"Elara!" Daru roared with gritted teeth.
Fortunately, she was already awake and was also about to peek out. Before she could, however, Daru decisively pulled her wrist and descended the fir with a decisive jump.
A long, dark wing grew on his back, and he dove through the leaves and branches, flying low to the ground.
Elara was held closely to his chest, looking at him with a hint of worry.
"Daru, what's going on?!"
"Those owls!" he explained.
She instantly understood.
During their night watches, there was always a horrifying, raspy, intermittent hooting with no regular schedule.
Both of them would hear two varying but similar hoots — one a pitch higher than the other — multiple times throughout the night.
The most unsettling thing about the calls, more than how nightmarish they sounded, was the fact that they could still be heard during the times the forest was alive.
This meant that the owls were not afraid of the moving trees at all.
