His Gaze

Chapter II: Meet Again

"What? Sira is missing..?"
Shocked, Nilou joined in the conversation with the citizens.
Sira was a woman's son, she was devastated and waiting for the Matras to find him.

"Please.. h-he went to the wild.. to go play and.. never came back. What should I do?? I-I'm so worried I..
The woman stuttered.
Nilou felt bad, and offered to help.

And now she's somehow, in the wild. Trying to find the child.
"Ahh.. Where even am I.. It feels like I'm so far from the city.."
Nilou's too nice for her own good.
Whenever she sees someone in need of help, she will willingly offer it if it's within her capabilities.
She thought;
Finding a lost child shouldn't be hard! I could find him in just a few minutes exploring the wild!!

It's been 2 hours.
She's lost.
In the verge of tears.
Gandharva Ville..? Apam Woods??
I don't know where I am.
"H-Hello..! Is anyone out there..?"

Silence.

"...Can anyone hear me..?!"

Silence.

No luck, she's stuck in the middle of a forest, without any things packed.
I'm gonna die here.
A sound, it sounded like it came from afar.
It sounded like it was getting closer.
I'm definitely going to die here.

"AAAAA DONT EAT ME!!"
She screamed in a panic, drew her sword and used her vision.
The attack was blocked.
She continuously attacked until a voice could be heard.

"Hey! Calm down, Nilou!"

...

"Tighnari..?"

"Gosh. Would you calm down and put down your weapon?? I was just trying to help because I heard you calling out from afar."

Tighnari.
A talented botanist.
He has big and long ears that can detect things from afar..
He's also a forest watcher. Maybe he heard me calling out for help while on duty..?

"Ah.. sorry, Tighnari..!"

"No worries.. but why are you even here in the first place?"

"I.. I wanted to find a kid named Sira.. he was missing since 2 days ago.. said that he went to go out and play in the wild and I volunteered to help."

"You lummox! You don't go helping around people within your abilities. The wilderness is a dangerous place, you don't know what lies deep inside it. What if it wasn't me who found you? What if it was a group of tigers, or a sumpter beast? What are you ought to do?"

"..I'm sorry."

He talked a lot, but Nilou couldn't do anything else but apologise. He was right after all. She got lucky that she met him instead of some creepy dangerous creatures.
She thought she could do it, but she didn't think of the consequences.

"There there, you're fine now. I'll take you back."
Tighnari sighed. His gaze softened after seeing the frightened girl.
Nilou wanted to refuse, she wanted to find the child. She wanted to believe she'd be capable of finding him.
But she couldn't afford to bother people again.

On the way back, she heard a sound.
It sounded like a child crying for help.
Surely Tighnari's heard it too?
Nilou ran to the scene.
"Hey— Nilou! Come back! It's dangerous!"
He shouted.
Nilou didn't stop.
She knew he heard the screaming, but dismissed it for later as it could be very dangerous.
But you don't know if the boy would still be there later.

"HELP!! ANYONE!!! HELP ME I'M GETTING HUNTED!"

"Be quiet! You're causing a scene!"

...