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[quote=Kituo]He was now shrilling, the volume of his voice pushing his vocal chords to their limits. . . . He continued to swing his arm hoping to pry the rat free. If it had bitten him by now he probably would not have noticed - okay he would have but in the midst of trying to get the rat off of him, fearing its teeth did not seem to be his utmost priority. He still had his other arm and his legs to put to use. So what does a coward like Kituo do with these resources available? He uses them to run around in a circle and cry.[/quote]

The swinging of Kituo's arm only made the rodent cling harder, drive its claws deeper, and screech louder in distress.

EEEEEKEEEKEEKEEE!!!

Kituo's ear rang from the powerful screeching noise that squealed out of that little animal. The combination of the rodent's cry and Kituo's wailing reverberated in the clearing and pierced the darkness of the woods around them.

The forest began to creak. The leaves all around the clearing began to rustle, as if a great many small things were leaping and scurrying through the branches.

[i]TICK-TACK TACK TACK TICK TOCK TICK[/i]

The half-ruined tree behind Kituo shuddered, and leaves fell from its branches, as if in distress at Kituo's fear. Runes began to appear on the bark of the tree where they certainly had not been before: they burned into the wood of their own volition, as if being written by an invisible fire, and they matched the lightning-gash in the side of the tree. The green lantern swayed and cast warped shadows throughout the clearing, giving the trees and the falling leaves a ghastly moving silhouette.

In swinging light, the lantern illuminated the stark white and tattered silk of the skeleton's arm protruding out of the munching cocoon; a silver ring sparkled on one finger. Part of the embroidered robe was draped in the weeds. The stoppered bottle was stuck between the roots, and it glimmered with each swing of the lantern -- a good yank might pry it free. The white skull had dropped halfway out of its prison, its jaw gaping wide as if it were screaming. But the true screaming had stopped, and blood seeped into the ground.

The metal platform began to groan and tremble, but there was a grinding noise as if gears were stuck.

The rodent tensed and screeched every time the lantern light swung toward it. Finally, it sank its teeth into the cartilage of Kituo's ear, as if it took comfort in the gush of blood that resulted. It ripped off a coin-sized chunk of his ear and leaped away with it, launching off of Kituo's shoulder like a rocket. The rodent scurried into the weeds, dripping blood as it went.