The tool worked far better than Theo could have ever expected. A nostalgic smile spread across his face when he looked at the food being cooked over the campfire.
From afar, the apes continued staring in their direction. Yet none of them dared to enter the large area where the steam was spreading. It was as if they were repulsed by it.
When Theo grew curious as to what it was made of, Rhys and Lucien simply told him to forget about it.
The recipe, apparently, was a closely guarded secret of a rchant family that had risen to nobility thanks to the tool.
Theo hadn’t realized that people could rise to nobility in such ways. It made him understand that power ca in many different forms. So could create the best products, while others could destroy the best products. Yet in the end, everything brought results.
When they finished eating, there were still a few fillets of at that were fully cooked. Then was when Theo got a sowhat bad idea.
He chuckled and tossed a piece of cooked at toward the group of apes. They all skittered away into the darkness, but Theo noticed the grass near where the piece of at landed moving quite a lot.
Lucien scolded him a lot for it, while Rhys only smiled nonchalantly.
Soon, it was ti for everyone to sleep, taking turns to keep watch. Lucien found it a lot easier with a small group but didn’t give Theo a single chance to take a shift since he had never done it before.
According to him, giving Theo a chance was like having an additional risk that wasn’t necessary.
When it was ti to wake up, Theo saw the steam from the device had already faded. Apes had gathered all around them, and for a mont Theo felt as though they had been surrounded from every side.
He noticed one of the apes standing at the sa spot as before, making a gesture that Theo found hard to believe.
It was moving its hand in a gesture that almost felt like it was telling Theo to throw sothing toward it again.
For a mont, Theo felt like he was dreaming. Still, he asked Clara for another piece of at. When no one was looking at him, he tossed it to the sa spot.
This ti, none of the apes ran away. Instead, several of them leapt forward, their arms stretched out, trying to catch the at.
The one that had asked for it didn’t get it.
Another one did.
And that imdiately started a new fight among them.
Lucien looked at Theo with death in his eyes, making Theo chuckle awkwardly. Still, Theo felt like he had seen a different side of the apes, and the beasts in general, than what he usually imagined.
Soon, they began traveling deeper into the forest again. This ti, there was a new addition to the party.
The panther now walked alongside Lucien, even though it had only been a day since it had been tad.
Theo kept sneaking glances at the new beast from ti to ti, unable to hide his surprise.
It was walking as if it had always belonged by Lucien’s side.
There was no fear or anything in its eyes, nothing that would make one think it was saying, "I have been forced into this contract!"
Theo didn’t understand it at all. Then again, he realized he had never done anything like this before. Insects were a lot better and easier to ta.
When Theo got a little closer to it, he noticed spots of dried blood on the panther’s body. The panther glanced sideways at him, or more importantly, at the mantis. It was on its toes in front of the mantis as well.
Once they reached the sa depth of the forest again, Theo saw the mantis already leap onto one of the trees to begin hunting while they continued moving forward.
"We will try to find solitary beasts now, the ones who have their own territory, Theo," Lucien muttered.
Theo nodded and looked around.
He noticed that at this depth, the forest seed surprisingly scarce when it ca to beasts.
The beasts that they had seen and defeated yesterday were nowhere to be found. It was as if they had been the only ones left in the area and had already been killed by the group.
They kept walking for so ti until Theo suddenly received a ssage through the bond, making him halt.
When Rhys noticed that, he smiled. He didn’t know if Theo was the one whose instincts had beco this sharp.
"Sothing is keeping an eye on us," Theo muttered as he looked around. He drew his sword from its scabbard.
They waited there for a few minutes, but the beast didn’t reveal itself.
Until Theo got a crazy idea.
He walked over to Rhys and Lucien and slowly muttered sothing to them. When he was done, one still had a sleepy expression while the other frowned.
"Are you sure? We will be close," Lucien said, looking around cautiously.
Theo simply smiled and nodded, making Lucien sigh.
The ssage was conveyed to the attendants as well, and Clara found it hard to leave Theo’s side. It wasn’t easy to make her understand, but once Theo managed to do so, they all started moving further ahead.
Theo stayed in one place and waited.
He asked the mantis, who was perched atop a tree, whether the beast was still nearby, and the mantis replied with a ntal image of a nod.
Ti passed, and Theo began to feel like the beast simply didn’t want to approach him. Just as he turned his back and started walking toward the group again...
Theo felt like sothing had entered his spatial awareness.
He instantly swiped his sword backwards in a curved slash, but before the blade could reach it, the beast had already dodged.
Theo locked eyes with the beast and frowned in confusion as he realized what it was.
It was another panther, the sa kind Lucien had tad, just a level lower.
Theo steadied himself and glanced at the beast’s claws, which were already turning brownish in colour. It seed both the parties were finally ready to fight.
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