In Blackened Maws

v // breakfast

Archer woke to find his face buried in the soft embrace of a sunlit forest ground, body holding that heaviness that came with sleeping and mind numb with a well-rested pleasure. While this was surprising enough, considering how he didn't plan on sleeping nor did he remember going from leaning against a tree to planting his face to the ground, he was more surprised at the strong scent of iron he smelt when he finally came to his senses.

He was quickly awake after that.

With a gasp, he threw himself back, staring at the patch of ground he'd been lying on with a horrified expression. It was all red, for the most part, and...black. It suddenly clicked in his head. Xena.

"X-Xena?!" he called out, snapping his head over to where she was last night, only to find her looking at him curiously.

"Yes?" she asked, white eyes void of any real concern.

Archer felt a bubble of anger build in his chest, and he gestured to whatever creature met its unfortunate demise. "What the heck, man?!"

Xena seemed taken aback. "What about it? I'm assuming you need to eat."

"EAT THAT?! I- ugh..." Archer pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to swallow the bit of bile in his throat. "Did you really have to put it right next to my freakin' head?"

"Well, I figured you would best see it if it was near you," she snapped, anger seeping into her own tone. "I at least expected a 'thank you.'"

Archer went to counter, but held his tongue. It wasn't like she had much contact with humans. "Fine. Yes. Thank you," he mumbled. "But please don't wake me up like that in the future, got it?"

Xena straightened at that. "Fine."

The two sat in silence for awhile, an unspoken tension in the air as Archer desperately tried not to look at whatever carnage he was faced with. Thankfully, there were some other things he could busy his mind and gaze with.

It must've been sometime just after daybreak, considering the regular blue of the sky. There were a few clouds above, but they weren't so prominent yet as to foretell rain. Other than that, there was a light breeze, one Archer wished he could be thankful for, though it didn't help that it was carrying the scent of that mess.

Archer studied the bloody and sludge-coated creature, ignoring the churning in his stomach and studying whatever remains it had.

"What...what is it, exactly?" he asked.

Xena didn't change her position. "A rabbit. Humans eat meat, yes?"

Archer winced. "Y-yeah, some of them do, it just doesn't really come...like that."

"Like what?"

Archer felt his irritation rise again. "Covered in blood? And...whatever that black sludge stuff is," he explained, though felt his anger quell a bit at that last thought. "Actually, can I even eat it? Is it edible?"

Xena hesitated for a moment. "It's edible, yes. I already had some."

Archer grimaced. "Raw?"

"I'm an ink, Archer. Inks eat their meat raw."

The clearing became tense for a little while.

"Hey," Archer started again. "How'd you do this?"

Xena tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

Archer tensed and gestured to the wreckage. "Well, I mean, it's pretty hard to tear through a rabbit like that without some kind of weapon or...physical advantage, I guess. So...how?"