Another little moment.
Hope you enjoy. ~
VI. Moments: The Most Important Meal of the Day
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The chirping of birds filled the morning air.
In a particularly dense brush, Byleth led his partner through the tangles. The leaves crunched beneath their feet, blending in with the vibrant colors of the season.
Mercedes held his hand as he helped her through the forest. In her hands was Byleth's bow, although it had found itself with a new owner as of late.
The two children had decided to go for an early morning hunt, hopefully to find the camp and easy breakfast before they departed for the day.
They kept their hands locked together as they moved through the bushes. Mercedes, feeling the rugged texture of the bandages wrapped around his hand, still felt guilty over what had happened the other day; Byleth had helped her try to come to terms with her issues, and he had continued to act as a pillar of support for the girl.
She felt a warmth in her heart because of their exchange the other night. It persisted into her life during the day as well.
Byleth was still in no condition to use his bow, however, and so Mercedes insisted that she take over for him. He had decided to accompany her into the forest, not wanting to leave her alone out in the wild.
"Hey… found something."
He stopped and looked towards Mercedes. Glancing down, he pointed at a log on the forest floor, covered in moss.
"Uh… what are you looking at, Byleth?"
"These."
Curiously, Mercedes looked down at the log. Dozens of caterpillars slithered across the surface of the tree, minding their own business.
Byleth knelt down, picking up a few of the tiny of bugs in his bandaged hand. He watched them crawl along his palm.
"Caterpillars?"
"Mhm. If you look closely, these ones aren't hairy. Not very colorful either, meaning they aren't poisonous. Perfect for eating."
"Perfect for... eating? Wha-"
Without hesitation, he raised his hand and dropped the bugs into his mouth.
Mercedes simply stared dumbfounded, before holding her mouth and gagging.
"What's the matter with you?! How can you- ergh!"
He gave her a confused look before continuing to chew on his findings.
"What? They're really good for protein. I haven't eaten anything yet this morning."
"I-I know! But still – couldn't you have eaten something normal, like a sandwich or something?"
"Too much work. These are easy to find. Plus, they're good for you. Very nice to snack on."
Mercedes crossed her arms as she watched him finish chewing. Byleth, still confused, swallowed the bugs. He picked up another pair of caterpillars from the log.
"They don't taste very bad, either. Do you want to try one?"
He held out one of the caterpillars, still squirming within his grasp.
Mercedes, feeling slightly sick, held her hands out in protest.
"Uh… I'm good."
"Huh. Suit yourself."
He dropped the remaining bugs into his mouth, chewing and swallowing them in one swift motion.
"Let's keep going, okay Mercie?"
"Alrighty, Byleth…"
He took hold of her hand again before beginning to lead her further into the forest.
She sighed and shook her head.
"You're a really strange boy, aren't you…?"
The pair walked off, the rest of the day ahead of them.
Just another day for these two!
Thought of this prompt a few days ago, after catching my niece playing with some bugs in our garden and trying to eat them. For someone like Byleth, there would be some sort of value to eating those tiny little guys, wouldn't there? I like to think it would be something his dad taught him as a wee lad.
Doesn't seem to be Mercie's kind of thing, though...
Thank you guys for reading, y'all are great.
See you guys next time. ~
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~Arujira