Andvari I could totally kiss you right now.

I sigh in happiness as another chunk of burnt meant slides down my throat, patting Andvari on the side lightly with my wing.

I would have to ask you to refrain, Lady. I have no preference for the winged sort.

He nods in response, staring off at nothing with his unseeing eyes.

….Perhaps if you sing again for me, one day, when the occasion is right.

Andvari adds, stroking his beard. Too bad his fingers kept getting caught in the tangles, making him wince when he accidentally tugs on a hair.

I was adding combing out Andvari’s brown-grey beard to my ever-growing To-Do list. It looked a lot cleaner than Greenie’s oily hair.

Green shoulders flinch when I glance at him. Greenie sat crouched right next to me, lightly stroking my back. He was practically glued to my side since he’d come back into the cave, like one of those ducklings that imprinted onto the first thing it saw.

Ignoring him, I watch as Andvari winces again when another strand of hair breaks off his beard. And beard oil. That would be good too.

It would also be a good chance to see if I still had my braiding skills. More bits of my past life’s memory was coming back, my sister and I braiding each other’s hair in our youth.

At first glance, nothing seemed to have changed after the notification from the system lady. I’d hoped with the notification that Andvari would have gotten his sight back, but no luck. Nothing seemed to have changed. His appearance looked the same, with somewhat thin arms and a thick beard hiding most of his torso.

But on a second look, Andvari’s frowns didn’t look so deep.

And his status had changed.

One of his titles was now gone.

Forsaken had been erased. Appraisal hadn’t shown me what that title meant. But I think Andvari was glad that it was gone? His face was too hard to read, especially with that beard…

And his race was now simply: Mountain Dwarf.

Shifting from one foot to another, I look away from the status displayed before me. I felt a bit bad…With whatever chant Andvari had spoken, he’d lost something, though I wasn’t sure what. Ties to the High Mountain? What did that mean?

But..things were getting better now that Andvari was here.

I was eating meat, and it was finally COOKED!

…Okay, it was mostly burned, but still! Cooked is cooked!….?

No longer did I have to eat raw meat, with blood spraying over me. I didn’t have to feel the blood dripping down my throat as I swallowed.

Because a fire now crackled before us in the cave, the rat I’d skinned burning on rocks over the fire.

Cooked meat meant I was getting one step closer to my goal!! All that was left was flavor. Everything tasted so bland and gamey. I’d almost thought about dipping some of my meat in Greenie’s sweat, just to see if it would add to the flavor.

Shivering, I shake my head. No, I wasn’t that far gone. Who knew what kind of places Greenie’s skin had been. What kind of bugs lived on it. Greenie practically had a biological weapon on the soles of his feet.

Using his sweat as flavoring was definitely not a good idea.

A place where I could get a proper meal, a soft fluffy bed to sleep on, and books to read! The ultimate slow life! That was my dream!

After all, I only provided the fire. I’m thankful to you Lady, for the meat.

Andvari rubs his belly, though it doesn’t look much different from before. His stomach was still sunken in with the ribs showing against his tunic when he pulls the worn fabric. The unbalance between his head made large with the thick hair sprouting in all directions atop his head and the long beard, in contrast with his body; it made him look more like a garden gnome than a rugged dwarf.

When I'd finished cleaning off the rats and Andvari had finished with his laughing, he'd reached into his beard. Though scraggly, it was still thick enough to completely hide his neck..and thick enough to hide other things.

I'd been surprised to see him produce two small stones with a hole drilled through them in the center, strung together on a fine copper chain right out of his beard.

Having already gathered together the pile of sticks after the rats had gone through and messed up the cave, it was easy enough for the dwarf to find the pile and set a fire with his ‘Spark’.

The copper chain shone with a dull shine as he rubbed the two stones together, and soon, we had a small fire going. Andvari made it look so easy!! All my agonizing on how to create a fire, and he just.. he just brings out two rocks and that was it!

Master! Danger!

Greenie didn’t seem to understand why I was so happy about the fire. Scooping me up, Greenie’d shaking like a leaf in terror made my brain rattle. He was afraid of it, and for good reason. The only time we’d seen a flame so far had been with the Elemental Wolf King. To Greenie, fire was dangerous. It had taken a lot of cajoling to get him to sit next to me and watch the rat cook. And when it was finally finished cooking, he seemed to enjoy the cooked taste of the meat, just as much as when he ate it raw.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

Andvari ate the rat with his fingers, glimpses of his mouth showing up in the beard like a strange hole opening up on a surface swathed with fur.

But the pace at which he’d consumed the rat had made me and Greenie’s mouths fall open. Greenie had given a mournful cry seeing the rat disappearing faster than Greenie could eat his share.

Andvari, if you eat that fast, you’ll get sick.

When I’d warned the dwarf not to eat too quickly, he’d just flapped a hand at me and continued to swallow down large hanks of meat. Greenie now had a rival. When it came to speed-eating, Andvari had the advantage. He didn’t seem to mind even when he blindly plunged his hand into the fire by accident.

As I continued to observe the dwarf while nibbling on the meat before me, it was quite obvious why.

Greenie had copied him and tried to tear off a hind leg, sticking his hand into the burning wood.

“Kieek!! Kiyaaak!!”

A goblin’s skin would become yellow when burnt. Greenie now had one large yellow blister on his thumb, while Andvari snorted.

This dwarf was freakin’ fireproof!

At the rate the dwarf was eating now, it might not take too long before Andvari would be looking like a proper dwarf.

If Andvari kept eating like this, our rats would be gone in 2 days. Cradling my head in one wing, I look away from the tragic sight before me.

Okay, one more rat. I’d give Andvari one more rat to eat since he’d been starving, but no more.

Though the fire was helpful, I was going to have Crixus and Andvari earn their keep.

I send a long gaze at Andvari, who was busy gnawing on a bone, then back to Crixus. They would be useful in the hunt against the Wolf King that I had ruminating in the back of my mind. I also needed to find out just how fireproof Andvari was..

Hot! Hot!!

Not to be outdone, Greenie uses his other hand to carefully tear off a piece of freshly cooked rat right off the top of the carcass and offers the burnt meat to me, steam rising off the food.

Gingerly taking the hot meat from his green fingers, I wave it around a few times in the air with my beak to cool it and then throw it backward.

There’s a rustling noise behind us as Crixus sits by the entrance of the cave, tail swishing as he watches the three of us sitting around the fire.

At least Crixus wasn’t a problem when it came to meat consumption.

Are you sure you don't need any meat, Crixus?

Crixus shakes his furred bull head, the broken horns atop his head gleaming in the sunlight.

This is good.

Before him was a pile of grass that he'd dug up and that I helped bring inside that cave. Crixus ate the short tufts of grass bit by bit, hooking them on his hoof and awkwardly leaning down to carry the green to the slab of rock before him.

I’d stacked up a sort of rock ‘table’ for him, setting piles of grass atop it. Since Greenie refused to help, Andvari had helped, with me acting as his eyes. Though skinny, this dwarf was a lot stronger than he looked.

And Crixus, well, he looked a lot happier than before, compared to when I’d found him outside. The Minotaur, I'd found behind one of the trees, kicking up clods of grass and getting on his knees to munch like a- well, like a cow.

Tail whipping behind him, Crixus had whirled around as soon as I caught sight of him, bits of grass hanging off his snout as he frowned.

He hadn't wanted me to see.

Since he didn't comment on it, I didn't either, turning around and hopping back to the cave. The awkward silence was made even longer by Crixus pausing for me to catch up with his much longer strides.

I remembered the bits about himself Crixus shared with me on our walk back to the cave. It hadn’t been long since Crixus lost his arms.

Poor Crixus. I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like if I’d lost my wings.

‘I was a gladiator, a damn good one!’ He’d told me, puffing out his chest in pride. Seeing the scars all over his body, that made a lot of sense. If he’d fought us at full power, with both arms, his powerful frame, and huge hoofed hind legs, things might have been different back there in the clearing when we’d met.

His skill set showed his prowess in battle. Crixus was practically a machine when it came to fighting, judging from the list of what he could do before! I'd secretly appraised him while his back was turned.

---Status---

Name:

Crixus

Race:

Tarsuen Minotaur

Title:

Provocator

Allegiance:

Unkindness

Magic:

N/A

Abilities:

Skill [Weapon Fluency]

Skill [Shield Bash]

Skill [Penetration Step]

Skill [Enhanced Rigor]

Skill [Acute Scenting}

Skill [Iron Will]

Skill [Charge]

Skill [Grappling]

Skill [Pledge Alignment]

Skill [Sleep Recovery]

Resistances:

Pain Resistance

------

Just imagining Crixus with arms gave me the chills. He'd have probably destroyed the two of us in a heartbeat. It was weird to think with such a powerful body, Crixus didn’t eat any meat at all.

I mean, if he didn't want any, that was fine for me!

There was more meat for Greenie, Andvari, and I to eat.

What I wouldn’t give for some proper sweetgrass and Plains herbs… Crixus sighs, jaw moving in the typical side-to side motion cows made to chew.

And I, some ale.

Both of them sigh again, staring off into the distance.

I didn’t bother joining them. Because I didn’t want to make wishes I couldn’t fulfill yet. It was better to be happy about the small things, like the fire burning before me, and being surrounded in the company of others.

Why don’t you eat meat, Crixus?

My tribe swore off meat 300 years ago after releasing the agreement with the People of the Wind.

Who’s that?

He means the Elves.

Anger radiates off Andvari, burning hotter than the crackling fire before us as he tilts his head to the side. Wrinkles deppen around his eyes with his grimace, the dwarf spitting away from the fire.