Arkshan put a stone bowl that he had carved out with his fist on top of the campfire.
He poured water into it and stood up to stretch. Jun had been out hunting for a little longer than he liked, which irritated him further.
Suddenly he heard as birds were squawking from the trees off in the distance.
Arkshan looked down at the forest to try and figure out what was happening.
He saw as a huge blue bolt of lightning came down from the sky, thunder resounding throughout the mountains just seconds afterwards.
I told him to hunt. Not fucking roast the damn thing!
Arkshan grabbed his swords and holstered them at his sides. He made his way angrily into the forest with steam trailing behind him.
The sounds of lightning striking continued to be heard as he followed the trail where Jun went.
He was able to track his scent from the campsite to a nearby clearing. The scent of lilies and roses was pleasant to Arkshan's senses.
Soon the scent became a mixture of that and charred meat.
"What the—" Arkshan stopped shouting as he saw the mutilated and charred bodies of three lesser drakes.
All three were the exact same type that he had fought last night.
Their guts and scales were scattered all about in the clearing. Along with the entire area drenched in blood.
"Hey." He heard Jun say in an unenthusiastic tone while he entered the clearing.
Arkshan looked to see Jun standing near a pile of deer.
He was completely unscathed and clear of blood.
Arkshan stared at Jun with a blank expression as he tried to process the scene before him.
This boy isn't as weak as I thought...
Though Arkshan still didn't consider Jun someone who could rival him.
And by a long shot.
"I didn't ask for you to eradicate the whole forest," Arkshan stated sarcastically, looking down at the corpses of five deer.
"Impressed?" Jun said with pride while he put his bow on his back.
"No."
Arkshan swung two of the deer over his shoulder and made his way back to camp.
He heard as little footsteps ran up to follow next to him, causing him to sigh in annoyance.
————
Jun squatted next to the campfire as he watched Arkshan expertly skin and slice the deers' corpses.
He felt like he had impressed Arkshan back there in the clearing from the look on his face. Even though Arkshan showed no emotion when he saw the corpse littered clearing, Jun felt deep down that he was impressed.
Even if he didn't show it.
Arkshan's cooking skills continued to surprise Jun. He used one of his long swords to cut up the deer into medium sized chunks.
Jun never heard of using your weapons for cooking, he believed that it was actually forbidden, but he didn't bother to point that out.
Noodles that Arkshan had bought back in Perenykisk were already boiled and set aside on a nearby rock. Along with a few of the Lion's Eye eggs and bundles of foraged herbs.
Jun watched Arkshan throw the fat of the deer into the stone bowl that was nested in the middle of the campfire. It crackled with a delicious smell as Arkshan threw in chunks of meat and herbs. He stirred the meat around with two sticks that looked like makeshift chopsticks.
Jun felt his mouth start to water as the meat was being stir fried in the fat.
"Where did you learn how to cook?" Jun asked curiously, trying to stop himself from drooling.
He never learned how to cook as the servants, and sometimes his mother or grandmother, would cook for him instead.
Though Jun had tried to cook before, only to end up setting fire to everything.
Arkshan didn't respond as he added in the cooked noodles to the bowl.
An awkward silence fell between them as Jun fiddled with his fingers.
"Why were you so angry this morning? Did—"
"Shut it!" Arkshan snapped, his eyes piercing Jun.
Jun clenched his mouth shut while he went back to looking at the food being cooked. He looked at Arkshan's face and noticed a wary haze in his eyes.
It was faint, but it was still there.
Eventually Arkshan transferred the bowl off of the flames and onto the ground. He meticulously peeled the shells off of the eggs and cut them into intricate slices with his sword.
A small portion of food was placed on a slab of stone and handed to Jun. Along with two sticks.
"Thanks..." Jun never thought he would be saying those words today.
Especially towards Arkshan after what happened earlier. Or just towards him in general.
He had only tried deer once in his life and that one time it was tougher than a piece of rope. So Jun never dared to eat it again.
He hesitantly took a piece of deer and popped it into his mouth. An explosion of an immaculate combination of flavors filled Jun's mouth.
The meat tasted like beef, but had a more rich, tangy, and earthy flavor. Sage and juniper berries that were from the forest paired perfectly with the meat. The fat reminded him of lamb's as it was all soaked up by the noodles.
And the best part of the whole experience was that the deer wasn't tough at all. It was so tender that it melted in his mouth.
Jun also tried a slice of the Lion's Eye and found out that it tasted exactly like Millennium Eggs from the East.
It had the taste of a regular egg but with a creamy and succulent favor to it. Millennium Eggs were various types of eggs that are preserved individually in a mixture of clay and their ingredients.
The eggs are one of his favorite foods to have.
The taste of the entire dish that Jun was served reminded him of his mother's cooking.
She could turn the simplest of ingredients into something that tasted like it was made out of the most expensive ones. And no matter how intricate or simple the process was, it all tasted homey and outstandingly delicious.
He hasn't had his mother's cooking in roughly a year since she was killed.
A tear fell down his cheek as he ate his food. Out of all people that could replicate his mother's food almost perfectly.
It was this harbinger.
More tears came streaming down his face as he remembered the extra special dishes she made before his eighteenth birthday.
All the lavish dishes made with the most expensive and finest ingredients. But the day before his birthday, he remembered specifically asking for her to make his favorite dish.
It was simply noodle soup topped with sliced Millennium Egg.
"Ya! Why are you crying now?" Arkshan demanded in annoyance as he hit Jun with his tail.
Jun couldn't answer as his throat had tightened up. The only thing he could do was just feel the tears flow as he ate his food. It hurt to swallow the food as well, but he just continued to eat. Trying to stifle the tears.
Arkshan hit Jun again as he stared at him.
Jun managed to swallow the hard lump in his throat with a piece of food.
"The-The...my...mother..." He couldn't find the words to explain.
Arkshan wouldn't care anyways.
But Jun saw something that he never thought would happen.
He watched as Arkshan's eyes softened a little at his words.
Arkshan grunted as he took a mouthful of food.
"Died?"
"Murdered..."
A small "hmmm" came out of Arkshan as he stopped eating and looked at Jun. "Father?"
Jun felt his tears stop falling at the mention of a father. He had mixed feelings towards his father.
A mixture of longing and hatred.
He never, truly understood his father growing up. Though he sympathized with him at times. Understanding how it was to have anxiety about things or the future, but his father was worse off than him.
Jun wished that he could've made him proud. Though he never could nor did.
Nothing was ever enough.
And all of the things he had to endure during his father's episodes. They all continued to fuel his mixture of emotions.
His father changed all of a sudden one day and that day felt like the day his father died. Jun's father my still be alive, or not, but he died that day to him.
He was just the husk of the father he once knew and loved.
Jun just waved his hand in response as he didn't, nor couldn't, find it in him to speak.
An amused look came over Arkshan as he smirked.
"Guess we're mutual."
Jun looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.
He would never have expected to have something in common with him.
Jun went to open his mouth to ask why but Arkshan spoke first.
"Just eat your damn food."
They finished their food in mutual silence while the sun rose up to the peaks of the mountains.
Jun was surprised at how much Arkshan was able to eat in such little time. Compared to his figure, it looked like he would only consume a quarter of what he just ate.
As Jun went to stand up after finishing his food something was thrown into his lap. It was a Millennium Egg.
"I'm full." Arkshan glared down at him in irritation.
"I don't want to hear your bitching while I travel." Was the only explanation he gave as he went to clean up the campsite.
Jun sighed as he began to peel the egg. He didn't know whether or not to take this as Arkshan being generous or not.
The previous conversation they just had made him torn between the two.
Either way he still ate the egg like he was told.
The two of them soon grabbed their things and hit the long, mountainous trail once again.