Return of the General's Daughter-Chapter 191: The Circle Of Life

"Girl, I am hungry. Are you sure you don’t want to help them? It might take more than thirty minutes for them to catch enough for us." Jethru grumbled. He nudged Lara, who reluctantly stood and headed to the stream.

"Sis, look. I managed to catch one." Gideon blurted out excitedly, raising a wooden spear with a fish at the end. With a smug smile on his face, he looked at Percival, who missed all of the fish he targeted. Even Abel and Barett have already caught one each.

Bener fared better. He caught four. He was part of the elite eagle team after all.

"Weren’t you trained in handling spears before?" Lara asked, curious as she was aware that all the Norse siblings had been trained in various kinds of weapons as early as six.

Percival’s face flushed with shame. Indeed, they were trained, but because Peridur loved to read books, he was dragged along, and they spent less time training. Additionally, the fish as really quite small and agile.

Lara took out two of the arrows from her quiver, holding one arrow in each hand. She leaped and landed on a protruding rock in the middle of the stream.

Splash!

Splash!

When Lara lifted the arrows, a total of four fish were caught, two on each arrow.

Percival’s jaw dropped at the same time his grip on his spear loosened, and it fell into the water.

Bener was not surprised at all. He was fully aware of his sister’s capabilities.

"You are awesome, cousin. How did you do that?" Abel asked, his eyes beaming with admiration.

Before Lara could answer, they heard the sound of splashing water.

Splash! Splash!

"I also caught four!" Aramis grinned as he raised both spears in the air, the fish still wriggling at the tip.

"But your spear is longer. Cousin Lara used her arrows." Barett commented innocently.

Lara chuckled. She passed the fish to Aramis and asked him to grill them.

The gloomy Percival picked up his spear and tried hard to catch one. It was only after Lara gave him tips that he finally succeeded.

...

After breakfast, they continued their journey, moving deeper and deeper into the jungle. freēwēbnovel.com

Suddenly, Jethru gestured for them to stop.

At a distance, they heard howling and growling.

Jethru and Lara looked at each other. They sensed danger.

Bener also felt it, and he unsheathed his sword.

Growl!

Lara’s heart skipped a bit. Her gaze bore into that of his master’s. The howl sounded oddly familiar.

She and Jethru moved in that direction.

"Stay behind. Bener, watch over them. Be ready to climb a tree if you see animals coming your way." It was Jethru who gave out the instruction, and Bener could only stay.

He examined the surrounding area and looked among the trees to ensure no snakes were hiding in them.

Gideon and Percival also took out their sword. Abel did not hesitate and followed suit. He asked Barett to draw his sword and be prepared.

When their father returned from the war, he spent some time teaching them the basics of swordsmanship. They used wooden swords. It was not enough, but it was better than knowing nothing.

The howls and growls grew fiercer, and Bener became worried.

"Brother, why do you think Grandpa Jethru and Lara went in that direction?" Gideon asked, his grip on his sword getting tighter. "Shouldn’t we be running away from wild animals when they are fighting?"

"They should have their reasons," Bener replied, his voice steady. "Be alert." He instructed them.

After some time, the howling became distant, until they could no longer hear it.

"Let us follow them there."

Bener led the four teenagers in the direction where Jethru and Lara disappeared. It did not take long for them to arrive at a clearing.

They gaped at the sight before them.

At least three wolves were dead at different locations. In one, a huge chunk of the flesh was missing from its back.

"Bener, help me move the carcass a little farther away. The smell of blood might attract other animals."

Jethru had already moved the carcass nearest to them. He lifted it without difficulty. He disappeared behind the bushes, and after a few minutes, he was back.

Bener and Abel carried the other carcasses and threw them a few meters away. Gideon and Percival took care of the remaining one.

Lara, on the other hand, was busy trying to stop the bleeding of one of the wolves. It was bitten at the neck while the other one was bitten at the back.

"Grey, you have to hold on," Lala murmured as she applied a medicinal paste to the back of the whimpering wolf.

Then she shifted her attention to the second wolf. Lara knew that her life was ebbing away. When her gaze landed on her belly, she realized she was pregnant and in labor but didn’t have the strength to push her babies out.

Grey whimpered.

The dying wolf’s amber eyes bore into Lara’s. The black pupils dilated as if she was begging her to save her cubs. Then the pupils constricted and disappeared when she closed her eyes.

She stopped breathing.

Lara flipped the wolf so its belly was facing her. She placed her hand over the wolf’s belly, tyring to feel where the babies were.

She took her knife, the one Alaric had gifted her on her birthday. With a steady and practiced ease, she cut open the wolf’s abdomen. Then, with her bare hands, she took out two pups from the mother’s womb one by one.

Grey whimpered weakly.

Lara looked at him and the small pups cradled in her hands. "These are yours, Grey?"

The wolf whimpered and tried to move its body, but it was too weak. Lara placed the pups near its nose. Grey whimpered once more and breathed his last.

"Grandpa," Lara’s voice trembled. While she had saved Grey a few times, the wolf had also saved her life.

"Grey was more than four years old. That’s a long life for a wild wolf in this mountain." He took a bamboo tube from his backpack (Lara had given him one and he loved it), and Lara rinsed her hands with water.

"We need to move," Jethru spoke with urgency. He could already hear growls coming their way.

"Grandpa, can I have the fur of Grey?"

Jethru sighed. Lara was calling him grandpa and not master. Right now, she was a vulnerable young girl affected by the death of a pet.

Jethru moved quickly and skinned Grey while the rest watched, still unable to absorb what had just happened.

Lara passed the two pups to Barett, who was surprised but still accepted them, holding them in his hands as if they were something fragile.

She turned around and asked her brothers to dig a pit for the two wolves.

Then she crouched down beside Grey’s mate and skilfully removed the skin just like Jethru did.

Before they left the place, they buried the two animals. Lara and Jethru placed wild flowers over the mound and said their silent goodbyes, while each held a newborn pup in their hands.