After nearly clearing the butcher out of food, Mark was finally satiated.
"Gah! Finally, that was some good food guys! Seriously. Thank you so much."
Mark spoke up to the butcher and the baker, who were sitting across from him, sweat dripping down their faces.
They had put in some work to make sure Mark got his fill.
Cecil just shook his head in exasperation, with a little bit of exhaustion. Exhaling loudly, trying to catch his breath, he responded to Mark.
"I have never seen anyone eat that much, Mark, not even your father. Not even your grandfather. Much less monster meat, of all the things you could have eaten. You aren't going to be sick from that, are you?"
Mark was leaned back in his chair with both hands on his stomach, as if he were carrying a child instead of several kilograms of meat. He eyed Cecil and gave him a wide grin.
"I can eat this entire mountain of monsters and never get sick, as long as I drain their blood first. . . well even that might not be a problem anymore. . ."
He kept grinning to himself thinking, 'if that witch woman made me immune to the beast blood, too, then I won't have to be careful with draining them after each kill anymore. . .'
Cecil still looked a bit bewildered, but he suddenly narrowed his eyes like he remembered something important.
"Boy, I hear from Lauren that you are keeping our daughter away from the house often. She has even returned after dark a few times this week. What are your intentions with Anabel?"
Mark just shrugged, still leaned back in his chair with his hands on his belly. He looked Cecil up and down for the first time in several years, noticing that he was tall like his son. His eyes were also bright green, and his hair was that same bright shade of wheat blonde his kids sported.
He realized that he was also quite muscular for a baker, his vest shirt showing his toned arms that were packing on as much muscle as a stonemason. Not as big as the blacksmiths, definitely not as muscular as Mark, but one would not guess this man baked bread and cakes for a living.
Mark just shook the thoughts that quickly went through his head and answered the man, seeing the expectant look he was giving Mark.
"She just wants to watch me work the metal, I guess. She says it is pretty, and I think I have to agree with her. Blacksmithing is the most beautiful endeavour on this mountain, and I daresay this world."
Cecil folded his arms over his chest.
"I haven't approached you yet because I know your old man just passed, and I figured Anabel was keeping you company in a time of need. But it seems to me that you are past mourning. No funny business with my daughter, you hear me Mark?"
At his words, Mark sat up straight and placed his arms on the counter, narrowing his eyes a bit. He gave off an indescribable pressure that Cecil and Grom felt. And it made a cold drip of sweat run down the back of both of their spines.
Mark didn't notice this little detail as he said in a low tone, "I never horseplay around my forge."
Cecil gulped and nodded at Mark, eyes wide with fear. It felt as if he was standing directly in front of a Warg with its fangs bared. Something primal inside of Cecil was screaming at him to run.
With the nod from Cecil, Mark smiled and leaned back in his chair again, and took on a slight smile, one of satisfaction in the meal he had just eaten.
As soon as Mark relaxed, it was like a large weight was lifted off of Cecil and Grom. They both took in a sharp breath as the room returned to normal.
'This kid is way too serious about the forge. It is like he has no idea what I was even talking about. Worse than his father about taking smithing seriously. . . I can tell just from talking to him that the forge is all he even thinks about. . .that, and probably food. . .'
Grom looked over to his brother and grunted, and Cecil was reminded of the ordeal they had just finished.
"Mark, as much as Grom would love to keep the pelt, neither of us would feel right about it. So, how about we come to a compromise on the price of the food? I am sure we can come to an arrangement that is mutually beneficial."
Mark scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed.
"Yeah, sorry about that. I don't know what came over me. I was just so hungry. It was like the hunger took over. Really. . .I saw red. And it was the red of meat. Beast meat."
Cecil was the one to shake his head this time.
"Don't worry about that, I could see how hungry you were. I assume it has to do with how much taller and bigger you look, but I guess you are actually a growing boy still. The gods be damned that you continue to grow."
Cecil chuckled a bit at his own joke.
"Regardless, I think you will like the solution we have for you."
Mark sat up again, with less seriousness and more excitement.
"Ok, Cecil, what can I do for you guys to make up for this?"
Grom grunted a bit and waved his hand in the air with a twirl before he got up and left. Cecil spoke for them, already on board with his older brother's idea for the payment.
"If you can bring back a couple of whole wargs and at least one Gullen boar, then I can give the pelt back to you. Any extra will be cooked into their best cuts and jerky for you. It is an arrangement we all benefit from, and you can also bring any beasts you kill in the future if the arrangement works for you."
Mark thought about it for a while.
'I did run out of beast meat quickly today. . .it would be a good idea to keep the butcher stocked up in case this happens again. No idea what actually made me so hungry. . .'
When Mark had thought it through, he gave Cecil a serious nod and headed out of the house.
Cecil watched him go with his arms crossed, then muttered to himself as he began to leave the house as well. "better get to work, Lauren is probably already pissed she has had to bake by herself this morning. . ."
...
When Mark got back to his house, the door was still wide open. It was never a problem to leave his house like that. It just looked sloppy.
He went inside and put on his hunting gear, grabbing his newly upgraded spear and his trusty alloy knife. He checked his orders for the day, and the list was short enough that it would be fine to take care of it in the afternoon.
The forge was just a short walk in the general direction of the gate he wanted to leave from, so he went by to make sure no one was waiting for him there.
'I mean, I do have to make sure there is no one with any emergencies just waiting on me. . . right? That's all I want to check on. . .'
Of course, he was thinking of Anabel, who must be waiting on him, wondering where he was at this time of the morning. It was unlike Mark to miss out on work at this point in the day.
Sure enough, as Mark approached the smithy, he noticed a beautiful sight to behold, sitting on his dirty break table between the forges. He could smell the faint scent of lavender coming from her on the slight breeze that constantly blew from the cliff edge.
His heart sped up as he approached, and he suddenly was not sure what to say. Luckily for him, she heard his approach and turned to see who it was, eyes clearly filled with hope. Then those eyes went wide with surprise.
"Mark!? How did you grow so much overnight!? And where have you been!?"
She looked troubled.
'I guess her mom didn't know what Cecil was doing.'
Mark put his hands up in front of him with his palms facing her as he tried to speak in a calming manner.
"I was hanging out with Grom and Cecil this morning, everything is fine. I just got an earlier start than usual. I was a little busy clearing out the butcher's stock."
Anabel didn't look convinced as she still had a bit of a frantic look in her eye.
"It looked like someone blasted out of the door this morning! When I got here, I went by your house because you didn't show up, and your door was hanging wide open! I came running down here, and you weren't here. I couldn't decide on whether to go back to your house, go get some guards, or go find my father!"
Mark nodded his head along, understanding how it looked. He walked over to the table and sat down across from her.
"Ok, first of all, I had some crazy dreams last night. Then, when I woke up, I was over two inches taller than when I went to sleep. While I was still waking up, I was assaulted by an intense hunger."
Mark was animatedly waving his hands around as he explained the sequence of events that resulted in him leaving his door wide open.
"So, when I ate all of my food, I had no choice but to go bother the butcher.
He paused for a second with a pondering look on his face.
"Also, I didn't know he was your father's brother. . ."
Then he shook his head slightly and continued.
"Anyway, so I brought Grom my Unikumi pelt that I have in the living area of the house and asked him to cook up as much food as he thought it was worth. At some point, your father came over to help him cook because he didn't have enough cooked food on hand."
Anabel nodded her head in understanding, then she took a good look at Mark. Pointing out his garb, she asked:
"And is this why you look dressed to go hunting instead of smithing?"
Mark nodded his head along in reply.
"Yes, they said I can have the Unikuma pelt back if I hunt up some beasts. And I thought it worked out for me to get them some food stocked up in case I get hungry like that again."
Mark stood up and grabbed his spear, which he had leaned against the side of the table when he sat down.
"I don't know what is going on with my appetite or my body in general, but I do know that the hunger I felt this morning was unreal, and I have no idea what would happen if I didn't get enough to eat."
After pausing to think for a second, he continued.
"Also, I like that pelt. There are not many Unikuma that large, at least none that I would be confident in killing myself, so it would be a shame to have to give it to Grom. It might be some sort of family heirloom because it has always been in the living room."
Anabel chuckled a bit, before getting up and leaning on Mark's arm.
Mark gulped as he looked down into her beautiful, bright blue eyes.
"Well, when you get back, make sure you come get me from my house so we can go out to eat. We have to make sure you are well fed, now don't we?"
She flashed her smile that seemed to brighten the world to Mark, and Mark felt his knees give out a little. Butterflies were filling his stomach, attempting to make him float off his feet. He managed to mutter out: "Ah, uh, yeah. . .yeah! We do need to get some food together after!"
Mark was grinning like a madman at this point, and Anabel released him, pushing him toward the gate.
"Don't forget, Mark. I will be helping my parents with the bakery. You better come get me!"
Mark nodded to her as he scooped up his ore bag while he made his way to the village gates on the east side.
"Don't worry, Anabel, I won't forget."
He turned his gaze to his front as he took on a steeled look. It was time to hunt.