However, the being's panic did not subside at all. It squatted down and looked frantically at the sky.

  The owl could be incredibly quick on the ground too, but it had always preferred to come gliding towards the farther reaches of its nest.

  For one of its 'friends' to have come all the way here, it must mean that its stunt had been discovered. But how?

  ... could the owl have devised a strategy against the frog's skulking?

  But the sky really seemed free of gliding deaths, and no horrible screeches could be heard. Even if it wasn't exactly silent here, so close to the epicenter, those cries would stand out very clearly.

  Still, it was only after checking around itself and the sky many times, that the being finally allowed itself to relax and to focus on this curious wobbling light-thing.

  Maybe it had come alone? The owl hadn't seemed to care particularly for it, after all. Maybe the creature would be even happy to get rid of it.

  Was it the one causing all these annoyances to pop out? The being had never met a creature capable of such, but neither had it ever met something like this little light.

  Yes, it definitively was causing the annoyances somehow. They felt less... still purposeful, but less significant than usual, and with no connection whatsoever to its thoughts or to getting stronger. In fact, they seemed more in tune with the fluctuations of the little light than anything else.

  There must be a reason for this creature to be able to interact with what the being had come to think of as a part of itself, if an annoying one. And one that it hadn't investigated particularly ever since understanding what made it come up - before this, at least.

  If the light stayed nearby, this might be a good chance of revealing more of its secrets.

  The shining orb suddenly dimmed and started to drift away, bobbing sadly.

  The being tried to call it back, but to no avail: the light just kept moving until it settled over a boulder some distance off, hovering in a slow-turning loop. Maybe investigating the annoyances was forbidden? Seeing the thing so down was sad, but how was the being supposed to know?

  Well, too late for that. Hopefully the light would come around, but even if not, as long as it didn't go back to alert the owl, the being would leave it alone. At least it had determined once and for all that it was the one causing the annoyances. Otherwise, why would they stop as soon as it had left?

  But it should rather focus on completing its preparations: there was a lot to do, and it had yet to even find a suitable place. There were many candidates with this kind of terrain all around, but the being needed this to be perfect.

  Luckily, the being had been right, and it hadn't even taken long to prove it.

  Well, right in the sense that a suitable place was here, at least, because the tunnel system idea had been a complete bust: it just couldn't think of something that could ensure the owl wouldn't simply walk out. If it would even follow underground in the first place. And frankly, the being might be willing to toil away if it meant getting what it wanted, but at the idea of digging so incredibly much - because very rarely caves were wide enough to fit itself, let alone the owl - it would rather go back to try vaulting over the chasm.

  Of course, there was still work to do even here. At the very least, it needed to free the area from creatures, and surround the gorge with a line of filth so they wouldn't just come back.

  The being took a moment of reflection and calmness, to mourn its sharply diminishing reserves of the thing: they'd felt so abundant back then, but they might not survive this plan. Alas, it was in too deep to give up now... And tools were meant to be used, weren't they? Otherwise, what was the point?

  And then, of course, it would need to work on the walls, make them more daunting. They were probably good enough for its purposes, but if it needed to engage with a creature as dangerous as the owl, then it better be completely sure. They'd probably need a coating of their own, just like the guards had done with their hillsides to make them slick and unclimbable.

  Alerted by the annoyance, the being turned to look at the little light coming closer. Contrary to its expectations, it had followed along during its survey, though always maintaining a certain distance. What might have prompted the thing to come close?

  It bobbed up and down, in a way that was quite entertaining to the being.

  It wobbled strangely and, once again, the being regretted not having discovered the secret of the annoyances. Though not overly so.

  After all, this little light felt incredibly simple and weak. Even if it had something to communicate, it couldn't be anything important.

  Then, it stood completely still in the air. It had no eyes, no face, no nothing. But it was clearly staring right at the being. A pity that the being had no idea what it might want.

  The little light left the same way as before, but shining in a different tune. More spirited. The being resolved to let it do as it wished, while it got down to dig.

  The being had barely started smoothing the walls - because wasting its things was still something it really struggled with - when the little light came back. This time, no annoyances piled onto its mind.

  Instead, something even stranger happened: there was a brief flow between the two of them... and then another place appeared.

  It was such a disorienting experience, the being immediately lost its balance and crashed to the bottom of the gorge. Because it was not just seeing a completely different place from what was physically around, but it could still see the reality underneath.

  It hadn't moved somewhere else, but a... concept of another place, was overlapping on the actual reality. In a way similar, yet different, from how the annoyances grabbed its focus. In fact, the being felt that it might be able to dismiss this too. But it had likely been triggered by the little light. Better see what it was about.

  It was somewhere like... like the castle. But only in that it was a thing made of rock, and hollow inside. Something that could be entered. Far shorter, half-submerged in the ground. No guards around it. The surroundings were out of focus and kept changing in a way that didn't allow to get a single detail. Even the 'castle' itself kept subtly shifting around. And if the being moved its gaze too long, it would come back to find and entirely different structure.

  The most important thing was that, somehow, along with the image came an idea.

  The little light wanted to get to this place, though even it wasn't sure exactly what the place looked like or where it was - the reason why it was so blurred. And it promised something, in exchange for the being's help.

  It promised... the image blurred completely, about to show what would be its prize. Hopefully a way to get over the chasm.

  The blur changed immediately to show that very chasm... and a bridge of rocks stretching over it, allowing for safe passage.

  Then it disappeared just as quickly as it had come, together with the whole mirage, and the being was back to seeing only one reality.

  But it couldn't shake off the feeling of happiness: not only had it found a possible way to get where it needed, but also - and maybe even more important - it had found a creature that it could communicate with! An actual friend!

  The being jumped at it, trying to squeeze the light with its arms. It didn't know why it thought that was an appropriate response, but it felt right. However, its hands passed right through, as if the light was made of nothing but air.

  The being could feel now, much easier than before, that it had annoyed the light.

  Annoyances kept coming, the orb bobbing around in the air, but the being wasn't really paying attention.

  Between them, there was now some sort of... it wouldn't say connection. They were now... aligned, in some undefinable way. And that allowed the being to perceive some emotions, where before there had been nothing.

  It had truly underestimated the light: it was actually far more complex and smart than its totally harmless strength suggested.

  It had will, emotions and wants.

  And right now, it wanted to leave. There was something it needed, and they were wasting time here.

  Of course, the being could understand, and it was impatient too, especially now that it had been promised a viable way forward. The specifics were still very unclear, but it didn't doubt that the light would deliver. Also...

  It had been just a tiny amount, so little that it was already doubting itself. But wasn't that the whisper's power, when the light showed that vision? Maybe it could help the being learn...

  Still, it had also gone so much time worrying about the owl. Even after leaving the nest, the creature's looming threat had always been in the back of its mind. Now, after seeing it again, the terror of its strength and the vileness of its ways... It would be incredibly cathartic to stomp it down.

  And most importantly, its entire stock of filth had been committed already. It would be a sin not to use it.

  So, the being got back to preparing the walls, with an even greater focus.

  There was a whining sound and the little orb vibrated harshly.

  It darted away in anger, and the being felt bad even though it didn't understand what it had done to cause this... but the shining thing soon slowed down on its own and stopped, before slowly making its way back.