The door opened with a loud thud, announcing someone's presence inside the quaint home. Hurried light steps indicated that it was a child, and the high pitched gleeful voice which followed after, only confirmed it.

  "Mommy, look!"

  Lana was in the kitchen, drying plates and pots by the sink.

  'She must've found something interesting again.'

  Lana chuckled to herself at the thought of her energetic daughter, who somehow never fail to find the strangest things to show her. She turned her head to look at her daughter over the shoulder. The little girl then raised her thin arm to reveal a limped duck in her right hand.

  "A duck!"

  The little girl exclaimed proudly. Her eyes sparkled as she wore a toothy grin on her face. Lana gasped, eyes widened at the sight of her precious daughter. She dropped a tiny pot inside the sink, quickly ran towards her and knelt down. She grabbed the 4 year old's shoulders in panic, and anxiously inspected her from head to toe. One side of her short hair was disheveled like she just woke up after a long nap and there were bits of dirt stuck on it. Her clothes were muddied, stained with patches of grass all over, and her shirt was a bit torn on the front. There were light scratches on both side of her arms and forearms.

  "What happened?"

  Her voice hitched from worry as she asked the little girl of her current condition. The little girl put on a sheepish smile and sneakily moved her left hand behind her back.

  "Umm.."

  Lana caught her acting suspicious and tilted her head to the side to see what she was hiding. She gasped again when she noticed her hand. She gently took the little girl's wrist and held her daughter's hand in her palm.

  "Blood! You're injured!"

  The little girl shifted uncomfortably at her mother's excessive reaction, which she felt was a tad bit too dramatic for an injury this size.

  'Uh oh. Here we go...'

  She slowly slid her gaze to a table near them, trying to avoid her mother's eyes. She was planning to turn her brains off, tuning out whatever nagging her mother was kindly about to grace her. Contrary to her expectation, her mother had resorted to a different parenting method instead.

  "Tiana, look at me and tell me the truth. What were you doing outside to end up like this?"

  Lana put on a serious expression as she questioned Tiana in a firm voice. She needed an answer and she won't be satisfied until she got to the bottom of it.

  "Mm.. wrestling ducks...?"

  But Tiana's answer was far from what she could imagine.

  "W-what?"

  Lana stuttered for a split second, caught off guard by the unexpected and totally bizarre answer she had just heard coming from her own daughter's mouth.

  "No, I mean, catching ducks!"

  As she saw the expression on her mother's face turning pale, Tiana quickly corrected herself.

  Although it wasn't as shocking, knowing her daughter was out there doing work that adult men in the town usually did instead of playing as most kids her age do, made her feel quite concerned.

  'Don't tell me she's being excluded by the other kids...'

  Lana narrowed her eyes and repeated what Tiana said with a somewhat puzzled and suspicious tone.

  "... You were out catching ducks...?"

  Without any hesitation, Tiana answered with a bright smile on her face.

  "Mhm! With bait and traps!"

  Lana blinked twice. Her mind was going over all kinds of possibilities and scenarios as to how she was able to acquire those things. After all, she knew there was no way any men in the village who were responsible for hunting, would easily hand the contraption to a 4 year old little girl. Also, as far as she knew, even the hunters would need the village leader's permission first.

  "Where.. did you get them?"

  Tiana asked her daughter carefully, hoping that she didn't just cause trouble for the both of them.

  Tiana, feigning ignorance to her mother's worries, jumped straight to take credit of her hard work and excitedly bragging about it.

  "I made them all by myself! It's very simple. Just a rope and some sticks and food ducks like. Aren't you proud of me, mom? I'mma big girl now. I can even catch ducks!"

  Lana massaged her temples, trying to soothe her throbbing headache.

  As she had raised her baby girl through the years, she had came to realize how truly brilliant her daughter was. It would be stranger if she wasn't aware, especially when the little girl's eccentricity had brought a smile to her face, more often than not. But right now, she wasn't sure whether to praise her daughter for figuring out how traps work, or discourage her from doing any more hunting, atleast until she's much older. In fact, she wanted Tiana to stay away from anything that might endanger her, despite knowing very well it would be impossible for a kid so curious and adventurous.

  Lana sighed. She was starting to understand why it takes a whole village to raise a child.

  "Oh, sweetheart. Where do I even begin..."

  Tiana pouted at her mother's lack of enthusiasm over her first ever hunt. She looked down at the duck, still tightly held by its neck in her hand.

  "... Do you not like ducks?"

  She asked in a small voice. Lana felt a pang of guilt. It suddenly dawned on her as to why this had happened.

  Recently, Lana had been saving some of her household grocery spending. She planned to gift her daughter a proper birthday celebration with a cake and present this year. Once, her daughter, ever the observant, noticed that Lana haven't had any meat in her dishes. She pointed it out, and Lana, struggling to come up with an excuse had told her daughter, "I do love meat, but I love you more". Which, on hindsight, might have sounded a bit depressing and burdensome for such a clever child. It wasn't like Lana had been starving to provide for her. Thus, they ended up coming to this point in time.

  'Oh, Berti. Are you watching? I hope you are. Our little girl is so sweet and considerate. How did we ended up giving birth to such an angel?'

  Lana embraced her daughter in a warm hug. She resolved the misunderstanding that her daughter had, by telling her that she was actually on a diet for a bit.

  "Tiana, I'm really grateful, but let's have duck meat only on special days, alright? Ah, but there's no need to hunt it ourselves. Mommy can always purchase them at the market. Okay?"

  Tiana hummed playfully. Truth was, she never misunderstood and had been very much in the know as to what her mother was planning. Her mother could have successfully tricked a normal four year old, but Tiana was far from normal. It was too obvious.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  As for the duck, it was basically a cover up story. Tiana specifically used the fact that her mother wasn't eating meat for a reason to hunt. And though she was capable of creating all kinds of trap, she hadn't resorted to such silly, mundane method, when she could easily capture a measely duck with her small, bare hands. Since way back from when she was a baby, Tiana had been secretly training by moving her limbs through staying active and feeling the mana around her. Now that she had full control over her body, she wanted to test how much her strength and agility had developed at four years old. Going forward, she planned on continuing to observe and calculate her powers growth progression. Which means, she will be up to more shenanigans, to her mother's disliking, and this was only the beginning.

  "Mm.. okay."

  To Lana's relief, her lovely daughter nodded and promised to stop involving herself in anything dangerous like hunting.

  Tiana gave her mother an innocent smile, while a sly thought crossed her mind.

  'I'll just have to make sure she doesn't know about any of it.'

  - - - - -

  Elder Hofsen was making his monthly visit to the mother and child duo. It felt like only yesterday the single mother was found laying helplessly emaciated at the entrance of the village, as she cradled her baby tightly in her embrace, safe and sound. She looked like she had survived a war, and sure enough the letter that she brought with her, though brief, had clearly described the pain she had to endure from way before her journey to the day she arrived at the southern most village. Elder Hofsen couldn't imagine how lucky both the mother and child were. After a few days of bedrest, miraculously, both of them recovered and they were smiling as if the horrific incident never happened. Instead, the villagers who heard their story were the ones that had wept buckets of tears in their place.

  Besides how inspirational and valiant the young mother's efforts with keeping her child alive and well provided throughout the years, her daughter was just as briliant and interesting to watch over. Elder Hofsen couldn't keep track of all her antics but whenever he did visit them, the young mother always had a seemingly outlandish and fantastical yet somehow believable story to tell. And today wasn't any different. Elder Hofsen was sitting on the stool at the dinner table, truly confounded by what he had heard.

  "You're saying she hunted that duck using a self-made trap...? A four year old...? Lana, I know how clever your daughter is, but that's very hard to believe..."

  The reason Elder Hofsen was more than suspicious of the story, was because Pommel Duck species were not only larger than most normal duck's size, but they're also infamously known for their aggressive and vicious nature. Even the village's hunters usually avoid them, while few had hunted them from afar. As long as you don't miss of course, since the moment you do, the duck would either fly away or as the name implied, it will fly towards you to scratch, bite and pummel you until one flees from the fight. And it most definitely not going to be the duck who backs off first. This was a fact that the average people wouldn't know unless you had an interest in the topic.

  So, in Elder Hofsen's mind, that may be the case as to why Lana believed in the four year old's story.

  'But.. who caught the duck and then gave it to her?'

  He had examined the duck beforehand, and there wasn't any cut or holes injury from arrows. Which could only mean, part of the four year old's story was true. Someone had the strength, agility and guts to approach the duck barehanded. Elder Hofsen was starting to doubt his own beliefs.

  Right then, Tiana ran beside the table, near where Elder Hofsen was sitting, and spoke up.

  "It's true! Mommy's not a liar. I did it all by myself!"

  Tiana huffed at the old man, standing legs apart with both hands on her waist, like an angry kitty. Lana had washed her up thoroughly and had clothed her in a comfy white pajamas with cartoonish flowers which complimented Tiana's green eyes, though a bit too early for the day.

  "Look, these are my battle scars!"

  Tiana stepped closer to show the old man her injuries she got from her glorious battle with the duck. She proudly smiled as she held up her left hand, palm out for a better view of the injury which had been cleaned and treated with the firstaid kit. Elder Hofsen's eyes widened. Then, the corner of his eyes wrinkled into an amused expression.

  "Battle scars, huh? Aren't you a tough one. Didn't that hurt?"

  Tiana puffed out her cheeks and exhaled out of her nose dramatically.

  "Hmph! I'm no crybaby. This just a scratch, grandpa. I'mma tough cookie! Watch me!"

  Tiana began pulling out random martial moves she once saw from an action movie in her pevious life. Elder Hofsen chuckled at the sight of the zestful child. Before she could bust out another move, her mother came up from behind and placed a hand on her round head to stop her.

  "That's enough of that now. Sit down and eat your muffin."

  Lana placed a plate of muffins and a glass of orange juice. Then, she picked up a pot of tea and offered to refill the old man's teacup. He shook his head faintly with a polite smile and watched as the child that sat in front of him devoured a muffin the size of an adult's hand in two bites.

  "As you can see, sir, she can be quite a menace. I'm sure Tiana was telling the truth. She probably scared the duck into submission. Not sure if that's a good thing."

  The old man muttered under his breath, which only Tiana had clearly heard.

  "You can't really scare that duck into submission though..."

  Tiana had a wide smile on her face which was hidden behind her second round of muffins. She almost burst out laughing but swallowed the urge to do so and recovered immediately in case the old man might notice.

  "Sorry?"

  Lana thought she heard Elder Hofsen said something, though she wasn't sure. Elder Hofsen brushed her off with a head shake and continued to stare curiously at the child facing him. Tiana could feel the old man's eyes picking her apart and prodding her for the truth, but she simply consumed her muffins greedily as a child would, not minding the old man's judging gaze.

  'That's right. Watch me closely old man. Keep searching for answers. See through my essence and find out for yourself what I'm truly capable of. Oh, and that duck? It was definitely all me. Do not doubt it just because I'm a child. Do not completely dismiss that possibility.'

  Elder Hofsen chatted with Lana and Tiana for half an hour longer, then excused himself. Tiana moved her arms enthusiastically in the air, waving goodbye to the old man.

  "Bye bye, grandpa!"

  The corner of his eyes crinkled as he smiled and waved back. The moment Elder Hofsen faced forward, her hands dropped to her sides and her previous joyful expression turned blank. She stood there, eerily watching as the old man's figure became smaller the further he got. Then, her eyes narrowed, while the ends of her lips faintly tugged upwards.

  "Not long now."

  She muttered quietly to herself. Tiana closed her eyes and took a deep breath. As she exhaled, her expression changed to the familiar childlike innocence she often put on in front of others. Acting like a child her age took a toll on her, but she had to keep her real self hidden for now. Until she got to an age where people will take her seriously, and no one would deemed her a strange cursed child who oddly wasn't acting her age. After all, it wouldn't benefit her nor her mother to be an outcast in a small village where everybody knows everyone. She figured it was best to blend in for the most part.

  However, there were always exceptions. For example, Elder Hofsen. Tiana needed to show the old man what she's capable of, her potential, her value. She wanted to pique the old man's interest, enough to make him invest in her future. But she had to reveal everything slowly, methodically, as if by pure chance and coincidence. She needed to remain childlike and innocent in his mind, yet bright eyed and full of endless possibilities. She wanted to break down his walls and gain his support, then hopefully he could persuade her mother to let Tiana go out to experience the world so she could finally spread her wings and rapidly grow her strength.

  Tiana knew, you see. She understood her mother well. If she had simply chosen to live like this, Tiana will stay permanently stuck in this village. Her mother will ensure that she ended up living a normal, mundane village girl life, similar to hers. And there's nothing wrong with that, it was simply not for Tiana. Of course, she could easily walk out of this place, out of her life, despite her mother's pleas, breaking her heart and leaving her mother truly alone. But how could she? Not after everything she had witnessed ever since she was a baby. She didn't want her mother to cry in sorrow over her, she wanted her mother to have confidence in her. To trust that her daughter will always come back to her alive and well.

  Which was why, Elder Hofsen was her first, very important ally. There was something about the old man that Tiana couldn't put her finger on. The air around him was somewhat heavy and special. The more Tiana observed the old man through the years, she began to suspect that he might actually be harboring a very fascinating, spellbinding secret. Unfortunately, this was all a hypothesis which she still haven't been able to prove with substantial evidence.

  One thing she was sure of though, Elder Hofsen definitely had a past of a warrior. When Tiana was busting out random martial moves, she had intentionally showed a few real flowing battle moves which she had used back when she was an Esper. Although it was only for a few seconds, Tiana caught the glint in the old man's eyes. She couldn't possibly have mistaken that look. She had seen so many videos of her fighting monsters, a lot of them were close ups of her face captured by drones. The old man had a similar cold and evaluating gaze, like a veteran fighter studying his enemy.

  It would be great if he would take her in as a disciple of some sort and teach her on the inner workings of the power structure in this world. Who knows, the usually recluse old man might even tell her about his past, and Tiana planned on absorbing all of his experiences, top secret knowledges that he might bestow upon her, before setting out for her own adventures.

  'Yeah, not long now.'

  Tiana smiled at the thought of what the future has in store for her, and went back inside to bother her mother about having ketchup noodles for dinner.