"What's wrong?" Unana approached her brother and looked at the forest. "Are there dolls there?"
"If there were dolls…" Yueret admitted honestly. "This lizard wants to take us for a ride on his tongue because there's no road here."
Unana shuddered and, apparently instinctively, pressed herself closer to her brother. Due to the thick fur clothing, Yueret felt almost nothing, so he continued to think about how to overcome this last obstacle.
The forest ahead truly seemed impenetrable. Young conifers intertwined densely, their branches reaching to the ground. Almost no light penetrated this green wall, so the older of the "bear cubs" was seriously worried that he wouldn't be able to get in either.
"We used to be able to walk through the forest, but it was old and not as dense," Yueret said. "But this forest seems to have been planted specifically to prevent anyone from getting through."
"It's to protect against bears," Timnichan explained. "Strange bears might get into your home and eat your food. You wouldn't want that, would you?"
"These branches are prickly," Unana wrapped her arms around her brother's neck and peered over his head. "Maybe we should set them on fire?"
"They won't burn now," Yueret admitted. "It's very humid right now. Look at the fog there."
"Then we could just shoot a beam at them," the little eighteen-year-old archer suggested. "The trees will break, fall, and we'll be able to get through."
"No, it's best not to do anything with the trees," Yueret said. "I don't think they're much protection from real bears, but it's better to have them. There's a better way."
"You want to fly over them?" Unana guessed.
"Yeah…"
"But I might not have enough energy."
"That's enough for now. You had a good rest on the train. I saw it myself."
"Really? Are you that worried about me?"
Unana touched her cheek to her brother's. Yueret felt warmth so rare in these cold places.
"That lizard is watching us," Yueret warned. "Now it's going to tell us what we are..."
"I understood," a red arrow with a burning tip appeared in Unana's hand.
Timnichan looked at his little sister hugging her brother and smiled. At some point, her mouth opened to utter a pre-prepared phrase…
Something hot flew into Timnichan's mouth, causing the lizard girl to jump and then fall into the water.
"Why did you do that?" Yueret asked.
"She's a cold lizard. I warmed her up a little."
"I hope dad won't punish us for this."
"He has already punished us."
Yueret agreed with her sister's assertion, but only in his mind, so Timnichan wouldn't hear. The eldest of the "bear cubs" didn't realize that the spirit of cold lizard seemed oblivious to any discussions about her, especially in such an unusual position.
"Let me do it before the lizard comes back," Unana said, disengaging herself from her brother.
Yueret looked at the spot where Timnichan had been and confirmed that the lizard girl hadn't returned yet.
Meanwhile, Unana was already "hovering" in the air, surrounded by a purple aura. Before her, a view opened up of endless coniferous forests that descended the mountainside and gradually disappeared into the mist. Among all this, that strange blue-green object stood out.
"It's a roof," Unana guessed. "There are also some wooden columns there. This is definitely a house. I have to tell Yueret. We can't go down without him."
The youngest of the "bear cubs" was most afraid of being left without her brother, so she didn't dare fly over the forest that separated her from her destination.
"The lizard isn't here yet," Yueret told his sister after landing. "She was washed down somewhere. She probably hasn't realized what happened yet."
"That's good," Unana looked around. "I hope we don't see her again. As soon as I find dad, I'll give him the data from that thing on the screen, and it doesn't matter that it's a gift. Let him give himself such gifts."
Yueret smiled and looked at his little sister's face. Unana, with her plump cheeks, small, barely noticeable nose, and brown hair, resembled a plush bear.
"What's so funny?" Unana frowned.
"You're like a bear cub."
"You too… You have the same face, only bigger."
"You're all bear cubs."
Unana and Yueret suddenly had no time to discuss which of them resembled the big brown animal more. They immediately recognized that unpleasant voice, as if it had been deliberately created for the sake of a joke.
"Tu... Timnichan…" Yueret slowly turned toward the source of the voice.
"The lizard…" Unana shuddered.
Standing before the "bear cubs" was indeed the same lizard girl, only her hair was wet, covering part of her face and at least partly hiding her silly smile.
"Bear cubs, do you want to go for a ride?"
"No," Yueret refused. "I know what you want to take us for a ride on… on the tongue."
"How do you know?" Timnichan leaned forward, her hair completely covering her face. "You've become too smart. Your head has grown."
Unana looked at her brother and confirmed that his head was indeed disproportionately big.
"If you're so smart, you'll find your way on your own," Timnichan said, turning her back to the "cubs." "I'm wet for some reason. I'll go dry."
The lizard girl took a step forward and fell back into the water. Unana felt joy and relief, and told her brother what she'd seen when she rose above the forest.
"I knew right away it was home," Yueret said. "I hope there's no spirit of wet panties in an apron there."
"Brother likes girls without aprons," Unana thought. "Oh, what am I thinking? It was in the game."
Unana slapped her cheeks with her palms. The skin on her face flushed slightly. Fortunately, Yueret didn't notice this, as he was looking at the treetops.
"I'm not a very good flyer," the older "bear cub" admitted. "But I have an idea."
Yueret summoned a shield, which turned out to be half the size of a door in a house, and sat down on it.
"It's strange, but not as strange as the stupid lizard," Unana said.
"We have no choice. This shield will fit both of us. You won't have to waste energy, and I won't accidentally fall if I see a lizard."
Unana agreed. Yueret activated his purple aura, which then transferred to the shield, causing it to rise.
"Hey, you forgot your little sister!" Unana, in a purple aura, jumped onto the edge of the shield.
"Now I don't forget," Yueret smiled.
Unana turned away so her brother wouldn't notice her cheeks flush. She'd grown so accustomed to being the little sister that she'd come to think of herself as a separate species, like bears, squirrels, or little beasts. But despite this, her brain told her this wasn't normal.
The shield rose above the treetops. Against the backdrop of the treetops, a blue-green roof appeared, and next to it, wooden columns that apparently supported this structure.
"This looks like our home," Unana noted.
"Did you see it from above?"
"Uh..."
And then Unana realized that she had almost said something unnecessary.
"Yueret doesn't know I flew to Kimchan. But that was before. Now he knows Kimchan is a dog girl. Maybe I should tell him about it? No, then Yueret will worry, fall down, and there's that lizard."
The shield gradually moved closer to the house, causing it to visually increase in size and detail. Log walls appeared, and in them, round, convex windows, seemingly imitating eyes.
The building was separated from the forest by a moat filled with water that flowed here from streams at the top of the mountain, after which it continued to flow down through ditches.
"This already looks like a real home, not a lizard's," Yueret noted. "You can even land here."
"But there are eyes..." Unana pointed at one of the windows.
"Those are windows. We have them in our house too."
"I know. But there's something there."
Yueret began examining these "eyes," but noticed nothing strange other than the bulge. But Unana, who still remembered the eyeball in the doll's hand, saw white glowing dots in the windows.
"Yueret, let's go back," Unana grabbed her brother's hand. "There are dolls there."
"There are no dolls there. It's just glare from the sun."
The sun did indeed try to break through the layer of grey clouds, but so weakly that Unana did not believe her brother.
"Daddy wants to trap us and turn us into dolls," the girl continued. "If we land, the dolls will attack us, cut off our heads, and then replace them with their own. We'll have different colored hair. Yours will be yellow, and mine will be purple. You won't be my big brother anymore, and I won't be your little sister."
"You're just scared. There aren't really any dolls here. Daddy didn't do anything like that. Otherwise, why would he create such a stupid character?"
The big brother's words somewhat comforted the frightened little sister, but not completely. Unana closed her eyes to block out the pupils peering out of the windows.
"Today is a special day for the cubs. They opened their eyes for the first time. Don't eat your pawies. I'll bring you some real bear food. You'll be yummy."
Unana shuddered at the voice in her head and nearly fell off her shield.
"Unachan, is that you?" the girl asked silently.
"Go eat, my little bear cub," the voice in his head continued. "I have yum-yum."
Unana pressed on her brother's hand to get his attention. Yueret felt pain and looked at his sister.
"Did you see something again?"
Unana didn't answer. She stared at the big wooden door, which was getting closer, and barely blinked.
"Something's wrong here," Yueret thought. "Hey, little bear, what's your name again? Tell me, what's wrong with my sister?"
"I can't talk until you give me a name," the blue-white plush bear with glowing blue eyes emerged from the inventory again.
"You're already talking to me. Why can't you tell me what you know?"
"I can't do without a name. I'm just a bear cub receiving signals."
"Who are you receiving signals from?"
"First, tell me my name."
Yueret realized he was in a hopeless situation. His shield was almost level with the door.
"If the door opens and Dad comes out, he'll see Unana like this," Yueret thought. "Even if I give the bear a name he likes, I won't have time to help Unana. Aaah…"
Luckily, the situation with his little sister resolved itself. Unana returned to the real world, although she had little understanding of where she was.
"Where's the yum-yum?" The archer looked around, but the only thing she could see "edible" was a conifer cone the size of her head.
"Probably there," Yueret look at the wooden door between the columns.
"There..."
Unana jumped sharply on the spot, causing her to fall off the shield. Luckily, the girl was surrounded by a purple aura, which helped her stay in the air.
Meanwhile, the shield was already a few steps from the ground, so it stopped descending. Yueret jumped to the ground and then, with a wave of his hand, transferred the flying object to his inventory.
"Today the bear cubs' pawies grew a little and they can walk wherever they want. But instead, they climbed into the refrigerator and ate yum-yum."
Yueret turned around and saw his little sister's booted feet. Unana was sinking to the ground, her chest, "reinforced" by the jacket, almost hitting her brother in the face.
"Did you hear that?" Yueret asked.
"What?"
"A voice... It was talking about pawies."
"No. But I heard a voice talking about something else. I think I heard it before, but I can't remember whose. It also talked about yum-yum."
"Yeah, I had that word too. Maybe the house is talking to us? It transmits signals through the plush bears, which is why we hear voices."
Unana lowered her head, as if trying to remember something. It seemed to her that if she were just a little bit closer, she'd recognize the voice. But it was as if there was a cloud in her head, obscuring some of her memories.
"Unachan… Perhaps you know whose voice this is?"
"I'm just a stupid little bear," the voice in her head answered. "I'm just transmitting signals when I receive them. I can't know anything."
Unana raised her head and saw a brown bear cub with glowing red eyes standing before her.
"Sorry, Unachan… I shouldn't have asked you."
"Maybe we should ask dad?" Unana looked at the door. "He could be right nearby."
"Yeah, I forgot about him. Those voices distracted me."
Unachan moved to the inventory. Unana walked up to the door and then extended her hand forward.
"Little pawies want yum-yum."
A voice in her head made the archer return to her previous position.
"It's talking to me," Unana said, her voice trembling.
"Something's wrong with this house. Let me try."
The older "bear cub" approached the door and reached out to open it, or at least summon the door lock, but it wasn't necessary.
The door opened on its own, as if it hadn't been locked...
…There was a cry, similar to the roar of a bear. In fact, there were no bears here. It was Unana screaming, staring at the doorway, so shocked she'd forgotten human language.
Yueret was also shocked, but unlike his sister, he simply stood in front of the threshold, unable to think.
"Welcome back, bear cubs."
The voice, which seemed human, helped Yueret start thinking again.
On the threshold of the house stood a girl in a black fur hat, with two cutouts on the sides, from which two "tails" of yellow hair stuck out. A black apron covered most of her breast and her belly and upper thighs. She wore black leather boots. That was the end of her costume.
"You're a doll," Yueret said, a short sword appearing in his hand.
"Ahh..." Yueret didn't know how to react to this.
"Come into the house, little bears," the doll's head returned to its previous position. "If the great lord returns and sees you haven't come home, he'll spank me."
The doll turned its back. Two big buttocks with smooth skin, glistening in the sun, appeared before Yueret.
Unana saw something terrifying. A huge monster loomed over her big brother, opening its mouth.
"Hey, Yueret," the archer pressed herself against her brother, grabbed his hand, and turned him toward the forest.
"These dolls are strange."
"Of course they are strange," Unana frowned. "Everything's so big. I can't even imagine how that huge ass will fit into the coffin. It definitely doesn't fit in their clothes."
"Bear cubs, go home," the doll turned to face her brother and sister. "There's some yum-yum here."
Unana heard the familiar word and turned to the doll. The next moment, she was kneeling, looking at the moss-covered ground.
"What's happened?" Yueret looked first at his sister, then at the doll. "Ah, right."
The doll was indeed facing the "bear cubs," but it seemed to have forgotten to turn the rest of her body. As a result, a girl stood on the threshold with a bare bottom, back, neck, but at the same time a face with big bulging eyes.
"Your head..." Yueret said.
The doll looked down, saw what was there, and then turned around with her apron forward.
"You won't tell the great lord?"
"I don't know who it is," Yueret answered.
"Come in and find out," the doll said. "He'll be here soon."
Yueret looked at his sister, who was still in shock, and realized now was a good opportunity to enter the house. He lifted Unana onto his back and then walked through the doorway…
Inside, it turned out to be an ordinary room with log walls and round light bulbs on the ceiling. Light came through several round windows located at different heights.
In the middle of the room stood a half-brown, half-white-blue sofa and a small table, and in the corner stood a staircase leading to the second floor, obscured by cobwebs.
"Lie down here," the doll said and pointed to the sofa. "I'll bring you some yum-yum."
The maid approached the wall, in front of which a blue energy castle appeared. A few moments later, the logs that made up the wall parted, revealing a passage into a room littered with animal bones.
Luckily, Yueret wasn't looking there. He tossed Unana onto the sofa, and then noticed the bear-shaped pillows next to her.