CHAPTER 32: STAY THE NIGHT

Serena moved to get up, wanting to get the hidden cave she had spotted behind the waterfall. However, she found herself falling back onto the ground, her legs complete jelly.

"Sister!" Kiro cried out in shock, dropping the water skin.

He moved over to her, trying to check for any injuries. Serena pursed her lips, realizing she may have overdone it. She shouldn’t have pushed this body so hard when she knew it was so weak.

The adrenaline from running away from danger must’ve hidden how worn out this body really is. Serena mused to herself. I guess it’s a good thing I stopped when I did...

Because while she was trying to get away from any danger, Serena knew it would be bad if she continued. She’d end up wearing herself out and putting both Kiro and herself in more danger.

"I’m fine." Serena murmured, hoping her words would calm the frightened kid. "I guess I’m just a little tired."

She patted his head with a smile on her face, but for once Kiro didn’t calm down immediately. If anything, he felt guilty. His sister was constantly having to protect him because he was too weak to do anything.

And now she was hurt, but acted like it was nothing. Kiro hated it. He hated seeing her putting on a smile for him whenever things were bad. He didn’t want to be useless.

"Kiro..." Serena called out, gazing at him with concerned eyes. "What’s wrong?"

"N-nothing." Kiro stuttered out.

Serena gave him a pointed look. "Don’t give me that. You don’t look well. Are you hungry?"

"No!" Kiro shook his head, only for his stomach to betray him with a growl. He blushed at the sound. "I..."

"It’s okay. We can eat some fish." Serena stated. "Just let me catch some while you build us a fire okay."

Her words brightened his mood immediately. He knew how to build a fire which meant he could finally help out his sister. But then another thought crossed his mind.

"Sister, you can’t cook." Kiro said firmly.

He’d seen his sister cook once and it was some black blob. Nothing could be saved from that dish and their father had to bury it so someone didn’t accidentally eat it and get sick.

So, he wasn’t sure if having his sister cook was a good idea. Perhaps he should’ve asked one of those uncles to show him how to cook.

"It’ll be fine." Serena waved her hand. "I’m just roasting the fish over fire."

It shouldn’t be that hard. Serena silently thought. I’ve watched them roast meat on the fire several times. Fish should be a similar process.

"Okay." Kiro nodded in understanding. "I’ll get some firewood then!"

"Hmmm..." Serena murmured. "Don’t go too-"

She paused at the sound of rustling nearby, her hand moving to grab the bone knife on the ground. Her other hand moved to push Kiro behind her as she got into a defensive stance.

I was too relaxed, dammit! Serena cursed herself.

She’d been so focused on getting them food and water that she’d forgotten to cover their scent. Not to mention she should’ve kept a better eye on her surroundings. She was making rookie mistakes.

A white tiger appeared from the shrubs, a familiar scent coming from it. The tiger paused upon seeing them by the river bed before it suddenly shifted.

"Isn’t that the knife that went missing from the supplies?" Theo murmured with a raised eyebrow, straightening up.

Serena relaxed at the sight of Theo and put the knife back down before retorting, "I’m not sure what you’re talking about..."

"Sure." Theo shook his head and walked over to them. "You should know that knife won’t do much against a beastman."

Serena knew that already, but for her it was better than being completely defenseless. Perhaps it would even help the enemy underestimate her, giving her the chance she needed.

"I know..." Serena murmured. "It just makes me feel safer."

Theo pursed his lips at her words, glancing over at the basket sitting next to her. It seemed Serena was fully prepared for things to go wrong. He almost wondered if she knew about the attack.

But that would be crazy. No female would ever get near rootless beastmen, let alone work with a group of them. It was probably her being overprepared or something.

Theo mentally shook his head at his wondering thoughts and coughed, "Anyway, I think we should start heading back. It’s getting late and you ran some distance."

He was honestly surprised by how far away she had managed to get from the camp with Kiro and that basket in tow. Not to mention her method of zipping though trees to make the trail confusing.

"Is the camp safe?" Serena asked.

She knew it probably was if Theo was here to find her, but one could never be too sure. Serena had to make sure she wasn’t sending herself into a dangerous situation.

"They should be finishing up by now." Theo answered honestly. "I left halfway on Rex’s orders to find you."

Serena pursed her lips at his words. She didn’t like the sound of going back to camp when it was uncertain whether it was completely safe or not.

"Can we stay the night here?" Serena asked. "There’s a hidden cave behind the waterfall, so we should be safe for the night... I don’t want to go back to camp if there’s a chance they’re still fighting.... Um dead bodies scare me."

She was laying it thick with that last part, making even Theo raise his eyebrows when she said it. But she was ready to do whatever it took to not head back.

Everything was too uncertain and they didn’t need to accidentally encounter rootless beastmen back at camp. Better to lay low and then return.

"I..." Theo sighed, going quiet. After going back and forth for some time, he finally responded, "Alright, I guess we can stay the night. It would be safer this way."