Feast After The Battle

"You know this challenge… is a fight to the death, right?" Tanaka murmured; his voice monotonous, ready to take the challenge if he needed to. The sound of his fingers digging into a fist stretched across the battlefield. "You know you can't defeat me…"

"And I'm not going to spare you just cause you're my son…" He looked down on Belk with a hardened gaze sharp enough to pierce the soul. The boy's face was riddled with bruises and dried blood, yet that smirk— the same jagged grin that defied him, the elders, and the storms that would pass them by, spread across his face, despite the stinging pain.

"Guess I'll die then," Belk croaked, his voice frayed at the edges, fingers wrapping around the hilt of the N.O.V.A gun, the alien metal shining under the intense gaze of the sun.

For a heartbeat, Tanaka's resolve wavered. The wind carried the ghost of his wife's laughter—Aurelia's laughter—threaded with the scent of scorched amber from Belk's experiments. Then his calloused hand clamped onto Belk's shoulder, the weight of a mountain pinning the boy in place. "First, you rest," he commanded softly, his voice roughened by unspoken grief. "You're in no condition to fight."

Belk's eyes widened slightly, his smirk faltering when met with his father's generosity. He nodded, the motion sharp and sudden, as if the very action dislodged a lump in his throat.

"Tell your ally to call off this battle," Tanaka said, turning toward the village. The fortress walls loomed behind him, their ancient stone pockmarked by centuries of storms and siege-fire. "Let them join us."

"Chief, are you sure? I get your prince but the witch?" one of the guards whispered as they left, questioning the chief's sudden trust.

"We've been fighting all this time," Tanaka murmured, with a soft smile spreading across his face "yet they hadn't killed any of ours, I trust them,"

The soft winds shifted, blowing through the hair of the young scientist, carrying the dying embers of the battle as many hunters and scouts retreated on the chief's orders. His hands quaked harder now, streaks of shimmering tears falling unknowingly down his cheeks.

"Huh…?" He muttered, raising his trembling palm to catch the tears as they fell. "Why am I—"

He breathed heavily, laughing through his trembling breath, his hands reached for his face. Wiping the tears away as they fell, tears that seem never ending.

"Oh man…" He choked, his laughter tangled in his throat. "I'm so lame…"

The wolves returned to the forest, Celi's snout nudging the back of the young Scientist.

"You did well," She declared, nodding to his efforts. Belk looked back at her, caught off guard by her sudden reassurance, his smile only spreading wider.

"thanks,"

___________________________________________________

"This is amazing!!" Astra exclaimed, her mouth filled with different types of fruits and meat alike as she chowed down, practically tearing up at the taste. 

Belk watched her as she ate, the duo at the dining hall for hunters and scouts, a place they often go to rest after a long day. Celi rested at the young technician's feet, Astra continuing to stuff her face.

"Is it really that good?" Belk questioned, his head tilted to the side in confusion at her enthusiasm. 

"I haven't had a decent meal in forever!" Astra groaned, her hands pushing against the desk, her head leaning back dramatically as she recalled the days. "I swore I was gonna die out there!"

"Right…" Belk muttered, his eyebrow raised at her dramatic display, the technician leaning her face against her arm. 

"Say, do you have any salt?" She pondered.

"Yeah, why?" Belk questioned, his gaze skeptical at her sudden question.

"To add it to the food, duh!" She snapped, stretching her palm over the table "Hand it over."

"What? No!" Belk argued, his hands resting possessively over his pouch of items. "This is a medicinal item! Why would you put rocks on your food!?"

"Because it tastes amazing! Also salt isn't medicine!" 

"It totally is!" Belk snapped.

The two of them argued, Celi raising her head to the commotion that's happening. Burying her head under her paws, trying to block out the sound of their bickering.

Astra groaned in frustration, reaching over the table as far as she could and snatched his belt. Before he can even say anything Astra sprinkles some salt over boar meat before raising it to his lips.

"Open!" She demanded, but Belk refused, crossing his arms and turning away. 

"There's no way I'm eating that!"

"Stop being a child! Eat it!" Their bickering is drowned out by the cheers of the dining hall around them, causing them to shout louder.

"You're seriously crazy!" He snapped, watching as Astra climbed over the table, pushing the other plates aside. "H-hey! What're you–"

She pushed him, the poor boy staggering backwards as her hands pinned his frail bruised body to the wooden floor. The sudden thud caught the attention of some scouts and hunters.

"Ow, ow, ow! I'm still in pain, you psycho!" He cried out but his words fell on deaf ears.

"Hush up and eat–" The technician muttered, it was clear she wasn't taking no for an answer, the scientist swallowing his pride and sinking his teeth into the boar thigh, reluctantly he chewed, his eyes closed as braced for the sweet release of death.

The meat melted on his tongue, the savory salted flavor graced his taste buds in a way they never knew they could. 

"It's actually… kinda good—" He murmured, his eyes widened in shock, drifting up to Astra's smug face as he enjoyed it.

"See?" She chuckles, getting off of him and dusting herself off. Belk sitting up not too long after. 

"Yeah I—What are you doing now…" Belk muttered, watching as Astra reached for the grapes, eyes sparkling with mischief. 

"Say, have you ever gotten drunk?" She pondered, her smirk showing no good will or intentions. Belk's brow shot up in curiosity as she dangled the grapes before him.

"Drunk?" He asked, the word foreign to him.

"...ok," Astra sighed, popping a grape in her mouth, one of her hands resting on her hip. "Guess i'll have to make some,"

As she continued to snack on grapes an idea popped in her mind,

 "Say, where do you get your fruits and vegetables from?"