Kituo twitched as he watched the accumulation of monkey-bats grow larger. It seemed that they had yet to notice him. Nevertheless, their presence was enough to keep him at bay. He remained as still as a mountain, his eyes fixated on the crowd of chimeric fiends nestled around the bell. How long would it be before they descended down on them again and wreaked havoc? Kituo shuddered to think but he knew it wouldn't be long. He wanted to run away but doubted that such a futile plan would suffice again. There were so many of the monkey-bats. He speculated they would only manage to corner him with little difficulty if he made a sudden break. Besides, scurrying away so abruptly could potentially put everyone else in danger.

Then again...what did he care about them anyway? He had never seen any of them before a day in his life before arriving to the forest. He owed them nothing. However, Kituo owed himself the duty of making it home alive. The duty of proving himself. He glanced up at the monkey-bat gathering to further assess it. If he moved quietly then perhaps he could pass by without drawing their attention. If they were from the earlier swarm, then Kituo knew they would be more than happy to resume their feast. He pushed the lantern against his chest, its warmth soothing his nerves and he proceeded to tiptoe into the undergrowth, the monkey-bats looming over his head like storm clouds about to downpour rain.

Then something wrapped around his leg and pulled him back. Only, it wasn't an actual object. It was a thought or rather a sentiment. It was guilt. Kituo had already left them behind once to deal with the monkey-bats on their own. For him to do so again was questionable. It was a miracle they all survived the first onslaught. Another swarming so soon might be too much for them. Curse his consciousness. Kituo was just about to make it away free with his lantern when it pulled him back. Forcing his body to turn around, Kituo looked at the other three people and, overlooking the fact that the old man had been knocked down, ripped his lips apart to speak coldly.

"Look up."

While normally his heart fluttered when his nervous, its beat was slow and dragging like the footsteps of a tortoise. There was no way of knowing what was going to come next with this forest. And it was absolutely horrid that it insisted on dropping onto him the same terrors repeatedly. If Kituo were to muster another flicker of hope, it would likely be diminished by the realization that he had yet to truly overcome a single adversity. The lantern had done all of his work for him so far. But just how long could it fight off his fears before its light blinked out?