Chapter 111: A Chaotic Bath Session.
While little Maren splashed her fingers through the water, playing, Azure got his tools ready.
He held onto the sponge-like leaf while he stood behind Maren. He stared at her for a while before he slowly approached like a hunter stalking its prey.
Slowly, he took a step with the sponge in his hand, ready to capture Maren and wash her clean. But as he drew closer, Maren suddenly turned.
Their eyes met as he hid the sponge behind him and flashed her a smile. "Hello."
Maren stared at him for a while and then looked around. She was looking for her mummy, but there was no sign of her anywhere.
She stared at Azure again, confused.
Azure slowly approached. "It’s time to take your bath... Let’s get you cleaned up." He brought out the sponge-like leaf. "It won’t hurt or anything. It’s going to be fun... So come..."
Little Maren didn’t listen. She panicked immediately as she turned and dashed into the water almost instantly.
Azure blinked. "Oh dear." He gasped as he too stepped into the water to catch her.
Little Maren rushed through the little stream, struggling to swim deep into the water as Azure stretched out his hands toward her.
He caught a foot. "Come back... I just want to wash you up! I’m not harming you, okay?" He struggled to hold onto her, water splashing mildly around from the stream.
But little Maren instantly had her legs blend into a tail, and she slipped from his grip and fell into the water.
Immediately, Azure slipped too and fell into the water with a big splash.
He got his tail out as he dug his head out of the water, looking around. "Where the hell did that..." He shook his head as he picked up his sponge, staring through the water. He saw ripples and could tell the little one was making her way through.
"There you are..." Azure entered the water and reached out after her.
Little Maren ran as fast as she could, and Azure was shocked at how fast she was. But he managed to catch her by the tail.
"Caught you!" He smiled as he scrubbed the sponge over her body, but she instantly shook herself and slipped off his grip.
"Damn, she’s so slippery," he muttered as he looked up from the water. She was swimming off.
He followed behind and came out of the water. Azure caught her by the tail again, but she shook her tail and it turned into legs. Maren kicked him in the face. Azure staggered backwards and fell back into the water with a loud splash. "Ouch!"
Little Maren instantly ran off from the water and made her way into the bigger stream. She jumped in.
Azure managed his way out of the stream, rubbing his hand against his nose as he stood. "That little... How is she so strong?" He looked around. "Where did she go now?"
He hesitated, looking around for a while before he saw her peek from the water to see if he was still around.
"Hey... Come and take your bath. It’s harmless," he said, approaching the bigger stream. He had lost the sponge and didn’t even know where to look for it. So he decided to find her like that.
The scene that followed was even more chaotic—the two swimming and running around in the water in the most chaotic way possible. Azure spent the entire time chasing after her while Maren ran like no other.
He would catch her from time to time, running his hands through her skin with the water to clean her up. But she’d instantly kick around and slip from his hands. She was insanely slippery.
Once she slapped him on his cheek with her tail, leaving him with a red mark. But he kept swimming after her until she finally escaped the water, naked and clean.
"Hey! Come back here!" Azure ran after her. Little Maren was running toward the bushes, and Azure panicked, knowing he had to catch her.
And then, she suddenly stopped close to the woods and fell down to the ground. Her tail had grown, and she certainly couldn’t walk with it. The worst part was that she didn’t know how to change it back at will.
But that wasn’t the worst-case scenario. The issue now was that a very huge vulture was flying down with force to catch her.
The little girl sat there staring into the sky, now panicking. She could tell she was in danger, and she struggled to move. But to no avail.
Maren sat there and instantly began crying out loud.
Azure, who had spotted her from a distance, instantly rushed toward her. He too saw the vulture coming from above and panicked.
He ran as fast as he could, but the vulture was faster. It landed and instantly picked up Maren with both legs. Now it was flying off with little Maren comfortably captured in its feet.
Azure stopped immediately and stared into the sky, panting heavily and furiously. "You bold beast..." He muttered. "How dare you lay a finger on my daughter?"
He instantly looked around for what to do. Then he saw a stick lying there on the ground. Azure picked it up, stared up at the vulture, and took aim.
Little Maren was crying up there while being carried away, and he knew he had to save her. So he threw the stick high into the sky, and it smacked hard against the vulture’s head.
The vulture let out a loud cry and subconsciously opened its legs, flying off into the distance. It let the little kid fall.
Little Maren was now falling in a flash. She couldn’t help but cry from the fear of the fall. She closed her eyes as she fell.
Azure stood there, watching her fall while he calculated everything. She was falling toward the water, but he knew it wasn’t safe to let her fall from that distance. So he stepped in.