“Five more minutes, Mom,” I grumble when I feel Mother trying to shake me awake. She should know how tired I am after forging all day yesterday. My arms, back, head, everything hurts at the moment. All I'm asking for is a little more time to rest. Is that too much to ask for?

“I am not your mother,” a cold voice whispers next to me.

My eyes snap open, and I bolt upright. My tired muscles complain about the sudden movement, but I now have a bigger problem. I accidentally confused Tabitha with my mom! And the sad thing was, I was stuck wondering if it was ruder to compare Mom to Tabitha or vice versa.

“Sorry!” I quickly apologized in the direction I heard Tabitha’s voice come from, unsure if she would take offense to my slip-up. Rubbing at my eyes, I try to spot Tabitha’s silhouette in the darkness, but I struggle to do so and only manage to see her outline and nothing else. The forest that held a surprising amount of light during the day was veritably pitch black.

Feeling around the darkness, my hand lands on my hammer resting at my side, and I’m reminded where I am. If Tabitha was waking me up, it must be my turn to take over the watch.

"I'm sorry for mistaking you for…."

I don’t see Tabitha’s hand as she covers my mouth, cutting me off. “Shhhh," I hear Tabitha hiss close to my ear. "You're too loud. You'll draw unnecessary attention towards us."

A small wave of panic washes over me when I realize there is a second possibility as to why Tabitha could be waking me up. "Are we in danger?" I ask in a hushed voice after she lowers her hand. Were we under attack!?

“Calm yourself,” Tabitha quietly reassures me. "We aren't in any danger…. for the moment.”

That was unnecessarily cryptic. Could Tabitha see me frowning right now? “What does that mean?” I make my confusion known through the tone of my voice.

But instead of answering my question, I feel Tabitha grab my wrist. She gently pulls me to my feet, and I have just enough time to grab my hammer before she pulls me to the front of the tree hollow. And the world that greets me when I get there isn’t the one I remember from before I fell asleep.

It was still incredibly dark, but that only served to make the flickering molts of lights around us stand out that much more. For a brief second, I forget that I’m looking at a forest and question if we've been teleported to outer space, for millions of little stars surround us, twinkling in the darkness.

But they weren’t stars. Instead, one of the lights drifts mere feet from the opening of our hollow, and I see what is producing the soft glow. It was a dragonfly that was eight inches long and had six wings instead of the usual four. The insect was producing light from its long abdomen, just like a deep-sea fish would. This was the first time I'd seen bioluminescence in person, and it was breathtakingly spectacular to witness.

I wanted to hold out my hand and see if one of the insects would land on it so I could get a better look at them, but I only needed to remember my encounter with the bird earlier to remind me that probably wasn’t the wisest idea. Most likely, they were harmless, but then again, for all I knew, they could explode when touched.

I lean closer to Tabitha, standing next to me, and whisper, “Are they dangerous?”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

My eyes were slowly adjusting to the level of darkness, but I still couldn't make out Tabitha's facial features, so I had to wait for her to respond verbally.

"It's not the bugs you need to be wary of," Tabitha ominously points out. “Look below us,” she instructs me.

Glancing down, I don’t understand what Tabitha is getting at. I could barely see her standing right next to me. How was I supposed to see anything on the forest floor?

Staring down into the abyss, I strain my eyes, trying to pick out whatever hidden foe Tabitha was warning me about. Then I saw it.

Well, I didn’t exactly see it; more like I saw its outline shifting below us. And once I saw the first one, I began to pick out the others looming in the darkness. Parts of the forest floor appeared to be moving below us. A shiver runs down my spine, and my hair stands on end as I struggle to keep track of the everchanging masses.

At this height, I couldn’t make out any of the beast’s features, so naturally, my overactive imagination started to conjure images of eldritch horrors prowling the base of the tree.

“They’re feeding on the bird you killed,” Tabitha explains.

She was right, as usual, while there were plenty of figures moving below, most of them seemed to be drawn to where we left the bird carcass.

“If you stay quiet, they should continue as if we aren’t here and leave us alone," Tabitha notes before turning around and moving to get comfortable. "Wake me in a few hours when the sun rises.”

“A few hours; that's it?” My eyes widen in surprise. "How long was I asleep for?"

“Eight hours, or so,” Tabitha lazily tells me as she positions herself and tries to find a comfortable spot. As expected, she doesn’t take off any of her armor, choosing to sleep in her gear rather than put herself into a vulnerable position.

“What happened to switching places halfway through the night?” I ask.

Tabitha tilts her head in my direction and looks up at me. “You needed more rest than I did. A few hours will be enough for me.”

Of course, she would; once again, I was reminded Tabitha was more compassionate and considerate than she let on. Then it occurred to me that Tabitha was sacrificing her sleep for me, and it was my fault she couldn't trust me with an entire shift.

“Hold on,” I tell her as she settles down. "Sleep on my tarp; it will be more comfortable for you." My makeshift pillow might not do much while she’s wearing a helmet, but at least she could use it to help with her posture. Admittedly, it wasn't much, but it was all I could offer her in our present situation.

Tabitha’s head moves in the dark, and I interpret it as her nodding in appreciation.

While she grabs my sleeping gear and changes positions, I too make myself comfortable near the hollow's entrance. It is challenging to find a spot that lets me see our surroundings while mainly remaining hidden, but I eventually settle in for my half-shift.

Last night I learned Tabitha could fall asleep almost at will, so by the time I truly got comfortable, I was sure she had already fallen asleep.

I was on my own now, and if something were to attack us, it was my job to protect Tabitha. That thought honestly made me a little nervous. I could barely handle the bird yesterday; would I be able to protect Tabitha if it came down to it?

Pulling up a smaller section of my status page, I check to see how much I have recovered since my battle.

LV: 74 Experience: 914,441/ 1,004,619

Health: 2,356.17/2,450

Stamina 1,581.64/1,666

Mana: 784.93/1,030

Not bad; I knew I wouldn't be back to full strength immediately, but my recovery was progressing faster than I thought.

My mana was recharging quickly. I absorbed a great deal of mana from my surroundings and all the magic-beast meat we ate for dinner. While I was sleeping, my body processed all that excess mana and was again drawing in a normal amount of ambient mana to fuel my regain.

To get things progressing faster again, I activate Extract Mana and pull in more ambient mana. Again, I carefully absorb just enough to push the limits of what my body can handle without overly straining my mana network. If I keep up this pace, my mana should be fully charged in another eight hours or so.

Until then, the only magic skill I would use is Mana Skin. It may hinder my regeneration rate, but there was no way I was going to drop it while I was guarding Tabitha. I kept it activated after my fight when my mana levels were dangerously low, only finally dropping it after I passed out, so it wasn't that taxing.

Speaking of which, I reactivate my skill, seeing how I forgot to activate it in the spur of the moment when Tabitha woke me up.

A sigh of relief escapes my lips after my skill flickers to life. It’s calming to feel my mana wrapping around me. It’s like I’ve surrounded myself in a weighted blanket; only this blanket could save my life in a pinch.

I'm like Tabitha in that way, she doesn't like taking off her armor, and I don't particularly appreciate dropping Mana Skin unless I’m safely home. Maybe without realizing it, I’ve developed a phobia of exposure. It's not to the same degree as Tabitha's, but if I’m not careful, it might eventually evolve into something like Tabitha’s anxiety. I sit pondering this possibility while constantly scanning our surroundings.

The mana signatures of some more large bugs show up in Sense Mana, but thankfully nothing truly perilous makes itself known. Everything of significant threat is below and well out of my skill's range, and I planned to keep it that way.

With nothing to do other than watch the dragonflies dance about, I enter a semi-meditative state. Of course, I can't focus everything inward because I need to keep my eyes open, but activating Mediation helps boost Sense Mana’s efficiency, and I get a clearer picture of our surroundings.

I wasn't about to let anything sneak up on us. Not again!