After a few hours I'm starting to get rather energetic, for some reason. I find myself rolling around and occasionally scratching at the trees around the clearing. Is this what house cats feel like when their owners are asleep? Eventually I decide that since I'm so cat like, I may as well test how flexible I am. So I move back to the center of the clearing.

I try out several things that I think are like Yoga poses, though I don't actually know Yoga. The important thing is, I don't feel any strain doing splits, or laying on the upper portion of my back with my legs held up in the air, or even from raising one of my legs up behind my back far enough to grab my foot with the same side's hand.

Once I'm done with that I go through some more basic stretches, touching my toes, clasping my hands behind my back, holding one knee at a time up to my chest, that sort of thing. I straighten up, look around a few times, then collapse on my back and flail around slightly. "Ugh, why am I soooo bored?" I mutter to myself. "I've never been this bad before. . . Am I nocturnal?"

I huff softly, then sit up and cross my legs. I try deliberately moving my tail, and it works pretty easily. Doesn't feel quite as natural as moving my arms or legs, but it's not uncomfortable. So I move it around to in front of my body for a closer look. It's pretty fluffy, but when I touch it with my hand the core seems as sturdy as a metal cable. It also seems like it's a bit longer than I am tall. I could probably wrap it around my waist twice.

I let go of my tail and leave it to its own devices again as my focus shifts to my claws. I pick at the thumb claw of my right hand, which makes a high pitched ringing noise. "Weird. How sharp are these things?" I think back to the trees I scratched at just a while ago, and how my claws practically shredded some parts of the boar's hide. "Pretty sharp."

I jump up to my feet and pace around a bit more. After another little while of pacing I close my eyes and sniff around. I'm mostly just looking for anything interesting. The first scent I notice is the same as the scent that had caught my attention just before I met Lara. I guess that's her smell? I drift a bit closer to her leafy bed sniffing and wondering what about it catches my attention so much.

She stirs in her sleep and murmurs something too quiet for me to understand, then I snap out of it and back away. My cheeks feel flushed and my tail is flicking side to side. "That was, pretty creepy of me to do there. Ha ha aahh." I walk back to the center of the clearing and sit down, once again determined to wait till morning.

Setting aside my restless squirming, I do manage to sit there until the sun is starting to rise. At which point I feel a jolt of excitement and look over at Lara, who doesn't seem to be waking up just yet. "Right, even if it's morning, that doesn't mean she'll get up right away."

I lay back and start rolling around again. While I'm flailing around this time I grab ahold of something and toss it into my mouth. When I bite down there is a loud crunching noise, which catches my attention, I pause and cross my eyes to look at an item that is halfway into my mouth. It's one of the Inferno Boar's metal tusks. And I just bit through it like a rice cake. I roll my eyes, then keep chewing.

The taste isn't half bad, kinda like a blandified mix of the taste of the mushrooms the boar had been eating and the charred bits from a steak. I make sure to chew thoroughly before swallowing, then open my mouth enough for the rest of the tusk to fall in and start chewing again.

By the time I swallow the other half I can hear Lara starting to stir, so I hop lithely to my feet and look over that way. A moment later she starts pushing leaves away from herself, then sits up. She turns a couple times before settling on facing me. Can she hear me breathing from this far away?

"Well, are you going to say anything Tai?" I jolt when she speaks, even though I should have expected it. I curl my tail around my waist a couple times and lower it a bit to try and preserve some sense of modesty. Then as I walk over to a reasonable speaking distance I notice that my balance is a little off. Not enough to fall on my face from a short walk across level ground, but still noticeable.

"Is there something I'm supposed to say in the morning? Good morning? Guess I didn't even think to say goodnight when you went to bed. Sorry bout that."

She smiles slightly. "That's not what I meant. I guess you've just been living out here in the wild huh? Normally the man of the house," She snickers after that word. "would greet the day on behalf of the family once everyone is awake."

"Uhh huh. What specific words do you use for that? And, is that some kind of religious thing?" The tip of my tail wiggles against my leg and my lips curl in a broad grin. "Is there anything else about the religion around here I should know? Gods, sacred animals, taboos? . . Heroes and monsters~?"

"Well, you're pretty excited all a sudden. Not sure I can answer all of those questions though." She claps her hands before her face. "Okay, it is about religion. A prayer to the God of the Sun, Haius. The exact words aren't too important. You just face the dawn, put your dominant hand over your heart, and say something to the effect of 'I give thanks to the life your light provides' or 'Praise Haius' if you want to be brief."

 I clear my throat softly to interrupt her. "Alright, then I'll do that." I turn east facing the freshly risen sun, then I place my left hand over my chest. I hesitate slightly thinking how about what words to use. Then I decide to equate Haius to Helios. "To you, O Haius, I offer my greeting, my praise, and my thanks for your many gifts." I hold the pose a few seconds after my prayer, then relax.

"Getting a little fancy with that huh?" She smiles and sets her hands on her lap. "So, given how quickly you got into that, would you like me to tell you about the other gods?"

There is a faint rumbling noise from somewhere in my chest, my tail waggles enough that any idea of modesty would be lost if I was thinking of that, and I respond with an emphatic, "Yes please!"

She giggles, then nods. "Okay, but I want something too." I freeze abruptly, hanging on her next words. "Come a little closer and sit down, I want to touch you a bit." She brings her right hand up to her own face. "I'm a little used to seeing with my hands, especially when it comes to people. And I'd like to take a better 'look' at you."

For obvious reasons, I'm a little hesitant to roll with that. But I would like to hear more, and it would seem rude to disagree without giving a reason. Right? With that justification, I step over and sit to her left on the bed of leaves, giving my silent assent.

"Good boy." My face heats up at that phrase, but I don't raise an objection. She turns to face me again, then her left hand lands on my right shoulder and follows my neck up to my face before her right hand joins it. For the moment she is cupping my chin and jaw between her hands. "Okay then, there are ten gods. Or rather, nine Gods and a Goddess. The Gods are grouped into three sets. First, the Gods of the Heavens. Hauis of the Sun, Kullu of the Moons, and Rundan of the Stars."

Her hands move up to my cheeks and she takes a deep breath. "Then there are the Gods of the World. Geunu of the Earth, Oracus of the Ocean, and Vainu of the Sky." She touches my lips lightly, then trails upwards, and I close my eyes when her fingers get near them. "Then the Gods who Created the People. Momet of the Heart, Meril of the Mind, and Gadfell of the Soul."

Her fingers trail across my forehead and up towards my hair. "And lastly, the Supreme Goddess Bellona, who rules over the Gods." Her hands split up, the left remaining at the top of my forehead, and the right moving to the side.

When I notice her right hand getting close to where my left horn is mounted I tilt my head slightly. Then I feel something, ticklish? She furrows her brow and hums softly before moving her hand forward and grabbing ahold of something, fluffy. "Mrow!!" I quickly cover my mouth with my right hand, and raise the left up to gently grasp her wrist and lift her hand away from what I can only assume is one of my ears.

She holds on a moment, then relaxes her grip, just enough for her fingers to slide up the soft, apparently sensitive appendage. "M-mew~" After making that even more embarrassing noise I bite down on one of my fingers to try and keep silent until her hand is well away from my ear. Once her hand is clear I take a deep breath, then let go of my finger. "That's enough of that, I think."

"Oh, I suppose. . . I'll be gentler next time~" She giggles and takes her hand back.

"D-don't touch me there again!" I bluster, then stand up and step away. Once I'm a couple paces off I reach up and carefully cup my ears with my hands before trying to smooth the left one down. "That was pretty surprising." I said that quietly, but she nods in response. I huff, then think of something I had forgotten for a while.

"Ahh, right. A nice fox brought a branch with berries on it." I retrieve the branch and carry it over to her. "I'm not sure if you'll like them, but they smell alright to me." She tilts her head and holds up a hand, so I pass the full branch to her. Her right hand traces along the branch until she finds a berry, then she sniffs at it.

"Mmm. Oh! Smells like Cula fruit." She picks the fruit then holds it out to me. "Since you don't know them, you should try one."

"Okaaaay. I figured they'd be your breakfast. And, they didn't really work up my appetite, but I suppose one won't hurt either way." I pick up the fruit, grabbing from the side instead of the top to keep my claws away from her palm. I lift the fruit to my mouth and toss it in. Then I carefully line it up between my fangs and bite down.

As my fangs slice into it, the taste is like a cross between cherries and cranberries. Then I hear a crunch, and the berry starts fizzing like pop rocks? I give a questioning hum, and Lara responds. "Aha, bit right in did you? Most people think the pit does that to stop animals from chewing it. But I think it's kinda fun." Her hand traces along to another berry on the branch, which she picks and eats. She keeps her hand over her mouth while she chews.

I chew the berry a bit more, then swallow it. "Well, should I start on a house then? Or, I guess you should be a safe distance? But I don't think I could protect you from so far. . ." My palm smacks to my forehead. "Right, just a sec. I know what to do." She keeps eating, but seems to nod.

I walk into the middle of the clearing, thinking to myself. Okay, I don't know how strong a monster I can make, but lets aim for B Rank. A strong medium sized monster. Generally friendly, smart enough to listen to orders, loyal, protective. A dog? Ohh, Cerberus! . . No, that's a little much for B Rank isn't it? Orthrus then?

I feel an odd prickly sensation all over, which is followed by a feeling like blood welling up from small wounds. Looking down at one of my arms, I see odd silver beads on my skin, that then drop off and land in my shadow. A few seconds after the beads fall, my shadow sweeps forward and grows larger.

A pair of heads with silvery gray fur pop up. They look at me, then a paw rises up as well. Once the first paw is on the ground, it lifts itself up gradually pulling a fairly large body out of my shadow. In fact, it seems even larger than a great dane or a mastiff. I wouldn't be surprised if Lara or I could ride it. The body type however, looks more like a wolf.

Not quite what I was going for appearance wise. But as long as he, or she? I'm not checking that. Point is, as long as he listens, it's fine. I give a high pitched whistle, and feel my own ears fold back at the noise. The Orthrus approaches, tail wagging. So I hold up my hands and pet both heads.

The left head closes its eyes and relaxes into the petting, but the right gets overeager and leans in to lick my face. Which causes me to freeze. My tail poofs and a shiver runs down my spine. "Eeeeeh, slobber. . ." I grab ahold of the right head with both hands, then lean in and rub my face against the fur on the side of his neck to wipe the drool off.

I let go and step back. "I'd prefer if you don't do that." I rub the side of my arm against my face too, just to be sure. And they respond with a whine. "Alright then. I think I'll name you Oct. Nnm, yeah that sounds good. Anyway Oct, your job is to protect her, okay?" I point over to Lara, who seems to be looking this way, despite the condition of her eyes. Guess she heard everything after the whistle.

The wolf heads turn to look where I point, then their tail speeds up and they dash in her direction. "Well don't just! . . . Fine, but whatever happens is on you." When they reach her, they sniff at her, the branch, and the leaf bed curiously. She seems hesitant for a moment, then sets the branch down and pets one of the heads. Then the other leans in and whines. They're certainly friendly.

"Dogs?" Her hands move to the second head, then follow down the neck enough to find the singular body. ". . . Or uhh, dog? Umm. Sit boy?" They sit down, tail brushing against the forest floor. And she stands up, exploring the odd layout with her hands. "I've never heard of a two headed dog before." Both of her hands settle on one head. "Or one quite so big."

"They are, or maybe he is, a tame monster. They should be able to protect you from anything I've seen around here while I work." Oh yeah. I should check their skills. Identify.

Wait what? They've got more skills than I do? That's hardly fair. Granted they're all basic Skills when I've got a Unique Skill and a World Skill. Whatever that means. But still. How many skills could I give a monster I make? Questions for later, I suppose.

"Okay, I think that idea works. While you're at it, maybe they could look for a river or lake. Alright Oct, stand back up. Excuse me." Oct stands as ordered, and I pick up Lara in a princess carry, her face flushes a bit red at that, then I lift her up to Oct's back. After a moment helping her get situated on their back, I step away. "Does that work for you?"

"What? Uhh, yes I suppose that's okay." Her right hand grips onto Oct's fur, but her left is reaching out towards me, at about the right height to touch the top of my head. So I lean back, then grab the Cula fruit branch and hand it to her instead of leaving my ears in the line of fire. She gives a disappointed sounding, "Oh." but takes the branch either way. Then she situates it on Oct's back pinned by her right hand and continues picking and eating the berries.

I step in front of the Orthrus and grab both heads by the scruff to make sure I have their attention. "Listen carefully Oct. Take is slow, and watch out for low hanging branches. And, if you see anything dangerous, focus on getting her away over fighting." I let them go and step out of the way. "Aside from that, you three have fun." I dust my hands off and shoo the wolf creature away.

As Oct starts walking off with both noses to the ground, Lara calls back. "See you later Tai." I watch after them for a minute or so. Then when I'm sure they're away far enough I turn to the trees.

"Right, so how do I go about this? I think my claws are sharp enough, but that hardly makes them as good as an axe. . ." I shrug and approach a tree with only mild scratches from my midnight antics. I set my right hand's claws against the side, then scrape across it.

Strips of bark peel away as my claws move across the tree. I smirk and my tail unfurls from around my waist as I bring my other hand up and start swiping at the tree repeatedly with fervor. I start to get giddy when I get a third of the way through after around a dozen swipes and speed up, my own hands looking like a blur to me.

There is a loud splintering noise, but I don't pay much attention to it as I continue to cut at the tree. Then it falls over on top of me, pinning me to the ground. "Ooof. Okay, guess I was having too much fun. Why doesn't this, hurt more?" It feels more like somebody dropped a rolled up foam mat on my back, instead of being a giant tree.

I brace my hands against the ground and push myself up. My hands actually sink into the dry dirt a bit from the weight, but I still manage to lift myself up enough that the tree rolls off to the side with a further splintering noise. I stand back up, stand up straight, and roll my shoulders. "Damn. How tough am I?" Now that the tree isn't on top of me, I feel perfectly fine, despite how much it must weigh and how much force it had to have had when it fell.

I stare at the fallen tree that is almost as thick as I am tall, then grab onto it with a hug before lifting. The last bit where it was connected to the stump breaks away and the side I'm holding rises up. That foam mat comparison still seems apt. I drop the tree, and can feel the ground shake underfoot from it's weight when it lands. "Okay. So basically. I'm Heracles crossed with the Nemean Lion? Or I guess the Typhon comparison works. Still feels weird that I'm human sized though."

I use my claws to smooth out the splintered section of the log's base. Then I move up the tree cutting loose the branches and smoothing out the shape. Finally I remove the bark, use my claws to shave it down to a consistent girth, and cut the tree into what I judge to be ten meter logs. Which finally gives me a clue of just how tall it was. About a hundred meters tall, assuming my eyeballed measurement is correct. So ten logs now. "I'm going to need more than this, huh?" I stack the logs up in a pile and repeat the process with another tree, this time watching out for when it starts to fall.

Once I'm done with the second tree, I have another nine logs added to the pile. "Nnnyeah, this is getting a little boring." I lay back and roll around in a pile of wood chips and rough sawdust. "I guess, I should use my skill to make something to help with the project? Like, beavers maybe? Theres got to be something better than that. Dryads? No. I've already been cutting down trees, that wouldn't match. I could just make Minotaurs for extra manpower? But they'd need tools to make up for the lack of claws." I look down at my own claws and flex my fingers. "Could I give Minotaurs claws? That sounds a bit weird, but I suppose."

I ruffle my hair and tap one of my horns. It makes a ringing noise similar to my claws. "Plus they'd match me here. . . But I might want to eat them. Steaks and all. I could make them even more human like? But then why use the Minotaur as the inspiration?" I groan and writhe on the forest floor again.

"Aha!" I sit up abruptly. "Kamaitachi! Their sickles would be perfect for shaving the logs into shape!" Small, E-Rank, speed focused, weasel shaped monsters with extremely sharp singular claws on each limb. Lets say, ten of them?

I feel a few prickles on my right palm, and five of the tiny silver beads well up there. I lean in for a closer look, then upon finding nothing new, spill them out onto my shadow. Then ten white figures pop out of my shadow and start dashing about energetically. I watch for several seconds, then clear my throat. When that doesn't work I instead shout, "Hey! I made you for a reason, so pay attention to me!"

Some of them stop and look at me, then one hisses threateningly, though it seems more like it's warning off a predator than anything else. "Are they not smart enough? . . ." I rub the bridge of my nose. "Uuughhh. . . You." I stand up and crack my neck. The Kamaitachi cluster up defensively. "JUST GET OUT OF HERE THEN!!" I stop my right foot on the ground bellow with such force that it actually pushes the lot of them back and sends the sawdust and wood chips flying.

Once they regain their footing they screech, scatter, and run off into the woods. I personally stand still, panting heavily and slumped over. After a minute, I straighten up, take a deep breath, and try to compose myself. "Well. That was an overreaction. Not even sure what just happened with that shout."

My ear flicks as I think I hear a noise. So I close my eyes and listen carefully. There is a faint scraping noise of something brushing against a tree. I turn to face that way and wait. After a few minutes, the first thing I see is a huge scaly hand grabbing at a tree and seemingly pulling the rest of the body through a gap between the tree and its nearest neighbor.

Finally a massive, vaguely humanoid figure emerges. It's about ten meters tall, and almost as broad, and it looks somewhat reptilian. Its broad mouth is full of fangs and salivating. Its skin is mostly leathery, there is a large horn on its forehead, and it has patches of thick scales. Its yellow, vertically slit eyes settle on me. I figure I'll identify it right away.

I take a deep breath through my nose, and as expected catch an enticing scent. Despite its ugly appearance, its smell has a savory quality I can't ignore. I don't rightly know what to compare it to, but it causes me to salivate back at the giant monster. "How convenient, stress relief, and Lunch. Lunch that serves itself at that."

It roars and runs at me. It's honestly quicker than you'd expect from something so huge. But at this point my instincts are starting to take over again, so I close the distance even faster than it does. It manages to keep track of me and take a swing with a fist bigger than me, but I dodge under the punch and dash at its feet.

My claws slash through the back of its ankle, causing its next roar to be one of pain. Its left leg can no longer hold up its great weight, but as it stumbles it turns and seems to dive at me. Then it suddenly falls faster than it should. I don't manage to get out of the way in time. It manages to pin me under its chest, at which point it gives a triumphant roar.

The creature is somehow much heavier than the tree that fell on me before. But even so the feeling is only like a full size mattress on my back, so I squirm and roll over before digging my claws into its muscular body. When I smell its blood this time I get overeager and shove my hands into its chest. Then it starts roaring in pain again as I grab hold of two of its ribs and start pulling.

There is a loud crack and one of the bones shifts in my hand, causing the creature to roar louder than ever and roll over to grab me. Its hand takes hold of my entire torso, and it tries to pull me away, though that just puts its own strength against the durability of the ribs I am gripping. Which doesn't go well for it. There is a louder crack and the ribs I'm holding end up tearing through the skin and jutting forward.

It lets go of me as it flails in pain, so I move to the gap created by the displaced ribs and start ripping into it with my claws. Once my arms are in up to the shoulders I can feel its heart beating frantically, the dense muscle throbbing directly against my hands. I take hold of the huge organ and start tearing it out, bracing my feet against the intact ribs below.

The heart barely fits through the gap of the damaged ribs, but I drag it through anyway, then dive in and start devouring it while it's still beating. One of the monster's hands takes another desperate swing at me, and I yowl at it and grip the heart tighter. I kick the fist away, and tear the heart out completely while still chowing down on it.

Sometime during that process the reptile finally died. I consume the entire heart which had been even bigger than I am, as well as taking several bites out of the exposed bone, before finally coming back to my senses and standing up atop the creature. "Holy shit. If anybody saw that they'd be running away. As far as they could possibly get." I hop down and walk away from the pool of blood before starting to lick myself clean.

I pause once I notice what I'm doing, then I just let it happen. I notice that its blood has an almost metallic sheen to it, and is a bit off color from the red of normal blood. After a while of cleaning myself I hear a familiar yipping noise. I look over to the expected group of blue foxes.

"Really? Are you guys even done with the piece you got from the Inferno Boar?" The largest one seems a bit bashful. But they approach either way. "Fine fine. Help yourselves. I doubt you'll put much of a dent in it anyway." The smaller ones try biting at the giant, though they can't seem to get through the skin. After a while the Mother yips loudly and jumps up onto the body, the younger ones follow, and the six of them gather around the massive chest wound and tear at the exposed flesh. Apparently that works out better than the tough skin did.

I feel a bit jealous watching them eat. Probably just my instincts acting up again, but it gets me thinking. So I gather up some of the smaller branches and wood chips from the trees I had already cut down and pile them up, then snag a couple of the especially large ones and cut them into decent sized logs.

"Hey, if you're going to mooch, you can at least make yourself useful by using that blue flame skill of yours to start a fire for me." The Mother looks up and swishes her tail. A blue fireball about the size of a baseball appears and flies over to the basic campfire. The kindling catches quickly, and the fire remains blue as it spreads to the branches. The wood is rather smokey as it burns, probably should use drier wood next time.

Once things are going, I toss a log onto the pile, then approach the massive corpse. I use my claws to tear through the arm, removing the entire bicep. When I give it some thought I shake my head and cut out a reasonably sized piece for the fire. Then I skewer it on a stick and shove that into the soil next to the fire. Then I repeat that process a few more times to get several pieces cooking.

I consider the rest of the bicep, then look to one of the nearby trees for a decent branch. Upon finding one to my liking, I pick up the muscle and climb the tree. I walk out on the branch a ways, then tie the meat onto it using the sinew as a rope. Then I let the meat swing down under the branch to leave it hanging there for later.

I climb back down and look at the Wisp Foxes. They seem to have eaten their fill already. The little ones seem to be about to fall asleep huddled together on the Croc Ogre's corpse. The Mother yips, trying to get them moving, two of them manage to wake up enough for that, but the other three don't.

I snicker, then speak up. "You can just stay here if you like." Her tail flicks around, and she nudges the sleepy ones with her muzzle, trying to get them moving. They mostly just make cute little grumbling noises, but one of them at least rolls over. "Hm. Just you and the kits huh? Do you not have a mate?" She yips a few times. "Yeah, I suppose that kinda thing probably happens a lot." I pause then look over to her. "Wait. Why did I understand what you said when you didn't say anything?" Another series of yips and a high pitched bark.

"You don't know either? Guess it's some quirk on my end then." I turn the meat skewers to start cooking the other side. Then I happen across an idea. "I could use my skill to make a new mate for you, if you need another one?" A slight growl. "Yeah, a little. But that doesn't answer my question." A long series of yips, a firmly planted paw, and a long huff. "Okay. Guess we can talk about it again when your kits are grown."

Hmm. The first thing to come to mind when talking about foxes is the Kitsune from Japanese myth. Well, its got older roots in Chinese myth, but still. I think I can work with that. Kitsu? Kine? Tsu? Oh. "I think, I'll call you Suna." She jolts and turns to look at me.

She gives a tiny howl. 〈Don't give name, idiot!〉 The howl jolts all of her kits awake.

"Why not? And, I think I already did. . . . Huh? That was different. Before it was like, I was just getting the idea, but I fully understood that." I scratch my temple. Then her flame blue fur shifts to a different color at the extremities. Specifically, her paws, tail tip, and ears all gain a flash of silver. "Whoa. What just happened?"

She looks over herself, then looks back at me, seeming a bit worried somehow? After a few seconds she tilts her head. Then she makes a soft cooing noise. 〈You, okay?〉

"Eeeeh, yes? Is there any reason I wouldn't be?" I look down at myself, thinking I might have gotten an injury from the Croc Ogre that I failed to notice.

She yips slowly, giving the impression of explaining something carefully. 〈Name costs life. Mother give sister name, died. Maybe, different for strong one?〉

"Strong one? Is that how you've been thinking of me? Guess that makes sense. But I have a name too, you know? I'm Typhon, though I'd prefer if you just call me Tai." My tail sways side to side and I smile, carefully keeping my lips closed.

〈Strong one is Tai? Thank you, Tai.〉 She swishes her tail over her kits then leads them back into the woods.

"Ha, running off right after I introduce myself?" I shrug, then turn back to the cooking meat. "Guess I'll finish up lunch, then try to make something else to help cut down trees."

Chaos_Sinner777

I cannot believe that "Blandified" is an actual word. Also, the idea of him using his tail to cover his crotch gives me the mental image of him wearing an extremely short skirt. Demon Cat Boi wearing a micro-skirt. Works for me. On a more serious note, I was also considering doing another Lara's perspective thing, but kinda didn't want to retread the lore dump. Maybe if people are interested I could do Lara's whole day as a side chapter? Which would naturally include her thoughts on Tai's ears, and Oct.