Ross gulps as he stares at his feet. Despite his pride as previously being the most powerful monster in the depths of the sea, he feels like a fish flopping around after being washed up on the beach by an inescapable tide. He simply doesn't know how to word what he's trying to say to Mister Storyteller.
He can feel the elder's questioning eyes on him and does his best to piece together his words in a way that makes sense. "Well, you see…" he pauses for a moment, struggling to get the words out. "I remember a different life…one where I was a monster…"
He moves his blue eyes up slowly to gauge the man's reaction. He's relieved to see that he's not freaking out.
"Go on, young one. I promised you that I would keep anything in this conversation a secret." The storyteller is calm but serious in his sincerity.
Ross gulps, trying his best to swallow his nervousness with it. "And I wasn't just any regular monster." He says, building up his momentum. "My name was Cenlurz. I was the kraken."
Ross stops there, taken aback by the storyteller's expression, which is filled with excitement.
"The kraken?" The old man is practically giddy with the revelation. "Named Cenlurz?" He grins broadly at Ross. "Ah, my apologies. This probably wasn't the reaction you were expecting, but I can't help it. As a storyteller, I am thrilled to finally know the name of the legendary sea monster." He pauses for a moment. "Can I ask you a question?"
Ross nods slowly, thankful that the storyteller received his revelation so easily.
"Were you really the commander of the Demon Kingdom's Navy? No one's been able to confirm whether that rumor was true or not since humans back then didn't really have the technology to wage war on the seas. We had boats, yes, but they were mainly used for fishing and trade."
Ross grins, excited to talk about his accomplishments in his past life. "Yes, I was. I was also the youngest of the commanders serving the Demon King by several thousand years."
"Wow, just wow." the old man grins right back at him. "I finally know why you seem so mature for your age. You have several thousands of years of memories…" He suddenly has a strange look on his face. "Should I even be calling you a child?"
A full-body laugh erupts from Ross. "Yes,- you- can-," Ross is laughing so hard he is having trouble breathing.
The storyteller is staring at him in wonder.
"I may have lived to be roughly five thousand years as a kraken, but I barely know anything about humans," Ross explains as he catches his breath. "I am most definitely still a child as a human." He pauses for a moment, a dreadful realization hitting him hard.
"Uhm, on that matter, I am ashamed to admit this since I know how important they are to humans…Mister, I don't know what your name is…" Ross hangs his head in embarrassment.
Now it's the old man's turn to break into laughter. "That's alright, boy. I'm also at fault for that, since I never bothered to tell you my name. It's Marcus."
"Mister Marcus," Ross muses as he hums contently. He finally made a step towards behaving more like a normal human child.
"Anyways, Cenlurz," Marcus steers the conversation back to the important matter at hand. "How should we ease the fear of the villagers?" He poses the question not to a human child, but to the kraken who was once a commander in a navy.
"Hmm, tell me something, I know that humans have someone they look up to as a hero due to his abilities. Are there others like him?" the boy asks, beginning to put a plan together.
Marcus is quick to catch on. "Yes, there are several people similar every generation. The hero is simply the strongest of them all. Who their parents are, and where they are born is completely random. If we only tell them that you have superstrength, then we can pass you off as one of those individuals."
"Good," Ross exclaims. "Well do that, and tell them I killed the bear because it startled me when it charged at me."
"Let's go to the chief's house immediately." Marcus stands up, brushing a hand through his grey hair. "The sooner we tell him, the sooner we can calm everyone down."
—----------------------------------------
Chief Rowan paces back and forth in front of his house, his brows furrowed with worry. The matter with the bear was very concerning, and if the men searching the woods ran into a monster, he wasn't sure they would make it back alive. He should have sent a messenger to the town nearby to request aid.
Unlike this tiny village that has no trained fighters, the town has a few. If even just one of them came to help, it would significantly increase the odds of surviving an encounter with a monster.
"Chief!"
He freezes in place when he hears a familiar, and very welcome voice call out to him. Turning around quickly, he greets the man approaching him with a young child in tow. "Hello, Marcus. And you as well, little Ross." He notices that both of them have determined expressions on their faces. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"No," Marcus says as Ross fidgets nervously. "But there's something important I must tell you. It's about the bear."
The chief glances between the two quickly, "Marcus…" he starts before getting cut off.
"Ross killed the bear. He's got super strength." the storyteller is wasting any time, cutting straight to the point.
"Huh?" The chief is dumbfounded for a moment. "What?"
Ross stops fidgeting and takes a step towards the chief. "Pardon me for a moment." He wraps his arms around the chief's legs, and effortlessly lifts the man off the ground.
"EEHHH!!!" The chief lets out a startled yelp. "Put me down!"
Marcus is laughing at his old friend's reaction. Meanwhile, Ross puts the chief down, backing up and revealing a mischievous smirk.