Jojo and Sisi were staring at the cooking pot as the beef broth simred slowly. Sisi fed him a chunk of raw at, and Jojo ate it reluctantly.
Sisi noticed and asked, "What’s wrong? It’s at, you know. You should like it."
"It’s not fresh enough," Jojo said honestly. He still had complaints, but he ate anyway.
"Then do you want to eat cooked at like ?" Sisi asked.
"No, I like at when it still has blood!" Jojo replied enthusiastically. He rembered his last al with his father before they were ambushed by a pack of tiger beastn. It was a freshly hunted deer. Jojo still rembered the taste, and couldn’t help to salivate as he imagined eating another fresh hunt. "Mm! My Daddy and I like to eat our prey right after we catch it! I love sucking the blood from my prey too! Oh, oh, Savior! When I catch sothing later, I’ll rip the neck and let you have the first taste!"
Jojo retold such horrifying details with glee, and Sisi could only sigh. It seed this little wolf cub kept forgetting she couldn’t eat raw at.
Once inside the forest, she would probably rely more on edible mushrooms and fruits rather than at. She didn’t want to eat anything Jojo had ntioned earlier; squirrels, moles, baby foxes... maybe a rabbit would be fine, but she doubted he could catch a rabbit with his tiny legs.
Jojo looked up at her and raised his voice, "Savior, Savior!"
"Hmm?"
"Is your na really Sisi?"
"Yep. You can call Sisi instead of Savior," Sisi said with a smile.
"Then what does Sisi an?"
"No aning. When I was a baby, I kept saying si-si, so that beca my na."
"But that’s a stupid na!" Jojo complained innocently.
"Really? Why is it stupid?" Sisi asked. She had dealt with babies and toddlers for years in the orphanage, so she had the patience of a saint. She knew Jojo didn’t an harm, as toddlers were naturally blunt.
"Because uhm... because it doesn’t sound cool! You’re my savior, so your na should be cool and strong, like..." Jojo paused, thinking. He couldn’t co up with anything until he noticed the full moon in the sky and yelled, "Oh! Your na should be Selene!"
"Selene?"
"Mm! That’s the Moon Goddess’s na!" Jojo nodded enthusiastically. "My Daddy told that beastn pray to the Moon Goddess for protection, since she is our savior! Your na should be Selene, because you’re my savior!"
"Maybe once I et the Moon Goddess, I’ll ask if I can borrow her na," Sisi chuckled. She ruffled his head and asked, "Then what about you? Is your na really Jojo?"
"Mm! My Daddy gave it to !"
"What does Jojo an?"
"I don’t know," Jojo replied simply. "But I know it must an sothing strong, like !"
Sisi laughed again. As she expected, she was most at ease when taking care of children. Just listening to Jojo was enough to calm her.
"Well, for now you call Sisi, and I’ll call you Jojo, alright? Once we et your Daddy, I’ll ask him about your real na, okay?"
Jojo’s expression imdiately changed. He lowered his head and asked softly, "Is he still alive?"
...
Sisi didn’t want to ask too many questions about Jojo’s family. For him to escape Roc Forest alone and wounded ant they had been separated, and the fate of his family was likely grim. She didn’t want to cause him distress, not until he was older and strong enough to face the mories.
She could have lied and said his father was alive, but giving a child false hope was cruel. Children clung to those hopes as they grew up, she knew it firsthand.
At the orphanage, the Matriarch and nurses told her she would be adopted by a good family. Sisi clung to that hope day and night. She was always disheartened when she wasn’t chosen, and cried alone when every child she grew up with had been adopted except for her.
It was heartbreaking. She didn’t want Jojo to experience that.
Thus, she said gently:
"Since you’re a strong cub, that ans your Daddy must be strong too. I believe he’s still alive sowhere in the forest." She paused, then added, "But even if he’s not... you still have , right? You’re not alone, Jojo."
Jojo was sad when she ntioned his father’s uncertain fate, but he felt a little better when she ntioned herself. Indeed, he wasn’t alone.
His father always told him to beco a strong wolf, one who could protect the people he loved.
Since his savior had cared for him and saved him many tis, he would do the sa for her in the future. They would share food, share warmth at night, and protect each other from their enemies.
With his tail wagging, Jojo declared, "Don’t worry! Jojo will grow up faster and protect you, Sisi!"
"Alright, alright. Now eat your fill before we go," Sisi said, feeding him another chunk of at.
It was already nearing dawn by the ti they finished, perfect timing to enter the forest. It would be best to find a safe place to rest before dusk so they could sleep soundly tomorrow night.
Sisi grabbed her pouch and smiled at the yawning little wolf cub in her arms.
"Are you ready to leave, Jojo?"
"Mm... I’ll keep watch... so no enemy will catch... us..." Jojo muttered, drifting off to the dreamland. He fell asleep monts later, nestling comfortably against her chest.
"You can do that once you wake up, alright?" Sisi giggled as she walked toward the edge of the forest.
She turned her head toward the farm one last ti, looking at the ruined house. The farmland was still intact, so soone else would eventually take care of the dogs and animals once they had discovered the ss. .
No, she didn’t feel sad leaving this place, nor did she feel bad for destroying the ho. Her life had been bitter from the mont she stepped onto this farm, even Mrs. Piker basically turned her into a free nurse and maid the mont she stepped into the house.
She was only sad that she didn’t feel anything more while looking at it.
All she felt now was indifference.
’I think I’ve done enough to repay my debt of gratitude, Mrs. Piker,’ Sisi thought. ’But... I should thank you, for feeding and giving shelter for seven years.’
Thus, she turned away and disappeared into the depths of Roc Forest, embarking on a new journey with a little wolf beastman as her companion, never to be seen again by anyone who once knew her.
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