Adryel grabbed onto him. “Wha — what is that?"
"Vel-shrik." He stepped closer, putting himself between her and the animal. He'd seen enough of these out in the green before. Not exactly the threat he’d expected, but still, they could do significant damage to a Kantenan. What they would do to someone as small as Little Dots, he didn’t want to guess.
The beast's gaze darted from Stron to Adryel.
She pressed closer to him, her hand gripping his arm, not letting go.
Stron kept eye contact with the animal, and the beady little eyes remained focused on him. Its pointy face aimed at him and he snarled, the posture shifted, ready to leap and attack.
Stron released a low growl, slowly closing in on the vel-shrik.
The vel-shrik shifted his weight from one leg to the other, tail swinging and started to chitter. The chattering clicks emerged and he backed away.
Stron tilted his head, not taking his eyes off the animal.
Still growling.
It backed away and leaped back into the trees. He watched it climb into the darkness, the bioluminescent markings along its flanks glowing, until it faded behind the leaves, off to find its next target.
Adryel stayed next to him, hand still on his arm.
He felt her exhale a breath.
"Talk about timing," she said.
He chuckled. "I could not have planned it better."
"Would he have eaten me? I mean, he wasn't that huge," she said, shifting her position, and wasn't as close to him as before.
It was better when she was next to him.
"He would have tried," Stron replied. "Now, please, you need to get some rest."
She nodded and headed inside. He waited until she'd gone in before following.
A noise gave him pause. A branch snapping in a way that didn't sound natural.
He looked out into the night, but he didn't see anything.
Unfortunately, that was the problem.
He couldn't see the danger in front of him.
Stron didn't like that.
18
ADRYEL
“Hey, you got any wine in here?” Adryel’s heart was still beating hard from that surprise animal attack. She started walking through the living space of Stron’s house, the adrenalin dumping.
“I probably do,” he replied.
“Something stronger wouldn’t break my heart, either,” she said as she walked over to the wall, admiring the little figurines in the nooks. Such tiny little detailed things. Some were too fancy to be for a child to play with. Others were worn so much, they had to be toys.
Anything to not think about that animal that tried to attack her outside.
Or the noise that Stron made because of it. No, focusing on the little carvings calmed her, at least a little.
