This continues from the perspective of the Little Witch in her white bird form.
I was Rufe, a witch.
Lately, whenever I could find a spare moment, I would transform into a bird and fly off to observe the Alraune. That Alraune needed me; I was the one who had to take care of her. Perhaps because I used my black magic to turn into a white bird nearly every day, I had completely mastered the art of flight. I was so skilled now that I wouldn't lose to any real bird. Even if I were attacked by a monster a normal bird couldn't outrun, I could combine my flight with levitation magic to escape.
Thanks to my powers as a witch, I was able to move freely through the dangerous forest. All of this was for the sake of watching over and caring for the Alraune—my benefactor, who had avenged my parents' deaths.
Let me describe the Alraune's daily routine. She spent most of her day basking in the sun. She always looked quite bored, with nothing in particular to do, just spacing out for hours. Occasionally, she would give nectar to the bee monsters that happened to fly by. Other than that, she used her vines to catch and eat any animals or monsters that wandered too close. I must admit, the sight of her eating was always a bit frightening. If I got too close, I’d surely be eaten, too. I really didn't want to be dissolved by a flower.
Basically, because plants are stationary, it seemed she couldn't do much on her own. Her actions were entirely passive. It was a bit pitiful, seeing her so trapped. Yet, on rare occasions, the Alraune would start muttering to herself. She would move her vines like puppets and whisper long soliloquies. Her eyes would go vacant, and I often wondered what was going through her mind.
Whenever she did that, she always ended up in tears. She would weep silently, looking up at the sky with eyes like a dead fish while her mouth moved soundlessly. Seeing such strange behavior made me think the talking flower might be ill. Or perhaps she was just lonely. After all, the talking flower was always all by herself.
Just like me.
We were two of a kind. Both witches and monsters were hated by humans. Because we shared several things in common, I felt—perhaps selfishly—that I had finally found a friend. She wasn't human; she was a plant monster. And yet, I felt a deeper sense of kinship with this Alraune than I ever had with anyone else in my life.
A flower for a friend. For a lonely stray witch like me, it was a fitting match.
One day, the Alraune was attacked by a giant bear. I knew I had to help! But how? As the Alraune resisted desperately, she produced something from her mouth. It looked like she had crafted a nectar ball. The bear was fascinated by it, but the Alraune simply threw the nectar ball high into the air. If it just landed in the thicket, the bear wouldn't bother chasing after the nectar candy. It would be much easier for him to just keep trying to steal nectar from the Alraune right in front of him.
Seeing no other choice, I acted. I managed to catch the nectar ball in my beak mid-flight. Then, holding the ball, I circled the bear to provoke him. I successfully lured him away, leading him all the way to the edge of the forest. I was so proud of myself! I was the Alraune's savior; she really should have been more grateful. But then again, the talking flower was the one who had avenged my parents. Since we were both each other’s benefactors, I decided we should just keep getting along.
So, my caretaking continued. However, despite how hard I worked for the talking flower's sake, she remained a wild thing at heart. No matter how much I looked after her, she didn't seem to grow fond of me. In fact, she even tried to lure me in to catch me!
A few days after I led the bear away, I landed near the Alraune to see how she was doing. Suddenly, vines erupted from the ground—it gave me such a fright! If I had been even a second slower in using my levitation magic, I would have been caught for sure. By now, I would have been dissolved inside the Alraune's massive mouth. It was terrifying!
Even for an insectivorous plant, she was far too reckless. I thought she would have recognized me by now. I wanted her to be able to tell that I was a bird she wasn't supposed to eat. It really was about time she started liking me. Still, I was an intelligent human, not a plant. I wasn't going to get angry just because a flower I was tending to tried to bite me. No owner would kill their dog just because they got bitten once. I refused to give up on her or label her a lost cause. To do that would be no different than the humans who hunted me just because they decided being a witch made me evil. That was such a lonely, sad thought.
I believed that if I continued to treat her with kindness, the Alraune would eventually open her heart to me. I considered myself a gentle witch, but the talking flower turned out to be quite the rampaging flower. She ended up killing that giant bear from before.
That bear was the Lord of the Forest. The Village Chief had warned everyone to stay away because he was so dangerous. It turned out that being able to understand human speech wasn't the only thing special about this Alraune. To be stronger than a bear that size... she was definitely no ordinary flower. As expected of a plant I had chosen to care for. I really did have a good eye for these things!
Still, I had to be more cautious. If I got too close, she could eat me in an instant. After all the work I'd put into caring for her, being eaten by that flower was the last way I wanted to go. It was as unthinkable as being caught in a witch hunt and burned at the stake.
As I continued my observations, I realized that the Alraune could take the properties of the plants she ate and make them her own. She had several different types of flowers blooming from her vines, so I was fairly certain. To test it, I intentionally dropped a red rose and a blue flower for her. Sure enough, after she ate them, the same flowers began to bloom from her vines. Having such a special ability... she really was amazing!
Yet, even a special creature like her was still just a wild flower. When I dropped that blue flower, she lunged at me with her vines while I was still in the air. She was absolutely trying to capture me. As if to prove it, she began aggressively attacking small birds after that. It was as if she were taking her frustration at not being able to catch me out on them, spraying poison everywhere. Then, she would swallow the small birds that fell to the ground whole.
If I wasn't careful, I could end up just like them. In fact, she was definitely targeting me! What an ungrateful flower! Well, she was a plant, so I tried not to take it personally. But I had no intention of being killed and eaten by a flower. I wasn't ready to die yet. I figured I should stop giving her plants as presents for a while.
And yet, I couldn't stop myself. My feelings for the Alraune had become more than just a project. Aside from my mother and father, I had never cared for anyone else this much. I'd never had anyone I truly wanted to treasure. With my parents gone, this plant monster was the most important thing in the world to me. The Alraune had become my family.
A lonely witch and an Alraune alone in the forest. One an enemy of humanity, the other a monster. Both hated by the world. We were like sisters bound by similar fates. We supported each other’s loneliness just by existing.
I had always thought I was the one working hard to take care of her. I had saved her life multiple times. I was always the one helping the Alraune. But somewhere along the way, I realized she was saving me, too. I hadn't even noticed how much she had become my emotional support. From the day my parents died until now, the reason I chose to keep living was to raise this flower.
If I hadn't met her, I probably wouldn't be here today. Without my parents, I had no reason to live. I likely would have thrown my life away to some forest monster, or been killed trying to get revenge on the monkey monster that took them from me. It was thanks to the Alraune that I was still here.
I decided then that I would keep doing everything in my power for her. To me, she was the most precious thing in the world. Besides, after all the care I'd given her, she was practically mine anyway. My precious Alraune. I would protect her, no matter what.
Thank you for reading. Next time: The Little Witch's First Plant Nurturing Activities – Winter.