CHPT 87: Small Victories

Night had fallen swiftly as Claude passed the time training and hunting, he took a lot of damage on Friday and needed a surplus of energy to supply his accelerated healing. He ended up eating more than Frosty for the first time— much to his surprise.

He now sat by a fire in the forest putting on his gear with swift determination.

While he tied on his cloak and sheathed his swords, he looked at the deer carcass with a level of discomfort that was higher than usual.

"[Its natural that your aversion to seeing death has grown considerably...due the traumatic events you've endured. But, don't let it stop you from eating.]" Arne said.

Claude stayed silent while he aimlessly stared at the crackling fire.

Arne decided not to attack the subject anymore and instead think to himself.

He was nervous about the direction Claude was headed in, but he was also in awe with the progress he's made. He was able to look through a portion of Claude's memories when he slept and saw how weak and powerless the young man was. Most young Lupines made a jump in progress when they were changed of course, but the progress he's seen in Claude is borderline terrifying— then again, he'd never met any young Potentials.

The only Potentials he knew of were incredibly powerful Alpha's that seemed like walking myths to him when he first encountered them. At this point in time, Claude didn't look to be on track to become that.

Due to him being a Potential, his determination and power of will were highly above average— much like Romulus himself, but this determination kept his hate holding onto him firmly in a venomous vice grip. For now he used it for all things good— mostly, but the mind can only take so much torment. He needed to make some small victories— wins, fast or he'd risk becoming the very thing he despises.

His thoughts about Claude's trajectory as a Hero and young Lupine gave him an idea.

"[Hey, Claude.]"

"Yea?" He responded while putting out the fire.

"[Tell me what you feel when you look at that deer carcass.]"

Claude made a facial expression of something akin to confusion and agitation before responding. "What? What are you getting at?"

"[Please, just tell me the first things that come to mind.]" Arne replied.

Claude finally gave in and let his eyes once again fall on the deer. It laid in the grass over a pool of blood, most of the meat on its back was gone— along with its legs. Frosty tore into the deer to get the other parts, leaving it's rib cage brutally ripped open and guts missing. It's black dead eyes looked up at him hauntingly. He already knew what he felt, looking at it was relatively pointless.

"Sadness....discomfort.....anger....waste." He said what he felt while he walked away from the carcass, knowing other predators or birds would drag it away once he left for the night.

"[I assumed so..]" Arne replied before adding, "[Are you familiar with the Native Americans of the Old World?]"

Claude stopped and thought about what he remembered. "Yes....one of the first groups of people to inhabit and thrive in New Gloria, back when it was known as North America. What's your point?"

"[Very good. Now, my point is, they had a certain way of living that I think you'll appreciate. Other Lupines did.]"

Claude stayed silent, leaving Arne to believe he was waiting for him to explain.

"[A particular word you said reminded me of them, waste. You feel that the deer is dying in vain when you end it's life don't you?]" Arne asked.

Claude stayed silent, knowing Arne knew the answer.

"[You see, the Native American people used natural resources in every aspect of life and had strict ideals including not wasting and living in harmony with nature. They honored nature and animals by only taking what they needed and using every part of what they had.]"

"Using every part.....that sounds promising but I don't think I have much use of anything other than the deers meat." Claude said flatly.

"[Are you dull?]" Arne replied with a hint of anger in his voice.

"What?! What am I going to do with a damn deer?" Claude asked defensively.

Arne sighed disappointedly "[Fur.....hides.....bones....hooves.????]"

A lightbulb went off in Claude's mind as Arne named the useful parts of a deer. "I could sell the pelts....and use the bones to make weapons or armor if my current armor breaks!" He thought out loud.

"[You would indeed benefit from a semi stable income....considering the fact that we're past the point of poor.]"

"Yea...I should've thought of this." Claude responded bashfully.

"[Now I just need to teach you how to skin animals properly. Later of course, come on— we're burning moonlight.]" Arne said, reminding Claude that he still had work to do as a Hero.

"Right." Claude said before trying on his mask and looking for berries to reapply the Camouflage rune to Frosty.

As Claude headed back to the berry bush near the exit out of the forest, Arne thought silently to himself.

He didn't have a physical face anymore, but he felt himself smile from the satisfaction of knowing he eased one of Claude's discomfort in such a difficult time. Today, he felt like he made real progress in a way he hadn't before.

"This is good. But there's still more work to be done."