"Humans, what makes them see themselves as better than us? Is it the way they speak? The way they eat? All they know came from us. They devoured that knowledge like hungry crows...,"
"You should eat something, Fennec," Helen says calmly as she looks at the exhausted Fennec sitting across from her.
"I'm...fine. Just tired..." Eny'ala says softly before sneezing.
"You're not fine! You're sick and overworked. Get something to eat and go to sleep," Helen says sternly this time.
Eny'ala decides to do as she's told and starts to eat some of the stew that Helen made. The taste is bitter and dry. Most ingredients are overcooked, but if Eny'ala wants to survive, she must eat.
As the night goes on, Helen notices that Eny'ala is getting more ill. She's begun shivering and developed a fever. After a few minutes, Eny'ala begins to cry out as if someone is hurting her.
"Eny'ala calm down! You're safe, nobody will hurt you," Helen says as she gently wakes up her Fennec companion.
"Helen, in my pouch. There are berries. I need one or I'll only get worse," Eny'ala says softly while trying to sit up straight.
Helen opens Eny'ala's pouch and finds berries with a strange smell. To Helen, who has learned how to hunt and forage it immediately tells her that these berries are toxic.
"These berries are bad for you," Helen tries to warn Eny'ala, who snatches one from Helen's hand.
Helen lets out a deep breath as she sees her companions look blank as if her soul left her body.
"I know they are..., but I can't stop without slowly working my way to no longer needing them. I've been forced to use them for years, it got so bad that I can't even remember some days," Eny'ala explains as Helen notices tears coming from the Fennec's eyes.
"Eny'ala, I will help you. We have at least a month left before we reach the Northern Realm," Helen says calmly as she hangs the pouch from her belt.
"I used to need four or five Herfesta Berries a day. It's only twice a week now. Sorry, for having you compensate for yet another of my shortcomings," Eny'ala says as her body settles down again.
"It's alright. For the first time, I feel like I am making a difference in the world," Helen says with a smile.
"Can you...tell me some more about your time with your brother?" Eny'ala asks curiously.
Helen looks at the small campfire and remembers the days she had to struggle to get barely enough food for one person.
"He always turned down food after I fought to get it for him. He kept saying that only the strong deserve to eat. He was a handful, but he grew up behind my back. One day I was cooking for him and talking about his day at school, the next he came out of that shed. His eyes looked like they stared death in the face and spat in it,"
Helen grabs a mug and fills it with tea.
"I wanted to keep him weak. Somewhere deep down, I loved him calling me a hero. I started myself that I was one."
"But you are. You don't need your brother for that," Eny'ala comments with a smile.
"I just...don't know what being a hero means," Helen says while filling a second cup for Eny'ala.
"Ugh, tea. I guess I shouldn't complain," Eny'ala lets out a sour smile as she takes the cup.
"In any case. What the merchant told you is partially correct. While a Hero isn't something black and white. There are also different kinds of Heroes. Take us for example. I am...was the kind of Hero that inspired purely because of my cultural position. While you bring hope to me and other people on a much more personal level."
YOU ARE READING
Sector Break: Battle of Ratikstead
FantasíaFive years ago, an incident happened in a hunters village called Ratikstead, located in the frozen Northern Realm. A young boy named Rex Masons was born with an immense amount of magical power in a family with little to none. Unable to control his p...
