Daegal found being able to cook a whole deer over the firepit to be extremely convenient. The rotisserie spit impaled the deer and allowed for easy turning and even cooking. Previously, if Daegal wanted to cook a whole deer, he would have to tear the limbs off and cook them individually over a fire, a process that took several hours. He always marveled at the little things humans created to make things easier.
Randolf had returned to his work after he made sure Daegal wasn’t going to start any fires that couldn’t be put out. It would have been very hard to do that, in Daegal’s opinion, given the slightly damp dirt that made up most of this area. With the aid of these new tools, Daegal was able to evenly cook the whole deer, minimizing burns and coming out with a juicy finish.
His mouth was watering at the sight of the deer, and without any hesitation, he began to tear into his large meal, teeth cutting cleanly through the tender meat. This was the best deer he had ever managed to cook, and even though he didn’t add any herbs to it, it still carried a flavor that stoked his appetite. Bones were stripped of flesh and discarded into a neat pile, and the organs were a treat as well. He always liked the liver and heart the most.
In a little under an hour, all that was left of the deer was the bones, and Daegal let out a pleased sigh as he felt utterly full. From a certain angle, you could even see his belly distended slightly. Randolf had been witness to most of that display of appetite, and he only had one thing to say about it.
“That was morbidly interesting. Never seen anyone, or anything, eat an entire deer before.”
Daegal felt slightly embarrassed for a strange reason. This was natural for him, but he did understand that humans didn’t eat nearly as much.
“S-Sorry,” Daegal said as he stifled a burp.
Randolf huffed. “Not much to be apologizing over, just ain’t seen nothing like that before. Can hardly wrap my mind around how you managed to pack away that whole buck.”
Beneath the slight feeling of embarrassment, Daegal also found the man’s general behavior strange. He had a feeling that many of the villagers would do anything they could to avoid being alone with him, but Randolf seemed largely unphased by his presence. Sure, the man kept a healthy distance, and Daegal did see his hand resting on the hilt of the knife he kept in his leather apron, but his demeanor was that of casual attention.
“Uhm, do you m-mind if I ask something?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Couldn’t stop you from speaking even if I wanted to, so go ahead.”
“You seem a little... different than the others. Less afraid of me. Why?”
“Who says I ain’t afraid? Quite frankly, you make the hair on my neck stand on end. As for why I'm like this, well, I just recognize the futility in attempting to reject you. You stopped a horse drawn wagon with your bare hands and crushed a man’s throat like it was a twig. There’s not a lot we can do against that kind of power, so if you’ve decided you’re staying, we have no recourse but to accept that. I figure that if you're going to be here anyway, might as well try to make the most of it while you’re still feeling agreeable.”
“I... I don’t want to force people to accept me.”
“Hmm, well, that’s awfully charitable of you.” Randolf paused for a moment before letting out a sigh. “Also, I do recognize that you saved our skins the other day, so I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, despite what old Conrad wants to shout.”
That did lift Daegal’s spirits as he gave a small smile. “Thank you.”
“Bah, no need for thanks. You’re bringing me something of worth and I’m letting you use my tools. We have an agreement that benefits us both, that’s all.” He may have said that, but his hand did slide off his knife handle.
Daegal decided he would be happy with just forming a professional connection with someone. Randolf was transferring all the meat from the hogs he cut up, either placing them in the smoker or storing them inside the main building for sale. He told Daegal to dispose of the deer bones in a barrel by the side of the shed, which he did as it would be rather rude to leave a mess like that. Once everything was cleaned up, Daegal was getting ready to leave when Randolf stopped him.
“Hold a moment, I nearly forgot.” Daegal paused and turned back to the man as he dug through a small pouch that clinked with every movement. He pulled his hand out; this time balled into a fist. “Here.”
Daegal extended his hand out, and Randolf deposited four coins into his hand. They were made of copper with engravings on the face that had faded from the frequency in which they changed hands. It looked like it might have been depicting a tall, pointed building of some kind that was unfamiliar to Daegal. He had never seen human money up close before, and what was better, this was his now, he earned it. His tail began to wag a bit, and he curled his lips in a small smile.
After the exchange was finished, Randolf waved him off with a casual hand. “Alright, that’s our business done for today. Go on back to whatever it is you do; you’ll scare away my customers if you linger around here.”
“R-Right, thank you.”
Randolf didn’t respond and instead just turned around, walking back inside the main building while grumbling under his breath. Daegal decided he’d check in with Fiora. It had been a couple hours since he left, and he really wanted to tell her about everything that happened. There was a slight spring in his step as he walked, born from his feeling of accomplishment and only dampened slightly by the distant, passing glares of the village’s population.
He followed the very strong scent of herbs right back to Fiora’s house, and once there, leaned down to look through their front window. She and her father were currently in the middle of meal prep by the looks of things. Fiora finished cutting a vegetable, and when she turned around and saw him, she let out a short squeak of surprise that also made her father jump. Placing a hand over her heart, she bent over slightly and took a deep breathe as she recovered from the unexpected shock.
“Dear God, Daegal! Can you knock next time?”
“Knock?” he asked with a tilt of his head.
“Yes, knock, like, on the door.” She rapped her knuckle on a nearby table for a demonstration. “That’s how you let people know you’ve arrived without surprising them.”
“Right, sorry, I didn’t know that.”
She let out a sigh before switching to a grin. “Anyway, welcome back, Daegal. Did you manage to catch a deer?”
Now it was his turn to smile. “Yes, I did, and what’s more,” he stuck his hand through the window and showed off the coins he had. “Randolf paid me for the parts I didn’t want.”
“Really? That’s great! You’ve earned your first bit of money. Do you know what you want to do with it?”
Daegal regarded the coins in his hand. “I... don’t really know. Can I buy another blanket with this?”
“Hmm, you might need a little more than that if you want another blanket.”
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That was a little unfortunate, but it did give him something to work toward in the immediate future. Fiora celebrated his first earnings, and even Emil gave a short congratulations for his success. Daegal felt proud of himself. He had done something that was of value to the village. It may have been small, but most things start off that way. He went to bed that night already planning to work with Randolf again.
Despite waking up surrounded by a literal pigsty, he was in a brighter mood this morning than the last. His plan was to go hunting again, though this time he was going to give it all to Randolf for more coins. Along the way, though, he was interrupted when he ran into a pair of regrettably memorable faces.
The pair of rotten brothers he had seen attack Fiora had nearly collided with him as he rounded the corner of a house. Both parties stopped in the tracks, and while normally Daegal would have wanted to avoid confrontation with the villagers, these were two individuals whom he didn’t mind scaring. In fact, Daegal started to glare at them, which set the two on edge.
“W-What are you looking at?” Bertrem tried to put on a tough act, but it mostly fell flat.
“Yeah, our d-dad runs this village; he can have you removed!” Cassian attempted to take a stand with his brother.
Daegal was not impressed by their performance. He continued to glare at the two of them for a moment, making them squirm under his intense gaze. When he finally did speak, his voice carried with it a slight growl.
“I know what you tried to do in the forest.”
Despite a few months having passed between now and then, the brothers remembered that event very clearly. They had not set foot in the woods since that day, afraid of being haunted by spirits that had attacked them. Now, though, it was apparent that their fear of ghosts was unfounded as their problems were much more real, and dangerous. Their eyes widened with shock, any of their earlier bluster having vanished in an instant. Daegal leaned in closer to them and spoke in a lower voice.
“If you come near her again, they’ll never find you.” Their faces paled, and with his threat successfully delivered, he brushed past them, leaving them to flounder in their fear. He was aware that his actions probably weren’t the smartest, but he couldn’t help himself. Those two were deserving of contempt if nothing else.
He calmed himself down as much as he could, not wanting to look so dark and forboding to everyone else. It was a good thing that he planned on going hunting again today. Having an outlet for the displeasure he was feeling would be good right about now.
His luck had been better today as he came across a pack of wolves in only an hour of tracking. He wondered if Randolf would want wolves or not, but he figured that at the very least the hides would be worth something. His ambush on the pack was swift and efficient, dropping down on them from a vantage point upon a boulder. He managed to snag two, one for both hand. With a quick twist of his wrist, he managed break their necks. The rest of the wolves scattered when he let out a growl.
Daegal had his prize, so he threw the wolves onto his shoulders and went back to the village. The people who saw him were curious about the wolves, but not so much that it overrode their fear of him. He wasn’t too concerned with that right now as he had a job to do, quite literally now. Unfortunately, he was waylaid again on his path, though this time by a person he did not know how to handle.
The man who had been most outspoken about rejecting him, Father Conrad, was in his path. The priest was briefly surprised by the sudden confrontation, but then his fervor returned as he brandished his rosary. Again, when he held up that simple wooden cross on a strand of beads, it irked Daegal for reasons he just didn’t understand. Conrad sneered at him.
“Your nature betrays you, demon. You slaughter God’s creations with wild abandon. I will not let that fate befall my home or my people!”
Daegal did not understand why Conrad was so angry at him. Conrad had called him a demon, but he didn’t know what that was. He assumed it was a kind of monster, which was nothing new for what humans generally thought of him. More than that, the comment about slaughtering the wolves on his shoulders sat wrong with him. He felt the desire to defend himself from such accusations.
“Do humans not hunt?” The question was simple, and it destroyed Conrad’s initial argument of his nature. That did not stop the man from continuing his attack, and it even enflamed his attitude.
“The act itself is not the issue; it is the intent behind it! You were already seen the other day carrying a deer, but now you return with more today! It is not only an act of bloodlust, but also gluttony, both are sins in the eyes of God!”
Even the idea of eating both wolves at this point made his stomach upset. He already knew that overeating wasn’t good for you, which was a painful lesson he learned when he was younger.
“T-These aren’t for me. I’m giving them to Randolf. He s-said he would pay me for catches.”
That put a significant hole in the priest’s accusation. Conrad sneered, his face contorting into various frustrated and angry expressions. He pointed a very condemning finger at Daegal, backing away slowly as he did.
“Your manipulation of these people will not be allowed to continue. The frost protects you, for now, but judgment comes for all. Your time here is limited, beast.”
Daegal was a little concerned by that, but the threat was so vague he didn’t know what he could possibly do about it. Conrad made his exit, not taking his eyes off Daegal until he had disappeared behind the corner of a house. That interaction had somewhat spoiled the good mood Daegal had been in. He tried to not let it bother him anymore as he made his way back to Randolf to see what his catch was worth.
Randolf appeared to be quite interested in the wolves Daegal caught. It wasn’t just the meat and hides, but the presence of the animal itself as well.
“Those bastards are a nuisance for the farmers. They sneak in and try to kill the pigs or goats. Having fewer of them around is good for everyone,” so he said.
Daegal had done a service for the village as a whole, not just by providing them with some more food, and he was rewarded with a silver coin for each of the wolves. The feeling of accomplishment grew in Daegal, returning his good mood from earlier. He immediately went to Fiora after that, showing her the money and asking if it would be enough for a new blanket.
“You got a pretty good deal for those wolves. This is more than enough for a blanket, perhaps even two if you find a decent price. Do you want me to come with you? I can help you haggle if you like?”
Daegal considered the offer for a moment before he made a choice. “Thank you, but I want to try this for myself.” He had never bought anything before, and that was an experience that he would like to have.
She smiled encouragingly at him. “I’m proud of you for doing so but let me give you a few tips before you head out there. Now, I don’t think anyone will be so stupidly greedy as to try and take advantage of you, but it’s better to be prepared.”
Fiora spent a few minutes to give him a brief lesson on how to purchase things in the market as well as the general price range of what he was looking for. Gathering up all the coins he had, he ventured out to the market with as much confidence as he could muster. Naturally, his presence was like a storm cloud rolling in on a sunny day.
Everyone vacated the area in short order, suddenly finding something better to do, much to the disgruntlement of the various stalls that were trying to sell their goods. Nobody had the courage to voice their complaints, many of the people were staying still, trying to avoid attracting his attention. Unfortunately for one individual, they had what Daegal was looking for, so when he hesitantly stepped up to a stall manned by a lady, she seemingly shrunk down in size as all eyes watched with bated breath.
Daegal cleared his throat and then tried to start the conversation with an awkwardly raised hand. “H-Hello. You are selling these blankets, yes?”
“W-Wha... I... y-yes, why?” The little woman was clearly terrified, which made Daegal feel bad, but he pushed through, intent to finish what he started.
“Can I buy them? I-I have money.” He opened his other hand to shower her the small collection of coins he possessed. “How much are they?”
She hesitated for a moment, eyes flicking between his face and the coins. “A s-silver and a half.”
That was a little expensive compared to what Fiora had said, so he tried to make an offer of his own. “If I buy two, w-would you accept all of this in exchange?”
She considered his offer of all the coins he held for only a few seconds. The idea of haggling with Daegal further did not strike her as terribly wise in that instance, so she acquiesced to his offer.
“Y-Yes, you c-can have two for that.”
She did not seem willing to take the coins directly from Daegal’s hand, so he gently placed them upon the wooden plank that separated them. The lady fumbled blindly beneath her for the blankets, not taking an eye off Daegal as she quickly grabbed two and threw them on top of the counter, sweeping away the coins like she was afraid sticking out a limb would see it removed.
Daegal slowly reached out and picked up the two folded blankets. They were thick, good for winter and sure to keep in some heat. It was something he could never have made himself, but it was the first thing he had ever bought. A truly happy smile began to spread across his face as he hugged the blankets close to his chest.
“T-Thank you,” he said to the woman who simply sat there in stupefied silence.
Daegal made his exit with his new blankets, happy that he was able to do it all on his own. Every human in the area watched with various levels of confusion as he left, some of them fruitlessly wondering if there was some sinister plot behind the innocuous purchase and finding it difficult to come up with what it might be. The truth was plain to see, however, and Daegal was already feeling excited to try them out. One thing was for certain, he would feel a little warmer tonight, both in his heart and his body.
