Moonrise ✔ [Complete]

44 Chocolate (Part 3)

The turkey seemed to notice them, for every muscle in its body froze at the sight of the two larger threats. For a long time, it didn't move, didn't so much as twitch its feathers.

Maeyune turned her head slowly and gave Reo a wide-eyed glance. He stared back, brows knitting in question. He looked as hungry as she was, and their only source of food had sprung out of the blue and sat a short distance away.

But he had to be the one to catch their breakfast, not her.

"I can't kill a living creature," she whispered.

She didn't know if it was still true now that the moon was destroyed, but she still had Shivra's life force. She could not risk breaking the Moon God's oath, even if she no longer had powers.

When Reo made no reaction, she was afraid he hadn't heard her. But a moment later, the turkey let out a startled cluck as it levitated into the air. It flailed its wings and kicked its legs in a mad search for the ground. Then, with a crisp snap of its spine, its head flopped to the side and dangled from its neck.

Without any power, Maeyune could not see the animal's life force disappear from its body, but she knew it was dead. She could only afford it a second of remorse before hunger became a gnawing sensation.

The small turkey floated past her, and Reo retrieved it from the air, grabbing hold of its legs. He ducked the animal into the stream, and without offering an explanation of what he was doing, his hands cast a bright, red glow. A minute later, the water around him began to boil. Maeyune moved away, ensuring a safe distance.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Scalding, to help remove the feathers," he answered.

"You've butchered turkeys before?"

He looked up at her, smiled. "This old lady in Aburat taught me. Was a nice, little job, until I realized all the blood was scaring the girls away."

"Are you sure it was the blood? Or was it your penchant for violence?"

He laughed. The sound was rich and full. "Oh, desert girls have seen all kinds of violence. They love it when men take action."

"Desert girls," she said, tasting the phrase. "You must have never experienced a real lady before."

He gave her a roguish look, but before he could offer any sort of response, she said, "I'll gather firewood."

With a gulp of air to prepare herself, she withdrew from the stream and swept as much water as she could from her skin. She donned her battlesuit's garments in haste, making a reminder to remove them again later in order to dry her undergarments.

Some time had passed before Reo finished plucking the feathers from the wild turkey. By the time he removed the entrails, Maeyune still hadn't returned. It was only when he peered into the trees did he see the slightest flicker of light from a fire. With a curious frown, he rinsed the turkey before collecting their things and making his way through bushes and undergrowth toward the light.

Maeyune had started a fire on her own from two rocks that lay next to her. While she had waited, she had stripped down to her bare skin to wring out her wet clothes. Once she'd done the best she could, she'd dressed again and sat by the fire to keep warm, her legs drawn to her chest and her cheek resting on her knees.

Her eyes were closed when Reo found her. He gave the fire a look of approval before setting their belongings down. From his sack, he drew out a metal fragment that he had obtained earlier from the Wobeck wreckage, and with precision, he carved off chunks of the turkey's flesh.