Richard Adams

It kind of hurt that Mimi wasn't particularly interested in what I had to say about the stars. Just going from one constellation to the next. She was much more interested in the knowledge it provided than the stories Oswald told me. A part of me felt that it kind of showed how she approached new things. Another part of me realized that it was just because she really wanted to show me how to hunt. The stars would always be there so long as there was an opening in the branches above us. If we found a clearing we could see them better, I could explain more about them. Right now though? Mimi wanted to show me the craft that kept her alive out in the wild for all these years.

She was damn proud of how she hunted. The bugs in the wagon were spread along it to keep our things safe as she took me by the hand. We went further into the forest, bugs hidden under her wings, her escort as she called them. It was too dark for me to see, but Mimi insisted that a torch would scare away the tastiest things.

Mimi spoke in whispers, talking about how to find a trail, and tell how fresh it was. She explained that the bugs were able to sense it better given how she honed the senses of her scouts for just that. I started to ask her why she was teaching me how to hunt without her bugs but stopped when I saw her smile. She was enjoying our time together, and I couldn't ruin it for her.

"Richard, can you smell the scent of our prey?" She whispered, holding a broken twig she found towards me. I leaned closer to give the thing a sniff, before slowly shaking my head. Of course I couldn't, I'm not a hound. Mimi frowned a little, as she tugged me closer. "Then know that we found a branch. Something moved through here recently. All the things worth hunting come out a night."

I quietly nodded, while she pulled me along with her. "Here's another, you can tell it was foraging, or searching for scents to follow as well. Look here, there are a few scratches on the bark. It gives us an idea of how tall it might be. Usually, animals that scratch to mark territory will go as high as they are comfortable while on the ground. It makes them look bigger, which won't exactly save them. I can smell the musk, but what do you think it is?"

"I have no idea," I said quietly, smiling back as she quickly nodded. I looked back at the scratches finding them just a little taller than me. I could at least smell the sap still oozing from the tree. We were following something, and it did look fresh since the sap wasn't hardened yet.

"You should take out your ax since it has fur. The mace would be best against things with shells and armor. It's good for crushing bones, but I don't think you'll manage it against what we're hunting right now. It's better to bleed them, and dodge." She flicked her ears, smiling to herself.

I gripped the handle of my ax, pulling it to my chest. I had no experience in fighting with one, but from the sound of it, Mimi wasn't worried. "How are we going to do this, Mimi?"

She smiled at me, putting a finger to her lips. "Listen," she whispered. "I will make sure you don't get hurt too much, but this is your hunt. I'll take care of the cleaning, or kill it if it proves too much."

"Ha, nice one, Mimi." I watched as she pointed in a direction, my eyes following. "We're doing this together right?" I looked back at where she was, to find she was gone. "Mimi?" That was when I heard a snort. I couldn't see what made the sound, but it squealed right after. I looked into the darkness, watching the space five feet (152cm) in front of me. Past that, it was completely dark. I could hear something large trotting towards me.

I saw the jagged yellow tusks before I saw the rest of it. The brown snout came out of the darkness right after. I could see the dark brown fur of the twilight boar just barely peeking out from its mouth. It was twice my size, and I could see it snort before digging a hoof into the ground as it prepared to charge.

My mind raced as the boar lunged forward. I was much too small to stop it from running me over, so the best thing to do was dodge. I jumped out of the way, as the boar tilted its head to try and catch me with a tusk. It barely missed, as I quickly got back on my feet. I couldn't see it, but I could hear it as it squealed again. "Some help would be nice Mimi!" I called out into the darkness, as I heard the boar turn around.

There was no response, other than the trotting hooves of what she wanted me to hunt. "Please?" I murmured as the thing came rushing into my view. It was charging a little slower and with more control this time. One of its tusks were mere centimeters from the ground as tilted to the side so it could still see me.

I threw my ax at its head but the bone proved too thick to do any real damage. It did make the boar squeal again, as it lifted its head in surprise. I rolled to the side, barely getting under the tusks and narrowly avoiding a swift trampling. I lost sight of it by the time I got back to my feet. The ax was missing in action, bouncing to who knows where. I pulled out my mace, hoping Mimi would decide to step in. Those hopes were dashed when I heard the boar let out an enraged squeal before trotting into my view again.

It wasn't charging this time, just cold rage in its dark eyes. I barely managed to make out the faint bead of blood on its forehead from where my ax clipped it. The thing about these boars was that they wouldn't leave after blood was drawn. Even I knew hunters used this to lure them into traps after hitting them with an arrow. It was a sort of common knowledge thing that was taught before anyone went outside the walls. Even the Underground loved capturing these guys for arena fights because of that trait.

I held my mace at the ready, not quite sure if I could crack its skull. The boar stopped just a foot away from me, its tusks close enough for me to grab onto. It was watching me, waiting for a mistake on my part. I took the precious seconds to appreciate how fine its fur was. A deep dark blue, that looked black in the night. Some of its short fur had spots that made it appear as though it had captured some of the stars and put them inside its fur. It was a beautiful creature, and its pelt would sell for a silver if treated properly.

My eyes followed its jagged yellow tusks. Parts of it were broken to regrow while gore and dirt were stuck in the cracks. With a bit of polishing the tusked would look rather nice. Sadly getting distracted was one of the things the boar was waiting for. It lunged forward, crashing one of the tusks into my chest. I felt the wind knocked out of me as I lost my balance, falling onto my back. I was glad the quilt held since the tusks didn't piece through me. The boar got on its hind legs, kicking the front ones a bit as it reared up. It was going to try and crush me. I closed my eyes, I didn't want to fight this thing. Not in the dark, not without help.

I heard a loud squeal, as the boar crashed into a tree close by. I opened my eyes to see Mimi tilting her head as she looked down at me. "What are you doing? Are you hurt?"

I squinted at her, "So nice of you to join." I sat up, rubbing my chest. Nothing was broken, but I was a little upset about this whole thing.

"I kept it from running away, this should be easy for you. Why are you just dodging?" I could hear the boar scrambling back to its hooves, then nothing.

I frowned a bit, "It tried to run?"

I looked up to see Mimi nod, "Yes, even if it was through you. It knows it can't beat me, but you drew blood and so it isn't going to leave. It was quite the boon to find one of these out here." She smiled, dismissively looking at the boar, "It is a shame they are too weak to make a good challenge."

"You're crazy, Mimi." I got up, dusting myself off. "Why are you making me do this?"

She looked back at me, "You didn't seem like you were having fun. You enjoyed fighting in the Arena."

"I didn't enjoy it, I was on blue haze, and liked being helpful to you. I like training with you because I enjoy spending time together. I don't like fighting though, and I really don't want to kill things." I looked up at her, trying to get her to understand.

Mimi frowned, looking back at the boar that hadn't made a sound since we started to argue. "You want me to kill everything for you? I won't learn anything from killing something this weak, it won't make me stronger." Her eyes shifted back to me, a sour look on her face. "Are you afraid of killing? It's fine if your hands stay clean, correct?"

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I shook my head, "That's not what I mean Mimi..." I looked away, not able to meet her gaze.

"Then what is it, Richard? Here is a creature that won't leave until you are dead, one with enough meat to keep you and the hive fed for a week without touching the rations we brought along. Something with a fine pelt that can be sold, and you are saying you don't want to kill it? Why?"

"You forced it to fight me!" I looked up at her, "You didn't ask if I was fine with it. You just did it! That's the problem here! I wasn't ready..." I looked away again, "Okay? I just wasn't ready. You're always doing this, just jumping into whatever. Then you expect me to sit around until you need me. Or, you just tell me to do something and expect it to be done."

I didn't see the look she gave me, or how she reacted. I was starting to tear up, and couldn't bring myself to look at her. It was easier with blue haze, I didn't care when I was on it. I was prepared for everything when I was smoking it. I felt like I could take on the world and win, that I was keeping Mimi safe because it gave me the magic to do such. Mimi knelt in front of me, forcing me to look at her. The sour look was gone, replaced by a soft sadness. "I'm sorry."

She wiped away a few tears from my eyes. I didn't want her to feel sad about this, it was my fault. I should have figured this would happen when we started tracking. I swallowed hard, sniffling a little. "Don't be. I... I just wasn't ready. Give me a second, let me smoke, and I'll kill it, okay?"

Mimi softly shook her head, "No, I want you to do it without the haze. You're strong enough to manage it, you shouldn't use it unless you absolutely need it. We do not know when the next time we'll find any will be. We cannot make more quite yet, so what we have is meant to last us as long as possible."

I looked down, knowing she was right. She lifted my chin, making me look at her again. "I'm still not ready..."

Mimi nodded, "That's fine, do you think you can kill it? How would you like to do this?"

She was cheating again, using soft whispers and smiling in the way she knew I loved. "I don't want to kill it, Mimi..."

"Then it will kill you." She said dismissively, making it clear she wasn't going to. "I wanted to show you that anything could attack you when you least expected it. That the forest won't give you time to prepare for when you are ready to kill it. I'm worried you might be attacked while I am dim, and you won't be able to make me aware fast enough."

I winced at her explanation, imagining the worst. Me dead, my body already half-eaten, while she couldn't even defend herself. A shiver ran down my spine, as I knew she was right. It sucked so much, but I had to do it. I looked into her eyes again, "Fine... I'll do it."

Mimi nodded, "I'll break its legs and hold its head while you slit its throat." She got up.

I blinked, "What?"

She tilted her head, "Did you not hear me?"

"No," I shook my head. "I heard you, just, why?"

She smiled warmly, "You aren't ready for a fight to the death, if you hesitate while your opponent is powerless, you'll make a mistake. You were right about me forcing you to do things, making you wait and such. The least I can do is try and make it easier. Do you mind watching?"

I paled a little, "Watching you break its legs?" I swallowed thickly, "Do I have to? I mean, I will if you think it'll help."

Mimi stood at the edge of my vision, "It'll help desensitize you to such things. I fear I mistook it as something you already had while on the haze. You acted differently, but I never thought to check. If it makes you feel better, you were holding your own far better than I did when I first encountered one of these."

I walked after her, "Really? How'd that go?" She rarely talked about her time outside the walls like this. Even then it was usually about the hunts she enjoyed the most and the things she gained from killing something stronger.

I could see the tusks now, as the boar stood there as if frozen in place. I could almost see the terror in its eyes as it watched Mimi's every movement. It tried to gouge her with its tusks, but her lower hands grabbed them both with dismissive ease. She slammed it into the tree, causing the thing to squeal in pain. "It was one of my first true hunts. I was much smaller back then, my chitin not as strong." She laughed darkly, "I didn't even have explosive stingers, and my acid wasn't nearly as powerful."

I watched as she slammed the boar into the bark of the massive tree again, rotating it at the last second to hit somewhere different. The thing was roughly her size, and twice as wide, but she handled it as if it was just a sack of meat. Mimi continued, "The Old One, they had me hunt in the day. I couldn't see that well, since my eyes only adapted to sunlight after our time in Eclipse. I was effectively blind as you are now, just light instead of dark."

I jumped as she tossed the boar up. It kicked and squealed before it almost hit the ground tusk first. All four hands grabbed onto a different leg. Then the boar really started to squeal in a blood-curdling way. It tried to thrash from pure terror, only to have Mimi plant a foot on the tusk and keep its head from moving. She talked over the sickening crunch and bellowing squeals. The legs twisted until they popped, blood leaking out from where Mimi had gripped it. "I almost died to something this weak."

She was frowning, as she swiped the tusk with her foot to make the poor creature fall on its side. I think I heard the ribs crack as its breathing became more labored, the squealing quieting a bit. She left it there, walking outside my view while I stared at the poor thing. "It broke my legs before trying to crush me like this one almost did to you. I had to roll under its stomach where I just gripped its chest and started eating. It bled out eventually, but its weight would have suffocated me had the Old One not moved it just enough so I could breathe."

She came back, my ax in her hand. She lightly tossed it so it would land in front of me. I bent down to pick it up, as she held the boar by its tusks, with its neck exposed. There was nothing I could say to her, I always kind of felt her past sucked, but it was so easy to forget that. Especially when she just manhandled a five hundred pound (227 kilos) boar like it was nothing. She was forced to fight a lot if I understood half of what she told me about the Old One.

Even she didn't know what the Old One was, or where it is right now. She just knew it was out there, potentially looking for something to drag back and make her fight and eat it. More than making the Hive stronger, I felt she just wanted to kill it to finally be freed from it. No matter how she tried, she always ended up on the verge of death from what precious few times she told me anything.

I moved to the boar, my ax held high. The least I could do was make sure it didn't suffer any more than was necessary from this point on. I felt terrible when it took me a couple of chops to cut the jugular. The poor thing bled out, while we made our way back to camp. Mimi skinned it, and separated the meat, while I smoked them to make it all last a bit longer. After Mimi was done, she let me know she was going dim again.

I nodded, my hands shaking from what I did. I had her hold me while we laid in bed together, letting her sleep after I woke up in the morning. The day went as expected, just quietly moving through the forest. I asked Mimi a few things about her past, but the more I heard the more it hurt. It felt wrong to ask those kinds of things without her being aware of it. Her best day before Eclipse, back when she killed the Fiend that almost killed me. The day we first met, and I wasn't enough of a narcissist to think she meant I was the best thing to happen to her. I didn't ask her to clarify, for the thin hope that it wasn't just because she managed to kill one and got to eat its heart and brain.

I brought some of the repellents to the front and wondered just how hard it must have been for her. Mimi lived her entire life out in this forest, every day was spent close to death. Every time I had been exiled I had this stuff, and it had kept me safe. I just picked a direction and walked with enough rations to make it through. It was laughably easy, even to the point I managed to steal a wraith egg and get exiled again thanks to a misunderstanding.

It would be easy now, just to use a small amount and keep the monsters and beasts away. We had enough food on us to last, and Mimi should be aware sometime tomorrow night, or in the morning. At least, if she was right about it doubling how much time it took between these 'steps' of hers. I gripped the bottle, knowing I could. I might even get away with it if I was clever about it. Mimi might never know, or I could tell her to just not smell it or remember it.

I swallowed hard, putting the bottle away. If I used it now, then I'd keep telling myself to use it again and again. I wouldn't get stronger, I wouldn't stop hesitating, then when it really mattered, I would fail. It was going to be hard, it was going to suck. It was one thing to fight arrogant nobles in a duel until someone yielded while you were pissed. It was the same to fight in an arena while in a haze that made you feel like a god. This right here? Right now? It was me, and if I couldn't help Mimi against the things she called weak, then I had no reason to be here.

I made this choice when I asked her to take me along. I knew it would be hard, and I accepted that. I just didn't know it would be so lonely. I looked at her back, those colorful wings reflecting the sunlight in brilliant hues that made her stand out against the dull browns and grays of the forest. "Hey Mimi, how long do you think it will take to get to a town?"

"The. Trio. Did. Not. Stop. At. Any." Her words were neutral, as she continued.

I pulled out my map, checking where we were yesterday. Progress was going great since we were taking a straight path, versus weaving through the territories of random beasts. A thought came to me, "Mimi, can you connect to the hive nodes left by the trio? Is that what you're following?"

"Yes."

It was a short answer, and I had to guess it was yes to both. "Can you communicate with them?"

"No."

"Why not?" I sat forward in my seat.

"Breaks. In. The. Nodes. Not. All. Hives. Made. It."

I nodded to myself, "So that's why we're following them, to fix it, and make more as backup right?"

"Yes."

I smiled to myself, as we continued. "Mimi, tell me if you smell any people." We'll set up a small hive in any villages or towns we come across. It should be safer for the bugs and help protect the people nearby.

"Understood," was all she said.

It might be a few weeks before we find anything or anyone for that matter. Still, it was something to break the silence. The long day kept going, as my mind went about thoughts of how to apply explosives to my mace or ax. I felt it was a bad idea, at least until I could actually control the explosion a bit better. It would suck to just lose a weapon, and not kill the thing I hit with it.

Even as night came, I thought about anything I could do or use for the next time I had to fight or hunt something. There was plenty of time after all.