“You’ve been using magic nonstop and seem just fine,” Jenny said, taking another bite of the fruit.
Yuki glared at Jenny. That was a red flag if she ever heard one. Jenny needed to learn about those things and learn soon. There was magic here, and while no god meddled in character creation, Yuki wasn’t convinced they didn’t exist either. Any bored divine being hearing that would take the blonde words as an invitation to cause trouble.
The sharp, creaking noise of a branch stepped on resounded from behind.
By the log, Yuki stood on her legs, ears pointed in the sound’s direction. Shivers started from her fluffy tail to her legs, spine, and ears. She looked about, confident Jenny had just invited disaster on them.
“What is it, Biscuit?”
Yuki took her time to answer, listening for any other noise. “Heard something.”
Jenny tossed the half-eaten fruit away — was that a sigh of relief? — and picked up the spear, looking in the same direction. “How far?”
“Not far.”
The blonde nodded. She put the bag near a tree and threw leaves over it. A careful onlooker wouldn’t have trouble finding it, but it was better than nothing. Jenny crouched behind a tree trunk and waited.
Yuki waited hidden, listening to the approaching sound.
With careful, slow steps, a deer crept into view. The fawn walked closer, often stopping and listening and sometimes even retreating a step or two. The thing was cute. The white spots on its coat and long, gangly legs reminded Yuki of that famous baby deer from the children’s movie.
Yuki wanted to get closer and play around with the fawn.
The calf took its time and stopped next to the discarded fruit. It sniffed at it for a long time before eating it. The baby animal shook its head a few times while it ate. Done with the discarded fruit, it moved toward the bag. It didn’t take long until it had uncovered and had its snout inside the leather bag.
The nearby movement startled Yuki and the fawn. Yuki ducked down, and the fawn reared its head.
Jenny was on the animal in no time, spear held in both hands and ready.
“No!” Yuki yelled.
The fawn let out a chirping cry.
Jenny impaled the cute almost-Bambi. Using the momentum, Jenny twisted the spear, and the deer fell. Before the animal could resist, Jenny had already stepped on its neck, pinning it to the ground.
Yuki watched in horror, the dream breaking in front of her eyes.
Jenny had a broad smile on her face. “Lucky!” She exclaimed. “It’s been a while since I ate deer.” After a while, the blonde looked toward where Yuki was hidden. “You think we’ll need another one after this?”
Yuki didn’t want to remember the past hour. Suffice it to say she ate the magic stone and restored four more magic points. Jenny, the monster, sat by an improvised fire, cooking meat at daggerpoint. It was her third serving.
“Tastes strange.” That was all the blonde said after eating the first cut.
Cute animal culture wreaked havoc on Yuki’s mind, even if it was stupid. It was just an animal; no matter how cute it was, Jenny needed to eat, and Yuki needed the magic.
What if Yuki didn’t need magic anymore? Given how it worked here, enchanting with a spell effect seemed more tempting each time she needed to cast spells. Her magic pool would take a hit, but imagine if Yuki created a healing collar for her pet and maybe an amulet of Wrack for herself. With attack and healing covered, she wouldn’t be so pressed for magic all the time, even if her pool was smaller.
Yuki did the math regarding how much magic would be reserved. For [Regeneration], the efficacy of the spell was based on her [Invocation] skill. She could enchant the magic to work at range or affect more people to be safe. With both options, the total magic points reserved would be four points. [Wrack] needed magnitude and range, two other parameters, which meant another four magic points reserved. Or Yuki could do a basic [Regeneration] for two reserved points and [Wrack] for four. That would still leave her with twelve magic points to work with.
Yuki could always undo the enchantment if things went south and regain her reserved magic.
“Are you angry?”
Jenny’s voice cut through the raze of math and magic. Yuki sulked a bit, the question bringing her back. “Maybe.” She admitted.
The blonde looked away from the fire and at Yuki. “Why?”
“It was cute.”
Thankfully, the woman didn’t laugh. She nodded a slow, deliberate movement. “Come here,” she said, putting the dagger down and placing both hands on the ground.
Yuki hopped closer, then on the woman’s hand.
Jenny hugged Yuki, bringing the rabbit closer to her face. “I’m sorry.” She apologized. “Should we avoid cute animals in the future?”
Yuki considered the words. What were cute animals? That was a hard question to answer; she liked creepy-cute things as well. But Yuki knew what she wanted already. “No,” she said after a while. “Only rabbits, cats, and dogs.”
Jenny didn’t say anything, just stared for a long while. “We kill only when needed,” she agreed. “And not rabbits, dogs, or cats.” Something strange was in Jenny’s voice that Yuki couldn’t place.
“Thank you,” Yuki said, nuzzling the woman’s cheeks.
After the brief respite, they continued on. Yuki was sure they were lost and just trying their luck; but after a few hours of trudging through the wilds, Jenny found a trail and, soon after, a road. This one, the blonde recognized. It wasn’t the main road leading to the capital, but a small one leading to nearby farming villages.
“Just a few months ago, I had to visit Bramble Village with Baron Baldwin. There was a spot of trouble.” Jenny had a smile on her face, her voice full of energy. She looked at both sides of the road before pointing. “If we follow that, the town should be a few hours away. We might arrive there before nightfall.”
Yuki didn’t trust the woman’s sense of direction. She eyed both sides of the road. “You sure?”
“Yes, I know where we are; come on,” Jenny said and started walking.
Yuki had the nagging feeling the woman had no idea where she was going. She could only hope for the best.
OMG you killed Bambi!
You MONSTER!
Aww, poor Bambi. Tasty though. Probably not a bad idea to get another stone or two just in case. I wonder how long they keep.
Thanks for the chapter
Bambi nooo.
In all seriousness dear can be deadly
and tasty. Tho I definitly get where Yuki is coming from.