Although I was grateful for us getting to play in the plains all day, every day, I wasn’t thrilled about my master constantly telling me to dig. I mean, sure I like digging since it gives me an opportunity to eat some snacks when Teival’s not looking but doing it all the time is making my mood sink into a pit. I do get lots of ear scratches afterwards, so I suppose I can’t complain too much about that but still, “I demand to have some other form of entertainment!”

Saying that, I guess it’s times like these that you have to take to heart the old adage, ‘be careful what you wish for’, since Teival did indeed add a new form of ‘entertainment’ to my days in the plains. Maybe it would be more correct to deem the activity as: Teival’s Target Practice! I sighed as I suffered another wet ball to the face from my master. Of course, the wet balls didn’t really hurt…except maybe my pride.

One consolation from this turn of events was my connection to the land appeared to have strengthened over the two weeks we trained. “I wonder if it was because of the digging.” While licking my fur, I also noticed how the quality had improved – shining with a gorgeous lustre that I bet sibling No.5 would have been exceptionally envious over. Maybe I should ease down on the complaints, since I imagine Teival was only trying to make me more beautiful and comfortable…and he did provide extra treats whenever I made a fuss.

As for other events that transpired during our two week break from Halhol, that is school, there happened to be a few that occurred. One such thing that caught my attention was how Teival and I weren’t the only ones to utilise the open space of the plains for training. I believe I saw all the children doing stuff with their crystal beasts, although not all together. It seems that it’s not the done thing to train with other people, since those who did ended up sparring with one another.

While sneaking glances at these spars, I realised that quite a few of the crystal beasts exhibited an ‘ability’, much like Michael’s mantis and the crystal termites from Old Home. I wondered whether the reason for Teival’s insistence on my excavating was in the hopes I’d develop an ability myself, though I didn’t really see how digging better would be useful in a fight to be honest. I could only casually observe from a distance since my master often made us change locations whenever the other children appeared. I assumed it was to avoid any confrontations, which I had no opinion on unless it was against Mr Stripey.

On the last day before Teacher was supposed to return, an unusual incident happened involving the majority of the village. If others were asked, they’d probably say it was a terrifying ordeal that left them traumatised, however I found it to be incredibly exciting! We were training in the plains – as had become the norm these past two weeks – when we heard a sonorous ringing resound from the village patrol.

Having been a resident of the village for only a few months, I had never experienced this sound before – however Teival seemed to have understood. His face changed from smiling and laughing at my sodden self, to serious and wary. I tilted my head at him in question over his reaction, to find myself being whisked off my feet and carried towards the village. Around us, I heard scared screams from some of the girls and boys who were also rushing back to the village.

Curious as to what was happening, I crawled up Teival’s chest and rested my head over his shoulder to peer at the cause for our retreat. Wolves. Or, more specifically: crystal wolves. There seemed to be around twenty of them, the size of adult humans, running at full speed in our direction. Their teeth seemed to be formed of a light green crystal, with their fur shimmering the same colour that entranced me. “So pretty.” I thought, before seeing one pounce on a patrolman – who had passed us a few moments before – and gouge his throat out with its sharp claws. “…The red clashes with the green.”

As we were approaching the boundary of the village, I saw one of the crystal wolves alter its course and chase after us. Not wanting to weigh Teival and bring danger to him, I scrambled out of his arms and barked at him to run faster. I assume he understood my concern, since we passed the crystal boundary within seconds before hearing an almighty thud followed by a crackling sound behind us. I turned to the source and noticed the crystal wolf that was on our – my – tail was collapsed outside the boundary with smoke rising off its burnt fur. “Ooh, so that’s what the barrier does! I wonder why it doesn’t affect me and the other children’s crystal beasts.”

Examining the crystals, I noticed strange symbols surrounding and interlinking each one. I would have loved to analyse it some more, however I got pushed away by a man who went to replace some of the dimmed crystals. All around us, I heard screams of panic from the children of the village – with their parents calling out their names before guiding them back to their homes.

Not concerned about the other children, I sat next to Teival and soaked in the scene of carnage before me. A lot of the adults had vacated the village with their crystal beasts and were fighting against the crystal wolves. I saw many of them chanting their spells while their beasts bore the brunt of their foe’s ferocity. I have to admit, the fight was frenetic and frenzied with blood spilling over the dry, brown grass in most places close to the boundary.

I noticed Dinara with that nasty woman who had that crystal eagle. The woman seemed to show concern for Dinara, cupping her hands on the girl’s face before kissing her head and pushing her towards our home. Observing the woman’s actions, I watched as she blew into a crystal device similar to the one Teacher used to signal the start of sparring sessions, and witnessed that evil eagle dive down and smack into a crystal wolf.

I have to say…I’m surprised I even survived being in that monster’s talons a few months ago! That eagle was humongous! It actually sliced open a crystal wolf’s back before ripping its flesh out with its incredibly sharp crystal beak. If that wasn’t all, it even carried the carcass in its claws and threw it at another crystal wolf! I felt faint from imagining what could have happened to me back then and was immediately thankful for Teival’s efforts in getting the woman to call it back.

Since all the other children had vacated the vicinity, Teival and I moved to a nearby home and hid behind its wall. I noticed Teival avidly analysing the adults as they defended the village, and so poked my head through his legs and also continued watching. From the start of the siege to now, I counted twelve adults not moving anymore with pools of blood enveloping their bodies.

It reminded me of when sibling No.2 got bitten and stopped moving – as well as sibling No.3 when they stopped breathing. Thinking on it, I soon came to the realisation that it was like when I ate the crystal termites…they were no longer alive. Seeing the scene as predators taking on prey, I soon understood that the humans were the prey to the crystal wolf predators. Upon comprehending this…I felt somewhat empty. “Are Mother and Father like siblings No.2 and 3?”

Before I could wallow in depression from this revelation, I was brought back to reality by Teival’s head pats. I nuzzled my master’s leg in response before glancing back at the battle. It seemed the crystal wolves were finally retreating as their numbers seemed severely depleted from earlier. Several of the human adults cheered before carrying the bodies of the fallen back inside the village. I noticed a few others severing the heads off the crystal wolf corpses before dumping their carcasses on a cart to bring in, too.

Seeing as the exhilarating event had ended, Teival and I returned to our humble abode with adrenaline pumping through us. Along the way, I overheard my master mention about wanting to get strong enough to get everyone’s admiration. I thought it a noble goal before contemplating on my own. “I want to be strong enough to defeat Mr Stripey! Oh! As well as that woman’s eagle! Hmm…how about strong enough to defeat everyone?”

Entering the room, we both flopped onto the bed while pondering over our goals. “First goal: defeat Mr Stripey. Second goal: defeat all the children’s crystal beasts. Third goal: defeat the eagle. Fourth goal: defeat all the adults’ crystal beasts. Overall goal: be given a never-ending supply of food and affection!” I wagged my tail in anticipation for my final goal before falling asleep on Teival’s stomach.