It hadn’t taken long after Levani’s realization, her utter enragement with herself, for the culprits in the missing pieces of corpses to step forward from the swell of shadows. The sight of their bodies - broken, mangled, consumed by the black, dark eyes filled with agony and fury - forced splinters of profound pain beneath her breast, a despair that she had never been able to describe. They stood there, the blatant epitome of sickness in the forest,<i>her</i>forest, and the derangement of their souls was unnecessary. It was her fault, in the end. It was an avoidable loss. She should have been more careful, more cautious, should have pocketed her strength for purging the corruption, placing it in its final grave. Instead, she had been distracted, foolish, and one less pack would grace Asdenni.<br/><br/>There was, perhaps, empathy there. A prime predator, ignorant, unknowing, despite all its years of life, fallen to a wretched, abhorred temptation. Needless. Their gazes siphoned away her pity. The creatures that they were, they were gone. They were not like her. The shards of them left alive were suffering, lodged deep within, trapped by the layers of corrupted flesh.<br/><br/>The draw of Kallo’s body, the way that his muscles aligned, tensed, Levani knew she could lend a thread of trust to him. That sword of his was enormous, deadly, could undoubtedly butcher the poor cretins where they stood. Though she would have thought its size would render it slow, it was wielded masterfully, hefted as easily as it had been when he pulled it from the ground. Much as it pained her to give faith to another, always having fought alone, she knew that she had no choice. That stubbornness did not have a place in this moment in time. He was right - the pack was circling, waiting, adopting the primal instincts of their bodies, even if they were no longer wolves. She could hear their paws, clumsy, faltering, stepping over roots and branches, crushing the leaves of the forest floor. Could see the outlines of their shadows, jagged and harsh.<br/><br/>Levani turned to face the ones that meant to flank them, every piece of her begging not to turn away from the teeth that snarled at her. Slowly, carefully, she moved a few steps forward, golden eyes watching, keen. She lowered herself, hand splayed on the grass, feeling the woes of Asdenni, the ache of the woods, guilt spiraling inside of her. She planted a seed of power, feeling it flow deep, giving birth to a network, a trap.<br/><br/>Eyes emerged from the shadows, faceted to a wretched face with a jagged mouth. Bloody foam poured from its lips, lolling tongue strung with crimson and charcoal saliva. Levani’s hatred was renewed, instinctive rage overwhelming any sense of self-pity.<br/><br/>A slick, heavy sound emitted behind her, jerking her head over her shoulder in time to see the front half of a creature fling and tumble to the ground. Her own wolves meant to take advantage of this distraction, lunging forward with deft confidence. They were stopped short, runic tendrils bursting from the ground, ripping through flesh of those that had leapt, entangling another that had meant to stop. Levani jumped fluidly from her place, rising to greet two wolves that had dodged around the trap. Her staff quickly connected with the skull of one, eliciting a harsh<i>crunch</i>as it did so. In the same movement, the backend slammed into the back of the throat of the other, its jaws opened to prepare a bite. It hacked, sickly, fleshy, and spewed black corruption upon the grass.<br/><br/>The small blade had been freed from her thigh and Levani worked quickly, slitting the throats of the two that had rushed her. They were crumpled, broken, pooling black around them. She loomed above them, a slight tremble to her figure. Exertion, excitation, exhaustion. She was without her armor, left back at her tree after she had removed it the night before. That was not uncommon - she had been caught in fights without her extra padding of protection, but never so tired. Never so drained of power, hungry, and tired - paying the price for ignoring her most basic needs in lieu of the newcomer and the circumstances that he had brought with him.<br/><br/>Still, she carried on.<br/><br/>The tendrils that writhed from the ground, animated and ravenous, coiled and choked around the three wolves that they held captive. One’s body had been squeezed so tightly, it burst, unmoving and limp in the furious grasp. The others contorted and bit, teeth flashing, desperate to devour Kallo and Levani despite the tendrils that pierced their bodies, that held them rooted. As she approached them to take what was left of their lives, a sudden force slammed into her side. There was a sharp pain, fast and terrible, that flourished along her forearm. As quickly as they had tumbled to the ground and she knew that it was teeth in her flesh, the dagger in her hand was buried in the soft tissue of the creature’s eye. It released, making an awful sound, backing away from her body.<br/><br/>Levani scrambled up, breath sharply withdrawn in attempts to ignore her arm and the rivulets of blood that it spilled. She was making mistakes, and that worried her. She considered her options - her best course of action for both herself and Kallo. She retrieved her staff from where it had fallen and raised it. When it crashed to the earth, she urged what was left of her energy to find its way deep, to summon her a companion that would perform better. She kept only so much for herself to keep her conscious, but she could feel the pull in her bones, muscles screaming as though she’d been climbing rockfaces for days without rest. Everything hurt, and the pain in her arm was not so easy to ignore. It throbbed angrily, and she fought to refuse to recognize it.<br/><br/>A golem rose from the earth, almost manlike, towering about the both of them. It was of rock and grass, dead roots twisting along its arms and beside clenched fists. One such fist slammed down on the creature that had bit Levani, splattering blood and black. It moved with a swaying gait, slow, but it diligently took her place beside Kallo, just as the last number of the terrible beasts emerged from the wood.