“Anyhow, we best find some shelter first,” Vishara said. “I have seen a little of what this forest has to offer. What say we avoid places with dense vegetation? How about a cave?”

Have you not watched any King Kong or any monster movies? Henry felt like shouting as such but he held his tongue and refreshed his mind before speaking again. “No. No caves. There might be giant bugs or insects.”

“Bugs and insects?” Iluna shrieked. “W-we should avoid going to caves… at all cost.”

“How do you know there would be giant bugs and insects?” Vishara questioned.

“I don’t but I don’t want to risk it,” Henry answered. To him, bugs and insects were what he was afraid of and what he detested the most. They were disgusting creepy crawlers for one and for the other reason, the one thing that could easily tear through his hide was the sickle-claw of a giant centipede.

“Then where do you propose we hide ourselves from the elements and the threats of wildlife?”

Henry pointed in the direction where he came from. “There’s a cliff there,” he said. “There are shades to protect us from the elements. It’s untouched by the florals. And with that vantage point, we can easily perceive if any… creatures approach us.”

“Good reasons but it is also very exposed for a beast of your physique. That is why I discovered you in the first place.”

“It’s still better than elsewhere unless you can find a better place right now.”

“I’m not disagreeing with you, Dragon. I’m just expressing my concerns.”

“A useless gesture. I have already had that concern taken care of.”

Vishara shrugged. “If you say so.”

Together, they quickly made their way back to the cliff where Henry and Iluna had rested themselves for a while. Of course, Vishara also rode on Henry’s back, albeit with some reluctance on Henry’s part. He did not have a good impression of Vishara as she had brought nothing but trouble to his doorstep and he had the hunch that being with her would only lead to more troubles.

“Oh, the fire has stopped,” Iluna pointed out in their flight.

Henry gazed lazily in that direction and sure enough, the fire he started was no more. Though he wondered if the fire went out naturally or due to external intervention, he didn’t ponder on it for long. Or at least he didn’t think too much about it now. He made a mental note to check it out if the circumstances allowed him to.

Once they had made it back to the cliff, Henry took on his human form and quickly went about setting up the fire.

“Is that wise, Dragon?” Vishara asked. “Isn’t shapeshifting a very draining spell?”

Henry did not answer her and focused on stoking the flames.

Vishara seemed to grasp Henry’s intent and did not bother him with any more questions. She smiled wryly and took a seat by a rock pillar a few yards away from the fire as if to stay out of Henry’s sight.

“Is there anything I can do to help, Lord Henry?” Iluna asked as she approached him.

“There isn’t. Just get some rest,” Henry said with an amicable smile.

“I can’t do that, Lord Henry. You have just fought a strong foe and now you are doing everything. Let me help, Lord Henry.”

“I understand your wishes, Iluna, but I’m afraid there’s nothing you can do to help.”

“Surely there must be something.”

“Then can you go and catch some games?”

“G-games? Do you mean for me to go hunting?”

“Yes, can you?”

“I-I can certainly try…”

Henry burst out laughing. “Be at ease, Iluna. I’m just joking.”

“I’m not, Lord Henry. I truly want to help.”

“I know but there’s nothing you can do here.”

Iluna cast her gaze down in dejection. “I’m useless…” she muttered.

Henry sighed. “We all have our own strengths, Iluna.”

“Ah, damn the thirteen hells!” Vishara groaned out loud suddenly, turning the heads of Iluna and Henry. “Oh, pardon my language. Don’t mind me,” she said, clutching her ribs.

“You’re hurt?” Iluna asked.

“It’s nothing. I’ll be fine by the morrow.”

Iluna stood up and walked over to Vishara. Henry’s gaze trailed after her curiously. “How are you hurt?” she inquired with a worried look.

“A broken rib or two, I guess. I’m not entirely. It just stings a lot around this part.” Vishara motioned at the spot under her armpit and above her waist.

“Don’t move,” Iluna said and placed her hands at the place where Vishara had pointed at. Drops of green glitter appeared around her hands as a splash of warm light enveloped where Iluna was touching.

“Huh, it doesn’t hurt anymore…” Vishara muttered. “Healing magic.”

“A miracle, Lady Vishara,” Iluna answered. “A gift and grace of… Luviera”

“You don’t need to address me as ‘Lady,’ milady. I may be a sovereign once but no longer. I’m just a wanderer now, a vagrant. I’m not even half of who I once was. But thank you, milady.”

“You’re most welcome, V-Vishara.”

“You can just call me Vish, milady. I can just call you Iluna in return, how about it?”

“No,” Iluna’s voice was firm. “We are acquaintances at best. I do not believe in friendships formed out of desperation or duress.”

“As you wish, milady.”

Iluna bowed and returned to Henry’s side. “I’m sorry, Lord Henry,” she said, plopping down right beside the fire as Henry had just finished stoking it.

“What for?” Henry asked with an eyebrow raised.

“For tending to her wounds…”

Henry chuckled. “And why do you feel the need to apologise to me?”

“Don’t you consider her your enemy? I saw how you looked at her. That’s not a gaze you will give to an acquaintance or an ally.”

“I certainly dislike her but I won’t consider her a foe, not if she shows any direct hostility towards me. She’s a blight but she’s no enemy. Moreover, we are all siblings in binds now. Our chances of survival might be higher depending on whether she has any more of the likes of the Slayer on her tail.”

“I understand, Lord Henry.”

“In any case, stay here,” Henry said and rose to his feet.

“Where are you going?”

“To catch our supper and to patrol the area. I want to make sure the vicinity is safe before we turn in for the night.”

Iluna nodded in understanding. “Be safe out there, Lord Henry.”

As Henry walked over to the edge of the cliff, he glanced at Vishara over his shoulder. The vampire caught his gaze and gave a nod of acknowledgement. Henry returned the nod and promptly jumped off the edge.

****

The environment of this strange forest was just what Henry expected. The threats weren’t the beasts or creatures that lurked in this forest. The real threats were the plants, carnivorous plants to be precise. They hid amongst the other harmless and colourful plants.

Henry first stumbled upon a small field of flowers in his patrol route and hunt. Though he initially sensed nothing wrong with the flowers, he circumvented the small flower field and as he did so, a few of the flowers sprang to life. The flowers lunged at him like vipers, even their true forms greatly resembled the aforementioned predator.

However, the viper-flowers sudden assault ended in a fashion that Henry had seen coming from a mile away. The maws within their buds that they used to chew on their prey were nugatory against Henry’s hide. Henry snorted at the viper-flowers and charred them all into cinders, burning the flower field in tandem. But unlike last time, he controlled his Fire Breath. He did not wish to start another wildfire as this place was close to where he and Iluna would be sleeping for the night.

After the small ordeal with the viper-flowers, he continued in his patrol and hunt. To his dismay, he did not see or smell any animals or creatures that looked edible. Not to say there were no faunas of any kind in the area, but simply none of them looked to be safe for consumption. He didn’t doubt he would be spared of a stomach ache due to his constitution but the same couldn’t be said for Iluna.

Henry came across a grove of trees with an abundance of fruits that resembled pears but the pears he knew of were not multi-coloured and they certainly weren’t capable of singing. Yes, these pears he came across were exuding a melody that seemed to have some kind of entrancing effect but of course, it was ineffectual against Henry.

Much like his encounter with the viper-flowers, the grove was also in her way. Instead of just walking around it, he assessed what kind of threat he could possibly face in the future. Just as he was about to act, he saw a lion prancing towards the trees in a daze, or at least he presumed the animal to be a lion. The animal was small, as small as a quarter of his paw. He even blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing things right.

Regardless, the miniature lion pranced towards the trees with a face of delight and devoid of caution. In spite of its size, the tiny lion was able to jump high. It reached the fruits with a single jump. It bit down on the pear it reached but as soon as it did, a slit appeared on the pear and it opened up into a mouth with rows of razor-sharp teeth.

“Oh, fucking hell…” Henry cursed as he bore witness to the palm-sized lion getting munched by the carnivorous pear.

Henry picked up a pebble and threw it at the nearest tree. The pebble hit the pear but the pear didn’t show its fangs.

“Hmm? Can it discern what’s edible and what’s not?” Henry wondered. As he looked around for bait to throw at the trees, he noticed thin vines creeping up on him from his blindside. “What in the name—”

The vines darted at him the moment he took notice of them.

“Sons of bitches!” Henry yelled. The vines coiled around his limbs and also his tail. The vines were swift and before he could even struggle, the vines had warped themselves tightly around him. “Fucking hell. This fucking— huh?”

Henry was prepared to struggle for his life as he waited for the vines to tug on him. However, his expectation never came true. Instead, he saw the vines tugging at him but he barely felt the vines’ strength. He was far too heavy for the vines.

“Well, this is… awkward.”

The vines continued to tug on him but he didn’t even budge. Henry simply moved his forelimb around and he easily tore himself free of the vines. Following the vines’ trail, he found out they came from underground and upon a closer look, various small creatures had also fallen prey to these vines.

Henry surmised the vines probably had only ever preyed on small creatures and their evolution did not prepare them for large predators. The vines eventually gave up and slithered back into the holes they came out from.

Henry scoffed at the pitiful vines and turned his attention back to the pear trees. It was fine to leave these trees as they were but he couldn’t shake off the feeling that his mercy might come back to bite him in the arse down the line. He thought about destroying the flora indiscreetly but he placed his and Iluna’s safety over the conservation of this forest he had no attachment.

As he drew in his breath and prepared to cut down all of the pear trees with a single Jetstream Breath, a dreadful premonition assailed him.

What the hell…?

He stopped just right before he was about to unleash his breath. His instincts were telling him not to destroy all of the pear trees. No, it was telling him to not even think about cutting down a single one.

Deciding to heed his instincts, Henry left the trees as they were, took a detour around them, and continued in his patrol and hunt.