Chapter 70: Tame

It was then I could acknowledge the creature's appearance. It had the body and tail of a jaguar but had the snout and ears of a wolf. It had six legs and eyes, and its thick black fur gathered around its neck. Its face crinkled as it growled, showing its sharp teeth that had trace amounts of my blood dripping out of its mouth. I moved slowly to avoid it striking me again and pushed myself to stand. 

When I stood up fully the creature was distracted from me to see Galund and Raimu run down the hill. Galund threw his axe at it but the silent killer lived up to its name and moved so fast it looked like it teleported out of the way. The axe then stopped mid-air and jolted back into Galund's grip. I noticed that there was a thin chain attached to the hilt that was also connected to one of his rings.

The beast appeared behind them but they turned like they expected it to surprise them. As they dodged its attacks and looked for opportunities to strike back, I realized that I had no idea what I was up against. The pain in my shoulder was getting worse and I was losing a lot of blood. Despite that, I still noticed a pain in my back that I felt while I was rolling down the hill. 

I curiously reached behind me and pulled a small pink sparkly bottle from in between my arrow case and spine. Once I looked at it and saw the label that said 'healing herb' I instantly knew who put it there. 'May. She must've slipped this there before I left.' I thought. I shook my head a little and I caught a glimpse of the list of ingredients she generously provided. I noticed one ingredient and my surprise showed in my expression.

I looked up and saw that there were wounds along the creature's back and sides. They looked infected as well and I suddenly knew what was going on. I quickly removed my other hand from my shoulder and wiped the blood from it. I then opened the bottle and poured all of the ointment onto my hands. I took off my arrow case and let it fall to the ground with the now empty bottle as I ran to where Galund and Raimu were fighting the beast. 

Without wasting any time, I jumped onto the silent killer's back and held on tight as it bucked, roared, and shook in response. I continued to hold on and held my arms around its body as Galund and Raimu froze after seeing me. The creature's movements became wilder the longer I was on its back, but I didn't let go and moved my palms to press against its wounds. Suddenly, the monster stopped struggling and the angry roars calmed down as it fell over on its side. I let go of it and moved to sit up on the ground as I moved the ointment into more of the cuts with my fingers. The beast kicked its legs in enjoyment and made happy sounds as it wiggled. Once I covered the wounds completely, the beast turned its head to me and started licking my face. 

I tried to push the large snout away from me in disgust but the creature got up and tackled me again but this time continued to lick me. "Hey! Hey! Get off!" I smiled a little as I yelled, and when the monster finally listened to me I turned to see Galund and Raimu standing in front of us, starstruck.

I stood up as I patted the silent killer's head and Raimu found most of the words to speak to me. "How did you...?" I wiped the saliva from my face as I responded. "Let me ask you something. What do you use to repel insects on your crops?" Raimu shrugged. "Hycronkus. But, what does that have to do with anything?" I remained still as the beast rubbed against me, lovingly. "Well, hycronkus just so happens to be an antibiotic that provides instant but temporary pain relief when applied to an infected wound."

It was then they noticed the infections on the creature's body, and Raimu turned to me with surprise. "Of course! I forgot it could do that. Judging by how loving the silent killer is towards you now after treating it, we might not have to kill it after all. We could use him on our hunts. Imagine how much easier finding game would be, Galund." Galund put his axe away rather annoyed. "How do you know so much about herbs?" I remembered back to every time May pulled out her book of healing remedies and force-fed me the knowledge on our long flights while riding Saniel. "I'd rather not answer that..."

Later, we headed back to the village with the silent killer following us. It wouldn't stop walking so close to me and whenever my hand stopped petting him he would bump me with his wet nose. I sighed and continued to scratch in between his ears. 'I never thought I would try to guess what the problem was instead of just killing it. That's what I would've done when I first came to the forests. Why didn't I now?' 

I was distracted from the thoughts that were confusing me to hear the beast purring loudly. I looked down at it walking next to me and nuzzling my side. 'Wait. Did I consider something else's feelings? What has been wrong with me lately?! Ugh, May's going to give me so much shit about this.' 

Soon we returned to the village and everyone who saw us jumped at the sight of the silent killer. Surprisingly, I didn't see May among them. Raimu quickly assured everyone what happened and told Grimwore how I had tamed the beast. After listening to Raimu and showing surprise at the sight of the silent killer sitting calmly beside me, Grimwore turned to Galund. "What do you think about him, Galund?"

Galund was standing silently with his arms crossed and his gaze on the floor in front of him. He had annoyance on his face as he sighed and closed his eyes. "He's got skill, I'll give him that." I was surprised that he said such a thing after all the snark he had towards me. Before Grimwore could respond, Theodius then appeared standing next to Grimwore's chair. "Well, the trial was to kill the silent killer so I guess you lost. Aw, too bad Dedrin, you got so close. Better luck next time." He waved goodbye, obviously in a rush to jump to that conclusion.

I clenched my jaw in irritation from seeing his happiness through his playful sad tone. Grimwore held a hand to his chin in thought. "Technically, the trial was to protect and provide for the village. It was never to kill the beast even though that was the predicted solution. Dedrin solved what was agitating the silent killer, therefore protecting us from future attacks. Also, by taming it he has provided a potential hunting beast that we could use to our aid. I believe he has shown proficiency, and I've determined he has passed the second trial."