Lament of the Slave

Chapter 70: King of the Woods

The moss on my head was a great gift, no doubt about it. From what I've seen so far, it could heal, eat people, or serve as food. The idea that I should be able to launch moss shoots from my head was a bit bizarre, though.

As interesting as the possibilities of this magical moss were, the downside was the sheer necessity of having moss on my body or at least at hand. I wasn't even sure whether it was a permanent adornment to my head or if it was somehow possible to move it elsewhere, say to a pot. I think it would look better behind a window, especially with its beautifully blooming snow-white flower.

What I wasn't quite sure of was exactly how to do any of that magic stuff. Guess the way I got a number of my skills with mutations was too easy as the system was silent. It either took an effort to acquire the skill, if it even existed, or it was the innate ability of mossbears to control it. Ability I wasn't sure I had

"Pride," he grunted, telling me that the moss on the mossbear bodies was their treasure, something they were proud of. It showed how well they could take care of it and thus, to some extent, their strength and status.

Nodding, I grunted in understanding.

"You care, next full blue moon, I teach," Esu growled. He basically promised to teach me some tricks using it if I take care of his gift until the next full blue moon. Well, if what Deckard said was true, the moss had to have survived a week in my care. That seemed doable to me.

I used to be a florist, after all.

Seeing my confidence, Esu hummed contentedly, letting mother mossbears have their say. "Grow strong, cub," grunted the first, and like Esu, she lowered her head to me. As our antlers touched, I felt her mana flow into my body. Hers wasn't as invasive as Esu's and lingered in my body for only a brief moment before it was gone. Yet my heart rate rose as well.

"Return if need," the other told me I could return to the Esulmor Woods whenever I wanted. As the first mother stepped back, she lowered her head to me. The others followed, assuring me I was welcome here anytime, that I was their cub. It was heartwarming. It really was. Since I got to Eleaden, no one's been that nice to me.

Okay, not entirely true. There was Scoresby, the old merchant who found me at the bridge over the Traim River. Also Enola, Tia, and many others who were really nice to me. Even Captain Rayden wasn't as...unfriendly as she seemed at first. None of them treated me like family, though.

Nor did I ask them to.

I'm just saying it warmed my heart even though I knew they weren't humans but massive ancient beasts. I was aware that quite possibly, in a year, their attitude towards me would change completely if I didn't prove myself in their eyes. Yet, it didn't change a damn thing about me enjoying the strange gesture. This touching of the antlers felt like a warm embrace to me, and if I could, I would hug them back.

Not kidding, I really had the urge but not the guts to actually hug the beast in front of me. I'd have to be insane to do that.

As more mossbear mothers let me know in this strange way that I was part of their family, I came to realize that it wasn't just a weird hug. Some of their mana, like Esu's, lingered in my body even after they pulled back.

And it wasn't just some random strand of mana they forgot in my body. They weren't that sloppy. It was an intention, some kind of mark, telling the other less perceptive mossbear in the woods who I am. At least, that's what I was able to figure out from what I saw and perceived.

As my focus shifted from the moss on my head, I finally noticed my antlers were no longer just a dull dark green color with lighter tips, but cracks were appearing here and there. Perhaps it would be better to describe them as faintly glowing veins. Something that was evident on Esu's antlers as well as the mothers, less so on the adults but not seen on young mossbears whose antlers were considerably larger than mine. So what made me different?