Astoria Pendridge

Three

"Where are we going?" Astoria asked. Though her bare feet felt damp against the grass of the forest, she found that she was becoming used to it. She could feel every prickle, she could hear the sounds of animals and beasts around the forest, and she could see the minute details of the bark of a tree paces ahead, but she could also choose to ignore them all. Her heightened senses wasn't an 'off or on' switch, but it was something she realized she didn't have to focus upon.

"We have arrived."

Pendridge stopped his steps as they breached past a blockade of trees and Astoria found her footing reaching damp dirt. She widened her eyes at a pristine pond, awestruck by the waters as clear as glass which reflected the azure skies above them.

"So pretty."

"We are not here for sightseeing."

Astoria was already running for the bank of the pond when a sound reached her ears. She stopped her feet, sliding unharmed against dirt. Then she looked before her at a creature leagues smaller than even herself, digging at the ground before the pond, its tail short and its plethora of whiskers dirtying while its nose shifted at the dirt.

She took a careful step back.

"What. . .what is that?" She asked.

"That is a dirtrat," Pendridge answered calmly, paces behind her. "It digs into the ground for worms and eats them. I want you to catch it."

"C-catch it?" Astoria asked.

"Yes. Catch it. It shall be a part of your next meal."

Astoria's face scrunched as she watched the thing a foot or so before her. Catch it? She sprung at it, her small frame jumping. Yet she crashed against the ground and the creature had escaped her grasp.

"Why you!"

She jumped at the creature once more, but this time it was already running. Pendridge watched, half-part amused, as she chased the thing about the bank of the pond. It took what felt like several minutes, but huffing and puffing, Astoria soon found herself griping at, knees to the ground, covered in dirt, as it squirmed in her grasp.

"I caught it!" She yelled in exhilaration.

"Good," Pendridge said, "Now, separate its head from its body."

". . .what?"

Astoria thought she had heard wrong. She stared at the creature in her hand, finding it cute as it squirmed and shrilled about.

"Kill it," Pendridge answered her question.

Astoria's expression tightened and her body shook.

"Do I really have to. . ?"

"The cycle of life continues," Pendridge answered, "If you wish to live, there shall be times when you must kill."

That did nothing to convince Astoria, however. Though she had read about the killing of beasts, and even dragons, doing so herself had never been something she thought about. She didn't wish to take a life.

Pendridge's sigh reached her ears as the sound of his steps drew closer.

"The trees around us bloat out much of the sunlight, keeping any hope of flowers from growing tall. The small fishes in that pond devour the even smaller creatures within. And that dirtrat in your hand must eat the worms in the earth to continue its existence, as you too must devour it as one of the top predators in this world," He spoke, stopping behind her as a warm draft of wind caressed her bare skin. "To live is to bring suffering upon others. It is natural."