When Willow and Luna came back with a young doe, Luna was snickering, and Willow was abnormally silent. She put the deer in front of me and left, sitting on a nearby stump.

The white one is happy.

“Why?”

I... would rather not say.

I would have pushed it, but considering it was the Hunter who was unwilling to tell me, I decided that the matter was either private or very emotional, probably the former.

I cooked the deer (it was rather plump and meaty) and called Willow over to have some food. She ate with a lack of the usual gusto she had and didn’t say a word.

Don’t ask her why. The Hunter said as I opened my mouth to ask. Clearly, it only “spoke” to me, as Willow had no reaction whatsoever.

Despite the food being excellent (of course it was, I made it), the atmosphere was rather awkward. No one spoke at all, and my halfhearted attempts at getting Willow to talk didn’t work. Luna was quite happy, and Riley just seemed to be confused at why no one was talking. He pawed at me a couple of times and asked me what was happening. I shrugged.

After the meal, I shoved the remaining food inside my Stoke, and prepared to start moving once again. Willow followed along without speaking at all, only walking with a straight face.

At about sunpeak, we reached a clearing surrounded by huge trees. I decided to break the stifling silence. "Willow," I said gently, "I can tell something is bothering you. If you're ready to talk, I'm here to listen." Next to her, Luna’s ears drooped.

She turned to look at me. “It’s alright. Luna was laughing at me over... something. I don’t want to talk about it. I’ll be fine.”

I nodded, knowing that pushing it will yield nothing. Riley nudged me. “Is... Willow fine?” He asked. His speaking had improved considerably since the last few days, now able to speak in full sentences and occasionally pause.

I took Riley to the back, where the Hunter was. “She’s fine,” I whispered, “but she’s upset about Luna. Give her some time.”

I shall attempt to cheer her up.

“Hunter, please don’t, unless you are certain that it will work.” It walked over to Willow and seemingly decided to broadcast the tale to me as well.

Young girl, it is not befitting of you to be somber. Let me tell you a story.

When I was young, Strica was a vast and untamed wilderness, teeming with life and mystery. I, the Hunter, was a creature of immense power, roaming the lands.

Born with razor-sharp claws, wide wings, and a hulking frame, I was the epitome of fear and reverence. From the moment I took my first steps, I was guided by a profound connection to the earth. The whispers of the wind carried the secrets of the forests, and the rustling leaves spoke of hidden prey and lurking danger. I learned to navigate the wilderness, to blend seamlessly with the shadows, and to strike with unerring accuracy.

In those early years, I honed my skills, mastering the art of hunting. I would stalk my prey with patience and precision, observing their every movement, learning their weaknesses. The thrill of the chase surged through my veins, the anticipation of the kill intoxicating. With each successful hunt, I grew stronger, more attuned to the rhythms of life and death.

Eventually, though, the first humans arrived. The ferrous, arbor, aquatic, pyro, and terra tribes settled in various areas around the lands of Strica. They set up their homes in their chosen locations and almost immediately started to hunt wildlife.

At first, they had no experience with the animals and received many injuries and little game from their hunts. As time passed, they learned from their mistakes, and began bringing in more and more food from their hunts.

As that happened, I gave up hunting, and instead began seeking nutrition from wild fruit and plants. I also defend animals from humans wherever and whenever I happened to stumble upon hunters. The amount of wildlife has decreased alarmingly in the past few rotations, death being much more often than new life, now even more so as the clans wage war.

Once, I stumbled upon a single human, who was chasing after a young doe. The doe, seeing me, collapsed, knowing that I would protect it. The human turned around and tried to run away when he saw me, but I grabbed his shoulder before he could escape.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Oh, the noises a scared human can make. It screamed and wailed, scratching at me pathetically.

I couldn’t help it; it started as a chuckle, but my laughing soon grew into a violent howling. “Hunter, if that’s your attempt at cheering Willow up, it’s probably not going to work.”

A strangled noise burst out of Willow’s lips, and her lips twitched. A semi-contained laugh burst out of her mouth. Luna butted Willow’s leg with her snout.

It worked.

My laughing fit redoubled, and Willow followed. Even Riley and Luna joined in their own ways, along with the deep rumble of the Hunter. The previously silent forest was now filled with noise. “Back to the story, though, what did you do to the person?”

I released them after they offered me one of the tools they called a bow. It was an entertaining trinket.

“I take it you broke it after drawing it too hard?”

Precisely.

“Oh well. Bows are built to be durable, but they weren’t made for an extremely strong ancient beast.”

Are you calling me a beast?

“Are you not? The only thing I’m calling you is ‘extremely strong’.” I countered, hoping that I would not offend the mighty creature.

I admire your courage. The Hunter rumbled. It scratched its claws against each other, creating a grinding noise not unlike the sound of blades slicing against each other.

“Flint? Don’t aggravate Hunter. He can probably squeeze into a pulp if he tried.” Apparently, the Hunter was now back to projecting into both of our heads now. The Hunter rumbled a laugh.

You are correct. I would rather not try though. Last time I laid my claws on a human there was no human left.

“That’s not a problem here. Flint’s not smart enough to be considered human.”

“What was that for?! I didn’t do anything?”

“You fell asleep in the mist, and I had to drag you out of it. You were heavy.”

“That’s not my fault.”

“It is. You could’ve burned the mist away.” I sighed.

“That’s not how fire works, Willow. It can’t just remove all water nearby. If it did you wouldn’t be alive.”

“It does in blizzards.”

“First, I have no idea what blizzards are. Secondly, if it has anything to do with water, it’s impossible for it to just disappear when there’s fire. Thirdly, you’re-”

Stop there. Bickering is detrimental to health.

“You wouldn’t know, would you? You don’t find people to argue with.”

Prove that.

“Right.”

A wolf leapt at us from behind a tree but ran away when seeing the Hunter.

“How intimidating are you to them?”

My figure is the main intimidation factor. They know not to fight a creature that is ten times their size.

“By the way, Flint, where are we going next?”

“Volcano.” Willow stumbled and nearly faceplanted into the dirt but caught herself.

“Excuse me?!”

He lies. It shows in his demeanor.

“It was that obvious? What did I do?”

When you are a few hundred rotations old you will know naturally when someone is lying.

“But how? You don’t spend much time around people, so how would you know?”

The same way I now travel with you two.

“Fine. Please don’t tell Willow in the future. It ruins all the fun.”

“Yeah, about as fun as watching you get mauled by an Aquamaw.”

“Hey, how about you try to fight one of our salamanders with you fists?”

Absolutely. It will pose no threat.

“Not you, I meant Willow.”

“All I have to do is strike menacing poses at it, and it’ll flee.”

Kindly demonstrate now. I would like to see how menacing you would be.

Willow opened her eyes wide and glared. I laughed. The Hunter made a half squealing, half groaning noise that no one would expect to hear from it.

I have been intimidated.

“I’m glad it works on the Hunter. This must work on the salamander as well. Ouch!” Willow lifted her foot up, and underneath was a metallic spike, glinting with a bit of red.

“Another spike. Be careful when you’re walking.” I snickered. Willow patched her shoes (not without some whining) and we continued.

“Say, Hunter, is the reason you’re refusing to hunt because of people already overhunting the animals?”

Yes. I make an exception for you two because of your animal friends.

“Thanks, I guess?”

Yes. Look in front. There is my meal.

My gaze followed the Hunter’s clawed finger, which pointed at a tree in front of us. It was a short tree which expanded quite far horizontally, and numerous fruits dangled on the branches.

“Peaches!” Willow exclaimed. She ran over and grabbed a few, tearing into them after spraying them with water.

“Are they really that good?”

Yes.

The Hunter walked over and pulled off a few peaches. It stuffed them in its mouth, chewed, and swallowed it all. Curious, I pulled one off a branch. Before I could do anything, a blast of water hit the peach, along with me.

“Are you serious?!”

“Yes. You need to wash the peach before you eat it. You don’t know what’s gotten onto the skin before you plucked it off the branch.”

“At least warn me?”

“That ruins all the fun.” I shot a blast of fire towards Willow. Water hit it, creating a cloud of steam. Through the steam, another blast of water hit me.

I dried up my clothes and prepared to give Willow a piece of my mind. But before I could do anything, I noticed something.

“Wait, where’s Hunter?”