" For someone who had insisted on coming with me, you sure are slowing down". Freya sent a glare to the trudging figure of Maria who was exaggeratedly huffing with every step she took.
The road to the farm was a rough one and the fact that they had slept on an empty stomach was not helping at all. Their worn out shoes made the pebbles on the road sting their feet but that was just what they face everytime to get food.
" Well, I guess I underestimated the journey...damn I must be getting old". She groaned, making the young girl roll her eyes.
" You're not old...how old are you...35...36?".
Maria gasped dramatically " Is that a compliment I sense there, miss? You're telling me I look younger...oh, thank you. I didn't know my beauty was still as shining as it used to be". She said in an accent that supposed to sound Western but ended up sounding like a traumatized bird shrill.
Freya snorted in reply " Not a compliment, woman. Not a compliment". She shook her head, wondering why in hell she had agreed to bring her with her.
But she secretly enjoyed the company and their exchange of words though. Although she loved peace and quiet, and Maria was a complete opposite to those two factor— she couldn't help but wish they did this more....under better circumstances though.
Not when they were awake at midnight, climbing this high, rough road just to get food that will sustain them for a week or even less. Then they'll run out of food again and come back here, hoping their farm produce have yield and that no one have stolen them. It was an endless cycle.
She wished they could go out to other villages to trade food, stroll around the market...or whatever those picture book she once saw in the village chief house.
She had seen the book in the hand of the stuck up daughter of the pot bellied chief, Adrianne. Well, that was the last thing she saw before jumping on her and giving her the beating of her life.
But beside that,the book had made her wonder what was beyond their village...the people out there...the beasts. She was expecially curious about these beastmen that were rumored to plague the world. She has never seen one before and sometimes she even doubt if they are real at all. Maybe it was a scheme to keep them trapped in the small village...
But then, if that was the case and they really are just myths..then what could be the explanation for the hardship they are facing day by day. Just maybe...maybe she could...
" Get your mind out of the gutter, young lady. Time wait for no man". Maria grinned at her from ahead and Freya blinked, surprised she hadn't noticed when she walked past her.
" For someone who wanted to come alone, you sure are thinking a lot". Of course, Maria would never let it go and will rub it on her .
Freya pursed her mouth " You only got past me because I was distracted, you stand no chance" she briskly walked ahead, making the older woman run off the path, her carefree laughter echoing through the pathway.
Freya giggled, ruining after her playfully " You're running like a traumatized chicken...Old woman...wait up'.
" I thought you said I was young".
" I do didn't say that".
_______
" We've got more than I thought we would". Maria said, cleaning the potatoes before putting them in the small basket they had brought along with them " We should give some to Derek and Annabelle".
Freya hummed in reply, using the sickle in her hand to dig out the soil for more of the foods they planted months ago. Although most of them were not ripe enough to be harvested, but it'll have to do.
" I swear, if those two don't stop having babies every planting season, they'll eat this whole village to extinction," Maria muttered, arranging the potatoes neatly.
Freya chuckled at that, brushing a strand of her pale white hair from her face as the night breeze carried the faint scent of earth and dew. The moonlight spilled softly across the farm, silvering the tips of the crops and giving everything a calm, deceptive peace. It was the kind of night that made her forget the world outside their little village—the raids, the wars, the beasts.
But the peace and quiet didn't last long. A low, deep growl resonated on the field making the two of them froze. Freya hand tightened on the sickle, her eyes darting around for where the sound came from.
She had faced bears few times in her life but nothing could ever prepare her for the humongous beast that lurked around few distance away from them, its yellow glowing eyes keenly fixated on them.
The huge animal stood at least 9 feet tall, it's black coated fur glistening in the silhouette of the moonlight. Freya felt a mix of fear and excitement run through her. If she could take this animal down somehow, they'll have enough meat to feed the whole village.
" Do you think I can take it down? It'll be easy. I have a sickle...". She asked Maria, her eyes still glued to the bear. It wasn't really advisable to turn your back on an adex predator.
But the older woman behind her was silent, still frozen in fear. Her hand moved to clamp Freya on her tight, squeezing it to get a grip on herself.
She was also fixated on the giant animal in front of them but no way in hell would she ever think it as an ordinary bear. Memories that she had managed to bury in her mind came surging back.
Her heart beat frantically as she opened her mouth to whisper to Freya " Th-that is not a bear, Freya". Sweat trickled down the back of her neck. " IT IS A FUCKING BEASTMAN!!!!!".
She shot up immediately, dragging the stilled body Freya with her