(A/N: I redid this chapter. it will be posted in two different parts due to the character limit. sorry for the inconvinience and thank you for your time)
MC POV
As I was relaxing in the pond, I heard a bit of rustling near the bundle trees behind me that were still standing. I didn't pay it any mind since it was likely just an animal running or something
"H-Hello" a gentle, childish voice called out from the same spot I heard the rustling from.
I immediately conjured an icicle with a length of about 6 feet and pointed it in the direction of voice as I jumped back and faced the potential attacker. Seeing as it was a little girl, I lowered my guard and sat back down.
"Ack!" The girl screamed as she covered her face with her arms and fell to the ground.
I sat back down into the pond and spoke as I let the icicle melt back into water "it's okay, I was just startled by you coming out of nowhere. I won't hurt you"
Her big hazel eyes poked through her fingers as she opened her hand slightly. "You sure?" She said with a scared voice
"Yes, I'm sure. What do you need?" I said without even turning around
She brought both of her arms down and wrapped them around her legs, that were covered in a thin fabric up until past her knees. Where she was wearing tan shorts that hugged legs slightly. I also noticed she also had a small dagger strapped to her side. "I was uh... i was um- I was wondering if you were okay?" She asked while she brought her knees to her chest.
"Mhm. As okay as I can be, I guess" I replied in short
"Are you sure? You just fought a super duper strong monster. Aren't you tired at all?" She said with a worried expression
"Strong? Hel- I mean heck no. That thing was probably the weakest this I've fought in the past week" while it was only the second or third thing I fought this week, I said it because I thought it sounded cool
"Really?! You must be SUPER SUPER strong then. Nobody in my village can even damage a single one of its scales." her shoulder length blonde hair bounced as she spoke with a surprised expression
"Ehh? I'm pretty strong, I guess. Although, I'm nowhere near where I need to be" I replied "Anyway, what's a little kid doing all the way out here?" It's really weird to see a kid so young all the way out here. Which might be a tad bit hypocritical, but I ask nonetheless
"Hey! I'm not a little kid! I'm seven years old, get it right. And what are you? Like 12?" She was obviously angry at my question, and her response was exactly what I thought it would be.
"13. Seven is still a kid though. Why're you all the way out here?" It didn't seem like she would be able to survive all the way out on her own. I could sense a tad bit of life energy from her, so I couldn't be too sure.
"I don't know. I went hunting and got lost. Next thing I knew, I was here." She shrugged at my question
"Ohhhh, Okay. That makes sense, good luck getting back" I waved her off as I got up. Since she said she was hunting, she should be strong enough to get back on her own, so I decided it would be pointless to go with her.
"Oh... okay. Thank you" I heard her say as I was walking back to the place where my clothes were.
Luckily, I had an extra pair of trousers with me and they weren't nearly as dirty. Once I grab them from my bag, I dry myself with warm wind and quickly put on my pants, deciding it was better to go without a shirt. Mostly since the only I had was full of blood stains and was barely hanging on
"Eek! How could you just get dressed in front of a girl like that?!" I looked back to see the little girl covering her eyes while visibly cringing.
"Who told you to keep looking?" I threw a question back with a blank face
She lowered her hands "I guess your right" she said while pouting slightly "Ca-can you go with me?" She looked embarrassed to ask.
"Why should I? You got out here all by yourself fine, I'm sure you can get back all the same." I responded slightly confused
"It's not about me!" She screamed. I looked at her slightly startled by her sudden change in tone. "Im sorry, I didn't mean to yell. It's just that, your clothes are destroyed and you're going around, bathing in random ponds. It's like your an animal, so I'm worried about you. So, I thought you could come back with me, and my parents could help you get new clothes and things like that. At least until you go back to your family" she looked at me with pleading eyes as she talked
"Thank you for the offer. Really, I appreciate it. I'll have to decline, though" I start stuffing my old pants and shirt into a sack I use to carry my belongings
"Please. Even if it's just for a day or two. I promise you'll enjoy it" Her hands were in a prayer form as she begged me.
I knew she would keep begging me regardless of how many times I said no. So I decided that I would just walk her to her house, maybe ask for some food for the road and leave.
"Fine, but I won't be staying long at all" as soon as those words left my mouth, her eyes damn near sparkled
"Yay! Thank you! Thank you so much!" She jumped up and down in excitement as she screamed. "wait. When are we leaving?" She then added
"Uhh... I haven't eaten breakfast yet. so I guess we can leave after I eat." I answered
"Alright! I'm pretty hungry too though, I hope you don't mind sharing" her stomach grumbled in hunger as she rubbed it
"Of course not, there's way more than enough to go around" I turned and walked towards the dead snake like creature.
"Yay! Where is the food?" She asked excitedly but politely
"I haven't quite cooked it yet, but it's still pretty easy to spot" I looked back and pointed at the large clearing of trees on the other side of the pond. It was exhibiting a headless creature in the middle of clearing.
"No. No! Please don't tell me your thinking of eating..." she was so frightened by the thought of eating that creature she forgot to finish her sentence.
"Yup" I replied with a smirk
*15 minutes later*
The meat cooked surprisingly quick, so it wasn't long before we began eating
"This meat isn't at bad as I thought it would be" I said as I took a big bite of meat on a stick that was hot off the fire
"Do you have anything else I can eat off of? I don't really feel comfortable eating off a stick" she asked kindly
"How can you be so spoiled but also go hunting by yourself for hours on end?" I responded while I got up and walked over to the dead creature that was close enough for its large body to cast a shadow well over the makeshift camp.
I tore off a scale, it was about the size of a grown man's hand, maybe a bit bigger. I cleaned off the blood with a little bit of water magic before walking back to the fire I made.
"How can you tear off a geyser serpents scale so easily?" She stared at me in bewilderment
"A what?" I responded
"A geyser serpent. Or at least that's what my village calls it. Those in my village who have seen it and lived to tell the tale named it that. Mostly due to how whenever it appeared, there would always be a geyser like explosion. The serpent part is for more obvious reasons. I only know what it looks like and the place it resides because of detailed illustrations that was drawn to warn people" she explained while I put her food on the scale
"It's scales are said to be as tough as iron, maybe more" she added
"Oh really?" I say as I set her food down and walk back to the serpent. I reach out my and tear off another scale. This time though, instead of cleaning it off, I throw it at the nearest tree. Which wasn't all that close, about 65 feet away.
It arrived before the tree in less than a second. Creating a crisp cracking sound from it breaking into the tree. It lodged itself pretty deep into the tree, the scale also didn't look damaged at all.
"Yeah, that'll do" I said before plucking out more scales like flower petals
"What do you need so many for?" The little girl asked
"I can't keep fighting with my hands, I need a weapon. So I decided this will be the material" I stated
"How do you know that's even possible?" She questioned
"I don't." I answered in a very matter-of-fact tone.
After I was done cleaning then stuffing about 10-15 scales into my leather bag. I got up and turned around, just to see the little girl hunched over, spewing chunks.
"C'mon now, it wasn't that bad" I looked at her in disappointment. So what if the food was undercooked and unseasoned? Apparently, she's a hunter, she should be used to bad tasting foods.
"No. It wasn't bad, I've tasted bad. This is a downright crime. THE RATS IN MY VILLAGE EAT BETTER THAN THIS!" It didn't even look like she was joking. Her face kept a slightly angry, slightly upset expression. Even after several seconds.
'Jeez, she's not joking. That kinda hurts' I thought while staring at her to see if she would crack anytime soon.
"Welp. Seems like you wanna travel on an empty stomach. I'll be taking that" I said as I grabbed the scale her food was rested on.
"Wait! No I-" she tried to rebuke, but became flustered in the process
"Doesn't matter. We should get on the move. By the way, what's your name, kid?" I asked
"Angelica. What's yo-"
"Alright Angelica, point me in the direction of your village" I cut her off before she could finish her sentence.
"Ummm, I think somewhere that way..?" She pointed to the left of the severed head of the geyser serpent with a questionable look on her face.
"Alright, good enough. Get up, we're leaving." I order her. Once she gets up, we begin walking through the forest
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