Chapter Text
It was a warm night in Macedon. The sun had set already, but the Archanean League’s camp was still very much alive with activity as people set up their tents and stowed away their armor and weapons for the night. Multiple fires had already been lit around the clearing, and people were beginning to gather around them, preparing their meager rations for dinner.
“This…” Athena trailed off, picking at a piece of dried meat on her plate with disgust and confusion on her face, “this does not agree vith us.”
Etzel groaned softly from his seat across the fire. He had given up on his own hard chunk of meat, which was now impaled on a small stick that he was turning over the flames with bored hands. Horace put his plate on the ground in favor of a cup of water, slightly warmed by the heat of the fire. It tasted like grass and dust, but beggars couldn’t afford to be choosers. It had been weeks since the League has passed through a friendly village to resupply, and the army was running low on positively everything. Seasoned soldiers were back to using iron weapons instead of silver ones, and clerics were resorting to stitching and bandaging instead of healing staves. Marth had assured everyone that this situation was temporary and that they would be arriving back to civilization soon, but soon couldn’t come fast enough.
“Ve vill hunt. Come! Get your veapons,” Athena said to the two men, tossing her metal plate to the side and standing.
Etzel answered her summons with a dull, tired stare, his rations finally disintegrating into the fire below.
“With all due respect Miss Athena…” Horace began, as Athena put her hands on her hips, “Now isn’t the time to go chasing bears through the countryside. Marth told us to stay within the camp boundaries and besides, we’re not… accustomed to hunting.”
Being a noble, Horace had never had to hunt for himself before. In fact, he was still grasping at the basics of cooking. Etzel was a scholar from a village, used to purchasing and haggling for food, but never killing the animals himself.
Athena scoffed, turning away from the fire, presumably to fetch her sword and go alone. Without looking up from his mug of dirty water, Horace reached behind him, catching her sleeve and pulling her back towards the fire.
“The prince will be furious if you break a weapon while outside of battle. Just sit down.”
“Ha!” Athena allowed herself to be redirected back towards one of the logs that they were all using as makeshift chairs, “Manchild? Angry? Ve think that’s unlikely. He vill just be disappointed, and ve can live vith that.”
“I certainly don’t have tomes or energy to spare,” Etzel said, chin resting on his hand. His face was positively covered in small scrapes and scratches; the result of not disarming a wind mage fast enough.
“Food gives energy, ve are understanding,” Athena said, sitting and crossing her arms.
“Only if you manage to catch it. Like I said, we’re really in no condition to do much of anything right now,” Horace let go of Athena’s arm, satisfied that she probably wouldn rush off to do something rash.
“Mmm? Tomorrow then we hunt. Ve vill test your bow arm, good general.”
Horace groaned under his breath. Despite his training as a general, his bow arm left much to be desired.They sat in silence for a few minutes, poking the fire and throwing the remains of their meals into the flames. Soon, the sound of heavy footsteps in their direction caught Athena’s attention, and she leaned around Horace to catch a look at the nearby tree line. A massive, lumbering form soon emerged from the underbrush, a dark mass slung over one shoulder.
“Ah! The large man can leave but ve cannot?”
Ymir made his way over to the small group, looking down at the collection of dirty faces illuminated by the fire. Somehow, he had avoided the grime and dismay that was plaguing the rest of the army, and his eyes were as bright as ever.
“Saw some of the little ones complaining about the food so I figured I’d get something better for ‘em,” Ymir said, holding up several rabbits in one massive hand.
“Got this too!” He heaved a massive deer carcass off is shoulder and onto Etzel’s log, making the smaller man squeak in surprise. “You can all have some too, lemme just get the kiddies their food…”
The man sidled off towards the center of camp, leaving the rest of them alone with the dead deer.
“Vell then. Maybe good ve stayed.”
Etzel inched away from the carcass.
In a short while, the footsteps were back, louder in the growing quiet of the camp. All the soldiers were beginning to turn in for the night, and the only sounds that could be heard came from the forest beyond.
“Sorry for the wait,” Ymir said, rolling the deer off the log and onto the grass, much to Etzel’s relief.
“Is little problem, but you are needing help?” Athena asked, watching as Ymir pulled several short hunting knives from his satchel.
“Uh… yea, here,” he handed a knife to each of them, and then paused, and took the knife back from Etzel, who was clearly too tired to be trusted with sharp objects. “Maybe you should just… wait.”
Etzel nodded and slid down the log, sitting on the ground near the fire.
“You two though, you know how to prepare deer?”
Horace shook his head and Athena hummed.
“Ve have made rabbit before…”
“Alright then, roll up your sleeves and let’s get to work. I’ll show you how it’s done. Gonna wanna watch out for the blood though.”
Athena grunted and tossed her battle coat onto the log while Horace removed his waistcoat and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. The three of them gathered around the deer while Etzel looked on in mild interest.
“Now…” Ymir surveyed the animal like a tactician studying a battlefield, “I’ll take the skin off, and then you two can get to work on the meat. Horace, you separate it into chunks, and then Athena can salt what we’re gonna save for later. While you’re doing that, I can see about doing something with the hide…”
The large man knelt down and in several clean swipes, skinned the deer with practiced ease. Horace picked the deer apart like a vulture, removing anything that looked remotely like muscle with a disgusted look on his face.
“You are sick? Ve have seen you gut men alive before, a little animal makes you so pale?” Athena laughed from her perch on the log, pausing her salting duties for a moment.
“Killing on the battlefield is much less… visceral than this is,” Horace said, unconsciously flinching as a particularly stringy bit of muscle stuck to his forearm.
“Ha! In wilderness, you would not last at all.” Athena said, skewering some ot the meat and handing it to Etzel, who held it over the fire.
“I’ve never really had to do this before, I’ll get better with practice,” Horace said defensively, trying not to squirm as his hand touched something slimy.
“Not if you're holding the knife like that, you aren’t,” Ymir said, laying the deer’s hide out to dry and kneeling down next to the other man. One of his massive hands wrapped around Horace’s wrist, the other one taking the knife. Next to the Ymir, Horace, who was by no means a small man, looked like a child.
“Here, like this,” Ymir said, pulling Horace’s wrist closer and placing the knife in his hand, correctly this time. Horace cut into the animal again, and this time the muscle separated much more cleanly.
“There we go, now you’ve got the hang of it!” The warrior slapped Horace on the back, knocking the air out of his lungs.
The general didn’t realize how hot his face felt until the other man stood back up to check on the cooking meat. The heat from the fire must be throwing him off.
The group continued to work until the deer was completely carved and prepared, exchanging conversation over the fire. The meal was by no means a feast, but it was far better than the meat that they had been given before. The camp was dead silent by the time they were finished, and the fire was burned down to mere embers.
“Vell, ve are going to turn in for night. Thank you for food,” Athena said with a yawn, standing and stretching.
“I should be going too then… We aren’t marching for another day but… gods it’s late,” Etzel said, dumping his dirty water over the smouldering flames and standing. Together he and Athena retreated back into the sea of tents.
“Mind helping me move all this before heading back?”Ymir said, motioning to the small pile of drying meat and fur.
“Of course not, where are we putting it?”
“I’m just gonna put it in the convoy… Leave it for everyone else to pick on. I prefer to hunt fresh anyways,” he grunted, hoisting the unusable remains of the dear back onto his shoulder, presumably to be disposed of.
Horace moved the remaining food onto the hide, tying it into a makeshift bag. Grabbing his own things in one hand and the slightly soggy package in the other, he followed Ymir into the camp towards the storage tent.
“So, didn’t think about hunting your own?” Ymir asked as Horace trotted next to him. The larger man may have slowed to a relaxed pace, but the other was still struggling to keep up
“Athena suggested it, but I can’t say I’d know what to do…”
“I’ve seen you with a bow before, it can’t be that hard to figure out what to do!”
“I’ll be the first to admit that I favor my lance over my bow any day.”
“Do you want me to help you?”
“Help me?”
“Yea, you know, trainin’ and all that. I’m no super sniper like Sir Jeorge but,” Ymir reached his free hand up to pat the deer’s flank, “I can hit things.”
“So you can, so you can…” Horace said softly, looking up at the scruffy man, who beamed. He was barely visible in the dim light of the moon, but the offer seemed to be genuine, if the man’s expression was anything to go by. Horace averted his eyes to his shoes, not wanting to stare.
“I’d be willing to take some… instruction from a seasoned hunter. Who knows how much longer we’ll be marching anyways,” he said. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t ask Jeorge, but he still didn’t quite feel at home around the other Archanean nobles yet. His debt to the princess wasn’t completely paid, especially since she had been kidnapped. Besides, Ymir seemed nice.
Horace ignored the strange feeling he got in his chest at that last thought. He was tired anyways.
“Okay, here’s the convoy, just put the whole thing near the rest of the food and I’m sure the others will figure it out,” Ymir said, holding the tent flap open. “Whew… looks like a hurricane tore through here!”
Horace stepped carefully over the remains of a vulnerary bottle and placed the meat and hide on a small table nearby.
“Perhaps someone had too much to drink, since we’re going to be here for a day or two. No need to worry about hangovers.” Horace said, picking his way back across the tent.
“Maybe. I don’t blame them honestly, it’s been a while since we’ve had the chance to relax.”
“So true. Well, I’m gonna go put this somewhere where we won’t be able to smell it. Have a good night then Sir,” Ymir waved to Horace and retreated towards the tree line.
“You too, I’ll let you know when I’m available to practice…”
And then Ymir’s massive form was swallowed by the darkness, and Horace was alone.