202 Realization (1/2)

”Listen, papa,” said Tia as she cocked her head, and Li followed her.

It was the chirping of crickets. It was faint at first, nervous to spread its song, but soon enough, all the crickets that had been buried decades under the earth when this forest first was flooded by dark beast essence began to unburrow from their long slumber.

Their song filled the air, reverberating around the woods. No more was there the chattering of bloated, mutated insects. Instead, the original namesake of this forest, the Chirpwoods, finally came to be once more. Soon enough, when day broke, birds would sense that life had returned to these woods and fly back, nesting in the tall treetops and contributing their song too to the symphony.

”Life has returned oncemore to the Chirpwoods,” said Li.

”The Chirpwoods?” asked Tia.

”Yes, that is what these forests are called. So named for the song of crickets and birds that ever resounds through its bounds.”

Li did not yet know why he knew these woods were originally called the Chirpwoods.

It must have been a name from long ago, during the age of demons when this forest was first corrupted. There was still a void in his memory from after he was engulfed in darkness, but it was like a faded dream, a foggy recollection that, given time, would piece itself back together.

”Pretty sound, but nothing to hunt,” said Tia with a slight frown. Her stomach growled, and she put a little hand to her belly. ”Shadow monsters here have no taste. Only cold. Like hard water.”

”Like ice,” corrected Li. He sighed. ”I should have been there to tell you not to eat them. To protect you and stop you from endangering yourself. For that, I must thank you, Zagan.”

The demonic hound paced briskly behind Li and shook his head, his black fair swaying with the motion. ”This personage did not do much. He offered to annihilate the enemies standing before the girl, but she wished to fight with strength of her own.

Knowing your protectiveness over her, my personage could not let her fight alone, and so, a compromise was reached. I empowered her, and she fought, and I will say, her might is of no little consequence.”

”That's right,” said Tia slowly as she furrowed her brows, trying to work out Zagan's complicated wording. ”I can fight alone. I'm strong.”

”I'm sure you are, but remember what father told you. Being strong means strong things will be attracted to you, and they might want to hurt you. Always try and fight when I am there with you.”

Tia crossed her arms, nodding. ”Then I get to fight all the time!”

”Hm?”

”But Tia, sometimes, I can get into dangerous situations, like just now,” countered Li.

”No worry. Tia will protect papa!” She flashed her blade-like teeth, the beginnings of fire breath trickling between their sharp edges.

”That's not what I mean-,” began Li, but Tia started to look at him with crestfallen eyes, her hands tightening around his shoulder in concern. ”Alright, you can follow me. But I'll warn you now, a lot of what I do is very, very boring. Paperwork. Talking to people. You'll get so bored you'll be falling asleep all the time.”

”Then I get to fall asleep next to papa,” said Tia with a smile, not seeing any downside to spending more time with Li, no matter whether that time was boring, exciting, dangerous, or safe.

Tia's stomach growled again, and she looked around, her eyes narrowing as her predatory instincts engaged. Her long, pointed ears twitched, their sensitive hearing tracking any living thing to attack and devour.

”It will take a little while for regular creatures of the wild to settle their way back here, near the heart of the forest, as it has been so long since it has been pure,” said Li. ”But back home, if you aren't sleepy, we can go to the Winterwoods and hunt there. It's already very late, but father will make an exception for tonight because he made mistakes.”

”Winterwoods a little boring,” said Tia. ”Hunt too easy. But hunt with papa always fun.” She nodded, agreeing to Li's proposal.

He had to admit that she was right. Her strength was growing at an alarming rate, and the relatively peaceful Winterwoods were no match for her. She was nearing level fifty in power, Li estimated, with a few abilities that were far stronger than what her level indicated by virtue of being linked to him.