Several months later, Ross is helping with moving timber to build a new house. At first, everyone was uneasy about his strength, but eventually, they accepted it. His aunt came up with the idea of having him help with the heavy lifting, and the men were more than happy to have the difficult parts of their jobs passed on to someone who could do it all by himself without breaking a sweat.
His parents weren't thrilled about letting their child do this kind of work, although it's not uncommon for the children of the small village to help the adults where they can.
Ross practically had to beg them to let him do it, since for him, doing something productive with his time is more entertaining. Of course, he couldn't tell them the reason why is because he has the memories of being a several thousand-year-old kraken. He just doesn't enjoy playing like the other children in the village do. He rather learns about how humans do things.
"Ross! You can put that right over there! I gotta cut it to the right length!" One of the men yelled from the other side of the incomplete house. Willy, Ross thought to himself, proud that he remembered the man's name.
"Ok!" Ross dropped it where he was directed to. "I've got to go. The other kids want to go into the forest today, and my dad told me to go with them!" He yells over his shoulder as he speed walks away.
"Have fun!" he hears from several of the men.
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A blonde girl who is a foot taller than Ross excitedly runs ahead of the group of kids. "Come on, slow pokes! We gotta hurry!"
Ross silently observes her with amusement. Their destination is a large clearing in the forest that has been a favorite spot for picnics for several generations.
A black-haired boy who is several years older than Ross teases the girl, "Hailey, Ross could easily get there an entire hour before the rest of us. Who are you calling slow? Yourself?"
"HEY!" Haily comes to a halt and glares at him. "I'll have you know that besides Ross, I'm the fastest in the village. He doesn't count cause of his superstrength."
"Doesn't count?" the boy laughs. "How come? Isn't he also a villager?"
A small boy, who is the oldest of the group, and shorter than Ross, speaks up timidly. "Francis, Hailey. Both of you calm down, please. Don't fight."
Francis glances at him briefly before sighing. "If you say so, Brad."
Hailey is still glaring at Francis, but she doesn't say anything. Instead, she stubbornly resumes heading in the direction of the clearing.
Ross is grateful that the other kids listen to Brad, despite him being so small. They could easily ignore him since he's too quiet and shy to enforce anything he says. Ross is pretty certain that Brad's mysterious father is a dwarf, and that's why he is so tiny despite being nine years old.
Ross, by the way, is three-and-a-half feet tall. And due to his superstrength, the other kids shoved all of the picnic supplies into his arms and told him to carry them.
He sighs, it seems like they just wanted him to come to carry things. At least his dad's reason was so that if another bear showed up, Ross could deal with it and keep the group safe.
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Roughly half an hour later, the kids finally reached the clearing. Hailey raced to the center of it and twirled around with her arms raised straight over her head. "We made it!" she called out, a broad grin on her face.
Ross smiles, feeling her excitement rubbing off on him. It was a long trip for a group of young kids, and part way he had to start rotating giving the other three piggyback rides. He squats down, letting Brad climb off him.
"Thanks, Ross," Brad murmurs as he takes the picnic blanket off the top of the pile of things in Ross's arms.
Ross grins at Brad. "No problem." He then turns to look at Francis, who is currently chasing Hailey around the clearing. "You two, grab somethings from me and start setting up."
At first, they ignored Ross, wanting to continue playing. That came to an abrupt end when Ross got impatient and stomped his foot with enough force to shake a few nearby trees. "Come on," he complains. "I'm hungry."
A quick shuffle of hands and feet, and multiple apologies later, the picnic was splayed out in a half-hazard manner. Hailey stood next to it, her hands on her hip in pride. "It looks really good!"
An assortment of cheese, crackers, fruit, sandwiches, and juice lay on the blanket. Francis has already taken a seat and is gobbling down a ham sandwich. "Ih ih guh."
"Huh? What did you say?" Hailey tilts her head at Francis.
Francis swallows, coughing slightly as some bread catches in his throat. "I said, it is good." He grins, "My big sister made the ham sandwiches. They're the best!"
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An hour later, after several friendly arguments over whose family member's food was the tastiest, the kids are quite full. Ross notices Hailey beginning to nod off, her head landing on Francis's shoulder. Francis looks really happy about this, sitting really still.
Brad is beginning to clean up when a sudden thunderous noise fills the air. Ross is immediately on his feet, his head swiveling around, trying to locate the source of the sound.
The other three are frozen to their spots, terror preventing them from even making a noise.
Ross's senses were tingling in a way he had never experienced in his short time as a human. Nothing seemed out of place, but he was absolutely certain something powerful was nearby. And he was scared for the first time since reincarnating.
He turned to the other kids quietly, keeping the fear off his face, and whispered so his voice would reach them, but not leave the clearing. "Go hide in the bushes. I'll look around."