DreadWolf

◈ Chapter 145:

A radiant azure butterfly fluttered across the grass, gently flitting from blade to blade. Pickle watched her target with a furious focus, like a tiny tiger, only her eyes visible from where she hid in the long grass.

After many minutes of patience the butterfly at last came close to where she hid and she pounced. Leaping into the air, reaching to catch the pretty sparkly thing!

She missed completely of course, and rolled head over heels across the grass until she came to a stop with a flop.

A moment later the butterfly alighted on her unmoving head.

It lazily moved its wings up and down in the sun, sunbathing, seemingly considering the goat child a complete non-threat. After a moment of disbelief Pickle growled at the indignance and grabbed for it in a surprise attack, but the butterfly casually fluttered away, teasing her by remaining just out of reach.

"Badfly," she groaned before sitting up.

Clearly the butterfly was cheating and magic. A hero like her couldn't be outsmarted by a butterfly, that made no sense. She'd have to make some artistic flourishes to the story of her epic hunt when she told it to Bean later.

She flicked away a blade of grass on the bridge of her nose and watched as the gem like butterfly fluttered across the grassy square that was home. New father was there, being grumpy as usual. Doubly so than normal as new mother was visiting for her monthly deep clean of the place.

Pickle didn't mind. When new mother visited that meant the most amazing food ever would soon be served because new mother was a very good cook.

In the past she'd even tried to get Bean to eat new mother's super tasty food, sneaking portions away from the table to feed him. But he'd simply hissed at the stuff and angrily licked his eyeballs. Bean had a weird sense of taste.

Things had been peaceful with new mother and new father pottering around the various buildings that made up home and that seemed likely to continue until nap time. But then the front door had swung open and the green girl who had eaten too much had appeared, then, to her astonishment, a giant teddy bear had stepped into her world.

Today was clearly going to be a great day.

Pickle was a good girl. At least in her estimation. No, wait, more than good, she was a hero! So of course she was the first to figure out that the girl who wore clouds was hurt really bad, and first to fetch the healy box that new father had taught her about.

They'd saved her of course, thanks to her quick thinking, which just went to show how heroic she was, butterfly or not. She would definitely be telling Bean about this later when they had their midnight storytime.

The only thing that had been better than being very heroic and amazing was the appearance of the giant teddy bear. Now that was something she could stare at forever. So much fluff, so much bear. It was hard to comprehend. The only one who could possibly compete with this new fluff bear was the ultimate fluffy boy. It was a shame he wasn't here, two big fluffs were so much better than one.

She wrinkled her nose as she recalled that Bean wasn't a fan of the ultimate fluffy boy. Which was silly, really, who wouldn't be a fan? Fluff was so soft and he had so much fluff! Fluff!

It was one of the few times that she and Bean had 'argued', the last storytime had ended with lots of arm waving and huffing, which bothered her a lot, she didn't want to upset the bald lizard.

New father had saved her from the dungeon, but Bean...

In the early days, after leaving the dungeon, when she couldn't sleep and spent her nights weeping, he had come for her. At first she had been scared of the thing creeping in the dark, but then she had slowly gotten used to the bald lizard's presence, and then somehow they had begun to communicate, mostly wordlessly and with gestures.

Her forever connection to the bald lizard had formed when she had come to understand that Bean was afraid, afraid in the exact same way she was. He too had come from a place of nightmares, a place of horrors, a place that preyed on the mind.

She'd asked him what his bad place had been, had it been the dungeon like her?

Bean had told her, his voice a scratchy whisper, a voice not used in years and years.

He'd told her,"The Place."

She'd instantly understood that was its name, it wasn't the dungeon, it was so so much worse than that, and then she'd seen his eyes, the sheer depth of the trauma there was like a physical blow. She couldn't breathe at the sight, her throat constricting, her guts filling with ice. His eyes told her that what had been done to him had happened there, the loss of his scales, his lack of voice, the endless haunting fear.

She'd burst into tears and the bald lizard had fretted, tears rolling down his scale-less cheeks.

They'd held each other, shaking and crying in shared trauma until the sun had risen, so much fear and trauma cried out in one night that she had felt light headed and shaky limbed the next day.

It was only after she had found Bean and in him someone who so perfectly understood her that she had been able to open up to new father and new mother and family.

That was why she was so fiercely protective of Bean. He was family.

-

Rain let out a breath of pained air as he moved to sit cross legged by the table, his arm twinging because the marble sized holes that had been punched through his flesh had only been half healed.

He lifted a bear paw to touch at it, but paused as movement caught his attention.

Pickle was there, standing on the table. She held out a bottle for him. A healing potion.

"...Thank you?"

Rain brought his bear paws together and gingerly plucked it from her hands. Pickle gave him a brilliantly pleased smile, her eyes squeezing shut with joy. He wasn't sure she knew who was in the plushie, but she had quickly noticed he was injured. That was kind of impressive in a way.

The bear paws of course were just nubs, they didn't have any digits, and he had no way of actually using the potion on his wounds.

It was time to lose the plushie.

A dozen dark centipedes poured from his fur, their pincers sliding into the fabric. Then they began to scissor.

"What the hell are those things?" snapped Warwick, his crossbow once more materialising in his hands and pointing at Rain.

Rain didn't answer but sat patiently as the centipedes did their work, cutting and chewing a ring around the neck, the shoulders, the legs, and then finally dividing the torso into front and back sections. The fur lined fabric cut up in a way that he could maybe sew it back together someday.

It was a ridiculous thing to wear really... but he had liked being able to walk through the city without people screaming their heads off in fright or attacking him.

The centipedes finished and took hold of the cloth, tugging the separate parts away as he held out his arms and spread his legs.

The stuffy spherical head pulled free and his head was bathed in sunlight. He breathed in fresh air through his nose with a long breath. Of course then the wool stuffing poured down on him from the opening on the bear head held above and he sneezed as he breathed it in.

Most of the rest of him was covered in the wool stuffing too as the limbs were pushed and pulled off. His lap was just a heaping mountain of wool which Pickle immediately jumped into with an excited cry of "Fluff!".

"Injured still" he groaned, snatching up the potion from one of the centipedes and throwing the entire thing into his mouth instead of struggling with the miniscule cap. His teeth turned the glass to harmless powder and he swallowed it down with the contents.

"What in the..." came a shocked voice.

He turned to see the muscular woman staring at him, her body tense as though expecting an attack. He couldn't say he blamed her, seeing a monster appear out of a teddy bear sounded like something from a leveler's worst nightmares.

"He's... probably not going to attack. It's... okay," said Warwick after a moment, the crossbow lowering.

"And you brought a monster of this size, and- and threat, up from the dungeon? Are you insane? You were supposed to have put this kind of thing behind you a long time ago!"

"Not mine. A slave. Hers."

Lyra waved vaguely at Velatha. "Haha, yeah, he's mine. Don't, uh, worry, he's mostly harmless."

"Mostly harmless..." muttered the woman staring at the enormous and terrifying wolf monster as the black centipedes retracted into its fur.

Opal snorted, "The mostly bit is cause he ate an entire Orc tri-blarhghl-"

Lyra cut the goblin off by slapping a hand over her mouth. She laughed awkwardly as the others stared.

"Ignore her, she's just trying to stir up silly drama. Uh, V-Velatha, do you do what Warwick does too? The whole dragging up monsters from the dungeon for low levelers thing?"

Velatha narrowed her eyes at the clear attempt at a subject change.

"... No, I'm mostly retired from dungeon diving. I did my time and I'm happy enough with my level and my work. Risking my life to catch slimes and rats in that hell hole is an idiot's game."

Warwick elbowed her in the side.

"An idiots game that saves children's lives."

She rubbed her side and frowned. "I never said it didn't. It's still idiotic. You have children of your own to survive for."

"I'm surviving perfectly fine thank you."

"If you say so husband."

Opal wiped at her mouth as Lyra removed her hand.

"You're married? Well why haven't I seen you before? This is where that grumpy ass lives, right? Don't you live here too?"

"No dear... g-goblin. My children and I do not live here. They are afraid of Bean, and my husband's business brings unsavoury people and dangers that we both decided were better compartmentalised."

"Oh? So you don't count Pickle as family?"

The woman made a complicated expression. "We love Pickle very much, and I've tried to take her away to our little apartment on the other side of the city multiple times. She just keeps sneaking back here, for her... friend."

"Bean, you mean Bean right?"

"Yes, that... horrifyingly evil wicked thing. I understand why it is useful for keeping people away... but there is a limit, something that- that- cursed! Shouldn't exist!" She let out an involuntary shudder and her eyes darted around the grassy square, as if expecting Bean to leap from the shadows and start licking her eyeballs at any moment.

Pickle raised her hands in the air and yelled "BEAN GOOD!"

Velatha flinched at the cry and glared at the goat child.

"Enough of that Pickle, you might attract its attention."

Rain lifted a paw and gently patted Pickle who was sitting on a mountain of wool stuffing beside him. This time he managed it without knocking her flat. Pickle giggled and grabbed at his paw, hugging it.

After a moment Velatha took notice, her eyes darting between Rain and the goat child, clearly considering something.

"You think this new attachment of hers could replace her insane attachment to Bean," she murmured to Warwick by her side.

Warwick jerked at the statement, his eyes snapping onto Pickle, seeming for the first time to notice the way she was hugging Rain's paw affectionately.

"That would be... extremely bad... when the time comes for her to k-" he glanced at Velatha, recalling who he was talking to, "This monster isn't going to be here for long, so no."

"If it isn't for long then that's even better. She can become attached to this one, then when he goes she'll hopefully give up entirely on this habit of attaching herself to dangerous things." She paused, "You realise where she picked that up from yes? Her time in the dungeon..."

Warwick remained silent as he watched Pickle give up on wrestling Rain's paw and tumble down the mountain of wool stuffing before she went racing off into the grass.

Rain moved uncomfortably as he watched her go.

Unfortunately, while healing potions could heal his injuries, they couldn't heal another nearly as pressing issue.

HUNGER.

Rain's stomach growled embarrassingly loudly and caused the others to turn and take notice.

"Oh? You haven't eaten? Red, c'mere," said Lyra as her wool washed black.

Red made a grumbling sound but disappeared into her wool where she sat on the table. He appeared a moment later hauling a dead calf by a rope. He stumbled as the last of it pulled free, the thing left on its side on the table top.

Velatha immediately darted over, clearly interested in making a friendly connection with Lyra.

"Ah, you want to feed your monster? Well, I can certainly cook this for you, I work as a cook you see and-

Rain picked up the calf and bit its entire head off. He swallowed it down in one gulp.

Her words petered off to nothing as she looked up at the headless calf, her face paling.

"He likes it raw."

"I- I see... b-but surely it would taste better cooked."

Pickle raised her hands in the air at the calf "OM NOM NOM!"

Rain tore into the calf's ribcage, quickly biting it down in chunks, devouring it.

"Is- Is he... going to eat all of that? the entire thing?"

She was given her answer as Rain ripped his way through the rest of the calf and swallowed down its back legs in one go.

"Snack." gravelled Rain.

"What?"

"Just a snack."

The woman blinked and turned to see Red hauling out yet another calf, nearly a dozen lined up on the table now.

"This is all for him..." said the woman, her voice faint.

"I know, it's not very much. So uh, we'd better hope it's enough to take the edge off his hunger, or bad things will happen."

"Wha- what happens if it doesn't?"

Opal looked the muscular woman over, as though weighing her up, judging how filling her body would be, like a cook checking over her ingredients before putting them in the pot.

Velatha did not like the look she was being given, not the least of which was because she weirdly recognised the look as a cook herself.

It only took her a moment to come to a decision.

"I, uh, uhm... Warwick! I'm opening up the emergency food stores!"

The man snapped around, a fiercely protective expression already on his face.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"T-trust me on this Warwick, I have this... feeling. Call it a cook's instinct."

To Warwick's annoyance, the supplies of the hideout were swiftly turned out for the group. Fortunately for Warwick many of the supplies turned out not to be meat which Rain couldn't benefit from. Still, Warwick practically steamed with irritation as he watched various apparently magically frozen carcasses paraded out from his food storage building and placed onto the dining table.

After finishing the last of the calfs Rain hesitantly picked out what looked like a boar. The thing was frozen solid of course and he waved the stiff thing around for a moment before attempting to take a bite.

The boar immediately shattered into a hundred pieces as his teeth sliced through it, chunks of angular iced boar meat scattering over the grass.

"What are you doing?! At least let me cook it for you, gods."

A bonfire was quickly constructed and lit and the two dozen frozen carcasses were thrust into the flames as Rain watched, practically drooling as the frozen things became unfrozen and their scent made his mouth water.

He darted out a paw to snatch up one of the boars, but a spoon appeared and smacked it away.

He growled at the spoon wielding Velatha as she did her best to stare him down.

"God knows I have enough Skills on these damned things hurrying them along, you can wait for what little time it takes to cook."

"I don't care if it's cooked. It doesn't taste any better," he snarled.

She put her hands on her hips.

"Do you cook it plain?"

"..."

"I mean do you use spices?"

Rain stared at her in incomprehension. He hadn't used spices in his human life let alone in his monster life.

"A few species of leveler prefer their meat basically raw too you know, Drakes and the like." She paused for dramatic effect. "That is unless I use my special secret spice mix."

Rain wondered how long this was going to take. Velatha was starting to look more and eatable.

She plucked a bag from her apron, turned, and threw a handful of the contents inside over the rapidly cooking carcasses.

Rain stared. It looked like some meat with powder tossed randomly on top.

He reached out a paw.

"Not yet!" she smacked his paw aside.

Some time later, and after the carcasses had been repeatedly turned and pounds of Velatha's 'spice' had been thrown over them, it was done.

Rain was finally allowed to eat.

"There, all done. Trust me it will be worth the wait."

He almost didn't hear the words, his eyes locked onto the woman, seconds away from ripping her head off and eating it.

But then Opal kicked him in the thigh where he sat and he came back to reality.

Food.

He tore into the food like an animal, grabbing the carcasses from the still burning fire without a care and shovelling them into his mouth, shredding and swallowing as fast as he could.

It was only on the third boar that he became aware of the taste. It was... different. It tasted pretty much as good as having the meat raw, which was actually a big improvement as cooked meat had always been inferior. He half wondered what these 'spices' would taste like on raw meat, maybe better than both raw and cooked?

Velatha watched as his eating slowed, savouring the taste. A strangely pleased expression appeared on her face, a cook's satisfaction that even a monster could enjoy her work.

Rain doubted she would be feeling as pleased as she did if she knew she had been mere moments away from dying.