"Horn! How long until dinner's finished?" Aleca shouted across the camp. Horn bit his bottom lip and swished the ladle through the thin broth. Chunks of pale meat rose up and sunk immediately.
"I just started, Aleca," he said evenly. Aleca stretched his legs over a log. Beside the tall, handsome young man, Jaya furiously whittled at a crude pine block. She stopped to sniff the air.
"It smells funny."
Horn sighed to himself.
"It's rabbit, Jaya."
She didn't hear him. Aleca was whispering in her ear and making her giggle so much she had to put the knife down. Horn tossed a small handful of salt into the pot and stirred again. The ladle scraped annoyingly against the bottom. Cicadas screamed in the trees above them while the wind made the branches creak constantly.
"Horn, can you fetch my knife?" Aleca asked. He tapped Jaya on the nose. "I'm going to show my little jay-bird what a real carver can do." Jaya laughed.
"Aye," Horn said quietly. He searched through Aleca's bags without finding the knife. He searched again, this time taking stuff out and tossing it to the ground. "It's not in here," he said.
"Should be," Aleca called back. Horn bit his tongue and looked again. Nothing.
"Oh, wait! I have it. Sorry, man. Hey, you're the best," Aleca chirped. Horn smiled waveringly and returned to his soup. The rabbit chunks had settled to the bottom and scalded. He served it to them anyway. There wasn't enough for the three of them so Horn quietly filled their bowls and left his empty and wandered off. He returned a short time later to find Jaya and Aleca bent over another block of pine. Aleca was carefully guiding Jaya's hand. He looked up when Horn approached.
"You don't mind cleaning up, do you?" Aleca asked. Horn shook his head. His throat was too tight to talk. Aleca grinned. "Thanks, man." Horn picked up their bowls and took them to the stream. Until the sun slipped behind the horizon he scrubbed the bowls in the cold water, stomach clawing at his backbone for food.
YOU ARE READING
The Unknown Tales: A Collection of Short Stories, One Shots, and More
Short StoryGoblins, gnomes with a vengence, giant snake ladies, killer horses, elves with dark secrets, bullet-proof knights, and Fire Breathing Rubber Duckies lurk between and among the stories. Brave are the adventurers who conquer these pages, for what lurk...
