Tenaro blinked open his heavy eyes. He lay on his side on the muddy floor and he couldn't help but close his eyes again. A horrible smell tickling his nose, he sniffed and smelled something foul. His eyes cracked open a little, his blurry vision focusing onto a pile of turd that was almost less than an inch away from his face.

  His eyes flew open and his head flinched back, half-shocked, half-disgusted. All that just for his head to hit the bark behind him, the bark behind him groaning from the impact.

  “Argh!”

  He sat up and held his head in pain, his hands feeling the dirt and mud in his hair, his eyes wide from the sudden events.

  *Damn it.* He thought, sagging his shoulders, his eyes becoming heavy again, with one hand still rubbing his head.

  Tenaro yawned, his jaws widening. He looked around the hollow to look for his swords, but darkness swallowed everything around him.

  He could barely see anything until he could make out the shape of the hollow exit, the subtle moonlight being the only source of light.

  Just as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see the silhouettes of sharp weapons, likely his swords

  *Just, wow.* He thought sarcastically, his face making a deadpan expression.

  Mud squelched under his palms as he crawled towards his swords, feeling the rough and muddy ground on his palms and knees as he crawled. His left hand reached and grabbed the swords by their hilts, the two blades clanging each other, the sound of metal echoing through the hollow.

  He crawled out the hollow and slowly stood up as he felt soft raindrops greeting him. He stretched, groaning in satisfaction, feeling last bit of exhaustion drain out of his body.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  *How long was I out?* He wondered.

  He tied the rope around his waist and tried to wipe off the mud off his clothes, some leaving stains. He stood up straight and rubbed his head again.

  His stomach rumbled loudly, almost echoing and he looked around, seeing the mist hanging in the air while it was drizzling, and the smell of the weirdly satisfying scent of wet bark and soil pleasing his nostrils. A cold breeze hit his face, his hair moving with the wind and his eyes squinting.

  He sighed as he looked around, willing to pick any random direction that even vaguely seemed like it might have food.

  *Can't even have any scent or any clue of animals ‘cause of the damn damp air.* He cursed, his stomach rumbling again. He couldn't smell anything because of the musty air. He picked the direction that he felt was 'right' and trudged through the nearby undergrowth.

  *I really hope I find something edible,* he thought, quietly pleading.

  As he navigated through the dense undergrowth, he spotted mosquitoes flying near him, their annoying buzzing sounds getting on Tenaro's nerves. The stubborn mosquitoes flying around Tenaro as he tried swatting them away. As the plants rustled from his movement, he felt something squishy under his left boot, he looked down to see wet faeces on the ground, covered in maggots, some under his sole. The smell was so bad he covered his nose.

  "What the hell." He muttered as he tried to wipe his shoe on the ground, hoping to wipe the poo off. He was so distracted, he didn't notice the drizzling stopped

  When he continued walking through the dense undergrowth and vegetation, he stepped into a small clearing where the undergrowth thinned out. When he looked up, he saw the sky, where the canopy of the trees opened just a little, revealing a stretch of the now clear sky.

  He could see the stars forming a familiar constellation.

  *Serpens Caputo.* Tenaro thought as he recognized the shape of the odd constellation.

  He was so mesmerized that he got lost in the stars, ignoring the distant sounds of owls, even forgetting about his hunger.

  Tenaro was oblivious as the silence became loud as he stared at the sky.

  Then.

  Soft footsteps.

  But very deliberate, slowly coming closer.

  His ear twitched and he snapped his head around, snapping out of his trance.

  Orange fur moved through the dark, striped with black. A quiet, but dangerous presence sneaking through the shadows.

  *A Tiger.*

  Tenaro's eyes widened in alertness, standing completely still, his breath caught in his throat.

  *Oh, come on.*