Shadow Rider (Vampire Academy Fanfic)

Chapter 41 - Thanatia

I woke up to the sound of stomping feet and rustling shrubbery. Wiping the grogginess out of my eyes, I leaned over and glanced down at the ground. A massive, dark shape moved in the shadows, and I froze.

It was definitely a bear.

Mingled in with the fear was the desperate hunger for some solid, filling food, and my stomach rumbled loudly in the night, causing the animal beneath me to still. Not making a sound, I reached for my bag, which was dangling on a branch. I retrieved my weapons, and assessed my capacity.

I was still definitely sore and in pain, but the hunger was so great that I was willing to suffer a great deal more for meat. Besides, the bear's weakest spot, it's snout, was visibly exposed, and I had several wooden knives to throw.

I took several deep breaths, steeled myself for a mighty fight, and took aim. The knife hit the bear square in the nose, and before it could charge, I had pounced upon it, knife poised in hand. It penetrated the bear's neck, but I couldn't stop it from shaking me off it's back. I quickly got to my feet, and was ready when it charged again. I shifted to the right, and managed to jab another knife into it's eye. Blinded and dying, the bear collapsed on the ground, heaving with its last desperate breaths. I wanted to comfort it, to ease its passing, so I reached forward and stroked its ear, leaning heavily against its warm body.

Still panting from exertion, I retrieved my weapons and wiped them clean on the grass. I could barely see in the moonlight, but I had to carve out the meat before it started to spoil, so I got right to skinning and butchering the animal. It was exhausting; my arms ached, and my whole body throbbed with pain. The adrenaline had made me immune to the pain in the fight, but now in my relaxed state, I felt an annoying blend of weariness and restlessness.

After what felt like eons, I had plenty of meat slabs carved out, and had managed it without puncturing the stomach or intestines. Estimating which parts of the tree would be shadowed when the sun rose, I used my rope to hang up the meat on high branches, where no ground animals could reach them.

Then I went right back to sleep.

Next time I woke, it was, unfortunately, very late in the morning, and the very first thing I wanted to do was eat meat. So I got right to starting a fire, trying to carve out smaller pieces of meat from the hanging slabs, and threading them onto a thin stick. I waited impatiently while the meat cooked, popping berries and mushrooms into my mouth to stench the worst of the hunger.

When the meat was ready, I took a heavy bite, trying to picture the luxurious meat one was served at fancy restaurants, but no. It didn't work. The meat was as tough and tasteless as I had expected. But it would give me a more long-lasting burst of energy to get me through the day, and that was good enough.

I cooked the rest of the meat as well, because it would last longer that way, knowing that my meat would still spoil throughout the next few hours. But dhampirs were thankfully not as sensitive as humans were, so, if not exactly good for my health, the meat wouldn't poison me.

So I packed up my stuff, and continued on my way.

But not before long, I was craving and worrying about something entirely different.

Water.

Water water water.

It was at the forefront of my mind all the time. It reached a point where the berries weren't even helping. I longed for the chance to gobble down litres of water, longed for something that would heal my dry throat. I kept scenting the air, until finally, finally, I detected that tiny tinge of fresh, running water.

It was a tiny brook, with water as dirty as mud, but I had no choice but to drink it. I would probably get sick, but hopefully I'd get lucky and make it back to the Court before the worst of the sickness hit. Either way, I drank and drank until my stomach ballooned with the liquid, and I literally couldn't drink anymore.