The dense forest whispered with the rustling of leaves, and the cool night air clung to Adrian's skin like a second layer.
He sat on the ground, his tiny hands covering his face, fingers spread just enough to peek through the gaps.
The darkness felt suffocating, and with the beast looming before them, death seemed inevitable.
'This is it,' he thought, heart hammering. 'No one's coming to save us.'
He peeked again at the little girl.
She stood before the monster, her figure dwarfed by the creature's sheer size.
Its eyes glowed eerily in the dim light, its body hulking and grotesque.
Every nerve in Adrian's body screamed for him to run, but his legs wouldn't move.
He was helpless, completely at the mercy of whatever was about to happen.
The beast remained still, almost as if it was studying them, waiting for its prey to make a move.
Adrian clenched his teeth, hoping against hope that this strange girl—who had been carrying him through the forest without a word for a whole day—had some miracle up her sleeve.
Then, he saw it.
Her hand slowly lifted, one finger pointing directly at the creature.
Adrian's breath caught in his throat as a faint light began to glimmer at the tip of her finger.
He had never seen anything like it before—an otherworldly glow, small but impossibly bright in the darkness.
'What the...?' he thought, not daring to believe his eyes.
The light shot forward with the speed of an arrow, a beam so fast that it seemed like a blur.
It pierced the creature's skull with a sickening crack, the light disappearing into its massive head before Adrian could fully comprehend what had happened.
"Grrr....—THUD!" The monster let out a low, guttural sound, swayed once, then collapsed with a thunderous crash.
"NANNNIIIII!!!" Adrian screamed, his voice shrill and full of disbelief.
His mouth hung open, eyes wide as he stared at the fallen beast.
The sound of his cry echoed through the trees, but it barely registered.
He couldn't stop looking at the monster's motionless body, his mind racing.
His body teetered forward in shock, almost tipping over, but he caught himself just in time, planting his hands into the dirt to steady his tiny frame.
His eyes darted to the little girl, who was now calmly dusting her hands off as though she had just done something trivial, like brushing away a fly.
She turned, locking eyes with Adrian, and in that moment, the faintest hint of a smirk crossed her face.
Adrian gulped.
'M-magic? This has to be magic! What else could it be?'
He could barely contain the whirl of emotions surging through him.
Magic wasn't supposed to be real, was it?
And yet, here she was, this little girl, wielding power he couldn't begin to understand.
His eyes darted to the sky, where two moons hung overhead.
'This world… it's not what I thought it was.'
Her smirk turned into something else—an expression he couldn't quite place.
Was it amusement?
Pity?
He didn't know.
But he felt something tug inside him, a sense of awe and, strangely enough, excitement.
His eyes glimmered with newfound curiosity.
'Hey, teach me that!' he thought, but the words wouldn't come out.
It was as if his mind and body were still trying to catch up with everything he had just witnessed.
But with all his effort, he was able to ask her.
"Baa...Be...beu!"
"Pffft!"
'Don't laugh at me!'
---
The days passed in a blur after that night.
The little girl tied Adrian securely to her back each morning and continued her relentless trek through the dense forest.
Time had lost all meaning; day bled into night and night into day, the endless march through the wilds becoming their new reality.
Adrian found himself watching her more closely now.
She never spoke, her silence as thick as the trees that surrounded them, but her actions told him plenty.
She was relentless, her determination evident in the way she moved through the forest, barely resting, always alert.
She had a purpose, though Adrian couldn't figure out what it was.
'Who is she?' he wondered, time and time again, as he observed her.
Every now and then, the girl would stop, her sharp eyes scanning their surroundings as if she sensed something unseen.
She never seemed to eat, at least not in the way Adrian was used to.
No cooked meals, no stops for berries or fruits.
The few times he saw her consume anything, it was raw meat, barely warmed over the faintest of fires.
There were no spices, no salt—nothing to mask the rawness of it.
It was survival, plain and brutal.
Meanwhile, Adrian survived on milk from a small, seemingly magical bottle that never seemed to empty.
Each time he drank, it refilled itself, providing just enough nourishment to keep him going.
He marveled at it, grateful for its endless supply.
But even then, a question nagged at the back of his mind: 'Why doesn't the bottle ever empty?'
It didn't make sense.
But in this world of magic and monsters, he had stopped expecting things to make sense.
One morning, however, the impossible happened.
Adrian took a sip from the bottle, only to find it was… empty.
'!?'
He shook the bottle frantically, but no matter how hard he tried, not a single drop came out.
'M-my milk!?'
His heart raced as panic set in.
He had relied on that milk for days—weeks, even!
And now, without warning, it was gone.
'Damn my cursed mouth,' he thought bitterly.
He had jinxed it by questioning it.
Now, he was left with nothing.
Desperation settled in as he lowered the empty bottle, his stomach grumbling loudly.
He wasn't sure how much longer he could go without food.
As if sensing his discomfort, the girl glanced back at him.
Without a word, she handed him a small bowl filled with boiled water and chunks of meat.
It was barely soup—just a pathetic excuse for a meal.
The water was murky, the meat flavorless.
There were no spices, no vegetables, no anything.
Just boiled meat and water.
Adrian stared at the bowl, then at the girl.
His mouth twitched in frustration.
'Damn my luck!' he shouted, shaking his head in disbelief, with his voice coming out, "Woo...Eee...ppooo!"
He stared down at the sad, flavorless meal in front of him.
It was hardly appetizing, but he didn't have the luxury of choice.
growl~
His stomach growled again, and with a defeated sigh, he picked up the bowl and took a hesitant sip.
The water tasted like nothing.
The meat was tough, its blandness almost offensive.
But it was food.
And in the end, that was all that mattered.
The little girl, using a wooden spoon made from a tree twig, lifted the soup water towards him, which he took with his eyes tightly shut.
He forced himself to swallow, grimacing with each bite.
"Pthuuu~!!" At the moment that water touched his mouth, he spit it out, and with his hand instantly rubbed his tongue as if he had eaten sand trying to clear off that bland taste.
"...Idiot." The little girl, who had just seen him throw the soup she had prepared so hard, clenched her fist.