The Bestiary

“And finally that’s the last one!” Thorny exhaled a defeated sigh while dropping the seed inside Nona’s bag. “This has been the worst task so far.”

“Come on, it was not that bad. Most of the seeds were around the same area. And ok, it’s true that we had to fight some giant spiders to gather some of them. And that one of them almost ate you. But given the circumstances, we found all the seeds pretty fast except the last one.”

“Oh, you mean that damn seed that we’ve been looking for an entire day and half? What the hell was it doing there at the top of that tree?!”

“I don’t know, but the important thing is that we have them,” Nona smiled proudly. “I can’t wait to see that old man’s relieved face when seeing we’ve found them all.”

“Well, I can’t wait to have the rewards of this annoying quest either.” Thorny pointed at Nona with a threatening pointy finger. “And you–”

“–won’t reject the rewards, I promise,” Nona said obediently, causing Thorny to let out an approving grunt.

Eventually it turned out that the culprit of the spread seeds was a pixy that had been competing against the old druid’s grandkid to see who could hide the seeds better. As Nona had predicted, the old man was really delighted when seeing his precious fifty seeds back. He was so relieved that he even suggested paying Nona extra for the trouble.

“Thorny, please, don’t get mad.”

“Don’t talk to me.”

An extra that Nona automatically rejected.

“Hey, I promised I wouldn't reject the reward, and I didn’t!” Nona was forced to speed up to catch up to Thorny, who was flying faster than usual in front of her. “But I didn’t feel good accepting so much money!”

“You’re lucky that I’m so hungry to argue back, so come on: you know what to do to compensate for your stupid generosity.”

Nona chuckled when realizing that Thorny had led her to the area of the settlement where the druids shared their meals; concretely, next to the booth that always made Thorny’s mouth water.

“Hi again!” The baker greeted them with a wide smile. “Half a dozen buns like usual?”

“Yes, thank you!” Nona grabbed the plate with the buns and was about to pay the baker when this one shook her head.

“Your friend has already paid for your food today.”

Nona blinked and followed the woman’s eyes. She tensed a bit when she found Adish sitting in one of the stony seats spread across the area. Their eyes met, but just when Nona was about to mouth a ‘thank you’, Adish awkwardly averted his eyes and stood up, taking his leave.

“Mmfgh…you sure you don’t wanna ditch that weakling?” Thorny had already devoured one of the buns when they sat on a large wooden bench, and went for the second after swallowing loudly. “I mean, there’s no need to keep dealing with him now that you hate each other.”.

“What? I don’t hate Adish!” Nona gulped as she saddened. “Do you think he hates me now?”

“Not at all, child,” Nona turned to her right and was surprised to see the herbalist, whose name she knew now was Marianne. Vesper was there too, but as usual the young druid just looked at Nona for an instant before she also sat down on the bench with her grandma, rapidly averting her eyes. “That lad asked about you several times while you were doing all those tasks. It was evident that he was worried.”

Nona’s lips curved up in a small, relieved smile.

It was the first time that she had had an argument with someone. Although she wasn’t even sure that her last conversation with Adish could be considered an argument.

“Wish Bearers? Well, either they are just poor uncultured people who are taken advantage of, or frauds who pretend to be the ‘Chosen Ones’ to do what they want. But even if the Goddess’ wish part were true, I don’t see the point of blindly obeying someone who could not care less about us.”

Nona had been so little when she received the mark of the Goddess that she did not have any memories prior to that. What she did remember was how proud everyone had been when she was chosen; not just her parents, brothers and sisters, but also the entire village. They all had been there for her. They had helped her to the best of their capabilities so that she could be prepared for the day when the Goddess would reveal herself in order to pronounce the wish that Nona would fulfill.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Nona’s entire life had revolved around that. And though at the end the outcome had been quite…different than expected, Nona had always been proud of her mission.

So, hearing someone make light of it like that had been shocking. The fact that the Wish Bearers could be considered ‘fraud’ was something that had never crossed her mind. But those were not the things that had saddened Nona the most, making her unable to reply anything to Adish.

It may sound childish, but since getting the Goddess’ mark, Nona had always looked forward to having a team of trustworthy companions to live adventures with. And when meeting Adish, she had honestly thought that he would be that mage companion that often appeared in the bedtime stories that her parents used to read to her. But given the mage’s beliefs - or rather, his lack of them - it seemed that Thorny had been right. And that she should look for an alternative companion.

“By the way, I’ve been told that you have encountered a rare beast in one of your missions,” Marianne's sudden comment made Nona focus on the present again.

“Ah, yes. One of the druids asked us to find a rare species of gigantic turtles, since they overheard a dryad talking about it. We were told not to bother the animal because it was considered sacred, so we just managed to catch a glimpse of it because it was too fast.”

“...A fast turtle?”

“Yep. We guess that’s the reason she’s weird as hell,” Thorny intervened, going for his third bun.

“And do you think you could share what you saw with my mute grandkid? She’s too shy to ask, but that information would surely be helpful to complete her bestiary.”

“Wait, do you have a bestiary?!” Nona’s eyes illuminated. “I’ve never seen one in real life. Could you show it to me?”

Marianne burst out laughing when Vesper blushed furiously before giving a short nod and whispering a timid ‘Sure’.

“Let’s do this," Marianne said, "tonight’s dinner is on me, and later you and your imp can come over to the shop so that Vesper can show you her bestiary.”

“Hey, I’m not this dummy’s imp! What do you think I am, a pet?”

“Oh, you are not?”

Thorny’s overly offended reaction was so funny that even Vesper had to conceal a laugh by pretending to cough.

* * *

“WHAT?! Are you seriously telling me that you can find these enormous, round bunnies in the mountains?!”

“W-Well, not exactly. According to what that traveler told us, you can only find them on the top of a really snowy mountain in a rainy afternoon when there is strong wind.”

“Seriously, among ALL the monsters that appear in this bestiary, the ones that catch your attention are those chubby rabbits?”

“Yes, because look how cute they are!”

“Pfff. Anyway, those conditions are super specific. Are you sure that fella wasn’t just pulling your leg?”

This time, the timid smile that Vesper offered Nona and Thorny was also proud. “I already took it into account. That’s why this page is marked as TBC.”

Nona and Thorny exhaled respective ‘Wow’ in unison. After having dinner with Marianne and Vesper in the common area, they had returned to the shop. Marianne had retired then to rest - saying that she was too old to stay up late - while Vesper showed Nona and Thorny the bestiary.

The young druid had been really quiet and nervous at first, simply turning the pages pretty fast, as if she were afraid that Nona and Thorny were bored. However, after Nona expressed her genuine interest by asking Vesper to stop in almost every page while asking several questions, Vesper became more and more relaxed. And after a couple of hours, the druid was talking way more, almost without stuttering.

“This bestiary is incredible, Vesper,” Nona said with her eyes shining with enthusiasm. “The drawings, the description, the details of the monsters’ attacks, even their weaknesses... You are really talented.”

Vesper exhaled a soft chuckle while nervously tucking her hair behind her ear.

“To be fair, my mother was the one who filled the most detailed pages. I just took over where she left it.”

Nona’s eyes opened wide in horror. “Wait, is she dead?”

“What the…even I wouldn’t dare to ask such a blunt question, you fool!” Thorny snapped, hitting the top of Nona’s head with surprising force.

“No, no, no, she is alive,” Vesper rapidly said while Nona rubbed her head. “But she…” Vesper hesitated before continuing. “She had an accident, and her leg ended up heavily injured. So she cannot go exploring as she used to.”

Vesper’s voice trembled slightly at the end, which prompted Nona to place a hand on her shoulder.

“You are doing an awesome job. I’m sure she’s super proud of you.”

Vesper gulped softly before her eyes diverted towards a painting that was hanging on the wall, picturing a couple of druids and a little kid.

“Are those your parents?” Nona asked a little unnecessarily, because Vesper’s resemblance to the woman was uncanny.

“Yes, that’s a family portrait.”

“And who is the little boy in the picture? Your brother?”

Nona was confused when Vesper tensed again. She was about to ask further when Thorny cleared his throat and whispered something in Nona’s ear that caused her eyes to open wide.

“Oh.” After a short pause, Nona looked at Vesper from head to toe before smiling at her. “You were a very cute boy, but you are super pretty as a girl.”

Vesper released the air that she had been holding before exhaling a relieved laugh.

“Regarding the bestiary, can I ask you two a favor?” Vesper asked, in a voice that now sounded less feminine, but more natural and relaxed.

“Well, it depends on the…”

“Of course! Whatever you need.”

“Here we go again.”

“It’s not anything dangerous, I promise,” Vesper assured Thorny, who kept looking skeptical. “My grandma has told me that you are going to Hairur’s Fence. I’ve heard that the fauna around the capital is pretty unique. So, could I make you a list of monsters that are rumored to wander there? Of course I’m not asking you to fight them or anything, but if you happened to run into some of them, could you please let me know to better complete the bestiary?”

Thorny snorted softly.

“Well, as long as you don’t ask us to draw them or anything I guess we can do that.” Thorny blinked while looking at Nona, who was lost in her thoughts. “Okay, you’re way too quiet, and that makes me nervous. What are you thinking?”

“Vesper,” Nona, who hadn’t even heard Thorny talk, looked at the druid, took one of her hands in her own, and smiled with anticipation, “would you like to come with us?”