Chapter 05

I grabbed my beaten copper mug and filled it with fresh water from a barrel. Before returning to Thrush, who hadn’t moved an inch, I paused at the threshold.

Should I bring my axe?

It was enough of a pause to consider the implications of approaching Thrush with my axe in hand. I didn’t want him to feel threatened by me. On the other hand, I didn’t want to die. There would one day be a time for that and today was not a day for dying.

Besides, I have fish to bake and share.

So it was settled in my mind. I approached Thrush, slowing as I neared. Then I offered him the mug of water which he took without breaking eye contact with me.

Being so close, I could really take the beast in. He was such an odd creature. His fur was mostly a reddish brown. There were streaks of gray and his coat was speckled with silver tips.

But his eyes…

The eyes were a deeply tarnished gold, if spheres of fresh moss could be dipped in gold. There were flecks of silver in them now that I hadn’t noticed before. I hadn’t been this close before which would account for that.

A snowflake fell onto his right eye, but Thrush remained unblinking. It simply melted.

“Thank you Hawkin,” Thrush said.

He tilted his head back, opened his maw, and dumped the water to the back of his throat. His eyes never left me. His teeth were dagger sharp and finger round. How the multitude of teeth were comfortable was beyond me. Thrush returned the mug to me, and we were left standing silently together, mere feet apart.

Snow fell between us.

Thrush watched me. His eyes performed this odd pumping action. They throbbed and pumped in place. It was almost imperceptible, and seemed to me a similar behavior to a cat’s purring or something.

“We still have a few hours to wait until the fish is done,” I said. “It’s on a low flame with some good wood for smoking.”

“Smoking?” Thrush asked.

“For flavor.”

“Otherwise I can stoke the fire and have fish ready in a few minutes.”

“I’ll wait for the flavor.”

I glanced over at the snow covered logs by the fire pit, thinking of inviting Thrush to sit outside. Should I build a fire for us in the meantime when being inside might be better?

We could warm up, have some tea maybe. Talk.

The idea of talking with Thrush excited me. I hadn’t spoken to anyone in quite a long time. I had a feeling that talking with this beast would be much more interesting than talking to a human.

“Come inside,” I said. “We can warm up by the stove and get comfortable while we wait.”

Thrush tilted his head and smiled. His smile was eerie and flesh peeling. His eyes made him seem maniacal.

“You’re inviting me inside? Even though you clearly fear me,” Thrush said.

“For good reason,” I said. “You fear me too, I imagine.”

“No Hawkin. I don’t fear things. Things fear me. That is the way of my kind.”

This would be one of those times where a quest screen would have popped up asking if I’d like to either rescind the invite, or survive the encounter. I’d be offered some dumb reward, and I’d be plunged into the world of adventuring. Thank the gods I kept my system disabled.

No reason for me ever to quest again. Nope. Never again.

“All creatures fear something,” I said.

“Yes. Me,” Thrush said.

I couldn’t help but laugh. Thrush laughed with me and the sound wasn’t too unpleasant. It was more of a harsh regurgitation, but sort of passed as a laugh. If it wasn’t for the mirth in his eyes, I’d probably have considered rescinding the invitation.

The laughter put me at ease a bit and I turned my back once more to the beast and led him to my cabin. I offered him the chair to sit on across from the stove, and fetched him some more water. He was a thirsty beast.

I checked the bed of embers in the stove and poked about to lower the temperature a bit more. The fish was going to be dry regardless, but the more moisture I could keep during the smoking, the more the smoke would stick.

Thrush watched my every move, not with fascination per say, but interest. Just plain interest. He didn’t have much to say and the stove often absorbed most of his attention.

“Would you like a blanket?” I asked, clutching a drape of bedding and offering it to him.

“Why do you offer me things?” Thrush asked.

“Well, to be honest, I’d like to make sure you're comfortable. There are some things I have an abundance of and if I can share, then it makes me happy to share. I have extra blankets.”

“It makes you happy to share. What makes me happy? I like biting into big fish. The crunch makes me happy.”

“You really love fish.”

“Some fish travel alone. I like eating those fish. The hunt makes me happy.”

“How big are we talking?” I asked.

“Sometimes as large as Orc ships.”

As large as Orc Ships!

“I appreciate that you brought me a ton of small ones instead,” I said.

Thrush smiled and leaned back to gaze at the glow from the stove. I’d left the front door ajar and curls of snowflakes came in every now and then while we waited in silence. At some point my gut told me it might be time to check on things.

“I’m going to scoot right between you and the stove so I can check on the fish alright?”

“I’m not going to eat you, Hawkin. I want to, but I won’t.”

“How long have you been wanting to eat me?” I said, moving over to the stove and crouching down. I pulled out one of the fillets and crushed the meat near the tail between two fingers. Then I tasted the fish.

The smoke was collecting and might have been enough for most people. I preferred a deep and stinky smoked fish, which was why I smoked for quite a long time.

I wonder what Thrush would prefer.

I turned to him and was startled to find that he had leaned down to watch me work. Up close, it seemed that one eye was the size of my whole head. The detail in his spongy irises were so deep and layered that it was nightmarish. Up close, they seemed to pump as though they were hearts.

“Here,” I said, pinching off some smoked meat from the same fillet. “Try this and tell me what you think.”

Thrush simply threw the bit of fish to the back of his throat. Didn’t even swallow. It just disappeared there. His great eyelids traveled down over his eyes to perform a blink. They made a small dew drop sound before coming back up again. Then his eyes throbbed and pulsed out of sync with each other for a few seconds.

“I taste the smoke,” Thrush said with absolute delight.

“Well, what do you think?”

“My system is processing. The smoke is from the wood. The wood is oak.”

“From a tree I cut over yonder,” I said, gesturing over his shoulder.

“What happens if we wait for more smoke?” he said.

“We get more smoke. However we also risk getting fish that’s too dry.”

“I’m hungry, Hawkin.”

“Yea let’s get you some of this fish.”

I brought out a plate and stacked it full of all the fish we’d been smoking. Then I stuffed the stove full of wood and set the plate on the table between us. Then I spent a few minutes rearranging down in the cellar so I could bring up a small five gallon barrel to sit on, since Thrush occupied my only chair.

Thrush delighted in the smoked fish. We watched each other in sort of mutual wonderment as we ate. I wondered about Thrush. Some of the things he’d said.

He doesn’t get cold. Things fear him. Eats giant fish for pleasure. Surely he can't be a god? I’ve seen gods before when I’d used a Fable stone. Thrush doesn’t seem like he’s a god.

“I can tell you’re thinking,” Thrush said, taking his time to eat, copying the way I pinched the meat from between the bones of the fish.

“I’m considering whether you're a god.”

“I’m just Thrush,” he said, then asked for some water which I happily shared between us. “Thank you for sharing your food, Hawkin. I had hoped you wouldn’t disappoint me.”

“You’ve been thinking about approaching me for a few days now?”

“Or eating you.”

“Why? Why come near me? You have bigger fish to fry for supper, and do you live in these woods? Somewhere around here?”

“I live wherever I am.”

“There’s not a lot of monsters or humans that pass through here. I figured I’d have seen you years ago. I’ve been here for a decade exactly now.”

“I’m here now.”

“For how long?”

“Until I’ve had my fill of smoked fish.”

Hahahaha!