The creature dropped from the branch with a strange, loose motion that did not match anything human, landing on the ground without making a proper sound, only a soft crack of dry leaves and bent soil beneath its feet.
It stood there for a moment without moving, head slightly tilted, as if it was trying to understand what Leo was, while the stretched smile on its face remained fixed in place.
Leo did not move immediately, only tightening his grip on [Yielding Spine] while his body shifted into a more stable stance, remembering what he had been taught during Aura Practical about keeping balance while circulating Aura through the core.
The forest around them remained silent, the same dead silence that had followed him since he entered deeper, and it made the presence of the creature feel even scarier than it should have been.
