The unrestrained river of time continued to flow without a single ripple on its surface; seasons changed, and people grew. But, it stayed the same—Relentless and unstoppable.
Under the thrill of life, thirteen months had passed from the day when Rion had opened his eyes under the ceiling of the doctor's hut while he was in the embrace of the very person who had helped his mother give birth.
He remembered that day like yesterday; it was a great memory, but that didn't mean much anymore; the present held more importance for him.
Rion stood on his legs and paced within the hut by holding onto the various furniture placed inside as support. Considering that he was a reincarnated person, he should have started walking much sooner, but... he had never even walked using his own legs in his past life, so it was a new experience for him.
Each step was full of joy, each step was a statement, a declaration that he was no longer chained to the weakness that haunted him in his past life.
'Walking is fun... It's addictive...' he thought with a grin that stretched to the end of his face, and reached his ears. It was truly a wide grin full of joy.
He continued to pace around like that for some time until a pair of muscular hands lifted him from the ground. He turned and looked at Haden with a similar grin, "Papa!"
Haden smiled at him as he folded him in his muscular arms that were covered in faint scars, "Why do you grin like that every time you walk?" He questioned as he walked out of the hut and stood beside Lara, who was washing the hide of a white and blue wolf.
"Because it makes me happy," Rion replied with bright eyes.
"You say that every time," Lara commented as she finished washing the hide and looked at her son. She raised her hand and lifted a finger as she asked, "Why do you love to go out so much?"
"Because it makes me happy when I see new things." He replied with a tilt of his head.
He frowned slightly and looked at the sun that was accompanied by the white clouds and spoke, "Isn't it expected to be happy for nice-looking things? I think nature is quite beautiful in that sense."
Haden and Lara looked at each other for a while, and Lara replied with a smile, "You are right, baby."
Rion watched other tribe members walking around, a few were female, but most were men, and in those moving passerby, his eyes fell on a girl who was only two years older than him... he remembered her face pretty well, even though he had only seen her once—She was the one who had called him weird, after all.
'Snorty kid! Hmph!' He thought as he lowered his head on his father's shoulder, and Haden began to pat his back.
There were many things he wanted to do but couldn't because he was simply too young.
'I want to travel around the world, but this world is simply too dangerous; it literally has dragons, so... it would be better for me to just stay within the tribe.' He thought as he looked at four green arrows—the locations that were still left to sign in at.
'I just have to wait for the ceremony to sign in at two of them...' he thought as he looked at the arrow at the centre of the settlement and the arrow at the far end of the Redwood Basin.
When a child reached the age of five, they were to cleanse themselves under the flowing water of the spring of youth, and afterwards they got the tribal tattoo—Each warrior obtained a different tattoo—imprinted by the shaman's ritual, to complete their ceremony. This ceremony was what made someone a true member of the Dhaevrak tribe.
He couldn't wait to reach the age of five, but there was nothing he could do. He had to wait.
"Are you lost in your thoughts again?" Haden questioned as he poked his cheek.
Rion let out a giggle and looked at him with an expression full of innocence. He had mastered acting like a child.
"I was~" he answered in a bubbly tone.
Haden's lips arched up. He shook his head, sat on a nearby rock and questioned, "You like nature, don't you?"
"I do," Rion replied while looking at a butterfly that sat upon a blue flower.
"Then why don't you like playing with other kids?" Harden questioned as he lifted him by the armpits and made him look into his eyes.
'Because those little shits annoy me," unfortunately, he couldn't just say that.
He narrowed his eyes and thought of a response. After thinking about it for a few moments, he obtained the best possible answer. An answer so deadly that no parent—Those worthy to be called one—can ever counter.
He cried.
Tears welled up at the corners of his blue sapphire-like eyes as he cried marvelously and added in a painful tone, "Wahh! Papa doesn't want me! Mama!"
Haden frowned before his expression turned grave as he tried to calm him down, "What are you talking about? I said no such thing," he said as he patted his back and cradled him in his right arm.
"P-papa wants me to go away with other kids, don't you?" Rion replied as he stifled his cries.
"Huh? I just want you to make friends," Haden shot back with furrowed brows.
Right then, he heard a faint chuckle, "Hehe!"
Haden glanced at him and saw a faint smirk stretching across his face, "Hmm?"
He suddenly felt a bad premonition, but before he could think of it, a chilling voice reached his ears.
"Why is my son crying, husband?" Lara asked with sharp, narrowed eyes as she hung the washed hide for drying.
He waved off his left hand and replied, "Haha! It's nothing, don't worry,"
But before he could succeed in doing that, Rion's smirk widened, and he began to cry again.
"Waah! Boo-hoo!"