The two animals were in a complicated situation.
On one hand, they couldn't bring the unconscious and critically ill human to safety, or retrieve the large red stone that was their objective. On the other hand, they couldn't leave that place without either of them, and every moment there was a moment where they couldn't be attacked, and even they knew it.
But the fact that they could barely touch the "human," and couldn't even take the stone, remained.
Lumi thought that the only way to do something would be if his... "junior" was there, even though he hated to admit it, she had very useful qualities. Especially now that she had been "altered" just like him.
When the beagle was about to suggest that one of them should stay here with the human and the other (probably him) should go back home to ask for help, he heard a sound of heavy paws hitting the ground. Impeto became apprehensive and prepared for a fight, but Lumi only sighed, looking back at the same place they had come from.
Moments later a black head appeared among the rubble of the houses, and the next moment an enormous dog, almost three meters wide like a minivan, appeared. Impeto was preparing to jump and attack it when Lumi stopped him.
Like Nando, Lumi couldn't fully communicate with Impeto, but he managed to send his intentions more easily than the young dhampir. Even more so now that they had grown closer during this battle with the kobolds.
Lumi assured him that the female dog was on their side, and when he got close, Impeto recognized the female of the "same species" as his "friend," with a strange thing in her mouth.
Approaching them both, Nawa placed the "tray" he was carrying on the ground and "said."
"Wroouu oou wooo" (You really made a mess here.)
"Waahhh wroouu, whhaammm wooo" (We didn't have much of a choice, whatever mom and he wanted was already there.)
"Wrouu, wwouu wroouu wooo wouuu." (I know, "mom" has been watching what's been happening to you since the bridge.)
"Waahhh?!, waaaiiiihhhiii waaaawwwooo?" (What do you mean?! Then why didn't you come sooner?)
"Wrouu woou wuuooohhh, wooo woou woo" (At that moment a group of "green" creatures appeared, while the mother watched over you, I, the females, had to take care of them.)
"Waawwwmmm waaaaam, waaaammmmhhhh" (But she couldn't have sent help anyway, even a little.)
"Wrooouu wroouu, ouuuu woowooo, wwwaarroou waaaa wrrooouu" (She did what she could, but the farther away they were, the harder it was to help; she almost exhausted herself doing it.)
Nawa said, pointing with her snout at the almost completely burned root wall. Strangely, the Impetuous flames didn't seem to spread as expected, remaining only on the roots.
Lumi was still a little disappointed, but he couldn't deny that that wall had helped them a lot. Although he still believed that his "mother" could have done more.
"Wrrooouu, wrooouu, wooo" (Now's not the time for that, let's get him out of here quickly, I saw several of the green ones when I was coming here.)
"Waawwaaann, waaammm?" (We still need to carry that thing, how are we going to carry both of them?)
Lumi, Impeto, Nawa, and the chickens were certainly smarter than ordinary animals. But in human terms, they could be considered to have the same level of intelligence as children under 5 or 6 years old.
In that sense, Lumi didn't know how they could carry the human; even he could tell that he needed care to be moved, and the rock was almost as big as Nawa herself.
"Wrrooouu, wrooouu wooo wooo." (Don't worry, Mom already explained how.)
Then she picked up the tray again with her mouth and went towards Nando. As soon as she reached him, Nawa poured the contents of the tray over Nando.
A dark red, somewhat dirty liquid, with a strong smell of iron and a hint of fish could be detected by the three. As soon as it touched the exposed flesh of the dhampir, Nando's skin began to recover faster than before, although still slow to remedy all the damage.
Once all the liquid was gone, Nawa went towards the large stone, bit it, and easily placed it in her mouth. Lumi and Impeto were frightened, thinking that the enormous black dog would eat the stone as they did with the smaller ones.
Truth be told, all of them felt a tempting fragrance coming from this stone, as well as from the brownish-yellow one that emerged after they killed Drake. But they kept their desires in check thanks to both exhaustion and urgency.
They knew that the more appetizing something was, the more likely thieves would appear, some quite willing to fight for it, and they had known this since they were common animals.
Tired as they were, they knew the only thing to do was grab what they needed and leave, and hopefully when they returned the other large stone would still be there.
Although both of them doubted it.
Nawa ignored the almost hysterical cries of the two males and approached the human, lying down beside him. Lumi then began to explain what she wanted to do, or rather, what her "mother" had told her to do. Gathering Impeto's attention, the beagle tried to explain as best she could what they should do.
Lumi went down and used her body as support to prop up Nando's torso, lifting him off the ground. With utmost care, Impeto held Nando by the shoulders with her claws, avoiding piercing him with them.
Nawa tried to lower herself even further, but couldn't with the stone in her mouth.
She tried to concentrate as much as possible on not biting hard enough to break it; her "mother" had been very specific when she said she needed the whole stone. It was torture for her, like having a succulent piece of meat in her mouth but not being able to eat it.
When the two finally managed to get Nando onto Nawa's back, she smelled a peculiar odor coming from every direction except the one they had come from.
"Warrraaamm wrooouu!!!" (Let's get out of here now!!!)
She signaled for the two of them to mount her, both because they were married and to ensure Nando wouldn't fall during the return journey, as Mari had told them. Without hesitation, they positioned themselves to Nando's right and left.
Nawa set off at a brisk but moderate gallop to avoid the swaying affecting her passengers too much. The weight of the stone was also a factor, but nothing she couldn't handle (it was almost the same weight as the blanket she used to sleep in when she was a regular animal).
The worst part was the descent near the stream, not because of the slimes—those had already dispersed after the goblins—but because of the insects.
Smelling both the blood on Nando's body and the large magic stone, several insects that had previously been hidden appeared in the tree branches and on the ground, trying to approach Nawa. Those that came from the ground were easily crushed by her paws, but the flying ones and those that jumped from the branches were more irritating to deal with.
Lumi and Impeto had to deal with these despite being tired, but since they were still insects with little alteration, they didn't pose a big problem. The fact that they were mostly flies, mosquitoes, the occasional spider, and some ants only slightly larger than normal certainly helped.
While crossing the "bridge," they were attacked by some birds that appeared out of nowhere, but a single blast of flame from Impeto wasn't enough to scare them away. Sometimes just seeing him made them give up.
Minutes later, they were turning the corner of their house, where they had to deal with a small group of goblins. But just like the insects, they were easily eliminated by Nawa's paws.