Rebirth (2)

So Adal learns to hunt, to trap, and to fish. Roko isn't great at any of those, but he is passable and he is able to pass on some of his skills to Adal. Eventually, as Adal practices and his magic adapts more to his body, he is able to use magic better.

Not that there was ever much of a use for it. As a non-type, he couldn't create a flame or water or gusts. At best, he finds that he can just create a light bluish glow of energy on his hand that feels warm for a moment before disappearing. He didn't see much of a use for it, so eventually, he stopped even trying.

With the help of Adal, the household income increased to a silver a month and become steadier. Winter became more bearable.

Money is always tight in their household, though. Eventually, the burden grows great enough that Roko is forced to teach his second oldest child, Data, to start learning hunting a little sooner than he started with Adal. The boy is clumsy, though, and rarely brings home anything resulting in many beatings from Roko.

When the magic test comes around again, Data's turn comes up and he holds on for only 10 seconds. Around this time, Roko also told Wida to forget about further children as he can't afford anymore. She crossly fires back that it all depended on him.

Doto is soon taught to hunt too. He's about as good as Data. Now both he and Data are getting beatings from their father. Afterwards, they often stare resentfully at Adal who doesn't get beat as often due to being a better hunter. The relationship between Adal and his younger brothers becomes frayed.

The test comes again and it is now Doto's turn. He holds on for a whole 25 seconds surpassing both his brothers.

At home, Roko said 'congrats' to him for attaining the family record, then told all of the boys to get the hell out of the house and start earning some money.

By this time, Adal has become quite a good hunter by his estimation. He now catches something small at least daily and he gets a good catch at least once a week. Fishing comes even easier to him. He used to earn his family an extra 10 coppers a month but now it's more like 30.

He has become so good, in fact, that he started taking shortcuts. He uses a crude homemade bow and arrow to hunt, but it's usually enough to kill an animal or at least bleed it to death by the time he finds it.

Trapping also used to involve him going up to the struggling animal and shooting it with an arrow at point blank range. When he got better at it, though, he would just quickly grab it and smash the animal against the ground or tree to kill it. He found it saves time and ammo. This got him in trouble because he sometimes damages the meat or valuable skin, but it led to a discovery.

One day, he comes up to a trap and discovers he caught a mouse. He reaches for it, hits it against a tree, and thought that was it. He got careless. As it turns out, the mouse wasn't dead, and it rears up and bites him drawing blood.

Adal shouts and throws the mouse away nursing his wound. The creature is severely injured and could barely crawl trying to get away. In a rage, Adal grabs it and squeezes hard intending to crush it and take its life with his bare hands.

That's when something amazing happened.

His hand feels warm and a light blue glow appears. The mouse then turns into a mummified corpse right in Adal's hand. He is so surprised that he yelps and throws the corpse away. After, he stares at his hand in surprise and confusion. He did so for a long time, but no answer came.

At last, he decides to do a test. He goes to the next few traps. Luckily, one of them had another mouse in it. He quickly grabs it, though he makes sure to keep its head secured. He proceeds to squeeze. It got crushed to death. Adal holds its limp corpse wondering why nothing happened.

It is nearly a week before Adal learned how to repeat what he did. It wasn't the action. It is the thought. The desire. He has to grab an animal and want to take its life. To force energy and will into his hands. Upon doing so, his hands will lightly glow blue and the animals turn into mummified corpses.

So he solved how he did that. The problem now is that he couldn't figure out what its purpose is.

He doesn't feel any different afterwards. He thought he might have been eating them somehow, but their insides are still intact, albeit mummified too, and he doesn't feel any different afterwards. He tries the same technique on other animals and fish too. He eventually begins to refer to this technique as 'devouring' the animals as he's taking their life from them and into himself. Kind of like 'eating'.

After three months of doing this, he succeeded in two things. First, he angered his father greatly and earned many beatings for it. After all, mummified animals are useless for food or selling. Second, he discovered what the technique did. It makes him stronger.

It is almost imperceptible, but 'devouring' those animals with his hands makes him stronger. After three months of doing so, including devouring some prized larger catches, Adal noticed an improvement in his physical abilities. He can run longer, jump higher, lift heavier objects. Not a large difference, but enough for him to notice.

He almost thought it was just natural growth but even his father expressed surprised and set him to work chopping wood.

The prospect excited him but he also realizes its limits. It takes so many animals to increase his physical abilities. It'd be a lifetime for any notable improvement in his abilities. The thought kills him. To think he has such a cool ability, but can do so little with it.

The time nears for Adal's little sister, Bird, to take the magic test. Roko doesn't even make a pretense that she has the slightest chance.

"Aren't I a lucky man?" He says. "I have two boys who aren't any good at hunting. I have a boy who was good but seem to have become senile and lost his ability at the old age of seven. Now I have you."

Bird cowers before her father.

"The test is three months away. You will probably fail the test and you don't have the looks to get into a good marriage. If I'm lucky, I might make some copper from your work."

Wida admonishes him. "Stop that. Leave her alone."

"Why should I? Do you know that Riva, the daughter of the fish merchant Toro, is as pretty as a flower? The boys can't keep their hands off of her. I hear that she has been seen walking around with Roccoco Bear!"

"So what the hell do you want me to do? What do you want your daughter to do?"

He continues. "I also hear Goll the merchant is trying to setup a betrothal between his son and Bluska Bear. It's costing him a bundle but word is that he might succeed. He's moving up in life for sure."

"Easy to do that when you're a rich merchant."

"Or have a pretty daughter."

"If you know how to change your daughter's appearance, then tell me how." She snaps at him. "Or do you want to try for more?"

"I would if I could afford it!"

"Then make more money!"

"Then give me better children!"

He stomps out slamming the door. Adal glances at his sister and feels for her. He feels for all of them, really. His father is right. They're going to be poor forever. Only people like Riva and Goll the merchant gets to be rich and happy.

A month later, Riva, the daughter of the fish merchant Toro, is embroiled in scandal.

Adal is in the yard at the time chopping wood while his siblings help their mother. Bird is crying because one of her brothers is picking on her and she claims he's stealing her clothes. Their mother yells at all of them, including Adal even though he is standing off to the side just chopping wood.

Moments later, their father arrives looking particularly satisfied. Wida notices this.

"Why are you so happy?"

"I'm happy because I just got word in the village today that the fish merchant Toro's daughter is a *****."

"What?"

"Mm-hmm. There's word that Roccoco is breaking off their little relationship because he discovered she's not a ******."

"Oh my!" Wida says in shock. "I can't believe girls these days! And she is just a young woman!" She pauses. "How did Roccoco discover that she's not a ******?"

"How the hell should I know? Maybe he got frisky only to discover that she's not as pure as he thought. All I know is that he's mad as hell and things look ugly for her. The Bear family is not happy with the fish merchant family right now. Even Goll the merchant is punishing them with higher prices."

Wida shakes her head. "Foolish girl. She should have known better."

Adal had listened the entire time and shrug his shoulders. He passed Riva a few times and certainly thought she is really pretty, but also knew other boys did too and knew he had no chance. He didn't think much about her otherwise. He didn't really want to think about the situation, period.

It is hard to avoid, though. The scandal becomes the talk of the town. His father, in particular, loves updating his family on it. He hates the fish merchant family for coming closer to success than he ever did. He also hates the Bear family so takes joy in seeing them both unhappy.

A month later, he is even forced to come face to face with it. As he is pulling a fish from his fishing line and contemplates devouring it, he hears a noise and turns to see Riva standing there.

She looks miserable. Her face is tear streaked and bruised. Her clothes looked torn at places too. Riva wipes at her eyes and mutters at him bitterly.

"Are you going to mock me too?"

He shakes his head. "I'm just here to fish."

There is a pause. "I am innocent of those things people are saying about me."

Adal hesitates. "I haven't heard everything they're saying about you."

"I bet you're heard most of it." She snaps back. "The people of this village are unbelievably cruel. There are people – people I've known my entire life and thought cared about me – who are saying the most horrible things about me. The girls I used to play with mock me. The boys who used to say I'm pretty and follow after me like puppies are calling me a *****."

"Even my own family." She hisses the last word. "No one has mistreated me more than them. They would believe those vicious Bears over their own daughter."

Adal squirms uncomfortably. He's seven years old. He just wants to catch fish.

"I'm not a *****. I was a ******. Roccoco's third cousin raped me." This catches his attention. "I screamed my lungs out and the servants saw what happened. His own family saw what happened."

She sobs miserably. "But it doesn't matter! They're family! Roccoco stops seeing me and I get blamed for tempting him! What was I suppose to do? Fight off someone twice my size and an Earth grade at that? Why can't anyone understand me?"

"What about you? What do you think of me?"

He decides to be honest. "I just want to catch fish."

She stares resentfully at him. "So that means you don't care about me. It figures. If my own family don't care, why should you? Well, I'm here to drown myself."

Another voice calls out. "Is that right? Well, what are you waiting for?"

The voice gets both their attention. A girl steps out from behind the trees.

"Gray the radish farmer's daughter?" Riva says wide eyed. "What are you doing here?"

"I followed you. I lost you earlier but then I heard voices and came over. I heard you say you were going to drown yourself. I figure I'd watch."

"You evil girl! We played together when we were kids, now you've come to watch me kill myself? Do you do this to all your friends?"

"We stopped being friends when you stole Roccoco from me!" Gray snaps back. "This is your just fate. Never did I have imagined how loose you are."

"Stole, she says! Don't joke with yourself. You never had a chance. You aren't as beautiful as me. You will live and die a poor radish farmer's daughter!"

"Shut your mouth!"

Gray launches herself at Riva who yelps in surprise. They fall backwards landing near the water's edge. Adal has to jump away to avoid getting caught in the fight. Riva angrily slaps Gray's face then flips her over submerging her head under water.

There, she uses her magic type – lightning – to shock Gray. It is weak, but in water, it becomes much more powerful. The shock also hurts Riva, though, and she lets go and runs away.

The other girl comes up gasping for breath and coughing. She falls onto her back nearby. Adal hesitates a moment before walking over. Gray breathes heavily not reacting. He touches her face and she merely stares back at him wheezing.

That's when a terrible, awful idea comes to him. What if he were to devour a human?

It isn't merely a thought. His fingers tingles at touching her and something deep inside of him seem to purr pleasurably. The urge is overwhelming. He cups her face.

"What are you doing? You are…the eldest son of the hunter Roko?" She asks getting her breathing under control. "Help me up."

"I'm sorry."

Before she could say anything else, he initiates his power. She struggles briefly and there are only slight twitches in her as she becomes mummified.

When Adal pulls himself up, he is equally filled with horror at having killed someone and elation at the power he feels. Devouring a human is nothing like devouring an animal. For the first time, he feels a change in his power. There's also a surge of energy that goes through him making him feel something. Stronger? Healthier? He's not sure.

It's been a long time since he even bothered using his power, but he feels he should try it now. He gathers his energy and, in his palm, a tiny ball of light blueish energy forms. Barely bigger than a pebble. He throws it at the ground.

It…hardly does anything. The grass moves and singes a bit which is far more than it did before, but still hardly worth anything.

The elation leaves him. All that's left is the realization that he killed someone. Adal glances at Gray's body realizing he has to do something.

A few hours later, Adal returns home. His father meets him at the door.

"Where the hell have you've been, boy? It's dark now. You were supposed to have been home hours ago."

"I lost track of time fishing."

"Is that right? Well, then where are all these fish?"

He pauses. "It was too dark to see. I tripped and lost all the fish back in the water."

Roko beats him hard for that. Afterwards, he has to limp to bed with his siblings and he has trouble lying down from pain. His brother, Data, laughs asking if he had a fun night. He thought of devouring him.

He feels a pinch of shame at that. Gray isn't even dead a day and he's already thinking of devouring someone else. His own younger brother even. Will he think of devouring his entire family too?

There must be some limit and it's probably not a good idea to devour people in his own village.

Vaguely, Adal recognizes that it seems he's already decided he will keep devouring. The question is not 'if', but 'how'.

More importantly, what happens if he devours enough?

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