Two weeks went by, and I tried two more times to break past my limit. Needless to say, there were no results. I wasn't discouraged, since mother told me this could take days or even years. 'I will try to break past my limit once in a while, but yea… It's not easy at all', I thought.
One of these days, Tara returned from the Land of Sands. "So, so! How did it go? Did you sell the sculptures?", I asked without even greeting her. "Unfortunately...", she started. As soon as the word 'unfortunately' left her mouth, I thought we were doomed. "...I sold all of them!", she added. "... You win this round", I replied a bit angry she did that. "Acknowledge your defeat, young lady. Who do you think I am? Of course I sold them all. Moreover, the profits were greater than I previously assumed!", she exclaimed.
"That's great news! So, how much did we make?", I inquired. "The standard sculptures were sold for 7 Red Hals, while the vine sculpture got sold for 14 Red Hals. Subtracting the cost of sculptures, we made 51 Red Hals. That equals to around 25 Red Hals each. Not bad for a few sculptures. Of course, this shall change drastically soon. I bought a few trinkets, clothing pieces and even paintings with the performers' image. Here, take a look for yourself", she replied, before taking out all the items she bought.
"I spent all 51 Red Hals on those things, and paid some more from my own pocket. What do you think? Can you do something with this stuff?", she asked. "I'm sure there's something we can do with them. The clothes will be easy. I can make them more durable, or change the colour or even add a defensive Formation. The paintings and other things?… I'll have to think about them. I assume you will be going to Sedon next, right?", I replied. "That's right, but we have some time before that. Have you finished the other sculptures?", she inquired.
The sculptures were ready, but she didn't take them. "Just hold on to them for now. I'll take everything once I'm on my way to Sedon. Do you want more sculptures? I'm sure the sculptors made a few already", she asked instead. "Yea, why not. I mean, the more items we have, the higher our profits will be… You brought about thirteen items altogether. I should be able to finish them all, and perhaps make a few more sculptures. Anyway, we will see each other soon", I replied then bid her farewell.
Our small business worked out. Though we had no money left due to the investing, we were sure there would be more next time. "Mom! We sold our sculptures! See, I can make some money", I announced the news. "That's great, sweetie. I'm happy it worked out for you… You really are growing up, eh? I just can't get used to it, you know?", she replied with a smile. "Hehe, that's just the start. With better profits, we'll be able to move on towards better items. With time, our little business will make loads of money, I'm sure it will", I added.
"Look at you, making money. Mommy's proud, really. Don't forget about your training though", she reminded me. "I know. I'll just sort the stuff Tara brought back, and we can start", I said before quickly heading to my room. After sorting everything out, there were three small paintings, six assorted trinkets like cuddly dolls and four pieces of clothing. Two shirts and two pairs of pants. 'The material is not the best, that even I can tell… Though I guess the name of the performance sewn into them, will make them sell… To think people buy such things', I thought.
The paintings depicted three different performers. None of them contained the image of Selena. Most probably because her paintings were much more expensive. There were two Shades and one Lizard. 'I have no clue who they are really. Not that it would change anything', I said to myself. My work on these items had to wait though. The training with my mother was about to begin, and I didn't want to make her wait.
"Today, we will do something else. Training your sword or body is great, but useless when you are afraid to strike and kill", she announced. "What do you mean exactly?", I asked, unsure. "Today, we are going to hunt, or rather you will hunt. Taking the life of another being is scary, but sometimes necessary. If you want to travel around places, this is one of the requirements", she explained. "... Kill something… I never thought about doing that though… Can't we skip it? I can simply carry a lot of food with me, or run away when someone attacks me, right?", I asked.
"No, we can't skip it. I'm not asking you to murder people. We have to hunt or kill to eat meat. Where do you think all that meat you ate came from?", she retorted. "I know mom, it's just… Alright, I will try", I replied. Before we headed into the Wilderness, mother told me to wear the leather armour I got from her. The armour didn't have any Formations yet, but it was at least some sort of protection. With the armour on, we made our way towards the Wilderness. 'I'm not sure why mother insisted on going by foot though, we could use Turry for that', I thought but followed her nonetheless.
About an hour later, we arrived at the location. That location was still the Wilderness, but there was a lone Taurus standing there. "This is your target. I want you to hunt this Taurus. These creatures are usually docile and friendly, but when you attack, it will try to defend itself. I will not intervene, treat this as if I'm not around", she said. "...Are you serious? I can't kill a Taurus… So that's why you wanted to go on foot?", I asked in disbelief. "Your Turry is a companion and a pet, not a source of food. I can differentiate those things, but it seems you can't. Most of the meat you ate came from Tauruses. Again, we are hunting or killing for food, not for pleasure. I understand this can be hard, but there is no other way around", she added then took a step back.
'Alright… I can do this… I have to do this', I thought while slowly approaching the Taurus. As soon as the Taurus spotted me, it became weary but didn't attack. Even when I drew my sword, the Taurus only looked at me. '... I can't do it…', I said to myself before stopping. "Mom, I can't kill it… I don't want to do it", I tried convincing my mother to change her mind. "You will do it, Anna. If you can't do it, then there is no point to your training. There's no point for you to travel either. The world is not a nice place, it's cruel and you have to adapt… If you can't, you'll die", she replied.
My grip on the sword tightened. I hated it, but that was the reality. Meat didn't simply grow on trees, it came from animals that had to be killed. 'I'm a grown up already, being scared like this… Mother wouldn't ask for impossible…', I tried to convince myself. My feet advanced forwards again, my sword in attacking position. The Taurus no longer watched, it tried to run away. Without thinking, my body gave chase, but there was no way I would be able to catch up with a Taurus.
"Boom!", something exploded in front of the Taurus, making it stop. "Now's your chance, Anna. Take it", mother's voice sounded in my ears. "Aaaahhhh!", I exclaimed while slashing at the Taurus' body. "Riiip.. MOOOOO", the taurus didn't die, because my attack was not precise enough. The Taurus fell to the ground with a large rip in its side. Blood spouted everywhere, while its painful cries made my eyes water.
"Anna! Don't space out! Finish its suffering, instead of staring at it!", mother shouted. Her scream made me grip my sword even tighter, while my heart beat even faster. With the sword positioned over the Taurus' head, I closed my eyes and slashed downwards. The cries stopped, but the silence was even more painful. 'I hate this… I'm not a bad person… I..', the thought ran through my mind, while my eyes remained closed.
"Calm down child, it's over", mother's voice sounded next to me. Just when my eyes opened, she hugged me and caressed my head. "Now you know how it feels to take someone's life. Doesn't feel great, right?", she asked. I shook my head in reply. "You are a good girl, Anna. You have a lot of compassion for animals and others, and that's not wrong. Your father loves animals too, even though he killed many of them. That's just how the world works, sweetie... Sometimes you just don't have a choice", she added.
I understood all of that, but it felt bad anyway. "Come, we have to take the meat. That was the purpose after all. I will show you how to do it", mother added. Although reluctant, I steeled my nerves and tried to help her out. She showed me how to extract the meat, and the skin. She said that the skin would be used for clothes, armour and whatnot. That meant, only the bones and inedible parts would be left behind.
We didn't talk on our way back. I had nothing to say, and mother knew this was difficult for me. Once we came back home, I washed the blood of my body and armour, then went straight to my room. I just wanted to be alone for a while.