Nick impatiently waited for Sosora to continue and urged her to do just that. Sosora was satisfied seeing the fear on her face and was happy to do just that.
Unfortunately…
"It's known as the Splash King."
…It's name was a little less scary than its reputation.
As Sosora expected, all the fear disappeared from Nick's face.
"The Splash King?" He asked doubtfully.
Sosora nodded with a grave expression.
"That's right. If you're lucky enough, it will warn you with a splashing sound, letting you turn around and flee before you cross it. And sometimes in the depths of the forest, when everything is silent, you can hear it."
"It?"
"The splashing."
Nick sighed. This felt like a B-rated horror movie's intro.
"Alright. I'll be sure to keep my ears sharpened for any splashing."
"So you aren't worried about the others?" Sosora asked curiously.
"Of course I am. Now, I have a movie to watch…" He said, trailing off. He hoped that hint would be enough for Sosora to get it and leave.
Sosora didn't know what a movie was or why Nick needed to watch it, but she wasn't stupid. She probably shouldn't overstay her welcome when visiting someone ignorant enough to settle down in the center of the forest. If she were unlucky, she might get caught up in the mess when trouble comes looking for him.
Sosora nodded.
"Yes. Thank you for avenging my Trajo Berry. If I get the chance, I'll make sure to give you one…" She said, dragging it out while looking at Zach and subtly asking for Nick to finish her sentence.
Nick sighed. He kind of didn't want to tell her his name, but he wasn't going to be rude to this new neighbor of his.
"Nick. My name is Nick, and if I don't get run over by a cow, boar, or moose, or splashed to death by the Splash King, I'll probably be here for a while. Nice to meet you, Sosora."
"Likewise, Nick. See you around," She waved with a smile as she stepped backward. She turned around, and wings grew from her back. With a graceful leap, she took to the air, flying through the tree tops back to wherever she came from.
He looked in the direction she flew long after she disappeared among the leaves.
"This really is another world, isn't it?" He said with a sigh as he turned around, closing the door. He looked at the tentacle. It nodded.
'At least I won't be bored when I run out of movies,' Nick thought to himself as he pressed play, blissfully unaware of how right he was.
***
In another part of the Tiabe Forest, a meeting was being held in the Bawin tribe about Nick's presence.
"I think his presence disturbs the peace. There's no telling how much he might anger the monster kings if he stays in the center like that! What if they go on a rampage?" A man with light beige hair said. His forehead that was thicker than a wood plank and jutted out over his eyesockets would be impossible to read for a human from Earth like Nick. But the others from the same room could tell that he was worried.
But he was also angry and indignant.
"That Outsider is a threat to us all!" He continued, thumping a big and solid fist against the wooden table.
"Soso said—" A younger man started saying before a slightly older man next to him held up a hand and stopped him. The young man wasn't sitting at the table. He couldn't speak out of turn.
"What Malak is trying to say has some merit," The dark-haired man said, continuing, "The Aer tribe's scout, Sosora did report that the Outsider seemed mostly harmless as long as we don't provoke him. Elder Atarak, I suggest we use a peaceful method to interact with him."
"And if a peaceful method doesn't work, Elder Kobo?" Atarak asked, crossing his arms.
"We can discuss the details then. For now, I think it best if we take a passive approach. We will send someone to talk to him and ask him what he thinks about relocating. But I also think we should ask the Seg tribe or the Gezercher tribe to look out for the monster kings. Your concern about them going on a rampage is nothing but a guess, after all," Elder Kobo said, earning nods from the other elders.
Atarak gritted his teeth at how blatantly Kobo had dismissed his concerns and points. He clenched his fists, which were hidden beneath his crossed arms so no one saw it.
"Alright. Let's do as you suggest, Elder Kobo. How about having Malak talk to the Outsider? he seemed willing enough to stand up for him."
That made Malak a lot more hesitant, but Kobo nodded.
"I concur. I think Malak is the perfect person to talk with him," Kobo answered without hesitation. Malak could only stare at Kobo.
He had spoken in a way that could be taken as him seeing the Outsider in a favorable light, but that was only because of Sosora. He didn't want to talk to the Outsider. Kobo didn't care about that, though.
"Moving on. Do we care about what the other tribes do? And should we send Malak before or after they've done theirs?" Kobo asked.
The others in the room looked at each other or thought about it for a while.
There were several other tribes in the forest. It was impossible to anticipate all of their reactions to the Outsider. Some might take a similar stance to them. Others might do nothing. A few might even try to remove the unstable variable and possible irritant for similar reasons as the ones Atarak mentioned.
"I think the most passive way to go about it would be to see what the other tribes do before reaching out to the Outsider," Atarak said. It was also the most likely way to sour their potential relationship with the Outsider, especially if any of the other tribes attacked the Outsider.
As if his goal in life was to oppose Atarak, Kobo made another suggestion.
"I think we should be first to talk to the Outsider. If Matarak visits the Outsider after the other tribes, the Outsider might not be as inclined to talk with us, depending on what the other tribes do. If the other tribes make offers, he'll view them in a more favorable light. If they try to force him out, he'll most likely view all of our tribes in a hostile light."
"It sounds like you're just guessing about what the Outsider might do."
"Naturally, I have no way of knowing how the Outsider thinks. That's why I want our tribe to be first. The later we are, the more variables there will be to his behavior."
Thanks to Atarak's layup, Kobo managed to swing the council in his favor. Much to Malak's dismay, he didn't get any time to prepare before being sent to the center of the forest.