Chapter 9

After almost an hour and a half, I had made it back to the house. I mustered the strength to push the door open, and made the last three steps into the house. As I did, I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror sitting in the corner.

I was standing, one arm dragging the head of a bear behind me, covered head to toe in blood. I looked over to the stairs, and let out a meek "Help."

Evidently, someone heard me, as legs starting rushing down the stairs shortly after. When I could finally make eye contact, I realized it was Samuel, my cousin. When he saw me, his face shot into surprise.

I can only wonder why. Was it the bear or the blood? Who knows? Certainly not me. Once he saw me, I made the tactical decision, or my body did, of passing out.

By the time I reached the house, I was fairly certain that the whole consuming things to restore my magic had drained my stamina greatly.

That, or, being low on mana had a negative effect on my stamina. I couldn't be sure. Either way, I wasn't sure I was gonna make it back to the house, yet I managed to.

I think I dreamed about something, but I can't remember it. Dreams like that are always the weirdest. When I woke up, I was in a whole world of pain. My shoulder practically screamed at me. Despite that, I pushed myself off my stomach, and moved around so I was sitting up.

I looked around, noticing I was in my bedroom. It was a pretty empty room, with just a bed and a drawer. I didn't have much. My chest was bandaged. I noticed something strange though. I seemed a bit more toned. I had always had a pretty good physique, working on the farm, but now, it was like some stubborn fat had finally burned away.

With this large ego boost and the slightly smaller boost of having slain a bear technically using only my hands, I pushed myself off of my bed, powering through the pain. I grabbed a tunic and tossed it on before heading out the door and down the hall.

It seems everyone who was downstairs had heard me, as Eva rushed over to the stairs while I worked my way down, step by step. When I reached the bottom, she helped me walk over to the dining table, where most of the family was waiting.

"You doing alright?" She asked worry written across her face.

I gave a slight nod as I slid into a chair.

Sitting at the table was my father, smoking another cigar, my grandfather, Dorian, with his graying hair and bushy beard, leaning onto his cane between his legs, and my Aunt Lila, with long black hair and blue eyes.

Eva, who bared a striking resemblance to her mother, was standing by my side still, and Samuel, who had the blue eyes of his mother and the brown eyes of his father, standing by his mother. All of them, staring at me.

When I didn't say anything, my Grandfather started, "Well, Cai, are you going to explain what happened, or do we have to ask?"

"That seems a bit like a silly question to me," I remarked. "There was a bear"

Eva smacked my shoulder, the good one, thankfully, "Be serious. You got seriously hurt. We were worried." She reprimanded.

"Alright, alright. Maybe that was a little vague, but it's what happened. When I was out looking for trees, it snuck up behind me."

"And you managed to kill it?" Samuel asked, clearly not fully believing what I said. "A bear comes up behind you, swats you good, and you manage to bring it down?"

Once again deciding I didn't want to tell them about my sorcery just yet, I gave a vague response.

"I don't remember everything that happened that well. Just, I got hit, it hurt, and I started swinging. Somehow it worked." I cast a quick glance at them all.

Most of them seemed fooled, but I don't think my dad bought it. He had this look on his face, that just screamed he knew what happened, which would make sense.

"Where are Lucas and Uncle Matt?" I asked, the only two who weren't present.

"Out looking for your mess." My father replied. I couldn't tell what the look on his face meant now. It was a mix of anger and pride. Regardless, what he just said sounded more angry.

"Be a bit more sensitive, Raph." Aunt Lila said to my father, whose full name was Raphael.

He gave a slight grunt in response before taking a puff of his cigar. Now that everything had seemed to be taken care of, my mind returned to the head. I earned those silvers and I'd be damned if I didn't get them.

"Where's the head?" I asked, looking around the room. There was an air of confusion before Samuel realized.

"Oh the bear head. It's out hanging near the barn. Why'd you even drag that thing back? Vanity?"

"While, I am certainly a vain individual, no." I said, so Sam would realize being called vain did not insult me. I am a very prideful person, like me father.

"That head is worth a gold coin and a half. Fifteen silvers. I think that was worth. "A sharp pain from my shoulder reminded me it was, in fact, not worth it. "Almost worth." I corrected

At the mention of a silver, they all perked up. My father especially. Fifteen silver was not an incredibly large amount compared to what the farm made, but in funds that didn't need to be spent on the farm, it was nice spending money.

My father cracked a grin, "If I ever seemed like I was upset by this, forget it. Fifteen silvers is fifteen silvers. Great work, Cai!"

While I enjoyed his change of heart, I was a little disturbed by the fact we had the exact same thought.