My birthday arrived. I debated myself, whether I should tell Nick or not. Ultimately, I didn't. There was no need for celebration, as this would bring me no improvements. It would be a waste of time. Me and the turtle got along quite well, it seemed really attached to me. The training we did with Nick also progressed nicely. I was able to fight against five puppets already, but my aim was still not the best. With too many opponents, I got distracted often times. This would result in Nick saying "You are dead". I heard that phrase so many times, I was sick of it. I persisted though. It was the only thing I could do in such case. My ability to copy someone else's mood, improved as well. In one second, I could pose as a farmer, the next second as a lumberjack. I lived with those people long enough, I could mimic them with my eyes closed. Besides that, I had fourteen daggers in my possession already. Each week, I had enough materials to make two daggers. Nick also gave me some hints, how to improve my finger flexibility. He provided me with a few special stones, and told me to play with them. I was supposed to rotate and move them using each of my hand separately. He was quite surprised, when I told him I was both handed. I could write, draw and do things with both hands. I had no specific preference. It was something I always had, but never thought it was actually that useful. He also told me how to train my concentration better. The exercise he showed, tested my focus and ability to multitask. All I had to do, was draw one shape with one hand, and a different shape with the other. It wasn't easy though. Slight distraction, and one of my hands would stop. Other than that, I could perfectly draw a circle, but a square was all over the place. He told me to practice that as much as I can. After my birthday, which we never celebrated, the wedding day was approaching in huge steps. The whole village was in a festive mood. After all, the wedding would take place in a few days. There would be a great feast for all the villager, and this time including me. It wouldn't look good, if the second blacksmith in the village, was not invited. Although these people still thought lowly of me, their attitude changed quite a bit. 'Not that it makes any difference. All of them will pay anyway' I thought. As for the wedding ceremony itself, only a few people would go. They had to deliver the dowry, and Rand selected a few guest that would accompany him. Blacksmith Grond, the Lumberjack... Jack, Nick as well as few other people. When Nick told me that, I was a bit surprised that the sword guy was not invited. 'Is it to make sure I don't escape? Doesn't matter, I can deal with him' I thought. Although I was not invited, that didn't mean I wouldn't come as well. Rand opted for smooth travel, and would use the forest road between the villages. I on the other hand would stay off the route, and travel in a straight line to the Grasshill Village. Nick provided me with a small map already, and even my home village was on that map. I didn't miss my home village, there was nothing to miss anyway. That place was all about bad memories, and I didn't want to return there. According to the map, It would take me three days of travel. That was in straight line. While Rand and others, would use horses and travel for three days as well. 'This will be close. I need to leave shortly after they do. I have to make it before them. I'm sure Nick will slow them down, and they will make more rests. Even so, I have three days to get to the Grasshill Village' I thought. That evening, the feast was fantastic actually. I ate to my heart content, but didn't really drink any alcohol. 'I had enough of that for my life' I thought. People stared at me once in a while, because my appetite was really enormous. Since I could eat such good food, I took the opportunity and ate as much as I could. The next day. Rand and others began their journey early in the morning. I prepared in my house, but noticed the turtle sticking to me. I said, "I'm leaving for a few days. I will drop you at the river, and you can wait there for me. It's better if you stay there, I don't want the villagers to hunt you down while I'm absent". The turtle didn't seem to like the idea, and bit my pants while pulling at them. "Don't worry, I will return in a few days". The turtle wasn't having any of that, and still pulled on my trousers. I asked dumbfounded, "You want to go with me?". To which the turtle nodded. 'I feel a headache coming...' I thought. "I can't take you with me. I need to run very quickly towards the other village. If I'm too slow, I will miss it. Carrying you all the way, would be too exhausting. Besides, I can't just enter the Grasshill Village with a turtle trailing behind me. I can't be found out. Just wait at the river, and I will be back in a few days. Alright?". It shook its head, and then made a few "Mah" noises. Then it slowly walked around, until it got faster, and faster...The sight was unbelievable. 'What kind of turtle is so fast? Wasn't a turtle the best definition of slow?' I asked myself. I stood there bewildered, looking at the turtle that ran so fast, it was actually faster than the villagers. It stopped suddenly, and made more "Mah" noises. I grabbed the bridge of my nose, and said "Fine, come with me". I gave up at that point. The turtle was really determined to follow me. But then I realised something. 'I didn't give it name yet. I just call it turtle or "it". Giving it a name, wouldn't be such a bad idea' I thought and asked. "I forgot about it, but how about we give you a name?". The turtle nodded, and seemed to like the idea. I proposed a few names such as "Tory", "Jack", "Nick... no that's a bad one". But the turtle didn't like them. I went through a few other names, with the same result. I was already getting annoyed, so I asked "Then how about Shelly? It's a good name right? It suits you because you have a shell". The turtle seemed to like this one, and nodded its head satisfied. 'FINALLY!' I thought, and said "From now on, you will be known as Shelly!". I continued, "Alright Shelly, we are going now. I have a feeling we might meet someone on our way. Don't worry, he is an enemy. I will deal with him myself". Shelly nodded, and followed after me. We walked out of the village, but didn't head towards the river. We headed in a different direction. Just as I suspected, someone was on our tail. I didn't stop, and simply followed the route I chose earlier. When we got far enough, I heard a voice from behind shouting, "Stop!". It was the sword guy of course. I didn't reply though. I didn't need to. Because when I turned around, a dagger was already flying at him. He never expected that, and the dagger hit the target straight on. I didn't aim for his chest or anything like that. I aimed for his head. The lifeless corpse fell to the ground, without releasing any other sounds. I walked over, and saw an expression of shock on his face. 'Well, I would be shocked too' I thought. Killing someone, no longer bothered me that much, especially people like these. People who deserved death, were not worthy of being pitied. To attract predators, I made a few more cuts along his body. I then search him, and found a book. 'Hmmm' I thought, and skimmed through it. It was a book containing some weird posses. 'This should be the manual Dina wanted back... But this is not original probably' I thought, but took it anyway. As for the sword, I left it there. I didn't need a sword, I had my own weapons. Shelly didn't seem perturbed by the death of this Human. I nodded and said, "Our guest is taken care of. No one else should follow us now. Let's go, we have a long road ahead of us". Shelly nodded its head, and followed after me.