36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsrAlGIwpuCHAPTER 3
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxxtg6uwEp
—••THE GRIZZLIES••—
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBASu5Dbkv
NEXT MORNING.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSucJHtECgP
Morning breaks slow and heavy over Cherryblossom Village — the kind of morning where the rainforest feels half‑asleep, wrapped in mist and dew. The petals on the branches hang still. The air is cool, soft, and damp, carrying the smell of wet bark and last night’s rain.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmakwp7Va2
Metro is the last to wake.
He steps out of the bottom yurt barefoot, rubbing his eyes, hair still messy from sleep. The wooden steps are cold under his feet. A few petals cling to his shirt as he stretches and looks around. Down by the clearing, he spots Paul, Sam, and Gregory already talking — three bodies a ways away in the pale morning light.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlJfZ8OHhmU
Paul stands with arms crossed, Stone grazing behind him.
Gregory adjusts his cape and goggles, Crook sniffing the ground nearby. Sam leans on his bow staff, relaxed but alert. Metro walks over, still waking up. Gregory turns first.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgFXBg6QEFo
Gregory:
“Morning, Metro. Lilly says she needs game for dinner these next couple days.”
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuKKbM4e72p
Paul:(nods)
“I’m headin’ out. South ridge. Mount Rabbi trail.”
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPQduV6Z1f
Gregory lifts a hand, hopeful.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyacQyvFNv8
Gregory:
“Mind if I come? Haven’t hunted in a bit.”
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvcl9DVIet
Paul shrugs.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrDouH1lmbL
Paul:
“Fine by me. Could use an extra set of eyes.”
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ2rU6j56BO
Sam steps forward, offering his gear.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXiGv6TRRoi
Sam:
“Take my bow staff. And the arrows. You’ll need ’em more than I will today.”
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTG1qpagIjL
Paul accepts with a grateful grunt.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BFzQEsKFI
Cornelius suddenly appears from behind Stone, head tilted upwards.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHIJZDXI461
Cornelius:
“I’m bored out of my mind. I’ll go crazy if I stay here another hour.”
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpUENbyuwe
Paul sighs.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Q0vzWrU0p
Gregory smirks.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvthcKMHnqN
Sam just shakes his head.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9TESkmdR0
Paul:
“Fine. But don’t slow us down.”
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwHYCIDKRQ3
Cornelius beams.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLvrWpjl6h4
Blake arrives leading Steve, who looks as annoyed as ever.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQr5Pq6cH6
Blake:
“Cornelius, you can take Steve.”
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi1mGJKnp4W
Steve immediately pins his ears back at Cornelius.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEejgBB85x6
Cornelius freezes.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSS2UBbyMks
Cornelius:
“…He hates me.”
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqNwNscYERH
Blake pulls a sugar cube from his pocket and gives it to Cornelius.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzxyDzZuUwv
Cornelius holds it out.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVwDxQ0S2RE
Steve sniffs it, crunches it, then — reluctantly — nudges Cornelius’s shoulder.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRsDgRaGnb
Blake:
“There. He accepts your apology.”
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrVPATPhqLF
Cornelius pats Steve’s neck nervously.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rc37kqg8a
Cornelius:
“Okay. Now that we're friends, let's move along!”
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQFPTH4IWD0
Steve snorts.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPVc8OTKIS
HEADING SOUTH — MOUNT RABBI
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtYpeshzEz
The three men guide their horses toward the southern trail. The rainforest opens before them — mist curling around the roots, sunlight breaking through in rays of shimmering gold.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UOJNSeXnF
Their path narrows and the air cools.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXikm1VhU5
The mountain rises ahead, towering and ancient. They ride in a quiet line: Stone leading, Crook scanning, Steve grumbling, the morning unfolding around the three.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5GLrOt5gG
They keep south, toward the trail up Mount Rabbi, towards game, towards danger, toward whatever the mountain decides to give them today.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdde9SyBJNv
RABBI MOUNTAIN TRAILS
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi5AATfSpfc
Gregory trots along, scanning the treeline. Paul rides Stone up a steep incline, the thick‑necked warhorse with hooves like boulders. Cornelius rides Steve, who looks permanently annoyed to be carrying him.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9GNYrPaMeL
The forest is dense — and tightens around them as they climb — The temperate mountain wilderness where every breath feels like it’s pulled through moss and cold stone. The air grows thinner, wetter, sharper.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zR4xvvmc0
Birds call in strange patterns. Something large moves far off. Something else answers.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNRadcUgZqd
The men say nothing.They ride until the trees thin and the trail slopes upward into a clearing overlooking a long valley.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXbqcJnEa8v
Everyone dismounts, carrying a bo staff strapped to their backs. Paul walks ahead, bow on his shoulder, moving like a predator who knows he’s not the only one out here.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa6S0ipQheW
He crouches at the top of the hill. Gregory and Cornelius kneel behind and beside him.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwB4E0TM3g
Gregory:
“Looks good. There way far out though.”
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4XABHlfMH
Paul:
“We can’t get too close. Unless we herd them towards us somehow... Let’s wait until we have a solid plan.”
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMkcoOf0Q5
Greg nods, calm and patient.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbEpdhKqkFs
Cornelius… is not. He lifts his one‑shot pistol, the tiny cannon he treats like a toy.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhR7xTXa2SZ
Cornelius:
“How about this? One pull of the trigger should do it.”
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkCT8tLJjFe
Greg:
“You should save that for emergencies.”
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4o08An7ye
Cornelius mutters under his breath.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqk66DIbGc7
Cornelius:
“This is an emergency…”
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmQRIHLuruL
The forest opens into a narrow overlook — a ledge of stone and wet ferns —the three men drop below it, crouching behind a fallen cedar. The air is cool and sharp this high up, carrying the scent of pine sap and cold rock.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1yptMVcSW9
Below them, in a quiet meadow carved into the mountainside, a family of does and bucks graze in the soft morning light. Their ears twitch. Their tails flick. Their hooves sink into moss so thick it muffles every sound.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ZuZUSPYIV
Gregory lifts his hand, signaling stillness. Paul and Cornelius crouch beside him, bows ready, breaths held. The forest is so quiet they can hear the deer chewing.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjB2fdZUQl2
Gregory:(above a whisper)
“I can push them closer to the ridge. Come in from your angle slowly. They’ll drift right towards you.”
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtingkmmLfg
Paul nods, eyes locked on the herd.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDZxhtZup1
Paul:
“Good. We take the big buck first. Clean. Quick.”
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjcoerwMxXO
Cornelius shifts, trying to keep his knees from sinking deeper into the wet moss. The creak of branches sway overhead.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKP5OJz2iKl
They push foward.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSxWIweAMo1
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4NLzuHObQk
and then Add to home screen.