"You sure are a shy little thing, aren't you?" Niya crouched and gently shifted some of Lulu's leaves with her fingers, revealing the girl's furiously blushing cheeks. "Aww, you are seriously too cute. Can we keep her?"

"I'm not translating that," Jiran shook his head with a chuckle.

"Coward!" Niya grinned as she stood and gave Lulu space to collect herself.

He ignored Niya's verbal jab and sat cross-legged before Lulu. His voice was firm but carefully free of harshness as he looked her right in the eyes, "So basically, your entire life was turned upside down by the Matron of your sect. She took everything from you and left you to die, or transcend, or whatever. The question is: What are you going to do about it?"

Her mouth opened and closed several times as she searched his face for answers. Finding only stony silence, she shook her head uncertainly, sending waves of leaves falling around her.

Do you want revenge? Are you too scared to even ask for help? Show me what kind of person you are, Lulu.

She sang her response a moment later, her voice free of rhymes as it took on a haunting melody, "I… don't know. The matron tried to take everything from me, but now it is I who am in this field with you, and not her. Is her failure not enough?" She looked up at him through her lashes, disappointed when she didn't find any approval in his features.

"It's your choice. We don't know enough about your people to know if what she did was just. You're right that she's not here and you are. As far as I'm concerned, you're the only one who's going to be guiding us. If you're satisfied with only that, then so be it." Jiran shrugged, truly unwilling to take things further if Lulu had no desire to punish the woman.

She looked down while biting her lip to hide a smile, she sang in a meek tone while holding her hands in her lap "W-what do you think I should do?"

"We can’t answer that for you, Lulu. We won't be here for long and you're the one who will have to live with the consequences of whatever you choose. When you figure it out, let me know. Okay?"

Lulu nodded and once more fell into silent contemplation while Jiran translated her words to Niya and Mayalyn. "Chin up! We won't let them hurt you again," Niya threw her arm over Lulu's shoulders, hoisting her up to lead her back toward the forest's edge.

Mayalyn shuddered and rubbed her shoulders, leaning against Jiran as they walked behind, "She reminds me of myself before we met. I was so weak, unable to even make my own choices in life."

“What?! That’s not true at all! I couldn’t walk two steps through Azurelight without hearing about how willful you were. Didn’t you refuse to even meet most boys, going so far as burning a dress your sister sent you instead of going to a dance? You went against tradition constantly. Not only shouldering your Great-grandfather’s legacy, but you also explored and hunted alone. You’ve been my fierce, sassy princess since long before we met.”

Her jaw dropped further with each word until moisture began to pool in her eyes, threatening to spill out. She wrapped her arms around his bicep, hugging it fiercely to her chest as she mumbled into his shoulder, “Thank you.”

Jiran wore a huge grin as he looked down at the top of her head, tempted to nip playfully at one of her ears, but before he could, Lulu stiffened and spun around, suddenly full of zeal as she looked at each of them in turn, "Why did you, sorry. I meant to say: What did the prophecy mean that we would be unable to give you what you seek? I have always wondered, everyone has. Now that you are here, I was so nervous I forgot to ask."

"We're looking for tier seven beasts. I'm not convinced your prophecy is about us."

Lulu mouthed ‘tier seven beasts,’ clearly finding the words unfamiliar. Jiran quickly realized why she was so confused. "You don't know what the tiers are because you don't have a status. Tiers are how Madra, or the system, ranks us by power. That reminds me, why are even the kids in your sect tier three?"

“Madra? System? Tiers? I‘m so sorry, I don’t understand,” She wilted, leaves falling like rain as her earlier excitement drained away along with the color in her face.

Niya rolled her eyes at Jiran before wrapping her arm around Lulu again, "he's not going to get mad if you don't know how to answer something. Don't be scared." Lulu stared at Niya’s mouth, watching every movement of her pronunciation. Despite not understanding a word, Niya’s tone and physical reassurance caused her fear to evaporate. Lulu tried to hide her smile but her freshly wilted leaves couldn't grow nearly fast enough. Niya made an excited, girly squeal as she carefully watched every one of Lulu's shy movements, "so cuuuute!"

"That is enough, Lulu is too embarrassed, think smartly," Mayalyn nudged Niya from behind, prompting her to release the cornered timberling. Her voice was soothing as she patted Lulu’s shoulder gently, “Also terrified. She lose everything from one wrong word. Now, afraid it happen again.”

Jiran nodded, "They’re both right, Lulu. We won't get mad if you can't answer a question, especially if it’s so poorly worded. I'll try to phrase my questions in a way that’s easier to understand. We’re both learning about each other, and our homes and peoples are both very different. How about this: What's the strongest beast that you know of?"

"The hunters of the hives," She answered instantly.

"Will you tell us more about them?" Jiran urged her with a reassuring smile.

"Certainly! They come in groups, often in the night, but sometimes in the sunslight.” After Jiran translated, the group laughed at the rhyme that snuck into her enchanting song, prompting her to blush furiously. She pressed on, determined to show that she could be useful, “I have only seen them once. They dove from high above on wings of darkness. Five of my sectmates were gone in a moment, one second we were happily walking together, and the next, they were dead and being carried away through the sky." Lulu shivered at the memory.

Jiran zeroed in on her words and the mental image they provoked. He stretched his aura higher into the air at the expense of less ground coverage, a small part of him hoping to catch one immediately and sate his curiosity, "Could you see them moving? Or were they too fast to perceive?"

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"I could see them clearly, though they were much faster than me."

"This fast?" Jiran pulled just enough of his aura inside himself to activate Oneness, moving to the treeline and back at around seventy percent of his maximum speed. Lulu's mouth was still falling open by the time he made it back, her follow-up gasp loud in the still night.

"N-no, n-not nearly that f-fast."

"Jiran, you shrelkfucker! Don't scare her like that!" Niya stood between him and Lulu with her hands on her hips.

He grinned, "I thought if she knew we were strong, she wouldn't be as scared around us. If the hive hunters aren't as strong as us, and they're the strongest beasts around, then at least we know we can relax a bit." Jiran poked his head around Niya to make eye contact with Lulu, "We’re much stronger than we look. We'll protect you from the hives, the Matron, or anyone else who wants to mess with our guide. You're safe now, so no worries, okay?"

"O-okay," She nodded and Mayalyn’s thumbs-up from behind the girl was all the confirmation he needed to know his actions and words had reassured her a great deal.

"What about your people? Is there really nobody who's ever been strong enough to kill a hive hunter? How does your strength compare to your best soldiers and hunters?"

"Oh, the Sect of Conflict has many strong warriors. I would lose quickly to even their weakest members. They live to battle the hives, though they are no match. Many claim to have killed a hiver, but there has never been a corpse to prove their tales. As for our hunters, their bows are powerful but only used to kill weak beasts who grow within the heartlands. They are not fighters like those in the Sect of Conflict. Uhm, what is a soldier?" She asked meekly, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.

"Soldiers are professional combatants who wage war." Jiran supplied.

Lulu’s mouth opened into an O-shape before she shook her head, "We have not waged war since before the oldest transcended took root in the valley. There are songs of our ancestors battling against tides of beasts but we have had no such invasions in hundreds of years."

When Jiran translated, Niya sputtered, shaking her head in denial. "How can they not have any soldiers? What do they do when the beast waves come?"

Jiran didn't bother translating her question, "They probably don't have beast waves like we do. Mayalyn's island didn't have beast waves either and I've barely seen any animals while we've been here. I doubt mutations get out of control like they do in the empire, and without a spawning season, why bother with a huge army?” Jiran turned back to Lulu, “How many Timberlings are there? Do you know?"

"Oh yes!" Lulu nodded enthusiastically, "Each of the twelve sects has exactly ten thousand members and is led by a Matron. Then there are the seven great elders.”

“Exactly ten thousand? How can you be sure?” Jiran wondered.

“Uhm… because that is how many there are? If someone dies, then the next birther in the sect that lost a member would be selected to breed. Morasttaraka will be very disappointed to learn she must wait for another death now that you have saved me.”

“Are you saying your people can’t conceive until someone dies?”

“Yes, that’s right. There are twelve-thousand and seven timberlings, that number has never changed. Wait, is that not the same for spir-your people?”

“Nope, not at all. What would happen if someone tried to give birth before someone died?”

“Oh! That is taboo! You could steal a sectmates place in the queue on accident, which is a felling offense. Worse still, if there were no deaths, the bud would be still upon birth. A great tragedy that is avoided at all costs.”

“But that’s impos—Wait! Maybe it’s tied to why your tiers are all the same. That reminds me of my earlier question, are all of you born with the voice skill you have? The one that I’m blocking with my mana.”

She held her hands up to her throat while nodding, “Yes? We are each connected to the song at birth, though we cannot sing it until maturity. Is that strange as well?”

“So Timberlings really are born at tier three. Yeah, definitely strange.” Seeing Niya glaring at him, Jiran cringed, “Uh, sorry if those were sensitive subjects or if I was being rude, I can get a bit carried away when I’m curious.”

“No! I mean, yes, to some, but I am happy I was able to answer!” She smiled sweetly while blinking at him, clearly expecting something.

Mayalyn, being able to taste the girl’s emotions, responded by patting her on the head and whispering, "Good job," to which Lulu's expression blossomed into a vibrant, toothy smile.

They reached the edge of the forest and entered into the protection of the tall trees. Their glowing vines splashed soft light around them, illuminating Lulu as she sighed in relief at no longer being under the open sky. Her posture relaxed as she slumped against one of the trees, breathing deeply with her eyes closed. She idly reached out and snagged one of the violet, glowing vines. She brought it to her mouth and began making soft, suckling noises.

Jiran's eyes flew open as Mana Omnis observed an outflow of density from the vine, which rapidly turned to mana, flooding her system. Without a moment's hesitation, he gently snagged one of the vines. It was soft and smooth beneath his fingers while radiating with enough density to leave a pleasant tingle that raced across his skin.

image [https://i.imgur.com/sj5dT5M.jpg]

With a shrug, he popped it into his mouth. An explosion of sweetness flowed from the vine. As the thick sap mixed with his saliva, it became just thin enough to swallow, leaving him instinctively working at the vine in a way that made similar suckling noises to Lulu’s.

"What the heck, Jiran!" Niya looked at him like he was crazy as he began to suck harder at the surprisingly smooth density coming out of the vine. He ignored her, closing his eyes and leaning against the trunk next to Lulu while he enjoyed the completely new experience of being fed by a tree.

It wasn't long before Mayalyn snagged a vine and joined them, all three making noises that would have left any soldier blushing. Niya didn't know where to look and eventually gave up with a growl. She angrily snagged her own vine, only to make a happy mumble as she discovered how sweet the nectar that oozed into her mouth was.

Definitely not how I saw this day going but this is what adventure is all about! Going to strange new lands, sucking on strange new things. In the entire history of the empire, we're the only imperials who have ever done this. Maybe I won't go bragging about it at the next tavern I'm in, but when I look into their eyes, I'll know.

Anyway, it seems like these Timberlings live an oddly sheltered existence. No wars and no major beast invasions like the empire. With these trees being both their ancestors and their food source, and the relative safety of the valley, it's unlikely they've even considered leaving. Their population is static as well, why leave to expand when you literally can’t?

That only leaves the hives to consider. What kind of beasts only come into a forest to kill a few at a time before leaving? That sounds a lot like the alphas on the Jeweled Isles. But what would high-tier, intelligent beasts want with tier three Timberlings? There wouldn't be much density in it for them. It’s probably not for sport either. And Lulu said the beasts weren't close to the speed I showed her which was about equivalent to a tier six. So maybe tier four or five, but intelligent enough not to permanently kill off their food source?

Guess I'll find out at first light. It's time these hivers learn what it's like to be hunted.

Jiran grinned around the thick vine in his mouth.