Chapter Three

Hunting

An eagle just snatched up my sister!

First make a Barrier bubble to trap the eagle, without also stopping 'fox'. Don't want to Gw*n St*cie her. ¹(Sp*der-m*n reference: tried to save a friend falling from great height, but g-forces involved snapped her neck anyway)

Second make a curved 'fox Barrier' about the same shape as a bicycle's wheel cover to slow her movements and guide her back to us without hitting anything else. I hope, as it's hard to see behind some of these trees.

When I bring her around, she's not moving. And when she's close, I see there's too much blood.

There's a hole.

Straight through her chest.

She was already killed before I could try to help.

My emotions are boiling.

I turn toward the eagle, still screeching in indignation.

I had been keeping my right Eye closed this whole time since I'd first tried opening it, after I remembered the original discussion included intimidation. Didn't want to subject my families to that.

I use a new fox Barrier to lift me to meet its gaze up close.

It's still screeching. Now in anger.

I open my [Dragon's Eye].

Silence.

It got scared mute.

Yeah, you better be afraid. We're having nuggets for din-din.

-POV Vixen-

'Even if he was already Level 3, how could our kit hold that eagle in place with just a glare? A GLARE! And it was at least Level 8 too. Then, after he saw our daughter was already killed, his glare pulled out the eagle's beast core! And he drained it just by touching it to his chest. The damn eagle was too AFRAID to even complain about it.'

'But then it started shrieking loud enough to wake the dead. Because our kit's glare had started to COOK it like I've seen a human do.'

'I'm proud.'

'But I'm even more worried.'

And her mate responds 'me too, Love. Me too.'

-POV MC-

This fresh-roasted eagle is mighty fine. A LOT better than anything our parents got for us. And more than we can finish ourselves.
And not nearly worth the price paid.

We could take the rest home, but the tantalizing scent would draw more predators. So we leave it to return home.

Also I need to work on using/suppressing the fear/dominance aura inherent to my Eye. Sure it's useful, but having to keep it closed in ordinary circumstances prevents using its other features. Besides it's not like I would look cool spending all my life with an eyepatch like 'L*ket*wn spy' or 's*ul s*ciety's Captain Kenp*chi Zar*ki.²in both references the character has a fully funcional eye, but chooses to wear an eyepatch anyway, though for different reasons. one to hide who he is, the other to restrict his strength

-POV ???-

A trio of human cultivators wearing dark orange robes with a white crescent moon insignia on the left breast. happen to pass by where the fox family were before, one of them much younger. The older two with silver trim, and the younger's gold.

The left-most one, with a permanent scowl looks around the 'picnic' site and says "That's strange. . a lesser wind eagle, half-eaten by animals, yet cooked. Why would anyone bother cooking for mere beasts? A waste of a Level 9 beasts' corpse!"

"Strange enough to bother investigating perhaps?" says the youth

The last one nods her head and starts planting a set of small flags, each with complicated sigils drawn.

When the last one is in place she kneels down and intones "Reveal the secrets of this one's past. Reveal the moment of this one's demise."

A slightly transparent illusion snaps into being, showing the eagle rushing to the forest floor. There's a family of foxes, it grabs one of the kits. Flying away with its snack, it suddenly stops as if hitting the inside of a cage. Yet no object is visible to hold it. The impact flings the little kit forward, but it curves around an Ironbark tree while slowing down. Coming to rest with its family, but it's already dead. Then one of the kits starts floating toward where the eagle is trapped in its invisible cage.

The youth remarks "That one seems a bit special, though it's too bad it has an injured eye."

Then its Eye opens.

The eagle freezes up in terror.

The youth stiffens.

The scowl-faced man's eyes widen in surprise as he mutters "Dragon."

The Level 9 wind eagle's beast core is forcibly pulled out by the Level 3 fox kit. It's too afraid to complain even as the core presses to the kit's chest, dimms, cracks and finally shatters.

But then the eagle starts squawking up a storm while flailing all its limbs. A breath later its feathers ignite. A dozen more breaths later it finally stills.

Then the illusion fades away.

The woman sinks into deep thought before finally saying. . "Even with just a bit of Dragon Bloodline, this fox is no less than Class 6. As such it has a chance to reach Tier 7 or even higher. It also has a significant levitation ability, not just for itself but others and perhaps even objects.

What's more, it can't be more than a month old, like its siblings, yet already reached Level 3. A worthy Beast pet for Young Master."