Kaila had managed to catch a rabbit. One single rabbit. It wasn't even a very big one.

Her ankle still throbbed, even though she'd made a makeshift splint for it. Hobbling home was something no one wanted to do, especially out of the Forest, but there wasn't another option for her.

Pulling her shovel off her back, she paused to take a look at the blade. It was flat and hard, and a good bit heavier than before. Whatever the monster had done to it had changed it quite a bit, but whether that was for better or worse was up for time to tell.

Why did she have to go and kick that thing in the face? She'd already attacked it with the shovel, and that hadn't worked very well at all. In fairness, it had just been walking around until she hit it.

She'd been startled. The Forest held a lot of dangers, and nowhere near all of them had been documented. Anything ranging from void slimes to full-grown dragons had been seen in its unending depths, but it was the ones who could think that needed to be watched more than any others. So when she saw a human-sized creature that definitely wasn't a human, she'd reacted out of instinct. The fight had been short, but it was the conversation that shook Kaila.

It'd talked to her. And more worryingly, it'd asked for her name. It was always the ones that talked that were the most dangerous, the ones that could take a chunk out of the Forest single-handedly. It'd probably wanted a contract, someone to anchor it to the world so it would be free to wreak its havoc at will. If someone wanted to take its offer, they'd have to go find it, and nobody ever wanted to go into the Forest.

Some people wanted to give the Forest a name, something to identify it a little easier on maps. They'd been shut down accordingly. The Forest was dangerous enough without giving it a name. Kaila had seen the trees move before, watched them spear unknowing animals that dared to scratch their bark with roots bigger than houses. If it had something to call itself, then it might figure out it didn't need to stay in one place, and that was something nobody wanted. It might not have been sound logic, but it was logic of a kind, and it was enough to prevent any stupid people from making a move.

The foliage began to thin, but Kaila couldn't feel relief yet. She might have been out of the literal woods, but she hadn't dealt with the bigger issue yet. Taking a breath, she steeled her nerves and left the tree line.

Tarrey wasn't a large town. Most of the houses were still made of hardened clay, with straw serving as the roof, but the further into the town one walked, the more expensive the buildings became. Brick, stone and even wood became prevalent, and the clothes and people changed to match it. The idea was that invading monsters might eat the less important people first and get full before they made it to the center. A brutal philosophy to be sure, but one that had roots stretching back generations.

Kaila's house was about a quarter of the way in, sitting right on the edge of poorer than dirt and just plain poor. It was lopsided and built from a combination of clay and brick, squatting between two visibly better houses. Two dirt-stained kids were wrestling just outside the curtained entrance, screaming at each other. They paused as Kaila trudged closer, and then the smaller of the two broke off. Sprinting for the curtain, she shrieked, "Two-face, two-face!"

Dusting himself off, the grubby child left behind folded his arms with all the chubby grace of a nine-year-old, glaring at Kaila. "Mama's in a bad mood, Kaila."

Kaila felt the slow oncoming feeling of dread creep in, and held up the rabbit. "I got some food, Dalo. Has anyone else returned yet?"

Dalo shook his head sympathetically. "Everyone came back. Everyone except you. Mama's in a bad mood."

Taking a deep breath, Kaila put a smile on her face and patted Dalo's shoulder. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Here, you know what to do with this better than I do."

She handed him the rabbit, and he appraised it critically. "Not a lot of meat on this one. Soup should be ready in a while." Kaila gave him a nod and headed on inside.

The house was bright, lanterns hanging from the ceiling in every room. The low ceiling made Kaila have to stoop a little, and it tugged at her hair as she walked onward. Several children from four years of age all the way up to fifteen watched her quietly as she passed them, and she heard one of the little ones whisper, "Mama mad."

Kaila paused in front of the wooden door before her. It was the only one in the whole house, and it had a lock. Whether it was to keep the people inside in or the people outside out was dependent on what kind of mood Mama was in. In this case, it was most likely the former.

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She tried the handle and it was unlocked, so she went in, leaving her shovel outside.

The other three adults were already inside. Coryl, twenty-four and ruddy, her older brother. Big enough and strong enough to be a soldier, but a soldier gave Mama no praise or standing, and so he waited for an opportunity to come up. Mina, twenty-seven and gorgeous. Mama decided the moment little blond Mina was born that she was to be the crown of the Durenson family and had been grooming her ever since then. Whether Mina was up to the pressure was a moot point.

And of course, Mama. A woman in her late forties with pristine blond hair, carefully applied makeup decorating her otherwise plain face. She sat in one of the only chairs in the house, one fishnet-clad leg folded atop the other. Her cherry lips smiled tightly as Kaila entered. "Ah, the princess decides to grace us with her presence. How was your trip? Peaceful, I hope?"

A chill ran up Kaila's spine. Mama was definitely in a bad mood. Walking further in, she flinched as Coryl and Mina took a step away from her. It was only one step, but it felt like miles. "I'm sorry. The Forest was-"

Mama's voice rose sharply. "And look at the state you're in! Were the little pigs and bunnies a match for the great Kaila Durenson? Perhaps we should alert the Cogs, ask them to escort you at all times. Would you appreciate that?"

Kaila swayed uncomfortably, trying to keep her weight off her ankle. "I'm sorry, Mama. I have no excuse."

"You certainly don't." Her voice hardened abruptly, and everyone winced. "Do you have the slightest idea of the work I go through to make sure you can still go into the Forest and harvest food for us? Have you ever given the slightest amount of gratitude for the privilege I give you each and every day to feed this family?"

She could only hang her head. "I'm sorry."

Mama stood. "Coryl, Mina darling, please leave us alone for a little while. We'll be right out." The two adults practically fled the room, and the door slammed shut. Mama indicated it. "Kaila dear, lock the door for me."

Kaila could feel her pulse rising as her instincts told her to flee from the incoming danger. As she slid the lock closed, she could feel sweat on her palms, hair rising on the back of her neck.

She turned around just in time to get the slap full-force in the cheek, and she spun to the floor. She could taste blood in her mouth. Very calmly, Mama said, "Dear, are you all right? You seem to have fallen. Please stand up."

Kaila stared at the dirt ground, mind stalling as instincts and logic battled. Mama's voice steeled. "Stand. Up."

Taking a breath, Kaila prepared to get up, arms moving out to support her. A heel pinned her injured foot to the ground as she did, and it took all of Kaila's willpower not to scream. Sweetly, quietly, Mama said, "Dear, why aren't you getting up? It's really quite a simple thing. Or is it too hard for you? I suppose I shouldn't expect too much from two-faced spawn like you. Now then, stand up."

Kaila tried. She really did. Even with her ankle sending stabs of agony through her entire body, she managed to get to one knee before Mama slapped the back of her head and sent her rolling again. As Kaila nursed her ankle, Mama returned to her seat, once again folding one leg atop the other. "Now then, what great beast managed to defeat you? Perhaps a mouse? An insect?"

Staggering to her feet, Kaila managed to bow. "I don't know, Mama. I'd never seen it before."

Mama nodded thoughtfully. "I see. And I suppose you ran for help and it chased you? Pulled you by the skirts until you had no other choice but to ask it to stop?"

Kaila shook her head. "No, I-"

"Silence." Mama's face darkened for a moment, and Kaila caught a glimpse of the monstrosity she knew so well, a creature so terrifying Kaila was glad to go into the Forest if only to get away from it for a portion of the day. "I tire of playing, Kaila. Was it strong?"

"Yes." Kaila didn't dare to say anything else.

"I doubt it. Describe it."

Pulling her notepad out of her pocket, Kaila opened it to the picture of the thing she'd seen and offered it to Mama. She examined it with an expression of detached interest. "What happened?"

"When I saw it, I attacked it from behind. I hit it in the back of the head with my shovel and it went down, which was when I drew the picture. It woke up very quickly and I attacked it, but it broke my shovel. I kicked it after that, and it broke my ankle. After that-"

"What did it feel like?" Mama interrupted, and Kaila looked up, confused. Mama added, "What did it feel like when it broke your ankle?"

Kaila stared at the ground. "It hurt. It felt like-"

"No, fool." Mama waved a hand in disgust. "I don't care about how you felt. How did it feel when it broke your ankle?"

Thinking back, Kaila described, "It didn't budge. I kicked it as hard as I could, but it might as well have been made of metal. I couldn't hurt it at all."

Mama nodded, a disinterested look on her face. "Hm. What next? I presume you ran?"

Kaila shook her head again. "No. I prepared to fight it when it talked to me."

Mama's eyebrows jumped, and her shoulders tightened infinitesimally. "It spoke?"

"It invaded my mind somehow and told me it was called an Old One. It wanted to know who I was, but I gave it a fake name." Kaila shivered as she recollected the terrifying conversation, the heavy cloud of compression that had laid on her mind like a weighted blanket or a thick fog.

Mama was quiet. Looking up, Kaila saw an expression on the woman's face that could only be described as macabre glee. "Really... Kaila dear, go tell Dalo to give you an extra portion at dinner. Very well done indeed, darling. As you leave, please tell Mina to come in. We have some things to discuss. Thank you!" She nearly sang the final part, and Kaila's stomach did a flip.

That was it? She'd been expecting far worse, but... Mama was acting as though she'd received some very good news indeed. Whatever the case, as she backed out of the room and called for Mina, Kaila could only be grateful she had gotten off so lightly.