Page 136 of A Soul to Touch

Nothing could cut the rope other than a small knife made of blessed obsidian, which she had on her weapons belt, and it would keep her safe...ish. His claws could still go for the kill, but she also had an enchanted whip looped at her hip.

Most enchantments were only for binding and protection. Nothing seemed to kill or cause additional damage.

Honestly, she could have done this herself, but the idea of carrying such a large creature sounded tiresome. She was game enough to take the risk if it meant she could be lazy.

She had someone who could carry the load for her, so why not utilise him?

Mayumi crawled her way closer to the doe she hunted. She searched for any sign of Faunus but couldn’t find him. He was watching, waiting.

I need to come up with something else,she thought as she concentrated her eyes on her target.The animal glue didn’t work.

Lining up her shot with her bow and arrow, she took a breath and held it. The world quietened in her ears as she narrowed her eyes on her target.

The glue melted right off his face.

She released the string.

The arrow met its mark, and the deer made a lowing, distressed bleat and reared back. While it was upright on its hind legs, Faunus launched through the trees.

It was given no chance to run as he grabbed it by its head and twisted. Minimal bloodshed, minimal chance for the creature to be in lasting pain, minimal chances of it squirming. A clean kill, in her opinion.

But now she had to wait, ducking down just enough to make sure she couldn’t be seen. His orbs were red, and he was standing above it on all fours.

The full-body shudder he gave was easily visible before he sat back on his haunches and gripped at his skull. He shook it side-to-side in his hands like he was trying to shake his very own thoughts from his mind.

He eventually sagged and lowered his hands to look around.

“It is safe now,”he said, not raising his voice since he knew she would be nearby.

“Are you sure?” she asked... just to make damn sure.

He started to change his form so he could stand on two legs, his furry butt naked to all. She still refused to give him his pants, enjoying seeing him in all his glory.

His tail curled in what sheknewwas annoyance as he bent down to scoop the deer into his arms.

“I would not have called you over if I didn’t think it was safe,” he stated before turning in the direction he’d heard her voice. “Please let us hurry. I am uncomfortable with my jaws clamped shut like this. I also cannot smell properly, so I can only hear if danger is approaching.”

Mayumi bounced to her feet and dusted the snow from her knees. “I told you it would be fine.”

A huff snorted through his nose. “It was still risky. I don’t know why you wanted me to help you so much when you could have done this on your own while I stayed back and scouted the area for other dangers.”

Her shoulders bounced as she shrugged.

“I haven’t hunted with another person since the guild, and I wanted to see how compatible we were in the field. I also thought it would be fun.”

His snout lifted like he was thinking on her words. “Are wecompatible, then?”

“Absolutely. They often require multiple shots. I was able to hit in the spot that would make it rear back, and that meant you were able to finish it off.” She reached up and patted his bicep. “It would have taken me a few hours to weaken it and then I would have needed to bring it home alive. This way, I was able to hunt it right before dusk fell, and it’s big enough to still attract Demons without bleeding it like I did the boar.”

“Sounds complicated,” he huffed.

“It is. Baiting Demons is an art we needed to perfect.” She crossed her arms behind her head as they walked. “I live too close to two villages, which means I have to either have a fresh kill or a large one.”

“Although I have already stated that I will not stop you, I still don’t understand why you are doing this.”

“It means there is one less Demon in the area to go poking its ugly head near those villages. That’s all I care about, doing my duty even if I was discharged. I still have two legs, two arms, and a heartbeat, and I will use all of it to kill them until the day I die.”

Faunus let out a growl at her final word, but she refused to hide the fact that death could come for her at any time just to stop him from being upset about it. The more he came to accept that she would die one day, whether he wanted her to or not, whether he was here or not, would only further build her case to him.

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