John"s branches droop as Elanor leaves. Sighing he looks at Joe. Joe is submerged in his medicinal bath. The demonic bull"s big body is covered by water. His head lays lazily rests on the ground. His wounds bubble as the medicine disinfects the wounds. Blood mixes with the water turning it a putrid red."You know, if you weren"t so fat, those spears wouldn"t have hurt you," John preaches to the sad looking bull. Joe snorts bitterly at the bush. "You say that the fat protected your vitals? But if you were a fit bull, they wouldn"t have even touched you," John replies.
Joe complains at John, "moo!" John waves a Bush at the bull and responds, "alright, alright it"s not your fault." John then looks at the dead body and cries internally, "they didn"t dispose of the body. I"m just a Bush and Joe"s hurt. What do they expect us to do with it?..."
John is about 75% recovered. But even at 100%, he could do little to aid the bull. If it wasn"t for that phenomenon. His hill mate would have surely died. Still, as a Bush cultivator, he has made great progress. As he is contemplating his own weakness, he hears a quiet cracking sound. He looks around trying to sense what is going on. First, he thought that Joe"s wounds might be acting up. Yet there seems to be no change. The rest of the world also seems tranquil. He then explores his internals. Perhaps the sudden surge of energy damaged him in some way, he worries.
As he scans his body, he is drawn to his core. There along the center is a barely discernible crack. Slowly the crack expands as a bulge begins to appear on top. After an hour a small sprout pops out. With two teardrop leaves, it shines with life force. To John, this new sprout gives the sense of life first coming to a world. This proud plant is the progenitor of life on this small core. John has entered fractured seed stage as the summer wanes.
Down in the village, another momentous event is occurring. Arron pulls Anna aside as they are working. He gently grabs her hand and says, "I know this might not be the appropriate time... But I want to ask anyway." He pauses and looks at the mother"s face. Anna gently smiles while viewing the farmhand with kind eyes. "What is it? You"ve done so much for us. If you need anything, please ask," She states gently, as she squeezes Arron"s hand. "Ahem, yes well I don"t want you to feel obligated. I will continue to help you and your son either way. But will you consider marrying me?" he proposes nervously.
Anna pats his hand gently with a calm expression giving the impression of a stable and kind woman. "Of course it"s an honor to have you join our family," Anna replies. "That"s great!" Arron says pulling her into a big hug. As the muscular arms of her fiance wrap around her, Anna returns the gesture by gently hugging the man"s big back.
Now out of his vision, her eyes turn cold and calculating. Anna"s face switches from a kind understanding mother to a stiff face, as she stares out into the distance. She"d loved her old husband with the heart of a maiden. She cherished him as a wife should. However, after his death, her heart froze over, turning cold as ice. The only fire she felt came from her Lamenter ancestry. A sly smile reaches her lips as she thinks, "If I have a few more kids grow up here. The Lamenters can gather strength and lay down roots."
As the embrace breaks Anna"s face returns to her gentle motherly face. "Thanks, I will cherish both you and Franklin!" He joyously states with a huge smile. He then leans in to kiss Anna, who obliges submissively.
As Elanor walks down the hill her mouth twitches between a slanted smile and annoyance. As she nears the village, she sucks in a deep breath. Exhaling the air out swiftly making a wooshing sound, her face turns into a bright smile. "It"s time to play," she mumbles to herself as she reaches the bottom of the hill.
Elanor makes her way to the two lovebirds when she overhears them talking. It is no issue for her to pick out the conversations of the villagers. "Did I hear something about a marriage!?" she yells playfully. The couple looks over at the fairy in surprise. Arron blushes embarra.s.sed while Anna nods in acknowledgment to Elanor.
Elanor briskly walks over scooping both of them into her arms. One in each arm she crushes the two with her hug. Their feet dangle from the ground as she shows them her love. "If we are crushed to death it won"t be a very happy wedding," Anna counsels the gorilla woman.
Elanor releases them while sheepishly rubbing her head. Her bright otherworldly smile enchants the two villagers. "Sorry I was just excited. A wedding means there will be a party!" she laughs while patting their shoulders harshly. "Well I was just thinking it could be just a quiet event," Arron says. He"s always been a low key hard working guy. So suddenly making a big fuss made him uncomfortable.
Upon hearing this reaction, Elanor"s face begins to twitch in an alien way. Her cheek muscle flex as her smile becomes a bit wider. Her eyes squint and her forehead ripples. She clenches her fists at her side causing them to crack. The reaction shocks the couple. They can"t read these strange facial expressions. The facial changes only last a moment. Elanor quickly gets her emotions under control. A bright, enchanting smile quickly returns to her face. The changes were so abrupt that the two weren"t sure if it even happened.
"Don"t joke around. How can you have a happy marriage if you don"t start out with a bang," Elanor states giving a thumbs up before continuing, "There"s no need to worry I"ll bring the refreshments! I"ll even gather some good meat. So you guys just spread the word, that next week will be the wedding party." As Arron is about to try and reject the well-meaning offer, Anna jumps in, "Thanks for your generosity. We"ll tell everyone about our wedding and the party." Anna then taps Arron"s arm gesturing for him to agree. "Well I guess it can"t hurt," he says while rubbing his sore shoulder.
With the decision made the couple breaks off to spread the word. Elanor moves into the forest to search for some prey. After getting a few miles away from the village, she finds a demonic tiger. "You"re not that strong, but I need to beat someone up to get rid of this tension," Elanor tells this demonic beast.
The beast seeing this monster with its grotesque smile tries to run giving up its territory. To the tiger"s horror, this woman is a calamity level character. As she chases, he hears her jeering at him, "Come on kitty lets play!" Elanor chases the cat while smashing trees and rending up the ground. After a few hours of wreaking havoc, Elanor catches the demonic tiger who is frothing at the mouth in fear. "Good meat needs to be tenderized," she tells the cat. With that, she pounds the cat until it can no longer be identified. "That should be good enough?" Elanor asks herself. "Well, I"ll just leave it to the cook," she decides.