The surrounding forest was suprisingly calm during their scouting of the six potential sighting spots of the winged hybrid. Not even a single mob showed itself in the shades of massive trees. It almost seems... too calm. Either they were extremely lucky today, or someone... or something... is keeping most mobs at bay.

Either way, it made the day a whole lot easier with preparing the hiding spots they had chosen. Most of them were in trees or small caves, hidden by leaves and vines. That way they should spot the hybrid pretty easily, if it shows itself.

"Alright. The sun is setting now, so we better get into position. Everyone got their night vision potions ready?" Dream received a series of nods from the other three hunters. "Then let's bring that thing down and get ourselves some money." With a final check over their gear and communicator, the four split up and made their way to their respective hiding spots.

Techno silently creeped through the quickly darkening forest, his crossbow loaded with the ropes already. He wasn't too worried about regular mobs, as it only took one swing with his trusted axe to keep them away from him.

His spot was one of the cave ones, hidden behind bushes and leaves. A pretty good spot in comparison to the ones his partners have to hide in, but they'll have to make due with what they have. Once he reached his spot, he settled behind the wall of leaves and drank his potion. His surroundings became a lot more clearer, as if it was in the middle of the day.

And now, he waits.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A couple hours pass with nothing happening. The four hunters have switched positions throughout the night, covering all six spots the best they could. But there wasn't a single sign of the hybrid. Not that they expected to see anything the very first night when the hybrids reputation was literally to stay out of sight for years.

Techno could see the faint line of light coming from the horizon, signaling the end of the night. He sighed and checked his communicator.

Dream: I think we should call it for tonight. We won't catch it today.

Georgenotfound: I agree. Let's regroup and get some sleep.

Looks like the hunt is over for tonight. Techno packed his things and got ready to leave when he heard something nearby. A rustle of leaves, much too loud to be from the gentle breeze that's rushing by. He ducked behind the bushes of his cave, crossbow ready.

A good distance away from him, something dropped out of the tree and silently hit the ground. It was difficult to make out any details apart from large, black wings. 'This is it!' The hybrid seemed to be collecting things, wings twitching nervously. Slowly, Techno raised his crossbow, aimed and-

A nearby crow shrieked at him, causing the hybrid to immediately jump up and bolt away, spreading it's wings and taking to the skies. "Damn it!" Techno quickly stood up, aimed at the quickly shrinking black spot in the sky and shot.

For a moment it was silent, then a screech echoed through the forest. The hybrid quickly lost hight and crashed into the trees below. The hunter grinned. He hit his target yet again. A quick message to the other hunters told them his current position, before he climbed down from his spot and tracked down where he had seen the hybrid crash.

Now that he didn't have to hide anymore, he lit a torch to make sure not to trip over anything. He could already hear pained warples and the sound of fighting against the ropes that tied the large wings together from quite a distance away, so it was easy to find where his newly catched hybrid had landed.

A smirk made it's way way onto his face as he spots a large wing behind some bushes. He drew his sword and approached the beast, ready to claim his price. The hybrid struggled against the restrains, wings bend in painful ways by the ropes securing them. Techno walked around the beast... and froze.

Staring back at him wasn't a bird head or any kind of disgusting mutation, but a very much human looking face. In fact, the entire hybrid looked mostly human, apart from the large feathered wings, clawed hands and ears that seemed to be feathers as well. Crystal blue eyes stared up at him, filled with fear as they struggled against the ropes.

Suddenly Techno wasn't so sure about what to do anymore. A part of him still screamed at him to kill it, that it was nothing more than a monster like every other he had killed before. But the other part begged him not to, that this hybrid wasn't a monster, that it looked human.

He stepped closer to the trapped creature, sword still in hand. Another terrified gaze met his own before blue eyes squeezed shut, the hybrid's head falling to the side to bare his neck, as if accepting his fate. It only made Techno feel worse. He followed the ropes that were wrapped around the hybrid's body, where his wings were tangled and feathers messed up or broken, where legs and arms were wrapped up and trapped, scratches and bruises littering the skin that was visible.

'Damn it...' He loosened the grip on his blade and sighed. Why him... why do such things always happen to him? The others could be here any second and he stll can't bring himself to complete the job. But the way the hybrid whined in pain and had stared up at him with such fear, fully understanding what was happening. They were intelligent.

Oh he will regret this in a few minutes.

He knelt down and started to cut through the ropes, ignoring the feeling of betrayal that creeped into his mind. First the wings... then the legs... and before the last rope fell, the hybrid was back on their feet, but not in the way Techno had expected.

He got punched back by a large wing hitting him, then a clawed hand wrapped around his throat and pressed him against the stone wall behind him. His only weapon fell out of his reach as claws duck into his skin, drawing blood. Crystal blue eyes that had been filled with fear a second ago were now staring at him with calm rage, almost looking like they were glowing.

'This is it. This is how I die.'

Techno closed his eyes, bracing himself for a clawed hand to take his life. But it never came. Instead, the hand left his throat and the hybrid stepped back. The hunter opened his eyes and saw how the hybrid looked with the same look he had given the creature earlier. Confused. Unsure.

It stayed for a moment longer, staring at him as some crows in the surrounding trees started to caw and shriek, as if warning the creature. They stepped back, chirping at Techno and bowing their head, as if saying thank you, before turning around and spreading it's wings, taking to the sky and disappearing from a sight in seconds.

Techno stared after the creature for a few moments before collecting his thoughts. He knelt down and picked up his axe, noticing something laying in the mess of ropes. A sword, a well crafted one at that. Next to it a large black feather that was glittering a bit in the slowly rising sun. He picked both objects off the ground and tugged them away safely.

"Techno!" Dream came rushing towards the other hunter, the rest of his team following close behind. The pink haired man stayed silent as the three stopped in front of him, the masked man tilting his head in question. "What happened to yor neck? Where is the hybrid?" It took a few moments for Techno to find the right words.

"It escaped... clawed it's way free before I could get it. Looks like we will need bigger ropes next time." "Are you kidding me?! You catched it first try and let it escape?!" "It's not my fault. I ran here as fast as I could." Sapnap groaned and looked at the mess of ropes on the ground. "Great... now it knows that we are after it. Guess we can forget this spot in the future."

Dream picked up a piece of rope, turning it in his hand. "It clawed itself free?" "Yes..." For the first time in his life he actually grew nervous when the simple white mask stared at him. "These were cut by a blade. Not ripped apart." Now the attention of all three hunters were on him. "You cut it free. You let it go. After all or planning and how you out of all people wanted to capture it."

Techno catched a glimpse of a sword on his left, an axe on his right. "You're on their side." "I'm not. I never was." He drew his own blade, ready to defend himself. Maybe he deserves this. It was his own stupidity that let the hybrid go.

"Traitor!" Sapnap darted forward and tried to slash at him, but Techno blocked the attack. George came next and Dream right after. He tried his best to block and fight back, but he was outnumbered. Even with his gear and weapons, the skill of all three hunters was too much to handle on his own. When one of them managed to slice at his side. causing a deep gash to form, Techno knew he had to retreat.

He loaded his crossbow with fireworks and shot. The explosions of colors blinded the three hunters and gave Techno the few seconds he needed to escape. When the light and colors were gone, so was he. "After him!" "No. This is a waste of time. We should focus on the hybrid." Sapnap protested, but had to give in in the end and followed Dream as he lead the trio back to the village.

"If he dares to set foot in the village. We kill him."