A Chilly Nest
The nest felt cool right from the morning. Verat showed no signs of heading back to the Demon Realm, so his demonic energy lingered without fading, and Prostia had been climbing up here almost every day for the past few days. Prostia lounged under one side of the roof, Verat sprawled diagonally opposite her. Their energies intertwined, making the air settle into a chill. Lying in the middle, that coolness draped over my body.
……Nice.
Shadows of leaves swayed above my head in the breeze. I gathered a bit of mana at my fingertip and summoned a gentle gust. One leaf trembled slightly.
Oh.
I tried curling it more delicately. Only the leaf next to it shook precisely.
Works.
A chuckle drifted from behind me. He'd been watching the leaf shake on its own.
"Playing cute, huh."
Too lazy to reply, I pretended not to hear. That's when Kar slunk out from the corner.
"M-Master."
"Yeah."
"Um……."
Kar glanced at both sides before lowering his voice.
"When…… when are those two leaving?"
"Dunno."
"……Pardon?"
"Haven't asked."
Kár paused, choosing his words carefully, then spoke again.
"Master."
"Yeah."
"Aren't you cold? The air……."
"Not cold."
It was refreshingly cool—perfect. No idea why Kar was acting up. I glanced at him. He was shivering in the corner.
……Guess he's the only one feeling it.
Still lying down, I said, "Kar."
"Yes!"
"If it's tough, I'll give you some time off. Go rest up."
Kár froze for a moment.
"……Time off?"
"Yeah. Go chill anywhere. Your pack's territory works too."
Kar's tail twitched slightly. He stepped forward, bowing his head.
"……Master. Should I declare the territory while I'm at it?"
"Territory?"
……Oh, right. That.
I'd forgotten. Kar stared at me intently. A long sigh escaped through my nostrils. I gathered mana at my fingertip and shot a tiny bolt of lightning.
Crackle! A small spark popped from the tip of Kar's nose.
"……M-Master?! Why'd you zap me?!"
"Dunno. Felt like it."
"Pardon?!"
Still lying down, I added, "Yeah, declare the territory while you're there. You have the feather, right?"
Kár opened and closed his mouth. Finally, he lifted a forepaw. A massive feather poked out slightly.
"……Got it."
"Yeah. Call if it's dangerous. Otherwise, just rest up."
"……Yes. I'll be off."
Kár rose, spreading his wings. He walked to the edge, glanced back with a face like he wanted to say something but swallowed it, then flapped hard and launched from the nest.
I waved lazily from my spot. His silhouette heading toward Ignar's Territory vanished behind the clouds.
The pack's territory came into view in the distance. At the western edge of the World Tree, a rugged rocky mountain range jutted up. The wyverns' ancient home. The wind brushing his scales felt familiar.
Been a while.
About a month since he'd left. It felt oddly nostalgic. As he neared the peak, he spotted his pack huddled in the rock crevices below. Kar let out a mighty roar, and they all snapped their heads up.
"L-Leader!"
"It's really the leader!"
Kár landed in the clearing before the rocks. He struck his usual leader pose, but the feather clutched in his paw made it half-ruinous. The pack swarmed around—about thirty wyverns, big and small.
"Leader!"
"What brings you here!"
Kár cleared his throat, puffing out his chest. The cowering figure from the World Tree nest was gone; he was back to his boastful self.
"……Listen up."
He pulled out the feather from under his paw and held it high. It gleamed faintly in the sunlight. The pack gasped in unison.
"Master has granted us Ignar's Territory."
The clearing froze.
"……Ignar's Territory?"
"Yes."
Murmurs rippled like waves.
"Hail, Leader!"
"We're going to Ignar's plains?!"
"Glory to Master!"
The clearing filled with roars and wingbeats. One excited wyvern launched into the air, only to crash into another.
Kár cleared his throat again.
"And Master ordered me to stay there for a while. To stabilize it personally until it's secure."
……That's my story.
The pack bowed in awe.
"As expected of Leader! Master's trust runs that deep!"
……Something like that.
Kár tucked the feather away and surveyed them.
"Alright, follow me. To the new territory."
"Yes!"
The thirty wyverns bowed. Kár launched first, wings spread wide. They followed in formation. Glancing back, he saw them craning their necks excitedly. He turned south. Forests thinned below, and the air shifted at his snout. Warm winds approached from afar.
The horizon revealed vast green plains, endless under waving winds like ocean waves. No fiery embers or scorching heat from Ignar's days. Instead, green sprouts carpeted the black soil.
Gasps from behind.
"I-Is this really……!"
"Ignar's Territory……!"
Descending, Kár peered down. The grass was even lusher than last time. He landed in the clearing before the rocks. The pack followed, slowly circling.
"L-Leader. This is ours……."
"Yes."
Kár puffed his chest and stepped forward.
"Now, time to declare it. Everyone, stand back."
"Yes!"
They retreated to watch. Territory declaration was the leader's solitary rite. Kár strode to the center. In the middle of the plain stood the feather Master had planted, shimmering black faintly. Sprouts were thickest around it—traces of Master's mana nourishing the land.
Kár stopped before it, sighing inwardly. Overwriting Master's mana rooted here with his own felt daunting.
……Let's try.
Red energy flowed from his scales, seeping into the ground. Ignar's residual mana reacted first, clashing then yielding.
……Done.
Easier than expected—no Ignar himself. Master's mana from the feather enveloped the earth. This too had to go. Kár drew heat from his scales, pushing red energy down.
"Grrr……!"
It yielded smoothly.
……Huh?
Kár paused. Master's mana shouldn't give so easily. He glanced at his paw. The thick grass suggested Master's power had long been spent nurturing the land.
……Almost depleted.
Pushing more, Master's energy slid aside weakly, Kár's red filling in at a similar pace. The territory became his.
……It's working?
His red energy spread, the ground pulsing once. Red glows flickered and faded across the plains. Declaration complete.
Done……!
Panting, he looked up. Mana-drained, the feather swayed and tipped forward. Kár gently caught it, tucking it into his paw. The pack approached cautiously.
"Leader! The declaration……!"
"Success?!"
Kár cleared his throat, chest puffed—boastful leader mode restored.
"Of course. It's the territory Master gave us."
"As expected!"
"Now we see why Master trusts you so!"
……Sure, let's go with that.
The sun was setting. Stars began to emerge. Time to return to the nest and report. But……
……Back to the nest.
Memories of huddling in the corner, scales stiff, tail curled, wings over his face. The cold seeping under. Master had said rest up till stable. He'd told the pack the same.
Kár gazed at the sky.
……I'll head back in a few days.
The warm plains felt nice for once.
Kar's spot lay empty. Only wrinkles from the turaaka hide remained where he'd huddled for days. It felt strangely hollow. Verat and Prostia eyed it too. Prostia looked away first. The air's chill eased slightly. Her blinks slowed. Verat shifted, coiling his demonic energy inward. The heavy aura thinned.
Neither spoke.
……Can't be helped.
Lying there, I said casually, "Go easy on him. Poor guy's been shivering."
Verat turned.
"……Kar?"
"Yeah. You two had him trembling in the corner every day."
Prostia's telepathy drifted from across the way.
[……Was it that bad?]
"Yeah. Tone it down from now on."
Verat swept back his long black hair.
"……Got it."
Prostia nodded faintly. The nest air calmed. Her chill stayed below knee level; his demonic energy didn't press out.
Better now.
Sunset painted the nest orange. I sat up, walked to the edge, and dangled my legs, gazing at the sky. Clouds drifted lazily. I glanced toward Ignar's Territory. The feather's mana there was dispersing bit by bit. Kar must've started.
……Already? Well, done early means more chill time.
Sun fully set, the nest darkened. Starlight peeked through leaf gaps. Verat's breaths slowed—sleeping or faking? Prostia rested hands on knees, eyes half-closed. Another look at Ignar's sky. The feather's energy nearly gone.
……Huh, finished.
Stars multiplied.