As morning came, Madotsuki felt oddly refreshed, in a way more than just a full night's sleep. She didn’t feel that same dreariness that waking up usually instilled in her. Perhaps because she stopped having such interesting dreams since coming here. Or maybe because her waking life had become more active. Or, she thought, looking at Mary, already up and working on the walls, perhaps she felt better because now she had something to wake up to.

Regardless she didn't dwell on it long, getting up and stretching. “How is it coming along?”

Mary smiled. “Oh, you’re awake! It’s going alright, we have one side covered now! We need more wood though. Oh, and we’ll get some reeds today!”

The dreamer sighed. Were they now? “Well, If you insist… I’ll go get some more wood first.” Her stomach growled. “And some breakfast.”

“Oh, I had an idea about food. But we need…” Mary looked uneasy. “Charcoal...”

“I’ll take care of it. You just keep working here, alright?”

Mary  smiled gratefully, and they both got to work.

Ib had collected a large cache of seeds so far, but she hadn’t made any further progress on her farming idea. There was something she needed that she simply had not seen yet, but she was sure she would know it when she saw it. For now, she simply had to make do. At the very least she wouldn’t go hungry for a while, though fruit would go a lot further than just seeds.

This area seemed peaceful so far- nothing had bothered her during the night, and so far there didn’t seem to be any spiders or other monsters. There were bees, but they didn’t seem hostile, even if they did have large stingers. She couldn’t help but worry about that. Her father had always told her to stay away from bees. Or maybe it was wasps? Whichever it was, she was giving them a wide berth.

That worry aside, things were simple and peaceful. Which is why when smoke started coming out the forest back the way she came, she took notice immediately. At first she thought it was The Batter, but then, she didn’t know of any reason he would make a fire now- it was morning after all. Which meant this was an accidental fire, or… there was someone else there. It couldn’t possibly be Mary, though. So whoever it was, it was someone Ib didn’t know.

A pang of lonliness rose up in her. Whoever it was, she simply had to find out. Maybe they could help each other. Maybe she wouldn't have to be by herself.

Getting the charcoal was the easier part. All Madotsuki had to do was find some isolated trees and light them with a torch, then get the resulting items. The chopping was much more tedious. Now that she was alone though, she had time to ponder things. It occurred to her that chopping wood, running around everywhere, carrying all this material, and fighting monsters should have long since worn her out to the point of exhaustion, but she felt just as alert and energetic as she had when she woke up.

She knew there was definitely something evil watching them- the shadow creatures were obviously spying on them at night. Perhaps there was something good in this world too, that grants them both the vitality to survive despite the danger. That would explain why they kept getting sudden bursts of insight into how to make things for their survival…

Before she could put much more thought into this, she heard a loud noise behind her. She spun around, ready to attack if need be, but before her was not an animal or monster, but a massive walking tree, letting out an angry groan. It raised a large branch-like arm, swinging down and nearly crushing her before she dove out of the way.

Just one look at it told her that her knife would be practically useless against it’s bark. An axe might work, but it would take a lot of swings, and those legs it had certainly weren’t for show. So she did the only sensible thing- run. Not back to the camp of course; this monstrosity could easily smash through Mary’s walls and level everything. No, she had to lead it somewhere else and lose it. Hopefully it would give up sooner or later.

As Ib got closer to the source of the smoke, she heard a loud crash, and the sound of feet running towards her. She only had time to register that the girl heading her away looked very familiar before they collided. They both laid there, groaning from their headaches, and Ib got a better look at her accidental attacker.

This girl actually looked like a lot like herself, even the same eyes and hair, though hers was in braids. She even wondered for a moment if they weren’t related, cousins maybe- her mother had once said that her side of the family all looked similar. “Who-” She stopped herself as another loud noise was heard, and she looked up.

She didn’t see anything but just ordinary trees for a moment, before she realized the noise came from a giant, walking tree. Deep in its leaves, she could see glowing eyes. She scrambled to her feet, as did the other girl.

“Run away.” The girl was holding a knife with an easy grip that suggested she was very used to handling it. She gave Ib a concerned look. “I don’t think I can beat this thing. Unless you have some power that can stop it, you’d best go.”

“R-Right...” Ib hesitantly takes a step back. “But what about you?”

“I will be fine. Just go before it catches me.” Ib still hesitated, despite the tree-beast lumbering ever closer. The other girl seemed to relax slightly, observing the behemoth. “It is… slower than I thought.”

Ib looked over the monster again, and saw she was right- it was no doubt very strong and tough, but it's steps were slow and measured.

The other girl let out a sigh of relief, and her knife vanished, as though it had never been there. “It seems we don’t have to run for our lives. Walking will do.” They started moving at a brisk pace.

Ib looked back at the monster. “But won’t it follow us?”

“Yes, but it will have to give up eventually, right?”

Ib frowned and looked into the monster’s eyes. Bright and glowing though they were, somehow the malevolence and wrath in them were obvious. “I’m not so sure… it seems really angry at us.” She paused, then realized the tree-beast was looking solely at her new acquaintance, not her. It didn't seem to realize Ib was there at all. “It’s angry at you.”

The other girl looked at the tree, then at her. “You can tell all that? Impressive.”

Ib hadn’t heard that word before, but it sounded good. More importantly, she realized, if the tree was angry at her, maybe she did something to offend it? Thinking back to the pig-men, they hadn’t been dangerous until The Batter hurt them. “Miss, did you do something to make it mad?”

The other girl looked down in thought. “Not that I know… all I was doing was getting some logs-” She paused. “Of course a tree monster would be mad if you cut down trees… but how do I make it leave me alone now?”

“Maybe… it would be happy if there are more trees? Do you have anything to do that?” Remembering what trees dropped, she added, “Pine cones?”

The other girl pulled out one. “So that’s what these are? Tree seeds?”

Ib nods. “Yeah. Maybe if you plant one it’ll stop.”

“I hope you are right...” The other girl jogged a bit further ahead to build some distance, and got to work, planting the pine cone. The tree-beast let out a low growl, softer than before. It kept coming, so she planted another, and another. As the fifth pine cone was planted, the monster finally stopped. The light in it’s eyes dimmed and went out, it’s legs fused back into proper roots, and it sank into the earth, now appearing for all to see a perfectly normal tree.

They both sigh in relief, and Ib walked over to her, taking in her appearance more. Yes, they did look similar. In fact, she might have thought they could be sisters- at least, until she looked closer. Something about her seemed older than her height and looks would suggest. She had the air of a grown-up about her. “Who are you?”

“My name is Madotsuki.” She bowed slightly in greeting, and in gratitude. “Thank you for saving my life.”

“I didn’t-”

“I wouldn’t have known how to stop that monster on my own. It would have followed me, and eventually it would catch me. So you did save me.” She smiled. “What is my savior’s name?”

Ib looked down, a bit embarrassed by such praise. “I’m Ib.”

“Ib..." Something about that name seemed familiar, but she couldn't place it. "Well Ib, my camp isn’t too far from here. You need somewhere to stay I would guess, and we will be safer together than alone.”

Ib nods. “I have my own camp actually… but it’s alright. I know how to pack it up and move.”

“Really? I will follow you there. We should look out for each other.”

Ib leads the way back to her camp, a smile on her face. She could tell right away that she had found a good friend.