It barely took a moment for being to decide what to do, and the next it was rushing to the side, having entered its sneaky state without even intending to. Realizing this, it felt a sting: after all it had gone through, all that it had advanced, was a sound really enough to have it back to scurrying low on the ground?

  At this, it was sorely tempted to break out of the stealth and just run into the fight. But it had promised itself to be cautious: this approach cost it nothing besides pride in the short term, while bravado could hurt much more dearly.

  Swallowing down the indignation, it hurried along, past numerous piles of shredded bodies, until it was just one turn away from the commotion. Then, it peeked from behind a boulder into a clearing that was almost the perfect transposition of a sight from long ago.

  In the very middle, two groups were facing off: one was more numerous, its members much bigger and stronger than... no, they were not just bigger. Each of them was incredibly complex, in the way that the bison had been, that the being itself was right now.

  Especially the one at the front, the clear leader. A rhino. A mountain of a creature that felt easily on the level of the bison.

  By far the most formidable group the being had ever met, far stronger than the one it had followed into the epicenter. They were clearly the stronger party.

  And the little creatures in the other group knew that, since they were each as weak as their opponents were strong. In fact, the comparison couldn't have been starker if something had picked them all on purpose to exacerbate it. The only interesting thing about them was that they'd managed to get here in the first place when they were barely more than critters, and that they were so similar to each other, despite the fact they were clearly of different kinds. And... there was also a little, weakly shining orb the likes of which the being had never seen before... but it just knew that the thing was nothing important at all, and the way it was buzzing around the rest in agitation only served to enhance that impression. It was just another weakling in a group of weaklings.

  But there was an exception standing at the front, somehow staring down the entire enemy force all on its own, that definitely wasn't weak. An old acquaintance.

  The owl.

  Even after all this time, the being would recognize it everywhere. And it just couldn't help the instinctual shiver of fear that went down its back.

  The owl had finally left its nest, and it didn't look happy at all.

  The being hadn't thought it would ever see the creature again. But it had imagined their reunion many times - especially during the more monotonous parts of its lonely travels - and the ways in which it would've ended. Mostly with a good slap down on its part.

  That one had been an impossible opponent for the frog, but the being wasn't a frog anymore. It had changed.

  It would be able to take the bison now, and the bison had been stronger than the owl. It knew that for sure, because the comparison had naturally come into its mind when it had first met the eventual traitor.

  But the owl had changed too.

  In what ways exactly was hard to pinpoint, since the creature was outwardly the same: big - still annoyingly bigger than the being - menacing and feathery.

  However, there was just... something about it, that made the being feel uncertain. Its strength was hard to pinpoint exactly. Not in the unreasonable depth of the knight or the unfathomable nothing of the dark one, but just... it kept shifting. Like an overlapping of different, but similarly strong creatures, perhaps? Just a tiny bit, around a base amount that was threatening, but not overwhelmingly so.

  Yet it was managing to stare down a bunch of creatures that should each be its equal, by the looks of it. And it was very clear in the being's mind how one such confrontation - that should've been a foregone conclusion - had turned out in the past...

  The being wasn't sure were they stood relative to each other, and its desire to get back at the creature wasn't remotely enough to make it find out directly. Not when a perfect way to assess the matter was incoming.

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  In fact, while the apparently weaker group was looking increasingly uneasy, the rhino's was getting emboldened by their fear, provoking them more and more. Slowly trying to circle around the only true threat, to intimidate the lesser ones.

  And the owl itself was starting to behave in a way the being knew all too well, furious that trespassers were in its nest.

  ... of course! How could it have taken the being so long to realize its motivations!? They were obvious!

  The owl was like the beaver! Sort of. It had chosen something to cherish and somewhere to safeguard that something in, and didn't want anything else to mess with it. Could that have been the reason why it had attacked the frog, the first time?

  ... But of course it was! The snake had been the one killing the mini-owls for no reason, but how could the bigger one have known that? It had found some of them gone and a frog in its nest. Had it even considered the actual culprit in the first place?

  This might change things a bit. Maybe it could- but what were these new critters? Where did the small owls end up to? Did they not make it here? It wouldn't be surprising if they'd died on the way, with how dangerous moving them would be in this ambient, even with a powerful protector.

  Then the being's thoughts were interrupted as the rhino finally snapped.

  From complete stillness, the enormous creature was suddenly rushing forward at full speed, a familiar sense of inevitability in its stride. The rhino thought itself invincible, and would use its unstoppable power to trample any that opposed it.

  And yet, one step to the side, a slash to its face, and the thing's attack was averted, sending it to a colliding course with the nearby wall.

  However, though not as nimble as the bison, the rhino was quick to react and turn back, and was already bearing back down by the time the almost-critters realized that things had escalated and scattered every which way in terror.

  At that, the other members of the rhino's group visibly twitched, clearly eager to chase down the weaker targets... but ultimately held back, choosing to follow the being's strategy rather than help their friend.

  Because it might have misunderstood the owl's initial motivations, but there was no denying how the creature enjoyed itself after the fight turned to its advantage. And it was very clear that it thought this opponent weaker.

  While the owl was doing very little damage, the being couldn't help but think that it was just... calibrating its strikes, so as to prolong the fight as much as possible, while the rhino had yet to even touch it. There was a slowly simmering tune, a manic energy growing inside the creature, that the being knew all too well.

  But was that really wise, when the opponent was a complex creature? One that must have a secret ability as all things of that level had - like the bison with its dash, a technique that could easily turn a fight. More, the rhino wasn't a simple thing to be easily manipulated: it had a mind sharp enough to match its strength, and such an overwhelming number advantage...

  In fact, wasn't it trying to...? yes, it definitely was.

  The rhino hadn't actually botched charge after charge for no reason, but had been subtly pressing the owl in the direction it wanted, turning their respective positions almost entirely around, so that the owl was unknowingly backing towards the rhino's own group. The things were still hesitating to join in, but they looked much more eager now, and would obviously jump in when their enemy was completely surrounded and an opportunity presented itself

  Despite their past, and all that the frog had suffered back then, the being found itself cheering for the owl. Could its once greatest foe really be defeated by such a simple strategy? That wouldn't feel right. Didn't it have anything else? like a secret ability of its own? It felt more than strong enough for that.

  The next charge was the moment of truth: when the rhino closed in, one of its friends positioned to intercept, to get the drop on their enemy, and the being saw the owl's demise as clearly as if it were actually happening.

  But the thing abruptly changed direction, sidestepped the rhino the opposite way from what it had done up until now and swiped at the other assailant distractedly, almost contemptuously.

  The rhino's friend fell to the ground, agonizing, as the two moved away - an haunting screech sounding low and taunting.

  The being was astounded, and not a little bit worried, despite that it had expected something like this: that had been so swift, so lethal. Turning around a trap that way... actually, had it been a trap at all?

  And if it had been, was really the rhino the one that had laid it?

  The huge creature, for its part, seemed just as bothered by its friend's pain as the bison had been. Which meant not at all. Such an odious thing. Could it have been a peculiarity of the bigger ones? Maybe their minds scaled poorly with their sizes.

  The others were much more moved by one of their own going down so easily though, and had grown restless: they must know the creature wouldn't be getting back up again. It was a kind of wound the being was intimately familiar with: the same kind the dark one liked to inflict. And that creature was no being, to survive something like that.

  A lot of them started emitting strange sounds, with some unknowable intent behind. But the rhino seemed able to parse it.

  It reluctantly turned around and slowly came to a stop in front its group, facing a silently smug owl. And started to morph.

  Suddenly, there were vicious horns bursting up from all over its skin, and the creature launched forward after the owl before it had even finished changing, much faster than before.

  The being was excited and interested... for about a few moments, before their struggle continued exactly the same as before.

  Honestly, it felt like a lackluster version of the bison's ability: the rhino might have increased its danger level up close some, and its durability by a lot, but it already had those qualities. What it needed was speed, maneuverability, and versatility. And unlike the bison, it had gained some of one, but lost both others.

  Had the being been the one fighting the rhino, it might have been hard pressed to deal damage, but in no danger whatsoever. It would just need to wait for the creature to get drained out -- and it would get drained when moving all that weight -- and then pick it apart.

  The owl seemed to agree with the strategy: the rhino had already been clumsy, but now a little jump to the side was enough to avoid danger, and left the creature vulnerable to retaliation. And those squat quills might have looked hard, but the owl was still getting inbetween them with incredible ease, always seeming to know where to strike to cause damage.

  Quite a disappointment: there was no way for the rhino to win, if it kept going like this.

  The creature was clearly realizing that too, and visibly losing its patience. For the next charge, it paused a bit to reposition itself, to its opponent's obvious amusement.

  The being had a very bad feeling, already having a good idea what the rhino's intent was, and an even worse one thinking about the consequences. But the owl didn't have its outside perspective and was clearly too deep in its enjoyment of the fight.

  This time, when it dodged... the rhino just kept going, adjusting its trajectory sharply... and stomped one of the owl's friends to nothing.

  It was a grisly sight, and the being would never enjoy the demise of another creature, but it was morbidly curious as to how the owl would-

  That terrifying shriek, the one that still haunted its memories, that it thought lurked in the distance when all was silent, sounded out again. As terrible as ever before. The being found its body flattened against the ground, despite itself, and it almost couldn't follow when the owl moved, standing right in front of the rhino immediately after, swinging a leg--

  it cleaved the creature in half.