Zento: The Prehistoric journey

Chapter 39: Winter's arrival

*Scratch* *scratch*  *Tik Tik*

Ragna woke up to the sound of scratching and a bunch of nails hitting the ground. As he regained his awareness, he felt like his entire body was as stiff as the trees outside, not only that but his feet and hands were so cold that he could barely feel them. despite that uncomfortable cold, Ragna wasn't too worried because this was normal for him during the winter.  one thing that did feel different was the fact that the chest area and his thighs were feeling very hot in contrast to the temperature and his hands and feet.

*Sniff sniff*.... this time, the smell of feces didn't penetrate Ragna's nose as he was expecting. Rather, both he and Roha were quite clean. He noticed that Roha was now sleeping underneath the pile of fur and hide that she used as a bed with her arm sticking out. Her arm looked longer and slightly more muscular than before he went to sleep.

Ragna stood up and noticed the cause of the sound from earlier. It was Woffu climbing the cave wall and entering the cave. On Woffu's mouth was a large animal. The wolf had decided to hunt food for himself because he couldn't wait for Ragna and Roha to wake up.

He noticed Ragna standing and looking at him and then walked to him wagging his tail. The wolf looked much larger than normal...or it should but Ragna felt like the wolf was smaller somehow. once Ragna looked down, he noticed why. 

Ragna had grown much taller than he was before and unlike before when he grew slightly, this time, he grew a lot more. He was a full head taller than he was before. after looking around, he saw that the bear meat was completely gone with only a bunch of bones remaining.

What confused Ragna was the fact that the bones were scattered around him and Roha, as if they had eaten the meat off of them.   but that shouldn't be the case because they were both asleep, or so he thought. This might be another mystery that Ragna couldn't figure out at the moment just like the peaceful lake he went past long ago.

Ragna tried to put on his clothes only to realize that they were too small and tight for him to wear comfortably. Ragna hadn't expected to outgrow his clothes this quickly but he did have some clothes which were larger which he brought with him from his village. The problem was that he didn't have any for Roha as she too had outgrown her clothes.

he could make some clothes that would fit but they would be very crude to wear and Roha was not the kind of person who would wear crude clothing unless forced to. He knew this because she was very reluctant when trying the coats they made from the bear fur and once she wore them, she looked clearly unsatisfied wearing them.

Ragna didn't know how long he had been asleep but it must have been long judging by the food Woffu had been bringing into the cave. The wolf was covered in snow as well when he saw Ragna which meant that it was snowing outside. Ragna stretched for a bit and climbed down the cave entrance and went outside the cave and saw the winter for the first time outside his village.

The forest in winter is a place of stillness and silence. The once lush canopy is now barren, stripped of its leaves by the harsh winds. The chill of the air creeps into every crevice, settling deep into the bones of any who dare venture into its embrace. The ground is blanketed by a pristine layer of snow, unbroken except by the occasional track of a passing animal.

The light filtering through the trees is dim, casting long shadows over the snow-covered forest floor. The silence is broken only by the occasional snap of a branch or the crunch of snow underfoot. The crunching sound echoes through the forest, reminding those within its boundaries that they are not alone.

Despite the stillness and quietness, there is a sense of danger lurking in the shadows. Winter is a time of scarcity, and the forest's inhabitants must hunt for food in order to survive. Ragna must be cautious in the forest, for any misstep could bring him face-to-face with a predator, hungry and desperate for a meal.

But despite the dangers, there is also a sense of awe and wonder in the winter forest. The stark beauty of the snow-covered trees is a sight to behold, and the crisp, clear air is invigorating to breathe. For those brave enough to venture into its embrace, the winter forest offers a chance to connect with the wild and experience the raw power of nature.

Ragna took in the fresh winter air that burned the inside of his nostrils and closed his eyes to listen to the silence that winter brought with it. After standing at the cave entrance and admiring the winter for a bit, Ragna decided to explore the surroundings for a bit to see if any of the beasts he knew were still around.

He followed the path he usually took to the deep forest and listened carefully for any sound he could hear. Other than the occasional small animals running from hole to hole, there was just an eery silence. He found no beast until he got to the deep forest.

The deep forest was now much brighter because the snow reflected the light around much more. The deep forest was quite active despite the winter's arrival. Ragna could hear some sounds he recognized while there were also some he didn't recognize. 

He didn't want to explore the deep forest for now and decided to go back.

Roha hadn't woken up yet so Ragna brought Woffu with him to explore the outside of the forest. The forest was quite massive and Ragna only knew 2 ways out of the forest. one was to go back all the way to where the Peaceful lake was and the other was to follow the river which lead to Roha's home village. Ragna did want to explore the village to see if he could find anything useful in her village and the winter was in his opinion the least dangerous.

Those demons hardly did anything in the winter and Ragna didn't know why but seeing as Roha hadn't woken up after a few hours, he might soon find out why. Ragna and Woffu went toward the peaceful lake and on their way, they found a lone runner beast. the beast seemed to have been hit hard by the winter and was walking extremely slowly because of the cold.

Woffu didn't show any mercy despite that beast being larger than Woffu and bit it on its neck and killing it almost instantly. Ragna had already stashed food in the cave so taking this carcass back was unnecessary so after letting Woffu eat for a bit, they walked on towards the lake.