I was just coming up the stream when I heard a baby cry. I could say with certainty that the weeping was from Viczien. I instinctively hurried to get to the source of the crying.

Viczien saw me as I came towards him through the tall grass, his crying quieter, and finally stopped. He slowly began to crawl towards me. Si accompanied him and took care that he won't injure himself.

When I was within reach, he grabbed my mane and pulled his handle towards him. The grip was firm, but the force with which he pulled would never have the strength to pull me to him. I allow it, and before I knew it, he hugged me. His face was pressed against the small mane of mine. I could still hear him sobbing, but the actual crying was over. I rubbed my head gently against his.

It took a moment before he let go of me, and I could lie down. He joined me and lay down next to me. I slowly pulled him towards me with my paw because I was worried that he could feel cold despite the magical leaves that served as clothing. I hugged him tightly, and together we enjoyed the rest.

 

=== The following day

 

Unlike yesterday, I wouldn't leave Viczien behind, so Aigle came over to pick us up.

"Finished?"

Aigle held Viczien in her arms while she looked down at me.

"Finished."

I replied to her.

"Well then, let's go."

She led me, and I followed her. Viczien was surprisingly happy in her arms and took advantage of the view from above.

We left the clearing towards the southeast. The forest was quiet, and Aigle did not greet even the trees. The mood was strange, and I found it odd that Aigle was playing with Viczien, although this oppressive feeling worsened.

I had reached a point where I couldn't go any further.

"Where are we going? You're hiding something from me!?"

Aigle turned in surprise.

"A lot, but have I given you a reason to distrust me?"

She didn't, but it was still strange.

"No."

"It's true, today is a little different, but we have the same goal as yesterday."

She turned away again and walked on. Even if I wouldn't want to follow her, she had Viczien on her arm.

I saw a light in the distance, and it seemed as if the forest would end there. Without stopping, we approached the light.

To my surprise, this was not the end of the forest but a thick fog that simply reflected the light in all directions through the rays of the sun.

“Don't touch the fog! It seems inconspicuous, but it is a magical barrier to protect the seedlings."

"Seedlings?"

“The spore wolf cubs. Even so, the spore wolf is still a wolf. These actually live in packs, and they're living behind this barrier."

She held out her free hand. A gust of wind pulled in and made the fog that blocked our view disappear.

The view that was revealed to us was that of a contaminated land. The trees were dead, the ground was dry. I was sure that no animal, bird or mammal, would dare set foot on this cursed land.

"They are coming."

Aigle warned me before I could perceive any movement.

"How many are there?"

"Around twenty."

I looked at her blankly.

"And how am I supposed to defeat them all?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have to?"

The first spore wolves came into view. Aigle raised her hand, and roots shot out of the ground, piercing more than half of them. The other wolves were surprised, but they regrouped and kept coming towards us.

"What should we do?"

"I'm giving you a chance to fight each of them."

She put her index finger forward and made short, quick movements. A wall of plants rose, narrowing the path between the spore wolves and us.

I stood at the exit of the walls and watched as the wolves went through the narrowing one after another.

Fire is not very suitable on these walls.

I had to rethink, so I thought about what I could do. I looked at the situation and realized that these walls were not only helpful but downright perfect for me.

The shadow of one wall fell ideally and kept the entire corridor in the dark. I reposition so that my own shadow joined that of the wall.

Darkness!

The spears came from every direction and pierced the spore wolves. None of them was spared.

Ah!

A sharp pain in my chest made me sink to the floor. The pain paralyzed me and made it impossible to move my limbs.

“So this is your limit? If you want to protect the boy, you have to get stronger. A lot stronger!?"

I didn't have the strength to answer Aigle.

She dropped Viczien down at my place and walked past me to the corpses of the wolves.

Viczien lay down on me and yawned. He wanted to sleep because it was time for his afternoon nap. Even if I didn't lay there voluntarily, I had to serve as Viczien's pillow.

I closed my eyes and tried to relax a little. Every now and then, I heard a noise from Aigle or Viczien, just like I felt how he moved back and forth.

...

...

"Hey, are you sleeping?"

Aigle's voice boomed in my head, and I reluctantly had to open my eyes.

"What's the matter?"

I looked up at her.

"Here."

She showed me the cores of the spore wolves. Each and every one of them had kept their color.

“Your ability absorbs the magic of the cores, but what effect does it have on you? Has anything changed since yesterday?"

I shook my head and signaled a no.

“Then we have to find out. You can still rest a little, and I will restore the nature into its origin in this time."

I didn't know what she meant by that, but I watched what she did now.

She trudged across the dead earth, leaving a trail of grass that grew as if by magic. Flowers bloomed between them, even though it was winter. The rotten and dead trees turned to ashes, and new seedlings appeared in their places.

She literally brought the parched land back to life.

When she was done, she came back to us. She picked up Viczien, and we started to walk our way home. My chest's pain got weaker but didn't stop.

We were halfway through when a voice spoke to Aigle.

"Guardian, Ovid is calling for you."

The voice was that of a child, probably a boy, but I couldn't quite tell.

“I know, child. Tell him I'll stop by later."

Aigle answered the question in passing, but who asked the question? And who did she respond to?

We walked a bit when I asked the question that tormented me.

"Who was that?"

"Who was what?"

“I'm talking about the voice. It called you guardian and mentioned that Ovid is calling for you."

Aigle stopped and turned to me.

"You can hear the voices of the trees!?"

She turned to a nearby tree.

"Child, ask the rabbit something."

"Rabbit, how old are you?"

The voice was a bit older this time but still not from an adult.

"About over half a year."

I answered.

"Do you understand her?"

Aigle looked at the tree.

"No, Guardian."

"This answered my question... thanks, that was all."

She turned to me again.

“You can understand the trees, but they can't understand you. You couldn't do that yesterday, am I right?"

"That's right, but I couldn't understand any of the trees on our way back either!"

Aigle went on, but her face told me that she was deep in thought.