Boom!
A small fairy was seen tumbling through the air. She looked like she had taken a lot of damage.
"Nixa!" Another fairy shouted as he flew to catch the other. Behind them, a powerful looking bear was in hot pursuit. Just one look, and you could say that the bear was made of stone and rocks. Its entire body was covered by stone looking material.
From his perch on a local tree, Kigen had been resting, waiting for the group to gather after a successful hunt. Near him, there was a magnificent looking golden eagle that was cleaning its feathers.
When he heard the commotion, Kigen turned to see what was happening. A shocked expression appeared on his face.
"Why did you go bother that thing?" He yelled as he took to the air. Even Tera, the eagle, was shocked by the sight.
Of course, Kigen had seen the massive rock-covered bear. First time he saw it, he'd thought it was a pile of rocks and stones, until the thing moved. When he finally got the full picture, he had made it his point to stay as far as possible from the bear. Yet, these little fairies had the nerve to go and disturb it?
However, there was no time for explanations. One fairy was badly damaged, while the other was in harm's way, trying to rescue his sister. Kigen would not let this danger befall them. It was his task to ensure they did not get into any danger, and if they did, he was the one responsible for pulling them out.
Acting fast, Kigen rose to the air, while angling his body to point towards the big bear. He quickly wrapped his fists with tendrils, while hardened to give his knuckles that extra layer of protection.
"Look, Big Bro is finally acting," Nina yelled the moment she saw Kigen take to the air. Immediately, every fairy around stopped what they were doing to watch.
To the fairies, their big brother was invincible. There was nothing he could not take on. This was why they even had the daring to antagonize the big rock bear. After all, should anything go bad, big brother would just swoop into the rescue. Luckily, Kigen had never disappointed them.
Excitedly, all the activities and pandemonium seemed to stop, as the fairies gathered to watch Kigen's approach. Every time Kigen made a move, the others would learn something, and they would end up improving their hunting capabilities.
Meanwhile, Kigen remained unaware of the movements of his fellow fairies as he continued to climb. Altitude meant speed, a fact he had discovered along the way. He couldn't climb for too long though, since every moment that passed increased the danger for the two fairies.
Once he was sufficiently high enough, Kigen turned his body, angling it to face the oncoming threat. The next moment, his hind wings fluttered, propelling him forward. He then folded his wings tightly against his body as he zoomed across the sky. Finally, when he had gained enough speed, he started rotating, increasing the speed of his attack.
As any hunter would, Kigen had previously observed the bear, trying to figure out the best way to take it down. All this had been theoretical, since he had no intention of disturbing the bear. Now it was no longer just a thought experiment.
From his observations, he had noted that the bear had a tough outer exterior, owing to its stone covered body. With such defense, he couldn't hope to penetrate it with his meager strength.
Moreover, the bear was also deceptively fast. When lumbering across the jungle, it looked as though it was too bulky, or about to keel over. Of course, if you believed this, you were probably going to end up being mauled.
Kigen did not know much about its reflexes, but based on its speed, it was not slow, even in that department. Hence, there was only one weakness he could think of, but even then, he needed to be fast enough and accurate enough to make it.
Final preparations done, it was time to go in for the kill.
Puchi!
Moving faster than a bullet, Kigen shot forward, plunging into the enemy's eyeball, then into the eye socket, and finally, lodging deep into the bear's brain matter.
Once in, he immediately generated tendrils from his arms and legs, spreading over the brain matter of the beast, all the while furiously absorbing the brain matter.
"Woah!" A fairy exclaimed. They couldn't believe what they had just seen. In one fell swoop, Kigen had moved like a fiend. The big bear, despite all its fury and massive size, could not even withstand one attack from their hero.
They watched as the massive beast came tumbling down, shaking the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust. With bated breath, they awaited the emergence of their senior from the bear's body.
The senior in question was busy absorbing as much essence as he could. The bear's brain had turned into a thick soup, which he was happily gobbling up. Only after he had had his fill did he crawl out of the eye socket.
The bear was super big, which meant that he and his kin would have their fill. Even the eagle was also engorging itself happily. There was plenty to go around.
It was quite the sight, watching eight fairies landing on the beast, the tendrils on their feet sinking into the meaty and rock skin. It seemed as though some herbs had begun to grow on the fresh kill.
Kigen could also see the big bear shrinking at a visible rate. However, the thing was just too massive, so they could not finish it. Instead of wasting the good meat, Kigen had another idea.
"Alright, you all know the drill," Kigen said, once everyone was done consuming. This was followed by a collective groan. They all knew what that meant.
"Come on, no slouching," Kigen said as he instructed his people. After much pushing, every person had found a place to hold. Soon, a sight that was becoming quite common in these parts of the forest was seen.
Eight fairies, straining under the weight of the rock bear, managed to lift the thing and even fly it above the cliff, taking it to the mother tree. While they had carried some wolves, monkeys, and even a deer one time, this was the heaviest they had ever lifted. Kigen allowed them the occasional break, but they had to keep soldiering forward.
Finally, eight exhausted fairies managed to bring the bear carcass to the foot of the mother tree, where they dumped it. Mother's roots had already started moving, angling towards the new kill. Kigen knew that this would lead to a few more fairies, given how big that this was.
As for the fairies, each went to find their respective stalks. Only in the bosom of the mother tree would they feel safe and find rest. Tera, the resident eagle, also went to find her nest. She too had taken part in the heavy lifting, her wings being the biggest in the ground.
Once he was jacked in, Kigen went to hang out with the mother tree. As more and more fairies were being born, something interesting was happening with mother, and the mind palace.
The mind palace had grown quite busy of late, with so many fairies. They could even interact with each other. However, the biggest change had been on Mother, or rather, her apparition that was seated on the throne. She had grown more responsive, and at times, she would even be fully lucid.
Kigen could still remember the first time this had happened. He'd gone to touch mother, on her through in the mind palace, as he usually did. However, on that time, instead of the usual passing out, and waking up in his body, she gave him a look of love and affection he had not felt in a long time. In fact, the last person to ever look at him like that was his mother. Mistress Kering could not come close.
"Hello mother," seeing this look, Kigen had taken the time to greet her, not expecting any response from her. To his shock, she smiled further and greeted him back.
"Hello dear one," It took him a few moments to realize that she hadn't spoken, rather, he heard the response in his mind.
This was the start, since after that, every time Kigen found his mother lucid, he would take time to regale her with stories of his hunting expedition. She seemed to also enjoy it, and sometimes even asking for details.
However, she was not always awake, and sometimes, their conversation would be cut short. Kigen did not mind, since he was getting the kind of family he always wished for.
On this day, Kigen went to his mother as usual, and to his luck, she was lucid. As he told her about his successful hunt of the bear, she looked very concerned, worried not just for him, but also for her other children.
Kigen tried to downplay the danger, but she still looked concerned. He felt very touched to have such a caring mother. He couldn't help comparing her to Mistress Kering. The woman had done her best to provide for them physically, but she was not very present emotionally.
Perhaps, as she said, being a fairy was for the best.
Once Kigen was done with his stories, mother still looked very concerned.
"Don't worry child," she said, "I'll give you something to keep you and the rest of your siblings safe." As she spoke, Kigen felt as though something had been deposited in his mind. He couldn't quite explain it, but he knew he had gained something from his conversation with mother.
Only after he had slumbered would he unpack to find what mother had given him, and what a treasure trove it was.