The clearing fell silent.
Not just silent—frozen.
Leaves stopped rustling. The wind held its breath. Even the nearby bugs decided now was not the time.
Thalina stared at the row of Rare Beasts, her heart pounding in her throat. "I... I need your cores."
For a moment, no one moved.
Then—
"YOU NEED WHAT?!"
The shriek came from the fluffiest of the Rare Beasts—a wolf-elk hybrid whose oversized tail puffed up in panic. It jumped a foot into the air, hooves skidding on the mossy ground as it clutched its chest. "She wants our what?!"
The others weren't faring much better.
One, a hulking elk-bodied beast with a thick wolf mane and antlers, tucked its head between its shoulders, looking like a fuzzy hill with eyes, glaring in dismay.
Another, leaner but still majestic, stomped its hoof twice, growling in disbelief. "Did she say core? Ricky, did you hear that?"
