"Garnt, leave me and try to escape, I promised your mother that I won't let anything happen to you," Ayra shouted as she tried to take her heavy log back, so she could push her body to the limit and help her nephew.
It was rather sad to see starving Ayra trying her best to fight against the wolves to protect her nephew, but she had no other choice.
Garnt was struggling with the wolves but he had no intention to escape leaving Ayra. Instead, he kept struggling while shouting. "I won't do that, I can't leave you behind no matter what happens here, I know I promised my mother that I would come back without any wounds, but looks like it's not possible," He deflected a charging wolf, as soon as he said those words.
*Sigh
"You're nothing like my sister when it comes to your skills, but you have the same stubbornness she has," Ayra said with a smile and decided to stand up and help her nephew, but suddenly Garnt did something unexpected.
Out of nowhere, he hurled a pair of tree branch-like sticks into the air. The wolves' focus shifted instantly to these objects, prompting them to immediately pursue the source. Instinctively, the wolves recognized the alluring scent emanating from the sticks as a potential source of nourishment.
"Let's go, it's now or never," Grasping Ayra's hand firmly, Garnt surged forward, his gaze fixed ahead, not daring to glance behind. He prayed the pursuing pack of wolves would be distracted enough, with the energy bars that Garnt threw away.
Running back after luring away reminded Garnt about his first hunting experience, and he couldn't help but be frustrated.
'How am I this useless? This is the second time'
While he was running he questioned Eva about why she didn't tell him about energy bars before.
[It's not my fault, you should think and act. I just give you the opportunity and it is your duty to take full advantage of that. Don't blame me]
[If I wanted to handhold and point everything out, why would I even choose you as someone suitable to be my host?]
"I was stupid, why didn't I think about letting Ayra eat one of the energy bars? If she had one of them, she wouldn't faint like this," Garnt blamed himself for everything that happened, but Eva knew it was not the time for him to self-criticise.
[You're still ten years old. Under great pressure like that, even adults forget about their own power, so don't think about what happened, think about how you're going to survive.]
After a few minutes of sprinting, they successfully evaded the pursuing wolf pack. However, rather than retracing their steps to the cave, they veered off in a new direction. Garnt was determined to prevent any danger from reaching his mother and the other children.
As Ayra and Garnt stopped near the water body, the coolness of the pond's breeze and the sight of the glistening water seemed to offer a brief respite from their dire circumstances. Both of them were breathing heavily from their escape, sweat trickling down their foreheads.
Their eyes met, conveying a silent understanding between them. The events of the last few hours had forged a bond between the two that was stronger than ever.
"Looks like we are saved!"
Garnt scooped some water into his palms and splashed it onto his face, feeling the refreshing sensation as it washed away the dirt and sweat. He looked over at Ayra, who was doing the same. Despite the fear and exhaustion, their determination shone through their eyes.
"Garnt, what did you do? Why did those wolves suddenly run in a different direction? I don't get it." Ayra asked with confusion-filled eyes.
"Look at this," Taking the last energy bar out of the five that he was able to buy in a single day, he handed it over to Ayra and asked her to eat it. He knew she would gain some energy from it, so he kept insisting she do that.
"What is this? This thing looks like a dried branch of a tree, but it smells quite good," Ayra said, but after all the things she went through with her nephew, she started to believe—at least more than the man she eloped with. So she suddenly took a bite out of the energy bar, only to experience a food orgasm.
She couldn't believe what she was tasting, and she couldn't blame those idiotic wolves for chasing these energy bars, instead of attacking them.
"What is this? This tastes so good, I never had anything like this before," Ayra shouted, but she quickly covered her mouth realizing her own mistake.
"Haha~ it is a little skill of mine. I can create those things with the blessing of Mother Nature," Garnt said the same thing to Ayra hoping she wouldn't question it anymore and just like he expected, she took it.
"Amazing! Just like I expected you're a special child." She complimented Garnt and took the last bite of the energy bar, then looked at Garnt with a confused expression. "Aren't you going to eat this? Where's your potion?"
"..."
"That was the last potion, I can only make five of them a day, eariler I used four of them," Ayra suddenly felt guilty about eating the full thing, but Garnt just waved at her showing it was alright.
"I'm not hungry, don't worry about instead we should quickly go back. Mother might get scared if we get late,"
With that, they made their way back to the cave, Gundo waiting for them near the entrance just like earlier. As soon as she saw them, a warm smile spread across her face, relieved by their safe return.
"Garnt! Ayra!" She shouted and hugged both of them at the same time showing her love for her sister, as well as her son.
"Sister, just like we promised, we are back," With her last words, Gundo pulled all of them into the cave since she prepared some food for them and plant-based medicine showing how much she awaited their return.