Bree sat happily in the back of a wagon, her staff currently in ring mode. As it was a reasonably bright day, Bree had her hood on her head to keep her eyes in some shade. Acting as the horse was Orion, sitting in the Driver's seat, and Directing him was Daisy; Winnie was circling them from above, and because Manfred was in charge of feeding everyone, Winnie had assigned Boris to the team. The Liger Man was hard at work looking out at the forest, trying to spot anything he and his husband could use for ingredients.
"Blueberry bush," he noted. Winnie looked to the spot he had pointed out. She was connected to everyone telepathically and was crafting a map with magic, marking everything they encountered with great detail.
"I've added it; we'll send some of the Axol-lights out when we return,"
"That name still feels wrong," Bree muttered. Sensing his moment to shine, Boris turned to Bree and held out his hand dramatically.
"I was just thinking the same thing, Lady Bree," He declared, "How about we call them Axol-Mights!"
"You fool," Winnie said in his head. "You have to ask her if you can give your opinion! You can't just blurt out an idea and expect her to…"
"Why, that's a fantastic name," Bree cheered, punctuating her sentence with a couple of claps. "Axol-Mights is perfect!" Winnie nearly froze in the sky.
"A Test!" She realized, "Oh, how foolish, her complaints were a test! Boris, I must apologize for my foolishness,"
"No worries," Boris responded proudly before looking to Bree with confidence, "You already had that name picked out, right?" he asked confidently. "It's clear you were just waiting for one of us to realize it to prove we can think outside the box,"
"How very clever of you," Bree said, lying as best she could to "I'm surprised it took so long to be honest,"
"How pathetic of me," Winnie said sadly, "Overlooking something so obvious, I must make amends for my failure as soon as I can," While Boris basked in his glory, Orion's ears perked.
"Orion smells the scent of humans," he called out. Daisy readied herself to draw her blade upon her master's command.
"Lady Winnie, we are not yet at the Human Settlement, nor are we closing in on the road; please be advised they will most likely try something underhanded in an attempt to gain the advantage should they be looking for a fight," Before they could advance with caution Bree jumped out of the Carriage, using her floating spell she hovered in the air for a moment before shooting off in the direction of what sounded to be a battle, not one to leave strangers to die if she could help it.
"Quick, follow our Mistress," Daisy commanded.
"Orion follows best of all!" Orion replied before running in the direction Bree had gone off in.
Bree came to a stop and found three humans in fighting gear battling what looked to be a small Forest Giant, small for a Giant at least; it slammed its arms into the ground and attempted to crush the three humans, a Younger-looking Man with Black hair holding Twin knives, an Older Gentleman with a Katana, and a woman brandishing a Greatsword with a Fiery red mane of hair.
"Stand strong," The woman said as she braced herself, "It has our scent; we can't let it get away again," The woman rushed it and dodged the Giant's long arms, slashing at his Legs, the slash barely leaving a red mark against his skin. The Man with the Katana ran forward and jumped back as the Giant swung at him, swinging at its arms with the same results the woman had had. The One with the Knives made no sign of running at the creature and instead backed away, fear in his eyes.
"Doren, Stand your ground," The woman barked out. The man with the knives stopped running, and Bree smiled. Though afraid and angry, he ran at the Giant screaming, throwing his knives at it to no avail. He slid to a stop and tried to turn and run, only for his momentum and attempted turn to combine into a fall.
"Oh, that's no good," Bree said as she appeared beside him and kicked him out of the Giants attack path while dodging it herself. Bree moved across the ground and came to a rest next to the woman, staring at her in stunned silence.
"I hope you don't mind, but the fact that he was willing to try was enough to make me intervene," Bree smiled. The woman looked shocked but stood her ground as the Giant screamed.
"Thank you," The woman said curtly, "But this beast has killed 12 of my best men; I can't let a wandering stranger lose her life after saving the life of one of my own,"
"Oh no," Bree chuckled. "I'm not going to fight him; I have a giant cat to do that for me." As soon as Bree finished speaking, a large shadow burst forth from the forest, and Orion cried out his war cry.
"Orion is best fighter of all," he declared. The Giant turned and was greeted by Orion's front paws slamming into his face, knocking him into the trees on impact. Upon landing, Orion got onto his front paws and held up his front ones, giving him the vague appearance of a massive bear. "Orion defeats all who dare attack Mistress Bree," as the Giant pulled himself up, Daisy and Boris arrived.
"Apologies, My Lady," Daisy said with a bow, "But Orion has destroyed the Carriage,"
"Yeah, none of my followers take me getting swung at lightly, but Orion was already bounding towards me, so I knew he'd strike first," the woman and her two men backed away from Orion.
"What an odd group of creatures!" she noted before looking at Bree. What even are you?
"Why, that is our Lord," Winnie said as she landed behind the woman, "Mistress Bree," The woman looked at Winnie for a moment before Bree spoke up and stole her attention.
"And what might your name be?" She asked politely.
"I am Jaden, the lead protector of Greenwater," She Replied, Standing at attention and hitting her chest with a fist. "This is good; if this monster lady and her minions help us, we might have a fighting chance,"
"Boris," Bree called out casually, "would you take care of that Giant," There was a moment of silence before Boris turned to her.
"Me, Ma'am?" he asked with a tinge of fear.
"Oh, Don't worry; I have absolute confidence that you can easily beat that beast all on your own,"
"Then have no fear," Boris declared, any sense of fear gone, "Your confidence in me alone is all the power I need!" The elderly human helped Doren to his feet and looked at Boris.
"He must be a powerful fighter," The old man muttered as he stroked his mustache, "To entrust him to fight a Feral Giant all alone shows a great amount of trust,"
"Stop yammering and help me up, Olu," Doren demanded as the old man picked him up.