The next morning began with a sharp knock on the shelter door. Ethan sat up fast while the creature lifted its head with a soft growl. When he opened the door a young guard stood there breathing hard. He pointed toward the forest and spoke urgently waving for Ethan to follow. His face showed fear not anger. Something was wrong.

Ethan grabbed his gloves and motioned for the creature to stay. It tried to follow but its body wobbled. He placed a hand on its snout and whispered for it to rest. Somehow the creature seemed to understand and settled back onto the straw with reluctant eyes.

The guard led Ethan past the village gate toward the forest trail. Several villagers were already gathered there surrounding a small terrified animal about the size of a goat but covered in bark like skin. Its legs looked twisted and swollen. One villager shouted that it had attacked a farm plot. Another shouted it was cursed. They argued louder and louder until the elder arrived and raised his hand. The crowd grew quiet.

The elder looked at Ethan and pointed at the creature trembling in the dirt. Ethan stepped closer. The villagers backed away. He crouched beside the small creature and saw its legs were caught in a crude metal trap. The sharp jaws dug deep into its lower limbs. Blood soaked the dirt. The creature squealed in pain and fear. Ethan felt his chest tighten. He had removed traps like these before back in his world. They were painful and cruel. Here they were even worse because the villagers did not understand how to treat the injured animal.

Ethan placed his hand near the trap without touching it. The trapped creature panicked at first but when he whispered softly it stopped struggling. He showed the elder the trap and shook his head firmly. The elder looked guilty and muttered to the villagers. Ethan guessed he said something like this trap did more harm than intended.

The hunter from before arrived late and pushed his way to the front. When he saw the trapped creature he raised his spear and demanded to kill it before it caused more trouble. Ethan blocked him with his arm again. The hunter shouted at him angrily but Ethan refused to move. The villagers watched in tense silence. The elder stepped between them and pointed at Ethan as if giving him authority to handle the situation.

Ethan placed both hands on the trap’s metal jaws. He tested the tension. It would hurt the creature to release it but leaving it would be worse. He took a deep breath steadying himself then pushed down hard on the outer rods. The trap opened with a harsh snap. The creature cried out as it pulled its legs free. Ethan pressed his hand on its side to keep it from running. It trembled in shock but stayed still enough for him to examine the wounds.

The damage was bad but treatable. Ethan used water from a villager’s bucket to clean the blood. He tore strips from his own shirt to make fresh bandages. The villagers watched wide eyed as he worked. The hunter scowled but said nothing under the elder’s watchful glare.

When Ethan finished the small creature lay quiet but breathing steadier. He stroked its back with gentle slow movements. It was confused and frightened but it did not try to bite him. One brave child stepped closer and asked the elder a question. The elder nodded slowly then encouraged the child to extend a hand. The small creature sniffed the child but did not react aggressively. The villagers gasped again without meaning to.

The elder turned to the villagers and spoke firmly. He pointed at the injured creature then at Ethan then at the glowing wolf resting in the shelter. The tone of his words felt like a declaration. He was teaching them something new. Ethan could guess his meaning. Not every beast was a monster. Some were simply scared or hurt or pushed into desperation by traps and fear.

The hunter shook his head and stormed off frustrated. Ethan watched him go with concern. A man like that was not going to accept change easily. But the villagers now looked at Ethan with less fear and more hope. They saw he could help creatures that once terrified them. That mattered.

The elder gestured for Ethan to carry the injured creature to the same shelter where the glowing wolf rested. Ethan set it down on clean straw beside the wolf. The wolf lifted its head and sniffed the new arrival. The bark skinned creature tensed but did not panic. Ethan sat between them to help ease their nerves. He worked on the wolf’s bandage again then checked the new creature’s wounds to make sure they were not bleeding again.

Throughout the day villagers visited the shelter with food water herbs and cloth. Some simply wanted to watch Ethan work. A few asked questions in slow careful words hoping he understood. He answered with gestures and simple sounds. It was enough. They learned. He learned. It felt like a bridge forming between people and creatures one step at a time.

In the afternoon the elder returned with a young woman who carried a small bag of herbs and powders. She knelt beside the injured bark skinned creature and applied a crushed leaf mixture to its wounds. She used a few soft words that soothed the creature in a way Ethan had not heard before. It seemed she was some kind of healer. She smiled at Ethan shyly and pointed at herself saying her name Mira. Ethan introduced himself in return. Mira repeated his name until she could say it clearly.

Together they tended both creatures while the villagers watched. Ethan felt something shift in the air. Trust. Cautious but real. The elder stood at the doorway and nodded with approval.

By evening the bark skinned creature could stand on three legs. The wolf even nudged it gently as if offering comfort. Ethan smiled without thinking. In his old world animals created bonds like this all the time. It felt good to see it happen here too even in a place filled with fear and myths.

As night settled in Ethan sat between the two recovering creatures. Mira placed a blanket over his shoulders before leaving and said a quiet good night in her language. The elder closed the shelter door softly behind him.

Ethan leaned back and listened to the slow breathing of his new charges. He realized something important. These villagers needed a keeper as much as the creatures did. And if this world kept throwing hurt and fear his way he would keep doing what he did best.

Heal one creature at a time.
Show one village at a time that monsters were not always monsters.
Change would come slow but he had patience.
A keeper always did.