"It's… Seafood time!"
"Lucian!?"
A loud gasp escaped Rosa's lips as she saw Lucian just slithering away toward the lake where the monster was freely swimming around, " Come back, please! You… you can't actually be seriously thinking of going into the water!? It'll kill you!"
"Kill me…?" Lucian glanced back with a sinister smile on his face, "Do you really think that a giant catfish monster, can defeat a mutated sperm like me?"
"Well…"
"I am the best swimmer in the entire ecosystem!" And with those words, Lucian just leaped and dove into the lake, causing a small plop to whisper in the air as the water barely rippled when he hit it.
"..."
"..."
And with him gone, an awkward silence started to veil the air as the almost naked Murcan and the completely naked Hestians were left all alone there. Rosa glared at Hawk as soon as he looked at her, pointing the wand toward him.
"Don't…" Adelfred, however, just quickly grabbed Rosa's hand and lowered it, "...He is already defeated, my love. We will be no better than monsters if we treat our fallen enemies with hate."
"That…" Rosa just glanced at Adelfred before nodding and looking away.
"...I am not going to say thank you," Hawk breathed out as he looked at Adelfred.
"I wasn't doing it for gratitude, Hawk," Adelfred smiled, and Hawk could not help but just squint his eyes from how much Adelfred seemed to be glowing due to the sun shining on his back.
"Seafood!" And after a few more seconds, the giant eel and Lucian emerged from the lake — with the eel still struggling before Lucian just pierced through its brains as soon as they were on land,
"Rosa, prepare the fire…
…tonight, we feast!"
***
"Technically, won't this be lakefood instead of seafood?"
"Stop saying such nonsense and just eat, Woman."
"I'm just telling you that you can be wrong sometimes."
"You know what's wrong? Your face."
"...Lucian."
Rosa didn't really know what she was thinking about having this kind of conversation with Lucian — but then again, she also didn't really know when she became this comfortable with him. Never in her life did she think she would be having a conversation with a weird creature the size of a thumb.
"You know, Lucian…" Rosa looked at the large, still-smoking lump of fresh food on her hands, "...I think Adelfred and I would have already long been dead if we hadn't met you."
"That's true," Lucian just shrugged; his stomach growing bigger and bigger with each bite.
"What were the odds that a bird would just fly you hundreds of miles… and then bring you to that exact plateau where we were?" Rosa smiled, "It's just…
…I'm really glad that it happened. Thank you, Lucian… thank you."
"Ack, why are you crying?" Lucian waved his hand, "Can you stop being so dramatic every time you eat? You already said this 2 days ago, and the night before that!"
"It's just that…" Rosa sniffled as she took a bite of the fish, "...I'm just so happy to be alive."
"Yeah, you wouldn't be saying that if we were eating trash," Lucian sighed and rolled his eyes, "You should thank Adelfred for having the skill of turning everything into a seasoning. I swear — all of his magic is just to improve quality of life."
"Of course…" Rosa then turned to look at Adelfred, who was approaching Hawk who was slightly shivering since he wasn't wearing anything at all, "...I will be forever thankful for him too."
"Can I join you?" As for Adelfred, he limped toward Hawk with a smile on his face.
"That—"
Truthfully, Hawk would be lying if he said he wasn't hungry—no, he was severely famished. And it did not help that the smell of the grilled fish was violently penetrating through his nose, and the fact that Lucian and the others were eating in front of him.
He thought he would have to suffer through the night, but not at all…
…as Adelfred sat in front of him with a grilled fish in hand.
"I am going to feed you, okay?" The smile on Adelfred's face did not wither away at all, "I'm sorry we can't untie your hands, I hope you understand why. But that doesn't mean I am going to let you starve. So, please…
…don't bite me, okay?"
"Wh—" Hawk quickly looked at Lucian, only to see him not heeding them any mind at all. As for Rosa, she was just glaring at them; almost as if threatening to burn him if he even does something strange.
"I grilled this myself, it would be a shame if it goes to waste," Adelfred sighed, but his smile did not fade away at all, "...So please, open your fucking mouth and stop wasting food."
And as soon as Hawk said that, he just quickly opened his mouth and started eating.
"It's good, right?" Adelfred chuckled and winked, "I put a little seasoning on it that I found near the lake."
"It's… good," Hawk could really only lower his head as he tried to stop the tears from falling. He was a trained soldier, but the emotions that night were just running too high, "Thank you, Adelfred. To show compassion to your enemy, it is something that all of us should—"
"Kheugh!"
"Adelfred!?" Hawk could not help but just lean back as Adelfred just suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, "Something's happening to him! Help…
…help him!"
"Adelfred!"
Adelfred groveled on the ground as all sorts of liquid just escaped his mouth, mixing along with his blood.
"Guegh…" And soon, Adelfred started to choke on his own vomit; blood, now profusely dripping from his eyes and nose.
"No, no…" Rosa just quickly rushed toward Adelfred, but the only thing she could really do was place her hand on his back; patting it several times helplessly, "No… Adelfred… please… please…"
"He's…" Hawk's eyes just trembled as he stared at this sight — these two were from an enemy nation, and yet he could not help but just grit his teeth as the scenery unfolded in front of him. He had always been told that the Hestians were cold-blooded enemies that would kill them on sight, and that's true.
He had lost so many brothers and sisters from them, and yet… with the few hours he had spent with these people, he could see no difference between them at all. They were just… people.
"Tch…" Hawk was going to look away, but then just clicked his tongue as his eyes once again strayed toward the two lovers, "My blood…
…my blood has anti-radiation properties! We developed our blood to prevent these kinds of attacks. It… it won't cure him or take away his radiation, but it will extend—"
"Shut up! Just shut up!" Rosa screamed as she started shaking her head, "This is… this is all your fault, your people are… they are… your blood is corrupted! I won't… Adelfred…"
"He is going to die in less than an hour if you don't do this!" Hawk also screamed, "If you want him to live to see tomorrow, my blood is the only way! There's a blood transfusion kit in one of the things you took. Do it, now! Rosa!"
"Your blood is… corrupted…" Rosa closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. But as she felt Adelfred trembling on her hand, she could not help but just look Hawk in the eyes,
"...Where is it?"