Hunting Rabbits

The cart was heavy and almost seemed as if it were moulding around Lee's very fingers, feeling as if that if his hands left the wood behind, then there would be indents left of his fingers. Lee felt his muscles burn from the strain, and his legs ached with effort as he continued dragging them along the path.

"Do you want to take a break?" the God of Strength asked Lee nonchalantly, easily hefting his share and more of the cart, looking down in concern.

Lee grunted out his negative reply as he buckled down further to keep pushing forward.

"I'll stop when the sun sets," he rasped out, in exhaustion, before returning all his focus onto the task at hand.

The cart was clearly skewed towards the God of Strength, with Lee's small corner noticeably lagging behind, the God in question saying nothing out of politeness.

Lee thought to himself about how he probably needed some hunting skills as well, considering that he would be living on the road now. He lamented how he didn't know how to shoot, and that all he could really do was just throw his one, singular knife at any small animal, hoping that it would hit and he wouldn't lose the blade.

Lee also didn't have a sword, or an axe, in case he was targeted by bandits.

He really was in a pitiful position.

However, the real question was whether he should invest in a sword or a bow for protection. Sword fighting looked easy enough, while using a bow and arrows required more practice and aim, but those were what would give him more food, so were better overall.

Swords were probably more expensive as well, on the account of needing to be forged. Bows and arrows were made of wood, which was easy enough to find.

Right, Lee would need to make a small investment to buy himself a bow and several arrows for now, and dedicate some time a day to practice. He could easily practice in the evenings before going to sleep.

Lee forced his knees to bend and to keep going, even as he stumbled over one particularly large, jutting pebble. He almost fell face first onto the floor, only escaping such a fate from the tight grip of his fingers onto the now burning hot wood. The joints of his fingers felt stiff and unmovable, just like if they were turning into stone, and Lee panted harshly, as he stretched out the muscles of his legs to stand up once more.

"Nope. Nope. Nope. You're going to bed now, young mortal," the God of Strength decided, hoisting Lee up and throwing him onto the tarp which covered over the heap of his belongings.

Lee landed on a painful shoulder, groaning upon contact, and slid down into the centre of the pile, the space underneath him hollowing out, while mounds sprang up around his limbs.

Lee had no idea on what he was resting on, but the burn of his limbs made him a little too tired to care.

He watched the sun drown under the horizon, the darkness of night gradually encroaching where it once was and replacing its light.

The red of the sunset looked so much like the fiery hair and eyes of the War God, both of the twins really, but one was at least significantly scarier than the other. It felt like it was branding Lee's eyes, reminding him that he was always a target.

As the God of Strength left the boundaries of the town, the tingle of bells reached Lee's ears, along with a small, musical laugh, that he recognised immediately as the voice of the God of Secrets.

Lee was now off the path and out his protection, and he immediately felt queasy. He felt cold, hollow, and exposed, like every nerve of his was firing all at once, and that the sensitivity of his skin had been ratcheted high enough up that everything that he felt gave him pain.

A sudden rush of warmth, however, flooded his body at the second after the sickness of Lee's nerves took hold, reassuring him and almost patting him shoulder to say so.

Lee hummed out loud, making an enquiring noise.

"That feeling means that you're under my protection," the God of Strength replied to him.

Lee's face scrunched up in confusion, trying to remember if there ever was a feeling like this bestowed upon him by the God of Secrets, or was he being lied to by the conniving, trickster deity.

His mind came up a blank.

There was only ever one period of excruciating pain, when the God had ripped every single, private thought out of his body and mind, before sending them flying up into the sky, but there was never no feeling of comfort and security - only pain and suspicion.

"The God of Secrets promised me that I would be under his protection, but I've never felt anything like this," Lee had to explain to elaborate further on his confusion.

He could almost hear the God of Strength's very own confusion and twisted face when he replied with," Tell me exactly what you felt when we left the town."

"I heard bells and laughter, then I felt cold and sensitive, before the warmth came, and you said that the warmth was your protection," Lee relayed, hoping that he wouldn't have to add any more details.

The rhythmic motions of the cart being pulled along was beginning to feel like a lullaby, and Lee had closed his eyes to feel it.

"Ah... The warmth was my protection, and the bells and laughter, as you described, were the God of Secret's protection ending, but the split second of coldness and sensitivity... well. Do you want to hear the truth, or would you prefer a comforting lie, Shen Lan, Wei Lee?"

"The truth," Lee replied.

He was too used to horrible truths.

"The cold and sensitivity were what everybody else feels all the time."