The tentacle monster was still asleep when he went to bed last night. So, when he woke up to something that could either be tremors or the movement of a tentacle moving things around, he assumed it was the tentacle.
A brief thought that it could be another earthquake flashed through his mind, but it soon disappeared. It was too muted and weak for it to be an earthquake.
He also realized that it wasn't the tentacle. If it was awake when he wasn't, it would either stay in the basement or reach up to his room.
No, this was something else. It was happening outside. With a worried frown, suspecting another monster king or Kai, Nick got dressed and quickly descended the stairs. He opened the door, not sure what to expect.
He was still surprised.
He saw Sosora. She was standing just below the porch with her back turned to the house. And in front of her was something Nick could only assume was a member of one of the other tribes of Tiabe.
But it was nowhere near the human-like appearance of the tribes that he had met so far. The Aer tribe had feathers here and there and could pop wings out from their backs. The Bawin tribe had bone-like growths on their hands and faces. The Ursa tribe were bears or big humans.
The creature in front of him looked like a giraffe made from living trees. It was a little smaller than ordinary giraffes, though. Sosora was a third or maybe as little as a fourth of its height.
"What's…What's going on?" Nick asked in confusion as the tree giraffe walked over his lawn.
"Oh, Nick! Good morning!" Sosora greeted him cheerily before skipping up the stairs to stand next to him.
"I remembered what we were talking about last night before I fell asleep. I figured why wait? So, I asked around, and Issa here was willing to help out with the restoration of your lawn at least. The other things you asked for, the sitting logs and the firewood…" Sosora trailed off as she thought about how to tell Nick. But she quickly decided there was no use beating around the bush.
"That's going to be difficult."
"The monster kings?" Nick asked. He could already guess why.
"Yes. Just visiting like this is fine. Honestly, I'm amazed that it's gone this long without more monster king encounters actually."
"We almost died just the other day. Don't jinx it."
"Right. Good thinking. Anyway. One of the things that irks the monster kings is when someone interferes with their territory. Trying to take something from the center of the forest—it can be something as inconsequential as an intriguing blade of grass—can lead to one of the monster kings hunting you down outside the center."
"Chopping down trees is a bad idea, then?" Nick's question was mostly rhetorical.
"Yeah."
"What about trees from outside the center of the forest?" He asked. Since taking was no good, wouldn't it be fine if they just brought in stuff from outside?
"That's…Also a bad idea, if I'm being honest. We'd still be interfering with the territory, not to mention the ruckus and everything of moving logs through the forest."
Nick nodded. He understood.
Moving lumber through the woods wasn't an easy task, especially without modern machinery. He had a feeling that the supernatural tribes of Tiabe Forest could handle it, but not smoothly enough to go unnoticed by the violent monster kings.
It seemed camping chairs and foraged firewood would have to suffice for now.
However, Sosora wasn't satisfied.
She had said she was going to help, and she wanted to help. Although the tentacle monster was scary, Nick and the tentacle monster had offered her refuge and saved her life. She had also made sausage with him. She considered Nick a friend. Of course, she wanted to help.
She wasn't going to stop just because the initial idea didn't seem doable. There were other options.
"That's when I realized something," She said suddenly, turning to look at Nick.
"For whatever reason, you have managed to live here for, what, several weeks now. The monster kings have only bothered you once!" She held up a finger to emphasize how few attempts the monster kings had made to drive him out of their territory.
"If I had to guess, it's because of your…" Sosora shot the basement door inside a glance before continuing.
"...Companion. Understandably so, the monster kings have left you alone because they can sense that messing with you isn't a good idea."
"...What are you trying to say?"
Sosora's face broke up in a wide smile.
"If you do it yourself, it should be fine!" She said simply.
He had lived undisturbed in the center of the forest for longer than anyone before him. If anyone else tried, they would have been trampled or disappeared a long time ago. He could do what others couldn't because the monster kings seemed to mostly avoid him.
If anyone else did it, the monster kings would come for them.
If he did it, the monster kings wouldn't come for him.
It was a simple solution.
"You're telling me to chop down a tree, saw it and chop it up and whatever else, all by myself?" He asked doubtfully. It seemed like an awful lot of work.
"Yes!" Sosora answered energetically. It was a brilliantly simple solution.
Nick sighed.
"I don't have the tools," He said, hoping it would be enough of an excuse.
"You can borrow them." It wasn't. Sosora had a solution to that too.
Nick sighed. But he accepted it. It was something he wanted done. It was only natural that he be the one to do to it.
While they talked, Issa completed Nick's lawn, restoring the soft grass. She even added several wild flowers and plants that made his lawn a part of the nature around it. She nodded toward the two before turning around and taking long strides into the forest. Nick was surprised.
She disappeared almost as soon as her fourth leg left his lawn. He could barely see her.
"She's shy," Sosora explained.