Lilly awkwardly shifted next to me, her wings ruffling even though she had settled down long ago.

She was anxious. Unsettled.

I’d tease her if it wasn’t so adorable. Lilly was still young enough to act so unsure of herself, but it was becoming very rare for her to act this way.

It was even more surprising, when the one who was bothering her so much was so… well…

Tiny.

The white-haired fish munched on the egg, taking very tiny bites as she did so. Unlike Lilly, she looked calm. But I knew better than to think her confident or unable to startle. She had darted off the moment Lilly startled her earlier, so it was safe to assume she’d do the same again if distressed.

She was a predator, yet just as skittish like the small animal she looked to be.

“I didn’t realize you could cook eggs like this,” the fish said as she stuffed the last bit of egg into her mouth.

“Really…?” Lilly mumbled, as if not sure to believe her or not.

It wasn’t hard to comprehend why Lilly doubted her, but I knew better. If she lived with primitive people, maybe even living most of her time in the water, then there was little doubt she likely didn’t know much at all. Even something as simple as boiling eggs might be something fancy to her.

Honestly, although not common anymore… this was how non-humans used to be.

Primitive. Barely more than the animals they were created from.

Odds were her and her people were vestiges of those very primitives.

“Next time I’ll make you a proper meal. I’ll get proper seasoning and stuff,” I said.

“Seasons?” the girl asked, and Lilly’s wings unfurled a little in worry.

“Careful. Some of the stuff he cooks is tricky,” Lilly warned her.

“Tricky…?”

Lilly nodded harshly, as if this was something dire that needed to be made abundantly clear. “It can sometimes taste good, but gosh does it look and smell weird sometimes.”

Her thick white locks danced as she tilted her head at us. “So… the stuff he cooks tastes good?” she asked.

Lilly regretfully nodded. “Well… yeah… but they shouldn’t. The stuff he makes stinks half the time. To the point that it’s hard to even taste anything. The fact the stuff he makes tastes so good is actually more concerning, honestly. It’s weird. He’s weird,” Lilly said with a small wave at me.

“Thanks,” I accepted the insult laced compliment.

“This tastes and smells fine,” the fish said as she stared at the final bite of the boiled egg.

“That’s just an egg boiled in water. How could he screw that up?” Lilly asked.

“Don’t tempt me,” I warned her.

Lilly groaned as the fish tossed the last bit of egg into her mouth.

It was the fourth she’d eaten so far. There were several more in the boiling pot sitting over the campfire, but only a few were eggs from the ducks. Most were normal chicken eggs.

She’d eaten two of each, yet hadn’t really mentioned yet if she even realized the difference in taste between them.

The duck eggs were richer, and a little creamier than chicken eggs. They had to boil a little longer because they were bigger, too.

Watching her lick her lips, I waited before standing up to get her another. She was a tiny thing; I wasn’t sure just how much she could eat.

“Do you eat this stuff all the time?” she asked us.

“Hm…? No. Well, eggs are a common meal I guess… but Vim likes to cook meat mostly,” Lilly said.

Did I? I feel like I just cooked whatever we had half the time.

“Hm…” the fish hummed as she studied the boiling pot. Was that face hunger, or jealousy? Maybe a mix of both?

“If you and your people could co-exist… you’d be able to eat them all the time too, you know,” I said gently.

Lilly went still as the girl tilted her head at me.

I nodded. “The ducks like fish. If you like the eggs, you could trade each other you know. Give them fish, they give you eggs,” I suggested.

The fish frowned, but not in anger or disgust. Instead she went deep into thought, and her eyebrows touched as she pondered my words.

Hm. I had said it just to see what she’d respond with, but it seemed it was a more likely scenario than I thought. She was genuinely considering it.

“I’d be willing to do that,” she then said.

Lilly let out a tiny sigh of relief, but I ignored her and the fish who glanced at her because of it.

“Can’t speak for all of your people, can you?” I asked her.

She shook her head. “I’m just a daughter,” she said.

“Are your parents the elders then?” I asked.

“Elders? No. The oldest is the scarred one,” she said.

Scarred one. “Do you think I could talk to them?” I asked.

“What for?” she asked as she stood. Lilly went still again, but her panic was unfounded. The fish simply stepped over to the boiling pot, to grab another egg.

She pulled out one of the larger duck eggs, and went to peeling it. She poked it with one of her longer nails, and then simply de-shelled it. She didn’t sit back down, and stood next to the fire as she went to munching on the egg.

“I’d like to bring peace between your people and the ducks, if able,” I told the girl.

She studied me as she chewed, and then glanced past us. To the village not far from us. I knew that there were ducks watching us, although they didn’t dare leave the safety of the village buildings.

“Peace,” she said.

I nodded. “I don’t know why you and the ducks fight one another. But I’d like to put an end to it. This land is plentiful. There is enough for all of you,” I said.

“We don’t care about the land,” she stated.

Ah. Okay. Right. Only the waters. “Do you mean the reason you attack the ducks is because they intrude into your waters?” I asked her.

“Intrude…?” she said the word in a way that told me he hadn’t understood its meaning.

“Is this river special?” I asked her instead.

“Hm…? I don’t think so?” she glanced at the nearby river, and frowned.

“Then the lake. Is the lake important?”

“Kind of,” she admitted.

“If the ducks promised to not fish or near the lake, do you think your people would be happy?” I asked.

Lilly shifted, and I knew it was because she knew that wouldn’t likely work. The ducks weren’t efficient enough fishermen to survive off the rivers alone. But I could fix that. There were ways.

“I think you’re misunderstanding something,” the girl then said.

“Likely, but that’s why I’m asking. I’m trying to understand,” I admitted.

“Oh. Right. True…” she mumbled as she went to take another bite. It was amusing to see how tiny her bites were. It was like she was just nibbling the food. Was that just how she ate, or was she maybe trying to savor the taste?

For a few moments I said nothing as she ate. The silence grew louder, since she ate quietly, and Lilly eventually shifted. Her wings fluttered, uneasy.

You’d think an owl would be used to sitting still for longer than a few moments.

“Do you eat the ducks?” I asked her, finally.

The white haired girl tilted her head at me… and then looked down to the half-eaten egg in her hands. She lifted it a little, and shrugged her shoulders.

“I mean them themselves, not their eggs,” I said lightly.

“I’ve not eaten them. The only person I’ve ever eaten was my sister,” the girl said.

Lilly’s wings went still, and her nails dug into the log we were sitting on. I had stripped it of bark earlier, but she still dug into the wood.

“What of the others?” I asked her, trying to ignore what she had said.

“They do. Sometimes. They don’t hunt them for food, though,” she said as she took a larger bite of the egg.

I studied the way she ate, and noticed she did so with more force. She was now chewing quicker, and taking larger bites.

She was growing agitated. Either she didn’t want to talk about this, or the conversation brought up bad memories.

“If they don’t hunt the ducks for food… maybe we can negotiate peace,” I said.

“Go ahead and try,” she girl said with a shrug.

“Would you take me to them? Your elders?” I asked her.

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The fish’s eyes narrowed at me… and then she took another larger bite of the egg. Not much was left now. “No,” she then said.

Lilly breathed in sharply, but stayed quiet.

“Don’t want me to try?” I asked her.

“I’m already in trouble. I don’t want to make it worse,” she said.

Trouble… “What kind of trouble?” I asked.

The girl ignored me as she took the final bite of her egg.

Patiently waiting as she chewed, I wondered if I was being too pushy. But I had to, in a way.

If I took too long… there was a risk of them attacking and killing another duck. I needed to handle this before something happened like that.

If one of them died or got hurt while I was here, their faith in the Society would crumble. They were that fickle.

“Would you ask your people at least? To meet me? I’ll prepare food for them, if they’d come,” I tried a different tactic.

The fish glared at me as she flicked a piece of an eggshell away. It must have been sticking to her fingers.

“I have to talk to them. If I don’t try to negotiate and find common ground, then I’ll have no choice but to destroy you,” I said.

Lilly held her breath as the girl rubbed her fingers together… either because of another piece of shell, or because she found my words funny.

“You did mention killing us before,” she said.

“Yes. I do not want to hurt you or your people, but I have a duty. To them. The Society,” I said.

She lowered her hands, and then smiled at me. “I told you it was fine to kill me,” she said.

Lilly’s hands gripped the log beneath her even tighter. It creaked in complaint as her nails dug deep into the wood.

I nodded, and held the fish girl’s gaze. “You did. But I’d prefer not to.”

“Why…?” she asked.

“Because you are what I vowed to protect. Although not a member of our Society, you qualify to be one. I should be protecting you, not harming you,” I said.

“Protecting…” she mumbled the word, and then her small stomach made a tiny noise. She stepped closer to the fire, to grab another egg.

I wanted to sigh. This was not working. Either she didn’t completely understand, was too young to comprehend, or simply didn’t care. Most likely the latter. She seemed very indifferent to this whole situation.

She was curious though… so I wasn’t sure if her willingness, or maybe even desire to die, was real. It could be some form of depression, or just pure indifference.

Both were very commonly found amongst our people.

“Vim might not look dangerous, but he really is. Take it from me, it’s better to be his friend than not,” Lilly spoke up for the first time in a moment.

The fish shook the egg in her hand, as to free it of water. It was another big one, likely the last big one.

Had she grabbed it randomly, or on purpose? Maybe she preferred the duck eggs over the chicken ones.

“I don’t doubt he’s strong. I can tell by how he swims,” she said as she went to breaking off the egg’s shell.

“Hm…?” Lilly was confused, and honestly so was I.

I knew I swam quickly. Hard not to move swiftly in water when you were as strong as me… but…

I hadn’t actually tried to swim fast or with such gusto. So what had she seen? In fact, based off her movements in the water before… she had swam faster and more efficiently than I had at the time.

“If you want to talk to the rest, or fight them, go ahead. But don’t blame me when it goes badly,” the girl then said as she took a huge bite of her egg.

“No… you don’t get it, it won’t go badly. Not for him…” Lilly sighed as she spoke.

“You’re…” the girl started to say something, but then looked away. She froze, and stared out at the quickly darkening world.

I followed her gaze, and wondered what she sensed or heard. She was looking at the river, but I didn’t see… anything or anyone.

Then she dashed away, running to the river.

Lilly shot up, her wings unfurling in case she had to take flight. I stood as well, a little slower, and wondered what had happened.

Although we had been talking about a rather sensitive topic… I had not thought she would have ran off like that. She had seemed uncertain, and didn’t seem to believe Lilly at all, but not scared or worried. So something must have happened.

Walking around the fire and boiling pot, I watched as the girl jumped into the river. This time though she didn’t dive properly as she had done the time before. She made a loud splash as she disappeared into the river.

“What happened Vim?” Lilly asked from behind me. She stayed by the fire as I strode closer to the river.

Before I could tell Lilly what, or who, it was… the man emerged from the river.

Or well, maybe not a man. At least not in form.

The short haired man glared at me… and looked eerily similar to the girl. And not just because he shared her white hair. He was small. He looked like a young boy.

“Be gone stranger. Or I’ll eat you,” the boy spoke with a deep voice. One belonging to a man, not a child.

“I think not. My name is Vim, and,” I started to respond, but he swung his arm at me. Splashing water at me.

At first I was going to just ignore it, but something told me to raise an arm. To block the wave of water that hit me with enough force that I had to firm my footing.

After being hit by the wave of water, I lowered my arm and turned it… to see the huge gash that now ran along the side of my forearm.

It was deep. Deep enough that had such an attack hit anyone else, it would have likely severed the arm in two. It was a good thing Lilly hadn’t approached with me.

“Be gone! Or I’ll drag you to the depths!” he shouted.

“Your lake does not scare me. It’s a pond compared to what I’ve drained,” I said as I returned his glare.

His eyes narrowed, and I wondered if overpowering him would be enough to get them to reason with me. When it came to such primitive non-humans, sometimes a little force was needed.

“What…? What do you want? Why are you here? Do you want the girl? She’s useless. Not even old enough to breed,” he said.

It was my turn to narrow my eyes, and although… very disappointed, I was also relieved.

So they were just as simple as I had assumed. In a way that was good. In a way.

It meant I could deal with them the same way I always did. With a little bit of force... but it also meant that girl really was a victim. She wasn't ignorant or callous, just doing the best she could with the life she had been given.

“You’re making it very hard for me to obey her rules,” I warned him.

“Idiot. It’s always the…” the man then blinked, as if in shock… then he raised up a little, exposing his bare chest. Interestingly unlike the girl, his skin wasn’t translucent. Maybe the reason was related to age. “Wait… what are you?” he asked with a frown, unable to believe what he was looking at.

“As I said I’m the protector. I’ve come to protect the ducks from…” I started my spiel, but wasn’t able to finish it… as something roared in the distance.

I turned, staring down the river. Towards the lake.

Off in the distance, something had emerged. Something big enough to block some of the beautiful colored clouds from the setting sun.

“See…!” the man hissed as he plunked back into the river, disappearing.

“Vim…!” Lilly shouted from overhead as I watched the far off silhouette shift. Something big, and long… like a snake, was coiling around in the air…

Then it fell down… and even from this distance, I heard the great sounds of massive splashes and waves.

“A fish…?” I wondered.

“Vim!” Lilly flapped wildly as she lowered to my side.

“Go warn the ducks, Lilly. I’ll go deal with it,” I said.

“What the hell was that?” she asked worriedly. She sounded terrified.

Glancing at the owl, I smiled gently at her worried expression. She looked pale. White. As if suddenly cold.

She had likely seen it clearly, up in the air. Whatever it had been must have been something terrifying to her.

“That Lilly is a Monarch. Go. Tell them to gather and keep safe. You might want to prepare them to leave, in case I can’t kill that thing quickly enough,” I warned her.

“But Vim…” Lilly groaned.

“Get going Lilly. You’re not ready to face a Monarch,” I told her. I kept the fact that she’d never be ready to myself. This wasn’t the time for that.

“Fine… jeez…” Lilly groaned as she flapped back into the air.

I sighed as I nodded.

It had to have been a Monarch. That had been too big. Far too big. But…

That meant it had either just arrived, or had been deep in that lake. Stupid deep.

I hadn’t sensed it. But… it made a lot of sense.

That was likely why that lake had been so dark. So unusual.

Stepping forward, I broke out into a run as I hurried forward. Running along the river, I picked up my pace.

There were of course countless questions. Did this mean the fish folk were feeding the ducks to the Monarch? Were they its children? Was it a fish at all? How had the ducks not known of it? Why hadn’t they said anything? Why hadn’t Celine? She would have told me, had she known. She had agreed, vowed, to let me hunt the Monarchs. That was one of the few rules I had negotiated in my favor.

I had the right to hunt any Monarchs. No matter where or when.

But if Celine had known… why let me bring Lilly? That would have been too dangerous, even from her perspective.

I decided to toss the thoughts aside as I neared the lake… and its bubbling surface.

Slowing as I approached a section of raised rocks, I overlooked the section of the lake before me. It was violent, as if in the middle of a terrible storm. Giant waves were crashing all over, not just covering most of the beaches and embankments… but even pushing water back up the river. Tiny whirlpools were forming thanks to the clash of currents… yet the oddest sight of it all were the bubbles.

Like tiny foam, there were countless little bubbles covering the whole lake. Forming and popping continuously. As if there was some kind of heat vent beneath the surface. From a volcanic fissure or something.

Which was odd… since I felt no heat, nor smelled anything to verify it.

Plus I had already swam in this lake. To nearly its center. To the depths.

There had not been any vents or steam before.

Maybe the Monarch’s ability…

“Don’t.”

I hesitated, since I had been about to leap into the water. Turning to the girl, who was half hidden by the bubbles, I shook my head at her. “That’s a Monarch,” I said.

“That’s death. Going near it will only kill you,” she warned.

“I’m sure. Get somewhere safe while I handle it,” I told her.

The girl’s face contorted as she quickly swam up to the bank. She stood up some, but didn’t leave the lake. “You don’t understand…!” she shouted at me.

“I do. I can kill it. I’ve killed many of them,” I told her.

She didn’t believe me, but I knew better than to keep trying to convince her.

There was no convincing anyone. No one ever believed it. Even once it was over, and they saw me standing upon its corpse… they still never believed.

Maybe after slaying it she and her people would be more willing to negotiate with me.

Hopefully.

Otherwise I’d be killing more than their God’s pet.

Something deep in the earth rumbled, and I felt the familiar feeling of entire mountains moving. A tiny earthquake shook the world, causing the lake’s surface to become even more violent.

What was it doing down there? More importantly… what had upset and bothered it?

I stepped forward, to step off the rock I was on and into the lake. But once again I had to stop, as a new face emerged from the waves and bubbles.

“What are you doing!” the man shouted at the girl.

“Wait!” she turned, to argue, but didn’t get much a chance. He swam straight up to her and, with a back-handed slap across her face, knocked her out.

I hesitated, and wondered if I should kill something else before I hunted the Monarch… as the man pulled the girl and put her on his shoulder. He glared at me as he hefted her unconscious body, and spat at me before turning back into the lake.

He hurried into the water, and swam away.

Half tempted to chase after him; I decided to just let it be.

Maybe he had done so to save her. Since she wasn’t running to safety herself. A cruel, but efficient method.

He could have even been her father or something… but…

I groaned as I realized I hadn’t liked at all how that had gone down.

She had flinched and cowed on his approach. In a familiar way.

She was beaten often, based on how she had responded to his presence.

The Monarch roared beneath the lake. The sound of it reverberated and sounded weird, but it was unmistakable.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped off the stone and dived into the lake.

Deal with the pitiful later, Vim.

Focus on that which you could confidently slay without qualm.

Killing them would just hurt. Killing a Monarch made me smile… so let’s focus on that first.

Swimming into the lake, deeper into the dark depths… I felt a strange tingling feeling all over my body.

The water wasn’t hot. Nor was it toxic…

But it did have a current. And not one of water.

Ignoring the feeling of electricity, I swam deeper towards the Monarch. I could sense it now. Although I saw nothing but pure darkness in front of me, I knew where to swim towards. I knew where to go.

Focusing on the Monarch, I swam towards the enemy that at least was justified in being one.