Chapter 03

Thrush.

These parts of the world are so foreign to me. Monsters and humans seldom roam here, and this is the first one I’ve run into. This one is a strange human. It resides alone. It seems to feed a never ending fire inside its home.

That’s what drew me there. The smell of cooking food. It was the smell of fish. What I discovered was a dream. Food was bountiful. Nourishing food. The fresh squash was a delicacy as far as I was concerned. What I really wanted to get my hands on, was the fish. I’d never eaten cooked fish before. Only raw. Being so close to the sea had earned me an infinite amount of fish and goblin freebooters.

Ultimately, I wanted to eat this human.

My patience led me through the day and into the darkest of night. When the moon was confiscated by thick clouds, and flurries fell to trap the sound, I ventured forth. I left my hide sack upon the ground, stepped from the deep of the woods, and followed the trail to the human's gardens. I would eat more, but only after I got my paws on some cooked fish.

Like other humans I’ve seen, this one wielded a weapon made of wood and metal. If he attacked me, I would simply eat him in one swallow. He was no match for me.

I made my way around the cabin, smelling softly. There were a thousand scents coming from this place. I could smell where he’d come from recently. Where he’d gone. What he’d been doing. The sweat from his skin. The sweat in his bedding. The patina of soot and foodstuffs in the pots upon the stove in his residence. I smelled salt. I smelled herbs and botanicals that were long dried and belonged to the woods. I smelled smoked fish.

I couldn’t help but to lick my canine teeth. When I came to the door, I was surprised to find it open. I carefully poked my head in. I saw the stove and its smoldering contents on the right. Through a grate of metal glowed small flames over a pool of embers. I felt the heat from where I stood.

A small counter extended into the room beside the stove. On it were various items for cooking. Things I’ve found among other humans’ items that I’ve come upon before. Pots and pans. Utensils. Plates and Cups. Knives and more knives.

There was a table. Some bowls rested upon it. There was a floor to ceiling shelf along the wall opposite the stove. It was filled with jars, bowls, and various containers. The aromas coming from them were cacophonic. The scents were overwhelmingly loud. They pervaded my senses with great volume.

I crept upon the threshold. My head barely came to the doorknob, and again I paused, confused as to why the door was left open.

In my superior night vision, I saw the bed beyond. It was in the darkest part of the abode. The left corner was empty. When something moved on the bed, I froze. My ears perked up. I could see better than most things at night, and I discerned the human on the bed, huddled in the corner, sitting upright. I saw his eyes. They were tiny. All humans had tiny eyes. Though rare it was when I came upon one, I was always surprised by their features. Non threatening teeth, non threatening eyes. The whole human was non threatening.

I sniffed twice. The man was awake and watching me. Leaning on the wall by the edge of the bed was his axe, and his hand was very near to it.

The aroma of fish caught my attention once more. I heard something crackle in the stove. I could smell exactly six fish just behind the grate, on a rack, over the pool of smoldering embers. The human did this often, and I wondered how many times I could take food from him. If I kept him alive, would he cook for me? Could he be a source of easy nourishment?

Let’s see what I can get out of you.

His eyes blinked every now and then in the time I spent there just standing and waiting. He knew I was watching it. I knew he was watching me. Being vastly more powerful, I stepped forward. I smelled a hint of fear and other near emotions, but I paid them no heed. The smell of fish was beckoning me.

With a single claw, I ripped the grate off the stove face. I let it fall to the floor. It clattered noisily and I didn’t bother to look up and see if the human responded. My hearing could discern that for me. I did hear him breathing. It was calm and even. Perhaps a little shallow.

Inside the stove was a metal rack whose legs were almost burned through. All the fish sat atop the rack, keeping them away from the heat. Strange. Things cooked faster right on the fire. One by one, I plucked the fish off the rack and swallowed them whole.

Six fish. Which left me at…

Satiation 64%

Composition

64% dreambon

08% goblin

11% fish

01% squash

02% bird

14% world

I felt my eyes change. The essence of fish filled my blood. I felt colors fill my eyes. I felt my body change. I felt new and refreshed.

Yes. I want more fish like this.

The human made no move while I took my time eating his fish. I sniffed some more, following the scent of boiling root, to a pot above the stove. I pulled the pot off and it scraped against the stove top.

The human moved. I heard a slight shift of flesh and cloth. My ear panned sideways and kept track of any more of his movements. I opened my mouth wide and poured the contents of the pot. It was a hot liquid, very strong in its rooty flavor. My composition told me that it was chicory root.

Interesting. Quite tasty.

I dropped the pot to the floor. It hit the floorboards with a loud thunk, then rolled in circles on the edge of its base before landing flat.

Still the man did not move. I left the abode and sauntered into the deep of the woods, feeling the snow catch in my fur.

Sufficiently far, therefore hidden, I turned and watched the human’s home. For the better part of an hour, nothing happened. Then at last I heard commotion from within. The man appeared in the doorway for a moment, then closed it.

I’d eaten all of his fish, but there was more. There were other kinds of food. I could smell all of it. More food than the monster could house, so I wondered then if it had a dungeon where it hoarded food with other items.

I could not get the cooked fish out of my mind. It was the most delicious fish I’d ever eaten. It was rare when I came upon cooked meat and I wanted more of it.

The human fed the birds every morning. Maybe it would feed me too. After all, I was 02% bird. Perhaps if I caught the fish and brought it to him, the man would understand to cook some and leave them for me.

I followed the human made path that wound down to the sea. I was haunted by the call of coyotes and the snarls of larger beasts. Those creatures kept their distance. They always did. Beasts and monsters were no match for me.

When I arrived at the sea, the waves were crashing violently. It was still snowing and the cold licked at the density of my fur.

The sea was dark. Black. The surf glowed white only when shafts of moonlight fell between shifting snow clouds.

I swam out to sea, held my breath, and dove. The sea was cold. Frigid. I could see quite well, despite how deep I was diving. My search began.

Fish were more docile at night. I witnessed them thousands of times in thousands of dives. They swam deeper at night than they did during the day. They didn’t sleep, but instead floated in schools at slower speeds. Speeds prime for picking.

I swam even deeper, listening, and keeping an eye out for tasty fish. For nearly three hours I repeatedly surfaced for air, and dove down again, endlessly searching.

My efforts did not go unrewarded. I eventually spied a slight shimmer of silver. An entire school of fish. I slowed my pace and coasted straight down until we were level, and I was far behind the slowly moving school of fish. Then I slowly approached, gently coasting, passing through various currents.

A dark and large shadow passed beneath me, but I paid it little mind. I was on a quest for fish!

They evaded me. For every effort I put in capturing them whole, they turned away from me. I was persistent, and at last I caught them on a turn. That was all I needed. I coasted through the body of the school with my mouth wide open, catching several dozen at one time. With my mouth sufficiently full, I rose to the surface of the sea, and swam ashore, where the snow continued to accumulate.

During my return to the human’s cabin, I had to remind myself several times not to eat the fish. I battled my instincts, only because I knew that cooked fish would taste infinitely better. However, it was incredibly tempting. With a mouth full of seawater and still swimming fish, I lost several that escaped down my throat. I felt them slap around in my stomach. Then their movements came to an end, and my stomach gave a mighty gurgle each time. Each eaten fish filled me with new life. I felt the colors of each fish push through my veins and fleck my eyes with the silver of their scales. I felt my composition change. The skin beneath my fur toughened.

At last I arrived before the front door of the human’s cabin. I dumped sea water and loads of fish onto the ground, picked a fish from between my teeth, and swallowed it whole. Then I retreated back to the woods.

If the human didn’t cook the fish, then they would go to waste. I would not like that.

If that happens, then I’ll just have to eat the human. I’ve always avoided them, but perhaps this one deserves to be eaten. I wonder how it will change me. I wonder how human I will become from eating one.

Wind currents of the night were slight, but still, I caught the scent of dreambons. Eternal dreambons that smelled of my ancestors' bloodlines. I could smell the gold juice through each fruit's red shell. Shells that were striped with sheening silver. Their contents of gold juice and ancient seeds beckoned me to break one open.

I found my sack beneath a slight lump of snow. It was hidden, but to my nose, it could have been a light in a tunnel of shadow. I sat upon the forest floor, knowing the snow would accumulate atop me and around me. These things never bothered me, even soaked as I was.

I watched the forest. Watched the snow. Then I cracked open a dreambon and tossed both halves into my mouth. The gold juice flowed honey-like, and small seeds burst upon my tongue. I felt my eyes soak up the colors of the fruit like sponges.