Page 40 of The Chosen Fae

“That’s a young female,” Vesper shouted. “You’re an idiot!”

“I didn’t know.”

They all resumed searching for a boar when Rune spied one. “Stone, over here.”

The boar burst from the undergrowth—a dark, low-slung mass of muscle and bristle, tusks pale as bone against the forest floor.

It came straight at them, head dropped, small eyes fixed, moving faster than anything that size had a right to. The creature’s coarse fur stood raised along its spine, each stride throwing up clods of wet earth as it closed the distance.

Stone hurried toward her, careful not to startle the boar. “That’s it. A big male.” And he looked dangerous. He whistled to the others, hoping they would help and not ignore them as they did with the pirarucu.

Rune slashed at the angry boar that charged them. She turned invisible. The boar headed toward Stone, and he swept his sword at the boar, connecting with the boar's tusks.

Then suddenly, Elon came up and shot an arrow at the boar. Caspian and Fang soon joined him. Rune appeared again and hit the boar's right rear leg.

The boar twisted around to try to attack Rune.

Caspian shot another arrow at the boar. So did Elon.

Lolita also struck the boar's right rear leg with her short sword, although Rune wanted to keep her out of the fight.

But the boar was favoring that leg.

Iris used her slingshot to hit the boar in the head while Stone struck it again.

It finally went down, and they finished it off. Rune realized that neither Xena nor Vesper had helped take down the boar. They were just standing nearby, watching, their arms folded across their chests.

But then Stone sighed. He was glad the others had come to help, and knew they would have a great feast.

12

The Game Master arrived and declared Rune and Stone as the winners of the challenge. "Since Rune found the boar, and Rune and Stone started to fight it before anyone else arrived, they won the challenge. Because Vesper and Xena didn't participate, they won't enjoy the feast."

"Like The Little Red Hen," Lolita said.

Rune and Stone didn't know what she was talking about.

Lolita explained, "The Little Red Hen was going to make a loaf of bread, but the other farm animals wouldn't help her. But when she finished all the work of making the bread, they were ready to eat it. She wouldn't let them have a bite."

Rune and Stone smiled.

Vesper and Xena didn't say a word, but glared daggers at Rune and Stone.

What the Game Master didn't tell them was that that was the only meal they were going to get, so Vesper and Xena were out of luck and went without.

That made the win even better!

Not only that, they had a master chef prepare the feast for them, unlike on the pirarucu, where they just ate it raw, which was fine for wolves, but this was outstanding.

Instead of sitting at separate parts of the woods, everyone sat around the fire to enjoy the feast.

Rune suspected it was a way to bring the packs together in a joint feast of camaraderie, and she was glad for it. No one, well, except for Vesper and Xena, had anything to say but good things.

"I couldn't believe Lolita was in there swinging her short sword," Iris said, smiling at her.

"I had to do my part," Lolita said.

"Well, you were doing a great job," Rune said, though she had already paralyzed the boar's leg. But despite Lolita's small stature, she was a fighter.