“Katherine it's almost time to eat, don't stray too far!”
“Okay~”
Two people.
One dead Bunnybear over a fire.
No human being in sight for the next 20 kilometers.
Just a large fucking frozen tundra filled with penguins which can fly, rabbits the size of bears and killer bunny bear fusion monsters.
I stared in wonder at this magnificent beast we're about to eat. A wondrous hybrid between a bear and a bunny.
It's about half a meter tall and nearly a meter in length, with the head of a fearsome bear and the body of a cute lil’ bunny.
Roasting on a stick over a campfire, its hide which mama skinned skillfully is instantly made into leather with magic.
Honestly how does this sorcery even work?
Anyway back to the succulent piece of meat roasting over the fire, its fat dripping down and sizzling on the stones below.
Mama then threw in some salt and herbs making the aroma of the meat irresistible.
I can hear it calling out to me, the sizzling meat… it's calling me…
*sizzle sizzle*
The meat seemed to glisten as I sheepishly grabbed a small piece of it hanging off to the side.
Bringing it to my mouth the seemingly harmless piece of meat burst into flavour, I let out a stupid sound unwillingly as it entered my mouth.
The tender meat exploded with flavour with every bite and the juices filled my mouth with ecstasy.
I reached out to tear another piece off and would be enjoying said piece of meat now only if mama didn't slap me with the leather made from magic.
I'm sorry, I won't do it again.
“C’mon Katherine, don't be so impatient and wait a little longer~” Said Falmar, almost as if she didn't realize the fact that she slapped her 3 year old daughter with a 5kg piece of leather.
Seems like she knows how to hold back just enough so someone won't get concussioned from her slaps, what a useless skill.
“I-I w-w-will. ” I replied, trying to keep a straight face when the urge of crying is overwhelming me.
Seems like I'm more prone to crying since I'm a child. Even though I'm a fully grown adult in the inside, I can't keep my emotions in check on the outside. Argh this stupid body.
We've been travelling aimlessly for a week now. Mama assured that she knew where we were heading but her flipping a gold coin every time we reach a crossroad says otherwise.
I've not seen any other travelers during our week long journey which can be both bad and good- First off, little to no travelers mean that there should be less bandits laying about as there isn't much to rob. However, less people also means more wildlife which could potentially be more dangerous than bandits. Though with mama here I doubt either will be a threat.
She chased down the Bunnybear which was running away from her for whatever reason while shouting “Katherine! It's dangerous! We have to get away from the beast!”
Your actions and your words don't match you know? Was what I thought when I saw that scene.
Right now I'm just sitting here watching the fat drip down the meat. The outer layer of it is already a beautiful golden brown, the smell of the meat tickles your nose while the sizzling of the fat is almost screaming “I'M DONE, EAT ME”, truly, this is what they call a feast for the senses.
“Mama I think it's done now~”
“Alright, eat all you want.”
My eyes widened and the words ‘Really?’ seem to be transferred from me to her as she nodded her head.
My hands trembles as I reach out, even while off the fire, the fat remained sizzling.
Off comes a piece.
The explosion of flavours makes me involuntarily reach out for another.
Off comes another piece.
The enticing smell of the meat attacks my nostrils as I reach out for yet another one.
Off comes one more piece.
The crunch it has on its exterior and the tenderness and juicy interior makes me take yet another piece of meat off without me noticing.
“Hey now leave some for me!”
Said mama as she rips off a whole chunk of it in one go.
Who would wait for you? I said silently in my heart as I followed suite and grabbed a huge chunk off.
This continued on until the whole Bunnybear was stripped clean and we both fell asleep shortly after.
.
.
.
“Kathe… ake… up...”
Ugh, someone is calling me…
“Five...more...hours…zzz”
A slimy thing was felt on the surface of my face followed by a sharp pain.
“owwww~”
I muttered while I fought off the urge to immediately drop down and fall asleep again. I checked my cheeks and looked at the fish beside me.
T’was a slap. With a fish. Does she intend to slap me with everything in existence?
Shrugging off the stinging pain I rubbed my eyes.
As soon as my blurry vision cleared I saw something absolutely fantastical.
Bigger than your average cruise ship, with skin glistening in the moonlight in a myriad of colours and hairs the size of your typical Shaquille O'Neal. Furthermore, such a gigantic thing is currently floating above ground.
That giant flying fuck is what some people on earth call a mythical creature.
It was a bloody flying whale.
But what I heard next really made me question my mother's sanity.
“Katherine, we're going to bag ourselves one big trophy tonight!”
Oh Buddha.
__________________
In the cover of night, a great beast roams. Silently, it flaps its gigantic fins as it traverses the land, moving in a speed fitting of such a giant creature.
Suddenly, countless balls of light flew up from the ground and lodged themselves onto the beast's body. The beast bellowed in pain as more and more of such balls of light lodged themselves onto its belly.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Upon closer inspection, one would realise that these balls of light were actually flaming arrows, shot by many men circling the beast from below.
Esbern and his party had been tracking this beast for weeks now, and had also been planning their attack for the duration.
The beast was heading towards the Great Frozen Tundra of the North, where there are little mountains and other rough terrain around; the perfect place to attack.
They were to drive the beast with arrows towards another location where a crudely built ballista lay in wait, ready to fire in a moment's notice. A single shot should be enough to at least bring the beast down to the ground, where the others hunters would then whittle down the beast with arrows and spears.
The plan was working, as the beast turned and headed towards the direction of the giant crossbow.
Pelted by arrows and javelins, the beast suddenly swung its tail wildly, catching three unfortunate hunters in the process, killing them.
“Get away from the tail!” Commanded Esbern as his hunting party scrambled for safety away from the beast’s whipping tail.
His plan did not account for the beast fighting back as he heard from the stories that the Bandini was a peaceful beast.
“What do we do now?” asked one of the hunters, “Should we continue our attack?”
“We will. If we stop now those three would have lost their lives for no reason.” answered Esbern firmly, “Keep up the attack!”
Resuming their attack, the beast was beginning to get bloodied and it's movement became sluggish.
Then, out of nowhere, a giant bolt flew towards the beast and stabbed it on one fin. Pinning the fin to its body.
Losing balance, the beast tipped to one side, struggling to stay airborne with its other fin.
“Keep firing!” Shouted Esbern as he signalled at the ballista to quickly load another shot.
The hunters concentrated fire on the beast’s tail and its exposed belly, making the bottom half of the beast look like a pincushion.
The beast thrashed around dangerously, kicking up dust and rocks while spraying its blood around.
Another bolt flew towards the beast’s belly and stuck itself deeply into the beast’s body. The bolt seemed to have hit the beast’s vitals as it began losing altitude rapidly before crashing to the ground.
Unfortunately, the beast crashed right onto the ballista, flattening the 3 crewmen and destroying the ballista.
Even so, the hunters continued their assault on the beast, relentlessly pelting it with arrows and javelins before closing in with spears and swords after exhausting all their ammunition.
The beast bellowed one last time before flopping around like a fish on land.
This violent thrashing caught the hunters off guard as they were tossed about like pieces of paper in the wind.
Esbern was thrown about before hitting the ground, his vision blurry and his body battered.
The beast did one last flop as its death rattle as Esbern looked at the pincushion of a tail right above him, about to slam down.
This is it. The gods do not favour me today.
Thought Esbern, as the tail slammed down, ending his life.
__________________
“WE'RE TOO FUCKING LATE! THE GIANT FLOATING WHALE IS DEAD ALREADY!”
Screamed Falmar hysterically while looking at the bloody scene.
Bloody bodies lying around, arrows and spears everywhere, hell I even saw what seems to be a fucking ballista.
“We're could have been like them you know, we should be glad that no one will be here to steal our (not) kill.” I answered.
“Katherine you just don't understand do you? We could have… uh… you know… tried… Maybe? You know what? Doesn't matter now does it?” Mama sighed.
“C’mon Katherine, help me with this.” She pointed towards the corpses of several hunters.
Puzzled, I asked.
“Huh? They're already dead you know mama? What do you want me to do?”
“Ugh, loot them? What else can you do with a dead body?”
“O-uh… Okay…”
I followed her instructions, digging into their pockets and coin purses.
This isn't something a lady should do, ugh.
I took anything that looked of value, stripping their bodies clean before moving on.
Eww~ this guy's head is completely squished.
After half an hour, all I found was a grand total of 3 pieces of metal which I presume are coins and tons of other small trinkets like bunny skulls, bones of various creatures in addition to a necklace made of teeth.
Come to think of it, I don't know how the currency works here. I would think that coins are seldomly used in the north due to their weight and overall unreliability. I think I'll pay attention next time mama goes to the market.
Turning around, I saw mama hacking away at the body of the whale, taking chunks off with her inhuman strength.
“I'm done mama, what else do you need?”
“Uhh-,” she paused, before throwing a slab of meat at my face. I tried to dodge it but my small legs tripped on absolutely nothing as the bloody piece of meat met my face.
“Play with it I guess.”
ARE YOU SERIOUS. MATE.
The raw meat slid down my face, revealing my are you fucking serious face.
“What? Do you rather I slap you?”
“Nope.” I said as I quickly picked the meat, fearing a slap.
Guess I'll just play with the meat then.
Wait, that sounded kinda weird.
________________
WHEWWWWWW~
Having a boring job certainly helps with writing.
Maybe next chapter we'll finally see some magic?