Techno woke up to birds chirping an sunlight hitting his face. He groaned and turned away from the blinding light, pulling the cloak over his head. His body was sore from the weird position he had slept in and his head was still hurting, but he was alive, which he honestly thought couldn't be possible. He slept outside in the dark with monsters all around him, yet he remained unharmed.

This really is a strange forest.

A soft chirp caught his attention. The same crow from yesterday, or at least he thinks so, is sitting nearby on a small pile of sweet berries, chirping softly as it pushed a berry over to Techno. "For me?" He sat up and took the berry, looking at the crow for confirmation. It just hopped back to the pile and took a berry for itself, so Techno just shrugged and popped the berry into his mouth.

It was quiet again, only some birds were chirping and wind was rustling the leaves of the surrounding trees. The two companions spent their morning eating the berries, all while Techno was trying to think of a plan on what to do next. He can't stay in the same place for long, so he will have to move soon. But is this really how he wants to spend the rest of his life? On the run, never settling down, never have a bed or a warm place to stay in winter?

He sighed and turned the large black feather of the hybrid in his hand, watching it sparkle in the sunlight. He had taken good care of it, making sure to keep it tugged away to where the feather wouldn't break. 'I wonder how it's doing... did the others catch it? Probably not, with how careful it is. I just got lucky, that's all. Should I even call it and 'it' anymore? Probably not... it looked male, but I can't be sure. Maybe hybrids have different kind of genders?' The crow hopped over to where he was sitting and chirped, eying the feather curiously.

Techno smiled and stroked over the small critter's back. "You like it? It's beautiful, isn't it?" The crow tilted it's head and perched itself on his arm, leaning closer to the feather. "It belongs to a bird hybrid... Maybe even a crow hybrid, with how similar it looks to your feathers. He saved my life, in a way. Healed a pretty bad gash that would have probably killed me." The crow trilled and looked up at the former hunter with curious eyes. "Do you know him? He talked with crows the last time I saw him... I never got to thank him for helping me."

The question seemed to be the signal the crow had waited for, as it took off almost immediately and landed in a nearby tree, cawing at him. "What's wrong? Do you want me to follow?" The crow cawed again and hopped back and forth on the branch, waiting for him. Techno gathered up all his stuff and followed the bird, which quickly took off again as soon as he was close enough.

This went on for hours, just Techno following a bird he had met yesterday that for some reason seemed to understand every word he says. Maybe it really does know the hybrid and learned through him? Over time he started to question his sanity. Was he really following a random crow? Yes. Did he cry in front of it and talked to it like it was a close friend? Yup. Did he care right now? Absolutely not.

When the sun was starting to near the horizon, they finally left the dense forest. A dense fog stretched out in front of him, almost looking like a protective wall for something. The crow perched itself on his shoulder and chirped, looking right into the fog. "In there? Are you sure? With how dense it is I won't see much... I could fall off a cliff for all I know." The bird chirped and pecked at his cheek.

Techno sighed and grabbed a torch. After lighting it, he slowly made his way into the Grey wall of mist, hoping that he won't regret this. Only a few steps in and you couldn't see him from the outside anymore. Thinking about it, this could be a good hiding spot for hybrids. A place hidden by a fog so dense that it almost seems like suicide to enter it.

He walked for a while, the crow on his shoulder the only thing that tells him that he's not seeing things. The ground beneath his boots started to become more wet, turning the soft green grass from before into a mess of mud. He could hear water somewhere nearby and walked even slower than before. An ocean? No... he can't smell any salt water. A river then, judging by how loud the water is.

Soon enough, he started to hear his boots splashing into small puddles, then the shallow end of the river. Techno stopped and held out the torch in front of him, trying to see anything that could help him figure out what was in front of him. He has no idea how deep the water will be or how powerful the current, so just walking through was out of the option.

The crow on his shoulder trilled and pecked at his cheek, trying to get his attention. He followed where the crow was looking and spots a small path out of singular placed cobblestone. Guess that's for people who can't fly.

Techno walked over to the path and stepped onto the stone. It was wet and slippery, but he should be able to get across if he walks slow enough. With a last look at the crow for confirmation, he started to make his way across. He had walked for what felt like a few minutes when a sound to his right caught his attention. It sounded like something splashing into the water.

He stopped and held his torch a little higher, trying to see anything through the fog. Nothing. Maybe it was just a fish... or a stone that got dropped by a bird.

Suddenly the stones in front of him disappeared, swept away by something in the water. He grabbed his axe, trying to keep his balance on the small stone as he looked around. The stone he was standing on was the only one legt, everything else was just a mess of fast and dark water rushing by. He looked back at the crow, but it seemed to not mind the situation at all. It just calmly sat on top of his shoulder, watching their surroundings.

Something in front of him caught his attention. It looked like a large creature swimming by, a bright orange fin poking out of the water. 'What is that thing?' Another movement to his left, then back in front of him.

He was surrounded.

More and more creatures started to circle around him and it was really starting to test his patience. His instincts yelled at him to defend himself, to shoot or swing at the creatures, but a part of him knew that this was a bad idea. This was obviously a safety mechanism, a test even. And he was not about to fail it.

Finally, a creature lifted it's head over the surface and a singular glowing eye stared at him. He had no idea what these things were or what they could do, but he knew they must be protecting something or someone. A faint glow caught his attention. The hybrid's feather he had kept was glowing almost the same way this creature's eye was.

Carefully, he held the feather out for it, thinking it may be a key or it could calm them down. Instead, a beam of light shot out from the eye, hitting him straight in the chest. He expected pain or maybe even death, but nothing came. Memories started to flash before his eyes, showing events from far in the past. His childhood, his hunting career, the winged hybrid and how he had cut it free.

The beam of light disappeared and he gasped, feeling somewhat drained. The creature stared at him for a moment longer before swimming away, leaving him unharmed. The stone that had been taken away returned, allowing him to cross.

He passed the test.

The crow on his shoulder chirped and pecked him again, trying to get him to move. Slowly, he began to walk across the stone path again, eying the water suspiciously as if the creatures could return to take away the path again.

He only calmed down when his feet finally hit muddy ground, signaling that he had made it across. Almost immediately, the stones were taking away again, trapping him on this side of the river now. Not that he wanted to leave anyways. He's glad that this was finally over. Being trapped on that tiny rock was the most terrifying thing that ever happened to him.

Finally, the fog seemed to thin up and streaks of sunlight managed to make their way through. When he finally left the grey wall behind him, he stared in awe at what he was seeing, absolutely speechless.

In front of him, completely surrounded by the fog, was a large clearing, patches of trees here and there and a large mountain to the left. He could spot small houses or bridges here and there, but the most amazing thing was right in the center.

A large floating island with a house on top, a waterfall pouring down from the side.

This place is breathtaking.

The crow cawed and left it's position to fly towards the flying island. 'This is where he lives? No... multiple hybrids must live here... judging by all the houses.' A loud shriek made him snap out of his thoughts and a sharp pain in his side caused him to fall to the ground. Something heavy pushed down on his back and made sure he can't get back up. Words are spoken in a weird language, but he doesn't need to understand it to know he was in big trouble.

"⋔⍜⎐⟒ ⏃⋏⎅ ⟟ ⍙⟟⌰⌰ ☊⎍⏁ ⊬⍜⎍⍀ ⏁⊑⍀⍜⏃⏁. ⏁⎍⏚⏚⍜, ☌⍜ ☌⟒⏁ ⏁⊑⟒ ⍜⏁⊑⟒⍀⌇. ⍙⟒ ⊑⏃⎐⟒ ⏃⋏ ⟟⋏⏁⍀⎍⎅⟒⍀."