It was already late at night when they all decided to sleep, as Owly and Kent had a lot of catching up to do.
Likewise, Kent's father Tucker Freide was bombarding Naell with questions. Hence, all their friendly conversation lasted for so long, that if it wasn't for his sleepy eyes, their night would have surely lasted much longer.
Upon saying their goodnights, Naell and Owly headed to the house where the young bird and his mom Athena lived and stayed for years.
Naell could still recall how chirpy Owly was knowing that the tribe didn't clear out his home. Especially when they said how the young owl and his mom were always welcome to live there again.
Yet at that moment, hints of loneliness were now seen in the bird's gaze. Upon arriving, Naell noticed immediately that unlike the chieftain's extravagant yet small home, Athena's place was more straightforward. From her furniture to her decor, the home vividly reminded them of her.
She had only one large bed-like nest, a cabinet containing two plates and two bowls, and a little wooden table that stood at the very corner, with scribbles of letters and pecks from a small beak. After a while, both Naell and Owly took their time to cleanse before bed.
Owly actually suggested going to the river for a bath, but Naell declined and instead used his water magic for both of them.
"We'll go tomorrow, I'm just really tired now." Said Naell with a face that was really eager to try the fuzzy "bed" in front of him.
Owly did boast many times that the bed he had in the Tribes of Pegasus was the best.
And soon enough, his words were proven, as the bed-like nest made both of them sleep like logs. It was so comfortable that the ones they had in Taglagas paled in comparison.
Unlike cushions that beds are made of, this nest was made of soft pliable stems and leaves. The texture was that of a bouncy hammock carrying the faint earthy scent. Enchanted with air magic, it felt as if they were resting on the lightest leaves with no fear of falling.
A small lamp was also brightly shining on the entrance of that home, indicating to outsiders that someone was inside. Its light was as warm and homey as the young owl remembered it to be, and just by that, all of Naell's complaints from that day were washed away.
*******
When the morning came in, reports of wildfire immediately woke the duo up.
"Two sighted fires are currently being extinguished. They were outside the areas we've pruned." Said one of the winged tribesmen who was guarding the forest.
Naell was still droopy but the coffee that was served managed to make his mind work. Therefore he asked them, "Guide me to the nearest fire."
With that, he, Kent, Owly, and the guard flew toward the wildfire. As soon as they arrived, Naell immediately blasted his detection magic.
Yet what he got was a mixture of mana and aura swirling violently against the fire.
"I can't detect any lingering spell or person behind the fire." Said Naell to which Kent and Owly nodded.
"It's the same for us. That is why we thought this was a natural occurrence but-" Kent's eyes were focused on the fire, there were hints of rage and confusion within his gaze.
"My eyes are telling me someone is behind this."
Regardless of how the tribe of Pegasus was tricked by the pieces of Lucile, Naell knew that their tribe possessed keen eyes that could even detect intention with ease.
It was one of the books he once read that intrigued him; while mages and martial artists could detect emotional intention, the legendary beast Pegasus was known to have eyes that could somewhat read far beyond that.
Therefore it was safe to say, that perhaps Kent had the ability to read the forest.
Although it wasn't that useful since a dungeon was created without their knowledge in the past. Not to mention, the likes of pieces of Lucile were even going around the forest to avoid the watchful tribe.
However, Naell knew Reyna might have been the reason why their detection didn't work at all.
And also in the novel, Naell knew that when the forest deemed the monsters as enemies, Kent and the rest of the tribe found out about it.
'Just goes to show that monsters aren't really as bad as others claim them to be.' Thoughts Naell could not say out loud.
As the fire was beginning to spread, Naell used his magic [ rainfall ] to produce a simple yet very effective aoe spell.
"You have our thanks Naell." Said Kent before they immediately headed towards the other location.
When they arrived at the second "wildfire" Naell felt nothing noteworthy either. Likewise, Kent and Owly continued flying about in confusion. While [ rainfall ] wasn't needed in that location as the fires didn't spread, burnt trees were unavoidable.
Naell sighed as he walked closer to the surrounding burnt trees. He inspected the scorch marks and ash tracing the ground. All of a sudden, he felt heat arise from where he stood.
His instincts kicked in, and without wasting any time, he levitated while casting an ice shield around his entire body.
Yet soon enough a blaze of flames erupted upward.
"Noob, HOOT!" Exclaimed Owly who swooped down with Kent to look for Naell.
Both of them knew that was where Naell was, yet as they begin to descend and get closer, they felt the heat and saw the semi-liquid rock.
"Magma, how is that possible?" Kent was bewildered much like Owly. The forest of Lagupa was in no way closer to being a mountain, much like a volcano.
Therefore their eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing. Owly was frantically looking for Naell when another explosion came in their direction.
As they avoided it, the flame began splitting and forming a rain-like fire in the vicinity. Luckily, with a whoosh of Kent's wings and Owly's dark magic, the flame didn't spread entirely however it continued flowing upward.
Soon enough, both the knights of Taglagas and others from the winged-beast tribe gathered as to where Owly and Kent were.
While both were sustaining their magic and aura trying to prevent the circle of explosion from expanding, they were frantically calling for Naell.
"How could we not notice this underground!" Said Kent as he grind his teeth. His genuine aura was camouflaged from the fiery flames and molten rocks, yet his precise control of halting the flames before they touched the ground was nothing to be scoffed off.
Even the knights of Taglagas and the other wing tribe joined the support; using their aura and magic to prevent the further spread of flames.
Owly on the other hand was using his black magic to dive and seal the raging flame while searching for Naell's whereabouts.
"Where are you, HOOT..." Hints of worry in his voice and face were plastered as not even an inch of his best friend's white mana could be felt.
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Drawn Cast: https://www.patreon.com/posts/65136761
The post is titled "Character Portraits WiP" Under the "Arts" tag at patreon.com/nezothecat . It's free for public viewing and is a work in progress that will soon have every character we've introduced in TNBS thus far ' ')/
Thanks for reading everyone!