A cry in the distance

While Vaien took Zhang Han's set of luggage and was loading it onto the other saddle, Zhang Han did decided to try and get up onto one of the beasts and see how it was. He put a hand on the saddle to press himself upwards, then tried to swing his leg over.

He only made it halfway up the beast's back before gravity took control and he slipped off, falling onto the ground. He managed to keep on his feet, but staggered once, his sore muscles aching along the length of his bones.

Zhang Han furrowed his brows with intensity, his deadpan expression had hints of willfulness. He was going to get up on this strange three-eyed beast.

He just needed more lift from the start.

Once again he put his hand on, pressing with all the force he could manage. As he propelled his body upwards his leg swung up over the girth of the snoufle, then clamped there to keep in place.

He made it up! With his legs splayed slightly apart, it was somewhat uncomfortable, but the blanket and fur helped act as a cushion.

Sitting on the animal increased his vantage point, too, he could see farther out over the grassland. He felt the slight shifts of the creature below the saddle as the snoufle went through the grass with its methodical eating patterns. This was his first time riding anything living, all he'd done was fly spaceships. It really felt different, more intimate, to rely on an animal instead of a machine.

A braided cord that wrapped around the snoufle's mouth acted as reins. Once he lifted it the snoufle was at attention, yet docile, chewing its last bite of plant matter before lifting its big head.

Zhang Han took a palm and pet through all the fur. It was dense and wooly. Hm…

Vaien tilted his head as he came over, looking more joyful than one would expect. "See, won't it be nice to ride on these guys instead of walking?" He emphasized this point as he walked to the snoufle Zhang Han was on, patting its side. Earlier he watched Zhang Han struggling to get up on the beast and had been quietly rooting for him until he was able to do so.

Zhang Han nodded.

Soon Vaien jumped atop his own snoufle. He snapped the reins with a practiced gesture, used to it after his years of travel, and the animal took off in a brisk walk.

Watching what Vaien did, Zhang Han easily learned how to control his own mount. It naturally wasn't too difficult a practice to begin with, and just had to do with the nuance of rein pulls and leg pressure. The two of them were soon going along the plains. It was still hot weather and tiring for his legs, but not nearly as bad as before.

Both snoufles appeared slightly confused, though. They had been going down the plains, opposite in direction from the way Zhang Han and Vaien were traveling, and now they were going back the same way. Alas...

But travel went a lot smoother with the beasts. The only perk wasn't just that they made it easier to go over land, but that they were quite large and weighty animals. Smaller animals that might have attacked Zhang Han if Vaien was not nearby emitting his aura would not bother with him as long as he were atop a snoufle.

At the increased pace, the two made it to a brushier landscape within a day. Zhang Han observed as the grassland transitioned into forest. The trees in this area were short with dense foliage that shaded the ground, much more broad-leafed compared to trees back in the basin.

Zhang Han had named his snoufle 'Russel'.

Typically he didn't partake in these superfluous activities like naming things for no reason, and the like. But this time it was different.

His commander on Gaojun was named Russel, and he was also the man who sent Zhang Han on his suicide mission, talking it up like he was going to make a big change that would bring peace between two planets. Of course, Zhang Han was only going to be a used as a throw-away pawn to start a war. Commander Russel surely knew that.

Thus, Zhang Han had named this animal that was carrying him and their load, 'Russel' out of a shallow kind of spite. Yes, it wasn't Commander Russel who decided such matters, but his still put Zhang Han up to it without any semblance of guilt on his face. But if Zhang Han thought about it, he wasn't sure how much of an insult it was to name this beast after his commander, after all, he still thought of his fuzzy, odd creature more fondly than the original.

When the two decided to take a break from traveling that day, they stopped in a shady spot in the forest where much of the ground was covered with dead logs growing purple mushrooms and yellow-green moss.

Vaien sat down on a log, drinking water as the snoufle foraged for food.

Zhang Han bent down and pulled out a chunk of grass.

"Russel," he called softly.

Russel the waddled over and began eating the grass from his hand greedily. That was how these herbivores were, they loved anything that let them be lazier, such as being hand-fed rather than finding their own grass to eat.

"Say, why did you name it?" asked Vaien. "Things like these are just tools to carry our stuff. They get eaten by bigger predators a lot too. Is there a use in naming them?"

Zhang Han shrugged. "To tell them apart."

"Is that possible?"

"Yeah. Russel's third eye is blue, and yours has a green eye."

Vaien squinted at the snoufle's third eyes. "Shit, you're right. You seriously have a good eye for these tiny details…" he laid back on a log, lazing, before continuing, "Should I name mine, too? What do you think?"

"I don't know."

Zhang Han was just staring down at his own snoufle, dully marveling at how much it could eat in a single bite, when he felt two arms wrap around his back and pull him into a playful hug.

Vaien spoke into his ear. "Why don't you name it for me?" he slowly ran his mouth down his neck. "I'd like that."

A shiver went down Zhang Han's spine, then a strange and warm feeling poured out from his heart.

What was that? He didn't like how it pulled him away from his usual calm and methodical thoughts. It made his his line of thinking more blurred, like how he was during sex. He swallowed, then kept a still expression.

"I don't know what to name it," Zhang Han replied a bit stiffly. Naming his 'Russel' was easy because of how he felt simmering vengefulness against the man it was named after. That was the only reason why he did it. He wasn't a creative person, all he was good at was being given problems, then searching for a solution. The more set in stone the steps to the solution were, the better.

"Come on….name it for meeee...." Vaien whined. He realized that Zhang Han hadn't given in to his previous enticement, and his arms wrapped around his back more forcefully. Zhang Han was trapped inside his embrace.

Zhang Han slowly became irritated. He had a dark expression before spitting out one word.

"Fatty."

"..."

"Is that supposed to be the name? You really want to-"

Zhang Han repeated, "Fatty."

Vaien was silent, then he burst out laughing. "What? It's not even fat…"

Zhang Han seriously replied, "It looks larger than mine."

"That's from all the fur, it's a female so it has more fur on it."

"Fatty."

"Ahahaha fine, fine. I don't really care, I guess I asked for it, making you come up with a name and all. So it can be called Fatty from today."

Vaien had the kind of attitude of 'you take what you get and don't throw a fit', so if he begged Zhang Han for a name and got a dumb one like Fatty, he had no choice but to accept it. It was amusing, anyway.

A moment later, however, Vaien's eyes twitched to the tree line.

Hundreds of iridescent birds flew out suddenly, chirping as they left through the sky. It was clear the forest's peaceful tone had shifted. There was a loud boom, afterward, a cloud of dust rose in a part of the forest. A loud cracking noise rung as a tree fell and slammed into the ground.

There was a shout from a distance away, but just clear enough to make out.

"Vaien…!"

The voice was familiar. Zhang Han said, "Is that Kalla?"

Vaien still had his arms loosely wrapped around Zhang Han's shoulders. They tensed, his mouth drawing into a thin line. "Think so."

This wasn't good. Although she seemed powerful enough by herself, the proud woman who was eager to start fights and arguments wouldn't cry out for assistance over a trivial matter.