A little girl was walking by herself as she explored the Inn. Even though she was currently walking in the in garden behind the Midnight Manor, this was the most beautiful ce she had ever seen. But she was not lost in wonder as she explored this new terrain. No, she was scouting this new and probably dangerous ce, no matter what Grandma Noo said. As a 7-year-old, she was already a big girl now, so she had to do her part in keeping her family safe.
Speaking of family, hers was the equivalent of royalty back on Vegus Minima. Grandma Noo told her that her parents were the strongest natives of the, and before the arrival of the Jotun forces, they used their own power to protect thergest remaining human sanctuary on the.
Although it was a city, it housed nearly 10 million people, all of whom were under her parents’ protection for almost 200 years. The little girl, La, had grown up hardly ever meeting her parents, since they were always fighting zombies, and spent most of her time under Grandma Noo’s care. That care, on a such as Vegus Minima, took the form of extreme discipline and training. Not a day in her life had gone by, as far as she could remember, that Grandma Noo didn’t strap down and bound a zombie, and then made her kill it.
She had grown up under the constant threat of annihtion, so the sudden change on the caught her unaware and she could not cope. Many people told her that she was safe now, and didn’t need to worry, but she could not adapt. So she continued her training and maintained her vignce.
This morning, Grandma Noo told her that her father had been appointed governor of Vegus Minima on behalf of the Jotun Empire, and once things were finally settled, she would be able to live with them soon. Then her Grandma brought her here, in wait for her parents, who were apparently somewhere far away.
But while her Grandma said this ce was safe, La would not risk anyone’s life, and so took it upon herself to scout the area.
She saw a lot of strangely dressed people and strange animals. Though they looked to be non-hostile, she kept her distance, and a dagger neatly tucked into her sleeve. That is when she encountered her first threat, and it was extremely menacing.
It had an oval head, with a beak sharp enough to pierce through a man. Its eyes were hidden in a streak of ck feathers, with white streaks surrounding the ck like war paint. It had a long, blue neck to give it extreme reach, and the feathers behind its neck had opened up into a massive fan. Dozens of eyes were imprinted on the feathers, all staring at La, as if ready to hunt.
Just as she was about to grip her dagger, one of thedies wearing the Inn uniform approached her.
“This bird is called a peacock. It’s extremely gentle and loving, you do not need to be afraid.”
“I am not afraid!” La quickly said, though her eyes were still focused on this obvious predator.
“My name is Valma. What’s your name?” thedy asked with a smile.
La, however, did not reply, and eyed Velma suspiciously. Was thisdy getting close to her to reach her parents? It was not the first time that had happened, and she would not let her seed.
Noticing the little girl’s wariness, Velma decided to change the topic.
“Are you here with someone? Did you get lost? I can help you find them if you’re looking for them.”
“No, Grandma Noo knows where I am. She’s very strong, so she always knows where I am!” La said, her voice carrying an underlying threat. Velma, however, only chuckled when she heard her.
“In that case, do you want me to show you around? If you want, I can ask Little Blue to let you ride on its back.”
Before La could ask who Little Blue was, Velma pointed towards a baby whale that was flying close to the ground. Behind it, Fenrir chased as quickly as it could. Though Fenrir had a higher cultivation than Little Blue, since thetter was flying, it was much quicker.
At first, the two animals looked extremely scary to La, but then she noticed the many flowers sticking out of Fenrir’s fur. Little Blue had showered Fenrir in flowers from near the greenhouse, and many of them had gotten stuck. Since then, they had started a game of tag that never ended – mostly because Little Blue would fly out of reach whenever Fenrir got too close.
After watching them for a bit, she admitted that the two animals looked cute. But the thing was… she did not understand what cute was. Instead of thinking about it, it was more of a feeling she had never felt before. She was too confused to respond to Velma.
“I’ll just go back to Grandma,” she said, deciding this ce was too strange.
“Sure,” Velma said, and apanied her back to the manor.
Inside the manor, a middle-aged woman sat leaning back in a chair in the restaurant, smoking a cigar. In front of her sat Hera, who was borating on the details of a trade agreement that Will had proposed between the twos – or more specifically, the two parties from these twos. Normally Hera would not have brought her son Jimmy with her in such an environment, but fortunately the air in the Inn was very clean, and none of the smoke from the cigar ever made it to her child, who was standing meekly behind her chair.
Just as they were in the middle of their discussion, a little girl ran into the middle-aged woman’s arms and whispered, “Grandma Noo, this ce is very dangerous. I saw a lot of monsters.”
“If it’s dangerous, then form a hunting party. We do not shy away from it,” Noo said, smiling at her granddaughter. “Look, even that little kid is here, and he’s even younger than you.”
La turned to look at Jimmy, who was peeking at her from behind his mother, andpetition shed in her eyes.
“Hmph, I’m not afraid. I’m just submitting my scouting report,” she said stubbornly, before pulling out of her grandmother’s arms and eyed the little boy. “Come, you’re in my hunting party now,” she boldly dered, before pulling Jimmy away to hunt some peacocks!
Hera was hesitant, but eventually she said nothing. It was good that Jimmy finally had a chance to make some friends. On that day, in that backyard, the gant peacock warriors gathered its first two members.