Demon's Genesis

Chapter 4

"Lloyd!"

    The sharp voice sounded from behind me, so I snapped my head around. My mouth was still full of half chewed mouse."Hm?"

I turned towards the direction of the voice and swallowed nervously when I noticed my mother standing at the entrance to the log. As always, she held her usual disapproving expression toward me.

"Your father—" she dragged the word out. "—thinks it would be a good idea if I took you berry gathering; he thinks because the weather has been quite warm for early spring that the berries will already be ready."

Although she said it with a hint of scepticism in her tone and I felt a grin light up my face, berries this early would be a dream come true. Even if I did not enjoy the presence of my mother, I would never turn down a chance to go berry-picking. I sighed dreamily, almost tasting the sweet yet satisfyingly tangy flavour flooding my senses. No one else in my family were even slightly fond of berries, so we only ate them twice last winter, when there was no other food. Though I must admit I sneaked out and picked a few for myself when I felt peckish at times, I mean hey, a guy's gotta eat.

Oh, boy, did I want to try the spring berries though—Pa had told me they were the sweetest berries that sprouted all year and even he, who hated berries with a passion, didn't mind the odd one or two; I felt my mouth water just thinking about it.

Taking a moment to stand and shake my dusty pelt, I drew a paw over my ear slowly before replying with a level of dissatisfaction to rival that of my mother's. "Sure. When are we leaving?"

She raised an eyebrow at my cold tone and mumbled something under her breath before replying with an obviously forced smile. "Right now, if you're ready, dear." She almost spat out the last word, as if it tasted bitter on her tongue.

"What about Kai?"

"He's went hunting all day yesterday—while you were practising your stupid fighting moves with that ridiculous stick, I might add. He needs some rest."

Ouch, mother.

"They're not stupid, and neither is the stick." I pointed out in an 'as a matter-of-fact' tone. "What if we're threatened or attacked? You and Pa aren't exactly the best fighters I've ever seen, even if I haven't seen that many fighters, I doubt you could protect us and yourself in a fight is it really came down to it."

She raised an eyebrow. "If someone threatens us, you're going to attack them?"

"Well...yeah."

"...With a stick..?"

"If it's all I have on me."

We stood for a moment longer, her eyes sharp and guarded as usual, and I found myself wondering what she'd been like when she was younger. Maybe, once, she would have wanted me to train with a stick; maybe even joining me instead of frowning and turning her nose up at it. Way back when she had the freedom of youth, of course, and wasn't weighed down by her grumpy mother persona.

"We can leave when you get your head out of the clouds," she called over her shoulder.

I was dragged back to reality by the sound of my mother's impatient tone. I glared at her, attempting to clear my thoughts, but they kept coming back, nagging at the edge of my mind no matter how hard I tried to get rid of them. I padded into the dusty clearing, ensuring to be extra careful as to not wake up the sleeping Kai who, somehow, wore a scowl even in his sleep. I rolled my eyes feeling affection bubble up in my throat, even though he was a grumpy furball, he still cared about all of us deep down. Raising my head, I scanned the clearing looking for my father, I wanted to ask him a question.