But the monster wasn't giving up. He heard its heavy breathing, then the sound of dirt being torn away from the base of the tree. It was digging. He pressed himself further into the hollow, his heart a beating frantically. A claw shot through the hole, then scraped against his knee. He yelped, pulling his leg back as fast as he could. It was a nasty scratch, but not deep.
The digging continued for a while, but eventually, the sounds stopped. A frustrated growl, a huff, and then the heavy thudding footsteps faded away. It was gone.
Kai lay still for a long time, listening to the steady drumming of the rain outside. He let out a slow, shaky breath. He had escaped. Again. "Seriously," he started. "I can't live like this.
He thought about the Meteoroid spell. He could have used it maybe. He could have made a loud boom, maybe scared the beast away quicker. But after reviewing his situation, he knew he wasn't good enough to cast a spell while running for his life. It was easy to think of now, safe in the dark hollow, but in the moment, all he could do was run.
He looked around the hollow. It was dark, but he could make out shapes. To his right, near the entrance, he saw tiny mounds of dirt. Little black bugs were digging them. They looked harmless, but he still scrambled further away, pressing his back against the rough wood.
He had nothing else to do, trapped in this tree hiding from the torrential rain outside. He could practice though. He held out his hand and focused, making a small ball of solid nebula appear. He started warping it around in front of him, trying to control its movement. He pushed it left, then right, trying to make it circle. He was still clumsy. The small ball drifted a little too far, wobbled, and fell onto the little bug mounds. It popped into dust.
He sighed, then pushed himself closer to the spot. Most of the bugs were gone. Crushed, or just not moving. He made another ball, and another. He started moving them around the inside of the tree, making them scrape against the rough wood, gouging out small patterns. He made cool shapes, zigzags and swirls, practicing his control. He kept making them appear, moving them, then dissipating them. He was getting better.
Then, a crazy idea. He made a flat, wide disk of solid nebula, letting it float a few feet in front of him. He imagined it being softer, like a mattress. Slowly, he laid down on it. It held him. It was a little wobbly, like a small boat on choppy water, but it held him. He could lay on it.
He laid there for a while, listening to the rain, the steady drumming a strangely calming sound after the chaos of the chase. After a minute, the fluffy stardust mattress began to de-materialize. He was tired, but not tired enough to sleep.
Finally, the rain began to lessen. Then, it stopped. A few minutes later, the sun, already past its highest point, peeked through the leaves.
He pushed himself out of the hole, stretching his stiff limbs. He stepped out, looking up at the sky. Just as he did, a shadow passed overhead. Another dragon. This one was far away, a speck in the sky, but he still darted back into the cover of the tree hollow, just in case. "Damn," he said to himself. "I just still don't get it." He moved a little closer to the entrance. "Why did the number of dragons increase so suddenly?"
He waited a little longer, watching the sky, making sure it was clear. When he was sure it was safe, he climbed out again. He made a new solid platform of nebula, this time trying to keep it low to the ground. He stepped on it. It held. He focused, willing it to move, slowly, at a walking pace. It glided over the uneven ground, weaving between the trees and pushing beside underbrush. He turned it, making it go left, then right. He even made it go up a small incline. He kept it going for two and a half minutes, moving and turning, before it finally sputtered out.
But was he ready to leave yet to the coast? The forest was dangerous, even with this power. He had just barely escaped that spined jaguar. He had seen the dragons and their brutality as well. "Do I depart now?" He asked himself, then shook his head. "No." He still needed more food and water. He decided to wait a while longer be. There were too many dangerous animals.
He spent the next two days practicing, pushing his abilities to their limits. He ate the remaining fruit from the orchard, rationing it carefully, and drank from a stream. Each day, he felt himself growing stronger, his control over the nebula improving. The solid platform could now last for almost five minutes, and he could move it at a jogging pace, weaving through the trees. He could even make it rise, slowly, until he was level with the lower branches of the tallest trees.
He went back in the hole and slept for a few hours in the hollow tree. He woke feeling stiff and still very hungry, but the memory of the dragon attack pushed him to get up. He needed to be stronger.
On the first day, as he was moving his platform through a dense part of the woods, he heard a low, throaty rumble directly above him. He looked up just in time to see a massive, serpent-like creature with rough, grey scales hanging from a thick vine, its head poised to strike. Its mouth was wide, showing rows of sharp, backward-curving teeth. It coiled its body, ready to drop. Kai, startled, panicked. He tried to make his platform move fast, but his mind went blank. The nebula flickered. He barely managed to make it drop him before the platform dissolved, sending him tumbling to the muddy ground. The serpent missed him by inches, slamming into the earth where he had been a moment before. It thrashed, its powerful tail whipping through the air. Kai scrambled away, his heart in his throat, running blindly until he couldn't hear its angry hisses anymore. He looked back at where it was. It seemed to of lost interest and went back to it's branch. "Holy shit," he gasped, leaning against a tree, his body trembling.
Later that same day, he was looking for more food, having used up the fruit from the orchard. He found a patch of glowing mushrooms, but as he reached for them, the ground around him began to shake. He looked down and saw the earth under him was cracking. From the ground, a huge, segmented mole like creature, thick as a tree trunk, burst upwards. Its head was large with hundreds of tiny, needle-sharp teeth in it's mouth, and its body was covered in hard, bony plates. It was blind, but it could definitely hear well. Kai instantly froze. He tried to be as still as a stone, holding his breath. The worm thrashed its head from side to side, sniffing the air, its body twisting like a nightmare. It burrowed back into the earth, then burst out again closer to him. Kai knew he had to move. He concentrated, making a small solid ball of nebula and quickly threw it in the opposite direction. It hit a tree with a loud thud. The worm immediately spun towards the sound and burrowed away, chasing the vibration. Kai didn't wait. He scrambled backwards, then sprinted, not stopping until his lungs burned.
On the second day, he was exploring a more open area, trying to get a better sense of direction. He spotted a group of what looked like deer, but they were huge, with rough, grey hide and long, sharp horns. He watched them from a distance, thinking about how he could just possibly hunt one. Maybe he could shoot a nebula at it really quick. It was worth a shot. But then, a quicker creature darted out from the trees. it had brown and red scales. It moved lightning fast, its body low to the ground. It was a lizard, but not like the Lizardmen. This one had powerful legs, glowing red eyes, and a beak-like snout. It leaped onto one of the deer, tearing into its throat. The deer cried out, a terrible sound. Kai watched in horror as the creature, moving with unbelievable speed, tore the deer apart. He saw its sharp beak, its powerful claws. This was not a beast he could face. He quietly backed away, making sure to stay completely hidden. Yeah, let's go back. He thought, turning carefully the other way. He got to the area his little tree hole was, and began practicing again. . He worked on making his nebula platform even more stable, trying to carry himself higher and higher. He finally managed to rise to the very top of the tallest trees, floating above the canopy. The view from up there was amazing. He could see far away, a vast, green blanket of forest stretching out in every direction, and best of all, a little sliver of ocean on the horizon.
He also later tried the gas form again, looking at the book. Increasing particle dispersion and kinetic energy… diffuse, high-velocity cloud… He pictured a sudden, expanding burst, like an explosion of smoke. He tried to push the energy outward, fast. Still nothing. It was frustrating. He could make solids, he could make liquids, but the gas form remained a mystery. He still couldn't make anything.
Still, he was happy with his progress. He could now make a platform big enough for him to stand comfortably, and it lasted for a full five minutes, allowing him to ride it at a jogging pace, even high up in the trees. He was learning. He looked up at the dimming sky. He wasn't entirely ready yet. He still needed to master that gas form, maybe. And he definitely needed to be faster and stronger. He'd be ready to leave this island in about a week.