Lira flinched as memories of the bandits' slaughter flooded her mind.
"That's how I met you in the forest and ended up here," she said in a hoarse voice, gripping the edges of her cloak tightly.
"I see," Kai said, lowering his gaze for a moment before looking into her eyes again.
"You don't have to worry, Lira," he said, clutching his right fist to his chest.
"I'll protect you," he declared with a smile, puffing out his chest and smacking his fist against it.
Lira's expression softened as she stifled her giggles behind her hand.
"What are you? My big brother? Pfft!" she teased him.
Before Kai could respond, she stood up from her spot and walked toward the makeshift bed.
"Hmph!" Kai scoffed, following her to his own makeshift bed.
But she suddenly stopped and turned around.
"Wh—?"
Before Kai could finish his question, she quickly embraced him in a tight hug.
"Thank you for everything... Kai," she said, her voice trembling as tears welled up in her emerald-green eyes. She tightened her grip, holding on as if Kai was the only hope she had left, someone she couldn't bear to lose.
"You dumb girl, we're friends. Of course, I'll help you whenever you need," Kai said, hugging her back.
"Oh, I thought you'd be disappointed because I'm not a witch you could use," Lira said, pulling herself back and narrowing her eyes.
"Ah, man, can you please drop this?" Kai said, resting his hands on his waist.
"Hmph!" Lira scoffed and turned around to lie down on her makeshift bed.
"I already said I'm sorry," Kai pleaded before lying down too.
Lira turned onto her side smiling and drifted to sleep.
--
As the morning sun's rays washed over Lira's face, her eyes twitched before she forced them open.
Yawn!
She pushed herself up to sit. Kai was still sleeping, his chest rising and falling steadily.
Lira smirked as she turned toward him. She pinched his nose and covered his mouth with her hand.
"Argh!" Kai grunted, feeling suffocated.
"Haa... Haa..." He jolted awake, gasping for breath.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," Lira said with a smile, sitting beside him.
"What was that for? You almost killed me!" Kai blurted out in frustration.
"You wouldn't have woken up if I did it nicely," Lira shrugged.
"Besides," she added, flipping her hair dramatically, "you should be grateful a beautiful girl is waking you up, you street rat."
Kai scoffed. "Stop being delusional," he said, standing up and stretching his limbs.
"Hurry up, let's go already," Lira said, grabbing his wrist and pulling him outside.
"Hey, it's morning. Why are you so worked up? Yawn..." Kai mumbled.
"I'm missing Luna, so stop talking and pick up the pace," Lira pouted, dragging Kai along with her.
They jogged through the market square, grabbing some bread for breakfast. After running for a few more minutes, they reached the giant cave.
Haa! Haa!
They gasped for breath, tired from the running all the way.
As they entered the cave, Luna was still asleep in the spot where Lira had laid her down the previous day.
Hearing the sound of their footsteps echoing inside, Luna's ears twitched. She raised her head and turned towards the duo running toward her.
"Kwaa!" she let out a cheerful cry and dashed toward them.
"Luna!" Kai and Lira said in unison. Kai spread his arms, ready to catch her since he was ahead of Lira.
But Luna completely ignored him, leaping past and landing in Lira's arms instead.
"I missed you so much, sweetie," Lira nuzzled her cheeks against Luna's, making the latter let out happy cries.
Meanwhile, Kai just stood there with his arms still spread, a blank expression on his face.
{Brat! Don't expect me to jump on you.} Zer commented with an amused tone.
"Hmph!" Kai scoffed "Good morning, Zer. Hope you're doing well." He said and turned toward Lira.
{Oh, so our wild rascal is starting to have manners now. How cute.}
"Shut up," Kai muttered, glancing back before turning his attention to the mother-daughter pair.
"How was your sleep, Luna? Zer didn't disturb you, did he?" Kai asked, patting Luna's head.
Luna narrowed her eyes, averted her gaze, and let out a dry "Kwaa" in response.
Kai's lips twitched, while Lira stifled her giggles. Even though Luna didn't get along with him, he was still satisfied because at least she hadn't growled or tried to bite him like she had yesterday.
"You wanna play outside?" Lira asked Luna. In response, the latter nodded eagerly.
"Bye, Mr. Zer! See you soon," Lira said, waving her hand.
{Bye, and make sure to keep that boy out of trouble. Use force if necessary.} Zer replied, resting his head on his paw.
"Hey, what was t—" Kai began, but he was interrupted.
"Don't worry, Mr. Zer. I'll make sure he doesn't cause any trouble," Lira giggled, holding Luna close.
{You listen, boy. Don't be a burden on her.}
"I'm not!" Kai exclaimed, pointing at Zer, his cheeks flushed red.
"Come on, witch's rat, or else we'll leave you behind," Lira teased, running outside the cave with Luna.
"What did yo—" Kai started, but Lira was already gone.
"Hmph!" he scoffed, running after her.
After playing for a few minutes, they began strolling through the forest, taking a different route than the one they had followed the previous day.
"Hey, do you think it's safe?" Lira asked, clutching her hands against her chest.
"Ah, it's fine," Kai replied confidently, leading the way.
"B-But it's way farther from the cave," she added nervously.
"So what? That's how I discovered other parts. Besides..." he paused for a second and turned his head toward Lira, "We'll retreat if we see markings that there are beasts nearby."
"Un," Lira nodded.
Seeing her worried expression, Luna turned her head toward Lira and let out a reassuring "Kwaa," as if promising that any beast daring to attack her mama wouldn't get away with it.
"Thank you, Luna," Lira said, smiling at her cute and chivalrous protector.
As they continued walking, Kai spotted a tree bearing apple-like fruits.
"Hah, what a luck!" Kai licked his lips and began climbing the tree.
"Careful," Lira asked.
"I'll be fine," he replied.
Kai reached the lower branch, but just as he was about to grab one of the fruits—
"Aah!"
Thud!
Suddenly, four glowing red eyes stared at him from the shadows of the branches, making him cry out in fear as he tumbled to the ground.
"Are you alright?" Lira exclaimed, running toward him and extending a hand to help him get up.
"Argh!" Kai grunted in pain from the sudden fall. But before he could grab Lira's hand—
Shieek!
Something fell from the tree. It was dark in color, its four red eyes glowing ominously on its blocky head.
Both Lira and Kai froze as it began moving toward them on its eight black legs.
Lira stammered, her voice cracking as she spoke, "P-Plague Spider!"