It took a lot of cajoling and a handful of sausages, but Nick eventually managed to clean the panther's wounds and disinfect them without losing any fingers. It ca close a couple of tis, including when he accidentally dripped so alcohol into the panther's open and highly sensitive eye. Nick had to bribe it with two sausages before he was let close again.
When he was done, the bowl of water had turned red, and his hand towels were no different. But the panther's wounds were clean. The lighter scrapes had started scabbing. He was worried about a few of the bumps, but there was nothing he could do beyond this point.
If the panther survived, it survived. If it died, Nick would be a little sad. But it was the cycle of life.
He went inside with the things he used to clean the panther, unsure what to do about it now. He couldn't exactly take it in or put a band-aid on its injuries. But the problem solved itself. When he went back outside, the panther was gone.
Nick's eyes widened. He hadn't even noticed when it got the energy to move back.
'It's a monster king famous for its stealth for a reason, I guess.' Nick shrugged and went inside again. He needed to calm down after the stressful day he had just gone through.
***
At around the sa ti, on the outskirts of Tiabe Forest,
"Captain, are you sure about this?" Lily asked, nervously glancing around as her untrustworthy captain led her deeper into the forest.
"Why wouldn't I be?" He pushed aside a branch and held onto it long enough for it to smack Lily in the face.
She crunched her nose and glared at Captain Squawks' sturdy back.
"Oh, I don't know. The ban on entering Tiabe? The unclear mission? The unnecessary bottle of liquor?"
Squawks stopped for a mont and turned around with a serious expression.
"Okay, first of all, there is no such thing as an unnecessary bottle of liquor. Secondly, are you sure you want to know why we're entering Tiabe?"
Lily looked at him like it was obvious.
"Uh, yeah, considering you're dragging along for no reason."
"Okay, but you can't judge ."
Lily narrowed her eyes.
"Fine, but do it silently," Squawks relented.
"Right. Do you rember the day I lost my favorite scabbard?"
"Cut to the chase, or I'm stabbing your thigh and leaving you here."
"The Minal gave a prophecy."
"Again?!" Lily burst out angrily and in disbelief.
"How many tis does this make it?" She demanded.
"It's only the fourth, and calm down. It might be the outskirts, but Tiabe is still a forbidden region for a reason."
Lily rolled her eyes, but she lowered her voice.
"So what if it's the fourth? When are you going to learn that the Minal are a bunch of scamrs?"
"But they aren't!" Squawks insisted as he caught up to Lily, who had turned around and started leaving. He stopped her by standing in front of her with a pitiful expression.
"Ask anyone else, they are trustworthy! They might be the best seers on the whole continent!"
Lily shot Squawks a look, and he clamped his hands over his mouth.
"They might be the best seers on the whole continent...!" He whispered this ti.
"I heard you the first ti, and I was there the other three tis when they scamd you. I don't care who you ask. At least when it cos to the prophecies they give you, they are extrely unreliable."
"Aha! But that's the difference this ti! It wasn't a prophecy for specifically. It was an open prophecy that they managed to read almost a week ago." Squawks turned Lily around and urged her to go deeper into the forest.
"It was an open prophecy along the lines of, 'Whosever holds the heart of the Tiabe Outsider in their hands shall receive great fortune.'"
"Great. Kill or seduce the Outsider, basically."
"Exactly! We can do that!"
Lily stopped.
"Is that why you brought along?" She asked with an expression telling Squawks to tread carefully.
"Well, yeah! What if the Outsider isn't interested in n? And I figure this is an opportunity for you as well. If you get the Outsider's heart, you're the one who'll receive great fortune. And if you receive great fortune..."
"You want to share?"
"Naturally. I'm your captain, and I'm the one who shared this opportunity with you. I don't need much. Fifty percent or sothing."
Lily clenched her fist and rolled her eyes.
She shouldn't hit her boss. She shouldn't hit her boss.
But it was tempting sotis.
"And you're sure you have a route into the forest that's safe?" She eventually asked. Squawks bead, his lively green eyes lighting up even further. She was coming.
"Of course! I might not know where this Outsider is, but I can at least vouch for our safety as long as we stick to certain territories."
Lily sighed and crossed her arms but eventually nodded. If it was like this, she might as well go along with it. It wasn't like she was doing anything else. The worst that could happen was them losing their lives, but that could happen outside Tiabe as well.
"You're buying the drinks after this."
"I an, if we succeed, I can definitely afford a round or two."
"I wasn't talking about just a round or two."
"Huh?"
"I ant permanently," Lily said firmly, flashing a cold smile as she invited Squawks to take the lead.
"..."
"I'll turn around right now if you don't agree."
Squawks stiffened before hanging his head with a sigh and nodding silently. He needed to hide the expression of guilt as he lied straight to his deputy's face.
Lily nodded with satisfaction and stepped in behind Squawks as they pierced deeper into the Tiabe Forest.
But it didn't take long before she walked straight into his back. She rubbed her nose angrily, but before she could ask him what he was doing, she noticed the tall man on the other side of her captain.
It wasn't a human.
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