Chapter 7: Sweet Fire part 2

Foin decided to wait a few more minutes as his previous potato was still a bit raw. In the meantime, he just enjoyed the pleasant scent of his fire. As he was waiting, he was daydreaming. In his imagination, he had created an entire field of potatoes and was running in it while chewing on some freshly cooked ones. However, this daydream was quickly scattered.

Suddenly, he heard a sound which was not related to the fire. A strange crack and some sort of movement. He could see that in the distance, the tall grass was moving, and something was slowly approaching him. He was bewildered. A few moments earlier, he was just happily eating a baked potato; now, he was witnessing something he never wanted to.

Most definitely a creature which he had never seen, as this was a different world. His previous smile quickly faded, and his face turned show white. He was in this shocked state for a few moments; however, he suddenly had a new idea. The stick he used to cook his potato was, although not extremely sharp, but was usable.

He quickly grabbed a handful of grass as he leaned back to his pile and tightly wrapped it around the tip of his so-called weapon. And then he dipped it into the fire. With great effort, he stood up, using his injured leg just as much as he used his healthy one due to the adrenalin coursing through his veins; he felt no pain at all.

The grass soon started burning, and Folin was ready to engage. He was prepared to throw his stick as if it was a javelin. He was sweating greatly and was glaring ahead at the movements coming from the tall grass.

What stepped out of the tall grass shocked him. It was definitely not something he had expected. A massive, dog-sized ant. It was pitch black, and it was seemingly injured. It had a few holes around its body through which yellow liquid was leaking. It was almost as if it was blood, but it was much more syrupy. One of its antennas was missing, and its entire body was slightly shaking.

"STOP!"

Folin didn't know what came over him as he quickly drew his weapon from the fire and readied it to throw. For some reason, as soon as he shouted, the massive black ant stopped and looked at him. It seemed as if it understood him.

Foin glared into the ant's eyes while trying to avoid his eyes and instead stared at his chest. After taking a deep breath, Foin extended his burning stick and pointed it at the monster before his eyes. No matter how peaceful the ant seemed, he was still a monster of another world in Foin's eyes, so he needed to be as careful as possible.

"Could it be that it came for food? It doesn't seem that hostile... It's more like it is submissive than aggressive..."

Foin looked down at the fire, growled and quickly looked back at the shaking. He slowly lowered himself back onto the ground while still having his burning stick extended.

"Damn it... I guess it's worth a try!"

Foin mumbled as he quickly removed his other three slightly well-done servings. He decided that he would give the ant two potatoes; maybe then it would leave him alone. He'd rather lose some food than be eaten or killed because he was too greedy.

He waited a few minutes for the food to cool, and once it was cooled enough, he pulled them off of the stick and then tossed them to the ant. Who ate first stepped away and then looked at the cooked potatoes.

"You can have them."

He said as he glared at the ant. The monster at first looked at him and then nodded greatly surprising Foin. He was not expecting this level of reaction from the monster before him. He felt a hint of happiness as he watched the ant try the potato, something that he had grown personally.

The ant took a small bit at first, tasting the potato; however, then it started eating faster, just like Foin. As soon as he threw the potatoes, he started eating his portion with the peppers. It seemed that the potato's and the pepper's flavours slightly mixed together, creating a new and great experience.

The stick in Foin's hand had been mostly enveloped by the flames, as he had it extended forward, allowing the fire to spread easier. He could feel that the fire was getting closer to his hand, and soon, he would need to drop his stick.

He sighed, and suddenly, once the ant was finished eating, it slowly walked closer to him. It was much slower than before, and when he was only about a meter away from Foin, it stopped. Foin was prepared and was ready to strike if it was needed; however, the monster remained submissive as it had its head slightly lowered.

Foin looked at the ant, and for some unknown reason, a strange grew stronger in him; it was that he wanted to pat the ant. He didn't know where this strange feeling originated from, but seeing its head, it felt so close and so easy to do. He always liked insects back in his original world, so the only reason he was on edge because of the ant was due to its sheer size. And, of course, the unknown abilities it could have, which are common in this unknown world.

He slowly extended his free hand and touched the ant's head. At that gesture, the ant shook its body a bit but then calmed down. Foin stroked the insect's head and then let go of his stick. Both because it was too hot for him to hold any longer and because he felt that the insect before him didn't mean any harm to him.

Some could say that it was a hastened decision. As soon as he pulled his hand back, the ant bit his middle finger, and as Foin hissed up, it jumped back quickly. Foin quickly looked at his finger and could see two tiny marks. The ant's mandibles punctured his skin in two tiny areas, and those two holes were bleeding. At first, he was only surprised and felt nothing at all. But soon, even after a few seconds gone by, his entire body felt numb.

"Damn it... I was too naive!"

He thought as he felt great numbness animating from every part of his body. He could feel that his body grew heavier and heavier, and he slowly leaned back. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move, and as he finally leaned down, his vision grew blurrier. There was only one thing he could see. The ant, which was right next to him, lowered its head, almost touching his. This was his last vision before finally everything went black, and he closed his eyes.