Tai entered the secret hideout. The room was well-lit and airy, considering it was carved out of a large boulder. Miniscule holes dotted the ceiling. Tenma, dressed in a doctor's coat with tools hanging, addressed the thumblings of the ground tribe one by one.

"Kid, get ten droplets of sap from a primeva tree," Tenma laid the unconscious thumbling on the only bed in the dome-shaped building. Tai quickly left, carefully covering the entrance with the camouflage covering.

He found the primeva tree after five minutes of searching. When he was about to stab it and extract the sap, he suddenly felt bad. He did not want to hurt the tree. He pressed his palm on the tree to gain a connection with it. Nothing happened.

Did it not have a consciousness? He tried a few more times to no avail. The primeva tree definitely did not have a consciousness. That, however, did not mean he should stab it.

Tai pressed his palm on the tree, and whispered, "I know that you would never want to, but could you give me some of your tree sap? I need it to save a life." Now he felt stupid. If it didn't have a consciousness, how would it understand him?

Against all odds, the sap of the tree oozed out of pores unseen by the naked eye. Tai quickly captured each thick white droplet with his spare cloth bottle. He whispered a thank you and ran off.

...

Later that day, at sunset, Tai visited the tree. His curiosity got the best of him. After all, he just might possess the ability to command trees. He gently whispered, "grow a flower."

Somehow, it felt right to whisper, and not shout, or even command. The tree was a friend.

A peculiar affection rose from the depths of his heart.

At the tip of one of its branches, a bunch of fresh green buds sprouted at a speed visible to the naked eye. They blossomed, revealing beautiful beige flowers with yellow highlights.

At the corner of his eye, he was sure that he saw his hair glow, though it was not noticeable.

He played around with the tree for a bit, making it blossom flowers well out of its season. After a while, he realized that the tree sucked energy from his body to make them.

To his absolute horror, he definitely lost a little weight. That was unacceptable. He worked hard to get this fat.

He tried his best to guide the tree to suck the energy it needed from the soil and the sun. That did not work well. Tai peered into the inner workings its structure. Hopefully, he could see what was wrong.

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A rough structure of of the tree appeared in his mind. He zoomed in on the vessels that transport the nutrients obtained from the earth. The level of nutrients in the vessel was scarce. That was a unsettling discovery, since that meant the soil did not possess enough nutrients to sustain the forest.

But, if that was so, how was everything so lively and vibrant? Tai decided to leave that question for another day due to the setting sun.

...

"Went out to train, kid?" Tenma scribbled on his notebook without looking up. All around were makeship beds that were straining under the weight of the thumblings of the ground village. It dawned on Tai that he was quite strong to carry these adult folk to safety.

"I...was out training." Tenma didn't know of his newfound abilities, and it would stay that way for as long as he could.

"That's good to hear. Keep it up," he continued to scribble on his worn-out book. Tenma probably kept him due to his unique hair, hoping to find something special about him. He didn't trust him, no matter how much he helped him train.

Tenma snapped his small book shut, and looked up at him. Tai didn't know if he had a distasteful look on his face, but he tried to look neutral. "I'm not your parents," he started, "If you want to hide things from me, do it all you want, as long as you won't betray me. We rejected ones are sensitive to betrayal."

Tai hummed in response and laid in a vacant bed. He tried to sleep. A hard object smacked him in the face.

"I'm giving you this book. Destroy it, and I'll kill you." The book in question was eroding at its edges and looked like it would tear at a touch. It was around the same size as the book Tenma carried around to scribble on. However, this book had a name.

On its cover, written in bold, golden ink, is "The Lore". He flipped through the pages. Small, bold letters in black ink were cramped unto each page. The writer made sure that the book was of the portable kind.

This was the second book he had ever received.

In the following days, Tai helped Tenma take care of the patients until reinforcements from the ground village arrived. During that time, Tai got to know the ground villagers and how they survived living underground.

They were a boisterous bunch, something he didn't get to know when he first met them. It was as if they spoke at the top of their lungs all the time, unless they were under threat.

They also liked to boast. Like Tenma, they believed that their tribe was the best. They were expert armor and weaponry makers. Also, they created tunnels throughout the entire forest, even beneath the Thumbling kingdom. They infiltrated the kingdom many times.

Tai and Tenma made their way home after that episode that took till nighttime. It had been a long time since he saw the forest at nighttime.

As they flew over the pitch-black forest, Tai looked down in awe. Occasionally, the shriek of an animal could be heard, then silence.

When they reached the massive tree they called home, Tenma went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Tai naturally went to help.

For the rest of the week, Tai trained as best as he could. He read the last book given to him. He trained himself to read eloquently and knew more words than ever before. The past month forced him to be thoroughly aqainted to a myraid of topics required of a ruler.

When he was not reading, he trained in combat. It was hard to see the progress he made, since Tenma had him fight a more skilled opponent each time he improved. One thing he knew for sure, was that he fell in love with the dagger. Now, it felt like a companion he could stake his life on.

When he could, he practiced other useful skills such as cooking, wood carving, herbology, and whatever else he could do with his minimal spare time.

He did not sleep much, but he felt more fulfilled than he ever was, especially since his stomach was never empty.