The Beast Tide (2)

Night time. Luis is sitting on the roof of Xagrien's house. He is silently practicing his control over his massive nature's energy. The moon elf lord is looking pretty relaxed while feeling the comfort of the moonlight.

Luis is holding a 24-inch long log which he is using as a practice dummy.

The moon elf lord is trying to utilize raw nature's energy as a blade to cut the wood into splinters. However, the poor log can only be crushed due to his monstrous strength and unrefined control.

"Arghh!" Luis frustratedly set aside the crushed wood to a huge pile beside him. This mound is the wood powder made from the moon elf lord's failure.

It can be seen from the heaps of his errors that he is distracted. His thoughts are lingering on what he learned from Sibal and the hovering system interface.

Beast tide.

The horde of root crawlers.

Changes in the environment.

Eliminate the source.

Luis was thinking of all the details that he found and all of these are either complimenting, contradicting or a mix of the two that it makes it more confusing.

It frustrates him. Big time. Maybe he is overthinking it? Maybe he is missing something?

The moon elf lord is on the verge of bumping his head against the wall. He then look at the blueish system interface in front of him.

His gaze nailed at the blinking timer: 4:08:23.

Once morning comes, he will only have four days to prepare. And he needs to move fast.

Luis was about to reach for another log to release his frustration when suddenly, a nonchalant man stood beside him. He isn't sure if it was on purpose or not but the man's figure cast a huge shadow on him, practically stealing the moonlight that he is absorbing.

"I was looking for firewood since I was about to cook something. I didn't expect that I would unknowingly run out of stock." Xagrien's masculine voice is heard beside him.

"Ah, right. I'll just pretend that I didn't know you are using your clan's shared firewood when cooking." Luis deadpanned.

Xagrien was rendered silent.

Luis, one point. Xagrien, zero.

Luis felt that he had revenge for the sudden 'groping' incident earlier. While he is flattered to be touched by a male god, it is unforgivable to do it when the situation is not right!

'Wait for the right time and this moon elf lord will show the different stunts that this legs can do!' Luis thought with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

The moon elf lord raised his head to look at Xagrien's face and he was stupefied. If sunlight can make this male's beauty glow, then the moonlight emphasizes every feature of this man.

Luis blinked twice to adjust his vision and shake off the fluttering in his heart.

Xagrien looked at the piles of wood powder. "What are you doing with these?" He looked at the bearer quizzically.

"I am trying to turn this wood into splinters or anything that can be used for offense. It is distressing how there are a lot of materials that can be used as weapons yet I can't use them." Luis explained with his lips askew.

Xagrien just stared at him with this mysterious gaze. Luis felt like his soul was being fathomed under such gaze.

Luis then said full of mischief.

"You know, I can see that you are rapidly getting familiar with me. That is great. But don't tell me you're falling in love with this lord." Luis smirked at Xagrien. He wanted to look at Xagrien more but his neck was aching.

But Xagrien didn't react at all. 

'Why do you have to be so tall!' Luis can only lament in his heart.

Luis reluctantly resumed his neck's natural position. Missing to see the slight blush on Xagrien's ears.

"Aren't you curious?" Luis heard Xagrien's question.

"Curious of what?" He once again raised his head and his eyes met with Xagrien's meaningful gaze. The male didn't answer but Luis understood what the other meant.

It was about Nine. That little child who says that he can feel the emotions of the beasts. Luis doesn't consider this a child's fantasy or imagination since he is feeling something different from the child.

Luis can use his Cosmic Sense to satisfy his curiosity but he opted not to.

Luis can see that Sibal wants to keep his brother's ability a secret. 

What gave him the right to be nosy? He is just a stranger. An outsider.

"Even if I am curious. Sibal has the right to protect their privacy. Especially Nine is just a child. Knowing anything further than this could be harmful to Nine's security." Luis looked down and massaged his neck. 

It is not easy to talk while looking up!

D*mn this must be the short people problems that they are talking about!

"Besides, I don't want to throw around my weight as the moon elf lord and force anyone," Luis just concluded.

Xagrien is quiet for a while. The cold night wind blew. The peaceful sound of crickets reverberated in their surroundings. 

This peacefulness was cut short with a single sentence from the male moon elf. "Thank you,"

"Thanks for what?" Luis raised his brows without looking back and stared at the vast night sky that is littered with millions of stars. Ever since he came to this world he can see such a sight every night. It might be his imagination, but tonight's night sky is probably the brightest.

"Thank you for accepting them. Thank you for accepting us." Xagrien's husky voice tickled his ears. Luis' eyes turned wide like saucers due to surprise.

Before they left Sibal's place, he told the male orc that if he ever needed something in the future, do not hesitate to seek him for help.

Honestly, it was a roundabout way of extending his invitation to Sibal and the other orcs. As far as he can remember, he hasn't told any of his purposes to this male moon elf.

Luis thoughtfully stared at Xagrien. He didn't expect that this male god would figure something out from just that!

Face, body, 'that' and brain. Seems like none of Xagrien's assets is wasted.

"It's not a big deal anyway. It's natural to keep all of you under my wings since I am the moon elf lord." Luis shrugged.

"It will cause trouble to you." Xagrien pointed out.

"Change and trouble always come hand in hand. You just need to manage it well to prevent it from getting cumbersome." Luis stood up and massaged his nape.

"The question is, are you willing to be in my care?" Luis stared at the purple orbs of this male god. Trying to sneak a peek at the thoughts of Xagrien only to find himself being drawn in.

"I will tell you my initial plan, Xagrien." Luis' tone is earnest. This time he is talking as the moon elf lord."I am here to convince you to join me and recognize me as the moon elf lord. I am even prepared to acknowledge your group as a proper clan with a territory in the Amber Forest in exchange that all of you will come and work with me."

Xagrien just stood there listening to him. Luis cannot read anything from the male's expressionless face.

"I swore not to harm all of you so I will, of course, fulfill that. But I am honestly asking for your group's strength. I want you to help protect the entire moon elf race with me."

"For sure, you have strong subordinates. They will willingly join your noble purpose at your behest." No matter how passionate Luis' speech is, Xagrien, the rascal interjected ruthlessly!

'Didn't you say that my subordinates are weak?!' The moon elf lord stared at Xagrien with an awakened look. If Luis is slapped in his sleep, he is pretty sure that he wouldn't look this surprised.

What is the possibility that this male god is fishing for compliments?

If it was minutes ago, Luis wouldn't even bother to think about it but now…

"Are you expecting me to say that I want you? Or you are the best, strongest and the most amazing so please come with me?"

A sudden silence reigned. As if on cue, the lullaby of the crickets intensified in the background. This time, some indistinguishable wailing of beasts are added to the mix.

Luis got a dreading feeling that he had said his thoughts out loud.

'F*ck.'

"I am saying it matter-of-factly. Then if you don't have anything else, I will go down and sleep." 

"Wait!"

Luis did his best to drag Xagrien back. He practically clung his entire body like a python to the male's big body. He almost slid down when his grip slipped. Fortunately, Xagrien's strong limbs manage to stabilize him.

"What are you doing, moon elf lord?" Xagrien said distressedly.

Luis slid free from Xagrien's clutch and stood on the roof firmly.

"Now you know that I am the moon elf lord. However, you're always ready to walk away from me."

"You-" Xagrien speechlessly stared at the youthful face of the moon elf lord. This bearer is definitely the end of him!

"Yes, me! This moon elf lord is not done with the talk so listen to me!" Luis tapped Xagrien's left arm with a little force. He then seriously continued.

"The offer still stands. I will acknowledge you and give you your own place. However, I need all of you to decide if you want to come with me tomorrow or stay here, refrain from going out and wait for me to get you after seven days."

"Why is that?" Luis can see the knot on Xagrien's forehead, it was too obvious. The male moon elf seems to be displeased for some reason.

"I have a very bad feeling that something will happen in the forest in the coming days. So I need to inform my subordinates about the situation and prepare for it." Luis explained the gist. 

The moon elf lord stopped for awhile as if he is hit by a lighting, an idea came up

Luis has been thinking about it ever since they came back from Sibal's. The situation does not seem to be the same as the beast tide. It is missing or excessive on some points that Sibal has described. Rather, it is like a swarm of locusts, a pest invasion. 

"Oh shit, this must be different from the beast tide," Luis uttered absentmindedly. He felt his pulse's pace quicken with this sudden realization.

But what he cannot understand is why and how will it happen when the moon elves are eradicating all root crawlers every chance they get.

That should be enough to trim down and control the number of Root Crawlers in the Shane Greenwoods but the system says otherwise. It says that there will be a great swarm or horde coming. Plus the span of infestation stretches to the entire Amber Forest.

Luis' instinct is violently kicking at this period. He could almost imagine a huge warning flag waving in front of his face.

"So you will leave us here?" The moon elf lord's reverie stopped upon hearing Xagrien's seemingly simple question.

Luis blinked twice. Is it just him or does Xagrien's tone sound critical?

Luis raised his hand as if taking an oath.

"In my defense, I will let you and your group decide about that. I will be waiting here. Your hunting group will go back tomorrow, right? Then I will talk to all of you by midday. If you decide to stay, I will fly and go back tomorrow night. But if you want to go with me, then you must understand that the path will be dangerous to thread. There is a possibility that some of you will die."

"You sound as if you are sure that those root crawlers will attack." Xagrien pointed out. "And it is within seven days."

Luis awkwardly laughed. The cogwheels inside his head are turning at high speed. Trying to think how he could bullsh*t his way out.

"You know that we, the moon elf lords, are closest to nature compared to any other beings in this world. I will instantly know if something will change in the environment or a disaster will happen." Luis explained. Half bullsh*t, half-truth. 

There is no way for him to explain the existence of the system so he will put it all on being the moon elf lord.

"Then I will make sure you meet all of my friends at the earliest time tomorrow," Xagrien said after some time. It was apparent that he thought hard about the possibility that the moon elf lord said.

Luis nodded in appreciation. "Anyway, why aren't you referring to me as the moon elf lord?"

"Let's go down and sleep, moon elf lord." Xagrien half-dragged, half-escorted Luis down the roof.

Their plan was decided just like that. However, neither of them knows that there will be a situation before dawn comes. This will kick start their plan earlier than they expected.