Over the following weeks, my family had got into a good rhythm for hunting the crystal termites. As a result, I found my siblings and I had grown much faster than when we were living in our original den area. I mused over whether it was our slight change in diet that had caused this, or if it was normal for our rate of growth to increase at this age. However, I soon ended such lines of thought when sibling No.3 tackled my side so we could play-fight. “How dare you interrupt my intellectual ruminations of the most advanced topics!”

Since we had been eating so well lately, it seemed that Mother and Father felt we needed to change hunting locations. I assumed it was so we wouldn’t exploit our food resources too much, and so had little contention towards it. Sibling No.4 seemed a bit annoyed about having to switch locations, whereas siblings No.1,3 and 5 didn’t appear bothered about it at all. “Must be nice, being so simpleminded as to not consider the reasons for such things.”

As we searched for a new hunting location, sibling No.1 initiated fighting matches with me with great frequency. Although I wished to be benevolent and grant him clemency for his misdeeds of disturbing my peace, I thought it would be beneficial for both parties to…share some discourse over our fighting styles. As such, we often separated from the group to not cause problems for everyone else. “Be afraid, sibling No.1! You’ll soon realise what beast you have stirred from the depths of wrath!”

I would say what the outcomes of our matches were, but I fear the details would be boring. I can say with great confidence that sibling No.1 did not win every match. Just ignore the actual number I lost due to stones constantly getting in the way of my delicate paws. “I saw you kick those stones into my path, sibling No.1! I know you fight dirty!” I glared at him scornfully to convey my displeasure in his presence after our recent match. The reason why he was right next to me: because he was licking the scratch above my eye from his recent claw swipe.

With us passing the time as we had, Mother and Father finally found another foraging area for us. The mounds were as terrifyingly towering as the other ones were, with several brown crystal spikes poking out of the structure. I have to admit, seeing such a sight was quite intimidating – almost as if the crystal termites here were going to be a lot more aggressive than the other ones.

Catching the crystal termites in this area proved just as difficult as the previous one, but was thankfully not impossible. With my and my siblings’ experience of the other crystal mound, we had a somewhat respectable idea on how to deal with our prey. Adopting similar tactics as with the previous crystal termites, we began our hunt with eagerness.

The following days were pretty much monotonous: we left the den at night, headed towards our new hunting area, caught and killed several crystal termites, ate them, headed back home and slept. Probably the only inconsistencies throughout those days were whenever a crystal bird – similar to the one we saw at our previous den – flew around us and seemed to observe us in curiosity.

Another oddity I sometimes noticed while exploring our nearby surroundings was a weird circle of stones with dark and white stuff in the middle. Sniffing it was not pleasant, as it reminded me of something that caused my body to be on edge. “Fire pit.” My mind kept saying whenever I saw it, which made me think of that dream with that Bastien beast breathing fire.

Wary of such a thing, I tried to ensure I didn’t go near those places, even if it made me experience a displaced nostalgia. It’s kind of strange, now that I think about it, since I swear I caught a whiff of that strange – yet familiar – scent around those fire pits. I wonder if those pits had a connection to the source of the smell. “Perhaps another curious creature, like that bird?” I pondered. I vaguely recalled a slightly similar scent masked beneath its own, after all…

Resuming our nightly activities, Father led us to another foraging area – with Mother protecting us from the rear. Along the way, I noticed an increase in creatures larger than my parents; some of them appeared to show interest in us, while others minded their own business. As we saw the crystal termite mounds in the distance, I heard the rustling of grass before a large beast with purple crystal claws jumped out and barrel-rolled into Father.

Mother immediately went to go support Father, who was already in the jaws of the creature. My siblings and I froze in place, completely bewildered with what had happened. Siblings No.3, 4 and 5 crouched low into the grass and whimpered in fear. Sibling No.1 and I stood firm as we kept a cautious eye on our surroundings; probably one of the few times we actually worked together without hindering one another.

With the sounds of snarling, slashing, kicking, growling and roaring ahead of us, I thought it might be best if I guided my siblings away from the ensuing skirmish. Motioning towards the den’s direction with my head at sibling No.1, I saw him lower his head as a sign of obeisance before nudging at our siblings to get them moving away from the fight.

Making sure to keep low to the ground and stay within the long grass, we utilised our striped fur to better blend in with our surroundings and slowly sneaked away. I allowed sibling No.1 to lead the group while I followed behind. I’d like to say that we reached the den safely…but that was wishful thinking on my part…

Ahead of us, a shrill whistling sound reverberating in our ears before shining lines fell from the sky and landed on top of us. As soon as the lines touched us, we found our bodies unable to move from our positions – as if we had been tangled into something. Desperately examining my vicinity, I soon noticed that those shining lines were physical and had trapped us within the mesh. Observing this strange material, words popped into my mind that caused my heart to sink into unknowing despair: “A Hunter’s trapping net.”

Feeling a sense of crisis as the pained howls of our parents pierced our ears, my siblings and I struggled to get out of the net while whimpering in trepidation over our fates. In front of me, I managed to witness sibling No.3 get so tangled in the net that the mesh wrapped around his neck and tightened. “Stop moving!” I barked, but clearly wasn’t heard amidst the chaos and panic…as he continued to struggle and eventually stopped moving.

Sibling No.4 had seen what happed to sibling No.3 and attempted to bite through the mesh instead, which resulted in his mouth and gums getting cut. I felt tears beginning to form in my eyes as I couldn’t bear to see my siblings experiencing such pain and panic. I crawled as best as I could towards sibling No.4 to nuzzle him in comfort – which thankfully made him become somewhat less frenzied and reckless.

Sibling No.5 had got her legs all tangled up in the net and couldn’t move an inch because of it, while sibling No.1 gave a frustrated growl at the strangely familiar figures appearing from the darkness. Not-aardwolves, like in my dreams. One of them gave an order to the others before they all took out similar devices as the one that caught the crystal cobra. “Ah! I know what that does!” I wanted to say but soon found myself falling unconscious as a strange fume permeated the air and seeped inside my nose.

The last thing I heard was the howl of anguish from Father, before that too was strangled to silence.