BXBX NOVEL 56. Too Much Mana
"Loup!" Ike called. She lifted her head from where she\'d been picking at the rooster\'s organs, bored of the chase-Ike game. He raced away from her. For a few seconds, she watched him go. Then she mumbled something under her breath and raced after him, galloping through the woods.
Ike ran in a straight line, leaving the clouds behind him. Rocks jumped up under his feet, and branches grabbed at him as he passed. Ike leaped and dodged, his enhanced senses alerting him to the dangers seconds before he struck. When he was far enough from the storm he\'d generated that the skies were clear again, he began circling once more. Again, storm clouds began to build up. Again, Ike ran on, cutting off to the left. Once more, storm clouds grew; once more, Ike moved on. He worked in a circle around the original loop he\'d drawn, running in smaller loops around the outside of that first loop. Whenever storm clouds built, he moved on.
Overhead, as Ike drew more circles, the clouds grew darker and more threatening. From a single storm, it grew into a supercell. Flashes of lightning turned into bolts. Thunder cracked out, ear-shatteringly loud. Winds thrashed, blowing at one another from all directions. The trees creaked, leaves fluttering, as they leaned back and forth. Small branches flew around, whipped up by the storm. The light took on a greenish sheen. The clouds began to pinch downward. Slowly, but surely, the funnel clouds descended toward the ground.
Ike stared up, his jaw dropped. Holy shit. In retrospect, maybe I shouldn\'t have run in circles so much.
He watched the tornado for a second. It wandered toward the waterfall. Ike grimaced. Toward the waterfall is back toward my camp…but there\'s nothing I can do now. He whipped around and raced in the opposite direction. Loup ran alongside him, watching the tornado over her shoulder.
Just as they raced away, the last sparks winked out in the core. The transparent ball crumbled away, freeing Ike\'s hands. He grimaced. Had to run out now, huh?
He deactivated all his skills except for Lightning Dash. Now that he didn\'t need to run down his mana, it was best to only use what he needed. At least his mana was completely full, so he didn\'t need to worry about using Lightning Dash for the short-term future.
The storm cloud over him grumbled. Bright white light flashed, and rain poured down. Wind lashed his body. Ike lifted his hands to shade his eyes as he ran, searching for a place to take shelter. Nothing loomed up at him. Just forest, trees, and thick undergrowth. Grimacing, he ran on, hunkering away from the rain.
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"Don\'t suppose you have some kind of cave-location skill?" Ike asked, peering through the rain at Loup.
Loup glanced at him. She stopped, then threw her head back and howled. The wind snatched her voice away.
Ike slowed. He watched her, waiting. Maybe the howl is how she finds caves, or something?
In the distance, barely audible when the wind blew the right direction, another wolf howled back.
A chill climbed up Ike\'s spine. That\'s right. I did hear other wolves down here.
Loup\'s ears flicked toward the other wolf. She looked at Ike, then loped off toward the cry.
"We\'re heading toward it?" Ike asked. He rubbed the back of his neck, then looked over his shoulder. Another funnel cloud descended from the blackening clouds. Any port in a storm. I\'m strong enough I should be able to hold my own against a few wolves right now, and I have plenty of mana. He turned toward Loup. She didn\'t seem the type to betray him, either. Rather, she\'d just attack if she disagreed. If she was leading him somewhere, she thought it was a good idea to go that way.
Mind made up, he raced after Loup. The two of them chased the other wolf\'s voice into the forest.
Rain soaked Ike\'s clothes. Wind grabbed at the wet cloth, smacking it against his body. Ahead of him, Loup whipped her ears backward, her eyes slitted against the weather. Lightning flashed all around them. The trees groaned, leaning with the wind.
The wolf howled again, closer this time. Loup lifted her head, her ears perking, then ran on. Ike followed her. We\'re getting close. He put a hand on his sword, ready to attack if need be.
A hill loomed over them. Rocky boulders stood out here and there on the hill\'s surface. Ahead of them, a gap in two of the boulders formed a sort of cave. The rain lashed the cave\'s entrance, but couldn\'t reach its depths.
Amidst the grey stone, a grey shape moved. Another wolf looked at them. Yellow eyes landed on Ike, and the wolf\'s hackles rose. It lifted its lips and bared its teeth at them.
Ike reached for his sword, but Loup stepped out in front of him. She gave him a look, then walked ahead, closing in on the wolf.
Loup and the wolf looked at one another. Loup lowered her neck, looking up at the wolf. The wolf growled, looking down on Loup.
Straightening her neck, Loup stood tall. She stood head and shoulders over the other wolf, the silver in her coat gleaming. Tiny fingers of electricity crackled over her coat. She lifted her lips. Quietly, she growled, warning the other wolf.
The other wolf lowered its head. It backed away.
Loup looked at Ike, then strode past the wolf. Hesitant, Ike drew close, still resting his hand on his sword.
The other wolf stepped forward. It growled at him.
Loup whirled around and slapped the first wolf with her paw. It stumbled and looked at her in surprise. She turned around and leaned up against Ike. Her eyes narrowed at the wolf.
The wolf backed away, its ears slicked down.
Ike grinned, a little nervous. He edged past the other wolf. With Loup in between him and the other wolf, the other wolf didn\'t dare growl at Ike. It glowered at him silently.
Ike shrugged at it. "You\'re the one who responded to Loup. Shouldn\'t have done that if you didn\'t want her to take your cave."
The wolf wrinkled its nose. It looked away.
From this wolf\'s perspective, it called for its fellow wolves, only for a nice female voice to reply. So of course it called again, but Loup didn\'t want a mate, she wanted his cave! Scammed by a pretty girl wolf… ha.
Well, I suppose in the wild, might makes right, and Loup is undoubtedly bigger than that other wolf. His loss, our gain. Ike shook his head at the poor other wolf and squeezed into the cave. Loup followed him inside. At the doorway, she glanced back and made a quiet sound at the other wolf.
The other wolf grumbled back. Somewhat reluctantly, it followed Loup into the cave.