As the Shrike To Your Sharp and Glorious Thorn

Chapter 3: It Started With A Low Light

"This just in, what were the mysterious lights in the sky centered around Sooga Village's famous Goh-Rong restaurant. Was it a publicity stunt, or is it something more extraterrestrial? We're going in for a closer look!" Su Da winked at the camera.

Garu frowned at the television. Lights? At the Goh-Rong? He was pretty sure Pucca had something to do with it. Speaking of, the energetic young girl was visible on screen, zipping around serving the curious customers. The reporter tried to chase her down, but Pucca was too quick. She ran back into the kitchen before they could interview her.

Garu's stomach rumbled. He guessed he could go for some breakfast.
***

The restaurant was busier than usual. The chefs waved him over to the kitchen. "Garu! Would you mind picking up some extra ingredients for us before the lunch rush? These phantom lights sightings have been raking in customers!" Garu nodded. Pucca zipped over to him to take his order, but before he could question her about the lights she'd given him a quick kiss on the cheek before running back to her work. He went bright red, the place where her lips made contact tingling. He was so distracted throughout he meal that he forgot to ask her anything about last night until she'd handed him his backpack and cheerfully shoved him out the door to meet with the farmer.

Garu started down the road, stopped and sighed heavily. He'd throughly missed his chance. He kept going, looking so dejected that Abyo and Ching ran over the minute they spotted him.

"Garu! What's wrong? I thought you had the day off?" Ching cried.

Garu shook his head. "It's because the restaurant is so busy." Abyo said offhandedly. "My dad's been out trying to do crowd control and see what happened last night."

Garu motioned excitedly. "What? Do you know something about what happened?" Abyo asked. Garu nodded even harder.

"Well what did happen?" Ching asked. Garu made a shape with his hands like two buns. "Pucca did it?"

At this Garu shrugged, but he seemed to get the point across.

"We'll come with you to get the ingredients, and then we'll ask Pucca what's going on." Ching said decisively.
***
Pucca, of course, was nowhere to be found. She knew Garu was going to try to get her to tell him what was going on, and she knew that he'd bring in Ching and Abyo to help. She couldn't resist Ching's disappointed face...or her anger. This was a task Pucca had to face on her own.

She was the strongest person in the village, the strongest person Master Soo had ever trained. She was the only one beside him who could possibly stand a chance of facing this evil and surviving it.

Which of course begged the question, why didn't he just do it? Pucca rolled her eyes as a memory of their conversation came into her head.

"This evil is smart. Far smarter than you've even seen, which makes it dangerous. It would see me coming from a mile away. You, on the other hand, can be inconspicuous.

Inconspicuous...right. After the stunt she'd pulled with the wards, she wouldn't be surprised if the monster was already on her trail. Pucca skidded to a stop. Hopping from stone to stone she gave herself a final boost into the cave hidden by the waterfall. Finally! She'd taken a ridiculously winding route to make sure she's wasn't followed.

Pucca lit the incense and reached into the bag she'd brought from school. It was enchanted to allowed her to carry tome after tome of arcane knowledge. She pulled out a scroll written in a language so ancient that no human alive would recognize it. Luckily, Master Soo had provided a dictionary and translation spell. She began the arduous process of fighting through the strange grammar.