CHAPTER 33: PEACEFUL

Before Serena could respond to Theo’s agreement, Kiro suddenly jumped in and asked, "Theo, can you cook?"

"Huh... Oh yeah, I can cook." Theo frowned, confused by the sudden question. "Why?"

"Well, if we’re staying here for the night, someone has to cook the fish." Theo stated. "Sister can’t cook. Last time she did, it turned into a black blob and father had to bury it-"

"Alright. I think he gets it." Serena muttered, covering Kiro’s mouth to stop him from continuing.

The original owner may have been a terrible cook, but did Kiro have to go telling everyone this? What would she do if others feared letting her near the food? How would she learn cooking then?

Theo, however, found the situation funny and chuckled, "I guess I’m on cooking duty then. Why don’t you get some firewood Kiro while your sister and I set up camp."

"Okay!" Kiro nodded before running off to get some firewood.

"Don’t go too far Kiro!" Serena yelled before muttering to herself, "On second thought, perhaps I should go after him..."

She moved to get up, her leg muscles quivering in pain. But Serena gritted her teeth, taking a few steps forward only to tumble. Thankfully, Theo was standing right in front of her and caught her before she fell.

"I think you should rest." Theo mused as he gazed down at Serena, who was gripping his forearms tightly.

"I..." Serena wanted to refuse, but she knew he was right. She was in no condition to be running around. Her body wouldn’t be able to handle the backlash. "Fine."

"He’ll be fine." Theo suddenly said. "I’ll make sure he’s safe."

"Oh... thanks." Serena murmured as Theo helped her sit back down.

She had noticed that ever since Theo and Kiro had gone together to bathe, they had gotten closer. She wondered what they had spoken about or if bathing together was some form of bonding ritual in this world.

Serena did recall some planet’s having that type of cultural ritual. Not that she had seen or done it before, but she did hear about it from one of her crew members.

The thought made her wonder how her crew members were doing and how they were handling her sudden death. But Serena quickly shook away those thoughts, not wanting to delve into them.

It would be better if she focused on the present right now.

***

Serena gazed up at the night sky, enjoying the view of the stars and moons. Her hand gently stoked Kiro, who was curled up on her lap in his beast form, sleeping away their dinner.

Crickets chirped in the background while a fire crackled in front of her. A gentle breeze blew through her hair and rustled the leaves on nearby trees. Serena closed her eyes for a second, taking in the moment.

It was peaceful.

Serena opened her eyes once more and looked back down at the fire, wondering how long it had been. When had she last had such a peaceful moment like this? Had she ever experienced peace like this before?

She couldn’t recall.

"What are you thinking so deeply about?" Theo suddenly asked, coming to sit down next to her.

"Finish patrolling?" Serena questioned back, glancing over at him.

"Hmmm..." Theo nodded his head. "Now answer my question."

Guess she wasn’t going to get out of answering his question. Serena sighed, "I’m just thinking about how peaceful this is... I wish it could be like this forever."

Of course, she knew that was a fairytale dream. Peace like this almost always meant there was a storm brewing. It would never last.

"Yeah... It is nice." Theo mused, leaning back on his hands. "Too bad we have to pack it up tomorrow and head back before they leave us."

Serena furrowed her eyebrows. "They’ll leave?"

"If they manage to get rid of the rootless beastmen, they probably will." Theo explained. "It’s too dangerous to hang around a battle. The blood and corpses alone will bring more danger. However, there’ll be injuries, so they’ll move at a slower pace. We should be able to catch up to them."

"I see..." Serena murmured.

"Besides, even if we get lost we have your basket full of goods to help us survive." Theo teased with a chuckle.

Serena blushed and pursed her lips, turning away from Theo to face the fire. "You know I didn’t want to be unprepared."

"I know..." Theo said, his tone becoming serious. "You were just doing what you thought was best for what happened. If anything, I’m surprised you prepared for such an event. Though it explains why you never fully unpacked that basket."

"I didn’t want to be caught off guard." Serena stated truthfully. Never again...

"Hmm. I figured..." Theo mused. He was quiet for a moment before he added, "Anyway, I think we should go and sleep soon. We’ll need to leave early tomorrow."

"Alright." Serena agreed. "I’ll head in first. Can you deal with the fire?"

"Sure." Theo nodded his head.

With that, Serena carefully moved Kiro into her arms, not wanting to wake him. She then stood up, her muscles no longer quivering. However, she knew she was going to feel the pain tomorrow.

Still, she was able to get into the cave hidden behind the waterfall without too much trouble. The place was damp because of the water, but spending the night there wasn’t going to be much of a problem.

Besides, they had prepared it beforehand.

Once inside, Serena crawled over to the stack of animal furs that was now a bed and placed Kiro there. She then moved to grab her towel, drying off the water that had fallen on her.

When she finished drying off and making sure Kiro was dry too, Serena settled down in the furs. A few moments later Theo appeared. He used the same towel to dry off before shifting into his beast form.

The cave was a bit small, but thankfully still had enough space for the three of them and their things. It soon became peaceful with the waterfall trickling down like a lullaby.

Serena felt her eyelids grow heavy for once when suddenly there was a loud noise.

Boom!

Theo growled at the sound, "This isn’t good."