The light brown Saursune slowly rose to all fours—the shorter horns marked her as a female—as I continued backing up. The unarmed female paced forward leisurely, pausing to sniff the squirrel, acorns, and the spot the cat had sat. She batted the knife to the side and lifted her head as the cat abandoned her hiding spot and raced deeper into the forest.

Her gaze turned back to me as she ambled closer. My eyes strayed to the crystal I was being herded away from. Soon, it would be too far away for me to see. I angled my retreat to the side, hoping to loop around if I survived that long, but the Saursune made sure to keep herself between me and the crystal.

My legs shook with the need to run, but there was nowhere to run to. The Saursune was between me and safety, my companions weren't nearby, and there was no other crystal in the area. I stumbled over another root.

The sunlight danced across the spires, scattering beautiful refractions across the grass and nearby plants. When the crystal was almost out of sight, I stopped retreating. If I was going to die, I couldn't bear to be too far away to see it.

My arms and legs trembled as the Saursune came closer. Eight paces away. Five. Far too close.

Part of my mind absently noted she wasn't growling or baring her teeth, but it did nothing to slow my racing heart. The sheer size of these aliens once again took my breath away and reminded me exactly where I sat on the food chain. Even on all fours, her back was higher than my elbow. Her neck was long enough to put her head level with mine.

Despite my resolution to stare at the crystal during my final moments, I squeezed my eyes closed and held my arms tight against my sides. Dull crunches of leaves moved to my left and went behind me, which only made my heart pound harder. As she circled around me, her footsteps came up on my right.

A faint brush against my left ankle almost made me jump out of my skin. My eyes flew open. The Saursune had stopped on my right, gazing at the crystal as if she had forgotten about me. A hasty glance down confirmed the tip of her tail was resting against my ankle. Even the smallest attempt to edge away would be noticed.

I remained frozen to the spot, completely out of ideas as the Saursune stood beside me, almost as if waiting for me to flee to the crystal. The tail resting against my ankle was noticeably warm and impossible to forget. A faint hum hung in the air, almost akin to a very deep cat purr. My heart refused to slow down, and my rapid, shallow breathing threatened to make me hyperventilate.

When the Saursune shook herself and circled in front of me, my racing heart nearly stopped. Her tail brushed against the back of my legs, making sure she'd know the instant I tried bolting for safety, yet she never even glanced my way.

I was terrified. And confused. Very, very confused. She hadn't harmed me, nor was she chasing me back to the crystal. But neither did she seem inclined to let me leave. Part of my mind desperately wished my companions would return and distract her, but the other part knew they'd just be walking into danger.

In a terrifying game of cat and mouse, she circled behind me again, still within arm's reach. My mind finally began working around my fear even though my muscles vibrated from the adrenaline and the need to get away. Unfortunately, no plans came to mind. Not with a Saursune circling me this far from the crystal.

When the light brown lizard came up on my left, she rubbed her cheek along my arm, acting far more like a cat than an intelligent alien. I held my breath in case I somehow triggered an attack. As her head disappeared behind me again, my lungs burned and forced me to take a deep breath.

She had edged closer during her circling, and her shoulder bumped against my elbow as she came up beside me again. I was a bit light-headed from holding my breath, and rather than hold rigid and possibly have it mistaken as aggression on my part, I tried to force my muscles to relax.

As she moved forward, her shoulder pushed my arm up, and my hand inadvertently touched her back. The subtle ridges and lines glided under my fingertips like smooth snakeskin or polished stone, almost as if I were running my hand along a crystal. I froze, halfway terrified, yet somehow still fascinated by the strange texture.

The larger, smooth bumps weren't actually scales like I'd always thought, but part of her hide. The heat radiating off her was startling. Not enough to burn, like some black stones in the desert could, but definitely noticeable!

I was jolted back to reality when the Saursune's head turned slightly, watching me out of her right eye. The hum grew louder, and I carefully pulled my hand back and held it against my side. She circled closer still, her sides brushing against my clothing as my heart hammered in my chest.

I tensed as her head disappeared behind me again. Her flank passed in front of me, and I jumped when something nudged my hand from behind. The Saursune paused and bumped her nose against my fingers again, pushing her forehead hard enough to move my hand. The behavior was almost identical to what the village dogs did.

She nudged her head forward again, and her horns bumped against my palm and rubbed against my side. I was too scared to try pushing her head farther away, but I shifted my hand farther away, and her head followed it. Unsure of how to proceed, I hesitantly scratched the base of the horns.

Her eyes half-closed as she leaned against my hand with a hum. Her head was easily twice the size of mine, although shaped more like a cross between a lizard's and a dog's. Her lips covered her sharp teeth, but I knew they lurked just out of sight, far, far too close to my skin for my liking.

My hand trembled, but since the scratches were distracting the Saursune, I was more scared of stopping than continuing. Maybe, just maybe, this would buy me a bit of good will. Even as the thought formed, I knew it was born out of desperate hope that completely ignored the fact that this was an alien and not a semi-tame animal that could be bribed with scratches.

Eventually, the Saursune pulled her head away. She shook herself off and glanced around before trotting into the shrubs, somehow forgetting about me.

I held my breath, daring to hope that this might be my chance to escape. Her hide blended into the forest, and she disappeared far more quickly than she should have been able to.

I shuffled away, pausing just long enough to grab the carry net of acorns and the squirrels before retreating to the crystal. My hand rested on a spire as I anxiously scanned my surroundings, seeing neither the Saursune nor my companions.

I took quick peeks at my clothing but didn't see anything like a tracker bead. Despite the urge to port away, I couldn't abandon my companions when there was no imminent danger. Unless something alarmed them or they gathered as much as they could carry, they wouldn't return for several more hours.

I sank to my knees beside the crystal, still clinging to the spire. I leaned against it and tried to catch my breath. Slowly, ever so slowly, my heart rate subsided. The events left me feeling like I'd run one of Grant's practice endurance runs.

As the adrenaline wore off, it began to seem more and more unreal. I began to question my memories. Had a Saursune really come out of the forest, wound around me like a cat seeking attention, only to disappear again? Or had it been an elaborate hallucination triggered by something I'd eaten?

I rubbed my fingers together, remembering the texture and heat of the Saursune's skin. It was far too vivid to have been a dream, but the events were so strange that it felt like one!

In the distance, I saw a hint of light brown sneaking through the ferns and grass. I squinted and relaxed as I identified it as the cat. I left the carry net by the crystal and warily stepped away, ready to spring back if the Saursune appeared.

I made my way back to the squirrel tunnel, and with far more frequent checks, I continued digging. Those back home needed the food, and even a handful of acorns was valuable. The cat eventually came over and sat beside me, demanding pets and reassurance while keeping her own vigil. I was grateful for her company despite the late warning last time. I kept a close watch on the area while prying more sections of dirt apart with the stick.

It took me several hours to excavate the squirrel's elaborate maze, collecting handfuls of acorns as I went. When the cat's head swiveled to the side, ears perked forward, I scrambled to my feet, heart flying as I grabbed the carry net of acorns.

My shoulders sagged in relief when I saw it was one of the hunters returning. He was still quite some distance away, so I continued digging while he made his way over. I was delighted to see that he had three rabbits and a variety of rodents and birds. The cat was less enthusiastic about his approach and slunk under a nearby bush.

I stood up when the hunter was finally within talking distance. "Did you see the Saursune?"

He stopped in his tracks and looked around before jogging over, more alert than before. "No. When was this?"

"About three hours ago? I haven't seen it since."

The forest hadn't changed and nothing moved. It still felt like a dream, and I'd halfway convinced myself that I had imagined it. No one would believe me if I told them what had happened.

The hunter reclaimed his knife—which was exactly where the Saursune had kicked it—and gestured toward the crystal without looking away from our surroundings.

I picked up the carry net of acorns and reached into one of the dark, cool tunnels to pull out the two squirrels. "Mind if I take the offal from a few of those rats and birds? The cat brought me a squirrel, and I'd like to see if I can train her to bring more stuff."

"Sure, but let's get closer to the crystal in case that Saursune returns. If you saw it, it was close enough to pick up our scent. It could be tracking us down one by one."

With that new worry, I jogged after him. It was a relief to be closer to the crystal spires and the safety they represented. The light refracted inside the clear bluish-green stone in a mesmerizing pattern.

The hunter paused. "Where did that basket come from?"

"Basket?" I asked, glancing at him as I caught up.

He pointed to the spire. Only then did I notice a woven grass basket sitting behind the crystal with acorns and three dead, gutted squirrels in it.

I stared at it. If I needed any solid proof that the Saursune hadn't been a dream, I now had it. "That wasn't there two hours ago, and I was sitting where I could see the crystal!"

The hunter turned sideways, looking at where I had been digging, then at the basket again. "If you didn't see anyone, a human didn't leave it. But if a Saursune came in from behind, the crystal would have blocked your view."

That did little to reassure me. There was no question in my mind that the Saursune had left it—after sneaking through an area within peripheral vision without me spotting it. And those aliens weren't small!

The hunter warily approached the knee-high basket and crouched down to examine it. He ran his hands through the acorns. "There's probably a tracker in several of these."

"That's a lot of food," I said wistfully. "Maybe I can bring a guard here to scan it and discard anything with trackers?"

He nodded. "I think that's a good idea. It would be a shame to leave this many acorns behind."

A quiet meow behind us reminded me of the cat. As I pulled some rodents out of the hunter's carry net, he gave the area a long, hard look before handing over the knife. On the fresh kills, I kept anything the villagers would eat, which was almost everything, but some of the animals caught this morning hadn't fared well in the heat.

The hunter gave me a few tips while I tried to teach the cat to pounce on the prey, kill it, then drop it in exchange for the offal.

The cat was stuffed and sprawled under a bush by the time most of my companions returned. While waiting for the last two to appear, they continued checking the immediate area for anything edible.

"Fayla and Simon should be back soon," one of the hunters said, glancing at me. "Do you want to bring the guard with the scanner here?"

"Will you be okay without me?" I dusted off my shorts as I stood up from where I had been digging up another squirrel tunnel. It was normally frowned upon to leave one's companions behind without a porter present, even if we planned to bounce right back. Danger could appear in the blink of an eye, and we already knew a Saursune was in the area.

"The sooner you return, the happier I shall be," he replied calmly.

I nodded as I went to the crystal and ported to the Guard Station.