Ari was closely examining the bodies that had been gathered. To the men's surprise, she wasn't scared or actually felt anything towards the dead bodies. The old man looked to the boy and said
"Peculiar one, she gi's me an uncanny feel"
"Yeah, me too".
The boy took the hoe and trotted over to an empty plot in the distance to begin digging the graves.
The fire crackled as the three silently looked at each other and at their supper. The mood wasn't solemn but it wasn't quite friendly either. The boy spoke up.
"Old man, this kid's name is Ari, Ari this is old man Jan, short for Janelai," he said as he pointed accordingly. Janelai stared at Ari for a moment but she didn't notice since her attention was focused on the butterfly that was flying around her. The shock wolf pounced on her and caught Jan's attention.
"Aint that…"
"Yes, it's exactly what you think it is, the extinct shock wolf. I'm still baffled on how she got her hands on one of those."
"Yes, this is doggo". Ari remarked as she joined their conversation.
Jan started at her in confusion and the boy turned around telling Jan not to worry about it. He went on with his introduction.
"My name is Sautur but you can call me Kalvin. Now, how did you get lost in the forest?".
"I don't know."
".... Ok then who are your parents?"
"I don't know."
"Then what do you know?"
"Nothing, I just woke up in the forest and now I'm here". Ari said as she smiled, unconcerned about her current situation.
Kalvin started at Janelai who was facing Ari with his eyes closed. When he opened them Kalvin asked, "What did you see?"
"Shes… a monster". he said slowly as a villainous smile grew on his face.
A chill ran down Kalvin's spine, the memory of when he last saw that smile was still fresh in his mind.
"Wh-what are we gonna do with her then?"
"We'll raise her, no protection better than a monster loyal to its master. Discuss with her about living conditions here, although I don't know how much she will understand, she seems a little air-headed". he said as he got up. "I'm going to bed."
Kalvin started at Ari for a moment after Janelai left wondering how such a young girl could rattle old man Jan like that. He dismissed it and headed over to where she was sitting. He got Ari's attention and began explaining how the workload was going to be distributed between them. Ari sat and listened to everything that he said.
In his bed, Janelai kept thinking about Ari, she reminded him of the legend of people who used to appear out of nowhere in which some became heroes known everywhere or heinous villains. He wondered which she would become. He smiled once again and closed his eyes.
Time went on and Ari got adjusted to living life in Katakuri town. In what seemed like no time 4 years had passed.
"Thwack"
14-year-old Ari rose and lifted her ax to her shoulder. Her hardened body and brown skin glistened in the sun, telling tales of how her environment had changed her. And as if on queue, the wooden log fell apart as the silent knight appeared out of nowhere. They both stared at each other for a moment and he very obviously tried to leave when he realized she was about to become a pain. She pounced and body-slammed him to the ground and put him in a lock as she flexed her toned muscles. Old man Jan watched from a distanced and chuckled before returning to his plowing.
Ari got up and helped Kalvin to his feet. He said
"We don't have time to be horsing around, we have to go hunt for our food for this week."
"Alright boomer, let me get our weapons and the sacks."
She rushed to the shed and got two daggers and her miniature quiver that was filled with knives. She slung the quiver over her shoulder and grabbed the two sacks that were laying there and her ax. She hurried over to where Kalvin was standing and they motioned to Janelai before leaving into the forest.
They trotted for a few minutes before Ari motioned for them to stop. The silence was uncanny but she slowly turned her head to listen from all directions. She reached into her quiver and in a split second pinned the head of a rabbit that had unfortunately jumped out in front of them.
She smiled at Kalvin and put a thumb up but he scoffed reminding her how many times he had to save her from monsters before. They continued on their journey towards their goal, catching a Riok. It was a swamp monster, 7 feet tall, with a bone-chilling smile and a large tail. Depending on the amount of light that got to the swamp, the Riok's color would change to match its ecosystem. Despite its appearance, the meat of Rioks are extraordinarily sweet since they don't have many natural predators and in turn have many options for prey. But they are extremely hard to catch because of their born speed.
After about an hour of walking, they arrived at the swamp area. They began making preparations because Rioks don't usually attack unless hungry or aggravated. Ari went around and stuck 30 knives into nearby trees and her ax into the farthest one away from the swamp.
"Your planning on doing this alone?"
"Yes". Ari replied as she held her last two knives in her hand and handed her quiver over to Kalvin.
"If you were planning on doing that then why didn't you bring doggo with you"?
"I'm doing it alone"
"Have it your way then, not taking responsibility if you die though." He said as he left to get a place where he could assist in the event that she was in trouble.
Ari ran into the swamp and screamed. In turn, a Riok shrieked back. Ari began running as the ground began thumping, the head of the riok emerged out of the marshes, and upon seeing its challenger it chased it. Ari took to the trees and jumped onto the Riok stabbing it with her knives. The riok shrieked in pain and Ari jumped off heading for the trap that she said, often called the Grave of Knives. The riok set chase but was impaled by a knife every few seconds. Ari kept throwing them and the riok began to slow down with blood gushing out from various places. She finally arrived at her ax. The riok was blowing but excited that its prey finally stopped. It lunged at Ari in an attempt to eat her in one go but Ari grabbed her ax and with a wide smile jumped and stuck it deep into the riok's head. The blue blood of the riok drenched her as its lifeless body fell to the ground along with its head. She faced Kalvin who was standing in a tree nearby and smiled giving him a thumbs up. He stared and couldn't help but wonder if the old man was right about her.