Tabula Rasa: Adventures In A New World

“Mnnnh...!”

“Aaannd... checkmate.”

“UGH!” Thea throws her head back in frustration.

Even though the bunny-mouse girl is all the way across the room, that sudden – and rather loud – noise still startles her.

“You were pretty close that time.” Krvavy gently smiles at her brat, resisting the urge to pat Thea on the head as she instead begins to reset the board. “If you moved this piece over there then I wouldn’t have been able to take–”

“MAAATE!” That wild howl just barely precedes Khalia charging into the room... Which terrifies Adeline to the point where the tiny blonde would have fallen over if Beryl wasn’t there to catch her. “MAAAATEEE~!”

“Wha–aoOOF!” The air is forced from Krvavy’s lungs as that Were-Beast tackles her to the ground. “Is... something wrong...?” Concern fills her voice as she struggles to breath, looking up at the Orc looming above her.

“Bored.”

“Seriously?!” Thea narrows her eyes and shoots Khalia a very heated glare. “You came barging in here, shouting loud enough for the whole world to hear, just because you are bored?!”

“Yes, girlie!” The Were-Beast’s tail eagerly wags back and forth as she nuzzles her face into her Mate’s chest, pawing at the annoying pelt top covering up Krvavy’s breasts.

“You are unbelievable!”

The Drakling gently pushes back against Khalia, not attempting to get that clingy puppy off of her so much as she is simply trying to regain her ability to breathe. “If you’re bored... then how about we go hunting? Tomorrow.”

“Rrrgh...!” The Were-Beast puts her four little tusks on full display as she bares her teeth. “Wait too long! Fun now!”

“Really?” Krvavy meets her precious puppy’s intense gaze with a single eyebrow raised. “So you want to go out on a quick little hunt instead of one that’d last all day?”

“Rrgh!”

“Wha’ is this~? Plannin’ ta go ‘untin’ wit’out me~?” Beryl’s playful tone doesn’t quite match her actions, one of her nimble hands snapping out to grab at the Were-Beast’s fluffy ear.

“Rrrrgh–aghk!” Khalia’s growled response quickly shifts into a yelp as the Elf lightly but insistently tugs her head to the side.

“My dearest love, ya’re free ta take this misbehavin’ puppy out fer a ‘unt tomorrow. Ah’ve got some work ta do in the garden, so ‘ave fun wit’ just ‘er.” The tomboyish Elf warmly smiles towards her Draconic lover... completely uncaring of the Were-Beast’s whimpering. “But Ah’ll be takin’ ‘er right now.” Her firm tone makes it very clear that there is absolutely no arguing with that. “Khalia should know better than to run around shoutin’ in our ‘ome fer no reason. And she needs ta apologize ta Adeline as well.”

“Nooo...!” That poor puppy weakly whines as she is led across the room by her fluffy ear, her wide amber-gold eyes staring straight at Krvavy, begging to be saved. “Maateeee...!”

“Ugh, what a pain...” Thea quietly sighs, moving the last piece back into its place with a soft clack. “You get the first move this game.”

Krvavy squints as sunlight assaults her eyes. She always forgets just how bright it is out here, especially after walking through that pitch-black section of the cave she calls home...

“Where go?” Khalia tilts her head and looks expectantly at her Mate, shaggy tail happily wagging behind her butt.

“Hm...” The barbarian’s brow furrows slightly as she considers that question. She was originally planning on just aimlessly wandering around, but that probably isn’t a good idea now that she thinks about it... They should definitely find somewhere relatively flat to hunt, so that Khalia can safely and easily chase after their prey... Krvavy really doesn’t want her precious puppy to run straight off a cliff. Not again... “We’ll go this way. Follow me.”

“Yes Mate!” The Were-Beast woman clings to Krvavy’s arm, nuzzling her face against her Draconic Mate’s black-scaled shoulder.

The Drakling and her Orc walk through the rocky hills in comfortable silence, content with simply enjoying each others’ presence.

But, after a few short minutes, a question nags at the back of Krvavy’s mind, prompting her to speak. “You know, I’ve been wondering... how do you feel about me asking Thea to be my wife?”

“Hmrgh?” Khalia glances up and peers into those emerald eyes, a fair bit of confusion in her own amber-gold pair.

“I... pretty much asked her to be my mate.” Krvavy clarifies herself in a way that she is sure her Khalia will understand.

A truly bewildered expression fills the Were-Beast’s face. “Girlie already Mate’s mate.” She plainly states, as if pointing out the obvious. “Me already Mate’s mate. Elfy already Mate’s mate. Dwarfy already Mate’s mate. Little meat will be Mate’s mate.”

Krvavy gently shakes her head as the word mate loses all meaning with how much Khalia just repeated it. “Well, okay. Guess you’re right. Calling her ‘my wife’, or even just ‘my fiancée’, doesn’t really change our relationship...” She idly shrugs a single shoulder, as her other arm is held firmly in place by the Were-Beast clinging onto it. “Anyway, you don’t really care about that at all? You don’t want me to ask you to be my wife as well?”

“Me already Mate’s mate.” Khalia repeats herself, a tinge of annoyance entering her slightly scrunched face.

“Alright then.” The barbarian shakes her head once again. She wasn’t planning on asking Khalia that particular question any time soon, but she definitely does want that to happen at some point. So the fact that Khalia doesn’t seem to care about that extra title kind of... complicates things. Or does it? In the Were-Beast’s eyes having a mate is about equivalent to being married, so she is basically already Krvavy’s wife... Just as Thea jokingly said...

Still, Krvavy would like to have an actual proposal at some point, even if it doesn’t really mean anything to her precious puppy. And that’ll happen when it happens, so no need to dwell on all of this.

“Mate...!” Khalia’s hushed voice draws the Drakling from her thoughts. “Goat...!” The Were-Beast excitedly lifts a paw-like hand and points across the hillside to where a goat is grazing on some moss.

The Drakling frowns slightly as she quickly looks over the terrain. There is no way that Khalia would be able to catch that goat before it can get away. Her puppy enjoys chasing prey and doesn’t usually mind it when she fails to actually catch something, but starting their hunting trip with a failure doesn’t feel right...

“Good girl...! Well spotted...!” Krvavy quietly rewards her precious puppy with a nice petting pat, letting herself smile as an idea crosses her mind. “Want to see how effective my new javelins are?”

Khalia tilts her head and glances over to their would-be prey, staring at it for a few moments before turning back to the barbarian and simply nodding. Her plump lips spread into a wide toothy grin, her tail still swishing back and forth behind her, unable to hide her growing excitement even as she tries to act calm and quiet.

“Stay here and watch.” Krvavy leans in to give her Greenskin a quick kiss as she whispers out that order. Trusting Khalia to do as she says, the barbarian begins to carefully creep towards a spot where she should have a much better shot at the goat.

The gentle breeze shifts slightly. A wave of worry washes over Krvavy... only to be quickly washed away with relief as she realizes that she is still downwind of her, thankfully oblivious, prey.

Not wanting to lose this chance, Krvavy quickly gets to work. Magic wells up within the palm of her hand as she draws a Blackbriar Javelin from the wooden bracelet around her wrist. The freshly grown weapon looks nearly identical to the first one she made, though there are a few small differences in the vines twisting along its reddish-brown shaft.

Krvavy rolls her shoulders and raises the javelin up. She briefly considers spending just a bit more mana to fill its barbed head with venom, but quickly decides against it. That feels a bit excessive for a hunt, especially since this javelin is already large enough to be overkill for a mere goat.

Taking a deep breath, the barbarian focuses on her target. Her prey.

The javelin feels natural in her hand. Despite never having thrown it before, despite not knowing how much of an arc it’ll have, a part of Krvavy is confident that her aim will be true.

With a sudden sharp exhale, Krvavy takes a quick step forwards, putting her entire body into the throw.

The Blackbriar Javelin flies free from her grasp with remarkable speed, cutting through the air with a faint whistling song. Perhaps alerted by the noise, or seeing movement in the corner of its eye, her prey’s head suddenly jerks up and turns to the side. But that reaction is too little too late.

Critical Hit! 400 Damage dealt to [Rocky Hill Goat]

The razor sharp spearhead penetrates into the base of the goat’s neck, just narrowly missing its curled horn, and hardly even slows down as it passes clean through to the other side. The javelin slams into the rocky hillside with a loud scraping thunk. Its reddish-brown shaft wobbles violently as it embeds itself partially in the ground.

The goat’s body remains standing for a few seconds longer before reality becomes undeniable. Without a sound, Krvavy’s prey collapses into a limp pile.

[Rocky Hill Goat] has been slain!

+72.5 Experience

“Mate~!” Khalia’s joyful howl breaks the silence as she charges towards the barbarian, tackling her Mate in a tight hug. “Good aim~!”

“Like what you saw, huh~?” Pride wells up within Krvavy’s heart as she lets herself get dragged on over to where the goat lies dead.

“Oooh~! Look~! Look~!” The Were-Beast excitedly bounces on her paw-like feet as she points to the carcass.

The goat’s head was almost entirely severed from its body by the Blackbriar Javelin. Just a bit of hide and flesh is keeping it attached, as even the spine was cut straight through.

“Nice...!” Krvavy breathes out as her smile widens. She could have been a bit better with her aim, but this was still much better than she was expecting.

Her hand wraps around the javelin’s shaft, tearing it free from the hillside. Its spearhead is absolutely ruined, the razor sharp barbs bent and broken by the gravelly ground it embedded itself in. But that isn’t really a problem. This javelin was formed from magic. Fifty points of mana, to be exact. It is disposable. Krvavy would definitely have different thoughts if she spent more to strengthen the javelin only to still have it get destroyed so easily, but as it is now... Well, this was kind of expected.

“Gut?” The Were-Beast tilts her head and glances up towards her Mate as she idly pokes the carcass in the belly.

“Right.” Krvavy puts her thoughts aside along with the broken javelin, idly tossing it to the ground. She grabs at the knife tucked into her loincloth’s belt and pulls it free before kneeling down besides the dead goat.

Khalia squats next to her Draconic Mate, curiously watching as the carcass is gutted and cleaned. She proves just how much of a good girl that she is by resisting her clingy urges, as to not inconvenience Krvavy. But there is only so much she can do in the face of her instincts, and suppressing one leads to her others growing stronger.

“No.” The Drakling sternly smacks Khalia’s paw-like hand away from the fresh meat in front of her. “We just had breakfast.”

“Mmnnnnhhhn...” The Were-Beast quietly whines, her mouth salivating so much that drool is beginning to drip down her chin.

“Fine...” Krvavy relents far too quickly as her precious puppy stares at her with big, begging eyes. “But just a little! And we have to cook it first!” She quickly swats that hand away again. “Go gather some sticks.”

“Yes Mate~!” Khalia joyously barks, immediately scrambling around to fulfill her Mate’s order.

Krvavy resists the urge to bury her face in her blood-soaked hands, electing to simply sigh as she looks the carcass over.

The two of them still have a whole day of hunting ahead of them, so it is actually a bit inconvenient that they caught this goat... Luckily they are pretty close to home still, so there’s really no need to lug it around with them, but Khalia might get a little impatient if they have to backtrack like that... Guess they could just go back to the entrance of the cave and hang this carcass on some sort of stone hook...

“Got wood!” The Were-Beast shoves some long branches and dead brush into Krvavy’s face.

“Good job.” The Drakling nudges her elbow into the Greenskin’s side, gently pushing Khalia away. “Pile them up. Neatly. And make sure to add the javelin as well. You’ll need to break it first though.”

“Yes Mate!”

Krvavy slowly shakes her head as she turns her attention back to the mostly gutted goat. Her eyes trail over the spilled organs. Whether they carry this carcass around all day or stash it away, these guts will be left out here for the scavengers. Which is kind of a waste... Sure, there are plenty of parts that she wouldn’t want to eat, but there are a few pieces that are edible. And quite delicious. Beryl has taught her that much.

“All done! What eat~?” Khalia eagerly presses against her Mate’s side, her tail wildly wagging behind her.

“This.” Krvavy cuts the liver free and holds it up in the air.

“Juicy!” Hunger fills the Orc’s face as she begins to openly drool again.

“We’re cooking it first, remember?” The barbarian quickly pulls that meaty organ out of her precious puppy’s reach. A necessary precaution, judging by how those furred fingers are impatiently twitching, ready to snatch away that snack.

“Ma-aate...”

“It’ll taste better that way.” Krvavy pays no mind to the Were-Beast’s whining, turning towards the small pile of firewood that her puppy so skillfully set up. A flickering flame appears at the tip of her bloodied finger as she presses it into the kindling, using her magic to quickly get the fire started. “Just be patient.” She idly orders, holding the goat’s liver above the flames.

Krvavy’s lips twist into a faint frown as the heat licks across her scaled fingers. She probably should have skewered this thing on a stick rather than just holding onto it like this, but... oh well. It doesn’t exactly hurt, though it is a little uncomfortable, so she might as well continue on.

Khalia intently watches as the juicy organ slowly cooks, focusing entirely on the succulent meal awaiting her. A faint whine escapes past her plump lips each time she sees a greasy glob of fat drip down and fall into the flames, sizzling away in the ashes.

Every few minutes the liver is flipped and rotated around as Krvavy tries to cook it as evenly as possible over this small campfire. Each faint movement causes the Were-Beast to twitch in barely restrained excitement, as if expecting it to get pulled back and given to her at any second.

“Maa-aaaate...!”

“Be patient. It’s almost done.” Krvavy stifles a sigh and tries to ignore her puppy’s desperate whimpering. It isn’t too hard to tune out those begging noises, nor is it particularly difficult to avoid looking at those pleading eyes, but it is nearly impossible for her to ignore the impatient nudges tapping against her side. “Okay. Here.”

“Aawhooo~!” Khalia howls in pure joy as the Drakling passes the juicy snack towards her. But rather than grabbing at the liver with her paw-like hands, Khalia simply throws herself at the thing, sinking her teeth into it. “Mnnhmhmhh~...!”

Fatty grease squirts out from that cooked organ, dripping down the Orc’s chin as she moans in delight. Her tail goes wild behind her, carelessly thumping back and forth between the rocky ground and Krvavy’s back. She chews through her mouthful with a frenzied hunger before taking another lunging bite.

“Mhaahtshee~!” The Were-Beast beams with joy as she tries talking with her mouth full. “Eaaht~! Dhelishoush~!”

Krvavy raises an eyebrow as that puppy pushes the half-eaten liver towards her. She isn’t exactly hungry, but a little bite won’t hurt... “Mh...!” The Drakling hums in surprise as her teeth sink into the juicy organ, causing a bit of grease to gush into her mouth. It actually tastes pretty good!

“Rrrrgh~!” A playful growl emerges from Khalia’s plump lips as she darts forwards, biting onto the meaty snack even as her Mate is eating it. Her nose brushes against Krvavy’s and their lips briefly touch. Her amber-gold eyes twinkle with a playful love, before a sudden surge of defiance fills them.

That wild Were-Beast abruptly jerks back, tearing the succulent liver from Krvavy hand and mouth, taking it for herself.

“Mmh! Hey!” Krvavy swallows the bit that she was able to bite off as she glares intensely at her smug puppy.

Khalia simply grins around the juicy organ, her four little tusks digging into it as streams of greasy fat trail down her chin. Her head suddenly tilts up and, in an instant, she devours what’s left of their meal.

“Tsk!” Krvavy chidingly clicks her tongue, though the smile on her face shows that she isn’t actually upset. “Hope you enjoyed that, because we’re going home now.”

“WHA!?” Pure shock fills the Greenskin’s face, mixing with despaired betrayal.

“Relax, we’re just going to store this meat in the cave entrance. What, did you think that I was ending our hunt so soon~?”

“Rrgh! MATE!” Khalia furiously glares at the Drakling, her shaggy tail slamming into the ground.

“Ha~! You should have seen your face~!” Krvavy sadistically laughs at that adorably annoyed response. “Your greasy face... We’re definitely going to have to clean up as well... Guess we can use the river for that...”

The Were-Beast turns her head away and silently pouts.

Krvavy knocks over the small campfire and kills the flames with her magic. “We have a whole day of hunting ahead of us, so let’s not waste it.” She completely ignores her pouting puppy, instead grabbing the goat carcass and rising to her feet.

“Yes Mate!” Like a switch has been flipped, that sullen act is tossed aside as Khalia excitedly jumps up and rushes after the Drakling.