Evening came by quick, Rune and I sat at the fire where she cooked, if anyone would call it that.
“Tomorrow we’ll check the corpses, maybe they’ve drawn in another pack,” Rune says, her fairy-like face and long lashes glowing in the shine of our camp fire.
“Okay, but what if there isn’t a new pack?
Should we check some known nests and burrows?” “We do that after,” she stated.
“You can go and rest, I’ll keep watch.” “Okaaaay,” I stood up and walked into the tent.
Rune was fidgeting with her hair.
‘Wait, weren’t base camps basically safe zones?
Whatever, I was too exhausted to think right now.’ I threw Rune another glance, but couldn’t see her face.
I woke right before sunrise the next morning to Rune using my body like a pillow and snoring.
She hadn’t woken me up to take over the watch.
I turned, careful not to wake her and saw a fairy-like, almost angelic, face.
Her arms moved around my waist and she pulled me in more, still sleeping.
It took all I had to peel her off of me.
Weird.
Outside the tent, I breathed in some of the cold morning air and relit the camp fire to make breakfast.
I wouldn’t allow Rune to cook again.
With way less dexterity than I’d have liked, I cut some vegetables and cabbage up and threw small pieces of dried meat together with Catun fat into a deep pan hanging above the fire.
Then some cut up onions and vegetables, until they were slightly translucent and finished up by throwing in slices of cabbage.
“Morning…” Rune yawned and came out of the tent.
“Go wash your face,” I told her, “breakfast ready in a minute.” “You’re not my mom, not that it wouldn’t…” Rune yawned a second time and walked towards the well, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.
While she washed her face, I prepared some tea and pulled out a hard tack.
Rune came back quickly and sat down on the other side of the camp fire, as if avoiding me.
I split breakfast into two portions and began eating.
Rune munched silently on the hard tack first, then dove into the rest.
I think it tasted a bit bland and the only salt inside was from the dried meat, but Rune actually looked happy.
After the sun finally came up, we readied ourselves and went back into the forest for day two of our hunt.
With only three more days left, we hurried back to yesterday’s clearing.
The corpses were gone.
“No luck, huh?” Rune sounded disappointed and let down.
I checked the area for any Zenrade tracks, but it seemed like the corpses were dragged away by some of the bigger insects.
Some of the local ants could become 60 centimeters long, just the thought made me shudder.
“Let’s check nearby burrows.” I led us towards a burrow father told me about, but it was long abandoned, so we went a whole circle around and finally found some tracks, right when the sun was at its zenith.
I really wished clocks were a thing, but you actually had to estimate the time by the sun.
It was a hassle.
The Zenrade tracks led us even deeper into Scarlet forest, everything was tinted a deep red.
My eyes turned towards the tree crowns, observing red leaves rustling in the wind.
The lower leaves and bushes were all green, though.
I didn’t understand why only the crowns were this red, they could bath the whole forest.
Soon we ended up near a steep cliff going upwards, the other edge of the forest, almost near Tide alps and there they were.
A pack of 8 Zenrade, half of them sleeping in a nest built right at the cliff face.
I checked my shield, my blade still sheathed, but hand resting on its handle, then pointed towards the small group that wasn’t sleeping, then towards me.
Rune nodded and I drew my blade.
With a lowered stance, I charged out of the underbrush, right at the group.
Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Rune speed towards the sleeping ones.
The second I was between all four of them I did a spin, my blade bisecting two immediately, ‘yes!’ I raised my shield, instinct yelled at me and a tail swept in as one of the Zenrade pushed me backwards a little with a tail whip.
Coming to a stop after a few centimeters, I dashed forward, shield in front, startling the cackling and salivating monster as I stuck my blade into its belly.
Zenrade’s skin was by no means easy to cut, but my blade was sharp enough to move up to the beast’s ribcage before I pulled back again.
“Get done already!” Rune yelled from further up as she killed the last one of hers.
I scanned the area and couldn’t find my last target until I began counting the corpses.
There were eight, but I only did three myself.
Rune flicked her wrists, getting the blood off her blades and sheathed them almost lazily.
“You’re way too slow,” she immediately complained.
I shook my head and bit my tongue, ‘just because you’re too fast!’ We dragged the dead Zenrade together and began carving their materials.
It was as gross as ever, “why does their damn blood stink like that?” I grumbled.
“I don’t know,” Rune shrugged indifferently, plunging her knife and tearing out its claws while I skinned one myself.
I really wish this was a game and less bloody.
I sighed, my voice barely a whisper, “you could’ve at least given me an options menu to turn down the gore.” “Opti ohns?
Rune echoed, her eyes looking questioningly at me.
“Oh nothing, just grumbling,” I quickly said and looked away, maybe a bit embarrassed, some leaves rustled in the distance again.
We finished carving our prey, the materials in my backpack this time and strolled along the cliff face, before we broke off at a spring coming out of the rock.
I took a big swig out of my water skin and held it out to Rune, “do you want some water too?” “Yeah,” Rune said with a small voice and took the water skin out of my outstretched hand.
She stared at it for a long moment, then suddenly nodded a few times and drank.
When she gave me my water skin back, I took another big swig of water and stashed it back at the side of my backpack.
Somehow Rune stared at me when I drank, making me a bit self conscious, ‘wait wasn’t that an indirect kiss?!
Wait it’s only Rune and it totally wasn’t weird, like, at all.
I bet I’m the only one thinking weird things.’ The weather began to change, with some big rain clouds drawing in, so we made our way back towards the base camp.
Rune walked slightly behind me, as I covered the front, both of us carefully watching our surroundings.
I felt eyes bore into me from behind, “you okay Rune?” “Sure,” she replied tight-lipped.
I had no idea if she was mad at me for something, but I’d cook at camp tonight, so I bet she’ll be plenty happy then, even if my cooking’s not really good, it’s edible unlike her purple goo.
“I think I packed some licorice into the camp’s box,” I tried to lighten her mood as we reached the camp again, the sun setting already.
As we reached the camp perimeter, Rune dashed off towards the storage box.
I turned towards the well and had to clean my armor, again.
‘Stupid fucking Zenrade blood!’ Rune came to the well while I was still cleaning parts of my reinforced steel shoulder armor and munched on a long string of licorice.
I didn’t understand how, but her armor was pristine.
‘This girl fought five Zenrade, having even taken off of my load and her armor looked pristine!
It made no sense to me, because she used dual blades with a pretty short range, so shouldn’t she be splattered and bathed in monster blood too?’ I hurried cleaning, so Rune wouldn’t even get the idea to cook herself again and prepared another meal, the same as this morning to be fair, but tonight with some garlic added for spice.
It came out okay-ish, the dried meat simply wasn’t any fun to cook with, but at least the vegetables were tasty and retained a good bite.
While we ate, Rune stuffed her cheeks almost like a squirrel, I asked her, “why did you stare at me earlier?” It took a moment until she swallowed a big mouthful, “I didn’t.
Why would I stare?
I’d never, no.” “If you say so,” I replied, heart filled with doubt, “but someone stared at me as if trying to bore a hole into my back.” She suddenly stood, tore my bowl out of my hand, still a quarter full, “I’ll wash those.”