Fang crouched near the boar's body with his bone knife in hand, the rough skin resisting the blade with tenacity.
Blood soaked his palms and spilled onto the rocky ground as he worked, careful not to waste any part of the beast.
"This is the most disgusting thing I have ever done, and I just killed this monster.
Fuck me, blood smells like metal."
Smoke sat a few steps away, watching silently as Fang dismembered the beast they had killed together, but he didn't approach yet.
Fang had told him to wait until the butchering was done.
With each stroke of the knife, more pieces of meat were laid on the ground near Fang.
"I need to find something to wrap it in, or to give up on the hide of the pig.
What to do, what to do..."
Smoke twitched his nose, his violet eyes flicking from the meat to Fang. The little rabbit stayed put, clearly understanding that this part was angering Fang. Cursing under his breath, frustration was building in fang as he realized how poorly prepared he was for this kind of work.
"Damn it," he muttered, stabbing the knife into the dirt to free up his hands.
"I should've brought something to carry this mess. I can't just haul a pile of bloody meat through the forest like an idiot."
He looked around, his eyes focusing on a couple of thick, smooth leaves growing near the base of a tree. An idea passed in his mind, and he moved over to them, yanking a few free.
The leaves were broad and sturdy.
Good enough to wrap some of the meat.
"Should I wash the leaves first? Nah, I will just wash the meat later in the stream no biggie."
He kneeled near the carcass and began assembling makeshift bundles, wrapping chunks of meat in the leaves and tying them off with small leather strips he made from the boar's hide. It wasn't pretty, but it would do the job.
"I would have carried it with my death grab, but I fear it will only drain the life force from the leaves, and it will just crumble.
I really need to build a backpack or something to carry stuff."
Fang took the boar's hide and draped it over a low-hanging branch, securing it as best as he could to keep it off the ground.
He made sure it was well out of reach from any predators, knowing that leaving it exposed would make it easy to be snatched. It wasn't the smartest solution, but it would do.
With that taken care of, he grabbed the bundles of meat wrapped in leaves and tucked them under his arm. Smoke, still sitting a few steps away, twitched his nose in Fang's direction but didn't say anything. The little rabbit knew better than to look for instructions and would just follow like a good soldier.
The journey back to camp wasn't long, but the weight of the wrapped meat in Fang's hands reminded him of how unprepared he had been.
"Fuck, this is going to be a long day. I still need to get back to get the hide. I should look for a way to create a backpack, I'm getting tired carrying things like that."
When they finally made it to camp, Fang wasted no time.
He fixed the meat down near the fire and began preparing it for cooking. He kept the leaves enveloped tightly around the chunks of meat, placing them directly between the hot coals. The heat from the fire started to steam the meat inside, the leaves helping to preserve the moisture and flavors as they cooked.
Fang sat back and finally authorized himself to relax, if only a little. The food wasn't going to be the best, but it would be enough to keep him going. The smell of steaming meat filled the air, and for the first time in hours, Fang felt some intense hunger.
'Seriously, I should really learn how to farm. For now, I will keep relying on luck in hunting. And I need to learn to preserve food too, I feel like the days are getting colder lately. It could be the start of winter, and I don't know how cold it gets here.'
The winds outside the cave cooled with each day Fang was living in the forest, but the rain had been absent since yesterday.
The thing is, the cold has troubled Fang's stomach as the hunger grew in the cold.
Fang stared at the steaming leaves wrapped around the chunks of boar meat, his stomach rolling. He could already taste the feast just from the rich, earthy scent mixing with the lingering smell of blood and ash. For a moment, he let himself just breathe it in, grateful that he'd managed to make something halfway edible out of that bloody mess.
"I really need to find salt, I would sell my soul for some seasonings here, wow. This pig meat is tough enough on its own; no need to make it bland. I'm lucky the fat is tasty enough.
It should be ready too, let's unwrap one for now."
He grabbed one of the wrapped bundles, peeling away the scorched leaves to reveal the cooked meat. The steam rose in a burst, and Fang was surprised at how hot it was.
Despite how rough the preparation had been, it didn't look half bad. He tore off a piece with his teeth, the fibrous meat resisting a little before giving way, juices running down his chin. It was surprisingly tender for wild boar, the heat from the coals locking in the flavors.
"The leaves are really changing the texture, this is by far more tender than the one from before. It must be the moisture, the leaves protected the meat from drying out.
Cooking Is an art, there is a lot of potential here."
Smoke edged closer, nose twitching, eyes fixed on the steaming pile of food. Fang glanced at him, then picked off a smaller piece, holding it out.
"Here. You earned it too, didn't ya?"
Smoke approached cautiously, giving it a careful sniff before snagging the piece out of Fang's hand. He chewed on it with surprising grace for a rabbit, his violet eyes flicking up to Fang now and then as if making sure it was okay.
"Better than chewing on grass, huh? Though I was quite sure you live off of mana, maybe you can absorb the mana from the meat too?" Fang smirked and tore into another chunk himself. The warmth spread through him, chasing away the fatigue that had gotten into his bones during the hunt.
It was messy eating, with Fatty fluids streaking his fingers and the occasional small bone getting in the way. He just spat those out, tossing them into the dying coals.
As he ate, his mind wandered. This kind of meal felt almost primal, sitting by a fire, the smell of blood still clinging to him, his hands stained red from the beast's blood.
This was his life now. hunting, killing, carving, eating. No comfort, no luxury. Just survival.
'Well, at least I can eat meat. in my past life, my parents wouldn't give me something so tasty. I think the last time I ate meat was on my birthday a few years ago, but from then on, they didn't give me any... never mind, now I am responsible for my own food, and no one will take this from me.'
The warmth of the fire pressed against his skin while the cold edged closer, clawing at the cracks in the stone. He would need to prepare better, maybe collect firewood tomorrow or start thinking about a more permanent shelter. Or at least something more fortified and warm than this makeshift camp.
Smoke finished his piece and wandered off to curl up by the fire, content for now. Fang kept eating, slowly working his way through one bundle after another, his stomach finally easing from its famished ache. It wasn't just hunger he was feeding, this was his body craving the mana hidden in the food. He just didn't know the secrets of the world yet.
He leaned back, staring at the fading glow of the coals, the air around him growing colder. The sky outside was turning a dusky purple, stars slowly pricking through the darkness. Fang felt that tension settling again—like he was caught between being a wild animal and something more.
With a sigh, he glanced over at Smoke, who was already drifting off to sleep. The rabbit looked oddly content, curled up like a ball of fur against the warmth. Fang couldn't help but smirk. At least one of them didn't have to think about the future.
His stomach finally felt full, and he allowed himself to stretch out on the ground, staring at the stars through the gap in the cave's roof. The air was sharp, cutting through the heat of the fire, and he pulled his cloak tighter around himself. He would need to hunt again tomorrow, but at least tonight he wasn't starving.
Just one night of rest.
that's all he needed. Tomorrow, he'd deal with everything else. For now, he would just sleep, full and content, with the faint scent of cooked meat still hanging in the air.
But the forest now started to go up in flames, and sleep was not on the menu tonight.