Chapter 29: (part 2- Difference between beast and human)
My vision blurred at the words. My muscles tightened, then loosened as if someone else pulled my strings. I nodded, my mind growing cloudy as it said those words, as if that was the truth and I had to accept it. Then, with a suspicious understanding and a confused smile spreading across my face, I said, "Yeah, I understand." as if i understood the words, but something about them felt very wrong yet I still need to accept it.
"T-teach me... the way of being a beast that can survive," I said, my voice trembling.
It smiled wider behind the mask, like SOMEONE/SOMETHING already knew my answer. "I will teach you everything. Now that you've killed a creature, you shall eat it," it said, its tone cold and certain.
I nodded slowly, gripping my sword tighter. "Alright..." I answered, the word barely leaving my dry throat.
"How about skinning it first?" it continued. "You sleep on hard wood bed every night, don't you? Then make use of every part—out of respect and gratefulness to the thing you killed. For killing must always have a reason."
I looked down at the rabbit's dead body, the blood already started drying on the stone. My hands shook as I reached for it, feeling the remaining warmth through its fur.
"This rabbit..." it said again, "how about making a ἁλίφα (halípha)—smoked, salted meat. You can dry it over the fire. It will last longer... and it means you won't waste what you've taken."
"Smoked meat...?" I muttered, staring blankly for a moment. Then I remembered something. "Oh... that's sounds like a jerky, that I keep seeing in commercials " i thought to myself. The fog of confusion and suspicion in my head began to clear, and hunger started to replace the unease.
"Yes," it whispered.
I swallowed, nodding once more. "Then... tell me how to do it."
"First, remove its organs and slice it into smaller strips," he said.
I obeyed without thinking. My hands moved on their own as I cut into the rabbit's belly, the warm smell of blood mixing with the grassy surrounding. My mind started to blur again. The guilt I felt earlier, its gone. The pity started fading. I didn't even realize that every word he spoke was getting into me, changing what I thought was right. (Manipulating me/The tongue of the witted one.)
I pulled out the organs one by one, placed them aside on a flat stone, and washed the meat with clean water from the spring. Then I began slicing—thin, careful cuts, each about 1/4 a quarter of an inch thick. The blade slid through the soft flesh easily, leaving streaks of red on my fingers. When I finished, I placed each strip neatly on a large leaf.
"What's next?" I asked, breathing slowly.
"Add something to make it enjoyable—spices, anything you like," he replied.
I nodded and went inside the cave. My hands reached for the clay pot I used for cooking and also for storing *8 colored wild Seasoning Berries.* I picked out the salty ones, the sour ones, and the dried black ones that smelled like pepper. I crushed the black ones on a flat stone until they turned into fine grains.
Then I placed all the rabbit strips inside the pot, squeezed the salty and sour berries over the meat, and sprinkled the crushed black ones. I mixed everything by hand, pressing and rubbing the seasoning into the flesh until the smell became strong enough to sting my nose.
"Next?" I asked again, looking up.
"Now," he said, voice low and steady, "make a fire—and build something to hang the meat. It must smoke until it dried."
I stood up, wiped my hands on the grass, and went out to gather the woods and vines that I will use.
*First step Gathering* I found four sturdy wooden sticks and pushed each about three inches deep into the ground, forming a small rectangle so they wouldn't fall.
*Second step Wrapping* grabbed a bundle of long, flexible vines and wrapped them tightly around the four sticks, starting from the top and circling around each corner to hold them in place.
*Third step Weaving Then I stretched more vines across the frame, weaving them over and under from one side to the other until it looked like a flat grill.
*Fourth step finishing* I pulled each vine tight, checked the frame's balance, and adjusted the sticks so the grill stood firm above the ground,
After it was done, I started the fire the same way as before—by using the rune stone. I poured a few drops of water over it, and a spark flashed, turning into a small flame that quickly spread to the dry wood. The fire burned slow giving off thick gray smoke.
I took the slices of rabbit meat and placed them one by one onto the vine grill, making sure each piece was spread evenly so the smoke could each one. I sat nearby, leaning my back against a rock, watching the thin smoke curl around the meat as it slowly changed color from red to dark brown.
When the wait grew long, I grabbed the rabbit skin and laid it flat on a stone. It was still a little bit wet and soft, so I used the edge of my sword to scrape off the bits of meat and fat still clinging to it. "Is this correct?" I asked him. then replied, "Yeah." The blade made a rough shhk, shhk sound as I worked. Once clean, I carried the skin outside and stretched it on a flat rock under the sunlight to dry.
Back near the fire, drops of juice and seasoning began to fall from the meat into the flames—each one hissing with a low tsssk! pzzz!! sound. The smell grew stronger, a mix of smoky, salty, sour and spicy filling the air, making my stomach rumbled with hunger as I waited for the meat to finish.
"It's been four to five hours... is the meat ready?" I asked him. He pose for a moment and replied, "Yeah, it's ready. You can eat now."
Then I gathered some *Random Wild Rooted Weeds,* the edible ones growing near the rocks. I pulled them out carefully, shaking off the dirt before washing them with a little water. After cleaning them, I laid the leaves flat on a smooth stone.
I took a few smoked rabbit strips from the grill and placed them in the center of the leaves. Then I folded the weeds over the meat, pressing them together into a small bundle. I bit into it and chewed slowly. The taste of the weeds was fresh, like bitter lettuce, mixing with the salty, sour, spicy, smoky and natural strong flavor of the rabbit meat.
"You seem to enjoy eating quite a lot, huh?" SOMETHING/SOMEONE said.
I kept chewing and answered, "Yeah... I like eating. Sometimes I don't eat at all when I'm working, or even when I'm home. That's why I force myself to sleep to forget I'm hungry... or just drink water instead."
"Eat as much as you like—enjoy every bite," he said as I started eating again.
But inside his thoughts, it was different. "For later... hell will arrive in your life when you least expect it."