Chapter 5 - Encounter
It had been three years since Hei, Xing, and Ye had started their hunting and physical training sessions. These workouts consisted of simple exercises and capturing small prey; therefore, they didn’t represent a danger to the three of them, especially since their mother monitored them continuously. But, even if they were nothing special, these exercises changed their physical appearance, strengthening their builds.
Among them, Hei was the one that showed the most changes of all. Unless they had particular circumstances, human children would be allowed to grow carefree. Then, when they were older, they would receive training, depending on what their parents wanted them to become. However, Hei started training at just three years old, which allowed him to stand out from an average child as he had an unusually tall and sturdy body for his age.
As far as Ye and Xing were concerned, they were spirit beasts. So it was normal that they were trained from an early age, even if not with such a regime. They didn't show any particular physical changes besides a size increase of a few centimeters due to the various molts performed during the years. But they were still more resistant and snappy than when they were just born.
Finally, their mother, Bao Bei, hadn't changed at all during this period. Having long since entered adulthood, even though she had once molted in these three years, she hadn’t, however, increased in size, unlike her two daughters. But you could notice some tiredness in her eyes that wasn't visible before.
In fact, she had slightly loosened her constant supervision over her children in the last few months, occasionally allowing herself moments of rest where Hei, Xing, and Ye could play, even though they were still forbidden to go outside their designated area.
And today was one of these rare moments of fatigue when Bao Bei would fall asleep.
They were in a small pond on the east side of the forest. This place was the same place where Bao Bei had brought the newly born Hei to clean him from the amniotic fluid and blood. It was also a place where they occasionally went to collect water and take a bath. Consequently, Hei and his two little sisters had learned to know the area quite well.
For this reason, Bao Bei felt that she could give herself a little rest even if they weren't at home; after all, there wasn't’ the danger that her children would get lost somewhere. Moreover, she trusted them, and she knew she couldn't always control them. So as long as they didn't come out of the designated area, everything would be fine.
Unfortunately, for one reason or another, children didn’t always follow the rules imposed by adults, even if they were polite and devout children like Hei. Indeed, precisely because they were so, it happened that they would violate the rules imposed on them.
Hei had recently noticed his mother's growing sense of tiredness, and he began to worry about it. He had tried to ask Bao Bei, but she had always told him that she was fine, which worried him even more. He felt that his mother wasn't telling him the truth in order not to worry him.
Determined to alleviate their mother's tiredness a little, Hei elaborated a plan with Xing and Ye, taking advantage of the fact that they would go to the lake and that their mother would relax in the warm sunlight.
‘Listen well. Mother is sleeping, so it's our chance now. We need to act as quickly as possible before she wakes up so we can surprise her, okay?’ Hei said slowly, fearing that their mother could hear them.
‘Yes, that's fine. But how do we divide the tasks? If we want to capture as many preys as possible before mother wakes up, we should split up and enlarge the research area. (Ye)
‘Won't mother get angry if we go too far? Even if we know the place, this applies only to the part around the pond. Won't it be dangerous if we do as you say?’ (Xing)
‘Xing, if we don't take risks, we will never catch the prey. Even mother tells us that there are times when you have to risk.’ (Ye)
‘It is true, but she also says that we need to analyze the situation well before acting, and it is better not to act than to act rashly.’ (Xing)
Listening to his sisters quarreling, Hei couldn't help but smile. During these years, besides an increase in size, their most notable change was the formation of their personalities. With the accumulation of time and experience, two distinct characters had formed in them.
Xing was shy, and she always preferred to deal with things prudently, not wanting to go into dangerous situations and instead preferring to analyze carefully before acting. Ye, on the other hand, was more impulsive and lively. She preferred to deal with things openly without worrying too much.
As a result, this diversity sometimes generated small discussions, usually about how they should hunt prey. However, even if they were so different from each other and they happened to argue, the two of them still had a solid bond that united them. Every night, they would fall asleep next to each other.
On the other hand, Hei had similarities with both - he always analyzed the situation before acting, but if he saw a good chance, he would decide to act even if the result wasn't 100% insured. Therefore it happened that he had to mediate between the two of them during these quarrels.
At that point, Hei decided to intervene to interrupt the discussion between his two sisters to avoid wasting further time, ’Ok, that's enough. We've already lost enough time. So we will split like this: Xing, you will take care of the insects in the area while you, Ye, will try to catch fish in the pond while being careful to stay close to the shore. Then, if you prefer, you can try to get some mouses in the surroundings.
I will instead go on a patrol, and I will go deeper inside the forest. We are near the forest's eastern edge from what mother told me, so there shouldn’t be problems. However, remember to pay attention and not to be discovered by mother before I return.’
With this, the roles were decided, and finally, the discussion between the little spider and the little snake subsided. Although Xing was worried that Hei wanted to go to other areas and Ye was disappointed that she couldn't go with him, the two decided to do as he said.
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Ever since they were born, they had always considered Hei their older brother and always followed what Hei asked them to do. They also had full faith in him - although he was so different from them, Hei always showed them deep affection. During training, he would always put in the maximum effort to improve even if he didn't have his little sisters' advantages.
Leaving his two sisters and his mother behind, Hei began to go deeper into the forest. In his two hands, he held the wooden spear given to him by his mother. Although it had become somewhat worn out, it still retained its sharpness, and by now, Hei had become attached to this weapon.
Hei decided to mark the trunk of some trees with his weapon, continuing in a straight line not to get lost. Although he had never been to this part of the forest, he knew it wasn't that much different from the other areas. Therefore, following the traces he left, it wouldn’t be challenging to return. And because he had been raised in this forest, there was no danger that he would get lost into the trees and the dense vegetation and couldn't find the signs he made.
After having advanced cautiously but with a firm step, keeping all his senses alert, Hei suddenly noticed a strange noise coming from a bush on his right. Hearing this, he immediately hurried to crouch while holding the spear with his left hand and taking a little bit of earth with his right hand, forming a ball.
As he was left-handed, Hei always tended to leave his spear in his left hand when he didn’t grasp it with his two hands. However, when throwing things, including his weapon, he would always use his right hand. Strangely, although the left one was his dominant arm and had more strength than the right one, he felt more comfortable throwing things with his right arm.
Once the soil ball was formed, Hei threw it against the bush to flush out the creature inside it. When struck by the small soil ball, the creature made a surprised noise and came out of its hiding place, becoming visible.
It was a multicolored hare. This hare species was called with that name because they had a mixture of different colors; they were very famous as their meat was very nutritious and light, suitable for when you were sick. But even though they were so renowned, it was challenging to capture them because they were fast and small and could sneak into even small cracks.
Seeing that it was a multicolored hare, Hei's eyes lit up. This animal was the perfect prey to bring to his mother, who, despite not being sick, was still suffering from a lack of strength.
Struggling to remain calm, Hei tried to get closer slowly to sink his spear into the hare. However, the animal proved to be faster than expected. Seeing him approach, the hare wasted no time lingering in that position and escaped.
Seeing that it was running away, Hei immediately pursued it. Although he would usually have analyzed first whether it was appropriate to pursue prey in unknown territory, his desire to be useful to his mother and helping her was clouding his mind, not allowing him to reason with a cool head.
A peculiar feature about Hei was that he was very attached to his family, and he would do anything to protect them. However, despite being his strongest point, this deep affection also represented a flaw because, as on this occasion, it didn’t allow him to be rational and cool-headed.
So, he ended up going too far from his previously determined research area and was nearing too close to the edge of the forest. And it was just as he was about to reach the hare that suddenly he noticed a kneeling figure that was busy picking up what looked like mushrooms.
It was a young girl about 12 years old. She had a fair complexion with a slight tan due to frequent exposure to the sun and long brown hair. She wore a simple brown robe, and she held in her two arms a small basket where she had placed the various mushrooms she had found.
Seeing her, Hei was as if lightning had struck him. He immediately forgot about the hare that was running away and stopped to look at the girl. It was the first time he saw a creature like her, or rather, it was the first time he saw a creature like him.
Although it no longer represented a source of concern, the fact that there were no creatures like him had always remained a mystery. His mother had never answered him adequately, changing the subject each time. Treating it as pure curiosity, Hei also decided not to investigate further since it wasn’t something so important anyway. Yet, facing now someone like him, that pure curiosity flared up again in search of answers.
The girl, frightened by the loud noise and Hei’s unexpected arrival, calmed herself down when she saw it was just a child. He seemed to be a 7-8 years old child from his appearance, but it was his clothes that intrigued her the most - silvery-white silk dressed from head to toe.
This luster was clear evidence of the quality of these garments. Wondering if he was the son of some important person due to the clothes, she asked Hei in a gentle voice, "Hi, are you here alone? Where are your mom and dad? Did you get lost?"
When Hei heard her spoke, the girl's words had no meaning to him, and they were nothing but a bunch of distorted sounds. Sensing that she was trying to communicate with him, Hei tried to do as usual by interacting with the method his mother had taught him.
The girl suddenly heard a series of strange noises similar to those of an animal. Frightened by this phenomenon, she fell to the ground from her squatting position, wondering what that was.
While Hei didn't understand why the girl had fallen to the ground when he spoke to her, suddenly, he heard a loud noise resounding inside him. Frightened, he immediately understood that it was his mother, and she had discovered that he had moved into an area where he wasn't supposed to go.
So, realizing this time he had made a huge mess, he turned abruptly and disappeared into the forest, leaving the young girl on the ground in a daze, while from behind her rose her father's voice, who was calling her from afar.
Following his mother's voice, Hei finally managed to return to the lake. There, he could see his mother beside a frightened Xing and Ye; after all, they had disobeyed their mother's order.
'Where have you been? Why did you disobey what I ordered you by even going to places you don't know? You even got your two sisters involved in this! Do you have any idea how you made me worry and how dangerous and stupid was what you did?’
Bao Bei was furious. She didn't expect Hei, who was usually the most responsible among the three of them, to be the one to have broken her orders and done something so dangerous. But above all, it was a rage due to fear. Fear that something would happen to Hei, and she would lose him forever.
Hei, frightened by the shouts of his mother, began to cry and was barely able to tell why he had done this.
Listening to the reason behind his action, Bao Bei was stunned. She didn't expect her to be the reason for this foolish plan. She felt horrible since she indirectly placed her son in danger. With her anger slightly subsided, she approached Hei and pulled him near to calm him down.
'Everything is alright. I understand; there is no need to cry. Now, calm down, okay?’
Seeing his mother no longer as angry as before, Hei, along with Xing and Ye, breathed a sigh of relief. Then, taking advantage of her not being so angry, Hei decided to tell his mother about the meeting he had in the forest.
‘Mother, I know I was wrong, and I'm sorry. But while I was chasing a multicolored hare, I saw a creature like me. It wasn't like the other animals in the forest, and it wore clothes like me.’ Hei said with excitement, starting to forget that he had been scolded just a moment ago.
Hearing this, Bao Bei shuddered. Suddenly she felt something breaking insider her, as the worries she had always kept within herself came out.
Holding back herself with difficulty, she told her children, ‘Let's go home first. Once we arrive home, we will have to talk about various things, and you will have to listen extremely carefully, all right?’
Thus, without waiting for their response, she turned to head for home while Hei, Xing, and Ye followed behind her, confused by their mother's behavior.