Ch. 16 Humans?
Tian couldn't help but chuckle as he was buried under his sisters. They were all so excited, their calls filled the air. They couldn't believe their brother had been so cool! To fight father for that long, and still be standing, it was crazy to think about! Not to mention that attack that he did. That beam of light looked really powerful. However, with it going against father they weren't able to judge just how strong it actually was. Tian finally began to push his sisters off him gently and stood up. Of course Eldra immediately got into a fight stand and charged at him. Tian, still tired from the fight barely had time to react as she pounced on his back. Cypheras, not one to be outdone, quickly pounced at Eldra and those two began to fight. Kodama followed behind the haze of red and blue that were her sisters as Tian went to speak with his parents.
The way they looked at him didn't go unnoticed as he walked up. They had clearly seen him do something interesting and amazing but they both had different reactions to it. Muk, his confusion mixed with a look of pride, Xic, confusion mixed with worry and concern. Muk quickly closed the gap and puffed his chest out. "My boy! You are something else! That fight was intense and you did amazingly well! Of course, your ol' man won the fight but that was to be expected." Tian looked at his father and chuckled as he shook his head. "Yes, but how can I win against an opponent who cheats?" Muk, being ever prideful actually briefly snarled before he corrected his attitude. This was his son. Not someone who would try to insult him. "What do you mean, by cheat? How did I cheat Tian?" Tian tilted his head at his fathers behavior but didn't comment on it. Instead, he went on to clarify his question. "Well, we were attacking each other and dodging our attacks but then you got in front of the sun. I wasn't able to see your attack." Muk smile and put his head closer to his son and said with a hint of teasing in his tone "Cheating? Using the battlefield to your advantage is cheating? Were this a real battle, the end could have a result of death. Is it cheating to use a tactic that gives you an advantage? Be aware of your surroundings and make sure your enemy doesn't use it against you. It was not as if I attacked you in your sleep. I didn't get a bunch of warriors to do that. Cheating is something a warrior doesn't do and you should not be so quick to use that word when you describe your opponent. Not only does this insult them, but it makes a mockery of yourself."
Tian nods his head as he gets lost in thought. Everything his father said was true. It wasn't as if his father used a cheap trick on him. Now that he has thought about it for a moment, it is a very valid tactic to use and will be of great use to him in the future. Clearly his father has seen many battles and has the experience to back of his criticism and he's trying to teach Tian. He'd be a fool to not take advantage of the vast knowledge his father had. Tian looked up at Muk, meeting his gaze. "Father, I'm sorry I said you cheated. It was very smart to use the sun to block my view of the fireball you were about to shoot. With my attack, I feel this will also work for me. What else should I improve on?" Muk let out a loud bellow of a laugh and laid down and began to talk with his son about the things he can do to improve his style of combat.
After a few hours of picking his fathers brain, Tian felt he had learned so much. His mana was full again. One thing he noticed as well though, is that his experience had gone up quite a bit. Instead of being at 50, it was now at 76. He never really paid attention as he never really trained to better himself as he did. As his father taught him, he also showed him ways to better his attacks and movements. In turn, Tian would practice and adjust as his father advised. None of his stats went up. Could this be because he didn't push himself? He shook his head and went to the water where his mother had caught fish and was throwing them to the shore. His father quickly followed as did his sisters. The family sat and ate enjoying the rest of the day.
The sun began to settle amongst the horizon as the family went about their day. Kodama would run in the woods, Cypheras would play in the water with Xic. Muk, Eldra and Tian would play fight. As the sun finally settled and darkness came. None of them noticed the birds leaving the trees. The silence that seemed to come over the forest. Clouds began to roll in and not even the mood granted its light. Finally, Muk stiffened as he was running with Eldra after Tian and turned towards the forest to the south. Standing tall with wings spread wide he scanned the tree line. Xic looked over and noticed Muks stance. She quickly swam to short and rounded up her children, she had been underwater and had not noticed anything. However as she stood on land now, she caught scent of something she didn't understand why she was smelling here of all places. Finally, in the darkness light came from beyond the trees. Faint, but glowing brighter. With the new light, noise. Noise that no one realized had been missing until just now. The forest had never been this quiet. Tian peaked around his mother to watch his father. As he caught sight of him, he couldn't help but look on in wonder. His father was massive, his wings spread wide made him look even bigger still.
His wonderment was cut short as he now began to hear sounds of movement. Movement and something else. Talking. Tians eyes grew wide at the realization. He could barely make out anything past his father, but his ears were picking up the noise of movement in the forest. Snapping twigs and breaking branches. Finally he is able to make out talking, though in a language he didn't understand. He heard laughter, yelling and excited cheers. As it got closer, he noticed a glow coming from the trees past his father. The voices stopped. A few moments more, the movement stopped. Tian noticed Muk tense and then roar a roar so loud, the leaves on the trees shook from its power. As he did so, Tian was able to see the tree line. There were figures standing there on two legs. Some on four. There were some that stood almost twice as tall as the others. All of them shrouded in darkness as the sources of the light were in the back.
A lone figure moved forward. Tian nearly gasped as his mind finally caught up with what he was seeing. There had to be at least a thousand figures in the darkness. How he wished that the moon was out so he can get a good look at them. The figure stopped about a hundred feet from the army. The figure appeared to raise an arm and point at Muk.
"So, this is where you've been hiding Tri'muk. I told you that I would find you. I told you that there was no where that you would be safe. Kneel, and maybe I will spare your family."