Back in the cave, Immy threw me a respectful gaze as she nodded before settling down in her corner, curling up and getting ready to sleep. Glancing around, I spotted Essie's figure lying next to father's gigantic head. The difference in size between the two was truly too much, as Essie looked too small.
Still, I was honestly quite surprised she dared to sleep so close to him. A shiver ran down my spine as I imagined father turning in his sleep, and accidentally squashing Essie under his ridiculously large claw. 'Yep, that's definitely not safe,' Thinking about that, I quietly trotted towards Essie who was still blissfully sleeping, before I grabbed her by the neck and hurried away from father afraid to wake him up.
Essie's eyes fluttered open as I dragged her away, a yawn escaping her mouth. "Older brother, you're back," She mumbled still drowsy. "Yes, just go back to sleep It's okay," I answered before laying her down next to me in my quiet corner of the cave.
Ynos and mother were still not back, and Sidus did not return either after our fight, I doubted he would, at least not tonight. Just as I settled down in my place as well, Essie swiftly moved to lay down between my horns where she continued sleeping without a care in the world. A small chuckle escaped my mouth as she moved with her eyes still closed, almost unconsciously.
'Cute,'
And so, with Essie's familiar presence comfortably nestled on top of my head, I blissfully fell asleep. It wasn't until the early morning rays illuminated the cave that I was forced to open my eyes. I drowsily glanced about, Essie was missing, as usual, she was always a morning 'dragon'?
Immy was nowhere to be found inside the cave, still, I could sense her presence outside, my guess was that she was basking under the sun as usual. Peering at the deeper ends of the cave, I could also sense Sidus's presence hiding amongst the shadows.
'Father is gone, I wonder where he went,' I thought with a yawn. Standing up, I lazily stretched my limbs and wings, a growl suddenly escaping my stomach. I still wanted to sleep a bit longer, yet It felt like I had a pit in my stomach, and so I begrudgingly made my way outside planning to hunt.
The glare of the sun caused me to raise my claw, shielding my eyes from the sudden brightness. It took me a few seconds to adjust, turning around I was suddenly surprised to see a dead oversized bird-like monster next to Immy.
"Good morning brother,"
"Morning," I replied with a yawn.
Motioning towards the monster with her head, Immy explained. "Essie took care of the hunt today," She said. It was a pleasant surprise as I was still too lazy to go anywhere.
"Oh, that's great, I was just about to set off. Did you eat already?" I asked since she didn't seem to have any intention of eating.
Shaking her head, Immy answered without open her eyes. "No, I'm trying to use the mana instead," Hearing that, an 'Oh~' escaped my mouth as I nodded. "Well, good luck with that," I said encouragingly.
Using the mana to substitute for food, that was what our parents and grandfather were doing. I learned that a while back when I asked my mother about It. Apparently, It wasn't a very hard thing to learn, It just needed time to get used to It. Using mana doesn't make you feel full all of the sudden or anything like that, quite the opposite, when I tried It, It only left me feeling quite empty as I was suddenly no longer hungry.
It was a useful trick to learn, still, I enjoyed the taste of the food and so I preferred to hunt instead.
Raising my head, I spotted Essie's tiny figure in the air alongside that of a few monsters. A frown quickly made its way to my face as I asked.
"Hey, Immy?"
"Hmm?" Opening her eyes, she shot me a curious glance as I motioned towards Essie.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't those monsters over there the land type that can't fly?"
Raising her head, Immy nodded and explained with a sigh. "That's Essie's new hobby," Confused, I unconsciously muttered, "Hobby?". Closing her eyes, Immy continued speaking. "She seems to have found an interest in dragging animals and monsters that can't fly to the sky so they can also experience the joy of flying, or so she says," Shrugged Immy.
"Huh..." I muttered, 'Well, Ynos like to collect fairy heads, so I guess her hobby is still somewhat tame?' Just as I was thinking about that, a monster was suddenly dropped next to m, dyeing the ground red. "Umm?" at that, I turned towards Immy with a questioning expression.
She didn't even flinch before answering. "Oh ya, she occasionally drops a few of them by accident, she still didn't get the hang of flying with a large number of them It seems," Nodding my head with a blank expression, I answered. "Ah, is that so,"
Shaking my head, I ignored the now unrecognizable monster and turned my attention to the oversized bird instead to fill my stomach. It was surprisingly tasty, as It carried with It an exotic taste, almost spicy. Licking my teeth in satisfaction, I was about to lay down next to Immy when my father's figure suddenly appeared in the sky.
He slowly made his way towards us, as he landed causing us to shield our eyes from the dust cloud that he raised. We both lowered our heads in respect, as father glanced at us with a strange expression on his face.
"Get ready to leave soon Aether," He suddenly said causing me to frown. I had just arrived and was thinking I was now free to just laze around doing nothing all day, yet I was already forced to go somewhere?
"Leave, father you mean?" I questioned with a respectful tone. Father's expression was still weird as he explained. "Your grandmother wants to see you," He said causing my heart to suddenly drop in my chest.
"F-Father, by grandmother you mean?" I stuttered.
"Yes, my mother," He confirmed causing me to shiver unconsciously as I recalled my first meeting with my grandfather and how he almost killed me.
"Father, do you by any chance know why-" before I could finish my question, he suddenly interrupted me with a frown, "I don't, now just be ready since we leave tomorrow," He said before he made his way towards the inside of the cave.
"She can't be as bad as grandfather," I asked as I turned towards Immy, she carefully avoided my gaze as I questioned. "Right?"