120 The Shrouded Darkwood Forest

As Yun made her way into the forest along the coast of the river she could hear massive booming sounds from the forest behind her. Ancient trees, some that had been standing for millennia, were being snapped like twigs as the Kraken's massive tentacles lashed the shoreline in rage. Yun had to keep her wits about her, as the shattered trees flew through the air they would land near her frequently.

Dodging constantly, Yun made her way through the woods away from the shore line. She could feel the Kraken's senses locked onto her still, but the feeling was getting weaker the farther she moved. She fled for what felt like ages into the incredibly dense forest with no idea of her current location, but the vague knowledge that this was a dangerous region marked on the map. After she finally felt the distance was great enough that even the Kraken couldn't fling any objects far enough to threaten her.

As she continued her trek through the forest she occasionally avoided some obvious beast dens, and fled some not so obvious ones, but she continued to try and guide herself in a southward direction. The largest problem that Yun could currently determine was the fact that she couldn't properly orient herself in this extraordinarily dense forest. This was very disconcerting. How could she get anywhere if she couldn't orient herself? She couldn't even direct herself back to the river at this point.

Eventually Yun decided that she had no idea where she was and thought that getting higher might help. She began to climb a tree, using a combination of her claws and her ability to jump to reach higher branches and attempt to break through the forest canopy for a view. The only problem was that as she got higher into the tree she began to feel a distinct feeling of danger looming over her.

Whoosh!

Something rapidly flew past Yun's head, entirely beyond her ability to see in this dark environment. She couldn't even detect it's energy. What kind of creature could move so fast without leaving a trail of energy for her to track? She began to be even more cautious, not taking any more jumps to the next branch, but instead climbing arduously higher and keeping close to the tree trunk, where she could use it to defend against swooping assaults.

Whoosh!

Swish!

Yun heard two noises blast past her head this time, one slightly behind the other, but she couldn't even determine what direction they went or came from, much less where they were! She was starting to get worried. With every meter she climbed she heard more and more of these hyper-velocity creatures fly past, and each time they flew past she felt the wind blow over her fur more heavily, indicating that they were either getting closer to her, or flying in formations that created a stronger disturbance.

Yun decided to take some risks after she reached the next branch, trying to find out if she could manage to ascend more safely than just being blown past by these strange pack creatures that flew around. As the next group flew past her she tensed up, and as soon as she felt their wind on her fur she leapt skyward with all her might, leaving splintered gashes in the branch she had been on from her claws.

Whoosh!

Yun's own wind blew past her ears as she rocketed upwards to the next branch, then she grasped it and quickly began to move erratically around the branches at this level, hoping that her rapid motion would make it more difficult for the creatures to fly past her with such accuracy.

Swish!

Slash!

Swoosh!

Whoooommm!

Yun felt a sharp object slash against her robe, but it wasn't strong enough to overcome the strength of the Immortal Wyrm fibers when combined with the flexible movement of the fabric. After a slight tugging feeling the slashing object was loosed from the fabric's surface suddenly, causing the creature that was shooting past at unimaginable speed to tumble and crash into a nearby tree trunk!

Finally Yun had an opportunity to see who her enemy was as she looked at the site where a small body had smashed heavily into a tree, leaving a caved in section of bark and wood. On the branch just below the impact site, standing in a daze, was a strange beast. With a body similar to a Vulpis, yet covered in feathers rather than fur, it had wings for arms, a split tail made of feathers that looked like a large 'V', and sharp clawed avian feet. It's face was sharply pointed and conical, and there were no ears to be seen on it's head. This strange avian was clutching onto the branch beneath it, tearing holes in the bark with an iron grip, as it wobbled continuously.

What a strange creature!

Yun took out a small net made from the Immortal Wyrm fibers and discreetly wrapped it around herself like a shawl, creating many more loose fibers that small claws could catch onto and cause these avian fiends to fly out of control. Their bodies, unlike most avian species, were not the barrel-chested and rounded forms she was used to, but more of a personified and slim form. The wings looked to be a little too small for the body, but they were of a much larger span than she was accustomed to, creating a strange feeling of things being out of proportion.

Suddenly, as the dizzy spell began to pass, the avian beast shook it's head rapidly and reached out it's wings, spreading it's flight feathers out across the wingtip like fingers, when suddenly the wing's feathery form expanded to nearly twice the width! With one flap the avian created a small wind storm around the branch it was attached to, and with a release of it's claws the second flap caused it's form to blur and disappear from the spot!

Yun was sweating a little on the inside at this whole situation. These avians were much too fast for her, and their little claws were like the finest metals, capable of tearing through nearly anything!