"Alright, Kana!" Lysairth spoke loudly, making sure she had Kana's attention.
"Yes!" Kana stood on her hind legs, her right paw gripping a dead tri-legged pigeon.
"It is good that you were able to catch some food, but not all prey will do such a stupid thing and attack their attacker. To be honest, I think this bird has as many screws loose as you do." Lysairth let out a long sigh. She knew that before they continued making their way out of the forest that she needed to teach Kana some common sense. "Alright, first, let's start with preparing a meal."
Kana's eyes went wide, hearing she could eat, making her completely ignore the fact that Lysairth had just taken a dig at her. Her past life was nothing but struggles to get food. Now she had a whole fat bird to herself that she could eat to her heart's content! "I am all ears! Wait, do I have ears?"
"Silly girl, take a look at yourself in the water over there." Lysairth chuckled.
Kana did as she was told and leaned over the edge and what she saw made her smile. "Hehe, I am pretty cute." She had a short snout and chubby cheeks. Her black horns sat nicely on top of her head and accented her red body very well. But it was her reddish-golden eyes that really caught her eye. They looked like jewels that glittered in the sunlight.
"It is good that you know how cute you are. Now come on, let's prepare this bird for dinner." Lysairth found Kana's innocent smile very cute. Out of all the dragon babies she had seen, Kana was by far the cutest of them all.
"So what do I do first?" Kana asked.
"Using your claws, run them along the body of the bird from the neck to the base of its tail. It should strip the feathers off cleanly. You can do the same to the head if you plan to eat it as well. Do this for its entire body." Lysairth continued to explain how to prepare the bird, and Kana listened carefully, doing everything one step at a time. "Now that we have it set up, you have a choice. You can roast it with everything inside it or empty out its organs and toss them away. But by doing so, you will lose a lot of nutrients."
"I will just cook it as is. So how do I cook it?" By this time, knowing she could eat soon, Kana was already drooling.
"That is simple. First, we gather some branches and make a fire using just a small spit of fire from your baby breath. Then we will take two branches that have a 'v' shape at its end, and with a long stick shoved through the bird; we will begin roasting it." Lysairth wondered just how hungry Kana was because her eyes were open wide, and she was salivating nonstop. If she knew that Kana had grown up having to fight for food every day and never actually eating her fill, she would probably end up crying for Kana's sake.
After almost an hour of roasting, Kana finally got to take her first bite of fresh food. Something she had not had in a long, long time. The juices of the tri-footed pigeon filled her mouth, causing her tastebuds to scream out in joy. She held the whole bird in her paws as she ate slow. She did not have to eat slow, but she wanted to savor each and every bite she took. Even when her little belly started to feel full, she continued eating, afraid of wasting a single bite. She left nothing. She ate the entire bird from head to tail, bones, and all. When it was all gone, Kana laid on her back and let out a satisfied burp as she patted her stomach.
"Was it good?" Lysairth asked. She had stayed quiet the entire time to allow Kana to enjoy her meal.
"Mmm.. the best meal I ever had..." Tears slowly began to well up in her eyes. As she thought back to all the times, she wished she could have filled her belly this full in her past life.
"Kana?" Lysairth could tell Kana was crying and instantly became concerned.
"Lysairth… Thank you for teaching me how to cook that." Kana, at the time, was ready to eat it raw, feathers and all. She was glad she waited and had Lysairth teach her how to cook it.
"Why the sudden thanks? We are a team, are we not?" Lysairth smiled. She felt Kana was a very good girl. Although she lacked common sense and did things in a crazy manner without thinking first, she was a good girl.
"Mmm… Lysairth is like a mom… Hehe..." Kana mumbled. Her eyes started to become heavy, and soon she was fast asleep.
"What am I going to do with this girl… but still a mom, huh? I guess I never did have children of my own. And me raising you up would be the same thing a mother would do, so I guess your words are not wrong. But starting tomorrow, you will be undergoing some strict training. You really need to learn to survive and how to handle certain situations." Lysairth liked being called mom. It filled her with a new kind of warmth. Although she had never thought about it before, she wouldn't mind if Kana was her daughter.
---
At the forest entrance, a group of five teenage humans around sixteen to seventeen years of age stood all dressed in different kinds of clothes. One of the males had a sword and shield and wore heavy armor. Another of the males wore light leather armor and had a broadsword on their back. Then there was a girl who wore leather armor and had a quill and bow strapped to her back. Next to her was a second female who wore robes and a wide brim hat with a tall tip and carried a staff. And lastly, with a book in her hand was the final member, also female with white robes and looked as if she came from a church.
"Ray, are you sure we can handle this quest?" The female with the bow on her back asked.
"As long as we are careful, we should be able to pull it off. With Thane in the lead and me keeping any adds off your backs, we should be fine. Ceilie, you really worry too much." Ray Looked at the girl with a bow and smiled brightly. His smile was like the sun with how handsome he was any girl would fall for him. Unfortunately, Ceilie was not one of those girls.
"Save it for when you actually pull your weight. All you got going for you is that smile of yours."