As they watched, Mistress Kering waved her hands in some weird way, when suddenly, a brilliant bolt of lightning shot out of her hand and into the coyote, decimating the poor thing.
Seeing this, the other coyotes, three in total, took off running. However, the fairies were not going to allow them to get far. Moving quickly, multiple green fairies fell from the skies, some brandishing some weapon, others just their bare hands. In moments, three coyotes lay dead in the forest.
Seeing the quick snack that had been served, the fairies fell from the skies and planted their feet into the carcasses, quickly getting some chow down. Mistress Kering watched all this with fascinated eyes.
"Come on, don't be shy, dig in," Nixa said to the human. However, the human ate with their mouth, a factor they had not noticed yet.
"Worry about yourself, I just took down a coyote while you were staring about," Foli said curtly. Many of the older fairies had a competition of who was the greatest. Other than Kigen, the others were quite well matched.
So far, there were five top contenders, Nixa, Nina, Foli, Tande, and Luita. They were among the earliest in the bunch to be born and had been developing their powers and abilities quite steadily.
"Why all the fuss, you are still behind me and Nina," Tande added. The juniors were quietly listening to their seniors bickering. They too had their own competitions going on, but not worth mentioning in front of the seniors.
"Nina, take a few juniors and deliver the remaining bodies back to the mother tree," Kigen instructed after everyone had had their fill. "The rest of us, we will proceed to the rabbit holes. I want everyone to hunt a single rabbit by the end of the day."
Once again, Mistress Kering was blown away by the prestige Kigen had in the group. Once the fairy spoke, all the others immediately listened. He was like a god to them, and they looked at him with worship in their eyes.
Another shocking thing, hunt a single rabbit per fairy, wasn't that getting a little too excessive? However, she remembered that the death of fifty rabbits in a rainforest this dense was barely enough to put a dent in the ecosystem of the forest.
Once they got close enough, the fairies got into action. Zooming fast, any rabbit that had been walking around aimlessly was quickly captured. Some struggled to kill off their target, but working together, the fairies managed to kill all captives.
Those that had not managed to capture a rabbit now had bigger issues. It was time to swoop into the holes, and capture those in hiding. The fairies were primed and ready. Acting like the apex predators they were, several more rabbits were quickly eliminated.
Watching all this, Mistress Kering was thoroughly impressed. She did not expect the fairies to be so amazing and to have made so much progress. Even without her guidance, they were already showing their pedigree.
She had seen their movements when they first took down the coyotes, but those could have been the ace of the group. Now, every member had made a kill. Some did not even look older than a week since blooming.
Unlike the fairies, who had no frame of reference, she knew that this was not normal behavior. Not all fairies were born with the ability to speak, and with such beautiful command over the elements. Clearly, something was different about these fairies, and those she had seen before.
These were not your average, run-of-the-mill kind of fairies. They came from a royal seed. They had a proud heritage. While they did not have access to their inheritance, after the usurpers pilfered it all, they still had the talents.
Seeing this emboldened the woman. After all the pain and heartache, all the humiliation and hiding she had to endure, the plan was finally coming to fruition.
The return of the Royal seed, and the reclamation of the throne, everything she never dared to hope for, could actually happen. She was even curious to learn Kigen's capabilities, since his kin were this powerful.
Screech.
The pile of freshly killed rabbits had attracted some unwanted attention. A falcon seemed to come out of nowhere. Moreover, it had already began its charge.
Given how fast it was moving, one could tell that nothing would survive impact. The falcon was dead set on grabbing a rabbit from the pile.
However, something suddenly came into view. Looking like a toothpick, the little arrow did not attract that much attention, until bird and arrow made contact. The next moment, to Mistress Kering's shock, the falcon was tossed out of the air. The arrow had sent it careening through the forest.
Turning around, she looked at Kigen, expecting the arrow to have come from him. To her shock, he was quietly looking on, unperturbed by the intrusion. Clearly, he had not even considered the bird a threat.
"Hey Foli, that's how many?" A proud masculine fairy flew in the air, proudly holding an elemental bow. Luita was the third born, did not look overly muscular. However, his lean body made him quite agile in the air. However, it was his mastery over the bow and arrow that made his quite noticeable.
Foli grimaced. Since his outburst, everyone seemed to use him as their stomping ground. Unlike Luita, he focused more on mastering the rod. After seeing Kigen mash the brain of a snake, he had fallen in love with the skill.
Too bad he did not seem to learn it so well. His whacks with the rod, while quite damaging, were not enough to make him stand out just yet. He wanted to gain everyone's recognition, especially since he was the loudest, save for Nixa.
Kigen, and Mistress Kering, sat around staring at the group. Kigen had a proud expression, feeling like a proud dad. He had seen each of these fairies grow since they one day old.
Mistress Kering, on the other hand, was beyond shocked. She thought she had seen the limit of their power, but now, she was doubly shocked. They knew the secret techniques of the Royal house, how did that happen?
It was almost inconceivable how such a young fairy clan could make such weapons without help. There could only be one explanation.
"Did you... learn these skills from your mother?" a bewildered woman asked the fairy hovering nearby.
"Of course, she's been teaching us all kinds of skills," he said excitedly, noting her shocked expression. Kigen did not hover around anymore, going about to look for a spot to train. He too had unlocked many skills, but he did not get that many options to show off.
This time, Kigen was training a strange new skill. It was a combination of the rod and the arrow, forming a pike. The long pike was not meant to be hurled, but wielded as a close combat weapon, much like the rod. The biggest difference was the sharp and pointed end.
From the imagery he got from his mom's visions, Kigen had seen the power of the pike. With one stab, he could skewer a tree trunk. Kigen was still some distance from being able to do that, but he was slowly making progress.
With the hunt complete, Kigen would usually let the fairies move about as they pleased. Many would get into practicing and training their hunting skills, mostly following his lead.
They would then start collecting together at the start point when dusk was gathering and then make their way back home together.
Hence, when the sun was setting, Kigen made his way to where they started hunting the rabbits. To his shock, all the fairies were already gathered. Even Nixa, who was always out and about, exploring, was there, in the front row.
Curiously, they all seemed to be gathered around Mistress Kering, listening to her as she regaled them with stories, mostly about Faye city. Even Kigen was intrigued. She had not even shared this information with him.
Watching as the fairies hang on her every word, Mistress Kering smiled proudly. She knew she had achieved her goal. Watching the fairies, she had decided to move up her timetable.
Kigen eyed her suspiciously. He knew what she wanted to do. However, since their goals were aligned, he allowed her to do her thing. To be honest, he too could barely wait to see this magical place.
"Big brother, when are we going?" Nixa, noticing Kigen's arrival, loudly demanded from him.
Looking at the middle-aged woman who was smiling sweetly, he realized he had to play the bad cop: "Soon, but there's still a lot to plan. We need to decide who we will be taking as we go."
"Wait, we are going to leave some of us behind?" A shocked Nixa exclaimed. "Why would we do such a thing?"
"Are we going to carry mother with us as we go, or do you suggest we leave her undefended?" Kigen shot back. He hated that he had to play this part, and he shot Mistress Kering a bad eye. "Our primary goal is to protect the mother tree, let us not forget that."
"Will you be coming with us?" she asked, playing at being innocent.
"Of course, it's my responsibility to look after you guys, so I will not let you go about unprotected," Kigen answered, also playing at innocence.
"Come on, let's go back," he answered before adding, "We need to figure out which one of us will be going."