(in the forest near fire nation)
To collect the suitable materials to construct a cradle, John needed to set out deep into the lush forest in search of good wood. As many wild animals live in the forest, like Tanuki, there are fences surrounding the field for animals not to destroy the crops. The fences surrounding the area were first built by his father due to many predators and field wreckers. When he grew up, he added more fences without replacing the old ones. As he thought that old one is week. With a staff and a sling basket, John heads out courageously and crosses over the fence.
John waits until the baby to fall sleep before starting the journey to obtain the materials for the crib. In his search, he came across large footprints. With his limited knowledge regarding the many wildlife living in the deeper areas, he failed to recognize to which creature the prints belong to. Recognizing the prints of an unknown creature caused him to freeze. He was beginning to feel unsafe from whatever is out there. Uneasiness started to grow on him. Just the thought of a massive creature still lurking around made shivers ran through his spine. One thing was apparent, the creature must have a huge body with sharp pairs of claws. It took some time, before continuing on the search for materials. John stayed cautious the whole time. There was still daylight, and he was very thankful for there were not many life forms lurking nearby.
After some time, John manages to find some fine woods. He first made sure no harm would come to him before he grabbed the opportunity to collect the materials. He returned with an abundant collection before the sun even sets. When he returned home, he checked the little guy to be still in deep sleep, which is good for him. With the gathered materials on hand, John started building the crib. In all his time making the crib, the sight of the footprints never left his mind. It dawned on him how this creature could be a threat to him and for those he cared. Whatever this creature is, it can destroy the very foundation of his livelihood. John had noticed that with the arrival of this creature, the other beasts stood still. Not many creatures were lurking. He then laughed at the thought he'll be a beast snack this time. The worst part is that he may be in its food list. John may have laughed it off but deep inside, he was agitated at the thought of dying in the hands of the unknown. What if one day this creature attacks him? There is no guarantee it would not attack them in the future if faced. If so, John has no way of defending against it. He experienced a burning sensation in his heart. These thoughts had never entered his mind, maybe because he never cared about anything else. Before the arrival of the child, all he did was farming. Things have changed, now he had someone to protect. Someone that he had to look after. The feeling to save and desire to live started growing. Before long, the construction of the crib was completed. All the feelings rippled through him as he tightened the grip on the wood that he was holding subconsciously. Abruptly, he experienced a burning sensation on his hand. Due to reflexes, he loosened the grip causing the wood to fall to the ground. To his surprise, the wood was lit unexpectedly and was burning out of nowhere, like it miraculously lit up. The wood would have been half burnt if he has been holding it till now, but when he reached out to get close, he hasn't felt anything intense. He looked at his hand. A warm feeling swirled around it, travelling to every part of his body. It was as if he was burning alive. His skin was scorched but his innards seem fine. How this is happening, he thought. Yet he knew completely, there was no one else there besides him. Baffled by the situation, he felt lonesome for the first time. He wanted to talk with someone, to share his experiences. He felt like he was missing someone to appreciate and be loved. He neither had a friend nor a family. Well, he used to have them long ago.
All he could recall was his father went out one day but never came back. Not long after, his mother died of sickness. Before her death, she taught John how to read and write. The people who used to live around them left the place as well. He was left all alone. He didn't choose to depart from this location. All the memories of his mother and the fear of beasts outside the fence made him not to think about leaving this place. But this was when he was still a child.
One day he was starving for food. He started searching in his home and stumbled upon a book about farming. He procured it, only to have known it was written by his old man many years have passed. With it, he survived till this very day, all by himself. It can be considered as a miracle for him to be alive. The sudden cry of the child hauled him into his senses. He snapped out of it and attended the baby. Embracing the child in his arms, he sensed some kind of bond. He thanked the heavens for this little child, for bringing them together. Even though the dragon caused this in motion, John was still grateful for this change in his life. After feeding the baby, John laid the little guy on his new crib. Only just after it had done, he did have a meal for himself. Exhaustion then came over him. Unknowingly, he came to rest for the night.
It was already radiant and breezy morning when John woke up. A fine weather greeted him. Indeed, fine weather to start the day. The first thing John did was to check on the little one. John was thinking of what he could do, he suddenly thought of just making a few things instead. A carved horse, a wooden spoon, wooden knife, a human-made out of leaves tied in strings, ribbons out of unused cloth, and whatever else he could think that can be easily made. Soon after, the little one's giggles can be heard with his new gift from John. Seeing the baby's comfort and smiles, John could not help but think of what happened the previous day.
He looked at his arm. It felt like heat never left his body. Not only that, bot the thought of the footprints of an unknown beast was alarming. No matter what he thinks, John knew he must do something sooner or later. Looking at the little guy, John felt the need to be strong for the sole purpose of protecting him. Soon afterwards, John made efforts to strengthen his physique. He ran a couple of laps around the field. No matter how strong he currently is, he would not be able to best a beast through brutal strength. His body is in quite a good shape after many years of farming despite his stature. For him to defeat this creature, John realized he must have a weapon of some sort. And to create one, he must have good material. After contemplating while putting the baby to sleep, he decided to head out to the forest in search of fine wood. John was extremely alert and cautious for the whole search. Before long, he discovered footprints of the beast and deep cuts on trees. This can solely indicate one thing; the beast is on the move. Without a moment to spare, John hastened his search until he found a good tree. He quickly climbed up and started to cut a branch with the only carving knife he had brought with him. It might be small, but it was sharp enough to complete the job. The branch was not so thick in diameter or too thin. The wood is strong and resilient. It was long enough to carve something out of it. Making a spear was not a bad idea, John thought. Seeing the strong and resilient wood, that can be carved into a potential weapon john felt happy. Without wasting any time, John grabbed hold of it. There was no time to carve a spear in a forest area with dangers coming at him anytime. So, John pulled out a knife he was carrying for protection. With a string, he tightly tied it at the edge of the tree branch, making it more like a spear. It was a type of weapon that would be perfect for him. John could adjust the weapon's length by gripping it at distances. After his temporary weapon was set, he then carried it back. Halfway through a flock of birds passed by him. It was as the flock was hurrying as being chased out by something. Judging by the direction they were heading in the opposite direction where they were he was heading. A loud roar was then heard. Many creatures were startled by the roar even john felt the killing intent from the roar.
"It's here." Shivers ran through his spine. The feeling of anxiousness started growing on him. His body almost felt weak. Not wasting any time, he quickly climbed a nearby tree and hid among its branches. With loud thuds of steps, the ground shakes as the beast approaches in his direction. From above, John observed its movements and behaviour. The irregularity in its steps captured John's eyes. John did not breathe too hard. He was dead silent to not get spotted. His entire body started to feel cold and soaked in sweat. The beast then walked directly below from where he's hiding. John wasn't moving but more sweat was seeping out of his body. Just then, a sweat droplet dripped from his nose. To his horror, it dropped on the beast's forehead.
The beast halted its movement to look up. With its keen eyes, it spotted a human. Realizing it got an unwelcomed visitor, its eyes turned crimson red and stood on its feet. Shocked due to the turn of events, John tightens his grip firmly on his weapon and prepared himself to jump on the beast to launch a decisive blow. With the sharpened knife tied at the edge of his weapon, John prayed it would penetrate the beast's head with his overwhelming force, inflicting heavy damage to it. Just as it was about to roar at its unwanted visitor, the beast felt a sharp pain in its throat. John had mightily pierced his weapon into its throat, reaching the beast's internal organs. To inflict more pain, John twisted his spear, rapturing the beast's organs. His first thought was to penetrate its head or to land a heavy blow on its head but just at the moment when he jumped the beast stood up and opened its mouth to roar but john accidentally pierced its throat. Realizing what had just happened, it coughed and spewed out blood. With great force, John withdrew his weapon. The beast has fallen to the ground lifelessly .just like that the beast was dead before it knows. As John withdrew his weapon, it suddenly spewed out fire from within and spread throughout the weapon's body. To his surprise, it was nothing but like the burning wood. His weapon was burning on fire, but he didn't felt any pain or the burning sensation.
John didn't think that it's a coincidence. It's like the fire came out of him. He was perplexed but the fact that fire isn't hurting him shows that something was off about him.
Clutching the fiery weapon on his hand, it definitely did not injure him in any way in the least. His initial thought was he somehow got resistant to fire. But it didn't feel like it at all. Rather than being fire-resistant, it seemed like he was the source of the fire. John thought that the branch cannot burn itself. Harbouring such thoughts, he then looked at his hands. It might have something to do with it.
The sight that unfolded a moment ago made him truly stunned, but at the same time, a growing sensation was beginning to form in his heart. Is this magic? He cannot say for sure. After a while, the fire dwindled. The spear no longer had its fiery form but was just a normal branch with a knife at its one edge. John then looked up. He could clearly see his footprints on the tree branch. The branch did not break but he had imprinted his footprints on it. He must have jumped with great force to have had such a thing happen. Before he could think of anything, he heard another ferocious roar, coming from the inner part of the forest. He might be lucky this time but time won't take any once side so he thought it's better to leave this place as soon as possible. Getting back into his senses, he realized he was still not out of danger. He felt his body started to get weaker by the second. Feeling something was amiss, he hastily dragged the body of the beast near his field's fences before covering all the tracks. Fortunately, all the injuries caused were internal to the beast hence not a single droplet of blood to be seen in the way. After it was all done, his body caved in, falling unexpectedly to the ground. He was just too weak to move. It was already evening by the time he had dragged the body of a massive beast near his fences. He hoped that no beast will enter his fields ever. He hoped the fences would hold to protect his domain. With sheer willpower, he dragged himself to the hut and gathers all his strength just to be by the baby's side. As he entered his hut, he saw the baby was up and playing with the hanging toys placed on the top of the little guy's crib. Even though he was exhausted, he did not neglect to feed the child. In the midst of what he was doing, he fell down to the ground with fatigue finally caught up to him.