"I've caught a fish! I got a fish!" A young boy yells excitedly, swaying his first trophy as water sprinkles all over his shirt. "Look, father, look!"
"Nice one, Anton." His father claps praising his son. "Now, catch some more, we have a bucket to fill." He tapped the bucket next to him twice before returning his gaze to the river where his fishing hook sank.
"Way to kill my happiness, father. Way. to. go." He rolled his eyes. "But why does it seem there are too few fish here? We've been here for almost three hours and we caught only - what? Like five or six." The young boy asked, throwing back the fish hook.
"I have not the slightest idea why. The season ain't changing anytime soon." The old man said.
"The river is being weird." Added the boy, to which his father silently agreed, noticing the changes linking them to the other incidents occurring lately at the village. "And fishing is boring."
"Indeed it is." Mr. Degget agrees to his son's first statement, slightly anxious he diverts his attention over the woods.
The sky, the brightest blue after the rain, basking the world with its warmth. Tall grass dances when wind blows, chirping birds freely soared, leaves sing nature's song and gracefully touches the land signifies the falling season.
Her green peridot eyes caught the view of a butterfly, she held her forefinger out as the beautiful creature swiftly landed fluttering its wings, Ruina was mesmerized until it touched the droplet of blood and flew away. She lowered her blank gaze to the ground, the serenity of the above contradicted the gruesome massacre around her.
She was out picking firewood when the scent of thick iron tingled her nose wafting through the air, getting thicker with every second that passed. She parted the branches blocking her visions - blood painted the leaves red splattering it across the forest floor as flesh littered the area.
Ruina kneeled and pressed her hand at the deer's carcass, warm blood immediately seeped through the wounds soaking her hand. Fresh blood. This is newly killed. Ruina looks upfront seeing more woodland creatures left dead, scattered. What kind of wild animal would cause such carnage then not eating their kill?
The wind blows from the west, Ruina's eyes twitch, mildly disturb at the atrocious scent carried by the wind. She stood up and faced the hill hidden in the lane of woods realizing it came from that direction, the wind blowing once more, stronger this time, as the scent was changed by a dense sinistrous presence telling the danger awaiting at the end of the dark path.
Mr. Degget felt the uneasiness in his chest lifted upon seeing Ruina walking out of the trees, on her back mounted by the heavy load of dried wood she gathered carrying them like a sack of cotton. "Mr. Degget, we should return home now, I gather plenty already." She calmly alarms the two.
"That is a good suggestion." He snapped his fingers. He refused to stay any more seconds there. "We gotta go. Anton, go pack your things." Mr. Degget placed his fishing tools in his basket in a hurry.
"What?" The boy turned to his father. "Why? We're still fishing. I mean, it's boring, but we haven't caught enough fish yet." Anton told without a sense of urgency, a complete opposite of what filled Ruina's mind remembering the gruesome picture inside the woods she had just witnessed - she utter nothing of it. She best not scare them.
She helped Anton pack his things.
"It is enough, now, more packing less talking. Ruina, will you please help Anton." Ruina only nodded, approaching Anton taking the bucket from his hand and the basket of fishing tools.
"Wait, Father, the sun is still high. What are you so hurried about wanting to leave so early?" Anton spoke without one ounce of worry in his mind.
"The woods are alive, son, dangerously so." Him, alerted in every of his senses.
"What? Pfft. Father, are you joking?" He playfully cast aside his father's paranoias. "This village never had cases of beast insights since the reign of Hero Philippa." Ruina only listens to the young boy's words, grabbing the bucket full of fish and Anton's fishing tools.
"All I can tell is, listen when your guts says there is something wrong." Mr. Degget prays to the glorious Saint Anieyn, that his son is right.
"Well, my stomach is telling me the number of fishes we caught won't be enough. I don't want to starve." He strongly commented on the last.
"We have tons of vegetables at home." Ruina commented.
Anton only distorted his face for a response. He hates vegetables. "Seriously, Father, we will starve. And if it's a wild animal Big sis can just hunt it down and kill it. She's a better hunter than you. If we're lucky that it's a boar the village will feast tonight." He remarked, pointing at Ruina quietly doing her task. His father's face brewed in confusion.
"No feast will happen if evil will haunt." Mr. Degget fastened the belt tight of the basket to his shoulder before turning to his son holding the fishing rod and Ruina carrying the bucket of bait. "Let's go."
"Have you seen the Forever tree?
Let's run uphill then you'll see.
Come with me and hang your piece.
Hold to your favorite branch that connects us,
And we will be together even if we turn to dust.
Let's go. Let's go. Let's rest in its shade,
Underneath our Forever Tree." Anton sings while playing with his stick he found swinging it like a sword while happily hopping.
Ruina glances at the young boy beside her. "Did Mrs. Degget know you're here?" She questions Anton, and the cheeky boy instantly stops singing quickly facing the other direction not wanting to answer. "You know she'll be mad."
"Oh come on, big sis! I had to get away from her! I'm always stuck with her at the house doing chores, I'll be deaf from hearing all of her nagging - while you get to be with Father. I get that you're strong and you're needed in the field and for hunting, but it's so unfair, I'm a growing boy, for heaven's sake!" He continuously rambles masking his real intention in his mind yelling I don't want to do chores! His laziness seeped through his lies. His lips curve into a frown annoyed remembering the nagging of his mother.
"Mrs. Degget only wants to protect you."
"Now, you sound like Mother." He was annoyed by the similar nagging.
"You know the danger of the outside -"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Beast lurks in the woods blablabla - Yeah, I'm well aware." He uninterestedly declared. Clearly, you're not. Ruina muttered in her head. "But the thing is, big sis, they're not here." Anton is stubborn. Being aware of his surroundings is not in his nature. Ruina thanks whatever beings that kept Anton safe whenever he wanders alone.
"You can't be too complacent. It's better to be safe than be sorry." She calmly spoke the truth. What she sees in the woods earlier is an example of it.
*******************************************
"Woah, I'm beat! My legs are going numb from that walking." Anton spoke, placing the basket at the table slumping on the chair nearby.
"ANTON!" Mrs. Degget roared from another room.
Anton, sensing danger, quickly stands on his feet, "Big sis, if Mom asks where I am tell her I'm at my friend's house." Scared, he runs to the window taking a leap after saying, "Don't tell her I was with you earlier!"
Just as Anton escapes Mrs. Degget bursts inside the kitchen holding a broom in her hand. "Where is he? Where is that boy? Ooh, I'm gonna hit that head of his." The angry mother swings her fist in the air.
"He tells me he's in his friend's house." She lied just like what the young boy told her.
"Now, he makes you lie. Goodness, that boy always escaping in the middle of chores leaving this poor mother to work alone." She shook her head in disappointment and lowered the broom she was holding.
"I will help you."
"You always do, dear. Anyway, welcome back." She welcomes the young lady with a warm hug. "I've been sick and worried here, and that son of mine disappearing out of nowhere doesn't help." She blew her worries. "So, where's Bimer?" she asked for her husband looking around the room.
"He's in the backyard tending to the chickens." They both walked into their small living room.
A knock came from their front door. "Hello, is anyone home?" A voice of an elderly woman speaks behind the door. Mrs. Degget opened it. "Oh hi - What a great timing!" She cheers after spotting Ruina nearby. "Can we borrow Ruina for a while?" She asked Mrs. Degget. "We need a few hands to harvest the cabbages. You see, another horse was found dead this noon near the woods." She explained. "Also, the Healer's daughter is here." A little brunette girl holding a brown teddy bear with red checkered ribbon tied around its neck timidly peek through the hips of the lady.
"Uhm... Mom told me to deliver this ointment." Her adorable little voice timidly said, shyly extending her arms to hand the packed ointment.
Ruina approached her, kneeled down to level the small child. She gently patted the head of the little girl. "Thank you for the delivery, little Mona." She softly said.
"Pretty ..." The little girl, stunned, compares Ruina's beauty to her porcelain dolls. She stared for a short moment before dashing away while burying her face. Ruina stood and gave the ointment to Mrs. Degget.
"Is Mr. Degget hurt anywhere?"
"Oh, dear no." She smiled as the wrinkles of her age showed. "He's just been complaining about his knee, that's all. Nothing to worry about. He's old and so stubborn for not wanting to retire from helping the village. Now, my days are filled with complaints of his muscle pain." Ruina didn't speak, thinking she ought to kidnap Mr. Degget later and force him to rest. Mrs. Degget is warmly smiling, perfectly masking the scent of worry lingers around her.
"I'll be going now."
Mrs. Degget turned to Ruina. "Don't be out for too long, I'll be cooking the remaining meat for dinner."
"I will be."