//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9 
// Story: Fine Fangs 
// by AmethystAce 
//------------------------------//

Sunlight filtered through the trees as I made my way through the Everfree. I had gone deep into the Everfree forest. So deep, in fact, that I'm pretty sure no pony has been here before.

Perfect.

Snow had began to fall and it became much colder out. Though, I didn't mind the cold as much due to me having a bit more mass than when I arrived in this world. I never felt it worth noting, but my constant hunting for food and my diet being largely protein definitely has me seeing gains. I may not be a muscled behemoth, but I was far stronger than I was before I... well... died. And was... resurrected? Reincarnated? Probably shouldn't question it too much. Makes my head hurt thinking about it. Anyway, through a combination of mass, my winter coat growing in, and hides from previous hunts giving me a sense of decency, the cold wasn't much of a bother. Unfortunately, the clothes that Rarity gave me were not up to the task of actually living out in the wilds. So, I had to get a bit creative.

I still hate them, Rarity and Applejack. I won't ever forgive them. Hell, most of Ponyville is on that list. I won't, however, let the actions of some dictate an entire species. I most likely won't be returning to any pony town, however. I simply think that what ever the hell I am (still haven't thought of a name for it, and simply being anthropomorphic cat is a mouth full), and ponies are like oil and water. We simply don't mix. Any who, back to my travel.

My reason for traveling is two-fold. I'm simply used to staying on the move now. I don't know if guards are actively hunting me down, though I'm sure they forgot about me by now. Staying on the move also means that I don't over hunt any area of the forest, which is pretty nice. The other reason is that I am almost finished with my Everfree Bestiary! While I acknowledge that I likely won't be selling it to anyone now, it has become a great pass time and very valuable to have on hand for whenever I forget about a certain creature. My nomadic lifestyle has done wonders for the bestiary, allowing me to actively seek both new shelter and new entries into the book. Honestly, writing this book has been the main thing keeping me reasonably sane. Maybe I can write a book about the flora next, even though some flora did make into the bestiary, or maybe-

"HEY!" a thick Germanic female voice called out from above. Startled after not hearing a voice in, I honestly don't know how long, I looked up to see three griffons swoop into the clearing I was moving through.

They looked to be a small hunting party, likely looking for food. Landing, it seemed there were two females and one male. Both of the females were nearly identical, with silver-tipped white feathers and a spotted hide. The only difference I could see between the two was that one of them had a nasty scar across her throat. The male was younger looking, perhaps in his teens, with much darker feathers and much grayer fur. While they were a hunting party, they didn't try and pick me off from above, nor did they try and surround me. In fact, they actually seemed friendly.

"Never seen anything like you before. What brings you into this part of the woods Mr...?" The same griffon as before inquired.

In a somewhat gravelly tone, as it can be hard to speak if you haven't in a while, "Jacob Feles. I used to live in a pony village, working as a carpenter before getting ran out. Not sure how long ago that was."

The younger male looked surprised. "A pony village? How did they even let a predator like you in?" Before I could ask how he knew my diet, he continued. "The way you scanned us with you eyes, the way you adjusted your stance when we entered the clearing, you couldn't make your status as an apex predator more obvious."

"Allow us to introduce ourselves." The female from before began, grabbing the younger male with one arm, or is it still called the front leg when it comes to griffons? "This is our baby brother Tobias," Tobias groans in annoyance, "I'm Ines, and that is our sister Lydia." Lydia gave a wave. Ines then pointed to me. "And you, seem lost."

I don't know why, maybe it was me being away from civilization for a good while, but I just started laughing at that last statement. Like, a full on laugh, not some small chuckle. When I stopped, they seemed a little worried for my mental state. to be fair, so was I. "Sorry, I guess going a long time without any sapient interaction was starting to get to me. I assume you guys came from a town nearby, could you point me in the right direction?"

"Well, we were out hunting when we found you, so if you want, you can tag along with us. If not, then Benfurt is back that way." Tobias says, pointing a talon back the way they came.

"Yeah, I think I'll tag along if you don't mind. Could be fun and I REALLY don't want to get lost again."



Three hours later and the four of us are hauling back a white tail stag, doe, and fawn. We had tracked them for a while before finding them. When the siblings were going to engage, I believe I made a good impression on them by silently climbing into a nearby tree, only to pounce from the branches onto the stag, biting it in the same action, then jumping off the collapsing stag onto the doe. Tobias was in absolute awe at the perfect execution, asking me how I did it. Only be annoyed by my simple answer of 'experience'. Ines was impressed by the ferocity of my ambush, commenting how the last time she saw anything close was when their father was teaching her and Lydia to hunt. Lydia didn't voice it, as I don't think she physically can, but I could tell that she was a bit annoyed by the fact that I left them with only the fawn to hunt.

It honestly felt, nice. Not only to have intelligent interaction with other creatures again, but to also be able to enjoy both good company and a good hunt at the same time. I don't know. Ponies and I don't mix well. But griffons and whatever I am?

I think I found the right crowd to be in.