"I kinda feel bad. I mean, it did save us, like, multiple times," Liora sighed.
The two were, with utmost effort, dragging the spectral carcass through the forest. They already had to snap the antlers off since they kept getting caught in the trees.
"We were gonna eat it in the first place, what's the difference? And there was no way we were gonna cook up one of those rotten ones—we'd actually die."
"Yeah, you're right... it's super late now. You don't think Alwyn's gonna be mad, do you?"
"Naw, look at this haul! There's no way he could get mad at this."
"Me-ow!"
Linnie stopped walking for a second, then looked down at his legs. Lady was there, rubbing her body against his ankle.
"Where've you been? I completely forgot you even came with us... don't tell me you hid like a coward!"
"Meowie?"
"Don't be mean to her, she's just a sweetie! Right? Who's a good girl—ow! Good gi—OW! Please stop scratching me!" Liora yelped.
"You're so damn dramatic," Linnie said through his yawn. "Stop bugging her if you don't wanna get scratched, duh. She's a real powerful familiar, it's not her fault if she hurts you."
"I'm not being dramatic, it really hurts! Well, maybe not as much as what you've got going on," she giggled. Then her face became confused. "Actually, how're you not, like, screaming in pain right now? That's super creepy..."
"How's it creepy!? It just doesn't hurt, alright?"
"Meow meow."
"No, that definitely hurts. I would know!" Liora said, unconvinced.
"Not for me. I don't feel pain. See? You're not the only one who's got a weird body."
He gave the antler a little wiggle, which caused a decent amount of blood to spurt out.
"Wow! Even I feel pain. That's super impressive! But it's not like you heal fast, do you? Aren't you gonna die? That thing's really lodged inside of you."
"I don't think so. It's not like I'm immune to injuries or anything, but if it was real bad, I'd probably be passed out already. So I think it's fine."
"Impressive! So this is an experienced wizard's apprentice..." she muttered to herself, awestruck.
'Yeah, I'm cool. I wish she wouldn't make a big deal out of it, though... hehe.'
When they finally found their way back to camp, Aliza and Alwyn were sitting together, turning meat around on the fire.
"Linnie and Liora are back," Aliza exclaimed.
"Oh, hey guys. Get over here, the meat's just finished cooking!" Alwyn called out. Then he paused when he saw the large beast they were dragging behind them. "What the hell is that thing?"
"W-what? 'What the hell is that thing'!? What's that supposed to mean!? It's the dinner you asked us to go hunt for!" Linnie barked.
"Huh? I did that?" Alwyn asked, scratching his head. "Oh, I did! Ha, I must've forgotten after I woke up. I thought you two were out playing or whatever it is you little kids like doing."
'Neither of us are little kids, though...'
"Gaud damn, that thing's huge," Aliza said.
"Yeah, and we fought like, ten more of them! It was hard work!"
Liora yawned, standing beside him. "Whatever, I just want some food! Gimme!"
She sat next to Aliza, who passed her a plate of food. Immediately, she started chowing down. Linnie, however, was still trying to drag the carcass towards the flame.
"Dude, we're not cooking that thing. It's all beat up and... burnt?"
"Lin, didn't I say you couldn't cast fireballs!?"
"Oh shut up, we were gonna die, I had no choice."
"To some wild animals? Tsk tsk tsk..."
The wizard took another bite of food, shaking his head in disapproval. Only then did Aliza realize the state the boy was in. Liora was perfectly fine, if not a little dirty, so Aliza hadn't really thought about it.
Linnie was the exact opposite, though, and was covered in wounds. His collarbone was clearly fractured, if not fully broken. That was the least of her worries, though, since the boy was still dramatically impaled by the antler.
"Holy shit!" she shouted, putting her food down.
She rushed over to Linnie, sweeping him off his feet and into her arms. His face turned red like a damsel, and he frowned as she tended to his wound.
"What're you doing? Just rip it out already," he said.
'I was kind of too scared to do it myself, ahem.'
"I can't just rip it out, idiot, you might actually die on the spot. Here, drink this."
He accepted the dark liquid. Linnie learned that the darker a health potion was, the more potent. This one was nearly black.
"Yuck, that's nasty!"
"Just drink it," she said, rolling her eyes.
The wounds started to close, and his bones were mending. The antler was still inside of him, though. Carefully, she rested him on her knee, and grabbed ahold of the bone.
In one quick motion, she yanked the antler from his stomach. Blood shot out, but the wound quickly closed up.
Her hand was gruesomely painted red, and she shook it off with a grimace.
With lightning speed, she pulled and cut and wrapped bandages around his waist, throwing all sorts of materials behind her in the process. It was crude work, but she let it be known she was not a trained doctor by any means.
"Well, all good now! Better thank gaud that you've got such a skilled alchemist with you, or else you'd be totally dead!"
She laughed, waving the antler around. It was a grotesque scene.
After all the dramatics, Linnie angrily sat at the fire. He was still pissed that all that fighting was for nothing. They didn't even have to kill the spectral moose in the first place!
Since it was late, they all headed to sleep as soon as they finished eating. Well, Liora and Aliza did, at least. Alwyn was still energized from his nap, and, thinking everyone else was asleep, flew off on his staff.
Of course, Linnie was still awake. He liked pretending to be asleep, though, and didn't question Alwyn's disappearance.
He left most nights, after all, whether he was tired or not. The truth was, he was scouting the entire surrounding area for any danger.
Sure, he was plotting out the safest route to continue forwards—it was boring, but he didn't actually want excitement, not in the state he was in—but he was also making sure the knight, or the other group, hadn't caught up to them.
If they were forced into a confrontation with either, the chances were that they wouldn't get out unscathed.
'I wanna sleep...'