breakfast

"So, they were all that was left of the village?" John asked, as he turned to look at the two sleeping kids.

"Yeah." I said simply.

"I can only imagine how they will be when they wake up. They were still in shock when I found them." I said, as I broke off a piece of a twinge I had been toying with, and threw it into the fire.

"Shock?" John asked, confused, turning to look at me.

"Yeah, you know." I said, twirling my hand around.

'How the hell do I explain shock in a way he might understand?'

"It's what happens when someone sees something, or goes through a traumatic incident, it's called acute stress reaction, and it is a type of shock, it's categorized as a psychological shock, which can cause a multitude of emotional problems." I said, While mindlessly distracted while looking into the fire.

Not hearing anything from John, I turned to look at him.

John's face was a mask of pure confusion.

'Shit, forgot to put all of that in layman's terms.'

"Uhh, it's just a word to explain when someone is acting strange after something scary." I said, giving John a smile, while I let out a sigh on the inside.

'Ohh how I miss the old Greek days, when smart people were of aplenty, and I could use big words around them, without being looked at like I'm the idiot. Well that's not right, some of the words I myself just used were even out of their league.'

"Ahhh, now I see, why couldn't you have just said that from the start, instead of talking gibberish." John said with a chuckle.

"I couldn't tell ya." I said, with a chuckle.

"So, what now?" John asked, as he used a stick to move some of the wood in the fire around.

"Now…we need to find out where these werewolves are coming from."

"Is that the name of them creatures that attacked us?" He asked me.

"Yes, they are humans who turn during the full moon into faril mindless beasts"

"They were human?" John asked me, shocked, and surprised.

"They are human." I corrected him.

"Wha" I said, confused.

I turned away from the fire and looked at him.

"They are still humans, But, when the moon is at its fullest, they change into half humans, half wolves, with incredible strength and speed, that you would never know you died if one ever came after you." I said, as I watched the color drain from his face.

Before I could continue.

I was interrupted by a loud fart that caused both John and I to turn our heads to the side, only to see a stretching Henry, as he rolled on his blanket, finally waking up from his long nap.

"That's disgusting. What are you trying to do, suffocate us." I said, as my overly strong nose smelled Henry's foul smelling gas, causing me to pinch my nose closed.

Henry shot upright at my voice.

"Your back!" He said loudly, as he looked at me.

"Shhh" I said, pointing at the sleeping children.

Henry's head turned, until he caught sight of the children.

Henry's head tilted to the side as he saw them, then looked at me in confusion.

"Are you stealing children now to eat their innocent souls?" He whispered, open mouthed and in shock.

I gave him a flat look, and from the corner of my eye, I saw John doing the same.

"There you go, with the assumptions again." John said beside me.

"Asssu-assumtion?" Henry said, stumbling over the word John had just used.

"Aye, assum-ption, it's a word Adam taught me this morning." John said, with a smug look of satisfaction on his face, at the idea that he was in any way smarter and therefore better then his friend.

"What does it mean?" Henry angrily whispered.

" An assumption is a belief or proposition that is taken for granted or accepted as true without any proof or evidence. It is a fundamental element in reasoning and decision-making, as it forms the basis for making predictions, drawing conclusions, and forming opinions. Assumptions can be based on personal experiences, cultural norms, logical reasoning, or even biases. They are often made unconsciously and can influence our thoughts, actions, and perceptions of the world around us." I said.

Henry looked at me strangely as I spoke the words.

"Wha?" He said, as his brain tried, and failed, to grasp my words.

'Right, layman's terms'

"In simple terms, an assumption is something we believe to be true without having any solid evidence or proof. It's like making a guess or taking a guess about something without really knowing for sure. We often make assumptions based on what we think is true or what we expect to happen, but they may not always be accurate. Assumptions can influence how we think, make decisions, and understand the world, but it's important to be aware of them and question whether they are actually true or not." I said, in what I thought was a level, they could understand.

I had an idea, to smarten the two of them up, along our travels, in a hope, that maybe the two of them could actually do something useful with themselves besides, well being my servants.

What can I say, I'm a fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and I would love to see them do better with their lives.

"Right…I still don't get it." Henry said, still confused.

"We will work on it." I said as I shook my head.

"But for now, I'm starving." I continued, standing to my feet, and making my way towards the cart.

Approaching the cart, I saw our horse tied to a tree, while munching on the Grass at his feet, only a few feet from the side of the large wooden cart .

Finally at the cart, I dug into the full bags that filled the cart, and took out the needed pans for our lunch.

Setting them by the fire, I silently went back to the cart, and grabbed the food fans.

In one bag was some fresh meat, while in the other, was the greens and seasonings.

Setting all of it by the fire, I set one of the flat pan on some of the red coles of the fire.

While the pan heated, I opened the bag of meats, and pulled out a wrapped bundle.

This one, was of pork belly, or otherwise known as bacon.

In total I had a little over three pounds of just bacon, in this bag, which should last us, until we got to another town or village that sells meat.

Opening the seasoning bag, I pulled out a small wooden jar, which held the butter, and took out about one tablespoon worth, and tossed it onto the heating pan to melt, so the bacon wouldn't stick to the pan.

Once the butter was melted, and moved around the pan, I started laying cuts of bacon onto the pan.

As soon as the meat hit the pan, it instantly started to fizzle and pop.

And within moments the delicious smoky smell started to fill our camp.

"Ohhh my, now that's a smell." Henry said, as he inhaled a lung full of air.

"Agreed." John said, as he licked his lips.

Grabbing another pan.

I set it next to the already popping bacon pan, and put on some putter to melt.

John turned to Henry and whispered.

"Why is he doing all the cooking all of the sudden, aren't we supposed to be the ones to cook?"

Henry shrugged.

"Mhm, he never complained about our cooking, but look at the way he is doing it. I say we don't say anything and let him finish, his cooking just smells too good, and I want to try it."

Now with the other pan done, I pulled out a few eggs and cracked the open on the pan, and poured the yoke into the pan.

As I was doing that, I saw some rustling coming from my bed role.

Looking up from what I was doing, I saw the smaller boy sitting up from where he had been sleeping, and rubbing his eyes.

The boy looked around in confusion, at his surroundings, then over at us.

Dropping the egg shell that was in my hand.

Unsure if he would remember me, I lifted my hands and said in old french.

" Friend, remember?"

The boy slowly nodded his head at my words.

"Ahh, good, good." I said in a friendly manner, as I used my fingers to flip the bacon.

"I'm sure you are hungry, why don't you come over, and have some." I said, giving the boy a big smile.

The boy's eyebrows went up, as his nose picked up the appetizing smell of the bacon.

Slowly, the boy stood to his feet, and came closer to the fire.

As he came closer, I was reminded of the bad state of both of the boys, as I saw the dirty tunic the boy wore, and the lack of foot wear the boy had.

Once close to the fire, the boy sat down on the grass ground, next to the fire, but still, I could tell the cool air made him shiver.

Standing up, I went to the cart, and grabbed two extra blankets we had brought, as spares.

Laying one on his still sleeping brother, I wrapped the other around him.

Once done with that, I went to the cart, and brought out some plates.

Turning around, I saw both John and Henry leaning over the pans that had the almost done food in it.

"Aye, back away, that's not for you two, if the two of you want food, you can cook it for yourselves."

"But,but,but." John complained.

"It smells so goood." Henry finished for his friend.

"And I said, it's not for you, the two of you are grown men, you can cook for yourselves, that's for me and the kids." I said, shewing them away, with one of the plates.

Both of them backed away, with sullen expressions.

Our antics made the little kid giggle, as he saw me shew both grown men.

Turning to the kid, I gave him a little smile, while thinking.

'That must be a good sign.'

I don't know the first thing about someone's mental health after traumatic incidents, but if he could laugh, that must be good, I think.

Now with the plates, I slid three pieces of bacon onto a plate, as well as one attempt at a sunny side egg, but it didn't exactly turn out how I had hoped, and instead had broken apart on the pan when I tried to move it to a plate.

Once the plate had the incredible smelling food on it.

I bought it to the boy.

"And here you are sir, one full plate."

The boy's eyes were wide in shock, as he looked over the plate.

"Enjoy." I said, turning to make another plate for the still sleeping boy, and myself.

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I know this chapter is a bit dry, that's why there will be other chapters Tomorrow, and wednesday.

This chapter was a bit over 6k words, and I decided to cut it up to help me get some more breathing room.

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Please let me know if there are any mistakes, or errors in the story.

-BEAN-

Word- 2,000