Chapter 4: Small Game

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Beast turned away with a snarl, and took a few long steps before his abused conscience caught up with him.

He looked over his shoulder, where the river had become still and his adversary was finally defeated. It wasn't satisfying, but it was actually some relief.

But that was what made it more complicated.

He wasn't going to take the easy way out this time. And, if nothing else, he wanted to teach the wretched human a lesson, whether it fell on deaf ears or not.

Mind made up, he ran and jumped into the river, diving down in time to see the hunter's unconscious body slowly sinking below. He hooked an arm easily round the human's waist, and broke the surface with him in hold, dragging him back up to the bank.

The hunter was heavy with muscle, and Beast grunted as he pulled him properly onto the grass, rolling him on his back. There, he pressed a paw on a sodden chest, pushing it down with some experimental force.

The hunter responded with a choked cough, curling onto his side and panting hard. Beast sat back, wondering if he should bother feeling anything like concern.

At best, this man was a self-important oaf, at worst a cruel monster.

And still Beast could not bring himself to let him die.

The hunter coughed again, apparently struggling to breathe very well. Beast pulled him upright, and water pooled from the hunter's mouth, before he opened his eyes. He focused on Beast in some confusion.

"What is..." he spoke hoarsely. "...am I in hell again?"

Despite himself, Beast chuckled. "It might well be, for you," an ominous threat never hurt, either.

The hunter looked suitably put out by the words, and he pushed away from Beast's hold.

"Why're...why're you still here?" he said faintly. "Why're you still bothering me?"

"Bothering you? I just saved your sorry life."

"I don't..." the hunter took a needed breath, and Beast noticed the way his limbs quivered, as he tried to haul himself up. "I don't understand...you wretched creature..." he made an admirable attempt at standing up, but Beast knew he wasn't going to make it.

He caught the fainted hunter against his chest, and then, with an agitated grunt, slung him the rest of the way over his shoulder.

Squinting against the mid-afternoon sunlight, he started to walk again.

*

He walked along the edge of the river, entirely unsure of his destination or where he might be headed. He'd followed the hunter only out of necessity before, since he didn't trust turning his back on him for a moment, but at least the hunter had seemed to have some idea about where he was going.

He shifted the dead weight of the human in question against his shoulder, and found himself slowing to a stop, as exhaustion began to set in. Besides that, the forest was suddenly very warm again; a dense heat, filling the air with the scent of sweet wild flowers.

As Beast dropped him against a tree, the hunter woke up; eyes wide and bright with fear. He curved right back against the tree trunk, as far out of reach of the Beast at he could possibly get.

Beast raised a paw, in what he hoped was a calming motion. "Don't panic. I'm not going to kill you or anything."

The hunter seemed to compose himself after a few unsteady breathes, but his gaze was very confused.

"...why not?"

Beast tipped his head. "Because I don't want to? Surprising, isn't it?"

The hunter folded his arms and turned his head away. "Hmph. By all rights, your kind should be extinct."

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