When consciousness returned to me, I opened my eyes and closed them immediately, my vision was blurry, my jaw ached and it was difficult for me to breathe. I was face down so I tried to roll over so that my chest was not constricted, when I did a sharp pain in my right leg made me squirm. My condition was terrible, my leg was broken, my clothes torn and dirty, my whole body ached, I felt nauseous and I was alone.

The valley floor was damp, a cool breeze crashed against my inert body, announcing the night. I had gone completely still, even a sigh caused excruciating pain throughout my entire body.

Some nearby bushes moved. I desperately turned my head in the direction of where I had heard the sound. It filled me with terror to see those eyes, hidden among the plants, I knew them very well, split-maws …

I gulped and slowly moved my hand to my belt, the beast growling with that particular triple bugle sound. My hands moved faster and faster trying to find my knife. My belt was broken, I had nothing!

A muscular scaly paw was the first to appear, its claws dug into the ground, affirming its footprint. The beast was not very large, at least not as large as the ones we had faced, but the mane around its neck indicated that it was adult, male, and adult. His long, conical snout remained closed as he approached. My despair grew, my rapid breathing made me feel my heartbeat in my ears, I felt that my chest was going to burst. I closed my eyes and started crying.

I felt his breath against my face, the sound of the meat moving told me that his mouth had opened, five jaws full of teeth that opened like a flower before closing on their prey and sawing it into pieces. The warm breath bathed my face, I wanted to scream, I wanted to run, but it was just a piece of meat waiting to be eaten. My death was near, I was shaking, I felt a damp heat between my legs.

A wet tongue curled in a spiral around my snout, I assumed it would rip my head off, at least it would be quick. He released me and I opened my eyes, in front of me was the animal, his mouth was closed. He moved slowly next to me, sniffing and licking everywhere.

A huge figure emerged from the same bush from which the split-maw had appeared. Luckily it was another person, about six feet tall, covered in furs and leaning on a thick spear. The beast left me alone and ran toward the stranger, wagging its tail and jumping up and down to lick his hand.

"Licks! What did you find?" the man asked his pet, approaching me, pointing his spear at my face. I stared frozen, I think even my tears had stopped. He gently kicked me on the shoulder to get my attention and asked, "Are you alive?" to which I nodded my head. He looked at my appearance, then looked at the broken branches around me, "Can you move?" he asked me again, I shook my head.

The stranger took out a long cloth from his backpack and with a machete began to cut several branches from the nearby trees, then tied them with a rope to the cloth to make a makeshift stretcher. He grabbed my clothes and dragged me onto the stretcher, he looked at me again, ignoring the urine stain on my pants, he slung the rope over his shoulder and began to pull it.

The trip could have been fun if it weren't for the terrible pain I felt, a headache made me feel nauseous and every little movement reminded me of my broken leg. Suddenly we stopped, Licks was next to me, wagging his tail.

A heavy group of footsteps echoed across the forest floor. "Good hunting!" yelled a male voice coming towards us.

"What is this?" asked another voice, feminine, with an annoyed tone. I turned my head a little to observe, they were three other people, tall and covered with animal skins.

"Licks found it at the edge of the valley, it looks like it fell from the Worm forest," said the guy who was dragging me.

"Leave here. Dangerous. Not good" replied another male voice, rather raspy.

"NO! He is injured, if I leave him here he will die!" clarified my carrier. I think it was the first moment that I smiled since I fell into that valley, that made my face ache and I squirmed again in my silent pain.

"Look at his things! He is not a tramp! His people will come looking for him and he will put us in danger!" said the third of them, another male, with a much thicker chest, and a little taller than the others, "If he is suffering and you don't want to leave him like this we can cut his throat, but he will not come with us." He made it clear as he drew his knife from his belt.

The female approached me and touched me with a stick, I twisted and looked at her, "What's your name? Are you alone?" she asked me.

"He can't speak! He has a broken leg and hasn't made a single noise," replied the owner of Licks.

"Enough! We have to kill him!" said the big guy and he rushed on me but the man who had found me stopped him and they were stuck struggling. “No! He’s my prey and I’ll decide what to do with him!” Shouted the smaller hunter.

"Stop you two! I am the leader of this team and I will decide what to do with the stranger!" The female screamed in a shrill voice that paralyzed both males and made them stare at her.

“Polin…!”

“But… Polin!”

“Sister…never wrong…”

“He’ll come with us,” the huntress sentenced.

"This is ridiculous! We are not taking a stranger home!" replied that big jerk, he stomped the forest floor with his foot, and stood firmly in front of the female.

The huntress walked slowly and decisively towards the male, the difference in height quite noticeable, at least a head apart. But she simply rested her left hand on the middle of his chest and with a push threw him to the ground. "He will come with us. Was it clear, you pathetic infertile hybrid?" the female said, and she walked away.

“Infertile big guy, never face angry sister”

“FUCK YOU!”

“Come on, stop fighting,” said the hunter who had found me, and held out a hand to his fallen companion. The other one got up and without saying a single word went behind me to guard the rear of the group. Slowly we moved forward again.

The forest of the valley was lush, with very few glades, there were many different types of bushes with berries, small animals that I had never seen, and huge trees that competed in the skies with the crowns of their neighbors.

Little by little the sunlight faded, the trunks of the trees cast longer and longer shadows. When I turned my head, there was a clean area in front of us, with a large junk structure in the distance, it was the lake.

"We will camp here!" the female yelled, and they all stopped.

"Here ?! We're two hours from the burrows! We can't stop now!" growled the giant.

"Are you testing my patience, Tasaj?" the leader inquired.

"No, Polin ..." replied the male, lowering his head.

"Good, go find some wood with Makon and light the fire," the female ordered.

The two who had appeared with Polin put down their backpacks and went into the forest. The female sat next to me, and from her backpack, she took out a bowl, a bag, and a wineskin. She emptied the contents of the sack into the bowl, it was a green powder, and on it, she poured the liquid from the wineskin, then with a wooden spoon, she began to mix it until it formed a thick paste. The male who had rescued me was watching silently, along with his split-maw.

"Kunkai, we have to make a splint for him, cut off some strong branches and prepare them," Polin ordered, continuing to mix the paste.

"Yes, my love. Licks, hold on." the other hunter replied.

Polin took a small amount of dough between her hands and kneaded it into a small meatball.

She knelt in front of me and looked me straight in the eye. I had managed to accommodate myself during the trip, in such a way that the pain was not so unbearable. Between her hood and her mask, I could see her eyes, they were a dull yellow, like my brother's.

"Can you understand what I'm saying?" she asked me with a calm tone.

I nodded to her and she smiled.

She showed me the meatball she had made, "I know we are strangers, but if you put this under your tongue you will feel a lot less pain," she said, bringing the little ball to my mouth.

I hesitated for a moment while looking at that green mass, I think it even had some hairs and grime on it. I opened my mouth, raised my tongue and she put the ball under it.

Between killing me and keeping me alive they had chosen the latter, it made no sense that they wanted to poison me now, besides they were going to splint my leg. I chose to trust, not that I had a choice.

Polin took off her mask and lowered her hood, she was a short-haired feline, with a face full of scars. I know I said that her eyes reminded me of my brother's, I was wrong, being able to see her entire face I could see power, a strong presence, which became enormous every time her chest swelled when she breathed, she was a survivor and a leader.

She put her hand on my chest, touched my ribs and my tummy, then touched my left leg, "This is it?" she asked me, I shook my head. She nodded at me and pulled a knife from her belt. She took my right leg and began to cut my pants, removed the fabric and also my boot.

Kunkai returned with four barkless branches of the same size, while Polin cut into strips the piece of pants she had taken from me. "I'm going to immobilize your leg as a precaution. We have a doctor in our home who will be able to examine you and treat you properly." The huntress told me while she prepared the splint. I nodded and leaned back on the makeshift gurney, closed my eyes, and emptied my lungs with a sigh. Polin's delicate feline hands splinted my leg as carefully as possible, the numbness turned into a sharp pain, it felt swollen and heavy. As the huntress finished, I squeezed the little meatball with my tongue and quickly swallowed the bitter juice released. My tongue tingle, my chest didn't hurt so much anymore, it was a fast-acting sedative. My eyes were heavy, the voices around me felt, slowly, far away, someone caressed my face, raised my head, and put some folded fabrics underneath, I didn't even bother to open my eyes again.

My heart was beating fast. In front of me, hanging by a rope, was Mario, with an expression of dread on his face, and a hand extended in my direction. I reached out my hand, tried to hold on but my brother's hand turned to dust and I fell into the void. Invisible whips lashed my body as I fell until I saw the ground, below me were thousands of sharp stones that I was approaching vertiginously. I was going to die, my body would hit the rocks and be pulverized, my pulp scattered on the valley floor…

Plap

I woke up in the gloom, the faint glow of a dying campfire emanating warmth to my left.

Plap

I turned my head in the direction of the lake, a huge moon was rising above the water, it was so close…

Plap

To my right, against a nearby tree, two silhouettes could be seen leaning against the giant wood. Large breasts decorated by two pointed nipples swayed as her body jerked. Behind the female, another feline figure, larger and arched back, pushed vigorously against her. Each thrust was accompanied by the loud splash of wet genitalia, the product of a long mating session.

Plap

I stared at them without any intention, only with the idea of entertaining my eyes. A moment later, they both stopped, a heavy sigh being heard as both bodies remained motionless. The male detached himself from the female and a huge jet of thick liquid sounded on the ground, which then became a drip.

The female figure rested her forehead against the tree, the male looked in my direction, our eyes met as he walked towards me. 

Standing next to me was the skinny figure of Kunkai. His fur was completely gray, except for a bush of black hair below his stomach that announced his genitals. The hunter had between his legs a semi-erect tubular member with small spikes distributed throughout its length, underneath two swollen testicles could be seen well attached to his pelvis, all the fur of his crotch was moistened and a viscous and whitish liquid was still dripping from his phallus that shone in the firelight, the strong smell of sweat mixed with semen reached my nose.

The male knelt next to me, ignoring my erection, and put his hand on my forehead, trying to measure my temperature. "Are you okay?" he asked me in a calm tone. I nodded as he tried to contain a nervous smile produced by the situation. He smiled at me and got back up, "Go back to sleep, you're a lucky rat but you need to rest."

A branch burning in the fire snapped, I closed my eyes again and sighed in relief. I was really lucky...