Some food just smelled… bad.

I knew the meat in the pot wasn’t actually rancid, but it sure smelled like it. Just what kind of animal was it from?

Stirring the pot, I wished I had volunteered for something else. Had I known this would have stunk so bad, and burnt my eyes as it was doing, I’d have never offered to do it.

Yet I had… so I’d finish it.

Grumbling as I stirred the pot full of puls, as Vim had called it, I hoped it didn’t taste anywhere near as bad as it smelled… but something told me it would.

My nose was usually right about such things. And right now my nose was telling me to run away, or dump the stuff in the pot into the river nearby.

But if I did that not only would Vim look at me funny, it would likely make all the fish in the river sick too.

Vim was over near the horses, and Herra was just over the little ridge Vim had called a stump even though it looked more like a hill. She was fishing at the embankment just beyond, which I was very thankful for. Maybe she’d catch enough I’d not need to eat the stuff in the pot I was stirring.

It was evening, and it’s been three days since we left the small river village at the base of the large mountain still looming behind us. It was a far distant sight now, yet it was still… overwhelming. It looked like another world, thanks to all the peaks and the way it seemed layered. It was as if there were hundreds of mountains in the distance, each bigger than the last.

Vim and I had traveled over a mountain range to get to Lumen, from Telmik, but that one looked far bigger… yet it hadn’t taken us nearly as long to cross it. Though that might be thanks to the horses, and the fact we hadn’t crossed over their peaks. We had rounded them instead.

Luckily my body didn’t hurt very much. My right arm felt… mostly fine now, I was even using it to stir the pot. The continuous motion wasn’t hurting me, which was a good sign. Yet my tail still hurt… but that might be because I had wrapped it a little too roughly during our journey out of Lumen. I had tucked it away neatly, since I was riding a horse… I probably hadn’t needed to go through such lengths, but I wanted to be sure.

Once we were out of Lumen, and in the depths of the mountains, I had unfurled my tail. Vim didn’t seem to mind, and it kept me from wincing in pain every time the horse took a step.

It was healing, just… slowly. I had even felt it move earlier, when Vim had started cooking what was in the pot. The smell had made my tail go stiff. Hopefully in a few weeks it’d be healed completely… and even more so, hopefully it wouldn’t be permanently damaged.

Some tall grass swayed in the wind nearby, and then shifted again. I glanced over at the patch of grass… and knew what I had heard hadn’t been just the wind.

Sure enough it wasn’t. A small brown head popped out of the thick grass, and I smiled at the little animal.

It disappeared into the grass again, and I wondered if the small weasel looking animal had been drawn by the smell. Likely not to eat, but instead to glare at something that was stinking up its home.

“Sorry, little one,” I whispered an apology as I stirred the pot.

The fire beneath the pot was crackling, yet not as hot or large as it had been earlier. Vim had told me to not feed it any more logs for a bit, as to let the stuff in the pot simmer instead of boil.

A part of me wished to boil it all away, but that would probably just make it stink even worse somehow.

Sighing as I shifted on the rock I sat upon, a tiny little squeak drew my eyes back to the grass.

Popping its head out of the grass again, it tilted its head at me and shook its many whiskers violently.

“What?” I asked it. Was it upset with me? Or rather, the smell?

It bounded out of the grass and onto the crushed crash that made up our little camp. I watched the long thin snake-like animal quickly dart towards me, and then pause several paces away.

The little creature made an adorable squeaking noise as it stood up, and I nearly melted as the thing’s whiskers shook at me.

“Fine, but don’t tell Vim,” I whispered as I slowly spooned out a small piece of meat. I plucked it from the spoon, since the rice broth was thick… and I didn’t want the animal to get sick on it.

Putting the small piece of meat onto the rock between me and the small ferret looking animal, I smiled as it lowered back to the ground and hurried up to it. The thing wasted no time, it didn’t even smell it, and it just picked it up and started chewing on it.

The creature was cute, and it made little noises as it ate the meat. I noticed as it ate, and when I had picked it up, that the meat was actually really tender and soft. I had nearly been unable to grab it out of the broth.

“Feeding the wildlife I see,” Vim’s voice startled me, and luckily didn’t startle the tiny creature. The thing didn’t even move as it focused on eating, it must like the foul smelling meat.

“It’s just a tiny bite,” I defended myself.

Vim smiled at me in a way that told me he wasn’t bothered at all. He stepped forward and held his hand out for the spoon, which I obliged and handed it off.

He spun the contents of the pot for a moment before nodding. “Looking good,” he said.

“Wish it smelled good,” I mumbled.

“Mhm… it’s the meat. They cured it in a way that isn’t common for this area. Or… any of the areas around us. But I was in the mood for it. It smells a little, but it’s tasty,” Vim said.

“Smells a little? Smells like it’s dangerous to eat, more like,” I said as I watched the little creature finish eating. It immediately went to cleaning its paws and face, and the sight made me smile. It was soothing to watch the tiny creature.

Vim chuckled a little as he nodded. “Right? And careful, minks become rather bold. Especially when fed like that, by people like you,” Vim said.

“People like me…?” I asked, but wasn’t able to get an answer. Herra huffed as she walked up the embankment, carrying a small rope that had several fish attached to it.

“Whatever is in that pot, has scared every living creature away. Is your nose broken Vim?” she asked loudly, stepping over to us.

Upon her appearance, and loud approach, the tiny creature squeaked and darted off. I watched it hurry off into the underbrush nearby, and wished it had stayed a little longer. It had been adorable.

Seems not only the scent of what we were cooking was scaring things off.

“If it is I’ll never know,” Vim said simply as he offered me the spoon again, so he could go about helping Herra with the fish.

She mumbled some complaints, but didn’t really seem to press it… nor did she seem to be saying anything like she wouldn’t be eating the stuff she was complaining about. Maybe she was used to Vim’s oddness.

“How about you Renn? Is your nose broken too?” she asked as Vim pulled aside a small wooden board, to place upon his lap as to begin cleaning and preparing the fish.

“No. Or well, it might be now after this. It stinks horribly to me too,” I said as I stirred the pot.

“What is it?” she asked as she stepped over to look into it.

“He called it pulss?” I said.

“Puls. A grain pottage. Just a simple soup,” Vim said as he procured knives and began to clean the fish.

“Simple? Please…” Herra grumbled as she stared at the stuff I stirred.

It actually didn’t look bad. It was thick, and the meat was very dark… but… “Wait grain? That’s not rice?” I asked.

“It is a grain. Rice is a grain, Renn,” Vim corrected.

Oh. Rice was a grain? I mean they were similar, but...

I hadn’t watched Vim actually prepare the pot, I had only walked over to keep an eye on it and stir it… since he said it needed to simmer for a few hours before it was ready. So I didn't get to see him pour the stuff in. The stuff did look more like rice but at the same time... not. The stuff looked more thick. Maybe it was because of the broth.

Herra sighed as she took a seat near me, on a small log that looked as if it had been sat on hundreds of times before. There was even a small spot near where Herra had sat that looked like an indent, from someone or something sitting for extended periods of time.

The log was a better seat than the rock I sat upon, but it was nearly twice as far away from the small fire and the cooking pot. Not something I could sit on while stirring.

“What were you feeding Renn?” Herra asked as she glanced over to the large grass that the little animal had disappeared into.

“Vim said it was a mink,” I said.

“Ah. Yes. I saw several near the river. They must have their little den nearby,” Herra said as she bent over to mess with her shoes. She went to pulling on her socks, to scratch at her ankle.

“Renn was likely just trying to feed as much as she can to the wildlife, as to have less to eat,” Vim teased.

Herra chuckled as she nodded. “Please Renn, keep doing so.”

Smiling at the two, I watched as Vim cut up the fishes even more.

“You’re not putting that into the pot are you?” I asked worriedly.

“No. Why? Want me to?” he asked.

“Don’t!” Herra answered for me as she stood up. She rounded the pot and went over to Vim. She went to helping him finish, by taking the bits of freshly cut and cleaned fish. She huffed at him as she stepped away, carrying a small wooden bowl full of fish.

“I wasn’t going to. Why ruin a good pottage?” Vim said lightly as he went to toss the refuse from the fish he had just cut up. He stepped over the log Herra had been sitting on, and headed for the hill behind it. Likely to toss the bits of fish into or near the river.

“So he says, but I’ve seen him eat some very weird things so I’m not taking any chances,” Herra said as she procured another metal pot. One much smaller than the one I was stirring. In fact it looked more like a bowl than a pot.

She went to putting the pieces of cut up fish into it, and then went to get other stuff to add to it. I noted the stuff she pulled out of the bag nearby, that had all of our cooking supplies in it. She didn’t just grab one of the water jugs, but also spices and other little bottles.

“What kind of weird things?” I asked.

“Weird food, like this stuff… bones. Grass and leaves. I once saw him eat some weird bugs too, on a trip home once. It was a huge crawly thing, with weird wings,” Herra shivered as she spoke, as if remembering the memory made her grossed out.

“Really…” I wasn’t too surprised, since Vim was odd in a way… but I hadn’t ever seen him really eat anything that odd. He sometimes ate very little, but usually ate alongside me… which meant usually something similar.

Though he also rarely ate in front of others. Maybe he was comfortable eating in front of Herra, since he’s known her for so long.

He had eaten several times with everyone at Lumen… but had rarely stayed long enough to say he ate together for the whole dinner, or lunch. He usually just ate a few pieces, then left.

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“Wait did you say bones? What do you mean by that?” I asked.

“Just what it sounds like. I’ve seen him gnaw and munch on bones. Like from larger animals, like bears. Do you do that too, Renn? Is it a predator thing?” Herra asked.

“Uh… I’m a cat, not a dog. So no, I don’t gnaw on bones,” I said, smiling at my own little joke.

Herra frowned and shrugged as she went to adding stuff to the small metal bowl she was going to use to cook the fish. She didn’t seem to find my joke very amusing.

“Bones have nutrients in them. Plus they can sometimes taste good, depending on how they’re prepared,” Vim said as he walked back over the small hill.

“But… bones are just bones?” I asked him.

He nodded. “I know it sounds funny, but it’s true. If you had been born and grown up far to the east, you’d not only feel eating bones was normal you’d know a dozen ways to prepare them. Just as those there have no idea how to prepare proper wheat bread,” Vim said.

“They don’t have bread?” I asked, interested.

“They do. Just different types. They cook them differently, basically. I’ll show you sometime,” Vim said as he walked over to look down at Herra and her bowl, which she was now putting into the fire as to warm it up.

“Enough for Renn and me,” Herra said up at him, once she noticed his gaze.

I smiled at Herra’s odd kindness as Vim sighed and nodded. “Sure, sure. At least give it a try though, you might find yourself liking it,” he said.

“Oh I’ll give it a try, Vim. But… well…” Herra shrugged, not feeling the need to say more.

Right. The smell alone was… very apparent.

The stuff was likely going to be disgusting.

“As to distract ourselves from the smell, tell me Renn, I hear you don’t get along with your family either?” Herra asked.

“Huh? Oh… Well I didn’t, no,” I said as I refocused on the new topic.

Herra nodded. “It’s weird isn’t it? Most of those who still have families love them, and live with them! I don’t know how they do it,” Herra complained.

Ah. She just wanted to voice her disgruntled feelings over having to go home. That was why she was asking me such things.

“Family is… supposed to be special, they say,” I said carefully.

After all, didn’t her religion say such a thing? Several portions of her bible made it very clear that family was to be seen as important and valued.

“Special,” she scoffed the word.

“To some,” Vim said as he stepped over to me, as to take the spoon from me.

I let him have it, and leaned back and away from the pot. It didn’t help; the smell somehow felt stronger being farther from it.

“So… is it only your difference in opinions Herra? That causes you so much grief?” I asked her.

“No. We’ve had battles over lots of things. Last time Vim took me home, he had to join me to the port nearby since my cousin and I got into a fight,” Herra said plainly.

Glancing at Vim for conformation, he nodded at me.

It was that bad?

“Must be mighty opinions,” I said gently. And here I thought I was the one with conflicting opinions amongst the society. At least none of my opinions had made me and anyone else come to blows yet.

“They are, for them. I’m actually proud of Herra, for standing up for her own beliefs,” Vim said calmly.

Herra looked up at him and her face almost melted as she smiled at him.

I see. Was that why Herra loved him? Because he said such things so smoothly?

If so I was the same, sometimes… but…

But he said such things for everyone, didn’t he? After all, it was sourced from his belief of free-will.

He was praising her ability to think for herself. Whether he agreed with her opinions or not didn’t matter.

“See? So don’t let it bother you Renn. We all have our problems,” Herra said, composing herself.

Nodding at her, I wondered why… Why Herra could say such a thing, and believe it, yet at the same time vote against me.

She could understand why we were different. She could sit here, travel with me, and talk with me as if all was normal… yet wasn’t willing to comfortably live with me.

Yet, I suppose she was also willing to go visit her family… the same family she spoke about with such scorn.

“My family and I fought too. I ended up killing a few of them, hopefully you don’t ever have to go that far,” I said to her.

Herra hesitated a moment as she messed with the bowl of fish. She had removed it from the immediate fire, and set it on some rocks nearby. Maybe to let it cool off.

She said nothing and instead glanced over at Vim, who seemed to be ignoring us all of a sudden.

“They were that bad huh?” Herra then said.

I nodded. “They were.”

“Mine regrettably aren’t that bad…” Herra mumbled.

Regrettably huh?

“When’d you… leave? Stop living with them, I mean?” I asked.

Herra shifted and tilted her head. “Right when Lumen was created, right?” she asked Vim and herself.

“I believe so, yes,” Vim nodded.

“Good timing,” I said.

“I used it as an excuse. We’ve been selling our gems to the Society forever, so when Lumen was created I offered to go and be our representative there,” Herra explained.

“Good way to do it,” I said.

“Yea… it’s been fun. Though something tells me it’s going to get very annoying soon. I swear Vim, what are we going to do when they make the guild too big? We already need so many humans, what will we do now that the entire Lumen merchant organization is under our umbrella?” Herra asked.

“Currently not my problem, but yes… it will become one eventually. I’m not looking forward to it,” Vim sighed after he spoke.

“Then why allow it, if it’s going to be such a problem?” I asked.

“Because that’s what they voted on. You wouldn’t know it, but more than Brandy and Gerald want to make the guild more successful. Pierre and Liina for instance. You’d never know it, based off how they talk and act, but their whole lives revolve around their jobs,” Herra said.

Oh? Liina I hadn’t really gotten to spend time with and Pierre was willing to talk to me but was always very busy… which was likely what Herra meant.

“So most of them wanted what’s happening, Vim?” I asked him for conformation.

“They voted overwhelmingly in favor of accepting Thraxton’s proposal, yes,” Vim said.

“All but a few of us voted no. But oh well. At least it gives us all something to focus on and do,” Herra said.

So she had voted no. I wonder who else had done so.

Seemed there were several votes without me. Not that surprising… since I was in a sense banished from Lumen, so didn’t have the right to decide their fates… but…

But it still hurt to hear it.

“Here Renn, eat as much as you can before that gunk is ready,” Herra whispered in a hushed voice as she offered some of the cooked fish. It was the same bowl she had used to cook with, but she had a new bowl on her lap. Her own share, it seemed.

“None for Vim?” I asked as I took the bowl happily.

“And waste room in my stomach for this deliciousness? No thank you,” Vim said.

Smiling at him, I nodded as I sat back and stared down into the small bowl.

There wasn’t much in it. But I knew Herra had not been stingy with me. She had only caught a few fish, and after cooking and cleaning there just simpl wasn’t much to be had.

I had never really paid attention, but it was likely that Herra ate more like a human. In small volumes, and not as often.

“Did you enjoy your stay in Lumen, Renn?” Herra asked as she started eating her share.

Hesitating… I wondered if I had.

“Honestly… I did. I met many wonderful people. Experienced many new things. And I got to see a part of the Society I didn’t know existed,” I said after a moment of thinking about it.

“Good. Better to think of those days fondly, even if they hurt a little,” Herra said.

“She speaks from experience, so take it to heart,” Vim added.

Glancing at Herra who smiled and nodded, I wondered if he was speaking of her relationship with her family… or something else.

Seemed everyone did have a story. It wasn’t too strange, when one considered how long we could live and our… natures… but…

But it was still interesting.

Slowly eating the fish, I noted Herra had likely used a little too much seasoning. It was a little too strong for my taste, but it wasn’t so bad it made me flinch.

She must have a strange sense of taste, to want even her fish to taste like this. Or maybe it was my tongue that was weird.

“How much longer until we reach your home, Herra?” I asked.

“A few more days. The trees will start to thin out, and become thick and spiky. The rocks will become redder, and…” Herra paused as she chewed, and then swallowed. “And I’ll become very irritable. So I apologize in advance, please don’t hold anything I say or do from here on against me,” Herra said to me.

“Oh… uh sure…” I nodded, though wasn’t sure what to think of that.

Would she actually become problematic?

Was her family that bad? Honestly? Maybe it was more than just a difference in opinions.

“I recommend sticking with Vim while there. Don’t let her get entangled in my family, Vim. All right?” Herra pointed at him as she spoke.

“Sure, sure. We’ll not be staying long so there shouldn’t be any chances of anything happening, Herra,” Vim said.

“We’ll not be there long?” I asked worriedly. I had been looking forward to meeting new people… and seeing for myself why Herra seemed to be so against them.

“A few days at most,” he nodded.

Great. Not enough time at all… but it will have to do.

About to stick my fork into my small bowl, as to get some more… I found nothing to poke. There was just some liquid, a few floating specks of seasoning, and a tiny piece of a leaf.

I had eaten it all.

And still felt hungry as if I’d not eaten anything.

Wonderful. I really was going to have to eat the stuff Vim was cooking…

“Almost done,” Vim said, noticing my gaze.

Groaning at him, Herra also made a noise as she shivered.

“How big is your family Herra?” I asked, trying to distract myself from the inevitable.

“Not sure. Depends on how many births, and deaths since I last visited. At least twenty three, that I know of for sure,” she said.

Twenty three! What a large family…

“They… all live together?” I asked.

She nodded. “Gross isn’t it?” she said.

I hadn’t meant it that way, but I still smiled at her answer.

“Though… that might change now, with human blood entering our family. How often do humans give birth, Vim?” Herra asked.

“Depends on many factors, but in these regions it’s not uncommon for a single family to have six or more children,” Vim said as he stopped stirring the pot… and went to procure bowls for everyone.

Great. Here it comes.

“Six? Jeez…” Herra groaned as she thought of it.

Six… “Most human families I knew didn’t have that many,” I said as I watched Vim rummage around in one of the bags.

“You’re from the north, Renn. Families there only have a few kids. Maybe it’s the cold?” he said.

“Oh right. Cold. I hate the cold. No wonder you left, Renn,” Herra said.

Was it really just because of the cold…?

“You’d think our kind had more children than humans, being able to live for so long,” I said.

“Some do. Remember Silkie? She has over a dozen children, which I know of,” Vim said as he found the bowls and headed back over.

“She does?” I asked.

He nodded as he went to filling the bowls with the stuff from the pot.

“She’s not the only one Sofia what? Ten? Eleven?” Herra reminded me.

“So she did,” Vim said gently as he finished filling one of the bowls… and then turned to me.

I groaned as he stepped over to hand me a bowl first.

Herra flinched alongside me as I took it, and I had to blink and scrunch up my nose as the smell became stronger.

How did it stink so badly? And why did it sting the eyes too?

“Vim I…” Herra mumbled as he held out a bowl for her… but she went quiet and sighed and took it.

He smirked at us and then went to filling his own bowl.

“Maybe I’ll get lucky and it’ll kill me,” Herra mumbled as she stared into her bowl. It was steaming, and it looked like her eyes were as watery as mine.

Vim chuckled as he finished filling his bowl and went over to sit on another rock. One not far from me.

“May your noses survive,” he said with a small raise of his bowl.

“What a statement,” Herra grumbled as she stirred the contents of her bowl slowly… she looked as if she was getting sick.

Staring down at my own bowl, I sighed at the spoon within. The smell was making my stomach hurt. As if I had already eaten a piece, and was already rejecting it.

For a few moments I watched Vim eat. He didn’t seem bothered by the smell at all, but I was used to that from him. He never let anything bother him, at least not outwardly.

Herra took a deep breath… and then finally took a bite. She squeezed her eyes shut as she chewed.

She eventually chewed enough, and swallowed… and didn’t seem to gag or throw up… but she did have a pained face. She must not have found it appetizing.

Looking down to my lap, and to the bowl in my hands… I sighed.

My bowl would be getting cold if I didn’t eat.

Yet as hungry as I was… I had no desire to eat. No urge to spoon the contents into my mouth.

The reason was obvious. The smell was just that bad… yet…

Vim was eating it calmly, and even seemed to have a tiny smile on his face as he did so. He looked to be enjoying himself.

Which was unusual, since Vim rarely seemed to care about what he ate. For him to actually seem to find something delicious… was… well…

Glancing down at my bowl, I groaned. I was going to have to try and eat it. Not just because I was hungry, and the fish Herra had caught hadn’t been enough, but because of Vim.

If he found it so delectable, then I needed to find out why. If anything so I could at least understand what he found delicious.

But the smell…

“Well, honestly I can’t taste anything. The smell’s too strong. If it kills me at least I won’t have to deal with my family,” Herra mumbled, and then took another bite.

Groaning at her repeated joke, I took a deep breath and scooped up some stuff too.

Taking a bite, I closed my eyes and waited for the sting of disgust.

Instead… Regrettably…

The stuff was delicious.