On my way back, I decided to hunt some animals for their meat. I chose the bull like creatures, as they had loads of meat on them. I didn't want to exterminate them either, just enough food, for me to last some time. I found one group, that consisted of 6 such bulls and hunted them down. I gave them the quickest death possible. They seemed to be friendly animals, but I still had to eat, therefore no animal was sacred.
These animals weighted quite a bit, at least 300 kilograms and mostly consisted of muscles. Of course the carcase weighted as well, but from those 6 bull like creatures, I managed to gather at least 600 kilogram of meat. 'This should be enough. It should last me at least few months. No wonder the Avians rear these animals. They have loads of meat on them, not like wild wolves or bears, where there is loads of fat' I thought. Of course, Variants had much less fat, compared to the normal counterparts.
I placed the meat inside the Storage Feather. Not only was it much easier to do so, compared to the bag. I only had to think about placing the meat inside the feather, and all of it would be moved there. It would also weight half of its real weight. Around 300 kilograms, which was nothing to me at this stage.
When I checked my hand, the lizard like tattoo was still on it. 'I wonder how it can achieve that?' I thought. The lizard was weird but I guessed, I was as well. 'I can't say, that I'm normal either. Coming from a village where my own grandfather, wanted to sacrifice me. Or the fact that people there, were able to live over 100 years, and stay relatively young' I thought. I soon arrived at the entrance of the Valley. The swarm of Avians, was in the same place as usual. 'I wonder when will my set of clothes come back modified' I thought and waved my hand at the swarm. My purpose of calling over an Avian this time, was to enquire about the pond, as well as the names of all those creatures, inside the Valley.
I soon saw a lone Avian flying towards me. When the Avian landed, he said "I was waiting for you. So, you didn't like the colour of your clothes. What else don't you like about them, Huh?". This Avian seemed to be a bit pissed. I asked "Are you perhaps the one who created them?". He responded "That I am. You know, I don't make clothes for humans, or clothes at all. You should be grateful, that I spend the time to even make them".
'This explains, why he is pissed' I thought and said "I understand that, but at the same time, the colour of my clothes is quite important. If I stand out like a sore thumb, the enemy will be able to find me very easily". I told a half lie. It was true that the colour was important for my camouflage, but it didn't change the fact, that the original colour was shit. The Avian seemed to calm down and said "You know, I took your measurements and created these clothes. I don't know if you humans wear that kind of stuff or not, but what I tried to achieve, was the most protection".
I nodded my head and said "I'm grateful for that". The Avian seemed like a talkative type and said "I added some modifications to it. Although it is still the same design, it is much more refined now. The colour should be permanent, even if you try to wash them 1000 times". I was a bit confused and asked "How did you achieve that?". The Avian became quite prideful and said "My father is the only Formation Expert in the Swarm. I, as his son, am learning some formations from him. In the future, I will take over that position!".
'So that's how it is! He used some kind of formation, in order to modify the colour and make it permanent' I thought and asked, quite excited "Did you put any other formations on the clothes?". The Avian beamed with pride and said "You bet! I placed a Hardening Formation, as well as Lightness Formation on it". I didn't know what these formations meant but from their descriptions, I could vaguely guess. The former was probably strengthening defence, and the later probably had something to do with weight. I decided to ask anyway.
"What do those formations do exactly?". The Avian said "The Hardening Formation, as the name suggests, make the whole set much harder and tougher. Although I say that, it doesn't compromise the comfort. It's at least 2 times tougher, than the leather without that formation. As for the Lightness Formation, it makes you feel lighter. So you can run faster and bare more weight! But not by much. I guess, only about 5-8% increase". 'Just as I suspected' I thought. Even though I already half guessed those effects, it was still nice to hear the proper explanations.
"That is great. You really did put in a lot of work. I'm really thankful". The Avian was very proud and basked in the moment. I asked "Then what about that tubular piece, that was part of the set? What is that for?". The Avian snapped out of it and said "I thought, you as a human, would know that". I was kind of confused but then the Avian continued "Its for your neck and face. It's a sort of a mask that covers half of your face and neck. This provides some protection, to otherwise unprotected areas".
'So that is the purpose of that piece. Actually, I kind of like the idea of it' I thought and said "That is quite nice. I have a few more questions, can you answer them as well?". The Avian nodded and said "Go ahead". I said "As you know, I'm not very knowledgeable about this place. I would like to ask about the creatures living here. Can you tell me, what that bull like creature is called?".
The Avian seemed confused and asked "Bull?". 'Right, they might not know what bull is' I thought and said "It's the creature with the pale orange skin colour. 4 tails and so on". He exclaimed "Oh! That one! We call it Taurus. It's quite docile and we rear them for their meat. They are quite tasty". 'So it is called Taurus. Good, one down, a few more to go' I thought and asked about another creature. "What about that monkey like creature?".
He said "This one we call Flame Ape. It has very weak affinity with fire. Although it can spew out some fire, it's not that dangerous. Those creatures are quite lazy, but they are here, in order to keep the pest under control". I was a bit confused and asked "What pests?". He said "The Grand Moths, that make home in tree crowns. These things are good for the land in appropriate numbers, from what I know, but too many of them would be a problem. That is why these Flame Apes are still around here".
I asked "But then, why does that Flame Ape possess 3 eyes?". The Avian responded "I don't know. They always had them and those names are what our predecessors called them. Maybe they can see better or something?". 'That third eye doesn't give me rest. I feel like there is more to that' I thought and decided to investigate that later on.
There was only one last creature, I had to inquire about. "What about that creature with tentacles? They live in the pond not very far away from here. It can even more on the ground using those tentacles". The Avian became confused and asked "Was there such a creature? I never saw one. I don't know what that creature is. I also don't know anything about a pond. Maybe others know, but I don't pay that much attention to those detail". 'This is weird. I know Avians can't swim, but to not be aware of such creature, in their own territory. Moreover, he doesn't even know about the existence of the pond. This is suspicious' I thought.
Then I remembered about that lizard, but decided not to ask about it. 'They aren't aware about those tentacle monsters, living inside that pond, or the pond itself. I doubt they would be aware of such lizard' I thought. With no further questions, I said "That is all then. Thanks again for everything. I will have some rest and explore this place a bit more". The Avian nodded his head and handed me the enhanced set of clothes. He then said "Alright. I'm off then" and flew into the sky.
2nd chapter of the week. The name Frostscale, is not bad, but I figure it's a bit too long. If you want, you can still submit ideas, I still haven't named it. If you manage to find a fitting name, one that I like, I will use it :D