When the two siblings got to the campfire, they found Rex sitting there washing the brown roots in a small stone basin filled with water. Meanwhile, several meat skewers were roasting by the fire in front of him.
Serena was a little surprised to see him on cooking duty, but it made things easy for her. It was easier to make conversation with someone she knew better than someone she met once.
"Morning Rex." Serena greeted the older male as she moved over to where he was sitting. "What are you making there?"
Rex looked up from his work and gazed at her walking over to him. He gave her a brief smile before answering, "Just washing some brown roots so I can roast them for breakfast. We'll have them with the last bit of meat from last night."
"I see…" Serena mused, taking a seat next to Rex, watching closely to see how he cleaned the brown roots.
Kiro, meanwhile, went close to the fire to look at the meat skewers. He was sniffing at the scent of the roasting meat, eyes gleaming at the thought. Of course, Serena made sure to keep him within eyeview.
He may be mature for his age, but at the end of the day he was still a kid. She had to make sure he didn't get too close to the fire and accidentally burn himself.
Because at best it would leave him with horrible scars that could have him ostracized by many and at worse the injuries would lead to death. Whether by the extent of the injuries themselves or infection from not getting proper care.
Seeing that he was fine, Serena turned most of her attention back to Rex. "Do you need some help washing all of them?"
"Oh no." Rex waved his hand. He then pointed at a few on the leaf beside him. "I've already washed all the ones I'm going to use today. This is actually the last one."
Serena pursed her lips at his words. There were only about five or six brown roots on the leaf. She clearly remembered there were way more brown roots collected in that basket. Was she mistaken or something?
"I thought there were more." Serena stated aloud. "Aren't you going to wash them all while you're at it now?"
Even if they were saving some for later, wouldn't it be good to wash all that dirt off them like they were doing now. Why keep them dirty?
"No. It's best not to wash them now." Rex shook his head. "Brown roots last longer if they don't get water on them and stay in dark places. And since we plan to use them for extra food on the journey to the city, it would be best if we only wash what we need."
"I see." Serena murmured, mentally taking note of his words.
They would definitely be of use to her whenever she harvested brown roots. They seemed like a good food to store which would be good for the cold season. She'd just need to remember not to get water on them and store them in a dark place.
"Anyway, I'm going to prepare these for roasting." Rex stated, picking up the leaf filled with the brown roots before getting up. "You have a good day."
"Wait Rex!" Serena got up. "Can I watch you prepare them? I'm actually quite interested in watching the cooking proce-"
Before she could finish speaking there was suddenly a loud roar that echoed through the camp. Rex immediately tensed up at the sound, dropping a few brown roots onto the ground.
Serena, meanwhile, may have not understood what that roar signaled, but whatever it was it was definitely not something good. And Rex's actions confirmed it.
"Sister…" Kiro ran over to her, clinging to her leg. "W-what was that?"
Serena didn't get the chance to answer because Rex cursed before turning to her and muttering, "We need to get out of here now!"
She did not need to be told twice. Serena immediately went down to pick up Kiro. He would be a bit heavy to carry in her arms while running, but Serena was not about to let him run on his own.
His short legs would only slow them down when running away. And when the campsite descended into chaos like she knew it would soon there would be a high chance that she could lose him.
And she was not about to let that happen.
Kiro wrapped his arms around her neck and clung tightly to her, burrowing his head into her shoulder. Serena placed her right hand over his head to comfort the cub before running after Rex.
The tiger beastman led them towards the tent away while some beastmen ran past them to deal with whatever had entered the camp. The sounds of fighting soon filled Serena's ears, but she didn't dare look back.
Her priority was getting to safety. Being around the camp would not only put Kiro in danger, but herself too. She knew the limits on her strength and with the job of protecting Kiro…
Retreating was her best option right now.
They soon passed by her tent as she ran and Serena made a quick sidestep to grab her basket. She knew it would delay them a bit, but it was important.
Traveling though unknown territory was always risky, especially in a world like this one. She knew they could be attacked at any moment, so keeping her basket packed and at hand was important.
Because if push came to shove and she got separated from the others, she'd need to rely on herself to keep her and Kiro alive. And the things in that basket would help do so.
After slinging the basket over her shoulder, Serena rushed to catch up to Rex. They headed for the outskirts of the forest when Rex stopped.
He let out a growl, instantly shifting into his tiger form. A second later a wolf appeared from behind a tree and pounced on him. Rex swiped at the wolf and growled in beast tongue, "Get out of here!"