Chapter 203: An Unexpected Encounter...

There were most likely hundreds, if not thousands of different lives just at the outer edges of the forest. Just a couple of dozen steps into the trees, there was a relatively small clearing.

This small patch of grass wasn't anything special, if not for the cute little pair of fluffy, white-furred hares that made it their morning resting place. The sun had no difficulties in basking this tiny patch of heaven with its glory, giving that soothing warmth that the two critters really enjoyed. 

Although they looked calm, they weren't completely oblivious to their surroundings. Their instincts were honed amidst the dangers of the forest. Despite living their meaningless lives at the outer edges, they still had several predators that would like nothing more than to 'invite' them to be their next meal.

Just like every other day, they rested amidst the light green grass, bathing in the sun, silently enjoying this more than welcome change of pace. For some inexplicable reason, this morning they did not sense any of the usual danger, there were no dangers lurking around, preying on them from the shadows. 

Whilst they weren't the most intelligent species, every life form had an equal chance on Eora to gather enough Life Essence inside their bodies and form their very own core, thus elevating them from the rank of mindless critters to a higher existence. 

True, the chances of such a small, harmless rabbit being able to gather the necessary amount was minuscule, especially since they were herbivores, there is that tiny, almost negligible chance of something extraordinary to happen…

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Today started the same as every other. Our little pair of rabbits started their morning just like every other. With the first rays of the sun piercing through the thick cover of the canopy of trees, they were already up and ready to leave their little hole in the ground to do their instinctual routine. Once they both left their hole, they covered it up with some leaves, so their home wouldn't be subject to uninvited guests.

Once they deemed their hole was covered enough, they began to make their way towards their favorite morning spot, with the freshest, and tastiest grass they could find, the small little oasis where their love first sparked to the raging flame that it is today. It was also the place where they became one, under the morning sun, they felt each other's heat, as they relentlessly mated.

The result of that action was obvious from a first glance even for the rookiest of spectators, the female that lagged slightly behind the male, already had an already protruding belly, broadcasting her pregnancy to the whole world. 

Whilst their facial muscles weren't capable of showcasing it, just from looking at the duo, it was clear how happy and content they were with their meaningless lives. 

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As they continued to rest and enjoy their day, suddenly, they both perked their ears. They felt a disturbance coming from not too far, from the south. A strange, unfamiliar noise that whilst were unknown to them, sounded dangerous. Making a split-second decision they both began to stand up and were ready to scurry away in the next instant if they could feel that the danger was approaching.

Just as they expected, the noise indeed got louder, in fact, it was rapidly approaching their location. From the noises they felt two much larger, bipedal creatures coming, no, rushing towards them.

Sensing the potential incoming harm to its family, the male immediately got ready to run away with its mate. It hopped forward a few steps, and looked back, waiting for the female to follow along.

However, as it looked back, the male immediately became stressed. Its mate was in obvious pain, and the discolored fluid around it, as well as the distinct smell, instinctually reminded it, that the female has unfortunately just got into labor, and had obvious difficulties in making rapid movement. It could only slowly make its way towards its mate, as its expression was continuously tormented by the wave of pain that hit it repeatedly and with gradually increasing in volume.

Panic started to cloud the male's mind, it was darting back and forth, trying to think of a way to resolve such a situation. His first and strongest thought was to just run away to safety, it was their ingrained response to any situation that they would encounter. 

On the other hand, however, there was a budding emotion, something it wasn't entirely sure how to react to as of yet. Its mate was about to bless them with their newborn, which was something completely unexpected. He felt the need to protect the female and get it to safety at all costs. 

While they slowly made their way towards the northern edges of the small clearing, trying their best to hide in the sward, the source of the noise their long ears picked up finally revealed themselves. 

A battered and bloodied human suddenly flew into the clearing, violently crashing on the ground, and began to tumble towards their direction. He was beaten badly, and with his last bits of strength leaving his already tired body, he released his grip on his weapon as continued to roll, flinging the weapon into the air. 

The iron blade of his weapon plunged into the ground just a few inches away from the frightened duo, as they slowly but surely continued to leave the clearing.

Following the already unconscious human, a robust figure stepped out from the shadows and began to approach the body with a hideous grin on his dark green face. The figure was tall, much taller and bulkier than the human, with only a few pieces of furred leather covering up his crotch. He held a huge, heavy-looking bloodied axe in his right, which he slowly raised over his head as it got closer to the body. 

He snarled with a contemptuous grin stretching over its large face. 

"Shurl orgath!" He spoke in a garbled, throaty, hoarse voice just a few curt words in his own language, before he swung his weapon down, cutting deeply into the man's chest, and ending his life instantly.

Licking his lips, the towering creature crouched down, and using his bare hands he grabbed the right hand of the now dead body, and with one pull, he tore it off the chest and began to clean it down from all the unwanted cover. Fresh human meat was delicious and should not be wasted after all.

Seeing how this huge bipedal beast was busy with his newfound lunch, the scared pair of hares resumed their attempt to slowly creep away from the danger and get back to the safety of their homes.

They moved slowly, careful to not make any unnecessary noise, not to agitate the fearsome monster just a couple inches away from them.

However, luck wasn't on their side today after all, as the dark green colored figured noticed the two patches of white fur trying to escape. Thinking that they would make a perfect appetizer for the main course, he stood up and cracked his large mace-like fists. He didn't need his weapon to hunt down two critters of the forest, his bare hands were more than enough, not to mention, this way he could keep all the delicious fluids inside their bodies, and not waste them on the ground.

With large steps he began to make his way towards the slow pair of critters, already licking his lips in expectation. 

Feeling a sudden threat rapidly approaching them, the male turned around only to see the huge giant closing in on them, already eyeing its mate. 

In normal circumstances, its instinctual response would have already taken over and the male hare would have already bolted away to safety, but this time, it didn't move. No, it couldn't leave its mate behind, the male felt a strange, new feeling bubbling up inside him. With not much time for lamenting, it decided to embrace this new response, this new feeling, this… emotion. 

Instead of running away, it jumped back, standing in between the female and the approaching giant shadow of a hand that was about to grab it. As nature did not provide their species with any means to dish out damage, it opened its mouth as wide as it could, and as the hand was about to reach them, it bit down, with all the might it could muster. 

Sadly, that wasn't too much as it wasn't even able to penetrate the layer of dark green skin. It still stung and surprise the creature, causing it to take his hand back, and look at the little white, fluffy critter with wide eyes for a moment before it turned into the previous hideous grin. 

He clenched his fist, and with great momentum it struck down, aiming to bash the poor, defenseless critter into a mushy pulp on the ground. Even if he would lose some of the delicious juices, he would still have one intact appetizer left…

The male although scared, was ready to face the danger for the first time in his short life, and go against the very nature, the instinctual response of his kind, and protect its mate. As if it had gained some intelligence, it slowly closed its eyes, and awaited its rapidly approaching death, knowing that it did its best for its female and child to live on…