After they visited with Okan, Melody and her group walked along, exploring the forest when Aroo mooed in a panic.

"What's wrong, Aroo?!" Melody asked in a panic as Aroo began running to the southwest.

"What's going on?!" Maple asked while trying to hang on.

"She's in a panic. Nothing is hunting us. She must have sensed something!" Melody ran alongside.

Within a few minutes, they arrived at the edge of the forest when they heard the loud crack of lightning.

Melody panicked and grabbed Aroo by the horns. "Stop, Aroo! It's dangerous to charge in!" Melody struggled to bring the bison to a halt.

"Roo. Roo!" Aroo listened to Melody but was still quite anxious.

They looked out into a large open field where multiple Wooly Bison were running, followed by another group attacking them from horseback.

"H-Humans," Melody whispered, taking a step back and trembling in fear.

Maple and Bell remembered Melody's story of how humans attacked her before and looked at her with pain in their hearts.

Maple flitted up and hugged Melody's head while Bell teleported to the giant's shoulder to embrace the opposite side. A feeling of comfort surrounded the giant's troubled mind.

"T-Thank you, both of you… I will be alright," Melody took a few steadying breaths before calming, "But what are they doing? Hunting?"

One of the humans launched a fireball at a bison, and it fell over injured. The humans stopped and began to chat.

"What are they saying? Why are they not finishing it off?" Melody began to feel anger boiling in her heart as she could hear the pained cries of the poor bison.

Maple flitted up. "I'll go find out. Gwah!" Melody grabbed her the instant Maple said it.

"That's too dangerous!" Melody exclaimed into the captured fairy's face.

"Don't worry, Melody, let go and be amazed!" Melody let her go, and Maple cast a light spell.

"You're invisible!" Melody was awestruck. Still, she could perceive Maple through nature.

"Yup. Only those who have a deep connection to nature would be able to sense me. No human has ever had that kind of connection. I will go check now."

"J-Just be careful. I don't want to lose you." Melody said as she pulled out her new Okan's Bow just in case things turned sour. She had no idea how strong humans were, but she would fight to save her friend.

Maple flew out toward the humans.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Truly a wonderful shot, my lord!" A man in armor said to another who was dressed in fancy clothes.

"I know, I know. It truly is fun doing this. I am glad you suggested it to me, Sir Pernal. Things might not be so bad with being assigned to this backwater domain." The lord said.

"More than happy to, my lord." Sir Pernal bowed his head.

"Well then, shall we head back? I think I have had enough fun for today. Next time let's goal for the whole herd." They all acknowledged the lord's order and rode off to the south, not knowing a little fairy was listening in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Melody was getting anxious until she saw the group ride off toward the south.

They left the bison? Then a telepathic message came to Melody from Maple.

"Melody! Hurry and come over here! It's dying!"

Once the humans were gone, Melody rushed out toward the bison where Maple was waiting.

"Melody, can you do something?" Maple pleaded.

Melody looked at the wound. "The poultice I have won't work on such a horrible wound." She said as she looked at the gaping hole.

"Um, um, wait! I remember Mother Gaia using a spell to heal me before when I got hurt. I think it was called 'Regrowth!' I think you could do it!"

Melody was not too sure, but she had to try something.

Okay, I hope I can do this. Regrowth sounds like healing, healing is mending of flesh, and I have seen such things in movies… maybe I can do it?

Putting her hands at the sides of the wound, she calmly flowed her magic into it.

"Regrowth." Nothing happened.

Come on, Melody! Just imagine that guy who says 'Bub' a lot!

Melody opened her eyes and stared into the wound, doing everything she could to visualize the injury healing, pushing her magic once more, "Regrowth!"

The flesh of the bison began to regenerate and mend itself, linking bits of flesh while bones seemed to slowly regrow.

"You're doing it, Melody! Keep it up! Here, I'll transfer my magic to you!" Maple began to transfer her magic into Melody.

"Don't go too far Maple, the spell is not using too much magic." Maple confirmed Melody's request.

After ten minutes, the wound was healed, and the bison just seemed exhausted.

"Maple. What did they say?" Melody asked about the humans.

"They are not hunting. This was some kind of sick game for them!" Maple trembled with anger before stopping and turning toward the north.

"Wait!" Maple shouted and burst into the sky, looking around.

"Melody! There are several others to the north!" The fairy announced.

Melody ran up a ridge to look out to the field.

"Horrible… This is horrible!" Melody saw several other bison in various levels of injuries.

She and Maple rushed down to save as many as they could. Their pain was flowing out from them, and Melody could feel it through her connection to nature. Melody wanted to curl up into a ball and cry, but she had to help the bison. Gritting her teeth, she waded into the ocean of suffering.

Melody's face showed her exhaustion, both magically and emotionally, as she was healing another bison.

"You can do it, Melody! This is the… last one…." Maple said with sadness in her voice. They both looked tired, and they had dried streaks on their faces from their crying.

Out of eight, only four survived… Melody's heart ached.

They found a total of eight bison with serious injuries. Still, it weighed heavily on Melody's heart to know she could only save only half. Three were found dead when she got to them, but one slipped away while healing it.

The bison's wound finished mending, and it weakly mooed in thanks.

Twelve other bison appeared from over the ridge, with Aroo and the one Melody healed first.

The bison then began mooing in unison in a melancholic way.

"Is this… a song?" Maple asked, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"Such a solemn and sad song… They're mourning." Tears came to Melody's eyes as she could feel the sadness of the bison.

The feeling reminded Melody of a song she heard from a favorite anime of hers. It was called the Swan Song.

Melody stepped up with them and began to sing the song. The bison listened to her sing and gradually joined her, mimicking her tones.

Melody followed the group to each fallen bison, singing the song for each one, praying their souls rest in peace.

Her emotions overwhelmed her, and she collapsed to her knees, sobbing into her hands. It took several minutes before Melody calmed enough and looked toward the heavens. "Why must they be so cruel?" She asked herself.

Aroo approached Melody and pulled at her knife. "What is it, Aroo?"

Melody pulled the knife out, and Aroo took the handle in her mouth, approached one of the dead, and poked at it with the knife before mooing at Melody.

"Wait, you can't mean you want me to harvest them?! I can't, Aroo! They were your family, weren't they?!" Melody cried.

"Rooooo." The mammoth bison sounded sad.

Melody put a hand on Aroo and used nature magic to connect their hearts.

"You. You don't want to leave them like this? You would rather I do it? I, I understand. I'll do it." Aroo handed her the knife. With tears in her eyes, Melody began her solemn task.

It was late into the night when Melody finished. She used her dig ability and buried the heads and bones, creating individual graves for them. Melody wrapped the meat, hearts, brains, and livers in the hides and secured them shut with twine.

"This is horrible." Through her sadness, she felt a quiet fury building in her.

No. I can't be angry right now… Not yet. Melody buried the fury back down.

"Melody. They planned on coming again." Maple reported.

"Okay. Let's head home for now. Aroo, I am sorry to ask, could you carry… them?" Melody hesitantly asked her friend.

"Roooo." Aroo nudged her in confirmation. After using some rope, she secured the packages to Aroo, and they headed home.

"Melody!" Bell ran up and hugged her when they arrived. Melody had Aroo return to their home with Bell and Maple to get more supplies to bring back everything. Bell stayed behind.

"Sorry, we're late, Bell, Pappy." They could see Melody's eyes were red and puffy.

"No worries, we are just happy to see you're safe," Pappy replied.

"Pappy, those packs contain some… meat. Could you take care of it, please? Sorry." Pappy could see that Melody was exhausted emotionally and told her that he would take care of it.

"Get some rest, Melody. Bell, tend to her, please." Bell nodded and went with her.

Pappy removed the packs using telekinesis and took them inside.

"Aroo, you come over here too," Melody called out.

She stripped her armor off and got into the spring. Usually, she would enjoy the warm tingly feeling, but she felt so dirty over the whole ordeal. Aroo waded into the water, and Melody used a bucket Bell pulled out, rinsing Aroo off as something to keep her mind busy. After an hour, Melody went inside with Bell and Maple and went to sleep.

She woke in the morning, and Pappy provided a vegetarian meal for breakfast.

"Thanks, Pappy. I really didn't feel like eating meat this morning." Melody gave a tired smile as she had not slept well.

"Of course, Melody. By the way, we finished the demon mole cloak. We had just enough left over to make a pair of boots and wrist guards. We couldn't do full bracers. It's right there at your leisure." Pappy motioned toward a table off to the side. Since Pappy's arrival, new furniture or improvements appeared each day.

Melody finished eating breakfast and donned her new cloak and accessories. They were soft on the inside. The set of boots that came midway up her shins and wrist guards fit a little loosely on her.

"Hey Pappy, aren't these a bit big?" Melody asked.

"We're sure that you are bound to grow more. The strings on them can be adjusted as you grow so that you can continue to use them as long as they'll work. Anyway, I can tell that something is bothering you. You should go try talkin' to Gaia." Pappy suggested.

Gaia… Melody agreed, picked up her weapons, and headed off with Maple to see the grove mother.

It did not take long for them to find Gaia as she seemed to have been expecting them.

"Hello, little fern. I understand you met father, Okan?" Gaia asked.

"Yes. I met him. I only got to speak with him a little bit, though…." Melody said sadly.

"It is alright. Okan is ancient and powerful. It will not be long before he is awake once more," Gaia approached and hugged Melody, "I also heard about what happened in the western fields. I am so sorry you had to go through that."

Melody teared up and began to softly cry. "That was so horrible. How could they be so horrible?!"

Gaia pulled away and looked into Melody's eyes. "Do not harm yourself over harvesting them. Their spirits have moved on, but I felt their appreciation that they did not go to waste and went to someone good. Remember Melody, what is the one thing that connects all nature?"

Melody sniffled. "The cycle."

"Correct. What you did was a part of the cycle of life and death. What those humans did was wrong. Their flesh would have rotted and brought disease. You did what was right." Emotions of warmth and reassurance emanated from Gaia.

"I… did?" Melody looked up at Gaia's face like a confused child.

"Yes," Gaia answered straight, caressing Melody's wet cheek.

"But what of the humans?" Melody asked.

"What do you feel should be done?" Gaia asked her.

"They… They need to be stopped."

"Do you wish to stop them? Or I?" Gaia asked Melody

Melody felt the bit of fury building in her once more. "Me. I'll do it. I'll stop them. I will show them that our forest, our home, does not tolerate such affronts to nature." Melody's eyes sharpened, and her jaw set.

Gaia smiled warmly. "That is determination. The light has returned to your eyes. But you must promise me, do not kill them unless you absolutely have to, do you understand?" Gaia said like a concerned parent. Gaia did not want Melody to carry that weight on her shoulders.

"I understand. I promise to do my best to not kill them."

Gaia hugged Melody once more, her warmth healing Melody's pained soul and mind.

"Mother Gaia, how strong am I in comparison to humans?" Melody asked.

"An ordinary giant would require several average humans to defeat. Those men, I am sure, are either intermediate or just above, and you are no ordinary giant. So what do you think?" Gaia replied with a smile.

The fury was buried beneath the warmth of Gaia's heart, a small smile coming to Melody's lips.

Melody spoke at length with Gaia to put together a solid idea of getting the humans out and saving the wooly bison.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few days later, a noble and several armored men rode along the western road. "Damn that damn Duke! How dare he disrespect me in such a way!?" The lord complained, whipping his horse.

"I know, my lord. That Duke should learn his place. You have more powerful connections than him!" A knight piped in.

"Damn, damn! I need to let off some steam. This time we are not stopping until they are all crying in pain!"

After five hours of riding, they arrived at an open field.

"There they are, my lord!" Another knight pointed out a herd of wooly bison.

"Let's do this!" The lord rode forth toward the herd after pulling out a staff with several smooth gems embedded in it.

"Fireball!" A ball of fire formed and launched toward the fleeing herd.

Just before the ball got close enough, the spell was ripped apart by a streak of green light.

"What?!"

"My lord!" The knights surrounded the noble in a defensive formation.

"Leave now and never return! If you do so, you will not be harmed. Continue your pursuit of the bison, and I will force you to leave." A powerful and feminine voice boomed from all around them.

"What?! Who are you?! Show yourself!" The lord demanded.

"I am one of many protectors of the balance of the Gaian Forest. Your actions pervert the natural balance. Leave!" The voice shook the air around them.

"You find them?" The lord asked an armored man who wore a hood.

"No, my lord. Even with search magic. I think they are out of my range."

"But that would put them over a mile out!"

"LEAVE AND NEVER RETURN!" The voice angrily called out. The words rattled their very bones.

"I refuse!" He fired multiple fireballs toward the forest edge, thinking their harasser was there.

Like the first fireball, these were shot down, but the harasser came out of the forest.

It was a tanned-skinned female giant with crimson hair, fur armor, and a wolf head hood that covered the upper half of her face.

"A giant?!" "It's using a bow?!" The knights were beginning to panic.

"Buck your riders and be free!" The giant commanded.

The horses bucked around and threw their riders off. A few of the knights and the lord were injured.

"You were warned. Now you will walk back, weighed down by your sins." She declared as the horses ran off to join the bison herd.

"You bitch! You think you can disrespect me! You are nothing more than a monster! Kill her!" The lord ordered.

The knights began to charge toward her while others readied their magic, but the giantess fired four green arrows at them rapidly. They stopped in their tracks as small craters were formed around them.

"You need time to ready your spells and to close the distance. How many of you will fall before then? So you have to ask yourselves one question. Do you feel lucky? Well? Do ya? Punks?" The giantess said, drawing another green arrow.

"Screw this!" One knight said, running back toward the road as his life depended on it.

Others quickly followed the one man's example while dragging the lord away.

"Unhand me! Kill her! Kill that bitch! Right now!"

"Impossible, my lord!" The knights cried.

"If you return here, I will make good on my promise to add your nutrients to the land!" The giantess yelled, firing her arrow near them to scare them into leaving faster.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inside the adventurer's guild, the guild master and Gona were discussing his latest job when a ragged-looking noble and knights burst into the building.

"Ah! Good, you're here! Make yourself useful for once!" The noble threw a pouch of gold coins on the counter.

"Viscount Blackman. What seems to be the issue?" Annoyance showed in the guild master's words as he glanced at the pouch and looked at the small man.

"I am commissioning your savages for a job! Ten small gold for the head of a damn giant!"

The guild master perked up. "A giant, you say? Was it alone?"

"Yes!"

"What did it look like?" The guild master asked. Several adventurers tuned into the conversation.

"Some stupid oversized bitch in wolf fur armor! She attacked us at the western plains!"

The guild master did his best to hide his interest. "Truly? We must take this seriously! Did this giant use any weapons?"

"A bow. A powerful bow that fired destructive green arrows." A knight answered.

"I see, I see. This is important information. Now, I am just curious, your lordship, how did you end up at the western plains? Did a horse get loose?" The guild master asked casually.

"I was there to have some fun! What of it?!"

"Well, if we can repeat it, we should be able to draw the giant out. What if we go there and she is not there?"

"We were, uh, hunting." A knight said, causing Gona to hop into the conversation.

"Really? Hunting? Were you hunting the wooly bison? Their fur gets ye a pretty coin."

"Really! We left so many dead yesterday!" Another knight piped up.

"I see. Your lordship. You know that hunting or attacking the wooly bison is illegal, right?" The guild master asked, a sly smirk on his face.

The lord tensed up, realizing his subordinate had made a massive mistake.

"I understand that you were assigned to our city a few months ago, but I am sure the Duke would have informed you know of the local laws." The guild master added snidely.

"How much?" The Viscount asked quietly.

"How much?" The guild master asked, pretending to be confused.

"I know you are clever and know what I am saying. How much?" Lord Blackman was getting irritated.

"Oh, I see. I think it was around… One hundred large gold-." A group of city guards entered. "Along with ten years of hard labor, your lordship." The guild master answered with a smile.

The lord and his men were arrested and taken away.

"Your timing could not have been better, Captain Brumdal." The guild master commented.

"Well, when you have an irate noble limping through your gate yelling about a giant and them harming the wooly bison, it makes my job pretty easy." The Captain smiled.

"You heard that guild master! It sounds like she is watching over the wooly bison in the western plains! I'll be grabbin' Ellen and others and head out there!" Gona moved to leave, but the guild master stopped him.

"It's too late in the day now, Gona. Wait until morning to go out there." Gona nodded and ran out, saying he would inform the others of the plans for tomorrow.

The guild master's daughter snuck up next to him. "I can join in, right?"

"Violet? Of course, you can join them. I am sure your friend Annabelle would be happy to have you along."

Violet smiled and headed off to prepare for her trip tomorrow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following day Melody went to check on the herd of bison to be surprised.

"What is it, Melody?" Maple asked from her sitting position on Melody's shoulder.

"People in armor. A decently sized group of them… They don't seem to be violent toward the bison."

"Want me to scope them out?" Maple asked.

Melody asked her to and to be careful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Goodness, look at this," Ellen commented, looking at four graves.

Violet used a detection spell on the ground. "They're graves for the wooly bison. It seems like that asshole and his group killed four of them."

"Well, at least the bison are safe now." Gona grinned, but a bison licked him, and he began to curse out the beast for slobbering him.

"What was the punishment, Violet?" Annabelle asked.

"The guild master said it is a fine of one-hundred large gold and ten years of hard labor. Lord Blackman will most likely have to pay the fine and be reassigned someplace else. His men, on the other hand, will likely be sent to a mine or quarry for ten years." Violet explained to Annabelle and her young party.

The female adventurer, Lindy, screamed, turned, and punched a man's lights out.

"You alright, Lindy?" Gona called out to her, seeming to have made up with the slobber bison.

She approached their group. "Ew, you girls stay away from that grabby bastard, alright?" Lindy advised the younger ladies.

"Really? I never knew Shaka to be like that." Ellen commented, looking over at the unconscious man.

"He has been hitting on me for some time and made a comment that my beauty put fairies to shame. I was trying to ignore him, but then I felt him grab my butt!" Lindy fumed.

"I'll have a chat with him later, Lindy. I do not deny what ye say, but it is like Ellen said, Shaka is not like that." Gona commented.

Annabelle looked out toward the forest. "Do you think Melody will come?"

"Maybe. It is hard to tell. We will come by every so often to see if we can catch her." Violet promised.

The group began to discuss a rotation of who would come out to check for Melody each day and play with the bison.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After several minutes Maple reappeared after dispelling her invisibility.

"They were talking about some noble that came attacking the bison. Apparently, it is illegal to attack the herd. So that noble and his men got arrested and fined. They said something about the men having to do ten years of hard labor or something, and the bad man would be sent away." Maple reported.

"That is great to hear!" Melody smiled happily.

They watched the humans from afar for a bit longer and returned to the forest. If Maple had not played her prank on the humans and left the area, she might have heard that the humans were trying to make peaceful contact with Melody.