Up in the sky.

“Wrong way, wrong way! Kid, you nearly messed it up.” The voice was prickly and panicked, clearly not one for calm.

Another softer, shaky voice followed.

“I… I feel so dizzy…”

Everything was spinning. After what felt like forever, the direction was finally corrected. A little girl landed on the ground with a wobble. Her skin was as pale as polished jade, and a faint glow clung to her, like a little celestial child. Dizzy and dazed, she spun once, then flopped face-first onto the ground.

It didn’t hurt though. Kinda squishy, actually.

“Chirp—ow!”

Aurora Griffin’s ears twitched. She thought she heard a small squawk—tiny and helpless.

Something under her was definitely soft.

Her head clearing a bit, she opened her eyes and met the gaze of a white tiger, its piercing eyes locked on hers.

Aurora blinked.

Whatever she was lying on moved slightly. She pushed herself up a bit and saw two baby tigers with their rumps in the air struggling out from under her, only to plop down with a thud.

They looked completely confused, staring wide-eyed at this unfamiliar creature who seemed to be competing for their milk.

And man… she was huge!Aurora Griffin scratched her head sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn’t mean to."

The big tiger didn’t seem bothered at all. Instead, it came over and gently rubbed its face against her chubby cheek, then rolled onto its back, fluff belly up, eyes asking if the little one wanted some milk.

Aurora stared at it for a moment. That milk really did smell tempting.

Just then, wings flapped over as a parrot swooped in. "Kid, what are you thinking? That milk’s not for you. You’ve got milk fruit on you, remember?"

Aurora turned her eyes away, visibly disappointed. "I’m going to find my father now. Bye-bye, Mama Tiger~"

Right before leaving, she scooped up the two mewling tiger cubs for one last snuggle.

So soft. So squishy.

Then she hiked up her sleeves, and off she went, little legs moving fast.

The tiger cubs were left dizzy from the rough affection. By the time they realized what had just happened, the little girl was already gone.

As for why the big tiger hadn't attacked Aurora—it was because she was a qilin.

A true-born celestial qilin cub. This was her third year since hatching.

And she was now on earth for one reason—to find her dad.Aurora Griffin was born frail and barely made it out of her egg. Her father, Alexander Brown, had gone to great lengths to save her—stealing, lying, and snatching all sorts of heavenly treasures. Naturally, that didn’t sit well with the gods, and once she was stable, the Heavenly Emperor punished him by sending him down to the mortal realm for trials.

But something messed with Alexander’s original fate. If nothing changed, he’d eventually meet a grisly end.

When Aurora found out, she didn’t hesitate. She’d missed her father terribly anyway, so without telling her mother or the Heavenly Emperor, she slipped down to the mortal world, determined to find him and stop that ending from happening.

Late at night, she left the forest riding a giant deer, heading straight for the place where she was planning to pull a little trick to make her father notice her.

……

"Kiddo, your father’s a top general. He’ll be passing this road soon to head towards the border. Just stay here and you’re bound to run into him!"

The rosy-red parrot, just about palm-sized, perched neatly on the little girl's shoulder. Though it was a bird, it talked as fluently as any person.

"Mm-hmm!"

Crouched behind the grassy patch, the tiny three-year-old mumbled back, half-asleep.

Since leaving the forest, she’d gone from looking like a pretty little cherub to a grubby kitten. Her hair was a mess, face smudged, and honestly—she was exhausted.

She hadn’t shut her eyes the entire night.

"KeKe, when’s Daddy getting here?"The little one leaned against the tree, curled up on a messy bed of grass she'd tugged together. Her chubby hands were still clutching a half-eaten fruit, and she was already yawning, eyes practically glued shut.

Perched on her shoulder, the parrot looked like his heart was breaking.

“Hang in there, kid. Your father’s almost here.”

“Keke, I’m really sleepy.”

Encouraged by Keke’s voice, Aurora Griffin made a small effort to open her eyes, but all she managed was a tiny slit before they shut fully again.

Nap time. Just for a bit.

That “bit” ended up stretching all the way to the afternoon. She didn’t sleep well, even though Keke had done his best to layer some dry grass underneath her. But she’d been pampered since birth—there was no way she could really handle conditions like this.

Even in her sleep, her tiny brows were furrowed, lips puckered in a pitiful pout, soft whimpers escaping now and then.

At one point, her rumbling belly forced her to groggily gnaw on that fruit a couple more times before she drifted off again.

Then, finally, the sound of hooves beat through the quiet. In the glow of the evening sun, black flags flapped in the wind, trailing behind a line of warhorses and armored soldiers carrying a sharp edge of tension with them.

“He’s here! Your father’s finally here!”

Keke shrieked, flapping his wings like mad and tugging at Aurora’s hair with his beak, trying to wake her up.

About time too—any later, and she'd be catching a cold for sure!Aurora Griffin was jolted awake by Keke’s shrill squawking. Her mind was still foggy, barely functioning.

“Hurry up, hurry up! Go do the stunt! Lie flat in the road! You’ve gotta make him take you today!”

With her head still spinning and not grasping much, Aurora instinctively followed Keke’s instructions, clutching the parrot and her half-eaten fruit as she stumbled toward the middle of the path.

She didn't need any coaching at all—she tripped over her own feet and went straight down.

Face-first.

“You okay, kid?!”

Keke shrieked, flapping its wings and tugging at her clothes, but it was too little to lift her up.

Aurora said nothing. She certainly wasn’t okay. Her nose throbbed like crazy, tears welled up in her eyes, and she just sat there, watery big eyes like cracked eggs.

Thud.

Something heavy stopped right in front of her.

Still holding her nose, Aurora tried to sit up, only to find herself face-to-face with a pair of massive legs.

Belonged to a towering black horse.

She looked up again, spotting the horse’s muzzle hovering close. She couldn’t see who was on it—it was too dark, and he was way too tall.

The impressive black warhorse, majestic and intimidating, dipped its head low and gently nudged the tiny girl with its nose.At that moment, Keke landed on Aurora Griffin’s shoulder, pretending to be a dumb bird. If it got taken away, what then? No way it’d leave its little one behind.

“What’s wrong, General?”

Seeing Alexander Brown suddenly stop, the deputy rode forward to check what was going on.

Alexander didn’t respond. His eyes stayed fixed on the small figure up ahead.

"Where’d this kid come from?"

His grip on the reins tightened slightly. If he wasn’t holding them back, his horse probably would’ve gone over, playfully circling the child.

"Go find out."

He kept his tone flat and steady.

“Yes, sir!”

Aurora finally snapped out of it. Hugging the horse’s head, she stood up, her jet-black eyes locked onto the man on horseback. Then, out of nowhere, she blurted,

“Daddy!”