The Last Primal

It was a beautiful morning. The sun could shine and warm the entire area with its orange rays unobstructed, thanks to the clear morning sky. In a small clearing deep in the forest, a herd of strange animals was enjoying their morning serenity.

Looking at them, they were clearly mammals, and most likely omnivores at that, as most of them were enjoying a fulfilling breakfast with the emerald green grass. They weren't overly large, they were probably the size of an average dog, with a pair of back- and front legs supporting their muscular stature. They had a short but seemingly strong tail hanging at the back.

Their smooth skin was covered with short, soft fur, that was either dark red, bronze-colored, or a combination of these.

They had a fairly large mouth, their teeth and wide tongue were ideal for their lifestyles. Another unique trait they had was their large, slanted eyes, thin noses, and small, pointy ears resting on their relatively small heads. While it wasn't obvious from a first glance, they didn't seem to rely on their vision too much but instead on their other senses.

As they continued to carelessly enjoy the warmth of the morning sun, they emitted low-pitched sounds that seemed vaguely familiar to clicks.

A couple of meters away from the herd a pair of youths were hiding in the undergrowth. They were intently watching the strange animals, being extra careful not to make a noise or any movement. Two large black hounds were lazing behind them, seemingly not caring about anything at all.

The black-haired boy, Aiden, was focusing his gaze on the strange creature, trying to discern what they could be. They originally came this way for an herb that usually grew in this clearing. The Purple Tansima, as they are called, are relatively easy to spot, as they have large, purple, egg-shaped leaves. On top of it, the flowers of the herb were dark red in color, hence the name.

However, when they arrived, he noticed these creatures and decided to lay low first and watch them. They weren't necessarily looking for a fight, especially if they were the ones to intrude on the species' territory.

"What do you think, brother?" The blonde-haired half-elf girl, Lily, quietly whispered.

"I don't think they are aggressive." Aiden answered in a similarly quiet tone. "Look at them, they seem just harmless herbivores. I think it should be safe to approach. At most they will try to defend their spot, if we are careful, we should be able to circle around and get the flowers we need."

Looking at the girl he asked.

"How much do you need anyway?"

Grabbing the crumpled piece of paper from her back pocket, Lily unfolded it and checked her list again.

"3 Flowers of Purple Tansima. Make sure they are intact." She read the line, then while putting it back to her pocket she asked. "You?"

Because of the system, he didn't need to check the paper at all, it was already in his inventory. Opening it up, he looked in front of him, seemingly at nothing, then with a blink he returned to reality and answered.

"6 leaves. I don't need their flowers. What does the Master want with those? I could understand the flower for Granny, but the leaves?"

Thinking about the matter, another question rose in Lily's mind. As the idea took root inside, her eyes became wide and with a slightly higher-pitched tone, she asked.

"Quick! Show me your list!"

Not knowing what she wanted, Aiden summoned the list from his System Inventory and gave it to the girl.

Looking at this list, she compared the items from hers with great interest. As her eyes went from line to line, from paper to paper it became wider every passing second. Her lips curled, feeling great joy in her discovery, she squealed in joy, causing Aiden to immediately muffle her mouth.

"Ssssh! Don't shout, we want to avoid these creatures, remember?"

Nodding her head, Aiden slowly removed his hands, freeing the girl's mouth.

"Sorry! But come, look! Your items are almost the same as mine, it's just that you always require a different part of the plant or fruit than me."

Aiden only smiled at this but didn't respond. Looking at the creatures, he spoke, meanwhile also changing the subject.

"Okay, we have wasted enough time. They seem harmless, we can just avoid these animals. If they attack us, I will try to not kill them. You just stay behind me, okay?"

Lily shook her head while pouting at his words.

"No! I can help, I'm strong too! I have Sam and Biggy too!"

Keeping his gaze on the animals, Aiden clenched his fists in preparation.

"I know, Lily, but we don't need to kill them. They are no threat to us, if they attack, it would just be to protect their group or their territory. We are the ones trespassing, so we should just try to avoid them."

Although his words were rational and Lily also understood that, she still continued her pouting. She didn't refute his words either, instead, she kept silent.

"Okay, let's try to slowly circle around at the edges. We will enter the clearing from the other side, the flowers are closer from that way."

Following his words, he slowly walked forward, keeping himself crouched and behind the shrubs. After a few steps, he stopped and waved towards the girl to follow.

Keeping his attention on the animals, they slowly went through the bushes, approaching the far side. The animals either didn't hear them or didn't care for them, as they have shown no signs of being alerted of their presence.

Still, Aiden felt that somehow, they knew of their presence, as if they had an extra type of sense. This actually intrigued him quite a bit, but he quickly decided to ignore this desire and shook his head.

Noticing Aiden's weird behavior, Lily lightly giggled from behind and spoke in a cheerful and low tone.

"What is it, brother? Did you hit a web or ate a bug or something?" She cheekily remarked.

Aiden didn't bother answering and just kept going forward, giving the girl even more ammunition.

"Oooh, it must be web, no, a bug, no… Hmm, what could it be that made you shake your head like that?" She continued as if this was the most important topic at the moment.

Eventually, Aiden stopped and looked at the girl.

"Shush you! You are so loud, you really want us to be noticed?" Although he knew they were somehow aware of their presence, he pretended if that wasn't the case. It was a good opportunity for Lily to train, after all.

"Blee! Smelly brother! Nasty brother!" Lily continued with her cheeky act, causing Aiden to put on a smile as he shook his head and continued with his track. As he continued, soft giggles accompanied him from behind.

Eventually, they finally arrived at the far side of the clearing. Looking at the creatures, Lily sighed in relief, they were unnoticed!

Looking at the boy, she flicked her tongue at him.

"Blee! You worried for nothing, they didn't notice us at all!"

Aiden could only silently sigh at this. Focusing on the flowers ahead of them, he quietly whispered.

"Okay, let's focus now. You stay here, and I will gather the flowers and the leaves, okay?"

Having said that, he took a step forward, leaving the safety of the undergrowth. However, as soon as he entered the clearing the creatures at the other side raised their heads, looking in his direction.

'Just as I thought…' he inwardly thought while sneering at this turn of events.

"Brother… They…" Lily also commented with a shocked expression. She thought that they were completely unnoticed, yet with one step into their 'territory', they all immediately jumped.

"Don't worry, I got this…" Aiden answered, keeping his eyes on the herd.

Taking another hesitant step forward, he watched intently how the creatures would react. All of them kept staring at him, not moving or reacting at all. It seemed as if they were frozen in time further puzzling Aiden and Lily.

As soon as he took the third step a loud much lower-pitched clicking sound reverberated in the area. In the next second, a larger, bulkier mammal from the same species walked forward, looking at the invader menacingly.

Before the two hounds behind Lily could have jumped to action, Aiden immediately raised his hands signaling them to not take any action. Understanding what her brother wanted, Lily patted both dogs' heads, and with a sweet tone, she whispered.

"No need to worry you two, brother can handle it without any issues. He doesn't want us to help, because we don't want to hurt them. They are in the right to defend their territory. Just stay here, okay?"

The two hounds seemed to be much more intelligent than what one would expect at first glance, as after the verbal command, they silently sat back on the ground, not caring about the events anymore.

Meanwhile, Aiden stood up, and while raising his arms in the air, he took another step towards the direction of the flowers, while keeping his eyes on the big creature.