<~> CHAPTER 30

I was watching the prisoners and listening in on the conversation behind me where I could. It was hard for me to follow with my limited vocabulary but I could understand one thing, Piper and Maxwell really weren't sure what to do. The prisoners were kind of interesting to watch since all of them reacted differently to their capture. The scout was still scared shitless, it was rather obvious from how even now he tried to hide behind his other friends. I kept a watch on his hands though, I didn't trust someone like him not to slip away when I wasn't paying close enough attention. The magic-user looked resigned, just laying there in the dirt with a dead look on his face. The spearman had to be gagged, at one point he started yelling at us and that got old pretty fast.

"Ummm, .... lady? We're hungry .... we .... .... to eat?" The scaredy cat spoke.

I huffed at them and he quieted down. ("Luna. They're asking for food I think. Are we going to feed them?")

There was a long pause before she responded, ("Maxwell and Piper are debating killing them, they attacked us and we're too deep in the dungeon to try and take them back with us. There would be a lot of chances for them to stab us in the back or escape while we're fighting. ...What do you think?")

I frowned at the three of them. ("I don't really like the idea, ideally we would take them to the police or something. Is there no one we could hand them over to?")

There was another long pause before she responded again, ("There aren't anything like city guards or any other authorities to give them to. If we informed the dungeon hunters association they might strip them of their status as hunters and put a bounty on them but they will probably attack someone else and we aren't obligated to return them alive.")

"Please, lady! We .... attacked you .... we .... hungry!"

I sighed and turned to look at Maxwell who just shrugged and walked over. "Do you want to hunt .... them?" he asked me.

"Hunt for them?" I asked, trying to understand the new word.

He nodded. I glanced back at the three and made the scaredy cat jump.

".... is .... to hunt on this floor. I will watch them .... you want to go hunt. .... be ...."

I squinted trying to parse his words before replying. "Okay. I'll go hunt."

When I shifted back the scout gave off a shout of alarm causing me to glance at him. This time the other two got a better look at me for the first time and looked rather pale. Ignoring them I turned to Luna. ("I'm going to go hunt some food and bring it back so we don't have to spend our rations on them at least. We can figure out what to do with them after that.")

She came over to me and cupped my large jaw with her hand. ("Be careful. Watch out for dangerous plants. We'll wait here for you to get back.") I gave her a little lick, making her blush, and started heading to the edge of the clearing. I glanced back at the group of three who looked relieved to be watching me go. I just shook my head and walked into the forest.

It was a bit embarrassing to do this in front of others so as soon as I was out of sight I leaned forward and sniffed the ground, trying to pull up the scent of nearby animals. I think I smell something. I haven't been doing this long enough to recognize the scent yet but I could tell it was an animal at least. I hoped whatever I found wouldn't be too weird to eat.

I wandered through the forest for a while before coming across another trail. Seemed like a deer trail, hopefully whatever scent I was following was a deer. I perked my ears and listened closely as I followed the trail as quietly as I could. After a while, I heard something and followed the sounds and scents to where a pair of deer were grazing. It looked like there was a doe and a buck. I didn't know if dungeons had natural habitats I needed to worry about but I guess I'll go after the buck.

I stalked closer, as close as I felt like I could get without my eyes giving me away. I waited until the two turned away from me and pounced! I was on top of it before it realized what was happening and crunched down on the back of its neck, killing the buck instantly and making it go limp in my mouth. The doe didn't hesitate to bolt away but I had already caught my quarry. This guy would be plenty of food for all of us. My dad had cooked me venison steaks once so I was pretty excited to taste it again. Would I prefer it raw now? I wasn't sure.

Spitting the corpse out I picked it up and threw it over my shoulder, careful to avoid the antlers poking me in the side. I started back, happy that I had caught something so quickly. I was a bit worried that I would have to chase the thing through the forest which would be kind of annoying... even if the idea sounded a little fun. I made it back at a decent pace. I returned quite a bit faster than it took me to find the deer since I didn't spend as much time sniffing around or stalking my way through the brush.

When I caught a whiff of blood I started to rush back. The spearman was dead now and Piper was healing up Maxwell. Luna was the first to notice my return and waved me over. I readjusted the deer over my shoulder and made my way back through the clearing. Whatever had happened was already over it seemed.

("What happened?") I asked Luna. I set the deer on the ground and shifted back to my human form.

("Not too long ago that guy suddenly jumped up and tried to take Maxwell's sword. He had a hidden knife that he used to cut his ropes and then tried to stab Maxwell with it. Maxwell got stabbed in the arm while they were fighting over the sword but he managed to throw the guy off and Piper killed him before he could get back up. Piper said Maxwell's wound wasn't serious though, the stab wound was clean so it isn't too difficult to use her healing magic on him. The other two didn't move to help him so we're still in the same position we were in before...") She glanced down at the deer I brought back. ("It looks like you found something though, the kill looks clean. Did you have any trouble finding it?")

I shook my head. ("No, and I know what deer smells like now. I got lucky this time but next time I'll be able to identify it from scent alone.")

Looking over at Maxwell and Piper, they looked finished with the healing. Maxwell had taken off his armor and long-sleeved shirt to clean the blood off of his arm. He had a strong-man look to him that spoke to lots of functional muscle rather than that cut overly muscular look. I only looked out of mild curiosity though, I wasn't really interested in men's chests.

I lifted up the deer again and dragged it over to Maxwell. "Maxwell, can you... cut up... animal?"

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He looked over to the deer and smiled. "It looks good. You want me to butcher the deer?" he asked, emphasizing the words I didn't know.

I nodded. "Yes, please."

He glanced at our two prisoners and drew my attention to them. They hadn't said anything yet but their eyes were glued to the carcass I had brought back. Not feeding them at this point would be cruel.

I pointed to them. "Give them meat too."

He raised an eyebrow to me. "You ....?"

I didn't quite understand what he asked so I just repeated my request. "Give them meat too. Please?"

He sighed and obviously grumbled at the request but he nodded. "Sure. .... need to butcher it."

I smiled in satisfaction.

The scout guy asked something to Piper who replied to him tersely. I wasn't sure what he asked about it but it seemed to irritate Piper. I suppose that's fine, they did try and kill us but... I don't know... What if they were just so starving that they thought attacking us was their only option? Piper was now searching the second corpse more closely. I saw her rip off something akin to a dog tag from the man's necklace and stuff it into her pocket. In another situation, I may have walked up to her and asked her about them but she didn't look very happy right now.

Luna tapped my shoulder and got my attention. ("You still want to share the meat you caught with them? After one of them attacked Maxwell while you were gone?") she asked.

I turned away from them and focused on Luna. ("The spearman attacked Maxwell and kind of got what he deserved but... the other two didn't do anything. We shouldn't punish them and withhold food from them just because that guy went crazy.")

Luna's hand curled around mine making me jump in surprise. She noticed but it didn't deter her. ("You're very kind. It's... a bit surprising you're taking all of this so well. Most people that would be kind to them would also be the same kind of person who would feel sick after seeing the other's corpses.")

The thought struck me as odd... Am I taking this well? I looked at the two bodies that had been dragged off to the side and put face down in the dirt. This... was the first time I've seen human bodies isn't it... I expected to be the type in the movies who couldn't stand the sight or vomited afterward or something but they just... didn't bother me? I frowned as I stared at them. It felt... distant. Like they didn't matter to me... but then why was I being so nice to our prisoners?

("I... don't know what's wrong with me. I don't like the idea of being especially cruel to these people but... I also don't care about the two that are dead... I don't really understand myself...")

Luna tightened her grip on my hand. ("That's okay. Not everything has to make sense. I'll accept you either way.")

I felt my chest tighten when I heard her words in my head. I couldn't answer her with words so I just squeezed her hand back, careful not to clench too hard. Her promise gave me immense relief, relaxed some tension that I didn't even know I had. Maybe I was... overreacting, maybe it wasn't actually a promise... but I believed her.

God damn. I was falling for her hard.

"Helena." Maxwell's words made me jump a little and pulled me out of my thoughts.

I glanced at Luna and let go of her hand to see what Maxwell wanted. He pointed to a small pile of meat he had separated from the deer carcass. "You want it ....?" I looked down at the uncooked meat and got an idea of what he was asking. Did I want it raw? I picked up a small piece and popped it in my mouth before gagging and spitting it out.

Eww. Why was that so disgusting? Maxwell laughed and handed me a waterskin. I took a sip and swished it in my mouth before spitting it out. I frowned and looked down at the animal meat in confusion. I'd been eating tons of things raw lately. Why did this taste so gross?

("Aww! I know what this is!") I turned to Luna, confused what she was talking about. ("It's not just about the meat! It's about the magic!")

("What?") I asked.

("It's not just meat that you've been eating! It's the magic! You've been eating monsters and growing stronger from their magic! That makes so much more sense!")

I furrowed my brows. ("Then why can't I eat the slime cores? If it's just the magic then wouldn't that work too?")

She shook her head. ("No, it's not just the magic either, it's both!")

I was starting to get a little weirded out by how... animated Luna was acting. It was a little out of character for her.

She pointed to the deer meat that had been set aside. ("The reason that tastes bad to you is that the meat isn't steeped in magic, the reason some of the monsters you've been eating taste better than others is because the ones you like the best have a lot of magic in them!")

My eyebrows raised in surprise. ("Is... that the reason they taste so good?")

("That must be it!") Luna said excitedly.