บท 31: A good hunt
It was a given that a lot of tension and fear would follow her sudden request for everyone to hold and ready themselves for a fight. This was because most of the hunters and gatherers in the team had no previous fighting experience so while the journey had previously been all fun and conversations, it was now silent and dreaded.
All of them had witnessed the brutality and strength of mutated beasts before. Some of the younger men were shaking and quaking with fear but they did not want to be cowards so they stayed on.
"What is it?" Dorian asked his daughter as he scanned the area with his mental strength looking for danger.
"Severus senses something." she replied.
Severus suddenly dashed forward and he disappeared into the greenery of the forest. Naturally Scarlet went running after him and her father and Adler also went after her.
"Hold your positions." Adler shouted at the rest of the team as he was following his family into unknown danger.
Ahead of them, Scarlet was shouting at Severus in her mind to slow down but the only word the dog said back to her was 'meat.'
"What have you found?" she asked him.
She accidentally hit her toe against something and then she tripped and fell down. She landed face first on the ground and inhaled some dirt.
She could feel some pain in her hands and when she looked at them she noticed that she had a few scratches and on them.
"Are you okay?" her father quickly reached down and pulled her up.
"I just scratched my hands on some stones but I am okay." She replied. "I think something tripped me."
"Where is your dog?"
She looked around for any sight of Severus. She could feel him through their bond which was established with the contract so she knew that he was fine and close by.
"He is close." she answered. "But he is not moving, I think he has found something."
She forgot about her hands and she once again took off running in the direction which her instincts said Severus was. Thankfully, within two minutes, she discovered him because of his loud growls.
She found him growling at a group of weird looking animals. She thought them weird because while they looked like cattle but they had some fur on their bodies. Cattle did not have fur where she came from but if her eyes were not deceiving her, these large four legged creatures were cattle.
Did mutations create this effect? Did the extra cold season on this planet force cows and bulls to become hairy? Could they be a variation of mammoths? She observed the animals further, wanting to closer for a closer look.
Their were about seven of them, five were adult and two were just calves. Of the adults, she assumed that the two extra large ones were male and the three smaller ones were female.
To be sure about what she was seeing, she sent a picture to the forum for confirmation and her assumption was true.
She was so thankful for Severus because if he was not here, they probably would not have found these cattle.
"Severus, are they dangerous?"
"To you, yes, to me no." he replied.
"Scarlet," she heard her father's worried voice. "We should back away slowly. One stab from those horns of those beasts and not even a med bed will save you. You will bleed out faster than I can get you back. We need to move."
"It's good meat." Severus replied.
"Not without them." Scarlet told her father upon Severus's confirmation. "They are just seven, we can take them from here quite easily."
Dorian Su hissed, "It's more than seven, I can sense more of them back there behind the foliage. We have probably stumbled upon a migration."
"What migration?" she asked.
"The cold season will be upon us in three months. The less powerful animals go into hiding to avoid being killed by the stronger ones or the mutated beasts. The cold season is not just deadly for humans, it's dangerous for animals too."
Dorian who was anxious because the two bulls were furious and appeared to be ready for charge. He was also surprised that they had not yet charged but he knew that at any moment, they would.
Unlike Dorian who was anxious, Scarlet was excited. More cows meant more milk and more food for the people. But how could she get all these animals back to the human habitat?
"Severus, do you have anymore suggestions?"
"Leave it to me." he replied arrogantly.
Then he proceeded to let out the loudest growl she had ever heard. It was so strong that the she could feel tremors in the ground. It sounded like a threat of war and order to obey.
The weird part was that nobody else but her seemed to have heard it. Dorian and Adler looked very normal.
"Did you hear that?" she asked them.
"Hear what?" Adler asked.
"Severus's growl."
"His little barks, yeah we heard that." Adler replied. "They are not going to help us in this situation."
Just as he was finishing his words, he saw the animals which were poised to attack calming down. All of a sudden they appeared to be less threatening. Other similar looking ones came out from behind the foliage, all behaving extremely docile.
"What's happening?" Adler asked.
Scarlet smiled and squatted down, she patted Severus's head and she kissed him suddenly. "Good boy."
Happy to receive all the praise, Severus lifted his head looking as proud as a peacock.
"Dad, these animals are called cattle. The male are called bulls and the female are called cows. Their children are calves. They are willing to follow us home."
She was very happy today, if domesticating mutated beasts was as simple as having Severus roar, her life had just become easier.
"Severus, I am going to prepare the best beef steak for you when we return home tonight. You deserve it so much."
"Now, let's go back now." Severus suggested. He broke into a leap and the animals followed him as if he was their new leader.
"Wait." she shouted but he was too far gone.
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