For a brief moment, both stared at each other silently. Somehow, even with its face covered in fur, the creature's emotions were more visible than Tristan's.
"Wait, wait, you spoke! How can you talk?" the creature said. Despite its inhuman tone, Tristan could sense the surprise in its words.
Even in this unusual situation, Tristan never let his guard down. After all, there was a monster behind him that could tear him apart. He decided to keep the conversation going only because the sound of the roots moving had stopped when he spoke to the creature.
With a quick glance back, he confirmed that the orchid monster had indeed ceased moving.
Turning to the strange hybrid, he shrugged and said, "I'm human. Humans talk."
Judging by the creature's expression, this seemed like fascinating news.
"I've never met anyone in this forest who could talk."
'Great, I'm a novelty for an intelligent, unknown hybrid.'
Tristan found the conversation strange but decided to see if he could resolve the situation differently than usual. He was also wary of the creature's power level. Its supposed home was already a formidable foe; its owner was likely far from ordinary.
'Even if it's not that powerful, my situation was already bad before. If it helps the monster, I'm done for.'
"Can all humans talk?" she asked, sounding genuinely curious.
"Most of us, I think," Tristan replied.
"Then... do you really live in that thing?" Tristan pointed at the giant flower.
"Bob is not a thing! He's a powerful Verdakyn my mother gave me. And yes, I live in him. He protects me and deals with thieves like you!" she said, irritation creeping into her voice.
'So, this is my first encounter with a sentient plant-being race. What a great way to meet a new species.'
"What? I'm not a thief," he said, trying to make his lie sound convincing.
"Liar! Everyone in this forest tries to steal my lake."
"Look, I didn't even try to go near it. I only came here because that cursed rabbit stole my bag." He quickly shot an angry glance at the rabbit-salamander, which was now moving toward the creature, still holding his bag.
"Don't call Buk that!"
"Ah, right, sorry about that. Anyway, you must hate it when someone tries to steal your lake water, right? I hate it when someone steals from me too. You must understand how I feel."
The creature pursed her lips for a moment before looking thoughtful.
"Buk, did you really steal his stuff?"
The little beast took a step back, feigning offense.
It quickly gestured toward Tristan, making some sounds.
The humanoid weasel, with plant-like features, turned to Tristan angrily. "He says you stole his things first! You liar! I knew you were a thief."
Tristan clicked his tongue. "You can understand that?"
He heard the roots behind him moving again.
"I don't remember stealing anything from him. This must be a misunderstanding."
The rabbit-salamander rummaged through Tristan's bag and pulled out several old silver coins.
"Are you going to tell me this is yours?"
'So, that burrow belonged to this cursed thing.'
"What? What are you talking about? I didn't see anyone near that stuff—how could I know it had an owner?" He tried to justify himself.
"It doesn't matter. You took something that wasn't yours."
"Uhm, your pet did the same thing. I think we're even now."
Trying to convince her, Tristan said, "Look, how about you give me back my bag? The rabbit keeps his coins; I leave, and everything's resolved?"
She considered this hesitantly and then said, "You can't leave. My mother told me anyone who tries to steal from the lake must become food for Bob. I can't disobey my mother; that would make me a bad daughter."
"Well, your mother said not to let people who tried to steal from the lake leave. I didn't try to steal from the lake, did I? I just took something from your rabbit. Did your mother say anything about that?" He hoped not.
"That's true. I hadn't met Buk back then, so there's no way my mother could've mentioned that."
With an excited expression, she said, "Alright, apologize to Buk, and I'll let you go!"
"Apologize to that basta—Buk?"
She nodded enthusiastically.
"So, if I do that, you'll let me take my bag and leave?"
"Of course."
Tristan took a deep breath, hiding his irritation deep inside. He looked at the small creature and somehow saw a smug, self-satisfied expression on its face.
"Sorry," he muttered.
"I didn't hear you."
Rolling his eyes, Tristan said, "I'm sorry, Buk, for accidentally taking your things."
"It's Buk!"
"Whatever," he whispered.
She approached the rabbit and extended her hands toward Tristan's bag. Reluctantly, the rabbit handed it to her. With his bag in hand, she walked toward him.
"Here you go. See? It wasn't that hard to apologize, was it?"
Now just a few meters away, Tristan got a better look at her body. Her arms and legs were shorter compared to her elongated torso.
She was about the height of a human teenager, making her more than twice his size.
Her fingers and toes were strangely human-like, as were other features of her body, which made looking at her bizarrely unsettling.
The fur on her front was white, while the fur on her back was brown. She also had a long, bushy tail.
Obviously, the most striking features were the plant-like parts on her body, such as roots and thorns fused with her skin.
Tristan grabbed his bag. "Goodbye," he said curtly as he turned to leave.
'I hope I never see them again,' he thought.
But her voice stopped him.
"Ah, hey, wait!"
Narrowing his eyes in irritation, he stopped and looked back. "What do you want?"
A bit awkwardly, the creature said, "Here, I caught this burrowing bragaio. Don't you want some?" She asked, pointing to the massive bird carcass on her back.
"Ah?" He was confused.
"Its meat is very tender, and it's my favorite animal in this forest. I think you'll like it," she said shyly, her anxious gaze fixed on him.
After staring at her momentarily, he finally said, "Sorry, but I don't have time for a meal. I need to get out of this forest as soon as possible."
"What? Why?" she asked, disappointed.
"I come from outside this forest. I need to cross it quickly, so I can't waste any more time here."
Her eyes widened at his words. Speaking with excitement, she said, "If you need to leave this forest quickly, I can help! I know a shortcut that can get you out in a few days."
Tristan looked at her with suspicion. "Really? Why would you want to help me?"
Lowering her head, she said, "I'd like you to tell me a bit about what life is like out there. I was born here and have never left this place. You're the first person I've ever talked to besides my mother."
Considering this, Tristan asked, "What is this alternate path?"
"Through the underground tunnels that lead to the mushroom village," she said, making his heart skip a beat.