Chapter 34

While Hank could see just fine in the star-lit night, he was not sure the same was true for Bob. Although the middle-aged man was no longer on Adair's wing, the bear couldn't rule out the possibility that he had just done so because Hank's sudden arrival had spooked him. Suddenly aware of how the situation must look from Bob's perspective, the bear was suddenly worried that the man might feel threatened and try to attack him again.

Fortunately, the only thing that he saw that could be used as an impromptu weapon would be a rake-like thing that was leaning on the side of the barn. Hank did not spot any swords, spears, or the dreaded bow that had been used against him earlier. Nevertheless, just to be safe, the bear repositioned himself between Bob and the rake, which also happened to block off the only path of escape.

Strangely, the man did not complain. Apparently, having noticed the writing on the ground, Bob carefully knelt down and started to leave a message of his own. Hank was very happy with this outcome. As long as they stayed quiet, the chance of someone else coming over and attack him would be reduced, especially since the bear had registered the smell of other humans in the wood house nearby.

Hank was pretty sure that he was capable of defending his own life, but he would prefer to avoid having to kill any townsfolk. After all, he understood that he was the one intruding into someone else's home. What's more, if it became known that he, a wild and dangerous animal, was roaming around, they might start a bear hunt. The bear had little knowledge about how powerful the people on this side of the wall were, and he was not inclined to find out how life would be with a bounty placed upon himself.

It was time to see what this man was writing on the ground. However, when Hank looked down, he had trouble understanding the content of the message. He could recognize all the characters, they were certainly the same kinds he had used earlier, but the way the middle-aged man had utilized them, seemed to be slightly off. The bear wasn't sure if Bob might be somewhat illiterate or the way they spoke and wrote was slightly off here.

When the man backed up, Hank growled at him since he was carelessly walking back towards Adair. Noticing his blunder, the farmer quickly stopped in his tracks. This was also when the bear slowly moved over to his side, making sure he was not reading what the man wrote upside down and while it was hard to read, it appeared to be the same language just a different dialect.

While he was doing this, Hank made sure to keep an eye on Bob, just in case he decided to do anything funny. Doing this, along with the fact that the text was in a different dialect than he used to, made reading what the man wrote take quite a bit of time.

After several minutes of trying to figure out what it said, the best interpretation he could come up with was something along the lines of: "Dear Holy Beast, I'm sorry I hurt you. I did not know you, Protector of Little Goddess. Please, don't kill me for hurting you. I see Little Goddess is hurt. I will help Little Goddess. And I will help you." 

Part of his confusion stemmed from the fact that Bob seemed to consider him to be a Holy Beast, one protecting Adair. While this wasn't exactly far from the truth, how did Adair suddenly become a 'Little Goddess'? Not even the King would dare to claim to be a God. Hank wondered whether the farmer might have mistaken her for a religious Goddess - after all, he had no idea about religion on this side of the planet - or if this was just a foreign word which meant 'royalty' in these parts.

Nevertheless, confusion aside, he was glad that this man seemed willing to help them, though the question arose that what would happen once he found out that he was not a 'Holy Beast'? Would he try to kill him again? Force them to pay him back for all the help he put in? Also, no matter if that word meant 'Goddess' or someone from 'royalty', in either scenario the man should be aware how rude it would be to sleep on Adair's wing, so why did he do it? 

Hank had many questions, so rather than continue racking his brain about it, he opted to just ask the person in front of him. The man quickly read what Hank wrote and looked up to see a not too happy giant bear staring back at him. He quickly explained his reason for doing so. "Father Edward told me that the Holy Beast would arrive if I slept on goddess's wing. I promise it won't happen again."

Hank had no idea who this 'Father Edward' was supposed to be, and he suspected that Bob might have made things up to get himself out of a sticky situation, rather than confess. However, when he looked at the farmer, the bear was somehow able to tell that this man fully believed what he had been told.

Still, this kind of logic left a bad taste in his mouth. After all, while it was true that Hank did come, the bear was certain he came back on his own accord, not due to some bizarre ritual that required the farmer to sleep on the small girl's wing. Hank did not fully trust his instincts, though, since they had failed to warn him about the black liquid and the effect that it would have on Adair. As such, he wanted to confirm that this man was going to do what he said he was going to do and to do this, he had two options.

One was to stay with the people in this household until Adair got better, and also to make sure that they were keeping true to their word. The downside with this idea was that the farmer and his family might feel forced to help Adair, and who knows if this was all just one giant ruse to get him to lower his guard and have everyone attack him.

The second option was to let them take care of Adair, while he would watch from the distance. If Hank did this, he felt like he might be able to discover the true intentions of this family, yet he couldn't keep watching them the entire time. The bear would have to leave to get food and water for his own survival. He would also have to move further away to be able to hide his large frame, so in case they did anything to Adair, he would be unable to react immediately.

He contemplated for a bit and then decided to make use of how dedicated Bob seemed to be by writing, "I will watch you from afar. Make sure to take proper care of the Little Goddess. Also, I will need you to prepare food and water for me twice a day."

Hank then stepped away and attentively watched the farmer's face to see what type of reaction he would show at seeing his demand. To Bob's credit, he did not show any negative traits and started writing on the ground. When he was done, Hank read, "It shall be my honor, Holy Beast. If you wish, you are welcome to make yourself comfortable here, but please do not harm my animals. May I go to sleep now and prepare food for you in the morning."

Once Hank had read this, he nodded at the middle-aged man, before allowing him passage to get back to his house. There was nothing else for them to really talk about as long as the man upheld his side of their deal. Hank attentively watched the man open the door to his house, which the bear noticed had been unlocked. 

He stared at the door for a while and then did a lap around the wood house to make sure that the man had not sneaked out, but once he determined that the house only had one entrance and exit, he felt safe enough to go back to Adair.

A wave of ease washed over Hank as he noticed that nothing had happened to her while he had been away. Her furry guardian was happy to see that her condition had seemingly stabilized. He was not sure if this happened while he was running with her, or if this family already did something to Adair to make her start to get better.

Her wings were still a dull white compared to the shining light that they used to be, but at least they were not turning black or any other terrible color which indicated that she might be dying. After making sure that she was completely fine, he laid down and fell asleep next to Adair.