And again he heard this rumbling and hissing, which came from the creature, but also seemed to echo from the ground below and from the rock next to him: "Keep the grace period!".
As if through a fog, he perceived that the being had spoken!
And while he was still trying to cope with this realization, he heard loud screams of flight of his attackers.
He looked back, and realized that they are all gone.
He saw a large, almost man-high shadow that moved slowly, quietly through the forest floor.
It reminded of a dog or something, just a lot bigger than anything Stomp had seen in his life.
It was a dark shape, with no visible details, dominated by a pair of bright yellow eyes
It was taller, taller than any carnivore he had ever seen in the circus, taller than any panther he had ever seen, although that species was the most similar in stature.
where the finger-long claws touched the rock, the stone itself seemed to boil, flow like water in waves around the plate-sized paws.
Most terrifying, however, were the eyes; they had no irises, they had no pupils, the entire outlines seemed to be filled with yellow light shining like the sun, with gaze focused on the group.
Then the creature opened its mouth and Stomp saw finger-length, needle-sharp teeth and when the creature closed its jaws with a loud click, he found that the canines protruded almost a hand's span over the lower lip.
In his fear it seemed as if yellow light was also shining from the beast's maw.
He saw a dark cloud between two hanging roots.
At first he thought it was smoke from his torch; However, as he watched the whole thing longer, this cloud thickened and took the shape of a large cat, which, he couldn't believe his eyes, was sitting upside down on the ceiling.
The already familiar eye openings began to glow, and between long, shiny fangs he saw the yellow shimmer flashing from the creature's maw.
She sat there, upside down, on the ceiling high above him, just as calm and composed as if she were crouching on the floor in front of him.
The massive skull twisted and the yellow lights fixed on his astonished face.
There was a strange aroma in the air, smoky, sweet. He'd smelled that smell before, but couldn't tell when or where.