How to Adopt a Forest (And All Its Critters)

Chapter 66

How to Adopt a Forest (And All Its Critters)

Leo was feeling a bit emotional, a knot tied up in his throat.

He saw the kids off where he first found Lya and Song--it was just about there that he started to have a 'feeling', and he knew it wouldn't be too far away from the actual point past which he wasn't allowed to tread. The two bowed down 'till their heads were just about at their knees, swearing up and down that they would return quickly. Perhaps, was this how it felt to watch the kids back on Earth go to college? 

At the very least, it wasn't so for Leo's parents--though he attended university due to his mother's nagging, he still lived with them throughout. In reality, there was a good chance that his diploma was bought by that wing of the library that his parents sponsored--he wasn't the worst of students, but he did skip quite a few classes every year. 

Dispersing the distant memories, he stayed standing for quite some time even after they left his field of view--he wasn't alone in that, either. Though most of the animals that have come thus far had dispersed (there were just shy of forty that came to escort the kids), the 'core' remained by his side. Milky and Blackie, especially, were feeling a bit down, and not just today: they'd been feeling so ever since the kids declared they'd leave.

Leo understood; after all, Yue and Liang played with them, while Leo mostly just fed them. He'd never run about with either, and he'd, at most, pet them if they curled up against him. 

"They'll be back before you know it," he said, picking up both panthers and cradling them closely against his chest. "Kids are curious, you know? Especially the two who'd already experienced the world. Living in the forest, away from everything, probably wasn't easy. But they never complained. Haah, I just hope they stay safe..." 

He finally spun around and left back home. 

With them leaving, collecting the remaining materials for the house was entirely up to Leo. Luckily, they'd gathered all the required iron ore, and all that was left were the few remaining hides, some stray reeds and straws, as well as clay. 

Per his estimations, he ought to be done with the whole ordeal in just under a week if he worked tirelessly, and just under ten days if he took it easy. There was no rush, in the end, so he was likely to take it easy. 

"Hm? Gray? What are you doing here?" Leo spotted the shaggy dog suddenly burst out from the bushes. The animal barked quite a few times, though, unlike with the rest of the animals, Leo couldn't even gauge approximate meaning of those barks. "That's a great story, I think. Come on, let's go back to the camp. I'll fix us all a nice fruit salad. You guys haven't tried my world-renowned fruit salad yet, right? Haah, if only I knew how to get my hands on some ice. I guess you can use Qi to freeze the water, but if I knew how to do use Qi in such great ways, I wouldn't be so weak, eh? Ha ha ha." 

The dog joined them, matching Leo's pace evenly. Hoot was perched on top of his head, Red was on his back, Howly was taking up the rear, and a few odd critters were hanging loosely from his robes. It was back to the very beginnings, he realized, where it was just him and the inordinately beautiful life of the forest. 

Though it hadn't been that long--not even two months yet--since he came to this world, it felt much longer. It was almost nostalgic, in a way, as it reminded him how days felt back when he was a kid. The older he got, the quicker the time seemed to pass. And yet, here, he felt like a kid again. Every day felt long and full, and every week felt like an eternity, with the exception that he had no schoolwork to attend to. 

He picked one of the bigger bowls that Yue had brought along for his fruit salad--as it wasn't either breakfast or dinner time, there weren't any wanderers so he didn't have to make too much. The first thing he did, however, was go to the pond and dip all the fruits inside for at least ten minutes, cooling them. Even if the water wasn't exactly freezing, it was cool enough that it ought to help.

Next, he began to chop and slice, dressing the salad in rather ornate ways--circular and swirly patterns, 'top hats', as it were, trying to make it as much about presentation as it was about taste. In the end, he made something half-decent, at least per his account, and presented it to the rather interested friends of his. All the usual suspects were here except for Long Jane-son whose nest Leo replenished just a few days ago. He caught a glimpse of the pretty little thing, and she was curled up at the bottom, fast asleep. 

"Wow, this ain't half bad," he said as he took a bite of a few fruits at the same time. The cooling effect definitely helped, but what helped the most was that the fruits here were naturally sweet and tender. "Yeah? You guys like it?" his furry friends voiced in agreement, and the large bowl of fruit salad was soon empty. 

As everyone dispersed into varying corners of the woods, only Leo and Gray stayed behind. The shoddy-looking thing was sitting on his rear legs and looking up at him with those round eyes as though desperate to convey something. As for what... 

"Woof!" the dog barked yet again and stood up, wagging its tail and glancing back at Leo every few steps. He'd have been a fool at this point if he didn't know that the dog wanted to follow him. 

"Alright, alright, lead the way," Leo stood up and merrily went after the little thing, wanting to see what the dog found. Of all the anomalies in the forest, dog was near the top--an entirely ordinary animal that seemed entirely incapable of cultivating (as no matter how much it ate Leo's meals, the only thing that changed about it was that its coat was a smidgen shinier than at the start) living so freely among the rest of the forest.

The little dog led him southwest, just about ten minutes from the camp before it suddenly stopped in front of an ordinary-seeming tree. It was birch, just like all others around it, its bark white and trunk thin. Leo was confused only for a moment before he heard something else--a meow. 

His eyes immediately veered up toward the canopy where he caught sight of a tiny little kitten clutching tightly onto a branch, shaking like a leaf in the wind. Gray barked once again, and Leo (ignoring asking how a seemingly ordinary kitten randomly showed up in the forest) immediately leapt at the tree and swiftly climbed it, reaching the shaking kitten within the blink of an eye. 

"Here, little guy," rather than yanking the cat from the branch, he extended his arm and connected it to the tree, building a bridge of sorts. He expected the kitten to be rather wary and take a while, but the tiny little thing immediately moved across his arm and onto his shoulder, wrapping the tiny little paws around his neck. Leo, stifling a laugh, descended quickly where Gray was waiting for the two of them, tail a-wagging. "I'm not even gonna remotely ask how this happened. I fear my brain would melt." he chuckled as he tried to put the kitten down, but the tiny little thing wouldn't budge, still firmly gripping the back of his neck. 

Even though it tried to do so with the claws, since Leo's skin was rather thick, it didn't really hurt or bleed, so he just let it be.

Returning to the camp, he carefully poured a small amount of fruit juice into a bowl, which was when the kitten finally descended, seemingly tempted by the sweet scent of fruit. It began to quickly gobble up the colorful liquid while Gray and Leo stared from the side. 

"Dogs, cats," Leo mumbled. "Has the genre changed again? Am I now a farmer or something?" he was, just a bit--he also had the garden to tend that Yue left behind, and now two domesticated animals to take care of. The only thing he needed were some chickens and cattle, and--dispensing the thought, he stood up and stretched lazily a bit. The day was still rather young, and as he'd run out of meat already, he headed back out toward the canyon for today's hunt. 

As soon as he made the first step, the kitten jumped and latched itself onto him once again. It seemed entirely unwilling to part, and Leo wasn't going to force it. Gray stayed behind, lazily stretching in front of one of the huts just where there was a lot of sun still, and likely taking a nap. In the end, the only other companion turned out to be Blackie. She seemed quite curious about the kitten, but as it saw the tiny thing shivering immediately in fear, she didn't try to probe any further and merely did what she always does--run around the forest, occasionally show up for a couple of pets, and leave once again. 

Leo mused that, had this sort of thing happened when he first arrived here, he'd likely mull over it for days, as he did for most things back then. And yet, now, he seldom had either energy or desire to do so. There was a dog in the forest, so why not a cat? Rather, there were already cat lookalikes in Milky and Blackie, so an actual kitten showing up almost seemed like a no-brainer. 

"~I was following the pack, all swaddled in their coats," he began to hum a song, letting the wind gently caress his cheeks. "With scarves of red tied 'round their throats, to keep their little heads from fallin' in the snow..."