animal ears

When Cole came back, he found that Sarah was gone, so he asked anxiously, "Where is Sarah?"

"Going north." Palanch replied.

"To the north?" Cole blinked, and after a while, he turned around and wanted to leave, but Palanch grabbed his wrist. Palanch shook his head and motioned Cole to stay, but Cole frowned, "Let go, I Go find Sarah."

His body is still very weak, going to the forest alone at night is really messed up!

Cole was very nervous.

However, Palanch's hand was tightly grasped, he silently shook his head and said, "You can't catch up with the master, he has already gone a long way."

"Even so, I'm going to find him!" Cole said loudly, "How can I leave him alone..."

But Palanch still didn't let go, his strength was surprisingly great.

"Palanche!" Seeing that he couldn't pull his hand away, Cole calmed down and asked, "Then tell me what's going on? Why is Sarah going to the north all of a sudden?"

After a pause, Palanch looked at Cole quietly, and said, "Because the northern tribes have connections with the southern tribes, the master is afraid that others have other purposes for our trip, so we went to investigate the situation first." Then he said seriously , "You must trust the master, he must have his reasons for not letting him follow."

Having said that, but...

Looking at the firm silver pupils, knowing that he could not refute Palanch, Cole relaxed, looking back at the ghostly forest that was blown by the cold evening wind, it was not a taste, and then seemed to think of something, He turned back and asked, "You mean the northern tribes and the southern tribes?"

Perhaps seeing that Cole did not plan to leave, Palanch gradually let go, stood in front of Cole, nodded, and explained: "This is not a tribe, but a tribal group. Most of the northern tribes are single-ethnic groups. The tribes are the main ones, while the south is dominated by mixed tribes." Then he turned his head and looked at the fire beside him, the fire was dancing in his eyes, "About half a year ago, we heard news in the north that there was a The ferocious red-eyed beast lives in the depths of the eastern forest, and the master was very concerned about it, so he looked for it, and unexpectedly found you."

"The orcs who were with you at that time were being attacked by some orcs of unknown origin."

It's Ley.

Cole's heart ached when he thought of the image of Ley running away with his unconscious self.

Palanch's words continued, he glanced at Cole, and said in a low voice: "At this time, those orcs suddenly started attacking the master, and threatened the master to take them to the beast ear tribe." Slowly raised his head, he saw Ke Er Looking at Er worried, he shook his head and said, "Don't worry, they failed, I killed them all."

Speaking of killing, Palanch is as calm as eating and sleeping.

Cole felt a chill gradually appearing on his back, whether it was because of the wind or because of his heart, so he grabbed Palanch's cool fingers as if comforting him.

Palanch smiled and continued, "But before I killed them, I got an important piece of news." Turning his head, he looked at Cole, "They come from different tribes from the north and the south. They attack you, and they seem to have another purpose."

"Purpose?" Cole couldn't help asking.

Nodding his head, Palanch looked very seriously, and said, "People in the northern tribes have always had plans for the Beast Ears, but before... it seemed that they just wanted to lure us to you, and I didn't know who it was at the time. But Some time ago, when they went to check on Ley's news, they actually reported their family name, as if they were prepared for you to go there. The master is afraid of fraud, so let me go with you to the southern tribe, and go to the northern tribe to check for news."

"But letting him go alone is really..."

"Please trust the master." Palanch said, "He must have his own considerations for this arrangement."

Hearing this, Cole looked at Palanch and said helplessly, "You trust Sarah very much."

"Yes." The voice said without hesitation, "If you don't trust the master, you will harm everyone. I want to protect you, so I trust him very much."

After finishing speaking, Palanch stepped forward and grabbed Cole's arm: "No matter what, I can't let you out of my sight, I want to keep you safe, this is my most important and only thing I want to do. "

Changing from his usual shy expression, with such a sincere gaze, his pupils were still full of irresistible persistence, and his fingers were still very strong, as if they would never let go.

Suddenly feeling very moved, he reached out and touched Palanch's head. Cole said slowly, "Silly boy, I'll be fine."

"It's not a child." Palanch still didn't let go.

"Yes, yes, Palanch is an adult now." Looking at his stubborn expression, I had no choice but to smile, and took him back to the campfire. The warm flames slightly drove away the cold evening wind, but my heart was already glowing. Thoughts on Sarah.

Although Cole knew that Sara had been abroad for many years and had rich experience, it was different now. Sara could be regarded as his family, even in name only.From the day Cole found out that Sarah lived alone in such a dilapidated house, he made up his mind to treat this duplicity female well. He couldn't let it go not because of love, but more because of sympathy.

The closer he gets to Sarah, the more he can touch the anger and sadness deep in Sarah's heart.

And these are closely related to himself. Although Cole doesn't understand the reason, he wants to treat him tenderly.

And why not Sarah?Cole thought that even though she seemed to hate him very much, spoke harsh words, and occasionally even showed murderous eyes, in the end Sarah did not hurt him, but kept helping him.

When I have a home without a home, I want more people who have no home to get it.

Because there is no place to return to, it is too sad, it is like living a life without memories, feelings, and bonds.

"Parange, when we rescue Ley, we will go home together." Cole said.

"Cole..." Palanch, who was next to him, called out in a low voice.

"Huh?" Cole turned his head.

Clutching Cole's hand behind his back, Palanch rested his forehead on Cole's shoulder, and whispered, "Am I Cole's family?"

"Of course." Cole said with a smile.

Hearing this, she seemed to smile, a faint smile appeared on her beautiful lips, then Palanch closed her eyes and said wearily, "Then Cole is also my family...the only family."

"Ah." Replied softly, stroking his head.

Following the river, they soon approached the tribes in the middle, but the weather was very bad and it was raining heavily all the time, so Cole and Palanch had to find a dry place to rest.

They found a cave.

It looks like someone has lived there. There are some thorns outside the entrance of the cave. The stone seems to have been polished. There are also traces of a recent fire on the ground. There are a few flints and a blanket-like fur beside it.

I thought it was just a temporary shelter from the rain, and I would explain it when the master came back, so the two went in, and Cole immediately started a fire with flint, while Palanch found some thorns outside and came back. Still dry, so still able to light a fire.

The fire has risen, and the moisture in the air has dissipated, making it much warmer.

After being free, Cole looked at the polished flint in his hand, and said softly, "This must be a place where the orcs live temporarily, and there may be tribes around."

"Well, wait for the tribe to replace some food and necessities." Palanch said, "The animal bones collected along the way should be enough."

After a while, Cole asked, "Parange, are you hungry?" Then he took out the smoked meat in the package and handed it over.

"Thank you." Palanch smiled slightly after taking the meat, and then started to eat.

But Cole continued to observe the cave. For some reason, he had an inexplicable feeling for the cave, and he rubbed the polished flint in his hand over and over again.

I miss it very much.

Why do you feel this way?

Even sitting in the cave and looking at the pattering raindrops outside is so nostalgic. Cole slowly turned his head and looked at Palanch who was eating next to him, as if in a daze, and suddenly came out with a sentence:

──Cole is mine.

"Huh?" Cole looked around, but there was no one there.

"What's wrong?" Palanch asked.

After confirming that there was no one around, Cole thought to himself, fearing that he was being overwhelmed, so he shook his head, made an excuse and said, "It's nothing, something seemed to have passed outside the cave just now."

"It's an animal that shelters from the rain."

"I think so." Cole nodded with a smile, and began to eat.

Whose voice is that?

I had this voice in my mind a long time ago, and I miss it very much, but I still don't have the slightest impression of it.

Maybe it's really my own overthinking?

But what if not?

Cole smiled wryly. He felt that he was too mediocre to bother, and it was useless to dwell on this matter right now. It is better to rest here and wait for the rain to stop.

However, it rained for a long time and did not stop until dawn the next day.

The owner here did not come back, but Cole thought that he should express his gratitude for staying here for one night, so he picked some wild fruits and put them on the animal skin blanket before leaving, hoping that the owner here could see it.

After the heavy rain, the forest is wet everywhere, and the soil is very soft and slippery. It is dangerous to walk along the river, and you may accidentally fall into the rushing river, so you must be careful.

But luckily, after walking for a long time, the two saw people.

It was two orcs resting by the river. They looked a little tired. They saw Cole and Palanch from a distance. They stood up and looked at them with their eyes, looking very vigilant.Cole and Palanch approached as slowly as possible, and when they got close to the two orcs, Cole stopped and said loudly to them, "Hello, we are travelers passing by, and I would like to ask the nearest How will the tribe go?"

The two were stunned when they met Cole's red eyes, and then one of the orcs walked over cautiously and asked, "Excuse me, did you come through the forest?"

Cole nodded, "Yes."

"Didn't you encounter anything?"

Cole was puzzled: "What happened?"

The orc moved his lips, and then hesitantly looked at his companion behind him. Only then did he realize that the abdomen of another orc was bleeding, and this orc also had injuries of varying degrees. Cole was shocked, and quickly took it out of the package. Some herbs came out, which Bryce forced into Cole before Cole left, and they had the effect of stopping bleeding and healing wounds.

"Stop the bleeding." The other orc was in serious condition.

Palanch understood, and immediately took out some sackcloth, dipped it in crushed herbs, and placed it on the orc's injured abdomen.

"Thank you..." The injured orc nodded gratefully.

Then Cole asked, "What's going on here?"

Pursing his lips, the other orc hesitated for a while, and then slowly said, "Since you help us, you are not an enemy. My name is Adan, and his name is Alan. We are from the downstream tribes nearby. Some time ago, a wild beast came to this forest. It was very powerful and could kill many fire bears at once. Although it hadn't attacked the village yet, everyone was very worried about it, so they sent us to find the beast. Who knows... "

"He attacked you?" Palanch asked.

Shaking his head, the injured orc, Allan, clutched his abdomen, with cold sweat all over his forehead, and said softly: "No, we found its trace and followed to this forest, but we were attacked by a grunt beast. Barely escaped." Then, he said to Cole and Palanch, "And then I met you."

"That beast, do you know his identity?" Palanch continued to ask.

"I don't know." Alan shook his head.

"Just now I heard you said that you want to go to the tribe. We just want to go back, so let's go to our place, but Ah Lan is injured..." Adan took the words, then turned his head, and said to the two of them with some embarrassment, "Can you please?" Can you please pay attention to your surroundings?" He said this especially to Cole.

Cole's red eyes are very intimidating.

"No problem," Cole said.

"Thank you." Adan was very grateful, and then carefully carried Alan on his back, pointing forward with his right hand, "Our tribe is just downstream of the river."

And just as Cole and Palanch followed Adan and the others back to the tribe, a black shadow flashed into the narrow cave.

The amber eyes were immediately attracted by the fruit on the animal hide.

... Has anyone come to borrow it?

He held the fruit, and then looked at the ashes on the ground.

really.

He sat down slowly, staring quietly at the piece of animal skin under the fruit, a very old piece of white animal skin, whose original color could no longer be seen, but he cherished it very much, and stroked it gently over and over again. ?