8

I laid down slowly as I half listened to the conversation they were having as they planned how this whole hunt would go. Dropping my head down on top of Ethan's as I tried not to salivate at the thought of a new flavor of beast core I could try. Most of their planning didn't apply to me anyway so it didn't really matter if I listened or not. My wings occasionally twitching as I thought about Vernon's plan to leave Calen to die on the outer edge of the spiders nest. Problem was the edge of the nest wasn't where we were going.

The cliff Vernon planned to bring us to wasn't on the edge of the nest. It was overhanging the queen's lair. Listening to Vernon as he flat out lied to the others was only mildly interesting. The longer I listened the more irritated I became with the sound of his voice. Which was one of the reasons I was ignoring most of this conversation, and letting Ethan fill in the blanks with mental impressions, and images.

I growled quietly when Vernon glanced my way. Putting every human in the room that wasn't mentally attached to me on edge.

"Maybe we shouldn't bring the big angry beast," Vernon stated in the silence that followed.

"It would be better if we did," Ethan snapped in response to the irritation I was feeling, "Nix is highly resistant to poison, and covered in natural armor. That will be more than a little helpful when dealing with giant beasts that are a lot like spiders."

"No argument here," Vernon shrugged as if he agreed with Ethan, "It would be hugely helpful if you could guarantee that your beast will do what you tell it to." he paused, "I know that thing doesn't like me much. What's stopping it from taking a swipe at any one of us?" Vernon shrugged, "Sure your people trust that creature with your lives, but I don't." He pointed at me, "And look at the size of him. Do you honestly see that thing sneaking anywhere quietly?"

I had to hold myself back from snarling at Vernon directly.

"Nix," Ethan's tone was more firm than before, "Shhhh."

Ethan pictured me disappearing clearly in his mind. I responded in kind. Circulating my mana as I changed my color to match what was behind me. It wasn't perfect camouflage, but I didn't need it to be perfect. In this argument it was all I needed.

I only needed to be hidden from beasts after all.

"He can freely control his temperature as well," Ethan continued after our display, "So even if they can only see heat it won't really matter."

"Nix is coming," Calen clapped his hands drawing our attention to him, "He's too valuable to leave behind. I didn't know about the poison resistance, but I've heard about his natural armor. More than I even care to admit." he waited for a few seconds to see if anyone was going to try arguing, "We leave as soon as the sun rises. Get what sleep you plan to while you can, and be by the western gates when it comes time to leave."

Calen turned to leave. Vernon grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" he whispered a little too loud.

Calen shook off Vernon's fake concerns, and kept on walking as if Vernon hadn't spoken at all. Part of me wanted to pat him on the back for ignoring that backstabbing bastard. The other part was more concerned with how this guy had never figured out that his vice guild leader was out to get him. For someone who seemed to be so perceptive it was shocking that he couldn't see through such a poorly disguised wolf in sheep's clothing. Ethan's participation in this whole excursion hinged largely on me coming.

Ethan's strength as an ability user might not be growing all that fast, but he was more than strong enough to take on a few beasts. Jax, and Savannah on the other hand were rapidly catching up to Ethan strength wise. I planned to keep on pushing them to grow stronger. I didn't really care whether they liked it or not. They couldn't stay this weak forever.

I couldn't leave such an obvious weak point for my enemies to exploit. That still left me with Ethan. I wasn't able to increase his strength like I was the other two. Eventually they would surpass him, and there would be nothing I could do to help him when that happened. I couldn't stop strengthening the others just because he'd fall behind.

I snorted to myself as I dropped out of the conversation. Licking my lips casually as I thought about how good those beast cores might taste. My wings trembled with delight. I couldn't wait for this hunt to begin. It was really easy to ignore Vernon when I was so fully focused on the meal I might be getting soon.

Ethan let me zone out entirely. Patting the side of my head to get me off of him. I relaxed my head down to the floor behind Ethan's legs. Enjoying the blissful daydreams that mostly involved candies I couldn't eat anymore. I closed my eyes, and pretended to sleep.

It was the easiest way for me to seem non threatening around humans. I was pretending to be an animal so it wasn't like anyone expected me to be part of the conversation. My wings dropped to the ground as I relaxed. Pretending to be out of it while they were going over the abilities, and risks of the fight. Going over the plan half a dozen times to be sure.

They spent most the night discussing it all. I didn't really care all that much what plan they came up with. When the discussing finally stopped I opened my eyes, and looked around. Ethan was the only one to stay behind.

"What plan did you guys come up with?" I stretched out leisurely.

"Nothing much," Ethan frowned, "Sneak up to the cliff. Sneak over cliff. Observe the spiders, and kill the ones that notice us."