3 Chapter 3: Stormy Night

Mira anxiously walked inside the forest. Her wooden short bow pushed the shrubbery slowly as she ducked and hid behind the hazel foliage.

The forest was quiet, as not a single bird made a sound, but distant wolves disturbed this silence from time to time.

Their howls of loneliness echoed inside the weathered forest like sorrowful prayers for the dying woodland.

"The demon lord was a real menace..."

She spoke under her breath as she tried to remember what happened a few days ago when all the birds of the land flew west at the command of the bird-like demon lord.

"...and now, I can only take a cub. So much for being a Hiwa."

She puffed her disappointment at the thought of only having wolves as her animal companions.

"Hopefully, our ancestors wouldn't look down on me."

She went on.

Mira can still remember the story of his ancestor, the Legendary Being who became a friend of nature—even Tarion, the saint of healing, became his comrade against five consecutive demon kings in 500 years. His signature animal companion was a firebird that could breathe fire and even heal the sick.

"I guess it's far-fetched for me to become a Legendary Being someday."

She accepted her fate and proceeded with her search.

***

After a few hours of constantly hiding and occasionally groaning, Mira saw the barren shelter of the amber wolves. The not-so-big caves of these beasts were filled with broken bones and waste and smelled awful.

However, this is her test, a horrible one indeed for a 15-year-old girl who became level 5 three years later than most of her peers.

"If I can grab one cub and grow them until they're level 20, I think Maru wouldn't be ashamed of me."

She reassured herself by using his little brother as her inspiration. Then she laid flat and started her move to one of the dens inside the wolven territory.

She sneaked through the wooden surroundings of these dens as she looked for any cub without a mother. However, to her dismay, most cubs had someone to protect them. Various adult wolves move around the camp to feed the cubs–and one scuffle from her would make these protectors chase and kill her. So she waited. Patiently.

"Just one."

She whispered as she prayed to the heavens for a sliver of chance while trying her best to scout for that special one.

However, out of the blue, the hunting party of the pack howled strongly from a far-off, though as if they found an enemy.

They barked and howled as they ran back to their camp, and Mira was caught off guard by their retreat.

Nonetheless, their actions were not empty, as a strong-rushing wind raced with these canines and even caught some of them.

Then, Mira felt the whole forest vibrate with an exceeding sound and strong wind as if a mythical creature swept through the land and summoned tornadoes.

Mira tried her best to hold on to the tree she was staying on, but her minute strength couldn't counter the force of nature, and she flew.

Her body bounced onto many trees as she found herself helpless.

This short scrambling of the forest left Mira with a painful back and bruises as she groaned in pain, alone and weak.

"Ugh. What happened?"

Mira furiously grunted as she saw a massive creature in the distant sky.

"A Mythical Being?"

She wondered while experiencing unbelievable pain and fainted.

***

Mira suddenly woke up a few hours later. She tried her best to move her fingers as staying inside the forest could end her life if she was not careful.

"I think I need to take the pills Reman made for me."

Mira whispered under her breath as the pain lessened after passing out.

She moved her hands and reached out her inner pockets to take out the herbal pill her childhood friend made. 

However, much to her dismay, the pill inside the pouch got broken from all the impact her body went through.

"I think it's still effective, even though it turned to chunks."

Mira mused and laughed at the thought of Reman, the son of the village healer, who made these inferior-class pills as a good luck charm for her prime hunt—the Hiwa family's coming-of-age tradition after they turned level 5.

"Reman should make them harder next time so they can take a beating."

Mira said as she started to crawl and sit up to the nearby tree to take these pills.

After firmly leaning on the tree, Mira poured the contents of the pouch into her hand. The splintered mix of herbs, earthen chunks, grass, and a minty smell appeared on her hand. Then she ate them piece by piece.

The healing power of the medicine negated her weariness, as she felt a cooling sensation flowing from her stomach to every part of her body.

Her recovery went on as she closed her eyes and felt the moment.

However, she didn't realize that she was not alone.

The pack of wolves thrown by the turbulence surrounded her. But they were also tending to their pains and wounds while a few meters from where she was leaning on was a dying young amber wolf—a cub she dearly wanted.

And time? Well, it waits for no man. 

Immediately after Mira opened her eyes, she saw five wolves staring at her, growling with their fangs out in the open.

The still confused teen got scared and started to stand up and run far away from the pack. However, seeing the nearby cub, she took it. Then, the bloodied amber wolves pursued her, but due to their wounded bodies, they could not sprint. Nevertheless, they persevere.

Their barks and howls were loud and pressing close to Mira, but her better body helped her maneuver through the broken trees and disaster-torn landscape.

"I need to get out of here."

Mira gasped while trying to climb and run away from the pack. Nonetheless, her wounds from the previous disaster dripped blood that became a trail for these predators to follow.

"They are close."

Mira said while she ran faster than ever before while missing the short bow her father made for her.

"I hope my father wouldn't hate me for that bow."

She worriedly said as she proceeded to flee away. However, her body needed a break as she was still healing from the shuffle. So, she looked for any available spots that could help her endure for the night.

"That tree!"

She shouted as she saw a tall tree that would keep her from the wolves. However, as she tried to climb it, one of the wolves was able to get close to her and bit her on her left leg, but due to it being only her skin, the wolf fell.

"Ugh. That hurts!"

The girl wailed as she willed herself to climb up and evade the wolves.

***

Mira stayed on top of the tree for hours until the sun began to set. She bandaged her wounded leg as the cub she carried was still asleep. She checked the cub but found nothing wrong with the animal.

"I need to get home by midnight, or my father will worry and come here, and I'll fail the test."

She said as she decided to create an opening to escape and return home. However, the cub disorientedly woke up crying and wailing while looking for milk. So, Mira took the milk-filled waterskin she kept and fed it to the youngling.

But this minor struggle didn't escape the ears of the wolves as more fighters came to recover their young. They were a community–a pack.

"I really need to go."

Mira said with a worryful face, surrounded by the sounds of constant wolven howls.

***

The bird perched on a branch. 

He was now free from the sticky webs that almost took him back to the next life. 

A few hours after the fateful event of encountering the flying whale, the bird struggled inside the viscous trap to the best of his ability–almost becoming the dinner of the arachnids.

"Who was that?"

He mused at the thought of the man, whom he saw, seated on top of the massive flying whale, which created the turbulence that disturbed the dying forest.

However, to his surroundings, he was singing the dusk song to welcome the still night to this troubled woodland.

"I hope I won't see that whale again."

The bird wished to the air, hoping for the best, away from the troublesome whale.

While the bird was mulling over his troubles, a sudden shot of a heavy web hit the bark behind him as wooden splinters shower.

"What?!"

The bird, shocked by the sudden commotion, looked back and saw a half-meter-tall spider with a cannon on its back.

"A cannon?"

The spider questioned his sanity after seeing the absurd animal that seemed to merge fantasy with the modern world.

"How on earth can you evolve a spider into something that uses a cannon to attack?"

The young bird shouted at the thought of dying from a spider with a cannon on its back. 

However, the spider didn't allow him to finish his ramblings as two consecutive shots shot past him.

The bird, with all of his wits, flew fast yet again—trying to evade from one danger to the other.

Nonetheless, this spider was not alone as two other spiders popped out from behind it and shot additional webs.

"What's going on? First a flying whale, with a man with tentacles, now it's spiders with cannons?"

The bird shouted from the top of his lungs as he flew farther away from the spider artillery. He looked like a World War 2 warplane evading cannon fire from below.

"This world is absurd!"

The bird was still unconvinced of this fantasy world as one beautiful abomination after the other took a chance of making his day worse.

***

After fleeing from the gray cannon spiders, he checked again and saw the edge of the withered forest east of him, so he flew. He rambled and rambled as he glided going east. However, before he could go, he saw a girl surrounded by wolves and perched on a tree to observe what was happening.

"This girl is done for."

The bird spoke while seeing the impossible situation of the girl.

"I hope she can still live."

While the bird started his course to the edge of the forest, he saw the girl throwing something at the pack of wolves surrounding her. It was a small green ball that turned into smoke as it touched the ground, and then it scattered fast until all wolves got a whiff of the smoke and collapsed.

"Wow! She's definitely able."

The bird mused.

"I'm really inside a fantasy world."

While the bird was mulling over how the girl could escape. Then he saw the girl covering her face as she ran away from the sleeping pack of wolves. The bird followed to see more of the action.

He saw the girl running for a while now. Her ripped leather jacket and hole-filled outfit started to wet as sweat covered her. She stopped occasionally, seemingly trying to take control of her breathing, while a sleeping wolf was fastened inside her jacket.

***

This accompaniment of the bird went on for almost an hour as the night started its course. The night was young.

"I hope mama won't worry."

The girl spoke.

However, the bird couldn't understand it.

"I think that's their language here."

The bird mused as he wondered what the girl was talking to herself. Then the bird saw the wolf wake up as it cried again, seemingly hungry.

In response, the girl placed the young wolf down and fed it with milk from a wineskin. Then, out of the blue, the girl's hands started to glow blue.

"What's that?"

The bird wondered as he saw something supernatural as he perched on a tree nearby. He saw the girl talking to the cub as if the cub understood the girl. However, this peaceful night turned sour as a heavy feeling scattered everywhere. The girl, the bird, and the cub bend down while feeling the heaviness. They couldn't breathe.

'What is happening?'

The bird thought this time, as he couldn't open his mouth to chirp his concern. This unbelievable energy rambling happened for a few seconds. Then, a strong blast triggered somewhere far away, but the shockwave was strong enough to push them eastward as storm and lightning suddenly came.

The earthquake created crevices. One of these crevices fractured the land where the girl was and ate both the girl and the cub. The bird was still catching its breath as it tried to ask the question, "What's going on?"