Chapter: The guardian of forest
King was gaining pretty good ground since he was able to just run under every low branch on the way rather than dodge past them. Luz dashed through the all bushes and passed any trees in her way. The crazy cries of her demon friend got quieter which meant she was getting lose that demon.
And very soon she heard nothing.
"King?" Luz called and continue to run for several minutes.
She got no response. Absolute silence.
"King!" She called out again.
Her only response was the occasional rustling of tree leaves from the summer wind.
No sign of him.
However, she saw a very large tree in the distance. It towered over all other trees and looked odd. Like it was sick or dying.
Is this Oak of Sorrows?
Luz being thought about it until she heard something coming towards her. Moving just a bit closer to bushes she pulled the bush back, expecting to find King in.
But it wasn't King.
A hellish screech as before her stood a dark, hunched entity with a long tentacle and two smaller ones coming from its head. It had four dog legs, a short tail, and two pairs of wings that drooped to the ground. Symbol of crossed-out demonic eye inside the circle made of snake eating its tail was etched into side of its neck.
Luz screamed at it and jump back. It hissed while arching its back and spreading its wings.
"Nice dog...bug...dug?" Luz said with a bit of uncertainty while the roach-dog sniff the air with its three tendril-shaped extensions.
The roach-dog made an even louder hiss and started beating the wings, stirring up a dust cloud around itself.
Don't run. Don't approach. Quietly move away.This is the mantra repeating in Luz's head as she step backward as slowly as she dared, looking at the roach-dog. She know that most negative wild animals encounters are caused by surprising the animals or giving them a reason to think you are a threat. On the Boiling Isles the principle is similar.
'Give the beast space and he or she will usually go about their business while ignoring your presence,' Eda once told her. So Luz's not going out picking fight with it, and she don't touched the light glyph in her pocket.
But suddenly the roach-dog got close, its tendril went for Luz right leg and the roach-dog took in a huge breath through the hole at the center of its hundreds of smaller tentacles. A bright white light came out of Luz's leg and went into what she considered roach-dog's mouth.
Luz screamed at it, and then she reacted by making her foot come into contact with creature's head.
The roach-dog used its claws to provide friction and stop themselves from hit the tree. It made screeching noises as pounced on Luz, but she acted quickly and decisively, pulled out some glyph notes.
Luz's first glyph blinded creature, so she dodged claws and tendril, then Luz slammed a two glyphs together, sending a strong ray of light at the roach-dog.
The weird hybrid just used its tentacles to completely absorbed all of attack power, walking a bit backwards before exploding into a blue smoke cloud.
Luz blinked.
"Robot?" The teen held a steel sprocket while looking at what's left of roach-dog. "It was robot."
She was surprised for several reasons. First why it just blew up? How it absorbed her spell? Thirdly and most importantly, where did it come from? In the Boiling Isles modern technolog didn't exist. Well, at least, not that technolog as in her world. In the Magic Realm was kind of technology powered by Magic. Luz saw a few examples, but they were nothing like that robotic roach-dog.
All of sudden the robotic parts disappeared in a puff of blue smoke! The smoke slowly dissipate and the strong smell of engine oil is the only proof that the robotic roach-dog was there.
*CRASH*
The sound of branch snapping caught her attention. Luz picked up a stick, before placing an light glyph on it, making the stick glowing like lightsaber and a bit warm in her hand. Ready to attack who was coming.
"Ataque!" As Luz charged it turned out the one who emerged was young witch who had dark hair, pointy ears, glasses, and wearing a uniform, a gray tunic with a dark gray belt, cowl, and boots. Including a pink sleeved shirt with leggings to match.
She yelping upon seeing the attacker spring out. Then her eyes turned green with magical energy. Suddenly the plant life around her started to go wild, producing giant thorn vines from the ground around her. One on the reached for Luz's waist. Sent her flying and fell on the pile of twigs.
The witchling walked over to Luz. Clearly worried.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that! You scared me and-"
"It's okay. They only went through a few layers of skin." Luz said almost to casually. "Sorry for scared you."
"Are you s-"the girl just stops in mid-sentence before looking closer, noticing Luz's rounds ears. "Your ears...are round?"
Luz gasped a bit, worried she might have a problem with humans, and quickly pulled up her hood to hide her ears. Witchling let out a gasp herself before pulling Luz's hood back down.
"You're a human! A genuine human on the Boiling Isles, this is amazing!" She said as she smiled at Luz. "What are you doing here? How did you get here?" Then she noticed Luz's necklace. "You are the Keeper! Wait, you are the human girl that Gus was talking about!"
Luz blinked, "You know Gus?"
"We're friends and we go to the same school. I'm Willow." Willow held her hand out to shake.
"Luz." Luz said with smile and shook her hand, "And by the way, have you seen a demon with skull on his head walk by?"
"Like this one?" Willow's finger pointed up. Luz looked up and saw King walking on branch of the tree.
"King!"
"I'm the great demon of all kings!" King said this like he was drunk or something. And then he took this poze, like roaring lion. "Be afraid of my little paws! Roar!"
After this words, he lost his balance and fell. Thankfully, Luz was there to catch him, and she hold him in her arms with the quickest reflexes she had.
"I almost kiss the ground." King giggled.
"Is he okay?" Willow asked.
"He just had a little accident with flowers, that's all." Luz explain before letting King down, only to little demon immediately picked up a rock covered with weird moss... and licked it.
"King no!" Luz reached for King, trying to take the rock from his hands, receiving an annoyed noise from the demon in reply.
"Get your own ice cream!"
"Let him have it. This moss isn't poisonous." Willow wasn't exactly sure what to think right now.
Luz sighed as let King keep "ice cream". 'He's unusually strong for someone his size.' she thought. King made a happy sound as sat on the grass, still licking the rock.
"So, what brings you to the Ascetir Forest?" Willow asked, "You're on a mission?"
Luz shock her head, "No. I was just looking for Oak of Sorrows. And you?
"Rumors about one of the most destructive disease has broken out in this forest have been circulating for days." Willow answers, sound a little worried, "This forest means the world to me more than any other place. I just had to find out if it was the true."
"Wow, someone forgot to color their drawings." That got both girls to stop as they looked up ahead to see King stood a few meters from them and looking at something.
Luz and Willow came to check what he was looking at. And froze.
Now they standing in front of a bunch of dead trees. The very land in front of them looked to be dying. Even the grass looked dead.
For Willow this was something akin to murder. She cared very deeply for nature. Tears almost began to fall down her face as she walked up to one tree. Kneeling down she pressed her hand against it. She felt no life. But...
"What's the matter?" Luz asked when she noticed Willow took a hand off the tree like it may badly burned her hand.
Willow looked hesitant before speaking. "I felt something. Death. Just cold death." She stroked the withered blossoms with her thumb and finger. "Whoever did this was anxious to destroy all life in this forest."
"Tried so hard." Luz commented as she slowly went around the place. Her sadness isn't much smaller than Willow's.
The withered grass creaking with each step Luz took. The area was quiet. Too quiet. Luz spend enough time here to know a live forest's never this quiet.
A faint breath of wind blow through this place. Luz feel like wind was... sad too. Like the Boiling Isles mourn the loss of forest life.
Not in the way that any of the living beings would understand though, not even the most great magic users. It talked in a language that did not need words nor images to create what it was saying. The Boiling Isles spoke in the language as old as time, the same language that the magic talk.
Luz didn't know this language but she just feel that the Boiling Isles sadness and she joined the grieving for this dying forest.
Something caught Luz's attention, so she halted. There was a scrap of the color in this dying land.
The teen was crouched down, so she take a closer look. It turned out to be small flower. A bit trampled but it was still alive. Of course many would be skeptical or pessimistic and wrote flower off. But Luz wasn't like many people.
She grabbed a small stick along with some small vines. Putting the stick in the ground and using the vines to strap the flower to it, put the flower back upright for it to heal naturally.
As the girl was satisfied with what she did, she soon felt the Boiling Isles' slighty pride and joy as the wind soft billowing around a single flower.
"You'll survive. I'm belive in you." Luz water it with a water bottle, and there's something in flower that she didn't noticed before.
Symbol; a circle with an upside down triangle with a line across the bottom, connected to a line heading down to a smaller circle at the bottom with a dot in the center and two other lines stick out at the top of the smaller circle.
Is this...
Luz took out a notepad and pen, she drew the symbol and then gave the paper a tap and watched as the glyph glowed green and a pink flower grew from the smaller circle.
She blinked. She found a new glyph. She learn her second spell.
"How did you do that?" Willow asked, stepping up beside her.
"I MADE THE CONNECTION!" Luz shouted with victory in her voice as she stood up and grabbed Willow's hands. "I made the connection. That's two spells!"
Willow haven't the slightest idea what Luz's talking about, but her enthusiasm was contagious. Soon two teens were spinning around and laughing. King join them, but they don't really know how and when he did this.
And it was at this moment that Luz realized something. "Wait! Maybe it means we can fix it!" She pointed to the dying forest.
"It's a few hectares of forest." Willow want nothing more than to give life back to the plants but really, she was just being a realist.
"Then we better get started." With that, Luz went up ahead and looked around for something to draw with and saw a large stick with a small branch on it, she quickly got it. Drawing the glyph she saw before in the ground.
Willow definitely think she wants to be Luz's friend at this moment in time.
Luz just finished drawing the glyph and then gave it a tap. Small green energy slowly leaked from it. The glyph was absorbed by the ground in its wake the grass nearby grew and clovers popped out unexpectedly from the ground. Willow then drew a spell circle, making a few small trees grew from the green spot.
"This work."
The moment of small victory was interrupted by a sudden noise. At first it sounded a lot like herds of running horses.
"What was that?" Luz questioned when more rumbling could be heard along with growling. They walking toward where they heard the noise.
Her question was answered when pulling the bush back and freezing in surprising.
Two dozen of roach-dogs, just like the one who attacked Luz, reached anything in sight and turning them into lifeless shell.
"They're destroying the forest." Willow's voice was full of emotions.
"What exactly are this things?" Luz asked as she take a picture of the roach-dogs.
"It's the first time I've seen it." Willow said honestly.
Suddenly growling could be heard along with rumbling. The pack of roach-dogs looked and saw something big rising out of some nearby forgotten dead trees. Soon they saw what appeared to be a dying and angry tree shambling towards them.
"Tree Shepherd. " Willow whispered with mix of concerns and shock. Luz guessed that she talking about the walking tree.
Several dozen of tendrils sniffed the air. The living tree had the aura a pack of robitic roach-dogs were hungry for.
"Tendrils off my forest, you little parasites!" Tree Shepherd shout.
All he got in response was some mix of growling and hissing.
The hungry creature tried to dog-pile on Tree Shepherd. To their surprise, they received a smack so hard they tumbled through the air toward the blue sky.
They all fly back in few moments. Each roach-dog kept fighting over which one gets to drain Tree Shepherd of life. But before tendrils touch anything, Tree Shepherd swings his head and razor-sharp leaves fly out from the leafs on his head at the opponents.
More than half of the roach-dog dropped to the ground with the black blood-oil flowing freely down their dead bodies. However, few of them reach Tree Shepherd. And their tendrils sucked the life out of him.
Right, and then the bark sulfur shelf on Tree Shepherd's branches glow green, and matching energy beams extend from their tips. The beams wrap around the opponent's body, crushing them all.
Tree Shepherd victorious without question. But he looked more sick and tired than before the fight. Yet he still stood strong.
Luz and Willow only kept staring at him. King who still was influenced by flower dust, stopped talking to stick on the ground and looked up at Tree Shepherd for the first time.
"Wow, the biggest broccoli I'd ever seen. Maybe he is friendly!" Before anyone could stop him, King jumped over a bush and charged towards the living tree.
Luz fear that he would share the fate of robot roach-dogs and ran after him. Willow followed too.
Tree Shepherd was busy sweeping what was left of roach-dogs, so didn't notice someone's coming. At least till King jumped on one of his legs and then he heard Luz's voice.
Tree Shepherd didn't even get a clear look at King or Luz, raising both his fists into the air, dry bark on knuckles cracked from how tight they were. Tree Shepherd took a deep breath, and brought them down. With no time to run, Luz closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. The impact never came though. Instead, Tree Shepherd's fists stopped mere inches away from another body. His eyes widened in disbelief.
"Willow, what the roots are you doing?" Tree Shepherd reprimanded the witchling.
Willow had her arms outstretched in front of Luz, her eyes closed tight in fear of what Tree Shepherd might do. He brought his hands out in front of him slowly.
"Luz is not the enemy of forest, Mr. Tree Shepherd." Willow tried to explain to him.
"Then wa-OW!" Tree Shepherd looked down and noted that King took a bite out of his bark.
"This is the worst chocolate I ever had." King stated taking a look at the bark in his paw before he try take another bite, but found himself hoisted in the air by his tail.
"Do you know who I am?!" Tree Shepherd shout.
"Hmmm. You looks like a 'Toby'," King cocked his head, "But on second thought, I think 'Veraminta' fits you better."
"I'm sorry for him!" Luz apologize to him, noticing rage in Tree Shepherd's eyes, "He's not himself. He didn't want bite you or anything."
"Do those demon belong to you?" Tree Shepherd asked, looking at her.
"Yes."
"Kept a better eye on him." He said as handed over the demon. Luz and Willow noticed a gold tree sap drips from his arm.
"You're wounded." Willow understand Tree Shepherd was injured in the attack. "Let me hel-"
"Don't touch me!"
Willow wince at his harsh tone. "You need h-"
"I'm Tree Shepherd, the guardian of the Ascetir Forest." Tree Shepherd cut in, "I've been hurt worse than that."
Willow looked at him with fire in eyes. "But this don't mean that..."
Willow and Tree Shepherd get involved in the discussions with each other. It was similar to an argument between grandfather and a granddaughter.
Luz stood up beside Willow, looking conflicted. On one hand, Tree Shepherd have severe lacerations, and rather needs help. She wanted to support Willow in this discussions. On the other hand, she was under the impression it wasn't the first argument between them. And it's best just to stay out of it.
Their discussions could probably go on for a long, long time. But it was abruptly interrupted by the demon.
"AHHHHHHHHHFGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"
"King, why are you screaming!?" Luz was so surprised that she forgot to hold onto the demon.
"That asserted my dominance over the ground!" King yelled, hitting the ground, "I can't let the ground forgoten who is boss th-SQUIRREL! IT'S A SQUIRREL ! I'LL CATCH IT AND GETS THE POT OF GOLD!" King continued before he saw the two-headed squirrel and immediately ran after it, running around as he still turned on grass to chase it. If it weren't so insane, it would be a funny sight, Luz thought.
"Wait, Mr. Tree Shepherd, where you going?" Willow's voice made Luz turned back to the witchling and the talking tree.
"I don't have time for this." Said Tree Shepherd as he looked back at the trees, "I must get rid of parasites in my forest."
"You're talking about these weird roach-dogs cyborgs?" Luz asked.
"That's not your business." Tree Shepherd said in a tone that made Luz sweat a bit. "Go away. All of you. And I'm serious, leave this place."
He turned around and walked away, disappearing into the shadow in the distance.
Willow was the first to break the silence. "We better listen to him."
Luz nodded, "King, we are l- King?!"
The little demon disappeared. Again!
"Where did he go?" Luz asked, sounding both confused and worried at the same time.
Luz and Willow spent two hours looking King, and get to know each other better during this. Luz now knew; Willow loves every plant, she have two dads, she is on the Abomination Track in school (and hate this track) and she is a flyer derby fan.
"And how do you know Tree Shepherd? Luz asked after she check the inside of log, "Becauae it seems like you guys go pretty far back."
"I've known him since I was five." Willow sound just a little depressed, but that's mostly because they see more and more dying parts of the forest. "We were looking a place to hide from the rain and he found us."
"Who's we?" Luz asked.
Willow's ears fell in a way, "Me and my friend or rather I thought at the time she was my friend. But I wasn't good enough for her friend." It was clear Willow'd rather not talk about it. And that person hurt her. A lot.
"I think you're awesome. "
"You do?"
"Yes. And I hope that we can be friends. True friends." Luz says, touching Willow's shoulder. Returning the human girl's smile she nodded. "Me too."
Suddenly out of nowhere the roach-dog showed up. But instead of charge, it ran right between them.
Both Luz and Willow exchanged surprised looks.
"It just ignored us." Luz said when the roach-dog was a long away. "Why?"
"I don't know but I have a bad feeling about this." Willow said, watching many more roach-dogs appeared and past them indifferently.
Against their better judgment, both teens ran after the roach-dogs that making their way through the forest and into a clearing.
Tree Shepherd was angry and furious. He feel like a roach-dogs sucked all the life out of his forest through a magical link. Now every parasite come after him.
And he's not going to die.
Another roach-dog jumped at Tree Shepherd, only to receive a punch in the snout and be sent flying into the dead tree behind it. Half-mechanical creature just split in half.
The rest of the roach-dogs lunged at him with a claws and tentacles.
Tree Shepherd's eyes glow in green, he makes multiple green-glowing vines grow out of the ground and bind the opponents' paws, preventing them from moving. Then the leaves on the top Tree Shepherd's head start to glow light green, and release a cyclone of wind and glowing light green leaves from the tree towards the roach-dogs. Destroying them.
Tree Shepherd get down on one knee, exhaustion and tiredness caught up with him. He looked up.
Finally, there's only roach-dog left. But it was different from everyone else.
Unlike normal roach-dogs – who were the same height as Luz or Willow if they were to stand on their hind legs – this one was slightly taller than Tree Shepherd, and had their wings tucked under the elytra on their backs.
Tree Shepherd called it "Alpha" in his head.
Alpha jumped at Tree Shepherd and pushed him into a ground. It started sucking his life through his abdomen, Tree Shepherd caught its in a headlock and tried to throw him off.
But his energy was very low.
Just as Alpha was about to kill Tree Shepherd, a yellow beam of light hit the creature. Before it could do anything. A large plant-wooden like hand suddenly knocked Alpha 28 feet.
Tree Shepherd struggled to regain his breath and tried to get up again, in spite of all the pain he felt all over his body.
"You okay?" Willow asked, while she and Luz ran up to him.
At this very moment Alpha get up and lunged at trio, trying to attacked them from above. It got bounced back by the large leaves pattern dome of magic raised by Tree Shepherd around himself and both teens.
"I told you to get out of this forest!" Tree Shepherd lunged at girls, while Alpha's tendril hitting dome.
"I believe you mean, 'Thanks for saving my life'." Luz interjected.
"It's not that I'm not grateful, it's dangerous here! I'm the Guardian of forest and my duty is to protect it. But YOU don't have to risk your life for this place. I'll lower my shield. And when I do, I want you to run like hell, you hear?"
"No!" Willow announced.
"Willow Park. You will run, and that's an order!" Tree Shepherd half-yelled.
"You're my friend." She squared her shoulders, drawing herself up to stand taller and looking him straight in the eye." I won't leave you!"
"And I'm the Keeper." To highlight her words Luz grabbed the silver necklace she got from the Council of Four, "It's my job to protect magic and magical being, including you."
Tree Shepherd was about to answer when the shield cracked like an egg, and then the second it vanished.
The longest tendril reach Luz and Willow and started sucking the life out of the girls. Alpha stopped the instant Tree Shepherd's arms wrapped around its waist. He picked it up and held it awkwardly, as if it was a large dog.
Alpha pushed himself out of Tree Shepherd's arms and wrapped its longest tendril around Tree Shepherd's leg, yanked hard.
A loud thud was heard through out the forest. Which was Tree Shepherd hit the ground. Alpha towered over Tree Shepherd, who could barely make sense of his surroundings. But before touched him, Willow draw spell circle, making some thick vines wrapped around its body.
"Wow, he's stubborn." Luz commented while Alpha stomped the ground and hissed trying to break free.
"It's parasite." Tree Shepherd got up, although his eyes were half close. "This thing's not going to let up until drain the energy from everything."
Luz got an idea almost like a light bulb going off above her head. "So let's give it what it wants!"
"What?" Willow looked at Luz strangely, thinking that she misheard.
"Just hold it a little bit longer!" Luz exclaimed as she snatched piece of wood from the ground next to her.
Before the witchling could ask her any more questions, Luz was already running around and draw symbol on the ground.
And at the time the longest tentacles of a roach-dog hone in on Willow's vines causing green light to come out of the plants and enter Alpha.
The vines disappeared almost entirely at the precise moment Luz yelled 'Let it go!'.
The large roach-dog looked around while chittering.
"Hey! Big and ugly!" Luz raised her hands up. "I'm here!"
Alpha turned to hiss at her before spread its wings and flew in for the kill. But Luz stomped the ground and activated the glyph with erupted in a powerful light. That light was gone after a short moment when gigantic roach-dogs absorbed it like a king-sized sponge.
For a second, everything stopped.
And then Alpha exploded.
Tree Shepherd managed to push Willow and Luz behind him a split second before it happened, sensing how the energy in the air shifted dangerously. In the next moment, a cloud of hot steam hit his face, permeating his throat with sickening smell, as if rotten meat had instantaneously plastered on the ridge of his hard palate.
He stumbled back, coughing, and finally fell back as the last clouds dissolved into the air. A few metallic parts and large black puddle. This is all that's left of Alpha.
"I'm seeing it, but I can't believe it." Willow not fully processed the fact that they won.
"I know. I can't believe it actually worked." Luz admitted and looked at big hole in the ground in a place where there was light glyph.
A laugh is shared, and girls just starting to feel the endorphins vibrating in their spleens. Yet, Tree Shepherd didn't enjoy their victory. He looked at their surroundings - the wooded area that was once a full of green and life. Now were stripped of color beauty and life.
"We won the battle, but we lost the war." His voice was low and filled with sorrow. "In the end, I didn't protect my forest. The life that place has, it went away."
"It's not true." Willow disagreed, adrenaline's still pumping, "You're the heart of forest." She reminded him, "Your magic is a pure force of nature that can fills up the forest. If you will take root and share your magic, the forest reborn."
"And this is perfect place for that." Luz added.
She was right. This is the perfect place for Tree Shepherd to grow. There's a large opening at the top of this forest above the lake where the sunlight comes in and there's water right next to the middle.
"I'll try." Tree Shepherd stated as stepped into the hole, taking a look at the forest.
With his eyes closed he let his roots-like legs staking into the ground.
His body was suddenly enveloped in a beautiful warm green light. It lasted no longer than a few seconds. The light light dimmed when Tree Shepherd opened his eyes.
"I'm weak," Tree Shepherd stared at forest with desperate eyes. "I can't do this on my own. It's over."
"You are not alone". Willow placed her hand on Tree Shepherd. Green energy similar to Tree Shepherd's began to emit from her hand. Focused. The witchling puts all the magic she have in the guardian of the forest. It was a big help. But...
"It's still not enough." Willow's voice is suddenly so thick, it seems to crack under its own weight.
"So, let's do this all together!" Then Luz grabbed Willow's free hand and used other hand to placed a new found glyph on Tree Shepherd. That's when something miraculous happened. Tree Shepherd was beginning to heal. The bark that was gone was replaced and his branches got stronger and bigger. His leaves turned green once more. Tree Shepherd grew in size and looked young and healthy.
Lifting up his arms Tree Shepherd's leaves sparkled. It then released a greenish energy of some kind. The grass around him grew and return to green. Which also helped the forest who became healthy like him. And new trees grew up around them.
"My forest survives!" He slowly brought Luz and Willow closer to him. "I can't thank you all enough."
"No need to thank." Luz looked up at him with a smile. And Willow agred with her new friend.
"From this day forward, you all can count me as your ally." Tree Shepherd officially declared, "I will be happy to help anytime and anywhere."
"Thanks and Happy Creepmas!" a familiar voice said, surprising Luz as she looked to see King coming out of her bag.
"King, have you been here all the time?" Luz said in shock.
"Yep yep! Boop." He said as he poked Luz's nose.
"Gloomflesia sprayed your friend, didn't it?" Tree Shepherd asked as King staring blankly at the sky.
"A little, but that'll go away, right?" Luz said as she grabbed the demon and pulled him out of her bag.
"The effect lasts for 24 hours but I can help." Green glowing energy slowly emerged on the Tree Shepherd's finger tip as it pressed against King's head.
"Where I am?" King asked as he jumped from Luz's hands and looked at Tree Shepherd and Willow, "Who are they? And why my mouth tastes like a pub ashtray?"
"We're still in the same forest." Luz told him, "Say hello to Willow and Tree Shepherd. And... well you licked a rock covered with dense orange moss."
King frowned, "Just don't mention it again."
"Is there nothing else I can do for you, my friends?" Tree Shepherd asked.
"Can I get a little resin from the Oak of Sorrows?" Luz pulled out the glass bottle.
Tree Shepherd nodded before grabbed them all and put the trio on his shoulder. He slowly went back into the forest with three passengers.
All the while, the four of them were unaware of a figure, poking it's head out from above the trees.
It was silent, deadly, and hidden from the magic senses Tree Shepherd was known for. He would never be able to catch these person spying on unless the figure wanted to be found themselves.
Their eyes glowed as the insect-like creature perched on their shoulder, speaking to the person.
"I know, Chauko." They said as the wind blew through this place, both pair of eyes returning to normal. "It's why we need to back to headquarters and speak with boss."
With a sound like hissing wind, mysterious figure was evaporating.
Author Note:This chapter took longer than expected.
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