Ghad looked down at the creature he and his team had killed.


    It was rather long like them and covered in scales, but aside from that, there weren''t any other simrities.


    The creature had been dragged out from theke, and its body was streamlined with a lot of appendages along its back that helped it swim. It also had long delicate fins around its head with two rope-like whiskers around its mouth. And its markings were a dark grey-green colour, very different from their striking ck and white ones.


    The creature''s triangr shaped heady open in death, showing its exposed fangs that still dripped with water.


    Ghad''s team crowded the dead creature, examining its corpse to make sense of what it was. There were six members if you counted Hestia who was now in a snake form.


    Lyra and the other snakes were still in shock after they had been attacked, but Ghad had already witnessed a simr creature when he lived away from the cave, and so he remained unfazed.


    Initially, he had suggested they go fishing for smaller prey like he used to in the past and following Hestia as their guide, they had arrived at thergeke in no time. And once there, they fished in the shallow end, but unbeknownst to them, therge creature had been eyeing the group in the water and attacked soon after.


    The snakes had worked together to take down the creature, while Hestia assisted by pushing back the water to slow it down.


    With the creature dead, thergeke had be quiet but now, none dared to approach the water – not after encountering one of its creatures.


    Its peaceful surface was just a ruse to lure more creatures into its dark depths. Even now Ghad spotted a shadow in the shape of a fin, breaking the water''s surface and a creature''s eyes red at him, before quickly disappearing below.


    And so, he decided to hunt elsewhere and escaped with his team in the other direction.


    The six snakes stopped behind a tree line a distance away and took a moment to catch their breath while eagerly observing the corpse they had taken as their prize.


    [What do you think it is?] Lyra asked in a whisper, fidgeting from behind him where she hid.


    [It doesn''t matter now because it''s dead.] he replied. But his response did not satisfy her and so the tiny healer snake gathered her courage and inched closer to examine the creature.


    She was not convinced it was dead and it was only when she touched the lifeless body that she heaved a sigh of relief.


    The creature''s physical appearance scared her, as did its powerful abilities. In fact, a great part of the reason they had survived the creature was due to Hestia, whose water des had injured it a great deal before their poison could take effect.


    While they rested, his team discussed the creature amongst themselves as they ate, eaching up with their own theories on what the creature could be.


    Ghad kept his eyes towards the direction of theke. And as time passed, he began to see more creatures approaching theke to have a drink, but surprisingly, none of them were attacked.


    It seemed something else caused the creature to attack them and he remembered that the creature was especially focused on Hestia. And it wasn''t the first time Ghad had been attacked suddenly either.


    His first encounter with Hestia had been him saving her from a simr creature that had tried to kill her, but unlike that day he had some help in the form of his team today.


    He nced at the water creature usingly, but what he saw made him smile. Hestia was coiled up with his team, nodding along with them as they exchanged theories, although it was clear she didn''t understand a word they were saying.


    Hestia could onlymunicate with him after all, and she kept looking his way, wondering why he wasn''t joining them.


    Their victory should have been a cause for celebration, but he couldn''t help feeling unhappy. In all the excitement from before he could feel the effects of ''her'' potion fading, and he no longer felt the same closeness or bloodlust from before.


    It was maddening just thinking about it because it reminded him so much of the first day ''she'' had utterly destroyed him and not paid him any attention since.


    The scar left on his underbelly was a constant reminder. But what he wanted was not revenge…it was, after all, a very fond memory for him now.


    She had beaten him so ruthlessly, shed him with her horns, made him feel small and fearful like never before, so much so that he had submitted himself to her, just to stay alive.


    The memory of the event was so fresh in his mind that he broke out in a rather cheerful smile as he thought about it. Hestia, who was with the others across from him, smiled back, not realising what he was truly thinking.


    So enamoured was he, that afterwards he abandoned his former group and followed Typhon, restraining himself and acting as one of ''her'' followers. He thought in this way he could get closer to the one who made him experience defeat.


    And for a while, it worked, and he was allowed to stay by her side.


    But then what happened?


    She left.


    Without a word.


    Typhon, her precious guard had no idea where she disappeared to and neither did Ophelia. At that point, he couldn''t take it anymore. Her cruelty was simply too unmatched! How could she just leave, after all the efforts he had made to grow strong? It was like she was mocking him all along.


    Staying with the others in the cave had be useless so he left them and went hunting several times on his own, eventually encountering Hestia, whom he saved on a whim. If Ophelia hadn''te to get him, he probably wouldn''t havee back at all and for that he was grateful.


    But on their first encounter after a long time, she had easily beaten him once again.


    Hestia told him how she''d protected him, but he was only amazed by how much she had grown. Just how did she get so strong in such a short time? His urge to surpass her came back in full force and he had been doing everything, so he could defeat her before she got too strong.


    [What''s wrong?] Hestia asked. She crept up beside him and watched him with curious eyes.


    [Nothing, I''m just keeping watch over theke.] he replied as he turned away. [Stay with the others, I''ll join youter.]


    [Okay.] Hestia nodded cheerfully and returned to the group where she watched Lyra test out her healing on the others.


    Ghad''s eyes lingered over her for a few seconds before looking away. If Hestia continued to stay with them while he remained weak, it was only a matter of time before he would lose t her to another predator, and he couldn''t afford to do so yet, not when ''she'' was finally looking at him.


    He had managed to make Hestia look far more suspicious than she really was by asking her to hide whenever ''she'' was around.


    By convincing Hestia, their leader didn''t want her and wished to eat her, he had seeded in making ''her'' more curious of him. Refusing to tell Typhon where she was from had only added more fuel. And so, he relished her eager gaze lingering behind his head.


    Eventually he nned to reveal the location of Hestia''s former cave, but only when he had gained ''her'' trust. If he took an attack in her ce, he would get the chance to prove himself, and maybe ''she'' woulde to like him.


    But so far this was proving difficult. The spaded shake was yet to go berserk and attack, even after provoking her so much.


    He had to think of another way to prove his worth.


    Perhaps Hestia''s cave was the key to this. If he defeated the creature that made her run away, he might be strong enough to ovee ''her''.


    As Ghad absentmindedly watched theke, a group of creatures soon came into view. It was a family of birds, and from what he can see – tworge ones and a hatchling.


    They looked like hawks withrge wingspans and dark luxurious feathers that blended out into vibrant shades of violet, pink and blue along the tips of their wings and lengthy tail feathers.


    The two gracefully came from the air to drink from theke with their little one who was a fluffier miniature of the two, with short feathers and watery eyes. From the looks of it, it might be a newborn.


    Since the three were flying so close to the dangerous water, he thought it was best to leave them alone. However as Ghad watched, something seemed to be approaching them from below.


    The newborn bird got excited at a fin that broke the surface of the water. And Ghad remembered ''she'' seemed rather fond of colourful and shiny things, from the many items she had shown to them in the cave.


    His eyes shed in excitement as he settled on a nice little ''gift'' to give her.