ready to strike.

Whatever was out there, was moving with such stealth that its form was entirely obscured even to her echolocation, such a monster was terrifying. The feeling of hopelessness crept into her soul like an omnipresent predator as she continued to push forward.

Nephis remained just behind them, breathe controlled, muscles coiled like a viper preparing to strike. They weaved through the canopy unseen, blending into the tangled web of greenery as eyes—too many to count peered through the dense foliage, tracking their movements with brutal efficiency.

Despite her situation, Nephis found focusing impossible. 'I want to be there for him, this is a mess that I created. What did she mean when she said I lack resolve? What does that even mean?' Suddenly, her thoughts flashed to the expression Sunny gave the Song sisters as he arrived.

'He was smiling, he was almost…happy. That face was mine, and mine alone. And I fucked it up so horribly that I can't even think! An unfeeling machine? Who the fuck do I think I am!? He's a person, a person who bleeds just like I bleed!'

Unbeknownst to her, a massive shape stirred beneath them, the jungle floor parting as an obsidian painted beast the size of a small elephant came into view. A moment later, the foliage shuddered as something even larger moved beyond sight, a hulking reptilian figure with talons that could carve through stone.

Despite this, the three pressed on, breath shallow, bodies low. Each movement had to be precise—one wrong step, one snapped branch. And they would become targets of every living creature within the forest in a matter of moments. These weren't mere predators…they were super predators heightened by the harshest of environments.

Then, the tree's parted.

A massive horse, its coat the colour of polished onyx, stood motionless in the centre of the ruins. It was consuming the corpse of what appeared to be a smaller variant of itself as its flaming red eyes stood out providing it intense presence. Its presence was unnatural, a thing carved from the deepest night yet shimmering beneath the sun.

Muscles rippled beneath its gleaming hide, its hooves pressing into the earth with the weight of a mountain. Eyes like smouldering embers turned toward them, unblinking.

It had noticed them.