The next day, Nina left to find Clover.
Rex watched Nina go, upset. She hadn't even tried to see him after he'd left the elder's tent sulking—treated like a child even by the elder—and now she was leaving without a goodbye. Did she care so little, or was this some elder test he didn't understand?
He carefully made his way back to the elder's tent. Nina's words and the sting of the stone wall still echoed from the other day. "Um... Elder, may I come in?"
"You may, dear." A gentle response.
He entered, unsure what to expect. The elder watched him with a smile before speaking. "Why do you wish to be elder?"
He wanted to say why not? and bit his tongue, knowing that was child logic. What was the real reason he wanted to be elder?
For Nina.
But he needed more than that, or it was the same thing.
"So Nina can be happy. So others aren't forced to lead. I'll make a better tribe—one where we care about others."
"Oh?" The elder sounded surprised. "So I'm unfair and cruel?"
"No..." Rex said in a low voice. "But... I can make it better. I think."
The elder opened her arms to welcome him, and he embraced her, sitting beside her.
"There will be things you cannot fix. By forcing them, you may make them worse. Can you say you'll be able to handle never being sure if you made the right choice?"
"Why wouldn't I make the right choice? You and Nina will teach me..."
"No, dear. Sometimes the only choice is the lesser of two that hurts fewer people. Can you say you'll make that choice, and more? Every day, for life?"
For life? Rex thought. Every day sitting here, a new problem, a new hero lost and unsure, a new Nina wanting to be known...
Did he really care that much, or was he just lonely himself, wanting someone to follow?
"I don't know," he finally said, not wanting to lie.
"That's good. Not knowing is part of growing up. So let's see if we can get others to agree you're worthy of leading, versus you just telling everyone you are."
Rex nodded slowly, the weight of it settling over him. This wasn't going to be quick. This was work—real, hard, maybe-never-ending work. But if Nina could keep trying even when people frustrated her, so could he.
And with that, Rex began to learn what it meant to listen as an elder, versus just dreaming of being one.
Nina was able to get lucky with a cart making a small delivery to the last known spot of the wolf tribe. They made good time, and the tribe welcomed her, happy to see her. They wanted to throw a feast to honor the hero, but she managed to talk them down, saying she had a mission that needed doing and wanted to find Clover among them.
Clover was easy to find, being the only rabbitkin. It seemed she'd calmed a bit, not being so close to the humans. She was near a fire, drinking something, and perked up seeing Nina.
"YOU HAVE GOOD NEWS!" Clover shouted, making everyone nearby—including Nina—flatten their ears.
"Sorry, sorry! But I'm happy to see you! I didn't think it'd get fixed so fast. That's amazing!"
Nina shook her head, curbing the misunderstanding. Those nearby watched with confusion, but once Nina explained it was a mission needing more time, they nodded and gave her space, not wishing to intrude on hero business.
Clover kept trying to get closer even as Nina tried to show her the letter. The eagerness died upon reading what it said, and now she stood a bit more distant, her face falling into scorn.
Nina's ears went flat and her tail stopped moving. She didn't like Clover's shift in mood from her brother's letter. She was about to speak when Clover voiced her concern first.
"I already tried the shells. He will fail. There has to be another way—he's supposed to be more powerful."
"My brother is trying, and he's helping. He wouldn't ask for the shells if there was another way."
Clover gave her a mocking look, shaking her head. "I read the letter. It's filled with doubt and uncertainty. There's no hope. The fairies wasted their time trusting him. So did I."
Nina realized then: This wasn't really about Wolf. This was about Clover betting everything on a human and terrifying herself with what it meant if she was wrong.
"The fairies came to my brother. He didn't ask for this. Neither did I. But we're both helping, and you're not."
Both Clover and Nina noticed a few wolfkin showing concern—this wasn't the happy tribe-hero greeting they'd expected.
Nina did what she could to wave and assure the wolfkin they were just having a talk before turning to address Clover once more. Yet Clover spoke first.
"Even if I wanted to help you, the few shells I know of are in places where monsters like to gather. The tribes tend not to bother clearing them—the monsters stay away from us if we leave them be."
Nina looked at her hand, knowing what it could lead to. The odds of an ogre-level monster were slim to none, or one that was so strong...
But even if it was a weaker beast, it'd just be her fighting. Clover seemed too skittish—she'd need help.
"If you want to help the fairies, and if you want my brother to succeed, we need those shells."
The glow in Clover's pink eyes seemed to shift between hope and despair, but she finally nodded—more in acceptance than belief.
Nina and Clover were able to meet the elder of the wolf tribe easily enough, but it was a recurring theme—the shells being seen as relics of a past, not to be disturbed, feeling it was disrupting what the gods had planned.
Nina assured them her brother wouldn't ask if it wasn't to help others. He was the one who'd helped bring more mana to the weak and cured the weakness curse. Wolf wouldn't abuse them—he was trying to help the fairies with them.
That was all it took to get the elder to relent. They had great pride in her brother, seeing him as blessed by the gods with rare magic. They saw him as worthy of making choices they should follow.
The potions he made gave mana to their weakest cubs, so they no longer felt shamed into abandoning their young with little mana. They even looked forward to the day her brother gave them even more, feeling he could help them ascend higher than he already had.
At first, the elder offered Nina ten of her warriors to hunt with her, but that was overkill. She didn't need ten wolves chasing her tail. As a hero, she did want help to be safe—a couple to watch over Clover and help defend if they got overwhelmed. But only two. Any more than that and it'd turn into a competition on who could praise her more.
The elder relented. And by twisted fate—or simple cause and effect—the two that were picked were the two she wanted least: Brown and Grey, the two wolves who'd challenged her sister to a duel.
Grey was the fire type, and Brown was wind... she thought so, but doubt crept in. She'd never thought she'd see them again once things settled, so she hadn't worried about their mana types.
They both bowed upon seeing her. Grey had a new staff and stepped forward first. "The elder says you have need of warriors. This is a chance for us to redeem our past. It's an honor to be with you. My name is Rellish, but you can call me Rel."
Nina's face squinted a bit. "Rel-lish?"
Rellish nodded eagerly before speaking. "My father had great pride in having a son he knew could be strong. He wanted to relish it, so he named me such—to always relish it." His tail wagged, enjoying the bad pun of his name.
Nina forced a smile, not wanting to mock him when he was trying.
Next, Brown moved closer, wanting to be included but seeming quieter, even as he spoke with confidence. "Tribe Hero. My name is Tidus."
He left it at that, waiting for Nina's reply.
Well, at least he wasn't pushy. "Just Nina, please. Everyone calling me 'hero' is tiring, and we'll be together for a while."
The wolves all looked among each other before the elder spoke first. "But you are the Hero. Why would we call you less?"
It seemed what little progress she'd made would be meaningless here.
"My name has value. I prefer to be called by it."
The wolfkin all wagged their tails in sequence, as if her words made sense. Rellish spoke first. "Of course! It makes sense—you want us to honor your name. We understand, Hero Nina."
Nina's ears flattened, her tail going still. They'd completely missed the point. Again.
She forced herself to nod, biting back frustration. Pick your battles, Nina. Save your energy for the actual mission, not fighting a losing war against worship.
The same cart that had taken Nina to the wolf tribe was now guiding them toward where Clover said the shells might be. Nina didn't like how she said "might," as if there was a chance this was a waste of time. But the two wolfkin remained positive and, surprisingly, chatty.
Nina tried to be curious, but her nerves weren't helping her mood. She cut through the chatter. "Does anyone really know where we're going? All I see is grass plains."
The outburst surprised all three of them. Rellish looked eager to explain.
"Hero Nina, we're fine! If you use your mana sense, you can feel where the shells are in time."
"Really? Even you, Clover?" Nina couldn't help but ask, knowing balance magic didn't have the same abilities as others.
Clover nodded but clarified it was hardest for her. Still, if she tried, she could feel the mana even if she couldn't use it.
The group was puzzled that their hero didn't know such a basic thing. Nina relented and tried, unsure what she was supposed to be doing.
She figured it had to be something to do with her element. With her being earth, it should be easy if she could figure it out. She recalled times when she was bored and could sense monsters—like a sonar pulse. Was that what they were doing?
She let her mana ripple through the earth, and it flowed far and wide. The closest and biggest blips in her closed mind were the three near her. She couldn't feel their mana types, but she felt them—solid, warm, present.
As the ripple expanded deeper into the plains, she started to see little stars. Only a few, but they were out there, to the... "West," she said aloud, unable to stop herself.
"Haha! See? You'd do well as a tracker, Hero Nina!" Rellish boasted for her.
"Just Nina, please. I'd rather be friends than worshiped."
Rellish bowed, saying he was humbled to be called a friend. Then they shared how they sensed things: Tidus said he could feel mana through touching the wind, same with the shells. For Clover, it was much harder—she had to keep grasping at air to guess, but she knew vaguely where to go.
And Rellish went on about his fire sight—if he sharpened it enough, he could see magic, though not very clearly. He also boasted it had a taste, but Nina stopped him there. She really didn't want to hear about him tasting objects, or the thought of how it could be applied to people if he ever went there.
Tidus's tail twitched in quiet amusement. Clearly, he'd heard these explanations before.
They asked how it was for her, and she told them it was a ripple in the earth—she could see it from there. They confirmed with praise that they'd heard the same from others with earth magic. But they were more curious if the hero had a new secret to share.
Things calmed a bit as they got closer, but Clover seemed to be fidgeting more, confusing Nina. So she spoke up, startling the rabbit girl.
"My brother will save them."
"What? Oh, right. That's only part of my fear," Clover replied, half-listening.
That confused Nina. "Why only part? In the tribe, it seemed to be your only fear. There's more you're not saying?"
Clover looked uncomfortable, proving there was. Nina relented. "I'm not trying to pry. I just need to know—will it affect us?"
Clover shook her head, saying the other fear was for people she wanted to keep safe. She had to leave them to help the fairies here. And humans were a threat to them.
A rival to humans? Nina knew kingdoms beyond the one they lived near existed, but why would the plains hold a secret that humans would wish to hunt? They only hunted monsters... and there hadn't been a war in a hundred years. In fact, she hadn't heard of any beyond the retellings from elders as cautionary tales, explaining why they chose peace.
Yet the look from Clover held a hidden secret that could mean a new war. And she'd still risked coming here for the fairies.
It still ate at Nina, not knowing why the rabbit clan felt they couldn't trust humans.
"There hasn't been a war in many years, and we tribes live free. Why do you still live in fear?"
The two wolfkin's ears perked up, noticing the talks shift to darker topics, wondering where this would go. Clover just shrugged her shoulders before speaking.
"There are others like us humans would fear and hunt. That's all I can say. I don't want to bring them danger."
Like us? So another beastkin race, hidden even from beastkin tribes? That would be an interesting secret—one that could spiral if not handled carefully.
"I sense a lake. I think the shells are near there," Tidus said, shifting the talk.
Nina was happy they were finally getting near and would be able to end this. She pulsed her mana to sense the shells—they were indeed close. But her blood ran cold.
Despite the clear sunny sky and empty plain as far as eyes could see, she felt a massive coiled form near the water. Yet nothing was there.
She did it again. This time, the form shifted, sensing the mana touching it. Still, nothing appeared.
"Her—uh, Nina? You look worried. Is something wrong?"
This had happened once before, long ago. Coby had caught it then, and it had almost killed her. A shadow beast. And it was here.
"There's a giant snake hidden near the lake. I can't see it, but I can sense it with my mana."
The two wolfkin each flared their mana, checking in their own ways. Both grimaced. "Indeed, it's there," Rellish said, his usual cheer gone. "And it's coming this way..."
Tidus nodded, staff already in hand.
Clover panicked, unable to sense it the same way. "Where? How big? I don't—"
Nina pulsed her mana again. The coiled form was closer now. Moving through the grass. Tracking them.
"Big enough," Nina said quietly, "that the shells might not matter if we don't survive this."
They'd known there was a chance danger would find them—it was why she'd gotten help. But she hadn't expected it to be hidden in plain sight, aware of them, and closing in.
The plain was still sunny. Still empty. Still peaceful.
But something massive and invisible was closing in, and they had nowhere to hide.93Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYvOYigc30
and then Add to home screen.