Flashback: The Obsidian Panther (1)Konta awoke with a start. His breathing came in short, spastic gasps and a thin coat of cold sweat streaked his brow. As he tried to slow his rapidly beating heart, he struggled to recall what had led to him feeling this way: it was definitely a dream, but what had happened in it? Try as he might, he couldn't recall, and as the seconds dragged on he felt more and more foolish for being so distraught over nothing.
Still, he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that seemed to cling to his bare shoulders as he rose from his pallet. Around him his fellow hunters were asleep and, from the look of it, far more soundly than Konta had been. It wasn't unusual for Konta to rise before the others, but for once he felt a pang of jealousy that he couldn't rest a bit lon
