Suddenly, a clear female voice, accompanied by the whirring sound of flapping wings, came from the sky not far away.
"It's not easy for Mother Bear either. Let's leave it to the experts. There will be no problem!"
Yuffie raised her head and saw the gryphon named Grace descending from the sky. It seemed to recognize Yuffie and neighed happily at her.
At the same moment, the blond girl riding on the back of a griffin jumped from several meters in the air and landed steadily on the ground. Then she jumped up and chased towards the outside of the forest like a dexterous sambar deer——
This is also the direction that the bear ran wildly.
Lily looked at the girl's series of actions and couldn't help but widen her eyes.
"She..." Bell clicked his tongue, "What did she eat?"
"I won't tell you." Yuffie hugged Grace's soft and fluffy neck and replied happily.
Within a few minutes, the blond girl returned to Yuffie's sight again. The bear followed her and walked slowly beside her, letting her stroke the side of his body, as well-behaved as a trained pet.
She patted the bear and made it stay not far away. Then she slowly walked up to Yuffie and met the girl's eyes.
Yuffie raised her head and looked at her friend's appearance.
My friend's facial features and body shape are no different from those in my memory. Occasionally, a hint of maturity can be seen in his expression, but it is immediately covered up by his original temperament. His arms and calves are slender but not thin, and his skin color is still much healthier than he looks. Dark brown.
Her pupils are not the vertical pupils belonging to the dragon race, but her original round pupils. Her chest seems a little bigger than before? - Well, that's not the point.
She opened her hands and ran towards the other party in small steps. At the same moment, Lin also took the same action.
The two hugged each other gently. Yuffie felt the warmth coming from Lin's body and felt her slight trembling. It was both the joy of seeing each other again after a long separation, and the fear caused by the unknown of everything before, finally settling down at this moment.
So she raised her head and gently pecked Lin's cheek. This was not the first time they had done this kind of intimate gesture, but the taste... might be different every time.
"Welcome back, Lin." She said in her friend's ear with a happy smile on her face.
Lin raised the corner of her mouth, hugged the girl tighter, then simply hugged her up and spun her around while she uttered a soft exclamation.
"I'm back!"
The blonde girl announced loudly.
…
The two of them were holding hands and leaning side by side. Yuffie had many things she wanted to ask Lin, and she knew that the same was true of Lin.
However, right now, there are more important things that need to be solved. The rest of the things can be done later. There must still be a long time for them. She turned to look at the ferocious bear lying quietly aside, and Lin followed her gaze.
Look together.
"So." Lily came closer and pointed at the bear, "How did you make it quiet down?"
Lin waved to the dire bear. The terrifying-looking beast stood up, staggered to her side, and lay down again.
"It can be regarded as the benefit of changing the identity." The blond girl folded her hands on her chest and said happily, "The blood aura of the dragon family can make ordinary creatures naturally awe, and with a little bit of secret magic, it is perfect.
The magic of taming animals."
"By the way," she tilted her head and thought for a moment, patting the bear's back, "Although I don't know how long we can get along with each other, for this period of time, I will call you Ruth!"
The bear shook his head and purred with satisfaction.
"But what happened to it?" Yuffie raised his eyebrows slightly, "Even a ferocious bear is not usually so violent... So, is it a child?"
"I've got you guessing again." Lin puffed up her cheeks, then her face darkened, "Yes, according to "her" statement, a group of poachers stunned her with a shotgun and then stole two of her
A newborn baby. In fact, if she was just an ordinary grizzly bear, she would probably have been killed by a shotgun."
Yuffie nodded and agreed with her friend's opinion. The power of current muskets is limited, and it is not cost-effective to add spells to bullets - after all, bullets that are disposable are far inferior to armor and swords that can be reused. Most of the muskets have been used
It is suitable for hunting, and the more powerful ones among them are enough to kill a bear or similar beast with two or three shots - but for demonized creatures with tough bodies and quick recovery from injuries, this kind of weapon may not be enough.
"It is not good to kill casually." Alphonse's eyes flashed and he said seriously, "Weapons should not be used for these things."
"Well...even we won't attack a female bear who is raising a child." The female mercenary nodded, seeming a little dissatisfied, "So, what should we do now?"
"It should be okay to let "her" lead us back to the place where she was attacked." Yuffie looked at the bear and turned to ask her friend beside her.
Lin held her hand slightly and expressed her agreement.
"So Lily, starting from there, can you follow the traces and find the poachers?"
"Normally, it's no problem?" The female mercenary looked around the woods, "The land is soft, there are few people, and there aren't many fallen leaves... The only thing we have to worry about is that the bear doesn't destroy all the traces.
It’s clean.”
Xiong seemed to be able to sense Lily's attitude. He turned to glare at the female mercenary and purred low in his throat.
"If you say that, she will be unhappy." Lin comforted the giant beast beside her, not seeming to be worried at all, "Then let's set off! Don't worry, Grace will also help search for it!"
…
Everyone followed the guidance of one man and one bear and walked deeper on the soft soil.
The surrounding trees gradually became a little strange - their leaves changed from emerald green to withered yellow, and then to a strange dark purple; the thick and smooth bark that was originally smooth became mottled and cracked, and even dried up and rotted.
Darkness gradually enveloped everything around him, and the sparse sunlight that penetrated the tree crown became increasingly dimmer, and even disappeared before reaching the ground. Yuffie lit up a soft light from the palm of her hand, but even the light seemed to be affected, extending only to
Less than half the usual distance, it was dancing on and off uncertainly.
It was almost noon, but the surrounding temperature plummeted. Yuffie took a breath and saw it turning into a thin white mist in front of her.
"I feel terrible here." Bell shrank his neck, "Do the Elna people usually live in such a ghost place?"
"This is not a normal situation." Yuffie frowned and looked at her friend walking in the front, "Lin, what do you think?"
The blond girl turned back, blinked, and said with a solemn expression, "There is a smell that does not belong to living things here, although I don't know what it is!"
Isn't it a living thing? Then maybe it's an existence from the outer world, Yuffie thought. But the Erna people would never summon such troublesome things on their own land, would they? Are there other intruders, or are they?
What happened here recently?
She lit up more lights and let them float around the team, providing lighting for a larger area. Then she quickly caught up with Lin and walked side by side with her.
Lily held the giant sword tightly and walked behind the two of them, carefully observing every sound around her. Alphonse's pupils flickered for a long time, indicating that he was observing carefully. Bell sniffed and muttered that he began to miss
The smell of barbecue is gone.
"Let's help "her" find her child first." Yuffie shook her head and gave up thinking about this fruitless question.