“And that, kits, is why days get much longer than nights the further South you go.” Holding back a chuckle, I asked the eager younglings who were chirping wildly for more morsels of knowledge. “Any question?”

“Is that why the North is so cold!?”

“If the world is spinning, will we fall off one day!?”

“I heard that you are trying to sedu-”

With a smile befitting that of a loving youth tender, I immediately gave the bumbling bєar his just reward. As the piece of candy flew into the cub’s mouth, his eyes began to widen at the sweet taste of honey, as well as the realization that two more candy bags were once again in his hands.

Ignoring the ensuing screams and scuffles, I leaned back into the chair and listened to the plea for tea from my poor, poor throat. After a few sips, a sense of reinvigoration swelled up within me, signaling my readiness to take on the world once more.

Truly, I had to thank the kit for giving me such a wonderful break!

Speaking of which, it appeared that the clash for candies was already over, with different groups now sharing their spoil in neat little circles. The advantage of standing so close to an ignorant prey definitely played a factor, though I suspected that some had also been lying in ambush, as if expecting a repeat of yesterday might happen…

Ah well, kits would be kits and what not.

Clapping both paws to get the class’s attention, I motioned for Ichay to bring in the world representer. Hopping over a deadbeat bєar, the little bὕnny delivered her due before beating a hasty retreat.

“Thank you, Bun`Ichay. Now, as you can all see, sunlight always touches the Southern part of Frthea first and leaves it last.” I demonstrated with the construct, making sure that everyone could have a clear view. “On the other paw, the Far North barely receives any warmth. As a result, it is not only extremely cold up there, the night also dominates the land, with Evernight being the clearest example.”

Hearing my explanation, ohhh and ahhh filled the nest as everyone took turns to get a closer look at the Bright invention. Soon however, one curious cat raised her hand up in puzzlement.

“Big sis, why are we not getting thrown off the ground if that thing keeps spinning like this all day?”

“Yeah! Big sis, tell us!”

“I don’t want to fly in the sky, I’m too young to die!”

Shaking my head in amusement, I watched as the whelps began to whip themselves into a wild frenzy. Before I could calm their worry, though, a squʝrrel had already stolen the spotlight.

“Everyone, listen up!!!” The squirt screamed with a voice much louder than her figure would suggest. “You won’t get to fly anytime soon! There is something called “gravity” that makes sure only those with wings like me can do so!”

“Really!?”

“We’re saved!!!”

“How did you know?”

“Of course I know! My mama told me!” With a twirl of her bushy tail, the kit pointed one hand up in the air with the smuggest smirk possible on her face. “She said that Ser Mourin taught everyone that! So it can not be wrong!”

“The fourth chosen!?”

“He said that?”

“Then it must be true!!!”

Screams and shouts started up again, mostly from those wanting to throw some squʝrrels out of the window for a test flight. With a sigh and a tired smile, I decided that it was time to step in and curb everyone’s excitement.

“Kits! Kits!” At the sound of my stomping, the class slowly quieted down. Those that were busy carrying the sassy squirt to a window had completely diverted their attention towards me, much to the squʝrrel’s annoyance. “Little Osnep is correct. Thanks to “gravity”, we won’t have to worry about getting thrown off the map anytime soon.”

“Big sis, big sis!” Ignoring the fuming furball jumping up and down in the background, a bunch of kits began to blast their question. “If we pluck the feathers off some birds and put them on ourselves, will we be able to fly!?”

“No, young ones, it is more complicated than that.” I answered. “Those not already born with their own wings would find it very difficult to create some that can help them fly. It is so difficult that, only Ser Mourin and the mistwalkers have ever succeeded with such a thing!”

“That’s amazing!”

“I want to fly on the floating ships at Bright Land one day!!”

“Lame! I will become a pirate and steal your boats’ riches instead!!!”

With that, the class once again returned to mockery. As scoffs and sneers turned into pokes and pulls, the youth tenders on standby moved in with a sigh, signaling the end of our lesson.

And yet, my much deserved break did not last long, for I could barely feel the taste of tea before someone spoke up.

“But why should we believe what the fourth chosen said? Didn’t he turn into an idiot in the end?”

Following those words, a pregnant silence descended upon the nest.

Lǐons and wćlves froze mid bite.

Taʊrs were stuck with their horns locked.

Even the brats stopped trying to throw a sleeping bєar out of the window…

“Now, now. While it is true that Ser Mourin’s actions became… questionable near the end of his life, he is still known as “the Wise” for a reason.” With the last spill wiped away, I quickly gave the kits my reply. “We can’t deny the greatness of countless knowledge and inventions left behind by a brilliant mind, just because the one possessing it turned wizened with time.” Not simply stopping there, I also reminded everyone of a simple fact. “Plus, Ser Mourin might not be the first or the second chosen, but he was still a chosen nonetheless. His words, before turning mad, did hold their weight, as was proven by wise scholars from the brightest of land on Frthea!”

Like a spell being broken, the curse of silence surrounding our room was finally lifted. The atmosphere started heating up again as cubs and pups shouted aloud, competing with each other to see how wise the fourth chosen was.

Shaking my head for the many-th time this morning, my nose perked up as the scent of someone familiar crept up on us. With a smirk, I gave the class its final riddle for the day.

“Alright, kits. Since you’re all sooo smart, can you guess which invention of Ser Mourin is most important to the Horde?”

“I know! I know! It’s the lights!”

“No, silly! We can just use fire instead of lights at the gatherings! It’s obviously the pure crystals! Without them, most of the Bright inventions can’t even work!”

“You are all wrong! It’s the indoor plumbing that is the most important! Without it, we would be no different from those wyldkins living in the North!”

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“Oh my, you little ones certainly sound certain. I suppose that all of you can predict when the next blood moon happens without taking a look at the calendar, then?”

The calm, teasing voice caused the entire room to freeze up. Necks were turned while mouths got left hanging open at the sight of two towering newcomers, who had been standing amidst the sea of screaming children since who-knew-when.

“Wanderer Bun`Imit is correct, kits.” I called for everyone’s attention while doing my best to hold back the laughter. “Without this moon calendar right here, the Horde would have still remained in the dark, left to wonder when the next crimson carnage might happen.” Big, round eyes were glued to my paw as it trailed towards the bright red circles. “As you can see, there will be three more blood moons till the end of autumn. Thanks to this, we now know when to send out our expeditions in advance, as well as how much time we have until another culling begins. Without the guidance of this calendar, traversing the wild at times like these would have simply remained a deathly gambit.”

Funny, wasn’t it? To think that I used to be just like these younglings, sweeping something this important to the Horde’s survival aside, just because it was so unassuming, so ordinary to everyday life…

“You see, kits, you should not take something for granted just because it does not feel great or grand. Everything has its own part to play in the circle of life, and you would do well to remember that!”

Having said my part, I motioned for the youth tenders to take over the energized class. As the tiny horde got herded away, the two wanderers were pointed towards a table as I left to prepare more tea.

After all, with guests like these, who even needed to take it easy?

•ㅅ•

“Big sis, please take it easy… Your veins are popping up again…”

“Oh sure~ Take it easy, you said~” I gulped down whatever was left of my cup in one go, consequences be damned. “Certainly, I can choose to take it very, very easy when my own darn flock is running away from me!”

A boiling anger flowed within me, made all the worse by the growing headache our silencing stone brought. With each passing second, the frustration was burning away whatever self-control that I still had, urging me to follow the good ol saying of “might made right” and beat my problem to a pulp!

… Of course, those thoughts were stomped down as soon as they surfaced. After all, I was no dumb brute, unlike so many others…

Calm yourself, runner. You have always managed to solve whatever problems got thrown your way, and this one will be no different from the rest… Remember your lessons, remember how you kept getting out on top!

Analyze the situation. Recognize all obstacles. Cut down on variables. Then aim where it hurts!

“Imit, you said that my flock was spooked as soon as you got close, correct?”

“Huh? Uhm, yes, though I am quite certain that big bro Lunck was the one spotting me first before alerting the others. Once I was sniffed out, some kind of signal must have been used to warn the others staying at different shouting halls.” The young bὕnny looked towards his companion while finishing his report. “Especially since all of them immediately bolted for their new assignment, causing a huge commotion in their wake. They even fled the city in all directions. Right, Ellea?”

“Yes! I mean… That’s… That’s right… I was on standby…”

Now that I thought about it, anyone peeking into the room right now would have been treated to quite a sight. On one side of the table, a bὕnny was furious rubbing her fingers together with a shady shade on her face, making the taʊr in the opposite seat paler and paler as seconds passed by. The fact that said taʊr towered over her opponent, yet looked as if she was retreating deep inside the horned helmet on her face, simply added more hilarity to the mix…

Shaking myself out of the wandering thought, I looked away from the scrap presented to me and began to consider my options.

Right now, for whatever reason, my flock is not only terrified of me but also any of my close associates. Even after returning to the city, a potential messenger of mine was enough to make them want to skip lair…

Worse still, that Lunck is the first line of warning for those bunch, which means that they will bolt at the first smell of trouble. Imit is fast, but not fast enough to play catch up with his betters. None of Imun’s underlings is even remotely good enough to keep up with my own… Darn it! If only I didn’t teach my brats so well!

I need stealth for this… Stealth… Hmmm…

Once again, I found myself looking at the scrap of cape on the table. In his hasty flight, the punk had failed to leave no trace behind. The musky smell of a whiny wćlf was still there, easily preservable with the equipment I had on paw.

With this, the backbone of a trap had already begun to form inside my head, though there was still the problem of finding suitable recruits for this task first.

*Tick*Tock*Tick*Tock*

Time was ticking, just like how the timekeeper revealed that our day was fast approaching its end. With a sigh, I led my two guests outside and told them of their next task, even when the storm brewing in my mind was nowhere near as calm.

At the moment, my role as a special caretaker still shielded me from the judging stares. Nonetheless, the longer I failed to rein my own flock in, the weaker I would appear to everyone else, and it would just be a matter of time before someone used it as an excuse to question my worth...

•ㅅ•

“You know, it was surprisingly deep and pleasant.” That was what he said. “Now that the initial shock and nausea have worn off, I actually find the whole thing amusing, as a matter of fact.”

“Um hum. So, what sort of forbidden fruit did the old geezer feed you this time? Must be something tasty, given your good mood~” Pausing slightly, I turned to look at my ward with a deadpan expression. “... Please don’t tell me that he showed you his porn stack.”

“What!? No! Of course he didn’t…” Hiro quickly denied, though I did hear some suspicious words like ‘so they have that here as well’ and ‘maybe just a little look, just in case’...

Note to self, ask elder Ruink to write an order of cease and desist immediately. I am not going to take responsibility for corrupting an “innocent noble”, indirectly or not!

“Anyways.” Snapping himself out of a not-so-wholesome thought, my ward eagerly replied to my previous query. “We actually spent the day talking about the importance of divine blood and how it gets passed down. You want to know something funny? Just before this, I didn’t even realize how significant black hair was in this world!” Twirling some strands on his head, the scion added. “Really changed my perspective, honestly!”

“... Uh huh.”

“I mean, I did read all those books from the archives, but it was strange that none of them mentioned anything about this. Weird, huh?”

“Well sorry that we don’t have things you must have been so used to back at home. Most of us here much prefer to talk about this kind of topic mouth-to-mouth instead.”

“Understood, understood. Different strokes for different folks, right? And by the way, I didn’t expect that there would be so many things to watch out for, just to prevent one’s bloodline from getting diluted!” The boy continued with his raucous rambling, not paying any mind to the cold foods. “Quite hilarious, if you think about it. I mean, seriously, only the chosen ones can have multiple partners and more than two children without thinning the divine blood? Who even thought of something like that? And everything is shown through the darkness of the hair? It is just ridiculous that blah blah blah blah blah blah pure black hair blah blah blah blah blah blah grayed black hair blah blah blah blah blah blah barely black hair blah blah blah blah blah blah BLAH.

“Isa ! Isa!”

“... Huh? Yes? Isa’s listening.”

“You were spacing out for a moment… Is everything alright?”

“Sorry. I just… had a really long day, that’s all.”

Slowly, silently, both of us began to dig into our dish once more. Soon enough, an awkward silence descended upon the room, broken only by small sounds from meals to mouths.

It was long after both plates were empty that I spoke up.

“You will need to work at the nest soon.” After a while, I added. “Wylder children can be, intense, especially when compared to their peers at Bright Land. Thus, to ensure that there are no hazards during your time there, I have volunteered you for inventory duty.”

“Which means that I will stay in a room all day to minimize contacts with potential problems, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then.” With a slight scratch of his head, my ward said. “Can I choose another role?”

To say that I was left speechless would be an understatement. Had this guy thrown all the warnings I gave regarding those little devils out of the darn window!?

“I still remember the horrors! I swear!” Seeing my bafflement, the boy quickly spoke up. “Still… Someone once told me that I couldn’t just stay cooped up inside a room all day, just to avoid the struggle happening outside.” I could not help but blink at those words. “So let me help, Isa. Let me show you how far I have come. I promise that I will not disappoint you.”

… Right.

This was Hiro.

This was my ward turned fledgling that I had been watching over all this time.

The very same person that continued to surprise me at every turn, and someone that I could not hate for long, no matter how irritating it might get…

“This is so like you… One time felt bad enough… Still, I won’t change-”

“Isa? What’s wrong? Are you ok!?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I just got some salt into my eyes, that’s all…”

And so, both of us talked late into the night, planning and scheming to win over the tiny horde of terror. I came up with a foolproof plan, Hiro decided to be a fool and questioned my masterstroke. In retaliation, I waited until my fledgling busied himself with a cup of water before revealing to him the dark secret of lǐons…

“Hey nice, did you know that in terms of abandoned traditions, the reason lǐons no longer approve polygamy is because those with divine blood are jealous of their lessers due to not being able to make a harem without risking their gift? Despite the claim of progressiveness from those at Prǐde’s Heart, there’s no doubt in everyone’s mind that petty jealousy is the true culprit.” Pausing to take a small breath, I read out the rest of my scandal sheet. “No other clans come close to this level of cover up. Also, fun fact, even when a lǐon tried to pull out of his second mate fast enough, the first mate would still give birth to new offsprings of greatly diluted hair color!”

Despite having to wake Hiro up afterwards, the look on his fainting face was, undoubtedly, priceless~