This chapter took much longer to complete that I would have liked, but I think it turned out alright as we finally get to the scenes where Malty gets to show off all of her hunting skills and knowledge while imparting it to Raphtalia. And this chapter is the beginning of something you all have no idea how long I've been waiting to write, chapters where Malty gets to put her full agent skills to the test and use them out on people.
:P
Big thanks to Qinlongfei for beta reading this chapter and providing important feedback and critique!
With that said, let's get this chapter started!
Chapter 67: Stalking Shadows
Mein spent a few minutes examining the bear print on the ground, gently rubbing her gloved finger on the track to gather as much information as she could. The track was fresh, maybe an hour, give or take based on the indentation of the print. The print was too small for it to just be a cub. No, this was the print of a full sized adult bear. A little on the bigger side it seems based on how deep the print is into the ground or it could alternatively just be really fat.
So there's a bear in the area. That's something to take note of.
" Is there something wrong, big sister?" Raphtalia asked as she approached her side, having finished taking her fill of water.
" Nothing. Just taking note of some predators that might be in the area." Mein said as she pointed out at the tracks." You see this print Raphtalia? Can you tell me which animal made it?" Mein asked a simple question to test Raphtalia's knowledge.
Raphtalia looked a bit surprised at the sudden question but still knelled down to get a better look at the print in order to answer." Its um...its big and it looks like it has claws too. A big wolf or dog?" Raphtalia pondered out loud as her eyes focused in on the print, even using her finger to touch the claw marks." No, wait...a bear?"
" Correct Raphtalia. These were the tracks made from an adult bear, rather a big one too." Mein said as she stood up and dusted her gloves off." A lot of animals come around here for water, this bear was merely among them. Probably scared off some prey sadly."
" Is it still close by?" Raphtalia asked with a bit of nervousness in her tone. Not quite fear since they had certainly faced off against worse people and creatures than a damned animal, but still a reasonable amount of hesitation.
" Don't worry Raphtalia, these tracks are about an hour old. It might still be in the area but I doubt we'll encounter it." Mein explained in an effort to ease Raphtalia's nerves." Alright, I think we've filled up on enough water here. Let's get a move on, we're burning daylight here."
Mein grabbed the filorial who had just finished getting her fill of water and started pulling it back towards the forest with Raphtalia by her side. The trees of the forest weren't exceedingly high, the branches provided just enough shade for them to walk at a comfortable pace but still enough light seeped through cracks in the shade to illuminate their path. There was a gentle breeze picking up that made their walk quite enjoyable as it blended perfectly with the warming rays of the sun on them. Mein was enjoying every second of it, it had been so long since she had gone on a personal forest walk that she relished it a bit.
Ahhhh, this is nice. Nothing like a good hunting trip to help take your mind off things.
" Now Raphtalia that we've had our fill of water, what is the next step?" Mein asked as they kept walking.
Raphtalia thought about it for a moment before answering." We need to find shelter?"
" Correct. You can survive for days being hungry but exposure to the elements and thirst will kill you quicker than you realize." Mein explained to Raphtalia on the importance of shelter. There were a multitude of things that could and would kill somebody if they just slept on the ground." Rain, snow, bugs, wild animals, heat waves, wind and so on will kill you if you don't have the proper shelter to rest and wait it out. So its important to find shelter or a good spot to set it up."
" How do you find shelter?"
" Ideally if you can find pre-existing shelter like a cave or rock overhang than than that's suitable enough shelter as it conserves energy. But you should make sure that whatever spot you find is within about 300 feet to your main water source and isn't in any dangerous monster territory." Mein took a look around her." We are about 100 feet away from where we got our water, so we have another 200 feet to go. Keep an eye out for any good spots."
" O-Okay!" Raphtalia nodded her head along as they kept walking.
The two of them kept walking at a decent pace, taking in the scenery and keeping an eye out for any potential good spots. Mein didn't plan on letting Raphtalia sleep in a cave for shelter since she still intended on taking it easy on their first hunting trip, she did bring tents and bed rolls with them for a reason. Honestly, looking back on her own training she's practically giving Raphtalia royal treatment. She can scarcely recall during a training exercise back at the fort where Thomas had them divide into teams of 3 and told them to survive for a full week with minimal supplies and the training he gave them( Mein is willing to bet that he was in the trees watching her the entire time) but it was still a hard lesson that tested her knowledge.
She can't help but feel strangely proud of teaching somebody else all the hunting and survival tricks Thomas had taught her all those years ago. Now she's the one who has become the master while Raphtalia has become her apprentice.
If only Thomas could see me now.
Mein was in the midst of thinking about what type of animal they could hunt for food when Raphtalia spoke up." You're...really good at this sort of thing big sis." The compliment came suddenly and surprised Mein for a moment but she smiled at it.
" Thank you Raphtalia." Mein gave the little raccoon a soft pat on the head for it.
" You seem to know a lot of stuff about hunting and survival." Raphtalia added on with a curious look in her eye." Did you...hunt a lot with your father, big sis?"
Mein thought about it for a moment before answering." Yes, I did. Quite a bit actually when I was even younger than you are." Mein explained truthfully somewhat." My father was a Faubley Ranger and before that he was trained by his father who was also a hunter for his village. We lived on a farm a bit far away from any villages, so he felt it was important to train me on how to take care of myself and survive, so he taught me all his tricks, skills and knowledge that he acquired from his career in the rangers. It was pretty fun honestly."
Mein wasn't really lying to Raphtalia, she was telling the truth about how she learned all her survival skills and knowledge. Thomas had been trained well by his father who was the head hunter of his village and what his father didn't teach him, the rangers certainly covered everything else. Back during their days at the castle, Thomas had taught her plenty of his tricks and skills, even taking her out on short rides to the nearby forest but father had never approved of taking her on hunts. It wasn't until they were forced to...leave the castle behind and go on the run, that she was properly trained in everything she knows.
It was during those times at the fort where Mein learned to enjoy the hunt. The kill and the satisfaction of filling your belly of a good meal you worked for.
" Your father sounds like a good man." Raphtalia said, which made Mein raise her head in thought.
A good man...
She thought about the destruction that has been caused these past few weeks because of Thomas's actions, the things he did that led to all of this.
" Yeah...he was." Mein didn't say any more after that as they kept walking for a few more minutes.
They eventually came upon a small clearing in the forest surrounding by tall trees and an adequate amount of bushes. It was centered on level ground and a quick look at the surrounding area showed that there were no recent animal tracks here so it clearly hadn't been claimed by anything yet. They were about a good enough distance away from their water source now and had done so by walking in a straight line so there was no issue finding there way back there. A good spot all things considered.
" This looks like a decent spot to set up camp for the night. We're about 300 feet away from our water source, level ground here and there's relatively little brush that prevents anything from creeping up on us." Mein noted as she surveyed the area." Just remember that when you are looking for a safe place to set up camp to make sure it hasn't been claimed by any other monster. See how there's no tracks on the ground? That means this spot hasn't been claimed by any animal."
" Okay!" Raphtalia nodded in agreement. If she had the other arm to do it, Mein has no doubts she would be writing this down.
" We'll set up the tents later, for now just take a breather while I mark the spot." Mein said as she took out her dagger and began carving an X into the nearby tree. It was important to leave markers behind to help navigate your way around the forest, as even the most experienced rangers need help keeping track of where they are sometimes.
Water and shelter is taken care of. Now all that's left is to scrounge up some grub.
After Mein finished carving her mark into the tree, she went back to Raphtalia who was sitting on the grass and idly picking at it until Mein came back and her attention was back on her." Alright Raphtalia, we have secured a clean water source and found a suitable area to set up camp. Now its time for us to see what kind of food that we can find. We shall only eat what we can scrounge up by ourselves and if we must starve than we shall do so."
Raphtalia looked a bit nervous at that prospect but nodded just the same. Perhaps the princess turned agent was laying it down a bit too thick, Mein did bring spare rations within her inventory in case they truly found nothing since she couldn't bear to make Raphtalia starve after her experience as a slave and being deprived of proper food for so long. She could practically hear Thomas's voice in her head telling her that she's being too soft on her training, since even Thomas was never that easy on her during survival training.
" Now there are several ways to obtain food in a forest like this, provided that you know where to look." Mein took on a teaching tone as listed off the various methods." Of course, there's the tried and true method of hunting. There are all manners of small and relatively docile animals in the forest that are suitable enough for a simple or large meal. Squirrels, rabbits, small deer, and others make perfect game since they don't fight back all that much. Though its always a good idea to avoid hunting dangerous game unless you are out of options, and even then think twice."
Mein can still remember her first hunting kill, it was back before they got the fort from Rabier as their base of operations. They were camping out in the forest and she really wanted to help Thomas catch some meat for their dinner. She managed to kill a rather large rabbit with her dagger, perfect throw that instantly killed it before it even knew she was hiding in the bushes. Thomas still caught a whole deer but she was still proud of that kill since she ate good that night.
Though looking at Raphtalia now...she's not sure hunting would be the best option for her. She already had enough trouble moving around with one arm, hunting even a small animal might be too difficult for her since she is still very much untrained. The bow was obviously out for Raphtalia, and she was still learning how to properly use a dagger with one arm so hunting was not an option.
" Fishing is always a good option as well if you don't mind waiting. If you can find a stream or river that has a decent fish population passing through than you can either use a fishing hook or even a makeshift spear to catch them." Mein listed off other options.
" I went fishing once before." Raphtalia spoke up, raising her head with a bit of nostalgia in her eyes as she shared her story." Rifana's father was a fisherman and he invited me and Rifana to go fishing once to teach us. I liked it, though daddy and big sister Sadeena wasn't too happy about it."
Mein nodded, Port Harp was a fishing village before it was a trading port." Sounds like a smart man."
" Yeah...he was." Raphtalia's tone of voice turned sad, which made Mein put together that Rifana's father was likely not among the survivors.
" Anyway, I'm not sure fishing would be adequate either since it may take too long and that stream we use for our water didn't seem to have many fish passing through it." Mein moved the topic away as she continued on with her lecture to Raphtalia." So that just leaves foraging for food. There are plenty of edible berries, plants and even fruits that can be eaten if you can find them." Mein took a small straw basket bag out of her inventory and handed it to Raphtalia who slung it over her shoulder." Come on, let's see what we scrounge up for a while."
Mein didn't actually plan on having their only food be what they can forage out here. Berries, plants, fruits and other things were good at keeping one's strength up but it wasn't always reliable or yielded the most amount of food. Mein preferred hunting, but she supposed that for now they can settle for foraging for food instead of jumping straight into killing animals. She did come out here to teach Raphtalia how to survive if she was ever on her own.
The two walked away from their chosen campsite and proceeded back into the forest to scrounge up some food. Admittedly, Mein was more experienced with the art of hunting for food but Thomas did train her in foraging in case she needed to know. She had read entire books on dangerous plants, berries, and other poisonous things in forests that would kill someone if they tried eating it back at the fort at Thomas's insistence. It certainly came in handy stopping Filo from eating nightlock berries that one time and causing the little brat's death.
The two walked in silence for a couple of minutes, taking in the scenery and keeping an eye out for edible plants, fruits and other items that could be eaten. Raphtalia looked like she was trying to do the same but ultimately looked kind of lost on what to look for since she likely had no clue what was poisonous or safe to eat. Perhaps in hindsight she should have given her a short list of plants and berries to look out for. Something to do later, she supposes.
After walking for a bit, Mein finally spotted a nice bush that held some edible berries she recognized." Ah! Here we are Raphtalia. Come take a look at this." Mein instructed as they got a closer look at the berries in question." These are called Sunset Berries, they are quite sweet to taste and can make for a good snack. Let's gather these up."
" Okay!" Raphtalia said enthusiastically as she placed the basket down and started picking the berries with her.
" Rule number one of foraging: NEVER eat anything you don't recognize." Mein said in a strict tone for emphasis." There are all manner of dangerous plants and berries that look edible but will leave you with a terrible illness at best, or even kill you at worst without immediate medical attention. Trust me, you are better off hungry than poisoned." Mein said gravely to Raphtalia, in the same tone she remembers Thomas teaching her back then.
Raphtalia nodded at that information as they kept picking at the berries. By the time, they were done the basket was about a quarter full.
Not quite enough for a meal, barely a snack or to just make tea. We'll need more.
" Alright Raphtalia, this is a good start but we'll need more if we want to fill our bellies." Mein said as she walked around, trying to find some more." One of the most essential survival skills is to be resourceful with what you have. Knowing how to make the most of what you can scavenge and..."
Mein's tip trailed off near the end as she spotted something nearby that caught her eye and as she got closer she could see what they were.
Deer tracks.
Mein instantly knelled down and inspected the tracks the same way she did for the bear back at the stream. Adult based on the size of the tracks, tracks around here are fresh, probably eating the grass and leaves around here. Not too old, left recently.
" Is something wrong big sis?" Raphtalia asked as she walked by her side.
" Well Raphtalia, maybe we'll be getting a much bigger dinner than expected." Mein said as she took out her bow and gave it a good strung to test its strength.
Looks like she was going to be able to have some fun after all.
Following the tracks the deer left behind wasn't too hard to follow since they were still relatively fresh, about half an hour give or take. There was enough light coming in between the branches and leaves of the trees that they easily illuminated the tracks that made them easy to follow. The deer's movement pattern and the lack of other tracks indicated that it was likely alone and away from any herd. Easy pickings than since they don't have to contend with startling a large group of animals.
No, the real issue was making sure to stay as quiet as possible by avoiding making any unnecessary noise which was difficult to do in a forest where fallen leaves, branches, twigs and so on litter the ground to the point it can almost be impossible to move without making noise. Deer can get spooked pretty easily and chasing one down is very much not advisable, so staying quiet and shooting from a distance was the choice.
A real hunter always watches where they step.
Mein made sure to do exactly that as she avoided stepping on any twigs or leaves that might cause much sound, since they had no idea how far ahead the deer was from them. Her Silver Huntress armor may not be geared for hunting trips like this, but she has always been creative and resourceful regardless of circumstances. Provided she stays in the shadows and avoids making much noise, than they should be good.
CRACK!
Mein briefly stopped walking to turn to Raphtalia who was currently looking down on the twig she stepped on with a guilty expression on her face." S-Sorry..." Raphtalia said meekly.
" Its okay, just try to watch where you step." Mein said simply as they kept moving.
Raphtalia certainly wasn't trained in the art of moving silently and it showed with how she would occasionally step on some fallen branches or leaves by mistake. Thankfully they didn't seem to have caught up with the deer yet since Mein can't hear the sounds of any quick movements from an animal, so it wasn't a huge deal at the moment. Mein would still like to make sure they remained as quiet as possible on approach, so they moved a little slower to avoid any more mishaps.
The forest was dead quiet but Mein still kept her ears out to listen in on any distinct sounds that may lead them to the deer quicker as they followed its tracks. Her enhanced hearing wasn't picking up anything noteworthy besides the sounds of birds flying overhead, the brush of leaves against a soft breeze and the soft melancholy of the forest. Mein almost found herself enjoying the quiet sounds of nature that her enhanced hearing allowed her to pick up.
That was until she heard something roar that sent birds flying into the sky, Raphtalia physically jumped at the roar and Mein's enhanced hearing allowed her to tell that the roar was much closer than it appeared.
What the hell?
Mein was surprised by the sudden roar but not perturbed, a nearby monster maybe? She shared a look with Raphtalia who looked a little nervous but didn't say anything. Mein didn't like the idea of progressing forward with Raphtalia at the risk of facing some sort of predator, but the idea of leaving her behind to sit at the campsite they found by herself where she may run into any other predator that is passing through. No, the safest place for Raphtalia to be is with her ironically.
" We need to see what that roar was to make sure its not a dangerous monster. If we get into a fight, stay behind me or hide." Mein instructed Raphtalia in a no-nonsense tone. The raccoon girl nodding repeatedly as they pressed forward, proceeding in the direction where Mein heard the roar come from. It took her about 5 seconds to realize that it was in the same direction the deer was heading in earlier. This did not bode well.
The two of them quietly followed the source of where the roar came from, as they got closer to where Mein thinks the roar came from, they crouched down to make less noise. Mein was able to easily move quietly while crouching, keeping her center of gravity low and making sure each of her footsteps make little to no sound despite her wearing metal boots that were not exactly geared for stealth. Raphtalia wasn't able to move nearly as easily, her crouch wasn't quite low enough since her balancing was off with only one arm but she was able to move albeit at a much slower pace.
As they got closer and closer, Mein could hear the distinct sound of...chewing and flesh being torn apart? They took cover behind some bushes, as Mein peered over to get a look at what they were dealing with.
The first thing that she saw was blood staining the grass and a dead deer that was laid down on the ground. Mein briefly wondered if this was the same deer they had been tracking just now but she figured it didn't really matter. Its neck had been unceremoniously torn out in a particularly violent manner by sharp teeth with blood still dripping out from the wood. There were bites and claw marks all along its body with its guts currently strewn out, with a large bear feasting on its insides.
That is a very big bear and it is currently feasting on what was going to be our meal.
The bears fur was black and much larger in size compared to a normal one, if she had to say it was almost twice as large. It was likely the same bear she had seen signs of back at the stream. The bear was an adult and its much larger size was likely due to it being such a successful hunter. Animals and monsters did level up as well the more they feasted on other animals, which resulted in them sometimes becoming much larger than your average animal. A lot of meat on it though if they killed it.
The deer is a lot cause with most of its gut having been ripped out, but the bear might still serve as a good meal. She's always been a fan of dangerous prey.
Mein gave the hand signal for Raphtalia to back up a bit as she aimed her bow at the bear and prepared to let loose an arrow. A quick shot to the head should put it down instantly, she just needs to align the arrow just right so it hits right into the brain. The bear was currently too busy feasting on the deer's corpse to as the arrow stuck out from bushes as Mein took a deep breath. Just move the arrow a bit to the left and-
CRACK!
The sound of a twig snapping startled Mein and the bear who heard it as well, just as she released the string on her bow the sudden noise made the bear turn its just in time, causing her arrow to uselessly hit the body of the deer instead. The bear's mouth was dripping with blood as its nose seemed to pick them up and it let out a loud roar at them.
" Eeep!" Raphtalia let out a cry as she fell back on several more twigs that snapped. Their cover was officially blown.
Oh shit. Guess we're doing this the old fashioned way.
" Raphtalia, get back!" Mein shouted as she hopped out of the bushes, putting the bow back in her inventory and drawing her sword." I'll take care of this."
Thomas taught her before that looking directly into a bear's eyes was a bad idea. Not only will the bear perceive you as a threat, but they will take it as a personal challenge to the person staring and will fight even more viciously.
Mein disregarded that advice for a moment as she looked directly into the bear's eyes, the bear returning it with its own vicious glare and growling at her. There were still bits of deer stuck between its teeth and blood dripping down its mouth. Mein did not back down, she had already killed tougher than this beast before and as a hunter her pride would not allow her to kill it the traditional way. This is more fun.
" You will make a fine meal." Mein said as she readied herself.
The bear let out a roar as it charged directly at her but Mein was already ready for it. She sidestepped the attempted charge and delivered two quick slashes to the side of the bear, causing it to cry out in pain as it stopped its charge but Mein had already backed up to give herself some distance. A bears greatest advantage was its immense strength and weight advantage, and it could move quite fast when it wanted to be. Thankfully Mein was much faster and was able to easily sidestep its next charge and deliver some more cuts to its body.
The princess turned agent was well aware that she could easily end this fight with the Mark and her multitude of highly lethal skills. She could use Bend Time to easily cut its head off, Windblast to throw it off guard and kill it then, or even use Thunder Arc to end it in a single swing of her sword. But Mein didn't use any of those, while they did make her that much more deadly, she didn't want her skills to become rusty by relying on the Mark so often.
And Mein wanted to preserve the meat and body as much as possible so she figured she should stop playing around.
By the third charge, Mein decided to deliver a much more wounding blow. She moved out of the way of the charge and stabbed sword clean through the side of the bear, feeling the blade twist and almost make it to the other side before pulling it out. The bear let out a roar of pain as blood started to spill from its very deep wound, its movements started to become more sluggish and slow because of the blood loss. It didn't have long before it died, but Mein wanted to speed things up a little.
" Come on then. Let's finish this!" Mein challenged the bear directly, whether it understood her or not was irrelevant as it seemed to get ready.
This time it was her who charged at the bear as it stood up on two legs preparing to come down on her, and just as it did Mein thrusted her sword forward and stabbed it straight through the roaring mouth of the bear and into its brain, silencing it forever. The bear went limp as Mein pulled her sword out of its mouth and allowed it to fall to the floor like a sack of wet potatoes.
Mein let out a relieved sigh as wiped the blood off her sword with a rag, as she turned to see Raphtalia come out of the bushes." Are you okay, big sis?"
" I'm fine Raphtalia."
" I-I'm sorry for messing up just now." Raphtalia apologized for her mistake on stepping on the twigs.
" Its alright, it was a simple mistake and I turned out fine. You should look at what I did to the other guy." Mein said jokingly as she took a look at the dead bear before them." Raphtalia, we are eating good tonight!" Mein said happily.
By the time, they got back to the clearing they selected as their campsite for the night, the sun had already begun to go down and they needed to get to work setting up camp. It took them a bit longer than expected dragging the bear along as it was much heavier than it looked and Mein didn't want to let anything go to waste. The most important rule of survival is to make use out of whatever you can find and kill. Bones can be rendered into weapons or tools, furs can be sold in towns, and meat can be enough to pay for the night at nice inn at a somewhat out of the way village in the boonies.
After setting up their tent, Mein got to work showing Raphtalia the ropes on how to properly light a fire which was one of the most important skills for any rookie hunter to learn since it could and would get much colder than people think it can at night.
" Now you just need to make sure that your wood is set up nice and right, with your kindling at the bottom." Mein demonstrated as Raphtalia watched closely to what she did." Now just take your knife and a rock and begin striking them together until you get a spark." The agent of the Outsider took out one of her daggers and began striking at a rock she found until sparks began to fly and the kindling caught on fire, within moments the fire grew to the point where its warmth could be felt properly." Ah, see Raphtalia?"
" That's really cool, big sis." Raphtalia said as she held up her only hand to warm against the fire.
" Benefit of growing up a hunter's daughter." Mein smiled." Warm up, I'm going to get our dinner ready."
Mein walked over to their catch for the night as she got ready to finally perform one of the more enjoyable parts of a hunt: The skinning. She took off her gloves and cloak since she didn't want to get blood on them. She then took out her dagger and went to task beginning to harvest everything she possibly could from the bear. Bones, teeth, meat, fat, fur and claws were among the most useful things to take. It was a shame they couldn't take this to a butcher to have it properly processed, it would look great as a rug in her room back at the palace.
Oh well, another time she supposed. She could always kill another bear.
Mein silently began skinning the bear and harvesting its body, she slowly and methodically cut into the skin to carefully strip away the fur layer of the bear so she can get to the meat. Slow and steady was the best method, so she took her time as she slowly skinned the bear. Within the span of a few minutes, she had stripped away the hide of the bear, along with its claws and teeth. Those always fetched a pretty coin if you knew who to sell them to. Now she could finally begin harvesting the meat of the bear.
It took her about half an hour to fully harvest the bear of all the meat it could give her. She put the meat they were going to be eating for their dinner tonight to the side, before storing the rest that were wrapped in large leaves into her Inventory for later. Mein didn't know how or why but it seems that whatever meat she and Naofumi store in their respective inventories doesn't seem to go bad. Odd.
Mein put that thought away for now as she finally moved on to cooking their dinner. She was no Naofumi by any standards, but he had taught her some of his tricks for preparing good food while they were traveling and Thomas had taught her some of his old methods for making good food from what you hunt. Mein still wasn't sure whether the secret to Naofumi being able to produce fantastic tasting food was due to some innate ability or just his shield making the food he makes taste better. Maybe both.
With their fire roaring, Mein set up the cooking pan over it so she could start cooking the meat. She threw some of the chopped up bear fat onto the pan to allow the oil from it to leak out and get all around the surface of it, so that the food could cook better. While that was happening, she took out a cutting board from her inventory and began chopping up the meat into more manageable steak like pieces, seasoning them with salt before throwing them onto the pan that was now wet with oil from the fat cuts.
The steaks sizzled as they cooked and Mein threw on some peeled up and chopped up potatoes into the mix to cook as well. They went pretty well served with the meat and after cooking them to an acceptable amount, Mein put them on a large wooden plates for them to eat.
" Here you go Raphtalia. Its not on Naofumi's level, but it should taste pretty good." Mein handed Raphtalia a plate with meat and potatoes, she had cut the meat up into smaller slices so Raphtalia could easily eat with just a fork.
She knew that the little raccoon preferred eating with her own hands instead of being fed by someone else, so she let her feed herself. Raphtalia sat the plate on her lap as she used her only good arm to take a bite out of one of the potatoes." Hmmmm! It tastes pretty good!"
" Thank you, I'm not a chef but Naofumi did teach me a lot." Mein said as she took a bite out of her steak, which was cooked just right.
The two of them ate their meal in silence as Mein glanced up at the night sky and felt a sense serenity and calm being out here in the wilderness. It was a strange kind of feeling that she hasn't felt in a while, she certainly can't remember feeling this back at the palace. How long had it been since she had been on a proper hunt like this? Where she had a hot meal in her gut that came from an animal she killed by her own hands. There was something oddly satisfying about it that Mein couldn't fully explain or place really. Perhaps she had simply missed going out on hunts with Thomas.
Now she was doing the same with Raphtalia, it would seem that she is now in Thomas's place. She's not sure how to feel about that.
" So Raphtalia, did you enjoy today?" Mein asked as she ate her potatoes.
" Yes, I really liked it! It was really fun...except for the bear part but still." Raphtalia said with a happy smile." I never did anything like this back in Port Harp."
" Your parents didn't teach you any practical skills like how to hunt or fish?" Mein broached the topic carefully since she knew it was a bit of sensitive topic for Raphtalia.
The little raccoon didn't seem bothered as she talked about her past back in Port Harp." Mommy and daddy made sure I knew my numbers and some of the basics of business, but not much besides that." Raphtalia had a sad smile on her face as she spoke." I would sometimes sneak away from big sis Sadeena to play with Keel and Rifana, which wasn't really hard because she was drunk a lot of the time."
Mein chuckled a little at that thought, but at the same time couldn't help but wonder just how competent this Sadeena actually is. If she has such a massive drinking problem that she's out of it most of the time to protect her charge, what good is she for a bodyguard?
" Big sister Sadeena didn't really like me playing with the 'urchins' of Port Harp, said it was beneath my station as the granddaughter of the last Emperor of Q'ten Lou." Raphtalia said with a conflicted look on her face. While she clearly isn't happy with her big sister talking down about her friends, she also didn't like speaking ill of what is probably the last remnant of her family." I never really cared that much for my lineage, I just...liked being who I was. I liked my friends."
" You don't need to change yourself if you like being who you are for someone else's convenience." Mein encouraged with a smile.
" Keel and Rifana were my closest friends back in Port Harp. We all came from different lives but I...I didn't want the fact that my family was rich to stand between us." Raphtalia explained with a sad expression.
" You knew them long?"
" They were my first friends. We would play all the time with some of the other kids, playing ball and other games. I remember Keel once broke the window of Mr. Kyubey's shop when we first got a sling and ran away." Raphtalia chuckled at the memory." Keel was the strength of our group, Rifana had the smarts and I...I sort of just followed the two of them along and kept them out of trouble. We had some good times."
" Yeah, I'm sure you little rascals did." Mein said with a smile, imagining Raphtalia running around with her friends causing mischief.
The thought of Keel caused a question to pop up in Mein's brain about the annoying dog that insulted her. It was in relation to a similar question that had been plaguing her mind for a while now, but she wasn't sure if it was too much to ask about it. But seeing as Raphtalia was already talking about the past, there was no point dancing around it." What was Keel like back then?"
Raphtalia raised her head in surprise at that question, but not total discomfort as she thought about it for a moment before answering." She was...a good person and friend. She looked out for me and Rifana a lot back in Port Harp." Raphtalia said in a sad tone, as if trying to remind herself of the person her friend used to be instead of who she was now." But I think she had a hard life and resented humans a lot. She would always talk about how people like Lord Seatto didn't really care about demi-humans and beastmen when they could afford to feast. She would talk about how the Bitch Lord and Shadow Demon were the only ones who stood up for us and taught the nobility a lesson that they weren't untouchable."
Ironic considering Thomas killed the Bitch Lord, but true.
" Keel and some of the other kids would sometimes talk about joining up with the Bitch Lord if she was still around, just to teach bad nobles a lesson." Raphtalia spoke with a conflicted look on her face." I think Keel always wanted a chance to retaliate for the way we had to live."
Well, she got her wish. Now she's running with the biggest bandit threat Melromarc has ever seen and now Raphtalia has to pick up the pieces.
" I-I don't want Keel to get hurt and I don't want to stop considering her my friend." Raphtalia tried to explain her feelings with a conflicted expression." But I know she's hurt people and I just...I don't know if I can ignore that. I don't know what to do big sis, is it wrong for me to think this way about someone I consider my friend?"
Mein wanted to say something comforting to Raphtalia, about how she wasn't wrong for feeling this way and that it was natural to want to protect those close to you by any means necessary. But at the same time can she really talk? This entire quest to take down the Hound Lord has made her begin to question Thomas's own method of doing things, the good and the bad. The consequences of his actions that are now being felt by her and need to be taken care of.
She can't properly answer because she also doesn't know. Mein is still figuring out her own feelings regarding what Thomas has done.
" Raphtalia, I-"
SNAP!
Mein's head perked up at the sound of twigs and fallen branches being snapped not too far from behind them. Her enhanced hearing being able to pick it up in between the crackling of the fire and the silence of the forest, she could hear the distinct sound of something coming towards them. No, wait multiple targets coming towards them based on the amount of movement she's hearing. Mein instantly got on her feet, putting on her black gloves and cloak quickly before pulling out her sword in a defensive position.
" Big sister? What are you-" Raphtalia was cut off when Mein raised a hand to silenced her and turned to face the forest.
Mein stood there for a moment as the sound got clearer and she could deduce that it wasn't a pack of predators moving towards them. It was the sound of people who were very badly attempting to sneak their way to their position, and she didn't even need Dark Vision to tell that they were close.
" Come out!" Mein shouted off into the bushes." I know you're there."
There was no response for a moment until the bushes ruffled and few figures started emerging from the bushes. The one that stood out among them was a woman in a loose, simple and dirty tunic with mouse like ears on her head. The mouse bandit had straps with vials and throwing knives over her shoulder and waist, with her body being as mousy as her race suggests.
"Damn, what the fuck are you a half rabbit? How did you know we were here?" The unknown woman said in annoyance.
" Naturally born good hearing, who the fuck are you lot?" Mein said gruffly as she took a count of the men and women emerging from the forests. All dressed in a mixture of metal armor wielding a variety of weapons ranging from spears, handaxes, swords, maces and so on.
" The name's Mouse and the Hound Lord is very interested in meeting you two bitches from the Shield party." Mouse said with a proud smirk as she confirmed who Mein thought they were.
Bandits. We ran into fucking bandits, just perfect.
Mein was internally groaning at the prospect of having to kill these useless fucks after a long day of hunting and ruining the nice ambiance, but what this bandit bitch said caught her attention. The Hound Lord wants them taken alive? That's unexpected.
She didn't really have long to think about it as she heard more movement come from around them. Mein turned her head a little to see several more bandits emerge from the forest around them. The princess turned agent felt a bit nervous at the prospect of facing this many bandits. Not because she was worried she wouldn't be able to kill all of these bastards and bury them, but that she wouldn't be able to protect Raphtalia properly with this many bodies around. There were about 23 of them in total and all of them were eyeing her with sneers and smirks, so confident of their advantage in numbers.
A part of her was going to enjoy this.
" You're surrounded, bitch. Why don't you toss you weapons and maybe we'll deliver you in one piece."
" Not my style. Bring it on assholes." Mein challenged Mouse directly.
" Ha! I'd like to see you try, break her legs and bring them to their knees! Grab the kid!" Mouse ordered and her men let out war cries as they charged at them.
" Raphtalia, stay close to me!" Mein said as she readied herself.
" O-Okay!" Raphtalia nodded, taking out her dagger and holding it shakily.
The first dog bandit that tried to take a swing at her came from her right with a longsword, that she easily parried and decapitated the bastard in a single swing. She didn't stop there as she moved to sidestep an attempted swing at her from a bear demi wielding a battleaxe and she responded to him by twirling around quickly and cutting off his hands before slicing his throat. A third cat demi dressed in leather armor charged at her with twin knives in her hands, trying to stab her. Mein merely grabbed her left wrist holding the blade that was going to be stabbed into her neck, before pushing it into the throat of the cat bandit and kicking her to the ground to choke on her own blood. Mein grabbed one of the knives from the cat bandit and proceeded to throw it at another bandit, hitting him square in the head and dropping him dead.
" GET THIS BITCH!" Five bandits roared in anger as they charged from her left.
" Fast Gust!" Mein didn't miss a beat as she raised her left hand and summoned a powerful burst of wind that send the bandits flying into the pushes, throwing off their charge.
When fighting a superior number of enemies, it was important to stay mobile and keep them from overwhelming you. Mein had more than enough speed to do just that, but Raphtalia didn't and she needed to stay close to her. The agent of the Outsider than had to stick to the second principle of facing off against large flow of enemies which is to find someway to break up the flow of their movement and ability to overwhelm you. Whether that was through smoke bombs, killing their leader to break their coordination or even just good ol' fashioned magic to throw a dagger in their plans. Mein opted for the last option since that was just about the only thing she could do at the moment without Raphtalia at risk.
" What the fuck are you idiots doing!? GET HER!" Mouse shouted in anger.
Mein heard the footsteps before she ever heard the cry of anger and desolation, as she turned her head just enough to see a bull man charging at her from behind with a spear, likely intending to impale. Two more bandits charged from her front armed with a swords, which gave her an idea.
The princess turned agent sidestepped the attempt to impale her and instead grabbed the shaft of the spear to direct towards one of the bandits that charged from the front, sending the spear clean through his gut and making the poor bastard instantly cough up blood from suddenly being impaled. The bull looked horrified at having killed his companion, but he didn't get to think on it for too long before Mein sliced his head clean off his shoulders. She used her sword to block an attempted slash at her from the other bandit, before using her dagger to stab him clean in the throat.
One of the bandits that she blasted earlier with her Fast Gust recovered and attempted to slash at her with his shortsword, which she was able to easily dodge and move away from, which resulted in them getting particularly close to the fire Mein had set up. And a dark idea came to her mind on how to kill him.
When he swung his shortsword once more, Mein grabbed his wrist holding the weapon and twisted his arm around, before throwing him face first into the roaring fire.
" AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" The bandit screamed as she held her metal boot down on his back to keep his face in the fire.
" Holy shit..." Mein could hear one of the bandits mutter in shock at the display of brutality. Raphtalia herself looked sick in the face at what she was doing, but at the moment Mein couldn't really focus on it.
Some part of her almost enjoyed that fear she could illicit from these scum.
" Tch! Useless fucks! Get out of my way! I'll handle this!" Mouse declared as she pushed past her men, her hand smoking with an other worldly kind of smoke that Mein recognized.
Which was why she was prepared when Mouse disappeared in a ball of white light and smoke, before reappearing once more in front of Mein attempting to stab her with her dual knives. Mein was able to easily block her attempt, almost stumbling back because the strikes were a bit stronger than she anticipated but she was able to deflect it and kick the bandit leader in the stomach back.
This bitch has black magic too. Great.
" You need to do better than that, you second rate thug." Mein mocked with a smirk, making Mouse's face twist in anger after getting kicked.
" How about this!?" Mouse shouted as she seemed to focus her power and in a puff of smoke, an exact doppelganger of Mouse appeared before Mein and instantly tried to stab her.
That's a new one! Kinda wish I had it.
" Raphtalia, get back!" Mein shouted as she faced off against the two Mouses, being able to clearly tell which one was the fake due to how emotionless one looked. Both were still equally sloppy in a fight and Mein was able to keep up with the two.
A simple twirl to dodge a overhead slice that would have cut her eyes out, which allowed her to cut the doppelganger clean across the stomach which would have bisected her but instead the doppelganger just disappeared in a puff of smoke. Mein didn't pay it any mind as she delivered another quick kick to Mouse's stomach, sending her to the floor.
Mouse's face by this point contorted with anger, as she grit her teeth in frustration." FUCK THIS!"
The bandit leader raise her smoking hand, and before Mein could do anything, Mouse disappeared. But not in the same way a transversal made someone disappear, this was something different. It confused Mein for a moment as she wondered where the bandit leader disappeared to.
" What the hell!? Raphtalia, are you-" Mein didn't get to finish speaking as a sharp pain pierced her leg and she looked down to see Raphtalia stabbing her with dagger in hand.
You know, Qin told me that this chapter reminded him of God of War 2018 when Kratos was teaching BOY about how to be a man. Minus the chest thumping masculinity and more of Malty showing off her motherly teaching side to Raphtalia. I do wonder if anybody else will think that about this chapter.
:P
Just to clarify at the ending, Raphtalia got possessed by Mouse who used her body to attack Malty with a dagger. I'm not going to lie, I took some creative liberties for how Possession works here and think it would be suitably terrifying if the possessor could use somebody to attack another person, albeit with an incredible amount of effort on their part. So just to round up Mouse's current abilities she has Strength, Blink, Doppelganger and Possession at her disposal.
Not to spoil anything but next chapter is going to be fun to write for me personally.
With that said, I will see you all in the next one.
Angel Out.