As she wandered around the camp, Ves was unsure what to do with herself. Having spent her life entirely governed by the orders of others, free time was not a concept she was used to. Even after she escaped, her sole focus was survival.

  But now what?

  The Dragonewets were much better at day-to-day tasks than she was. She, of course, offered to help, but something always got in the way. Honestly, her claw was most of the reason. It either scared people off or made doing simple tasks she had a lifetime of experience with nearly impossible. She needed far more practice for delicate work with her claw, or as delicate as one could be with daggers for fingers.

  Honestly, aside from Yujiro and his sister, almost no one spoke to her outside of necessity. Setsu would try to make time, but being the one essentially in charge, she was understandably busy. As for the others, she still got a cold shoulder; many were still fearful, just trying not to show it. Not that it bothered her much, she was used to being shunned. In Kohdessia, she was property with many, even her fellow servants, treating her with disdain. So now, at least the reason was different. Not that she was really sure which was worse. Still, no matter how many times she tried to explain it, she knew Nell had been taking it all to heart, blaming herself.

  Oddly, though, while many adults stayed clear of her, children were a different story. Even now, she could glance behind her and see a group of kids trying and failing to follow her stealthily.

  ‘They have been following us for almost an hour,’ Nell commented.

  “I know,” Ves quietly replied.

  Seeing as she had no better ideas, maybe she could entertain them. Keeping children out of adults' hair was, in a way, a job. Stopping, she turned around to look directly at the group trying to hide behind a tent. “If you need something from me, feel free to ask. No reason to hide.”

  One of the children, a little boy who, if Ves had to guess, was around ten, poked his head out from around the tent. The poor child was one of the few dragonewts to be contracted. Had she only been just a little faster.

  “Are you a monster?” the boy asked, snapping Ves from her melancholy.

  “Nope, is it the claw?” Ves wiggling her clawed fingers.

  “My dad said to be careful and stay away, but he didn’t see. You saved us.” The boy spoke back while still hiding behind the tent.

  Ves smiled weakly at that. The boy was still contracted; maybe one day she could truly free him. As the conversation went on, Ves could see a few more children popping their heads out from behind the tent.

  “If you’re not a monster, what are you?” the boy asked.

  “I’m a human, or at least I was,” Ves responded.

  “Humans don’t have claws.” A little girl next to the boy chimed in.

  “Hmm, fair point. I guess I don’t know what I am.” Ves mused to herself.

  “Then how do you know you’re not a monster?” The boy asked in response.

  “Monsters all have soul cores in their chests.” Ves pulled the neck of her shirt down slightly, not enough to be immodest but enough to show there was no core. “See no core.”

  “Umm.. what’s a core?” Another child asked.

  “Sometimes when someone or something passes away, their soul will linger and possess a new body. If it’s a corpse, they are undead. If it’s a living creature, a core will form in the chest. But the core can make them crazy, which is why monsters are almost always vicious and dangerous.” That said, Old Grey was a monster, but he was still civil and likely closer to a local deity.

  “Horned bears don’t have cores! And everyone calls them monsters,” the boy retorted, interrupting her from her thoughts.

  “Horned bears aren’t real monsters, just really scary animals. Scary enough that they may as well be monsters,” Ves replied.

  “Could you fight a horned bear? One attacked our camp a month back. It was huge!” one of the children shouted.

  Ves pondered to herself for a moment, “I know I can take out a dire wolf. Not sure about a horned bear.”

  That revelation brought most of the children out of hiding, their eyes sparkling with awe.

  “You fought a dire wolf! I thought only Ryuko could do that!” the boy shouted in excitement.

  “She can take out a Dire wolf? I didn’t know she was that strong.” Ves replied

  “With a bow from a safe distance, not sure I would ever want to fight one up close,” a voice said from behind Ves. She turned around in surprise to see Ryuko standing there.

  “That’s still impressive,” Ves replied.

  “I suppose,” Ryuko replied with a fidget.

  “Anyway, speaking of, could I invite you to join me on a hunt?” Ryuko asked nervously.

  “A hunt?” Ves questioned back.

  “Yeah, with all the captives returned, the food stores took a hit. So… I wondered if you would be willing to join me in gathering some more?” Ryuko asked.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “I suppose, but I warn you, I am terrible at it,” Ves replied with a shrug. It was not like she had any other plans. Teasing Ryuko and just maybe learning to hunt wouldn’t be a bad way to spend the day.

  “So, my brother told me, figure I can teach you. I mean, you’re already strong. I don’t think it will be that hard for you.”

  “I’m strong, but that doesn’t mean I know how to fight or hunt. I learned the hard way all the strength in the world doesn’t mean anything if you have no skills to back it up.” Ves said, remembering all her failed attempts at even catching the simplest prey. The only thing she could ‘hunt’ were predators too stupid or desperate to realize she was stronger.

  “Hence my offer,” Ryuko stated, beaming.

  “I’m in your hands,” Ves said with a smile.

  Three fumbling hours later, and Ryuko sat on a log with vacant eyes.

  “How?” she asked, speaking more to herself than to anyone specific.

  “I told you…” Ves responded, herself exhausted, mentally at least.

  ‘I knew we were bad, but having a real hunter to compare ourselves to… this is comical…’ Nell chimed in, sounding equally exhausted to Ves.

  For the past several hours, they had been out in the forest, Ryuko happily trying to teach Ves how to track and stalk prey. Or at least she started happy. As time went on, she quickly learned that Ves was as subtle as a brick wall. Every time she tried to sneak up on the game, it would see, smell, or hear her coming from far away.

  A snapped branch here.

  A sneeze there.

  Completely random shift in wind direction.

  Or more often than not, getting lost herself trying to sneak up on the prey.

  Each time Ryuko would try to explain to Ves what she did wrong. But the advice would be lost on Ves. How in the world was she supposed to avoid brushing up against shrubs or stepping on sticks in the forest? They were everywhere!

  Ves had tried to make excuses, saying she had it harder as she had to get in close enough to use her claw, only for Ryuko to point out she seldom got even close enough where a decent hunter could get a shot off with a bow.

  “I’m city girl Ryuko. I think hunting just isn’t my thing.” Ves said.

  “One more try. I’ve trained children to hunt. There is no way I can’t train you.” Ryuko responded obviously, trying to feign confidence.

  “Don’t we need to actually catch something? You know to help feed everyone?” Ves questioned.

  Ryuko waved off her concern, “It’s not like we will starve tonight, worst case, I can get a few catches tomorrow.”

  Looking Ves in the eyes, “You can do this, just take it slow and steady. I spotted an old buck. Thing’s senses are likely getting a bit weak in its old age.”

  “If its senses are really that bad, wouldn’t another predator have taken it out?” Ves asked.

  “Likely just a matter of time, yes, but this buck is a beast. I bet it’s too much of a hassle for most predators who prefer an easier fight.”

  Ves gave Ryuko a flat stare, “And you want me to fight it instead?”

  Ryuko just laughed, “It’s still a deer, you can fight dire wolves and armed men. I doubt a deer, even a buck, will be much of an issue. But no, it’s getting late. This time, I just want you to follow my lead closely, watching what I do. When we get close, I’ll just use my bow.”

  Up until this point, Ryuko had always watched from afar and given feedback after each failed attempt. Now Ryuko was walking Ves through it step by step, pointing out what to watch out for. This style of teaching suited her far better.

  “See this bush here, they often snag on your clothes and snap back loudly as you walk past. Best to avoid them, as there is no good way to try to disguise it as the rustle of the wind. And that tree there has nuts that dry out and are hard to see on the ground, but have a loud crack when you step on them. We are fine at this time of the year, but best to avoid being anywhere near them in the fall.”

  Ves watched on, amused as Ryuko was in her element, explaining a thousand little things Ves would have never noticed and honestly would forget most of by the time the day was done. Even still, Ves found herself enjoying the experience and the company. The woman was honestly a breath of fresh air.

  It was then things had to go south…

  Ryuko’s animated explanations suddenly stopped, and her expression turned deathly serious as she gestured for Ves to be still and quiet.

  “Whats wro-” Ves tried to ask before Ryuko shushed her, and pointed deeper into the woods.

  Squinting, Ves tried to make out what Ryuko was pointing at before her own eyes went wide. It was the apex predator in this part of the forest, not including monsters. A Horned bear, she had been warned about them on past hunting trips. They were walking disasters and would require a whole group of trained, heavily armed men to take them down safely. She even heard stories of a single bear butchering whole hamlets that settled too close to the forest.

  Even still, none of the stories did the creature justice. She had seen dire bears, which were already as big as a horse. This beast even dwarfed that, its paws alone had to be larger than a human head. Then on its skull was the telltale stubby horn that gave them their namesake.

  ‘If we fight that thing… Well… I don’t think we can win.’ Nell said, and Ves couldn’t help but agree.

  Thankfully, the beast had yet to notice them. Ves could see Ryuko frantically looking around to plan out a means for them to escape quietly.

  With worry in her eyes, Ryuko turned to look at Ves and gestured for her to work her way back the way they came.

  Ves placed all her focus in carefully following Ryuko.

  Just one foot in front of the other.

  In the forest, there were so many things she could step on and make a sound loud enough for the bear to pick up on. Not watching her steps had been one of her biggest issues earlier in the day, so she began to hyperfocus on her own feet.

  Nothing else in her mind, just one foot in front of the other.

  She was so focused, she didn’t see the low-hanging branch in front of her.

  One she walked right into, her head smacking into the wood with a thunk before she lost her balance and tumbled backward. As Ves pulled herself back to her feet, she could see Ryuko looking down at her in horror. She didn’t even need to look to check for herself; Ryuko’s face said it all.

  “Run!” Ryuko shouted as she reached down to help Ves back to her feet.

  Behind them, Ves could hear the bear charging through the forest, quickly closing the distance. Ves made the mistake of risking a look back and could see the bear swatting trees out of its way like they were twigs.

  ‘Faster Ves! It's gaining on us!’ Nell shouted into her head.

  Unfortunately, Ves quickly realized there was no way she could outrun the bear. She was having a hard time even keeping up with Ryuko and could tell the woman was intentionally trying to avoid getting too far ahead despite her own fear.

  “Nell, I’m sorry, I don’t think we can do this,” Ves said. “At this rate, it will get us, and Ryuko.”

  ‘You want to make a stand?’ Nell asked, as Ves could feel her trepidation through their connection.

  “I don’t think we have a choice; we can at least give Ryuko a chance to escape,” Ves responded.

  ‘I suppose it’s better to do so now before we exhaust ourselves and it catches us anyway.’

  “I’m sorry Nell,” Ves said as she stopped and turned around to face the bear.

  ‘Don’t be, short as it was, I enjoyed our time together.’ Nell responded.

  Ves could hear a shout from behind here, “Ves, what are you doing? Run!”

  Without looking back, “No, you run! I can’t outrun this thing. Least I can do is buy you time. I don’t think I can win, but maybe I can make it think I’m not worth the effort.”

  Not waiting for a response, Ves charged the beast. The closer she got, the faster she realized she had made a terrible decision. From a distance, it had been terrifying. From up close, it was death. Worse from this close, she could see it had a core, a small one, but it was still there. This wasn’t a deadly beast, it was a legitimate monster…