Chapter 97: The Test of the Elephant Clan
Amara and Zuri finally came to a decision, their massive heads lowering as they fixed their intense, unblinking gazes down at Nuan.
"There are certain secrets about our Elephant Clan that we hold close to our hearts," Amara rumbled, her voice vibrating the dirt. "We have always been prideful of our colossal power and size, being the absolute biggest beasts on the land despite only consuming prey food like plants. But the legends say that, once, you humbled our ancestors’ pride and taught them true calmness."
"Hm, hm," Nuan nodded, closing her eyes slowly with an air of absolute, supreme wisdom. She crossed her arms, acting all-knowing, though her brain was already sweating.
"To break that pride," Zuri added, her large ears twitching, "you showed our ancestors a vision from a past far beyond their generations. You showed them two massive titans who surpassed every single beast in existence today. Titans who also lived on only plants."
"Only you and our clan’s highest lineage know of this vision," Amara added, her eyes turning sharp and testing. "Tell us, Witch Aestra... what were these beasts?"
Huh? Two massive plant-eating titans from way before their time? Wait... giant herbivores that make elephants look like puppies? Oh, you have got to be kidding me.
A sudden, brilliant spark ignited in her modern brain. An unhinged, confident smirk slowly crept onto her face.
"Ugh, well, I obviously cannot show you a grand cosmic vision right now in front of the entire pack," Nuan sighed dramatically, waving a hand dismissively. "But it brings me immense joy to see that you people are still taking my ancient teachings to heart. And I am so very happy to know you still talk about those magnificent beasts... the ones with the impossibly long necks."
Zuri, being the innocent and simple-minded sister, gasped softly, her amber eyes flickering with instant recognition at Nuan’s remark. That small hint was all she needed to know they were talking about the exact same legends.
Before Amara could cross-examine her, Nuan quickly crouched down, snatched up a sturdy stick from the dirt, and began fiercely sketching in the loose soil right between the giants’ feet.
With quick, precise strokes, she mapped out the unmistakable structural silhouettes of two gigantic sauropods.
"Well, these are the exact ones I showed to your stubborn ancestors," Nuan said, dusting her hands off as she finished drawing the long-necked sauropods. "These two are called Patagotitan mayorum and Argentinosaurus."
Amara’s eyes instantly flickered with a triumphant, suspicious spark—the kind of look a cop gets when they think they’ve caught a thief red-handed on a technicality.
But Nuan completely spoiled the trap before Amara could even open her mouth.
"And both of them," Nuan added with a casual shrug, "I originally introduced to your ancestors under the grand family name of... Dinosaurs!"
Zuri’s jaw dropped as she violently nudged her sister’s arm. "Sister! She knows! She actually knows the ancient names!"
"Yeah... I can see... that..." Amara murmured, her pride taking a massive, awkward hit. She stared down at the dirt drawings in absolute fascination. "Tell us more about them."
"Hm? Well, you see, whether it was the Patagotitan or the Argentinosaurus, both of them stood about twice as tall at the shoulder as your entire clan does today," Nuan explained with a witty chuckle, thoroughly enjoying her role as a prehistoric tour guide. "And just one of those beasts easily weighed as much as eight to twelve of your clan’s fully grown adult members combined!"
"And how tall were they really...?" Zuri asked, completely hooked.
Nuan let out a theatrical chuckle, pointing her stick skyward. "Just to reach its head up at the very top of that long neck? You would need at least five to six of your own family members standing directly on top of each other’s backs. Is that enough to satisfy you?!"
Amara visibly gulped, her giant form trembling slightly at the terrifyingly accurate, casual knowledge dropping from this furless creature’s mouth.
"Since you traveled all this way," Nuan said, her inner troll taking full control as she smirked up at them, "let me give you one big, exclusive reveal about how your own ancestors’ ancestors used to look."
"What?" Zuri and Amara murmured in absolute shock, leaning closer.
"Yes!" Nuan declared.
She quickly wiped a patch of dirt clean and began sketching a bizarre, prehistoric elephant—except this one possessed a massive, bulky skull boasting four terrifyingly long, distinct ivory tusks splitting from its jaws.
"See? There was a time when your ancestors looked exactly like this Gomphothere," Nuan lied smoothly, weaving her modern knowledge directly into the ancient lore. "Since many generations ago I humbled your size, you can consider this magnificent, four-tusked form one of the oldest roots of your proud bloodline."
The psychological play worked flawlessly. Amara and Zuri’s heads instantly lifted high into the canopy, their chests swelling with an immense, intoxicating wave of ancestral pride at the sight of the four-tusked titan.
"Well, I certainly hope that has thoroughly satisfied your little doubts," Nuan said, tossing the stick away and dusting her hands off with a satisfied smirk.
Zuri and Amara shared a long, humbled glance, then gave a synchronized, deeply respectful nod to the furless girl.
Pheww... saved! Thank God for childhood dinosaur documentaries, Nuan thought, letting out a massive internal breath as she casually stretched her aching arms out.
Turning her body around to face the silent, staring wolf pack, she threw her hands in the air. "Well! Let’s have a party—ahm, I mean, a grand celebratory feast for my grand awakening!"
Finally seeing their witch completely clear of danger and ruling the clearing, the entire Silver-Grey pack let out a unified, deafening, and purely joyous howl into the starry night sky.
"AWWOOOOOOOOOO—OOOOOO...!"
"AWOOOO... AWOOOO...!"
"OOOOOOOHHHHH...!"
Not wanting to be left out of the celebration, Amara and Zuri threw their trunks high behind Nuan and unleashed a catastrophic, ear-splitting "PRRRRRAAAAHHHH!!!!"
"Ugh, God!" Nuan instantly slammed her hands over her ears as the thunderous elephant cheers exploded directly behind her skull. I am literally going to go completely deaf at this rate. My eardrums are holding onto life by a thread.
Suddenly, inside her brain, Selka’s frantic telepathic voice cut through outer noise. Furless! What was that?! How do you know things that are supposedly only known between the Witch and the Elephant Clan?! Are you actually—
Nuan just chuckled darkly and entirely unhinged in her own mind, quoting a legendary meme as she looked out over her new followers. You know, Miss Selka... I’m something of a witch myself.