The Dendro samachurl giggled maliciously as it hopped side to side. I rolled my eyes at its little dance and searched the ground for something, anything, I could use to cut these pesky vines down with.

All of a sudden, the Dendro samachurl lunged at me and tried to smack me with its staff. Because the monster was so small and the staff was disproportionally large, the attack was misguided, and I sidestepped without having to try. The Dendro samachurl fell over in its attempt at offense. I snatched the staff out of its grasp.

"Hah!" I exclaimed and broke it in half over my knee.

The thorny vines surrounding me fell apart, and I was free. The Dendro samachurl stumbled backward before attempting to run away. A Hydro arrow whizzed past my ear, hitting it in the back, and it collapsed onto the ground.

"That was supposed to be a headshot," Childe grumbled from beside me. "I need more practice."

He finished off the Dendro samachurl with a proper strike to the head and it wailed, crumbling away into nothing.

"Did you get the key?" I scanned the camp to find that all of the hilichurls were gone—dead.

Childe held up a key ring with a single rusty key hanging from it. "Yup. Is the kid even alive?"

"I think so."

"Let's get him out of that cage, then." Childe passed me the key and we returned to the caged boy.

After twisting the rusty key in the padlock, the cage door clunked loose. It creaked loudly as I pried it open, but Timmie slept soundly. His deep slumber was beginning to worry me—no way could a kid manage to sleep through all that fighting. Maybe he was concussed? In a coma?

"Timmie?" I lightly prodded his shoulder. "Timmie, wake up."

He shifted a little, but not by much.

I grabbed both of his shoulders this time and shook the boy with all my might. His head limply flopped back and forth for a moment before his eyes finally cracked open. Immediately upon regaining consciousness, Timmie broke out into a loud sob.

"Girlie," Childe sighed and bent down to console the kid. "You scared him."

"He scared me. I thought he wouldn't wake up."

Timmie wailed. "Wh-Where am I? Who *sniff* are you? What happened to the *sniff* the scary monsters?"

"You're safe from the monsters," Childe assured. "Lumi and I are here to take you home."

I untied Timmie's jacket from my waist and offered it to him. "Are you feeling cold? Your mom gave this to me to keep you warm."

"I miss my mommy. I want to go home."

"Are you tired?" Childe asked in a surprisingly calm tone.

Timmie sniffled. Then nodded.

"Do you want me to carry you on my back?"

Timmie hesitated. Then nodded.

"Alright, then. Up you go."

I watched in amazement as Childe carefully hoisted him up onto his back. With Timmie in his care like that, Childe almost seemed…

"What is it?" he asked me. "You've got this strange look on your face."

"You're surprisingly good with kids."

"I would hope so." Childe smiled softly. "I've got three younger siblings, remember? Teucer, the youngest, is just about Timmie's age. I would give him piggyback rides like this all the time. I figured Timmie wouldn't mind. How are you feeling up there, kid?"

"This is really nice, mister! Can I see my mommy now?"

"Okay, okay," Childe made a few adjustments. "Let's get you home."

Timmie fell asleep on Childe's back soon after we left the camp. The forest was quite dark on the return to town, but we were able to easily navigate the area after spending so much time familiarizing ourselves.

"We need to talk about those monsters," I said after a while.

"What about them?"

"What were they doing here? If this island is under Celestia Academy's protection, if this island is a safe haven from monster activity, then we need to tell someone that the peace is being disrupted."

"The battle was brief. Those hilichurls were light work."

"Still, They may be low-level monsters, but now we're at risk for more dangerous mobs. Hang on, how is it that this island was safe from monsters in the first place? What was stopping them from spawning?"

"Celestia Academy owns these lands," Childe shrugged. "I never thought much more beyond that. What sort of mob would be stupid enough to get so close to the most powerful budding fighters in all of Teyvat?"

He made a good point, but I was still uncertain. This was the Abyss Order we were talking about. Perhaps they thought they could get away with a covert invasion under the cover of the forest. There weren't many people who ventured too deep, so it would be easy to go unnoticed.

"We need to tell the Academy," I decided.

Hilichurls weren't the only unusual lifeform wandering this forest, but they were the most important to address to authority.

I also thought back to the mysterious blue orb I saw floating around. Something like that would be better left to investigate on my own.

"Mommy!" Timmie hopped down from Childe's back the moment he spotted his mother waiting by the blacksmith's shop.

She ran up to him, embraced him in her arms, and cried out, "Oh, my little Timmie! Thank the Archons you're alright."

Childe muttered to the side. "She should be thanking us."

The mother pulled away from Timmie, and her teary-eyed expression shifted to something more stern. "What did you think you were doing, going off into the forest by yourself like that? Mommy and Daddy have warned you time and time again to stick close to where people can find you."

"I was just worm hunting! And then I saw the Seelie. I wanted to follow them, so I could eat the biggest frosted chocolate cake in the world!"

"Seelie aren't real," she sighed. "Your father should have known better than to fill your head up with those silly little tales."

Timmie stomped his foot. "They were real! I saw them."

"Ahem," Childe cleared his throat. "Our commission is fulfilled."

"Timmie!" The blacksmith ran out from his workplace, carrying a pouch of what I hoped was Mora.

Timmie ran up to his father and jumped into his arms. "Daddy! I was so scared. There were monsters."

The mother gasped. "Monsters? In the forest?"

"Not the kind of monsters you might be thinking of," Childe laughed. "Just a few scary shadows and spooky sounds. The forest is teeming with the unknown for a little kid. You can see how his imagination might get away from him."

"Right," she nodded. "Of course, we're safe here on this island."

The blacksmith handed the pouch to me with a warm smile. "Thank you so much for finding our boy. It isn't much, but here is our payment. If you stop by the town in the future, I can have weapons specially made for you two as a show of our appreciation."

"Really?" My eyes widened. "That would be amazing."

"Since you offered, I've been meaning to get my hands on a bow with an arrow rest large enough to shoot multiple at a time," Childe said. "Is that something you can manage?"

"I've never tried something like that, but for you two I'll do my best."

"Perfect," Childe grinned and turned to me. "Well then, shall we get going?"

Teleportation number four: Not Terrible. I only needed a few shaky breaths before my body returned to normal, so maybe I won't be developing an aversion to waypoints like I thought I would. Childe was unfazed as we descended from the campus fountain.

"Dinner?" he proposed.

I shook my head. "I really want to speak with someone about the monsters we saw in the forest. You lied to the townspeople about it being safe."

"It wouldn't do any good for them to worry, now would it? I doubt any of them would be venturing into the forest, anyways. Let the Academy handle it, Lumi. They know what they're doing."

"The Academy won't know there is an issue if we don't say anything first. So, I'm going to speak with Katheryne."

"A shame I won't be joining you, then. Katheryne is a thorn in my side that I would quickly eliminate if I could. However, since she is staff, I have to hold back."

"Katheryne is nice," I said with a frown.

"I'm sure she is—if you're not on the receiving end of the Academy's discipline. Trust me, girlie, she and I haven't been on good terms ever since I flooded Pyro House."

Of course, he did. "Do I even want to know the details?"

"A story for another time," he grinned. "Don't be too late for dinner. I'll find you."

I didn't doubt it. "Save me a seat?"

"Always."

Katheryne's nimble hands hesitated over a stack of paperwork. "Monsters, you say?"

"Yes," I nodded. "Childe and I were deep into the forest, but we were still close enough to the port town. It was a hilichurl camp, and there were seven of them total. I'm not sure what they were doing there, but they captured a kid who wandered in too deep."

"Goodness!" she gasped. "Is he alright?"

"He is now."

"This is good to know." Katheryne picked up a pen and began to scribble some notes down. "There are preventative measures set in place by the Academy that eliminate the threat of mobs. I can assure you something like this will not happen again."

"What kind of preventative measures?" I asked. "How is it that they were able to spawn within the island bounds?"

"In the foreseeable future, I suggest you stay away from the forest. Celestia's students are strong, but they aren't invincible."

"What about the townspeople? Can their safety be guaranteed?"

"Yes. Trust me, Miss Lumine. The Academy is more than capable of protecting one town, and the campus is even more secure. You have nothing to worry about."

There were still questions she wasn't answering. "Does this have something to do with the Abyss Order, by any chance? Hilichurls are monsters of the Abyss, so maybe the Order's power has strengthened. If we don't do something, they could be strong enough to—"

"That's enough."

Her usual demeanor hardened in her sternness. She wore the same expression as she did back at the orphanage whenever Aether and I were caught in the middle of our schemes.

"Katheryne?"

"Miss Lumine," she melted into a polite smile. "Thank you for your intel on the situation. You have been most helpful. Please, use the rest of your free time to enjoy dinner."

"But—"

"If there are any updates, I'll be sure to let you know."

I sighed. "Okay."

I wouldn't be getting anything out of her, that much was clear. The way she responded to my questions was concerning. What could possibly be the reason behind her secrecy? If I hadn't known any better, I would have assumed Katheryne simply didn't want to alarm me, just as Childe was with the blacksmith family earlier. However, because I do know better, her reaction was suspicious.

I needed a second opinion, and one person with calculating insight and access to all things confidential came to mind.