05 - BUTCHERER

"May I rest alongside you?" He simply asked, courteous to the last.

He directed his question towards the plate-armored man who looked to be no more than eighteen. He had a distinguishable and hairless baby face. He had shot to his feet when Theo had spoken, eyeing him warily and sizing him up.

Theo couldn’t help but notice the trace of egotism coming from the smaller fellow in armor who presumptuously stood maybe two inches shorter than himself. If one member of the party was a leader, it would be him.

The second guy, maybe sixteen, had also grabbed his sword and was pointing it menacingly forwards while the girl kept low with her bow aimed right at him. She had hair in her face so Theo could not tell how she looked nor how old she was.

In the face of three armed opponents, Theo held up his arms helplessly in the universal gesture of surrender.

After a slight hesitation, the frowning man nodded alertly.

Theo sat himself down across from him in a free spot around the campfire. The others kept their weapons close, but no more hostile actions were taken against him. To his right was the second guy, his elbow around one knee with his other leg stretched out. He had a thin nose and his aura was awkward. Theo knew instantly that the nervous male voice he had heard when he had snuck around the camp had come from him. To his left sat the girl, her arms holding her knees to her chest. She seemed to be his age.

Yeah, she’s definitely my age, he thought.

Though his judgement may have come from his hormones. Either way, she had a slim frame with just the right amount of content at just the right places. In Theo’s eyes, she was beautiful: brown, slightly curly hair and dark tan eyes that shone bright with life.

Just like his mother.

He could faintly see in her face his mother’s features. Any romantic feelings he had held for her disappeared instantly. She looked more like a potential friend than a lover. He relaxed a bit.

Silence reigned all around as an orange light glowed on their faces from the fire.

“Would you know where the nearest town is?” He asked openly.

The man in the armor stared at him. Theo only wore the cotton clothes from his world underneath his belt of hanging game, so he didn't look very intimidating. The man must not have thought very highly of him because the next moment he cried out indignantly:

“Of course! Did you think we were lost out here?” He paused, his figure calming down. “That’s where we’re headed.”

The look in his eyes told Theo that he was keeping an eye on him. He was looking down on him and Theo realized for the first time that he was being intimidated.

“Mind if I tagged along?” Theo asked, unabashed and ignoring the armored man’s endeavor. He needed to get out of this place, and this party was his only hope for an easy way out. He could tolerate not liking a guy if it got him quickly and safely out of the forest. He wanted a guide.

Before the assumed leader could argue, the girl spoke out:

“You may. This is a dangerous forest to travel in alone.”

He blinked at her; twice, before giving her a quick nod.

Even as a temporary member, I wonder why she accepted me into their group so easily?

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

They all stared at the fire, with the exception of the plate-armored man who was still scrutinizing Theo, suspicious. The wood was still burning fiercely, which struck to Theo as odd.

Wouldn’t the smoke or light attract plenty of animals? I suppose they’d be too scared of the fire once they discovered it to attack us, but still...

He mulled over the concept for a bit more before more immediate concerns clouded his mind.

“I’ve got all of these rabbits, but I don’t have a knife,” Theo said, breaking the silence, which mainly got the girl’s attention.

“I’ll get the skinning knife,” she said as she pulled herself up and headed towards her pack near a tent. In no time, she was back and handing Theo the knife. He couldn’t help but notice the armor-plated man staring daggers at him.

“Thank you.”

He took the knife gently before speaking across the fire:

“My name is Theodore.”

The fire crackled awkwardly between them. The slender boy still hadn’t uttered a word. He was also sitting quite still, though he would sometimes look between the other men as if watching a debate.

When Theo realized Armor was not going to give his own name, he returned to his task of dressing his rabbits. Where should he start?

He had carried five rabbits. He had them all hanging by their hind legs from his belt. They didn’t fall out because he had shoved the feet up to their joints from under his belt; they hung on quite conveniently. He’d also heard somewhere that draining the blood from carcasses made the meat taste better.

Does that apply to white meat?

Regardless, he was sure the blood was all in the rabbit heads, and he did not want to eat rabbit head.

No worries.

Taking one down from his makeshift rabbit harness and looking at it, he tried mentally skinning it. He had always thought that cutting along it’s underbelly was the way to do it, but then he realized how bad that could go. He’d need to also cut it’s head off, and then its paws. He shivered at the thought of cutting through tough bits.

“My name is Sarah, and do you even know how to skin a rabbit?” She asked after watching him stare at one for a while.

He slowly shook his head.

She sighed and reached out a hand.

He figured they were also all well kneaded if that was anything positive. He handed her the knife and his rabbit, which she took by the hilt and ears. Theo stared at her.

She proceeded to show him how to dress rabbits.

“The skinning comes first,” she said to him.

Sarah took one of the rabbits and cut its head off with the knife. Not bothering tying it upside down to let the blood drain, she cut off all four of its paws and sliced a line connecting both hind legs. After also removing the tail, she grabbed the hide from its rear end and brought it all the way up over its head and pulled it off. The rest of the rabbit looked more like a thinned out turkey to Theo.

Theo wordlessly told himself he prefered self-stripping bunnies.

“Next, we remove the organs.”

She pulled on the skin of the belly of the rabbit and carefully cut through it. She then opened up the gap with her fingers and cut a very thin membrane that was almost invisible near the top of the ribcage. Without warning, she grabbed the whole rabbit and turned it upside down. Using two fingers, she scooped all of its organs out.

Theo almost vomited. He thought hitting them over the head with a stick was gruesome. She was a monster. The disembowelment made the decapitation seem like a tea party.

He hoped he’d never witness another girl butcher. He decided he’d hire a male butcher when he became rich and owned a mansion.

“My dad showed me,” she said when she saw his face. “Lastly, we prepare it.”

This part was more humane, according to Theo. Sarah went over all of the rabbit, removing a thin film of pale skin that exposed the meaty color underneath. It looked a lot more like how he was used to seeing meat.

“How old are you?” He couldn’t help himself. She was acting way too mature for this.

“What ever happened to the polite man?” She asked jokingly. “And I’m seventeen, if you must know.”

Theo nodded. “Me too.”

“You look older,” she remarked.

“That’s because I have facial hair.”

Sorry, guy across the fire.

Theo had never tried to grow a thick beard, but his face could get seriously brushy in just a day. His old girlfriend had made sure to tell him.

After a slight silence, Sarah spoke:

“His name is Conway,” she nodded towards the plate-armored guy. “And that’s Chris.”

“Nice to meet you, Chris.”

“S-sure.”

Theo’s stomach growled so he asked Sarah how to cook rabbit.

“It depends. You can make stew or broth, but out in the bush you usually stick to the simplest methods.”

She pulled out a stick and put a piece of meat on it.