Chapter 4: Hunger First

"Twenty-seven!" Lulu said, face down in the ground, her stomach's non-stop growling filling the air.

"That was number twenty-six! Don't go and add another attempt."

"I'm counting that one as two."

So as it turns out, the way Pops taught me to hunt in our world is not all that useful here. The animals are not only a lot smarter, but they all seem to have a built-in way to escape my traps.

Even the damn monster chicken managed to escape, first by scarifying one head to escape the trap and another one when I grabbed it. Lulu counted that one as two, even though it should only count as one.

"How about we go with plan B?" I said, falling next to her, exhausted.

"I don't think taking nibbles of each other is such a good idea. I know that I'll probably taste great, but who knows what you taste like, Ash."

"Lulu...why did your mind go straight to cannibalism? I feel like we should talk about that, but I'll just ignore it for now. Plan B was to get out of the forest and hope that we run into a village or someone kind enough to give us something."

"Oh, yeah! Guess that's a better idea than what I said. But we may face two problems, Ash, so we need to be ready. One! As you can see, I have white hair and green eyes, both very rare. I know I said that I wouldn't rely on the books I read, but if their reasoning is accurate, people who look like me are seen either as some deity or monster."

"Well, I'd go with goddess..."

My words slipped out, and I felt my face grow red with the realization of what I said. Lulu's stomach stopped glowing, for once, her mind redirecting itself to the blush on her face. She let out a fake cough, the blush disappeared, and she brought the conversation back on track.

"So, yeah, we have that, and also, what could be even worse, is that the language here may not be the same. We might not be able to talk with anyone and have to learn a whole new language, likely without any help depending on how advanced society is here and how available books are."

"Oh, yeah, guess most of the stories you read were based on medieval times. Guess the likelihood is high that the same is true for us."

"Yes! That's why we should go and find out."

She looked at me with eyes that screamed that she wanted to know just what kind of fantasy setting we were in, so much so that she even placed her hunger second.

I stood over and helped her up. She briefly giggled, finally realizing our outfits had changed and compared me to one of her favorite characters.

We started walking the way Lulu did before she circled back and collapsed, but this time we kept going. We got out of the forest and even found what appeared to be a dirt road.

"So do we go left? Or do we go right, Ash?"

"Left? No, right! I don't know. Let's flip a coin—"

I fell to the floor when I realized that I didn't even have a coin to flip.

"This is going to be hard on you, ain't it?"

"Shut it, Lulu. You know I like to decide some things on a coin flip."

"Well, how about we go left? The road seems well kept for being dirt, so maybe it connects two huge cities or villages. Perhaps even the capital is that way! With a king on a throne ready to crown us royal warriors and a feast in our honor!"

"Lulu..."

"Yeah, Ash."

"Let's keep the part of us coming from another world a secret, so we don't get sent to wherever crazy people get sent here. Also, keep your delusions to yourself!"

"Fine! But when I get my nobility title, don't come begging me for money!"

Lulu began to pout as we walked along the road, going left, North, I believe so long as the Sun still raised and set the same way as in our old world to guide us.

We kept moving along as Lulu looked around, letting out audible amazement at everything she saw. But I couldn't focus on looking around because we needed food. It was my only focus until I felt a powerful gust of wind and heard a blasting shriek high above us.

I looked up, and a giant winged beast flew above us, covering the Sun for a moment, and I fell back on my butt, staring up at it.

It had dark red scales all over its body with wings that looked like it could kill just with the wind they could blow. It also wielded enormous legs that seemed like they could rip a house from its foundation in one swoop and golden eyes that seemed to peer into my soul without even glancing at me.

"Dragon! That's a real dragon, Ash!"

"I-I can see that. It's quite stunning to look at."

"I can see," I glanced up at her grinning face. "And here I thought I was the one who was most excited to be in a fantasy world. I forgot just how much you loved dragons when you were little. Do you still want to ride one?"

"Why does it sound like you're insulting me while also encouraging me to live out my childhood dream?"

"Because I am!"

Lulu laughed as I got up, and my eyes shifted behind her. I grabbed her, pulling her into the bushes. She protested hiding, but she also didn't see the enormous dinosaur or some kind of land dragon pulling the wagon and the thing that was driving it.

We stayed in the bushes. I had to cover Lulu's mouth while pinning her down as she was against hiding, but I was way more against getting eaten.

The wagon was about to pass when Lulu's stomach gave us away, and it stopped. I thought of running, but I doubted we could manage to get very far. So, knowing no other alternative, I let Lulu go, and we got out from the bushes and onto the road to face the driver.

"What are you kids doing out here? Oh! Sorry, did I interrupt something?"

I looked down his eye line and saw that Lulu's hair was a mess, and the cogs in my head worked overtime to understand what he was implying. I fixed Lulu's hair, picked out the leaves, and straightened it quickly.

I looked back at him, and he was definitely not a man, not a human man, as his face was that of a lion. But not only could he talk, stand straight, and towered over us a good two feet. He even wore clothes that made him look like a human farmer. Overalls, straw hat, big brown boots, even something like a toothpick was in his mouth.

"No! I am sorry, sir, but whatever you are thinking is not going on."

"Whatever you say, kid. I was young once, after all."

"Ash, what are you guys talking about?"

"I'll explain when you're older."

"But I'm older than you!"

"Not anymore."

I didn't explain anything. I really didn't want to have that conversation with Lulu, of all people, and he was fast on the uptake and moved the conversation.

"Aright, then explain what you are doing?" the man—lion-man asked.

"We're looking to find somewhere we can get some food!" Lulu said before I could think of a suitable response.

"Oh, I get it! You're from the Southern islands, aren't you? Never hunted for food before, no doubt. I keep saying they should still teach you guys how to hunt before they let you come up North. You can't always rely on fishing, and definitely not in the middle of a forest or the plains here."

"Or we're not—"

I covered Lulu's mouth to stop her from talking and giving away a perfect cover story. Although, from the way he was looking at us, I'd say that the cover was already blown, but still possibly salvageable.

"It's as you guessed, sir. Sorry about my companion here. Her hunger is making her go a bit crazy."

"My name is Ezor. I don't like to be called 'sir' so much. It makes me sound old and on death's doorsteps. I'm only twenty-nine after all, still have a long time till he comes knocking," he extended his hand.

His lion paw?

"I'm Ash, and this here is Lulu."

We both shook his hand, and he let out a laugh.

"Well, Ash, Lulu, if you don't mind eating with a Lion Beastmen, I would gladly host you both for the night."

"Yes, we'd like that very much!" Lulu and I said simultaneously, thinking with only our stomachs.

Ezor helped us get in the back of the wagon, and we were off. We had done the one thing every child is told never to do: not only had we talked to a total stranger but are now going with him to his house.

But with no words shared between Lulu and me, we'd agreed that if there was even a tiny chance we could get food, it was worth dying for it.