After leaving the forest, Julius placed the containers before the horses, causing excited neighing to resound in the peaceful night.
Upon hearing them, Nova ran back in alarm, crossing fifty ters in eight seconds before widening her eyes. "What is this creature?!" She exclaid, gazing at the magical beasts they hunted.
"I don't know what its na is, but it's the kids' dinner," replied Adam before a frown etched itself on his face. "Is that how you look after her?" He added, pointing at the silently sitting Morgane.
"She doesn't speak at all! It's so boring to stay around here," Nova said defensively, feeling unjustly accused. Then she added, pressing her right hand before Adam's face, "I found many more interesting things. Look!"
Forced, he looked at her opened palm, his pupils constricting. "WHAT THE...!" He scread, slapping her hand away and causing the maggot she was holding to fly. While other won plucked flowers or caught rabbits, he was faced with one who cheerfully shoved maggots before his face with a bright smile. Where did his life turn so wrong? 'Since the beginning,' he thought, smiling wryly.
"No! Why did you slap Timmy?" Yelled Nova in panic, dropping to the ground to find her new friend.
"..."
'Why does it have a na?!' He scread inwardly, massaging his forehead. Then, he explained, "Usually, people don't feel close to these creatures, finding them disgusting. Wait until we settle, and I'll find you sothing more... Appropriate, like a cat, for example?"
"Hee? Ptui, ptui. I didn't know they were disgusting!" Nova responded, causing Julius to fall to the ground, holding his stomach as his laughter echoed in the surroundings.
With quivering brows, Adam helped her rise and gazed at the laughing boy before saying, "Julius, you teach her about common knowledge lest she draw attention to us in the cities!"
"Let her discover things gradually. It's funnier like that," responded the boy, wiping his tears with his thumb.
"What's a cat? Is it a strange beast like the one you brought back?" Nova asked, her voice almost singing in their ears.
"You'll see when we get you one. In the anti, don't grab anything you see!" Adam answered before focusing on Julius. Then he threw the beast on the ground and added, "We are in winter, so the at has little chance to go bad. Yet, I want to avoid any risk to your health."
Turning serious, Julius asked, "What do you want to do, big bro?"
"I'm no expert, but you'll have to dirty your hands, that's for sure. First, we'll hang it upside down for a few hours to drain its blood. Then, we'll remove its organs and skin. Finally, we'll butcher and smoke the at for preservation," Adam explained, rembering blood could contaminate the food.
"Oh! I've seen guards eat smoked at before. So, that's how they do it!" Exclaid Julius, his hands trembling to learn under the starlit sky.
Next, they divided the tasks. Nova would gather wood, Julius butcher the at, and Adam remove the skin to sell it later, even if he doubted he could get a decent price for a tier one beast's material.
Everyone busied themselves under Morgane's bitter eyes. She had cald a bit after an entire day since the revelation, yet she still felt terrible. With her dream gone, she didn't know what to do or hope for anymore. Even knowing Adam was attentive enough to care for her despite this morning's shaful outburst didn't help her accept the situation.
'I hope I'll find the strength to forgive them one day,' she earnestly thought, but her heart refused to listen. Truthfully, she didn't want to speak to anyone right now, preferring to observe their cooperative manner of surviving in the wild silently.
As the carcass gradually turned into fresh at, Nova returned from her mission, carrying branches under her arms with a radiant smile.
Contrary to her, Adam grimaced upon seeing her. Facepalming in frustration, he asked, "Why did gathering a few branches take you this long?!"
"Listen, listen! I found a strange winged creature that could speak!" She responded, her face flushed red with excitent as she pointed at the forest.
However, only sceptical gazes t her bizarre statent. Talking birds? Who would believe that?
Annoyed by their reaction, she yelled, "It really did! It said: Rohoo, found the kids, found the kids!"
Upon hearing the ssage, Adam's and Julius' faces paled. "We must leave. Now!" they both exclaid, understanding their position was exposed.
Without waiting, Julius ran to the at, took a few pieces he planned to roast later, and abandoned the rest. Next, he filled their flasks to the brim, giving up on the containers, too. Finally, he helped Morgane and the confused Nova mount their horses before jumping on his with Adam.
Then, holding the girl's horse leash, he sped towards the north, worried about the lack of sleep Morgane would suffer from. Since he was a cultivator, he could stay awake for a few nights without suffering too much. Yet, the girl's body was weak. He doubted she would do well if the sa situation occurred again tomorrow.
Thus, he yelled behind, "Nova, hold Morgane tight and tell her to try to sleep while we ride!"
Under Adam's nods of prideful approval, they fled in the darkness of the night, unaware that a few hundred kiloters away, King Thorian Bellor and Queen Cordelia Aurora discussed their capture.
"I'm lending you a big service by mobilising so many n for your fugitives," Said Cordelia, her red eyes glinting and her lips curled into a aningful smile.
With a snort, Thorian replied, "Am I not here to compensate you? What do you want?"
"Nothing much, really. I think a hundred of your summoned will do," said the queen, raising a finger to emphasise the number as her smile widened. With the fast-approaching prophesied war, what good would gold do to her and the country? What she needed were capable fighters, and it so happened that Thorian gathered a few thousand, according to her spies.
That offer was more than what ets the eye. With it, she aid to gauge the fugitives' values. If the tyrant of Belloria agreed, she would do anything she could to stage their demise before enslaving them to the Aurora domain. After all, not anyone could cause a king to personally move. Thus, she suspected those fugitives to be among his finest summoned, worth much more than a hundred diocre ones.
Upon reaching that thought, her red and white hairs bristled as her delicately embroidered robes trembled, accompanying the tremors of excitent jolting her body.
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