Washed ashore with no money, no identity and no memory of a life before. Adopted by a kind family only to be plunged into the fires of war. Will the boy, more beautiful than any girl, live a life of happiness or one of sadness? A Tale of A Thousand Days and A Promise Chapter 2 By Shinieris

“I think I’m going to join the army,” Mugi said as he bent down to pick a mushroom.

“Haa? What nonsense are you saying?” Ayu said as he threw away a mushroom that looked poisonous from the pile in front of him.

“People are saying that there’s going to be another drought, like the one from two years ago. If it’s true, there won’t be enough food for everyone in the village.”

“So your solution is to die on the battlefield?”

“It’s not like death is guaranteed. We’d be fed while in the army, and that means there will be more food in the village.”

“Wait, ‘we’?Are you asking me to join the army with you? Definitely not!”

“Why would I ask a girl to join the army?”

“As mentioned many times, I’m not a girl! Should I strip naked before you’d believe me?”

“Yes please. I’m ready to strip naked too. Anytime you’re ready.”

“Uhh, no. Nevermind,” Ayu said, slightly taken aback by Mugi’s readiness to strip together. By right, if Ayu just wanted to prove his manhood, Mugi wouldn’t have to strip as well. Ayu knew very well that the only reason Mugi volunteered to strip naked as well, was because he was expecting to get lucky. Adult kind of lucky.

It was clear to Ayu that Mugi did not believe Ayu was a boy even for a second. Knowing that his own best friend wanted to do the nasty with him made Ayu feel like vomiting the contents of his breakfast. Despite knowing how Mugi lusted after him, Ayu had no intention of stopping being his friend. Regardless of his flaws, Mugi had been the single shield that protected him from the lusty intentions of the other boys. He also found it weird that ever since he became good friends with Mugi, the older girls treated him nicely, where it was all scorn and mistreatment before that.

Ayu wanted to believe the older girls had warmed up to him. It would be bad if he couldn’t get married because all the girls hated him. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder what the sudden change in attitude was about. After years of treating him badly, the older girls suddenly treated him well the moment he turned 10, a few weeks after he started hanging around with Mugi exclusively.

“Are we not getting naked?” Mugi asked with a voice of disappointment.

“I’m worried for my ass even after I strip naked and despite showing you the proof.”

“Haha. Well anyway, I’m talking about the boys of the village. Most of us decided to join the army.”

“Why haven’t I heard anything about this?”

“Why would we invite a girl to a boy’s only gathering?”

“I’M A BOY!”

“Yes, keep thinking that. Say, can I join your family dinner tomorrow?”

“Why? Is your family out of food?”

“No, it’s your birthday dinner tomorrow, right? Don’t you turn 13 tomorrow?”

“It’s tomorrow?”

“You don’t even know?”

“It’s only the anniversary of the time when I was found washed ashore anyway, not my real birthday.”

“So, can I?”

“It’s fine, as long as you bring some food as well. I also want the sweet muffin your mom makes. Bring two, Lila likes it too.”

“Alright, I’ll ask mom.”

“Anyway, let’s pack up. I think we have enough mushrooms to last a week. Thank goodness we’ve had plenty of rain for the past few days.”

“Okay, put the edible ones away. I’ll gather some wood while you’re doing that.”

Once they arrived at the village, they went straight to Mugi’s house, where they unloaded half of the edible mushrooms and damp wood they collected in the forest.

“Mugi, wear your mountain climbing boots and bring your pickaxe and a stronger basket.”

“Mountain climbing boots?”

“Don’t tell me you sold it away. I made it just for you, remember? For free too! I will be very pissed if it’s being worn by some kid in the city.”

“No, how would I dare sell it away, Ayu? We both know you will kill me if I do that. I mean, are we going to the mountains?”

“Yes, take some ropes too if you have any.”

“A change of scenery? I think I remember father saying something about a blossom tree in the mountains that mom and dad used to go dating under.”

“Mugi, we’re not going on a date.”

Mugi made a shocked expression.

“We’re going to mine some iron ores.”

“There are iron ores in the mountains?”

“Why are you surprised at everything I've said?”

“Umm, wait, hold on a minute. Why would we gather iron ore? Blacksmith Jaqs died last month, remember. What could we ever possibly need it for?”

“I have plans for it, and you’re going to help me every single step of the way. So meet me at my house. I’m going to drop this stuff and change into my mountain gear set too.”

******

Ayu’s birthday dinner the next day turned out to be a backyard bonfire. Originally, it was only going to be Ayu’s family dinner plus Mugi. Mugi’s family, minus the eldest son crashed the party instead. Since there was not enough room in the house for nine people to dine together, they set up a bonfire in the clearing behind Ayu’s house. Naturally, where there were bonfires, there would be gatecrashers too, so Ayu’s neighbors also joined in. Thankfully, as this was a rural society, everyone pitched in with their dinner as well, so there was enough food for everyone.

“Noisy...” Ayu remarked as the dinner party went full swing.

Ayu, just like several others, sat on boulders of iron ore that he and Mugi had been mining since yesterday while munching on roasted mushrooms and wild bird meat. Some others sat on logs or chairs they brought from their own homes. It wasn’t long before the noise also drew random passersby. At some point, a keg of beer and even more food appeared.

Sitting in circles, the drunken adults toasted to everything from the rain to the harvest to the mushrooms being roasted. That was, until some random drunk decided to toast to Ayu and Mugi’s happy wedded life. It made Ayu choke on his roasted mushroom.

“Wait! Who said we’re getting married?!!!” Ayu yelled to the group of adult men beside the bonfire.

“Isn’t this your wedding feast?” Brewer Tont asked as one of the few sober adult.

“No! Why would you think that? Mugi, say some... thing...”

“Hic!” Mugi replied with a stupid smile on his face before he took another gulp of beer from his mug.

“Why are you drinking with them?!!!”

“Now now, don’t be so angry, Ayu. Come have a drink, it’s your wedding feast after all,” one of the adult women handed Ayu a mug of beer as the women made their own toast.

“... You all just want an excuse to get drunk, aren’t you?”

“Come, come, lets drink to your happy wedded life, my daughter-in-law!”

“Who’s your daughter-in-law, Aunt Helga? And stop trying to push the mug to my lips!”

“Oh just a sip. You wouldn’t embarrass your mother-in-law, would you?”

“You’re not my mother-in-law! Mom, help!”

“Mmm, Ayu... happy to get a son... help at... farm,” Ayu’s mom, who was already halfway drunk said.

“Mom! I AM your son!”

“Nnn, need to... extend... the house...” Ayu’s mom said before she passed out against the wall of the house.

And thus, Ayu’s 13th birthday dinner turned into Ayu and Mugi’s wedding feast, despite neither of them actually getting married. The next day, the rest of the village came to Ayu and Mugi’s family homes to congratulate them while at the same time complaining about not being invited to the feast the previous night. Ayu, tired of trying to fix their misunderstanding without success, fled into the forest. Mugi eventually found him picking fruits alone under the blossom tree in the mountains. They ended up staying in the mountains for the whole night, further fanning the rumors traveling among the gossiping housewives.

******

“So what’s this for?” Mugi asked as he folded and hammered the piece of iron in front of him. He couldn’t understand why the iron had to be folded, but he trusted Ayu when he told him to just do as told.

“Don’t talk. Focus on that thing you’re working on,” Ayu said as he worked on a much smaller piece of glowing metal, hammering it at precise points against the anvil with a smaller hammer.

“What am I working on, really?” Mugi asked again as he continued to hammer the strip of iron into something thinner and longer.

“A dagger. How can you go to war without your own dagger? Do you want to get laughed at by the other soldiers?” Ayu said as he hammered the glowing steel into the shape of a ring-like object.

“Oh, now that you mention it, it’s true that I don’t have a dagger of my own. Horon bought one from Blacksmith Jaqs before he died. Kelk said he’d just borrow big brother Horon’s dagger. I assumed I would be borrowing big brother Horon’s dagger as well.”

“Borrowing daggers? What nonsense is this? It’s fine if you share daggers during meals, but you can’t do that during battle. What would you do if you lose your spears? Fight bare-handed? Wait, you are getting spears at least?”

In this age when states and cities warred against each other almost every week, when alliances were made and broken almost every month and when human lives were cheaper than the price of equipping them, warlords would generally be in charge of equipping their soldiers for battle. While some rabbles were sometimes formed carrying their own makeshift weapons, warlords would often take great pains to equip their soldiers with at least something basic and cheap such as a short spear and a small shield. Being cheap, these warlords could field thousands of soldiers with every engagement. It had nothing to do with trying to preserve lives, it was simply that, if the soldiers couldn’t even last the first few skirmishes, there would be no point in hiring them in the first place. Therefore, a short spear, a small shield and sometimes leather body armor would be provided to every soldier. Of course, the equipment belonged to the warlord and would be returned at the conclusion of the campaign.

Although not a written rule, if the soldier wanted something better, they’d have to prepare it themselves. That was why Ayu brought Mugi to the late Blacksmith Jaqs’s smithy to craft additional equipment for Mugi. A dagger for example, wouldn’t be provided by the warlord.

“Should be, but I’d like a plate mail too, and a sword. Then I can join the swordsman company.”

“If we have the time, sure, let’s make one. By the way, focus on the job. Your ‘dagger’ is looking terrible.”

“I can’t help it. I’m not a blacksmith in the first place. Say, you’re not going to tell me not to go anymore?”

“It’s not like you’d listen even if I tell you not to go. The iron is getting cold, heat it up again. And stop talking,” Ayu said as he threw another ring-like object made of steel into the quenching bowl filled with vegetable oil. He proceeded to measure another glowing hot steel piece against a cast iron replica of a person’s hand.

“Maybe if you beg me in a sweet voice, I’ll think it over-“

“In your dreams. Besides, if I do that and you actually end up staying behind, you’ll be shamed, won’t you? The others will think you’re a coward after already agreeing to go with them.”

“Well, I think they’ll be a bit more lenient with me. After all, everyone thinks we’re a newly married couple.”

“That’s why you should fix that misunderstanding! How can I get married now if everyone thinks I’m married to another boy? And how long are you going to take to make a dagger? I think it’s – what is this piece of worthless lump?!!!”

Ayu ended up having to help Mugi make the dagger with precise instructions. The dagger was eventually completed, at the cost of much coal and many failures. Lured by the sound of hammer against hot steel, the other boys looked through the open door and thought that Mugi and Ayu were having some kind of strange tryst, in a smithy. When they saw Mugi’s new dagger and breastplate, they also wanted the same things. As payment for his instructions, Ayu had them all mine the ores from the mountain and carry it to the smithy. The raw ores eventually piled up behind the smithy after the boys were done making their own daggers and breastplates.

All the boys enquired as to how Ayu knew exactly what to do. Of course, Ayu had no answer. After all, Ayu had never forged a single blade in his life. In the end, Ayu simply imagined that his real parents must’ve been blacksmiths and that Ayu’s knowledge came from watching them at work.

*****

After weeks of preparation, it was finally the day for the boys to depart for the battlefield. The boys, numbering 47 people and several adult men would walk by foot together to the city of Arsac. They would serve under the banner of Warlord Juc for a period of one year, during which they would be provided with a salary and meals. For city-dwellers, serving under the Warlord’s banner was a no-brainer. With their lives tied directly to the city, the fall of the city also meant the ruin of the citizens. For the residents of the outlying villages though, it was a matter of choice.

After all, the villages didn’t pay the cities any amount of tax. Nor would they be required to assist if the cities were under attack. At most, some villages would pay a tribute to the cities close to them, similar in a way to protection fee. Otherwise, they would probably suffer raids repeatedly.

For villages like Easthill, where Ayu and Mugi lived in, that situation wouldn’t apply to them. Easthill was situated near the eastern shore, east of Shrine Hill, with a river running along the eastern side of the village. To the north, a mountain range blocked any passage of hostile armies. The city of Arsac was far to the west, past the villages of Westhill, Farfright, Halfmight and Borling. One could say that the village of Easthill was probably the safest place in this war-torn era, if one regarded a naval raid or invasion as a far possibility.

There would be only two reasons why a small village like Easthill would volunteer to serve under a warlord. The first would be the fear of being invaded. In this case, some of the boys would aim for a military career, where they would gain enough trust and responsibility to have their own troops with which to defend their village from raids or invasions. The second would be to avoid starvation. In this case, the volunteers would leave the village, leaving more food for storage and consumption of those who remained behind. They would also supplement the village’s food stores and income from the salary they received under service of the warlords. While one could serve under any warlord, most would choose to serve under the closest warlord, in this case, Warlord Juc.

The latter was the reason for the boys signing up under Warlord Juc’s banner. With the rumor that there would be another drought this year, many were afraid. The draught two years previous ruined much of the crop and caused famine in the upper villages. While Easthill, being situated closest to the sea wasn’t affected as badly as others, a draught would still cause them trouble. Thus why, they had to prepare for the worst.

A more egotistical reason would be that participating in a war was often considered a rite of passage into adulthood. In this rural society, a man who had never tasted war would be considered a ‘virgin’ and wouldn’t have any level of standing in the village. While there were a few men who had never went to war and managed to live a more or less sedentary life, they were never looked upon as anything other than immature men. Thus why, even though nobody would admit it, at least some of the boys decided to go to war not for the sake of the village, but for their own selfish ego.

On this day, everyone in the village took a day off, wearing their best clothes to send off the young men. For a family like Ayu’s that had no boys (apart from Ayu), they would still stand on the side of the road waving goodbye and sending off the boys with well wishes and prayers. For families where their sons would be going to war, it was a scene where tears and pleadings could commonly be seen. Of course, mothers who carried their boys in their womb for nine months and raised them to maturity couldn’t possibly bear simply watching their sons march off to war where they could be maimed or killed.

It was shortly after Aunt Helga hugged her sons with tears in her eyes that Ayu approached and pulled the sleeve of Mugi’s hemp shirt. “Hey,” he said.

Mugi turned around. “Ayu? Are you here to send me off?”

“Umm, can we go somewhere else?”

Mugi looked at his brothers and parents before he turned back towards Ayu and said, “Okay, but not too far.”

“Un, just under that tree,” Ayu pointed at a large apple tree not far from Mugi’s home before he started walking away without even looking to see if Mugi was following.

It was then that Mugi noticed the leather package in Ayu’s hand.

“That’s right, Ayu. Tie him up so he won’t leave!” Aunt Helga urged.

“What are you saying?!!!” Ayu started running without looking back.

Mugi went to chase, despite being encumbered by the steel breastplate, steel reinforced mountain climbing boots, leather shin protector and leather bracers. He had gotten used to wearing his dagger everywhere, so it was no longer a problem for him to run with it strapped to his belt. It was probably important to know that everything apart from the hemp clothes, the dagger and the steel breastplate were handmade by Ayu himself.

Mugi arrived just as Ayu sat down under the shade of the big apple tree. Ayu patted the ground next to him, urging Mugi to take a seat on the grassy ground. Mugi took a seat, all the while admiring the white dress that Ayu was wearing for this occasion. Unlike the everyday manly clothing that Ayu wore to imitate boys, this dress emphasized Ayu’s beauty and hugged his body enticingly. He thought it was a shame that Ayu had nothing up top, but he wouldn’t exchange Ayu for any other girl.

Ayu was wearing a one piece dress that ended a little above his ankles. The dress was made from the fibers of the ayu tree, twisted when wet and dried under the sun for half a year and moistened by morning dew until the fibers separated itself from the rest of the plant. Compared to other materials such as hemp, a single sheet of woven Ayu fibers wasn’t very strong. However, it was light, stretchy, thin and soft compared to any other cloths they had access to. Due to the long processing time required, it was considered a luxury item among the villagers.

“You look nice,” Mugi uttered a compliment.

“Thanks. Mom forced me to wear it. She said since everyone thinks that we’re married, I should send you off properly so that you won’t be shamed.”

“That’s good. But now I’m afraid everyone’s seen how beautiful my ‘wife’ is. I don’t think I can rest easy knowing that every men will be lusting over you in my absence.”

“Hey, don’t misunderstood, okay? I’m only wearing this because mom pestered me. I’m not doing this because of you!”

“Yes yes, I understand,” Mugi said as he took Ayu’s hand, “I appreciate the gesture either way.”

They were silent for some time as they held hands under the tree. Their backs leaning against the bark of the apple tree with their eyes looking in the distance, empty of all thoughts. This was the first time they would be apart. After years of being beside each other, neither could imagine how they would be living their lives without the other in the future.

“Hey, could you somehow not go?” Ayu asked while still looking at the blue sky.

“It’s a little late to say that, isn’t it?” Mugi said with a smile. Just like Ayu, he was still looking at the sky.

Ayu turned his head to his right, looking at Mugi’s face. “Maybe I’ll take your mom’s advice. Tie you up and tell them I’m kidnapping you.”

“Hahaha, that would work. Instead of going to war, the boys would be chasing the pretty kidnapper instead,” Mugi said while turning his face towards Ayu.

There was silence again as their eyes locked on each other’s. An awkward silence. A silence that Mugi tried to fix by moving his lips closer to Ayu’s.

“Hnngh!” Ayu blocked Mugi’s lips with the leather package he was carrying.

“What’s this?” Mugi asked as he took the package.

“Open it,” Ayu said while looking away with a red face.

“Gloves? What are these metal plate on the back?” Mugi asked while raising the pair of gloves with metal plates affixed to the back of the glove.

“It’s a gauntlet. See, the palm part is all leather, so you can have a firm grip on your weapons. The back of the hand and fingers are attached with steel plates. It will give minor protection from swords and spears but it can also be used to punch people’s faces. It should hurt a lot.”

This was the final form of the small steel rings and plates Ayu crafted some weeks ago.

“Thanks, Ayu. Not just for the gauntlet, but everything you’ve made for me. You’re the best wife any man could ask for.”

“Don’t go overboard. When you come back, you’re going to make everything clear to everyone, okay?”

“If I come back.”

“You MUST come back. Don’t forget your promise.”

“My promise? Was it the one about building a ship and sailing the seas?”

“Not that one, it’s the other one.”

“The one about having a party under the waterfall?”

“Not that!”

“The one about making a hut in the forest?”

“No! You’re just making fun of me aren’t you?”

“Is it the one about proposing to you after I return?”

“No! Actually, when did we ever make that promise? I meant the promise that we’d always be together for-“

It was stopped with a kiss. The moment Ayu realized what was going on, Mugi already had his left hand hugging Ayu’s waist and his right hand on Ayu’s back. On the contrary, Ayu, who was caught off-guard turned red as tomato while flailing his arms around in panic. He tried to push Mugi away and stop the sneak kiss.

Eventually, Ayu stopped trying and just surrendered his lips to Mugi’s insistent assault.

When they finally separated, Ayu was panting and his eyes were closed. A trail of saliva connected their tongues together as Ayu slowly came to realize that he was no longer being assaulted. Ayu slowly opened his eyes as if he just awoke from a slumber.

“How was it?” Mugi asked, referring to their first ever kiss.

Ayu, whose eyes were still only half-way open, replied with, “... disgusting...”

Hearing that, Mugi attacked Ayu with another deep kiss. Ayu tried to push Mugi away, even hitting his chest with his much smaller fists. Panting and feeling his skin becoming sensitive to the caressing of the ayu cloth, he eventually surrendered again. He placed his hands on Mugi’s shoulders and instead of pushing him away, Ayu held him close, as if begging him not to stop.

“Still disgusting?” Mugi asked, watching his bride panting in need.

When Ayu didn’t reply, Mugi kissed Ayu’s cheeks before going lower. Mugi kissed Ayu’s neck, his collarbone and proceeded lower, pulling apart the fold of the cloth that covered Ayu’s chest. Ayu grabbed his head and pulled him up before Mugi could do anything else.

“If I say it was disgusting, are you going to do it again?” Ayu asked while breathing heavily.

“I don’t know. Was it disgusting?” Mugi taunted with a smile.

“...It was very disgusting,” Ayu answered before he was again assaulted by Mugi’s lips.

Unlike before, Mugi became a little more aggressive. He pushed Ayu down on the grassy ground, kissing Ayu with abandon as his tongue wrestled with Ayu’s submissive tongue. Ayu’s hands that previously fought Mugi off were now crossed behind Mugi’s neck, pulling him closer instead of pushing him away. Ayu could feel Mugi’s manhood hardening against his leg as Mugi caressed his thin legs that was exposed when the folds of his dress opened, but Ayu couldn’t begin to care. For some reason, feeling Mugi’s hot and hard manhood pressing against him made him even hotter. As the caressing on Ayu's sensitive snow-white legs, his arching back and the delicious kiss intensified, Ayu felt like he no longer wanted it to stop.

It was the whistles and the catcalls that broke them up.

“Hey you two, couldn’t you have done that yesterday? We’re going to be late!”

“Kyaaa, that was so hot!”

“Why can’t I be married before I leave?!!!”

"Big sister... shameful..."

“Ayu, please give birth to girls.”

“You rascal Mugi! I hate your rotten luck!”

“Get a room!”

Since everyone thought Ayu was Mugi’s bride and their earlier actions proved it to most of the villagers, it was considered only right that Ayu stood with Mugi’s family. After all, a bride’s place was with her husband, it was only right. As everyone else already said their goodbyes and gathered at the village entrance, only Mugi was left behind.

“Hey, Mugi.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll forgive you for every other promise, but promise me something, okay?”

“What would that be?”

“Come home in one piece, with your heart still beating.”

“Alright, I promise I’ll come home in one piece, with my heart still beating.”

“You really promise?”

“Of course! Let’s seal it with a kiss.”

With a short kiss on the lips, Ayu sealed the promise.

 

*As usual, all your comments and feedbacks are welcomed. Praises helps me puff myself up so I can write faster. Constructive criticisms humbles me so I can do better job at writing. So please say something, okay?
**Had a little bit of continuation of the dream. So I'm writing another chapter. The kissing part was written exactly or as similar as I could to my dream. I wonder if it's working. Ever since my trauma at Literotica, I've not been able to write any good ero-story.

Washed ashore with no money, no identity and no memory of a life before. Adopted by a kind family only to be plunged into the fires of war. Will the boy, more beautiful than any girl, live a life of happiness or one of sadness? A Tale of A Thousand Days and A Promise Chapter 3 By Shinieris

“We’re hoome,” Ayu announced right after opening the front door.

“Welcome home,” Ayu’s mom greeted.

“Mom! Look, look. I caught some fish!” Ayu’s 7 years old little sister Lila said while jumping up and down with the fish-filled basket raised above her head.

“Oh, that sounds like a good catch there. I hope you didn’t give your big brother much trouble?”

“Lila didn’t cause trouble for big sister,” the little girl stated while pouting.

Ayu winced hearing the term ‘big sister’ being said by his little sister. He knew by now he should be getting used to it already, but he still couldn’t understand how preposterous the people of the village were. Although Ayu had soft and long dark blue hair, a beautiful face and very fair skin, traits that only females have in this region, Ayu was actually a boy. Ayu was found washed ashore about 8 years ago and Ayu theorized that where he came from all boys probably had soft dark blue hair, beautiful faces and very fair skin. The family that Ayu came home to adopted him shortly after he was found.

The long hair was actually Ayu’s best friend Mugi’s preference, though. Every time Ayu stated an intention to cut it, Mugi would defend the length with all his might. When they were younger, they even came to blows whenever Ayu stated that he wanted to cut his hair. As they grew up, Ayu stopped being bothered by his hair and just allowed it grow. Now the length of Ayu’s hair had reached below his hips, a length uncommon even among the women of the village.

“Lila has been a great help, mom. I’d like to take Lila fishing again tomorrow.”

“I don’t mind, but Lila needs to learn how to cook as well,” his mom replied.

“Lila doesn’t need to cook. Mom and big sister can cook.”

“Lila, you can’t depend on big sister – I mean, big brother – umm, you can’t depend on your big brother anymore. He’s married now, he’s not just your big sister anymore,” Ayu’s mom explained.

Ayu winced again at the mention of his ‘marriage’. Due to a misunderstanding during his 13th birthday, everyone in the village now thought that Ayu and his best friend Mugi was married, when in fact, both of them were boys. Unfortunately, their actions shortly afterwards, leading up to Mugi’s departure to join the army of Warlord Juc did nothing to dispel the misunderstanding. Truthfully, nobody could even begin to consider that their ‘marriage’ was not real. After all, they did almost ‘consummate’ their wedded life under the apple tree before the eyes of almost every villager on the day of Mugi’s departure.

Thinking about that particular scene under the apple tree made Ayu’s face red. Not only was he ashamed at being seen doing such an intimate thing, he was also ashamed at acting so wanton with another boy, his best friend, even. Ever since then he had wondered if he had some kind of strange tendency towards other boys.

Ayu shrugged off the memory of that time under the apple tree and said to his mom, “Now that you mention it, can you put aside two of the fish we caught today, mom?”

“Are you having dinner with your in-laws today?” his mom asked.

Ayu tried not to be affected by the word ‘in-laws’ as he answered, “Yes, they don’t have any other child apart from Mikke right now, and that boy’s almost useless. He plays around all the time.”

Ayu’s in-laws, the farmer Glen and the baker Helga had four sons. The eldest was Horon, a boy larger than most boys his age. It was followed by Kelk, who was skilled in the use of a bow. Mugi was the third and having been with Ayu for years, was good at many things, such as the use of a bow or a spear and many survival skills, as they spent most of their childhood frolicking like wild children in the forest or at the mountains. The only things that Mugi was bad at, were crafting skills. It was because Mugi was someone who relied on brute force, as he had good muscle strength compared to Ayu, who had good hand-eye coordination and relied on precision. Ayu’s last brother-in-law was the 8 year old Mikke, a good-for-nothing brat with nothing special to his name.

“Big sister won’t have dinner with Lila today?” Lila asked while giving Ayu her signature puppy-dog eyes.

“Sorry, Lila. Let’s have dinner together tomorrow.”

“Okay...” Lila said with drooped shoulders as she put her boots aside to go help her mom with the fish.

******

“I’ll be going, mom,” Ayu said as he put on his self-made leather boots and picked up the basket containing the fish and vegetables his mom prepared.

“Say hello to your in-laws for me and tell Helga thanks for the muffins yesterday,” his mom said.

“Thanks for the muffins!” Lila repeated.

“Alright, I’ll tell them. Lila, be a good girl and help mom, okay?”

“Aye!”

Ayu closed the door and walked in the direction of his in-law’s home with his left hand holding the basket containing the fish and vegetables. In his right hand, he held a coiled length of rope. On his belt was a steel dagger, one he made on his own a few days after Mugi’s departure.

Despite being Mugi’s teacher in smithing, Ayu himself never did any smithing before they had to make a dagger for Mugi. Ayu theorized that he probably received the knowledge on smithing because he watched his real parents doing it. He couldn’t be sure, as he had lost all memory of his life before being washed ashore near the village. However, having the knowledge and actually doing it was two totally different things. Ayu could craft rings and smaller plates of steel easily enough. When he tried to craft his own dagger though, it proved to be a daunting effort. Unlike Mugi and his thicker muscles, Ayu’s muscle strength was pretty weak. Where Mugi failed because he swung the hammer without caring where it hit, Ayu hit exactly where he wanted, except that the strength was low. So it took Ayu almost a week just to make one dagger after many trials and errors.

“Ah? Isn’t that Mikke?” Ayu said to himself when he saw a boy sneaking about behind a tree.

“Oi, Mikke,” Ayu called.

Mikke’s neck turned back so fast that it must’ve snapped. With fear in his eyes, he cried, “No, no! I haven’t done anything! It’s a lie. Slander!”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Eh? Isn’t this about – cough – well, nothing. What can I help you with, sister-in-law?”

“Are you up to something bad, Mikke?”

“What? No! What gave you that idea? Hohoho!”

“Too suspicious,” Ayu said as he approached Mikke.

“Wait! I haven’t done anything! Whatever they said, it’s not true!” Mikke said as he took a few steps back.

“Stop walking away if you haven’t done anything wrong,” Ayu said as he continued walking towards Mikke.

“Then, would you stop coming closer, sister-in-law?”

“You don’t have the right to make demands, Mikke,” Ayu stated as he walked with even faster steps.

“Hiii!!!” Mikke turned around and broke into a full sprint. Of course, this meant Ayu had to chase him.

After running a full lap around the village, they eventually stopped when Ayu managed to lasso Mikke’s torso, causing Mikke to stop in his tracks. While still doing his best to run despite the rope around his body, Ayu approached slowly, while pulling on the rope that bound Mikke. With Ayu’s strong grip on his head, Mikke no longer have any chance to run away.

“Calm down, you damned brat. I haven’t heard anything bad about you... yet. I only want you to help me give this to your mom,” Ayu said as he pushed the basket containing fish and vegetables at Mikke.

Mikke looked at the basket in his hands and finally understood. “Ah, are you having dinner with us tonight?”

“Yes, I have to go to the forest first. Tell your mom I’ll arrive before sunset.”

“Yes, sister-in-law, I’ll tell mom. So please release me from the rope.”

Ayu held the length of rope and was about to release Mikke when he said, “After you’ve given the basket to your mom, go help your dad at the field. You’re the only boy in the house now. Stop playing around.”

“Eh? But-“

“Go help your dad.”

“Yes!”

Ayu managed to arrive at his in-laws’ home a little earlier than expected. Giving a short greeting to his mother-in-law Helga, he went into the barn beside the house and placed the bundle of firewood in his hands onto a stack of similar sized firewood. The firewood was actually long and uncut, so that it would be easier for him to carry. Like usual, his father-in-law would have to cut it himself depending on how many would be needed. It was Mugi’s job to bring home firewood before this and it was Mugi’s eldest brother Horon’s job to cut the firewood. Ever since they all left to join the army, bringing home firewood became Ayu’s responsibility. His father-in-law once said it wasn’t necessary for him to do it, but Ayu figured that since he ‘married’ into this family, he had to at least show that he wasn’t an irresponsible ‘bride’ despite the ‘marriage’ being a misunderstanding.

When Ayu arrived, his mother-in-law Helga was almost done preparing dinner, so the only thing left was just setting the table. Ayu’s father-in-law and brother-in-law arrived home right after Ayu placed the jug filled with beer on the table. It seemed like Mikke obediently helped his father at the field today.

“Oh, if it isn’t Ayu. I was wondering what made Mikke suddenly volunteer to help at the field today.”

“Good evening, Uncle Glen. Mikke didn’t tell you I’m coming?”

“No, he didn’t. Besides that, I’ve said it many times, call me daddy.”

“And I’ve also said it many times, Uncle Glen. Why?”

“Because you’re our daughter-in-law, Ayu. Call me mommy,” Ayu’s mother-in-law answered from behind.

“I’m a boy!”

“She’s still saying that, dear,” Ayu’s mother-in-law said it with her right palm on her cheek.

“She is, my dear,” Ayu’s father-in-law agreed.

“Can we just eat, please?” Ayu pleaded.

After dinner, Ayu stayed over to help with the chores. When Ayu was about to wash the dishes, Helga pushed a folded letter made of hemp paper into Ayu’s hand. Ayu looked at the front of the folded letter and saw that written there was “To Baker Helga, Farmer Glen, Shoemaker Ayu. From Soldier Mugi, Horon, Kelk.”

“It’s a letter from Mugi!” Ayu exclaimed.

“I know, can you read it?” Helga asked.

Ayu once took a reading and writing lesson from the village chief for the fee of a small basket of fish for every session. Naturally, since Ayu didn’t want to study alone, he roped Mugi into the lessons too, ending up with them having to pay a basket of small fish and either a basket of forest fruits or a small basket of edible mushrooms. Since reading and writing was not a necessary skill in a small village like Easthill, Ayu and Mugi could be said to be the only ones from the new generation that could read and write. So it wasn’t surprising that Ayu’s in-laws had to wait for Ayu to come before they could read the letter from their sons.

Ayu opened the folded letter and his face couldn’t help make a grimace. “Barely, his handwriting is terrible like always.”

Dear mom, dad and my dear wife,
 
That last part sound wonderful. I’m sorry for not sending a letter earlier as the training regime had been too rigid to do anything with our free time. We have successfully joined Warlord Juc’s forces. Big brother Horon was sent to the axemen company, big brother Kelk was sent to the archers company and I’ve been put into the spearmen company, just as expected. I wish I can buy a sword so I can be put into the swordsmen company, but with my current pay, it’s too expensive for me. Since there has not been even a single battle since we joined, I can’t loot the battlefield either.
 
We also decided to send some gifts home with our first pay. For dad, Horon bought a leather jacket. For mom, Kelk bought a fur muffler. For my wife, I bought a box of Ullo roots. For our little brother Mikke, we got you a backscratcher.

“Are you kidding me? What am I going to do with a backscratcher?” Mikke yelled at the letter.

For my dear wife Ayu, I know you’ve always been dissatisfied with your breast size, so I bought the Ullo roots from the same merchant we’re using to send you this letter. It was said to be a root blessed by the goddess of beauty and believed to be able to make even ugly girls beautiful. I’m sorry, I can’t afford to buy the really good stuff, so I can only buy you the cheaper one. It’s still pretty expensive, so I’d appreciate if you would drink it instead of throwing it away as you would probably do.
 
Regardless, we’re doing fine here. We hope all of you are in good health over there too. If you need to send a letter, just address it to ‘Soldier Mugi of the 3rd Spearmen Company’ and hand it to the merchant who delivered the letter and the gifts. I was told he would visit Easthill every month.
 
That’s all from us. We’ll try to send another letter soon. Goodbye for now.

Ayu sighed. “Mugi, if you have the money to buy something expensive, then why don’t you save that money to buy a sword instead?”

Ayu decided to give the Ullo Roots to Lila. He thought it would be better if Lila who was an actual girl to consume it. It is definitely not because I’m afraid of growing breasts, was what he thought.

“He’s just showing how much he loves his wife, Ayu dear,” Helga said as she reached for something under one of the beds.

“That idiot. Nevermind then, I’ll just make him a sword by myself.”

“You can make a sword?” Glen asked.

“How different can it be from making a dagger? It should follow the same principle, only longer and heavier.”

“Can you make me a sword, sister-in-law?” Mikke asked with shining eyes.

“No. Instead of playing around with a sword, why don’t you help your dad and mom more?”

“Eh~ but that’s boring.”

In one flash movement Ayu reached out his hand and grabbed Mikke’s face in his vice-like grip.

“I get it! I’ll help! Stop!!!”

Meanwhile, a short distance away, Ayu’s foster family was also having their dinner. Ayu’s absence didn’t bother them too much, as Ayu have had meals with his in-laws several times since Mugi went to join Warlord Juc’s army. The only one still sulking at Ayu’s absence was his foster sister Lila, who had already forgotten that Ayu wasn’t actually her blood-related sister.

Ayu was a boy, though.

“I assume Ayu is with his in-laws tonight?” Ayu’s dad ask his mom during dinner.

“Yes, he said since all of their grown-up sons joined the army, he has to act like a good bride for appearance sake at least. He’ll be back after dinner, though.”

“It seems like he’s taking this fake wedding too seriously. I thought he said he didn’t want it.”

“Ayu is a responsible girl – I mean, boy. Despite not wanting it, he will do his best to fulfill expectations. Just like how he went and tamed that wild horse when he said he won’t be able to help at the farm much anymore.”

“Hn, indeed. That horse is worth three of Ayu when it comes to farm work.”

“This is our son you’re dissing, dear.”

“Hahaha, sorry, my love. I ran my mouth, but you have to admit, Ayu is terrible with working the farm. He’s even worse than you, and you are about the daintiest woman I ever know.”

“Oh… a rare compliment!”

“Hahaha, sometimes I wonder if Ayu is even a boy. Nothing about him says ‘boy’.”

“Of course big sister isn’t a boy, dad! She’s the prettiest girl in the village!” Lila interrupted.

Ayu’s father patted the little girl’s head. “Yes yes, as you say. I bet Lila will become prettier than big sister when you grow up.”

“Un! Lila will do my best!”

“Then if Lila wants to become pretty like big sister, Lila has to eat the vegetables too, okay?”

“Un! Lila will eat everything, dad!”

Ayu’s mom placed her hand in front of her mouth as she giggled quietly at Lila’s enthusiasm. While watching Lila do her best munching the slices of carrot in the stew, she looked at Ayu’s dad and said, “Yes, I’m very sure. I used to bathe with him myself, remember? It was small, at least compared to the boys of his age, but it was certainly there.”

“Let’s not talk about that in front of the dinner.”

“Agreed.”

******

The clanging of metal against metal could be heard from old Blacksmith Jaqs smithy. As Blacksmith Jaqs along with his two apprentices were swept away when the river flooded several months earlier, such a sound should not have been heard in what should have been an empty smithy. Those curious enough did peek through the large double door, which was left open to allow the heat from the forge to escape. When they saw who was inside, they shrugged and left.

For inside the smithy was the recently wedded bride, Ayu. For the sake of making a sword for her – no, his – husband Mugi, Ayu had been spending the past twenty evenings in the smithy. Around him were fragments of shattered or cracked swords. These were all failed swords, and he didn’t know why it failed.

“Why is a sword so much harder to make than a dagger?” Ayu complained as he made a couple more strikes at the piece of steel in front of him.

Truthfully, there was no need for him to make Mugi a sword. According to Fisherman Leck, these mobilization practices were mostly just for show. It was nothing more a move to maintain the status quo. In essence, the warlords will perform recruitments, to ensure that their armies were at the preferred strength and size. This had nothing to do with going to war. It was simply to show the other warlords that they could comfortably maintain an army of that size and any invasion attempts would be met with this amount of soldiers.

For example, Warlord Juc who governed Arsac, had a peacetime army count of around 4000 men, not including the support staff. The total peacetime army count of its closest belligerent neighbor Heamoor was around 3000. Assuming that these two cities went to war, they could summon probably between 7000 to 10000 additional soldiers from their own population. Since their army count would be about equal, a battle would likely not yield much result, making army mobilization nothing more than a wasteful act. Therefore, maintaining a volunteer army served to intimidate the other side, so that they would think of an invasion as a waste of time and resource.

In other words, whether Mugi had a sword or not, it wouldn’t matter. Since Mugi would never see battle, Mugi would have no use for a sword except as bragging rights. Simply said, while swords could be bought for a few silver, good swords that would retain its edge in battle were quite expensive. To hold such swords would mean one of two things; the first being that the person was rich enough to be able to afford a good sword and the second was that the person had seen his fair share of battles and looted it from the hands of a dead officer. With a good sword, Mugi would likely receive respect and could probably even be raised to a sub-officer, which would mean better pay and working conditions.

Ayu knew a little about smithing. A wrought iron sword was really easy to make. You just needed to heat a lump of iron until red hot, pound it with a hammer until it barely forms the shape of a sword, quench it and then sharpen it. What Ayu was looking to send to Mugi was not some cheap, shoddy piece of metal, Ayu wanted Mugi to be able to brag about it as well. Ayu did not want Mugi to have to lower his head in shame for carrying a cheap sword in the swordsmen company. If Mugi was to join the swordsmen company, then Ayu wanted him to have the best sword.

Unfortunately, Ayu’s image of the ‘best’ sword couldn’t compare to reality. Ayu only vaguely knew how to make a good steel sword, but the details eluded him. Some of the swords he made cracked when he sharpened it. Some showed cracks even while it was cooling. Some shattered as soon as he quenched it. It came to the point where Ayu simply sat quietly in the smithy, watching his workplace and the mountain of cracked and shattered swords on the floor while thinking.

It was a few days later that Ayu decided on making experiments of making steel in very controlled conditions, using sealed clay crucibles to contain iron fragments, coal powder and glass, a method he barely recalled from his memory, as if watching a slideshow of pictures. Two weeks later, he successfully made a sword that neither cracked, shattered nor dulled after a few use. As he paid Carpenter Frug with a new steel dagger to make a sheath for the sword, he thought about sending it to Mugi the next time the merchant came.

In the meantime, Ayu also made a steel helm, for he was sure Mugi did not have a proper helmet yet. As Ayu was too busy working, he didn’t even realize that the merchant had already come and gone. The merchant went back carrying the letter Ayu left with his in-laws and a package of smoked meat. As if in exchange, the merchant left behind another delivery of Ullo roots for Ayu with his in-laws, paid for with Mugi’s salary.

Originally Ayu left the Ullo roots to Lila before Lila refused to drink it as it tasted too bitter. Ayu ended up having to drink the juice from the boiled roots himself, mixed with honey. Despite the addition of honey, Lila still wouldn’t drink it, so Ayu had to continue drinking it himself. Now that another delivery arrived, Ayu had to drink double the portion because he just knew Mugi would raise a fuss if he returned and saw it wasn’t finished. Ayu didn’t realize it, as he had never seen a grown woman naked, but he had already grown a small, budding pair of breasts. He didn’t realize that drinking the Ullo juice with bee honey was actually the proper way of drinking it. He only added the honey because it would be too bitter to drink otherwise without knowing that it activated the root’s special properties.

******

“I wonder what would be good…” Ayu wondered loudly as he walked into the forest, carrying with him a coil of rope, an axe and a spear. Of course, his steel dagger was still strapped to his belt. He also carried with him a leather bag containing food and water.

As someone who spent his entire childhood running around like a wild child in the forest, Ayu knew enough that there was no such thing as ‘one size fits all’ trap. Snares were the simplest and easiest to make, but could only trap small animals. Deadfall traps would be better for larger animals, as smaller animals were generally faster and would be able to avoid the falling tree trunk, but it would take time to prepare. Pitfall traps would work best but would take too long to prepare. It would also require a shovel, something that Ayu forgot to bring. Needless to say, these would all be dangerous to humans or other unintended victims. Therefore Ayu had to look for a place that people would rarely venture to and set up a trap for the largest animal that frequent that area.

Now why would Ayu suddenly want to trap a large animal? Was it no longer enough for him to eat fish and rabbits anymore? No, it had nothing to do with eating. Ayu was looking for bones, bones from animals stronger than a fish or a rabbit.

This all started from a story told by Hunter Muric. From his story, it seemed like all the good swords were created not only with coal, but also with beast’s bones. Some smiths even use the bones of famous warriors. Apparently the bones made the swords stronger and the spirit from the bones made the swords sharper and the wielder more skillful. Ayu wondered if he failed the first fourteen swords because he didn’t make use of animal bones. Being raised in a superstitious society, Ayu believed the story in its entirety.

That was why Ayu was in the forest. Of course, Ayu could just get some pig, cow or rabbit bones, but Ayu didn’t want to use those. According to Hunter Muric, the stronger the animal, the stronger the weapon’s power would be. After making Mugi’s sword, Ayu realized that Mugi would just brag about serving in the swordsmen company and make fun of Ayu for not having battle experience. Ayu, being someone who didn’t like losing, didn’t want to suffer the ridicule. Therefore, Ayu decided to make a sword of his own, and not just any sword, but the best sword possible.

For that reason, Ayu had to find a strong animal. Rabbits just won’t cut it. He was aiming for a wild boar, but a deer would be good too. It was while Ayu was looking for tracks in the part of the forest that bordered the mountains that he heard a growl to his left. It was in the direction of the mountains. In his desire to find a good material, he didn’t realize that he had ventured too close to the mountains.

Unlike the place Ayu mined iron ores, this area of the mountain was rarely visited by the villagers. There were very good reasons for that. The first was because this part of the forest was very deep and there was no need for anyone to venture that far when they could’ve gotten it from the edge of the forest. Another reason was the name of this part of the mountain. It was called The Howling Ridge and for good reason. This area was home to several wolf packs, all of which were hostile to humans

Ayu looked to his left. Growling there was a big white wolf, the biggest wolf Ayu had ever seen. Ayu had seen many wolves while exploring the forest with Mugi. Most of them minded their own business, though some, like the Red Striped Wolves were very hostile and would chase them every time they caught their scent. So both Ayu and Mugi had to be aware of their surroundings at all times while they were in the forest or near the mountains. They complimented each other’s blind spots. Not having Mugi around had messed up Ayu’s sense of awareness, causing him to lose sense of his surroundings.

Normally it was fine, wolves move in packs, so Ayu could tell if they were there if his senses could catch just one. The difference here was that it was not a pack but a lone wolf. No matter how often Ayu stopped and listened, if this single wolf moved silently, he would not be able to detect it. At least, not without Mugi.

Ayu couldn’t run. Wolves were generally stronger and faster than humans. They were also predators that chase, so by running, Ayu would present his vulnerability and would be overtaken instantly. The best course would be to face the wolf and back away slowly. However, that was a problem by itself. As wolves hunt in packs, there should be more than one. There was only one wolf in front of Ayu. Where would the other wolves be?

Ayu tried to expand his awareness, listening to the sound of ground being stepped on, leaves being brushed against and branches being snapped. There was none. So unlike the standard strategy of surrounding him, they were doing something else. Could it be they were in ambush? Using this single wolf to guide him to their ambush spot, then pounce on him when Ayu was close? Could wolves think of something so elaborate? It was too suspicious for wolves that would always hunt in packs to be hunting alone. No matter how unlikely, they must have been attempting to ambush him.

Ayu froze again, listening to the sound around him. After he was confident that there was nothing suspicious, he released his burdens and grabbed both his spear and hatchet. With a short spear in his right hand and a hatcher in his left, he made a stance against the wolf. It wasn’t even a minute before the wolf sprinted forward, its jaws wide open, intent of making Ayu its prey.

Ayu calmly watched the white wolf’s feet, silently made a calculation in his mind and evaded at the very last moments to his right, where the positioning of the wolf’s feet would not allow it to turn towards Ayu. Waiting for the right moment, Ayu then swung his hatchet down at the wolf’s neck the moment it missed his arm. Yet, it didn’t hit as the wolf, aware about the danger, shifted its feet causing it to lose its balance and rolled on the ground.

Safe from Ayu’s hatchet, the wolf righted itself and stared down at Ayu. Having turned around to face the wolf again, Ayu posed his spear forward, as if challenging the wolf to charge. It did not. Instead, it walked around Ayu in a circle, sizing him up, observing his weakness.

This move made Ayu sweat. Ayu had never personally fought wolves. The few times Ayu and Mugi were chased by wolves, they made them turn around by firing arrows or throwing rocks at the approaching wolves. Ayu did not carry arrows, he planned to make traps, not hunt. It was also too late to bend down and pick up rocks with the wolf being so close. Ayu admitted his oversight on both accounts. It was too late to blame himself though, as he prepared to bet his life on what was probably going to be the first and last showdown in his life.

Ayu really wished Mugi was here. Had Mugi been here, they would’ve flanked the wolf easily. They probably wouldn’t be able to kill the wolf, but at least they could intimidate it enough that it would leave. No chance of that now.

The wolf growled.

Ayu fixed his stance just as the wolf pounced at him from a slightly higher elevation. Panicked at seeing a wolf larger than a man approaching fast, Ayu swung his hatchet. Unfortunately, because of the sweat that accumulated in his left palm, the hatchet’s handle slipped from his hand. As it flew in the air, it grazed the belly of the wolf slightly and finally stuck itself into the trunk of a tree behind the wolf.

Ayu was barely able to avoid the jaws and paws of the wolf that was flying at him, but his long hair was caught by the jaws of the wolf. Thankfully, Ayu managed to take out his steel dagger and cut the hair before he was dragged down by the wolf. Seeing as its prey was still free, the wolf spat out the hair it caught. Without allowing Ayu to catch his breath, the wolf righted itself and charged towards Ayu’s unprotected back.

Unable to defend himself, Ayu could only jump to the side. The charging wolf failed to bite him again, but its large paw smacked against the unsteady Ayu. The impact caused him to be thrown away and his hemp shirt to tear when it was caught in the wolf’s claw. The impact was so great he flew and hit a tree trunk so violently that he lost grip on both his weapons as he ended up at the foot of the tree.

Seeing that its prey was now unarmed and defenseless, the wolf made one final lunge. Ayu, his vision still blurry, felt around the ground until his right hand grabbed something. He didn’t know what it was, only that it felt like a tree branch, but he threw it at the still blurry form of the wolf with all his strength.

The wolf howled in pain.

When Ayu’s vision returned, Ayu saw the wolf struggling to its feet in front of him. Its mouth was overflowing with blood, and the reason was the short spear in its throat. In Ayu’s moment of confusion, Ayu had somehow grabbed the spear and threw it into the large wolf’s maw. It had nothing to do with skill, it was simply luck.

Ayu thanked whatever power in the sky for being able to live another day.

Meanwhile, the large white wolf struggled to drag itself away. Seeing the wolf’s retreating figure with the spear still stuck deep inside the wolf, Ayu grabbed the dagger next to his left hand and got up unsteadily. With her body still shaking in fear and pain, Ayu crossed the short distance to the hatchet and pulled it out of the tree trunk. He followed the mewls of pain whenever the wolf or the spear in its throat hit against the ground or a tree. The trail of blood on the ground also ensured that Ayu would never lose his prey.

Despite his shaky legs, Ayu quickened his pace. He wanted to catch up with the wolf as soon as he could. He now knew what bones he wanted to use. He was going to use wolf bone, and he wanted this particular wolf’s bone to become his sword. Stalking silently through the undergrowth guided by the trail of blood and the noise of something big bumping against the trees, Ayu finally came out of the forest, into a clearing at the base of the mountain. In front of him, just a few feet from a small cave, the wolf lay barely alive.

What amazing vitality, Ayu thought as he looked at the spear sticking out of the wolf’s mouth.

It was while he was admiring the wolf’s life force that he heard squeaks from inside the cave. Giving the wolf a wide berth, he walked past the wolf and into the cave. Following the sound of the squeaks, Ayu discovered that the cave was a small lair. Not far from the cave’s mouth, Ayu found the origin of the noise. It was a small litter of wolf pups, five of them. Their eyes were still closed, they were probably only a few days old.

Ayu suddenly felt guilty. Ayu now understood why the wolf stood alone. It was probably chased out of its pack for some reason. It was merely guarding its lair, all alone when Ayu appeared. Had Ayu just leave, it would likely not give chase. Horrified at what he did, Ayu quickly went back to the wolf. Slowly and gently, Ayu pulled the spear out, taking care to avoid giving it any additional damage. Ayu knew it was probably useless, but he reasoned that if it stayed inside, it would continue to cause damage every time the wolf breathed. So Ayu had to do something.

Ayu quickly brought the blind wolf pups to the mother wolf one at a time, hoping to give it a chance to say goodbye in its own words. The wolf coughed, causing red showers to come out of its mouth while the pups suckled on the wolf’s teats. Ayu tried not to look at the dying wolf and the suckling pups as he cut some branches with the hatchet in order to make a simple triangle carrier to carry the wolf’s body back to the village. It was nothing elaborate, just a bunch of branches, tied in the shape of a triangle, with a narrow base. It would be pulled by its upper corner as the two long branches were dragged on the ground. Along the length of the lower side of the triangle, smaller branches were tied to hold the wolf while it’s being carried. In essence it would be similar to a wheeled shopping carrier, but without the wheels and instead of a horizontal bar, it would only have two ends of a branch tied together as a handhold.

Ayu knew it wouldn’t be the most efficient or the safest type of carrier, but he had no other choice and no other resources. It would be uncomfortable for the dying fox, but Ayu hoped its life force would be strong enough to survive the journey back to the village. Ayu couldn’t know for sure if it would recover, but Ayu thought he could at least ask the herbalists to try save it.

Once Ayu finished, he quickly rolled the wolf onto the carrier, causing it to release another rain of blood on the ground. Ayu had no choice. It was a huge wolf, even bigger than him. It would probably be different if Mugi was around, but alone, it was impossible for Ayu to pick it up. Then Ayu tied the wolf to the carrier with the remaining rope.

Satisfied that the wolf was secure, Ayu scooped up the wolf pups and placed them into the leather bag containing Ayu’s water and food supplies. Then, Ayu ran, pulling the carrier behind him. Due to the wolf’s weight, Ayu had to take a rest from time to time. Since Ayu didn’t want to hurt the wolf any further, Ayu also had to make detours several times to avoid particularly hard drops in elevation or tree roots too big to cross comfortably. Ayu ended up taking almost seven hours to reach the village. By the time he arrived, it was too late. The wolf mother was already dead.

He fell to his knees next to the carrier with the dead wolf. Rubbing the mane of the huge white wolf, which was now covered in dried blood, he swore that the wolf’s death would not be in vain. To the spirit of the wolf, he swore that every part of the wolf would be made useful and become a part of him. As for the wolf’s pups, he would take care of them as if they were his own children, until they matured and able to survive in the wilds on their own.

He hugged the bloody and cold body of the wolf, promising it that he would take over its responsibilities from now on.

*As usual, all your comments and feedbacks are welcomed. Praises helps me puff myself up so I can write faster. Constructive criticisms humbles me so I can do better job at writing. So please say something, okay?
**This chapter ended up becoming too long, so I had to split it. Please keep on reading.