Chapter 6: Just Meat

The first jump into the ocean after winter was always a shock. Icy water slipped between your fur and slithered over every inch you fought all season to protect. Your feet swung helplessly as you realized the reality that tethered you to the earth was severed and nothing you did would bring it back. For a moment, that part of your mind that knew better shut down and panic shot through every inch of your body, leaving only a single primal command. Don’t breathe. By late summer, that same jump lost its bite. It became familiar and freeing. The cold turned refreshing, and the water’s invasive grip felt like memories of early spring, clinging in celebration of your return.

The docks were like that. After so many years of keeping to himself, being thrust into hundreds of people with things to do was jarring, but the biweekly trips taught Ash to appreciate the differences, rather than fear them. The most noticeable was a lack of female authority. Obviously, their titanic strength made them superior sailors, but the drawback to muscles that dense was a total inability to float. He’d seen it twice. When he was little, his mother dragged him to a large basin of water and dropped him in so Sorchia wouldn’t panic if he fell in. He still remembered the stunned relief on her face when he broke the surface. When it was Sorchia’s turn, she sank like a rock, then stood on the bottom until Mom hauled her out. A few years later, he’d done it again, but for Mieure. They were fond memories with a dark lesson. A lesson most girls took to heart, it seemed, based on how few set foot on the docks.

Ash breathed in the familiar spray of salty air and algae as his cart rumbled over the wooden planks and vibrated up his arms. The dockmaster, a man with a worker’s physique in an island wrap, paused long enough to glance Ash’s way.

“Looking for Lenn,” Ash cut in quickly. The dockmaster wasn’t much for conversation, preferring impolite and direct questions and answers. The curse of a busy job. “Rabbit from the Azure Syndicate, should’ve come in today.”

The dockmaster shook his head, flicking his wrist dismissively and returning to the workers rolling shipping crates up a gangplank. “No rabbits in port today.”

Strange. Lenn might’ve been a bit lax when dealing with customers, but he’d never been late. Then again, things happened. Perhaps his ship wasn’t ready to depart, or his carriage lost a wheel and set him back a day. No need to get worked up.

“Oh! It was Ash, wasn’t it?”

A shiver ran through Ash’s spine as a woman’s voice cut through the grunts and orders of the men. It was a lilting funeral dirge, chilling the waters where he’d grown so comfortable. From down the dock, a dog-woman, dressed in scaled black leather with a thick hood, leaving only the tip of her nose in sunlight approached. His eyes drifted to the pearl-handled blade strapped to her abdomen, too thick to be a sword, too long to be a cleaver. “Yeah... Via, right? What’re you doing here?”

She smiled shallowly enough that no teeth showed. “Winter’s hunting season up in the Direwood. There’s prey to hunt. And you?” Her eyes lingered over the covered cart. “I overheard you say you’re looking for someone from the Azure Syndicate?”

The sliver of panic withered in his chest before it reached Ash’s face. More of a reflex hiding his emotions than active deception. It was possible she overheard; dog-women had exceptional hearing, however, it was also possible she’d tucked away close enough to the dockmaster to eavesdrop. Perhaps it was paranoia, but something about wheeling over 200 kilograms of plants one couldn’t possibly have would put anyone on edge. “Yeah.” He forced a smile. “We’ll need to ship sausages up to the Direwood soon, and the machine that lets us make them is having issues. The blacksmiths on the island don’t understand the technology.”

“Terrible news.” Via tilted her head, gaze fixed on the cart. “Sari and I are heading to the Direwood tomorrow. We planned on filling our ship with supplies from Eriskay. We especially looked forward to those delicious aibax.” Subtly, she threw a glance his way, renewing Ash’s shiver as her tongue ran across hungry lips.

Ash took a deep breath, thanking his luck that no one would be home to catch his lie. His farm wasn’t the only one to raise aibax, but it was the only one with a machine designed to steam seal the meat into hermetically sealed intestinal casings. His father would be gone for most of the day pounding out agreements to buy aibax, or a fee to have Ash convert them into sausage. His sisters were at militia drills, and convinced their mother to join them to give Ash time to freely sell their harvest.

“N-not a common choice.” Ash’s facade cracked under her focused gaze. It wasn’t on purpose, he knew. Predators’ eyes were just like that, centred on their face to enhance details at a distance. Still, having a woman’s full attention bearing down on him while she swallowed excess saliva raised his fur and tensed his muscles. It was a prejudice his father did his best to prevent. Perhaps it was like the docks or the ocean - something that you only got used to with time. “There’s more competition on the mainland.”

This time her smile was less muted, letting slips of sharpened fangs show as she gestured to the side with a lazy shrug. “I wouldn’t know. Sari handles these things, and she was quite insistent that negotiating with the farms here directly was a good idea. I imagine she’ll be devastated when she gets to your farm and finds out you have no way to preserve the meat.”

“It’s not broken,” Ash cut in quickly, wheeling the cart about with practiced skill. “It’s just giving us a few issues. I’ll find Lenn later, but I’d better get back home before Sari shows up. Aibax are the only thing I’m supposed to manage myself!”

He exchanged a distracted goodbye with Via as he hurried away. On one hand, Sari and Via weren’t likely to exchange notes with his family to uncover his lie. On the other, this was the cart his family used to ferry things to port, and he had no idea how long he’d have to wait for Lenn. If his family got home first and Sari needed things moved they’d want to know where it’d been, and why.

Ash panted as he rolled into their property and rushed the crates to the stable’s upper level before covering them with the tarp. He’d deal with them later, but for now, one crisis at a time. He was wheeling the cart back to where Dad left it when he caught sight of Sari. The black scales of her armour radiated an iridescent hue in the sunlight, contrasting with the earthy tone of the brown ears flopping from her hood.

“Hey!” Ash called, putting on a smile as he strode out to meet her. Her species and armament didn’t matter. If they had half a mind to, any woman on this island could tear him apart. It wasn’t worth insulting them. Even a farmer should have some level of class, after all.

Those predator eyes fell on him, but this time he was ready and kept discomfort behind the mask. “Ash.” Sari’s voice was rough, like a waterfall of grain, a tone he’d all but forgotten in the last year. “Just the man I was hoping to see.”

With a soft laugh, Ash approached, meeting her at the house stairs, ruffling the fur behind his head. “Sorry, you’re a bit early. I handle the beasts, but they belong to my mother. You’ll need to come back in the afternoon to talk shop.”

Sari’s smile didn’t show the restraint Via’s did, revealing a wide set of vicious glistening teeth. “A shame. Since I’m here anyway, could you get your father for me?”

Something about her cut into Ash. Maybe it was the teeth, or the eyes, or the way she hunched slightly forward when she spoke, but whatever it was, Ash was suddenly very aware of exactly how alone he was. “He’s really busy right now. He’s inside, teaching my sisters to-”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Air sucked into Sari’s lungs as she took a long deep breath through her nose, then released it, pulling her hood down and offering a knowing smile. “No. No they aren’t.”

Ash’s blood ran cold as she stalked forward. As he backed away, she slipped the leather sheaths from her fingers, revealing two inch-long curved claws on each hand. “What do you want?”

Now the smile was knowingly wicked. “Take off your shirt.”

With another backstep, Ash scanned the surrounding fields. With the size of their property, yelling would do little more than piss her off. Running was similarly pointless. He’d never seen it, but dog-women ran with the same endurance deer-women did, only faster. That only left fighting. Sari lacked his sisters’ terrifying strength, so it was possible he was stronger, but, and the irony wasn’t lost on him, strength wasn’t everything. This woman spent her time killing wild beasts in The Direwood, while he smacked baby aibax who trusted him in the back of the head.

“Why?” Ash cringed back, buying precious moments to think.

“The new emperor issued a bounty for whoever has his artifact. It helps plants grow... with a side effect of leaving a specific marking on the user’s back. I seem to remember you had one, but I wasn’t looking close enough to remember it specifically.” Now those claws flexed, fingers spread as they caught the noon sun.

A nervous laugh left his lips. The grass crunched beneath him as he retreated. “Come on, I’ve never left Eriskay! I’m a farmer; you can’t believe I’m somehow responsible for something on the other side of the world!”

“Oh, but your little rabbit friend says different.” Sari sped up, stomping forward faster than Ash could back away. “And for this kind of money? I don’t really care if you’re innocent, and it’s ten times more if I bring you in alive. Now, take it off.”

As she lunged, Ash spun, panic sweeping away reason as he rushed toward the stables. Sari was faster. One hand landed on his shoulder, slipping as it grabbed a fistful of shirt. The other came a moment later, raking his back with twin claws and tearing the fabric apart. Pain raced through his back, numbed by terror and adrenaline as he rushed inside.

He slammed the door, pulling his shirt free to wrap around the handles before tying the sleeves together. Lenn? Lenn sold him out? Why? Money, obviously, but if he wanted to betray Ash, he could’ve just invited him into Via’s cargo hold with a smile. Before his fumbling fingers could even finish the knot, a blade jammed between the doors at gut level, stopping short of impaling him.

Ash stumbled back, breathing heavily as the blade slid up, slicing the shirt in half. He spun, sprinting between stalls as the echo from the dog’s hind claws resounded closer with every step. At the back, Ash grabbed the feeding room’s handle and flung it open. As soon as he was inside, he slammed the door, but it stopped an inch from closing with a solid thunk. A hand with a bloody claw forced its way through the gap, sinking into the aged wood. With some mix of a whimper and a scream, he threw his shoulder into the door, desperately holding back his inevitable death.

“You can’t run, boy!” the woman snarled, claws releasing the wood and digging into his shoulder as the door inched open. He pushed harder, but his boots slid against the smooth stone, slowly becoming slicker as blood ran down his back and dripped off his wrap. “You’re only making this worse on yourself!”

With a frantic cry, Ash snatched his mattock from the hook beside the door, swinging wildly as it crashed open, tossing him to the ground. His arms jerked tight as he fell. The mattock wrenched free from his hands with a wet thwack before he hit the ground, crumpling into a ball as he waited to die.

Things were still. The door hung slightly ajar, letting the wild stomping and whining of aibax fill the room. As he slowly uncurled, he struggled to listen through the panting and pulsing of blood deafening his ears.

He must’ve hit her. He felt it - he definitely hit something. If he was still alive, she had to be hurt. Maybe he knocked her over? Maybe he clipped the side of her head and knocked her out? Maybe he should run.

Something dripped from his eyebrow, plopping onto his muzzle. Absently, he touched it, leaving a red streak on his fingers. With a hard swallow, he numbly got his legs underneath him. Ash crossed the room and forced his shaking hand to open the door.

Sari lay curled on the floor in her armour, legs askew and arms sprawled to the side. Ash was right. He had hit her. Sari’s left eye bulged out just ahead of where the back of his mattock punched through the skull and lodged into her brain. It entered at an angle, ahead of her left ear. The entirety of her head was soaked in blood, brown fur turning black as the red puddle filled the gap and pressed into the stall doors.

Ash shut the door, stomach heaving as he collapsed to his knees. She was dead. He was a murderer. He killed a person. He couldn’t breathe, why couldn’t he breathe? He’d imagined it a thousand times, fantasized like a psychopath. The noble hero with his mighty weapon, slaying an enemy out for his blood. But he wasn’t Sturm. He was nobody.

Ash forced himself up again. He couldn’t stay here. He had to get out, all he needed to walk past her... no, not her. It. It wasn’t a person anymore, it wasn’t anything special. “Just meat,” Ash muttered, breathing harder as he clutched the handle. “It’s just meat.”

A lump caught in his throat as his boot plopped into a puddle. “Just meat,” he repeated, wet slaps coming faster as he left fresh bootprints with each step. Sunlight spilled over him, releasing the cries of aibax to the world. The air was fresh, but it still smelled of blood. Everything smelled of blood. He moved jerkily, desperate to feel anything but this, to be anywhere but here. He made it to the top of the cliff, lay across one of the boulders and spewed over the side. Spasms wracked his gut, emptying himself as pain radiated down his back and coherent thoughts started to emerge.

It wasn’t time to think about Lenn, or what he’d done. The danger wasn’t over. It just started, and lying here staring at the waves wasn’t helping. Ash needed to think. That was what he did, right? Think? It was so much, too much to take in at once. He closed his eyes, letting the wind steady him as he returned to his father’s lessons. There was no such thing as a problem too big to solve. Either you didn’t have the tools yet, or you were looking at a puzzle instead of connecting puzzle pieces. He needed to focus, one problem, one piece.

He swallowed, holding back his nausea. The first problem was...the corpse. Who made the corpse? How did it get there? Who cares? It was there, it was a problem, he had to solve it. He could go to his family for protection, they’d tell authorities, and get the law involved. No, no that wasn’t right. His family wouldn’t sell him out for that bounty, but everyone else would. If he plead his case to the Queen, she might protect him, but only to lock him up and exploit Deianira’s gifts. The only way out was anonymity. The corpse needed to disappear.

With a steady breath, Ash rose, wiping his mouth as he strode towards the stable, following the noise of agitated aibax. Inside, the trail of bloody footprints led back to... it. As he mechanically crossed the room, he scrambled to the safety of the next problem. Via. The direct approach would be - a shiver ran up Ash’s arm as he unfastened the buckles holding the strange leather together. Via knew who he was, and when Sari didn’t return, she’d know he was the right target. If he disappeared, she’d sell the information about who he was. His family would definitely die, and every bounty hunter in the world would be looking. One of them had to die.

He only had a few hours. Tonight was the autumnal harvest, the celebration of women. It was the reason Lenn chose to come today. Once the celebration started, the docks would close down and he’d spend the night trapped with a trained hunter that could see in the dark. He tried to pull the armour over its head, but got caught on the mattock. Ash gagged as he grabbed the handle. Via, focus on Via, how do you deal with her?

Ash yelled, trying to drown out the sickening squelch as he wrenched the mattock’s handle, sending it clattering into the feeding room. “Keep going,” he ordered, finding the armour again and blindly pulling it off. “Don’t be weak.”

Via. That’s right, he needed to worry about Via, not the meat. Via was a predator, and she hired slaves to help her hunt because she didn’t like to share. Presumably, so long as there was a chance, she’d catch him she wouldn’t tell the Dusk Empire. He only needed to leave a trail, and make her think threatening his family wouldn’t work. He slid the armour from its legs and dropped it into the blood, carefully averting his eyes from its head.

The beginnings of a plan came into focus as Ash grabbed the meat by the ankles and dragged it into the feeding room. After reaching the far wall, he knelt and buried both hands under it. The warm fur under his fingers made him heave once more, but luckily his stomach had nothing left to give. The warm, furry meat disappeared over the rim of the feeding trough with a sickening thump.

Unable to suppress the shudders, Ash rose, retrieving the bloody mattock as he exited the feeding room. He couldn’t ask for help, this was on him. He was a god. He accepted that power. He was supposed to be the one who could help. He needed to take responsibility, even if it made him the bad guy. He had to be.... He had to be strong.

Ash marched down the aisle, unlocking stables as he went and listening to the frantic pleased squealing as aibax burst free in his wake.