Chapter 84: Hunting

The next morning came quickly and Ashanti woke up curled beneath the blanket to the smell of baked bread. She looked around, still confused before she remembered what happened the day before, and understood where she was.

She turned her head and Jax was there, sitting in a chair by the window, one boot braced against the wall, arms folded loosely as he watched the village go about its morning routine.

“You said you’d be here,” she murmured.

“I don’t lie about small things,” he replied without turning.

Something in her chest eased further.

“Cmon let’s go eat, we don’t have all day,” Jax said, and the duo headed downstairs to eat breakfast with the others.

Simple food, bread, salted monster meat and thick broth, but Ashanti found herself savoring it, even asking for a second round of food and chowing it down hungrily.

’She’s a foodie,’ Jax thought to himself as he saw her eagerly gobble down another broth like it was nothing.

After that, they went out and Rhel found them, already half-dressed in leather and furs, his silver-gray ears perked with early morning energy.

“Morning,” he said, “Dad’s gathering the team. Thought you two might want to come see and meet everyone before we head out for the hunt,”

Jax looked at Ashanti and nodded, “Lead the way.”

Rhel led them to the village’s western gate where the Hunter’s were gathered, all six of them.

Rhel’s father stood at the center.

He was a broad-shouldered Wolf-Kin with dark ash-gray fur and a scar running from his left brow down across his muzzle. His build was powerful without being bulky, honed by years of labor and combat rather than training halls. A massive hunting spear rested against his shoulder, its tip etched with old runes dulled by time.

His eyes flicked to Jax immediately, measuring him up, noting his muscles and his silent mana aura. Despite not feeling much from Jax, the way he carried himself with confidence and the fact he could barely sense him even when standing right next to him, Rhel’s father knew he was special.

Then he moved to Ashanti, and after a small look, he turned back to Jax.

“So,” the man said at last, voice rough but calm. “You’re the travelers Rhel mentioned.”

“That’s us,” Jax replied easily.

The Wolf-Kin nodded once, “Name’s Kael. I lead the hunts around here.”

He gestured with his chin. “That’s my crew.”

Ashanti and Jax took them in.

A tall Demi-Human woman with goat horns and powerful legs, carrying a heavy crossbow and smelling faintly of oil and metal. A lizard-scaled Demi-Human man with twin blades strapped at his sides. A broad-armed boar-kin with a shield nearly as tall as Ashanti herself.

And finally there was a vampire. She was pale even by vampiric standards, with dark crimson eyes and short black hair tied back tightly. Leather armor clung to her frame, flexible and reinforced, and a thin saber hung at her hip.

She leaned casually against a tree, arms crossed, watching Jax with open curiosity. Jax could immediately tell she was the strongest of the bunch, and Ashanti could also feel it, a predatory pressure the woman was restraining.

The vampire smiled faintly when she noticed Ashanti looking.

“Relax,” she said. “If I wanted to bite you, you’d already be annoyed about it.”

Ashanti blinked, then… huffed, moving closer to Jax.

Kael grunted, “She’s Mirela, our tracker. Works better than all the hounds I used in the past and obviously doesn’t complain about night shifts,”

“Only because I enjoy watching things die,” Mirela replied pleasantly.

Kael ignored her.

He looked back at Jax. “Rhel says you want to observe.”

“Yeah,” Jax said, “We’ll help out if necessary though,”

Kael studied him for a long moment, then nodded, “Fine. But you follow orders. Out there, hesitation gets people killed.”

“I understand,” Jax replied.

Kael’s gaze shifted to Ashanti, “And her?”

“She’s with me,” Jax said calmly. “She won’t interfere.”

Ashanti stiffened instinctively. Jax didn’t look at her, but she felt the reminder all the same.

Kael seemed satisfied enough. “Then let’s move.”

With introductions done, the group of them quickly left, entering the forest that was filled by huge trees and heavy with moss & the faint scent of blood, old decomposing bodies of killed monsters and territory markers.

Kael moved at the front, not charging ahead, but pacing deliberately, spear always angled just so. He wasn’t the strongest presence in the group, but he was the anchor. The others adjusted around him instinctively.

The goat-horned woman, Lysa, ranged slightly left, her crossbow never fully lowered. She murmured softly under her breath, Ashanti realized she was reinforcing minor enchantments on the bolt heads, not with raw mana, but with precise, economical threading to minimize waste.

The lizard-kin, Ssil, slipped ahead and vanished entirely, with Ashanti only sensing him due to her exceptional talent, as he had perfectly merged with the forest’s environment and aura.

The boar-kin, Dorg, brought up the rear, shield ready, body positioned to block rather than strike.

And Mirela meanwhile didn’t suppress her vampiric nature. She curated it. Letting just enough bleed through to taste the air, to feel the vibrations in the ground, to read the forest like a living map.

Watching this group all working together made Ashanti realized that compared to her, all of them were using their powers like it was second nature. It was like an extra limb. None of them were afraid, they respected their power.

“Shh, stop,” Kael sudden said while doing a hand signal.

Mirela crouched, fingers brushing the dirt. “Something big passed through here last night,” she murmured, “Pretty heavy too,”

Kael nodded, “Another displaced beast maybe, or worse. This shit’s getting too common,” Kael said.

Ashanti felt it then, the echo of the creature Jax had found the night before. Its presence still lingered like a scar in the land.

Her mana stirred instinctively, but before she could act, she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning to spot Jax, and she took a deep breath, calming down with a nod.

Kael motioned again to continue moving forward, but this time Lysa shifted position and Dorg raised his shield slightly in a way that was prepared for combat. Ssil reappeared long enough to give a sharp hand sign, then vanished once more.

The forest ahead rustled.

~BOOM!~

A massive shape burst from the undergrowth, a hulking, plated beast with bone ridges along its spine and tusks like scythes.

Ashanti felt the pressure spike, but she remained calm and watched.

“FORMATION!” Kael roared out, and Lysa fired off one precise bolt that clattered into the joint of the Beast, slowing it down.

“ROARRRR!” The Beast roared angrily in response, all the while Dorg charged in shield-first absorbing the beast’s momentum with a grunt that shook the ground.

~SLASH~SLASH~SLASH~SLASH!~

Mirela meanwhile, used her speed to carve up the beast, slicing its tendons alongside Ssil who struck it from behind.

“Keep it Pinned!” Kael shouted as they continued to battle, pushing the Beast back and overwhelming it, all the way until the Beast fell, being picked apart by their coordination.

“Nice work everyone, let’s store this up and keep moving,” Kael said.

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