The Dog's Name is Weird

The dog turned out to be a huge black wolf with red eyes and scary fangs. It came to Lucian as soon as he whistled three times and called out its name.

"Come here, Bear. Come here." Lucian clapped his hands, calling for his dog to come. He rubbed its chind and caressed its black fur. "Did you catch the moose?"

The wolf howled in low tone and lowered its head, as if it wanted to tell Lucian that he didn't catch its prey. Lucian patted its head and said softly, "That's okay, you can catch another prey later."

"Wait, this doesn't make sense." Naomi pointed her hands to the dog. "Come on, you said it's a dog, but it turns out to be a wolf. Then, you named it Bear?"

Medeia defended her future husband. "What's wrong with its name? Doesn't it look like a big bear?"

It also had fluffy fur that made Medeia willing to kill someone just to touch it.

"Guys, let's focus on finding Tian!" Ren couldn't believe that they were still talking about the dog instead of finding his brother.

Lucian was the first to ask about Tian. "Do you have something your brother used to wear or touch? Bear can find him by smelling his scent."

Ren touched his pocket, then took out a handkerchief. "He used this to wipe his hands a moment ago. Is it enough?"

"Yes, more than enough." Lucian let Bear smell the handkerchief. The wolf raised its head, then ran into something.

Lucian and Ren immediately followed Bear, while Harry told Medeia to stay there with Simon and Naomi.

"How did you manage to stay alive without getting hurt?" asked Medeia to Simon and Naomi.

Naomi had the fast regeneration ability, but others couldn't heal themselves if they got hurt.

"We are safe because of Harry." Simon smiled. "He's trying so hard to hold us so no one gets carried away by the tornado. However, I think it is easier to avoid tornadoes on land than on the tree."

Moreover, the tree Medeia was sitting on was also uprooted from the ground, so she and Tian could be thrown anywhere.

"If I can survive, so will Tian," Medeia said.

"He's a tough man anyway." Naomi leaned against the tree, then said, "Miss Medeia, I know Tian has been rude to you, but I can guarantee he is harmless."

"Mostly harmless," Simon corrected.

Naomi chuckled. "I'm just saying that Tian acts that way because he doesn't want someone to die again."

Since the apocalypse began, they had witnessed so many people die, either because they turned into the Lost or were devoured by monsters.

"Among all of us, Tian is the one who has witnessed the death of others the most." Naomi explained, "That's why, he doesn't want a person like you to come to dangerous places."

Medeia sensed something bad had happened to him before, but she wasn't interested in discussing Tian's past. 

"A person like me? You mean a weakling?" Medeia squinted her eyes, feeling a little bit annoyed because everyone kept calling her a weakling.

"I mean, a person who is not skilled enough to fight the Lost or monsters." Naomi continued her words as soon as Medeia wanted to talk. "I know you have killed a Grade-D mutant, but killing one is not enough."

All sorts of unreasonable things could happen in the forest, including fighting a Grade-S mutant. Therefore, Medeia needed to hone her skills first before joining the hunter group.

Medeia sighed. "As I said, I did not come here to kill myself, but to find a way to revive the village's soil." She took the Stone of Fertility from her pocket. "This ... this is our ticket to survive the famine."

Simon and Naomi brought their faces closer to the green pebble. Simon asked, "A stone?"

"Yes, a stone, but not an ordinary one." Medeia said, "Do you remember when Tian said that Ren once took the forest's soil, but the soil became barren when he left the forest?"

Before anyone could answer, Medeia had explained, "The answer is not in the soil, but in this stone. It's the one that makes the land fertile."

Naomi's eyes widened. "So you mean we can revive the village's land with this stone?"

Medeia nodded. "That's right."

"But how do you know this?" asked Simon confusedly.

"This is just my hypothesis, so it may be right or wrong. But there's no harm in trying, right?" Medeia lied so she didn't have to explain anything complicated.

Simon and Naomi exchanged glances. They seemed hesitant, but like Medeia said, nothing bad could happen if her hypothesis was wrong.

Otherwise, if she guessed it right, then the villagers wouldn't need to hunt in the forest twice a week.

"What do you need, Miss Medeia?" asked Simon.

"Help me collect as many stones as you can." Medeia then looked at the lifeless falcon, "But you can do that after you slice the falcon into small pieces."

With the size of the falcon, Medeia was sure they wouldn't need to hunt again for the next week.

"Do you want its head?" Simon grabbed the falcon's head. Its beak was broken and its right eye was missing. 

Medeia hissed, feeling disgusted by that sigh. "Just throw it away."

○ ○

When Simon almost finished slicing the falcon apart, Harry and the others came back with Tian.

"We found him under the fallen trees," said Harry.

His clothes were covered in dirt and mud. He pushed Ren whenever his brother wanted to support him. "I can walk on my own."

"But your arms—"

Tian cut him off. "I only broke one of my arms, not my legs so stop worrying."

Apart from his broken arms, Tian was perfectly fine. No, maybe not perfectly fine. He must have felt like his pride had been tarnished because he was trapped under the trees.

If Lucian hadn't asked his wolf to look for him, maybe they wouldn't have been able to find Tian.

"How are you doing?" Lucian approached Medeia to check her wound. Bear followed him around and suddenly sat beside her.

"As bad as before." Medeia sighed. "But I have to find a way to go home with these useless legs."

Everyone had to carry the big chunk of falcon's meat and sacks of stone, so they definitely wouldn't be able to carry Medeia on their backs.

Moreover, Tian's arms were broken so each of them had to carry more belongings. Well, her opportunity to bring Lucian home had already disappeared as her group returned, so Medeia didn't expect him to help her get home.

"You can ride on Bear's back. Don't worry, I used to put heavy things on his back, so your weight is nothing to him."

Medeia's eyes gleamed with happiness. She immediately held his hands and asked, "Really?"

Lucian gave her a soft smile. "Didn't you ask me to take you home? Or could it be that the offer is expired?"

"No! I'll be glad if you take me home. If you don't have a place to sleep, you can stay there as long as you want." She asked hesitantly, "or do you have someone waiting for you at home?"

Lucian shook his head. "I just have Bear, no one else."

Perfect.

Medeia would lose her mind if she also had to meet with her in-laws.

"Then, do you want to try to ride on Bear's back?"

[Quest Completed: Bring Lucian to Willow Village]