The first raindrop kissed my forehead. I gazed at the darkening sky above, a canvas transforming from azure to a moody gray. The distant rumble of thunder echoed through the air, and the scent of rain-soaked earth filled my nostrils.

My gaze slowly lowered, shifting towards the lone dwelling standing rough hundreds of meters away, perched atop the verdant hill. Smoke billowed from its chimney like a smoking solitary sentinel in the middle of nowhere.

Remembering something about the rain, and especially the thunder it usually comes with, "I have to hurry up," I muttered to myself, making a mental note.

I stood at the outskirts, positioned at the edge of the dense, mysterious, and somewhat foreboding forest. It was separated from the verdant hill by nothing but a wooden fence, dictating precisely where the forest had to cease and never ever extend beyond.

I raised my arm, and from my palm which faced downward, a magical circle emerged, followed swiftly by another at my feet. The air shimmered with an otherworldly energy as a creature materialized in between the two magical circles, its form resembling a large canine made of a black in-like substance.

"Wolf, you will guard this property," I commanded, my voice firm. "Kill anything that makes it past these fences. Ignore what's beyond them."

The creature emitted a growl, a sound that echoed more of reptilian authority than a canine's response, assuring me of its understanding.

As the ink-like wolf, much like instructed, began patrolling the perimeter, disappearing into the shadows of the encroaching rain. At that moment I considered stopping there, but then, after prompt consideration, I extended my hand once more, summoning another creature. This time, a feline-like form emerged, towering and majestic, resembling a tiger but made of the same enigmatic ink.

"Guard the property," I instructed the creature, watching as it gracefully circled the hill in the opposite direction of the wolf.

Pleased by the sight, I shifted my focus to the solitary house and promptly started walking toward it. With each step towards the dwelling, once a humble hut but now expanded considerably over the past two years through my own renovations, the raindrops intensified. By the time I reached the doorstep, lightning was already dancing in the distance. I waited for the distant thunder to grumble before opening the door, and as it did, I, almost instantly upon entering the room, was met by the sound of something stumbling to the ground—or, to be exact, someone.

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Rushing in to see what happened, forgetting to even close the door behind me, I called out, “what happened?”

As I surveyed the room, my eyes quickly found a little silhouette kissing the ground. Before I could rush to him, he swiftly recovered, pulling himself up with an unrestrained chuckle.

At that moment, he finally noticed me. With a large smile on his face, he called out, "Maaa!" and waddled over to me as fast as his little legs could carry him.

"What happened?" I asked as I knelt to wipe the dust off of him.

"I was playing. With Snake and Crow when I tripped," he explained excitedly.

"Didn’t I already tell you not to play like that when you’re inside?"

I glanced at the creatures he had just mentioned—the snake, the fox, and even the unmentioned owl perched in the corner of the room. At my gaze, all the shadow creatures had the same reaction. They scrambled, making their way outside the house through the door. "Hey, they’re leaving," he pointed out, immediately following them to the door. Anticipating what lay beyond the aforementioned door, I reached out to stop him, but the little ruffian was already by the doorstep. He wouldn’t stand there for long, though. He reached the doorstep just in time for a brief white radiance to flash. He scrambled back to me, panickedly shrieking, "Lightning!"

As he clung to my legs, a loud thunder followed promptly, causing him to clutch even tightlier at my leg. With a sigh, I knelt and picked him up. "I guess you’re still really that afraid of the lightning," I mused, casting my gaze around the room, searching for any unnatural occurrences like objects floating into the midair. "But at least it doesn’t make you uncontrollably use your telekinesis anymore."

I walked to the door and closed it. Casting a glance at the boy tightly holding onto me, I reassured, "It’s okay now, lightning is gone." But as I spoke, the thunder grumbled again, causing the boy to react even more fervently.

Looking over my shoulder at the little boy who shuddered at each rumble, I couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of him being afraid of lightning, considering all the ominous shadow creatures he’d been surrounded by since the day he was born. "But I guess it’s fine," I mumbled, half to myself and half to Baby.

To distract his mind away from the thunder, I began humming a lullaby as I walked over to the chimney, which hosted a vividly crackling fire.

"Baby," I asked after a while, sensing how silent he was compared to his usual energetic self. I began to wonder if he had fallen asleep, but at that moment, I felt a feeble answer.

"Mh?"

So you weren't asleep yet.

"Do you want me to tell you a story?"

I felt a slight nod from my shoulder.

"Alright then, I'll tell you one. It’s called… hmph, now that I think of it, I have no name for it, but it is a story of heroes against a Hydra, a multiple-headed evil dragon."