Looking at the little girl that was sitting on top of the back of this giant bird-like creature, bewildered, he asked her, “Are you talking to me, little girl?”

Seeing him reply, the girl immediately beamed, and responded in a huff, “Yes! But I’m not a little girl! My name is Elena! Remember that!”

Hearing this, Lain responded with a smile, saying, “Got it. My name is Lain. How can I help you?”

Elena immediately responded with, “You don’t need to help me. I just wanted to talk to you!” as her large, red feathered bird moved slightly closer to Lain, staring at him with its large dark eyes that seem to see through his being, as if to measure him up and ascertain if he’s a dangerous threat that must be dealt with mercilessly.

Its long blue antennas even roamed around Lain’s body a few times, almost touching him, before withdrawing back onto its head. 

Lain, who was completely tensed throughout the experience, finally eased his mind after the antennas were withdrawn completely. He then smiled lightly and said to Elena, “So, what are you doing here? And where are your parents?”

Elena, sitting on the bird’s back, shifted comfortably as if to find a proper sitting position, before leaning forward slightly and replying with “I just came back from the forest behind us!”

Then, pointing at the bird, she continued, “Big sister Emily was hungry so we had come here in order for her to look for food for her to eat.” 

Lain, finally knowing the name of her bird, responded, “So your bird’s name is Emily? What does she eat?”

Hearing this, Elena chuckled and said, “Yes! Her name is Emily, and she’s a big bird! Big birds eat big monsters! My dad always took us out every time big sister Emily became hungry, but since my dad is sleeping, I decided to do it instead! Today, Emily caught a very big monster and ate it all!”

Lain, hearing the words “big monsters” felt slightly unsettled, and asked “Shouldn’t you have waited for your dad to wake up before you came out to eat big monsters? Those big monsters sound way too dangerous for a little girl like you to be around them. Be careful in the future.”

Elena immediately shook her head in a frown and said, “I’m not afraid of big monsters, because big sister Emily is very strong. I think the monsters are afraid of her. Besides, my dad has been sleeping for hours now, and me and big sister Emily were tired of waiting for him to wake up.”