Night slipped away, leaving three bodies sprawled on the ground.
Only one drew breath
Grizzler.
Fireflies wandered through the field, drawn only to his stillness.
Grizzler stared at Namir's motionless body, breath ragged, unsure whether victory or loss coursed through him.
"Don't you have mercy?" Namir's dying words bled through his memory.
He buried his face in his hands. "What have I done?"
"I… I stained my body with blood.
I killed someone.
The wind brushed his cheek, cold and silent.
He pressed his palms harder against his eyes, as if darkness could erase what he'd seen.
Somewhere in the grass, a firefly flickered and died.
A branch cracked somewhere in the dark, snapping him back to life.
"Who's there?!" He shot up, breath catching in his throat.
His pulse thundered in his ears, then steadied as a familiar shape emerged from the dark.
It was Ivy, her steps hesitant, eyes wide with fear.
"G… Grizzler?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"Ivy?!" Grizzler spread his arms.
"Griz!!" Ivy ran into his arms, sobbing before she could speak.
"I thought you were gone… I thought I'd lost you!"
Grizzler's arms tightened around her, the tremor in his hands betraying his own fear.
"Griz! I panicked… I couldn't think, I just ran!" Ivy cried.
How did she escape tens of leopards? Grizzler wondered.
"How did you escape, Ivy?" he asked aloud.
"Oh, I escaped once they focused on you more… the moment" Ivy began.
"But how?!" Grizzler interrupted.
"The moment they saw Namir's rage, every leopard's eyes were locked on him—his pride, his fury devouring their attention. I hit the dirt and rolled through the grass until the scent of blood faded from me."
She paused, her voice shaking as if reliving it.
"I thought you were gone," she whispered.
Grizzler stared, torn between awe and sorrow.
The night wind stirred the grass, carrying the ghosts of their battle. So she's a clever doe after all, Grizzler thought.
She even played the fool with me when she asked why I love honey.
"I was the fool all along," Grizzler murmured, a faint smile breaking through the ache.
"Fool?" Ivy's voice wavered between teasing and concern.
"A… nothing. I was just…" Grizzler lowered his hands, meeting her gaze with quiet guilt.
She turned, her gaze sweeping the darkness until it froze.
Cougar's body.
Her eyes widened in shock.
"That mountain lion… the one who spoke like he owned the mountain?" she whispered, her voice barely holding shape.
Grizzler turned sharply, his stomach twisting. "I didn't even ask his name."
I wasn't even supposed to say this, Grizzler thought.
I'm so confused.
"It was Cougar," she breathed, as if saying it made it real.
His throat burned as the voices tore through his head.
"You're lucky I'm not Grizzler anymore!"
"Stop this nonsense! Who doesn't know you, you monster?!"
"What gives you the right to mercy after what you've done?!"
Grizzler clutched his head, the leopard ghosts screaming in his ears.
He shoved Ivy away, not in anger, but in panic.
"G… Griz, you okay?" she asked, her voice small and scared.
He blinked, breath ragged, as the echoes faded.
"I… I heard them again," he muttered, eyes unfocused.
Ivy reached forward, stopping just short of touching him.
"You heard what?! Griz, are you okay?!"
Her voice wavered, then faded. The world tilted; sound slipped away as he fell.
Grizzler's body went limp as he collapsed onto the ground.
He hit the ground hard, the echo dull and final.