ECHOES BEYOND THE DOOR || Hisoka X OC

010 || No Recipe for Success

(A/N) - Another pic of them above😮‍💨

Quasar heaved the enormous pig through the forest, her muscles straining but surprisingly capable of handling the weight. She'd expected it to be much harder, especially given its size, but her strength seemed to hold with each pull. As she moved through the trees, she noticed other applicants emerging from the forest, some carrying their pigs above their heads with ease.

When she'd set off to find a pig, she hadn't seen the others—Gon, Leorio, Killua, or Kurapika. They must have each gone in their own direction. So she'd ventured alone, assuming they'd all manage in their own way. But now, returning with her prize, she spotted the four of them moving through the trees, each lugging their own pig as well. They caught sight of her too, pausing to take in the scene.

"Quasar?" Gon called out, a look of surprise on his face as he took in her appearance.

Killua raised an eyebrow as they neared, his gaze fixed on her face. "Did you, like, wrestle it to death or something?"

She blinked, confused. "What?"

Leorio chuckled, tapping his cheek as he gestured at her. "You've got... uh, a little something."

Quasar frowned, swiping a hand across her face. Her fingers came away speckled with dried blood. She stared at her hand, realizing there were also flecks across her arms and clothes.

"Oh," she muttered, trying to rub it off. "Guess I got a bit... messy."

Kurapika gave her a half-amused, half-wary look. "The pigs have a weak spot on their foreheads. Just a single strong strike there and they go down without a fight," he explained. "We didn't exactly need to... get so close."

Quasar's cheeks heated as she awkwardly wiped at her face, realizing she'd gone through a lot more trouble than necessary. "So, you're telling me I basically went on a rampage... for nothing?"

Gon, ever cheerful, grinned at her. "It's okay! At least you got it done. You just, um, have a bit more evidence of the work on you."

Killua stifled a snicker. "More than a bit."

Quasar rolled her eyes, brushing off what she could as they continued toward the cooking stations. "Well, next time someone should tell me before I go full primal on it," she muttered, though she couldn't help but smile at their laughter. At least she'd managed to catch the pig—even if it had been messier than she'd thought.

They moved on, finally emerging from the dense cover of the forest and stepping into the clearing where the cooking stations awaited. Quasar dragged her pig to a vacant spot, surveying the setup. The metal spits lined the area, each station equipped with a bowl of fresh vegetables, a small selection of seasonings, and a large fire pit. Around her, other applicants were already getting to work, heaving their entire pigs onto the spit to roast over the flames.

Quasar stared down at the massive pig sprawled out before her, its sheer size making her reconsider how she'd handle this. Lifting the whole thing onto the spit would be...difficult. And she didn't exactly feel like straining herself further after dragging it all the way back from the forest.

Instead, she took a knife and hacked off a large chunk of meat, roughly pulling it away from the rest. Her cuts were jagged and uneven, but it would have to do. Around her, other applicants were busy setting up their whole pigs on spits, expertly handling the roasting process. Around her, a few applicants cast her curious glances, watching as she sliced off only a portion rather than using the whole pig. She chose to ignore them, focusing on her own improvisation.

She managed to secure her chunk of meat onto the spit and turned it slowly over the flames. The heat licked at the meat, creating a sizzling sound that she took as a good sign, though it was already starting to blacken on one side.