He got dressed and headed to his house.
Lilia and Lyra were already up. Surprisingly, they hadn’t co looking for them last night—even though he knew they were suspicious about sothing.
"Morning," he greeted them with a smile.
The two girls turned toward him with their own different expressions—Lilia with narrowed eyes, and Lyra just focused on the food.
"...You’re late," Lyra muttered. "We already started breakfast."
"Didn’t sleep well," Xavier said.
Behind him, Reva walked into the house. Her eyes were half-lidded. Her body was still recovering. But the mont the girls saw the marks on her neck and her glowing red cheeks, their eyes widened.
"Hey, what’s with the marks on your neck and why are you so... red?" Lilia asked with a judging look on her face.
"Urgh~ Tell about it. There were too many mosquitoes and insects. I couldn’t sleep properly thanks to them." She yawned.
’Whoa~ How is she so natural in acting?’ Xavier asked to himself
After breakfast, Xavier stood and stretched. "Go get fresh. We might have so things to handle today."
Reva raised a brow. "We don’t have clothes, genius."
"Yeah, and this place doesn’t even have a laundry unit," Lilia added, folding her arms.
Xavier waved them off. "I’ll talk to the villagers. They might have so spare clothes lying around. Should be sothing close to your size."
Reva raised a hand. "I’m... fine with whatever. I just want to bathe."
"Good. The bathhouses are clean now. Everyone wakes up at sunrise in the village, so there shouldn’t be anyone else there. Girls go to the won’s side. I’ll take the n’s."
They split off. Xavier headed down the stony path leading to the smaller bathhouse on the northern side. As steam rose in gentle wisps above the water, he soaked in silence, letting the heat pull the tension out of his bones.
When they returned, dressed in simple but decent villager clothes, a small gathering had already ford near the central fire pit.
Elders. Farrs. Won. Hunters. Even kids, half-dozing in their mother’s laps.
Lyra leaned closer. "Why is everyone here? Does this have to do with the space rcenaries?"
Xavier nodded slightly. "Nah. This happens every morning. It’s a daily et-up. Villagers talk about whatever’s bothering them—issues, doubts, rumors, food, harvest, all that."
Soon, the elders began stepping forward one by one.
So complained about the forest soil getting harder to till.
Others asked for more dicine or supplies.
Xavier’s father, sitting cross-legged by the fire, responded calmly each ti. A few of the oldest n sitting beside him nodded and added their own advice, their voices old and slow, but wise.
And then...
The last elder stepped forward.
His face was lined deep with age. His hands shook slightly as he raised them.
"I bring a concern... a strange one," the old man said.
Xavier raised a brow.
The elder cleared his throat. "Last night... I heard it. Near the eastern edge. Howling... crying... loud... and unnatural."
The murmurs began instantly.
"Animal?"
"A wolf?"
The elder shook his head. "No... I didn’t see it. But I heard it. Over and over. Until I fell asleep. It was definitely a live being. The cries... they were intense. Filled with pain—or passion—I couldn’t tell."
Xavier froze.
So did Reva.
Their eyes t.
Reva’s face turned crimson in under a second.
’Shit.’
So elders began offering their thoughts.
"Could be soone got separated from their pack?"
"Or an injured beast crawling close to the village."
"We should form a search party—check the eastern slope."
That’s when Xavier raised his hand.
"Actually... it might be sothing else," he said coolly.
Everyone turned to him.
"It could be the spaceship. Or so tech left behind by the space rcenaries. Maybe they were testing sothing last night. Sound distortion devices. Hologram calls. Sothing like that."
So villagers nodded.
"That’s possible."
"Xavier knows more about technology now. He might be right."
But the elder who brought up the noise frowned.
"No... it wasn’t tallic. I’ve lived near beasts my whole life. That was the sound of a creature. Of sothing alive."
Xavier rubbed his chin. "Then maybe the rcs hunted an animal and kept it alive for so reason. Might’ve tortured it or studied it."
"Could be..." one of the hunters muttered.
"Let’s form a search party, after all."
But then Xavier’s father raised his hand.
"That can wait."
Everyone looked at him.
He continued. "Whatever that sound was, it’s not important right now. We have bigger problems. Food shortage. Bandits in the far western trail. If the beast doesn’t attack us, we can push it back a few days."
Everyone agreed.
Reva exhaled softly.
Xavier shot her a smug look.
And whispered, "Maybe next ti, scream quieter."
Reva pinched his arm.
Hard.
But she couldn’t stop smiling either.
The village eting ended with the sun already high in the sky. The chatter faded out slowly as people got up, heading off to their daily work. Xavier and the girls began walking back toward the house. The morning breeze had picked up, rustling through the trees that lined the path. Calm, quiet, almost too peaceful.
Xavier’s father walked beside him, silent at first. Then ca the voice.
"You shouldn’t act on your own without telling first."
Xavier turned to look at him. "Are you talking about the rcs?"
His father gave a small nod. "That too. This village—these people—they trust you now. But don’t forget they also look at you as my son. You disappear, confront strangers, co back without a word... That’s not the way things are done here."
Xavier nodded. He didn’t argue. He just kept walking, hands in his pockets.
When they reached the house, the girls kicked off their sandals and stepped inside. Lyra was already yawning again like she hadn’t slept enough.
Xavier leaned on the wall by the door and looked at them. "You guys wanna go back to the city today? I can drop you off. Or I can ask soone from the village to take you back to the checkpost."
Reva blinked at him. "Why? Are you trying to get rid of us?"
Lilia smiled. "We’re not going anywhere. This village... it’s like a nice little vacation. Fresh air, clean sky, and no noise except the birds. It’s perfect."
Lyra raised her hand slowly. "I like it here. Everyone’s nice. I don’t mind staying a bit longer."
And then she added, "Food is great too."
Xavier let out a small breath and looked out the open window. The village was quiet again. Like nothing was wrong.
He pushed off the wall and looked at them. "Alright. But rember—we’re not here to enjoy. There’s still a problem to deal with."
Reva gave him a look. "Then go deal with it, boss."
Xavier smirked faintly and grabbed his jacket. "Yeah. I will."
He stepped outside, letting the door shut behind him with a soft thud. His boots hit the dirt path as he made his way toward the edge of the village. His gaze was fixed ahead, calm but sharp. He needed to scout, plan, maybe even lure them out.
The Spade Hounds were ssing with his ho now. That made it personal.
He wouldn’t sit back.
He’d hit them first.
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