PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

′′ About that . . . we probably have to start with a topic that is not related to our objectives. ′′ Expressed Sasha with shame.

′′ And would that be? ′′ Desmond exclaimed with some confusion.

Averting her gaze so exaggeratedly that she was practically staring at the ceiling, Sasha adopted the attitude of a misbehaving child that hopes that her parents will be benevolent towards her, based only on how adorable her current appearance of hers was. . . That, in fairness, she was indeed incredibly adorable when she put her mind to it.

′′ Well, the truth is that I was so focused on my recent experiments that I neglected some of my daily tasks, so if we want to live and operate quietly for a while, we will need to do some of them. ′′

Having a bad feeling about Sasha’s childish attitude, Desmond could only smile bitterly at the resemblance she had to Claire when they were trying to escape responsibility; so Desmond already had a vague idea that when she said “some” she was probably referring to almost all of them.

′′ Well, stop thinking about it, I can already imagine the huge list of things to do so why don’t we start with the most vital and go from there. ′′ Desmond said without much choice.

′′ In that case, I would say we have no food. . . And by we don’t have, I don’t mean we almost don’t have it anymore, but we literally ate the only thing we had for breakfast and now there are no other eatables besides tea. Sasha said with such shame that if it were physically possible to use shame as a weapon, Sasha could go right now to destroy half Olympus and return unscathed.

Desmond did his best not to get mad at the careless alchemist right now, but he already felt the veins in his temple throbbing as even someone like him had a limit, the simple fact that the silly alchemist let her supplies run out completely being someone who lives alone in the forest was simply unheard of.

.....

One should know that the first rules for living in the forest can be summarized as ensuring water, food, and shelter. Basically following that hierarchy of importance, Sasha had completely forgotten the second point, and probably the first would also forget it if she did not have a constant source of water such as the small stream that runs along the outer edge to the east of the property where the cabin from Sasha is.

Fuuu * Taking a deep breath as he massaged the center of his eyebrows, Desmond decided not to give any more thoughts to the matter, ultimately Desmond was a hunter; if he were unable to put at least food on the table, then he could forget his dream of sailing the seas of stars with a bow in hand dominating his enemies and making the maidens fall in love.

′′ I am sorry. ′′ Sasha whispered softly and with her head bowed.

′′ Forget it, even if we did not do it today it is a task that we would have to do another day. ′′ Desmond said softly as he affectionately caressed Sasha’s head, it was merely an instinctive act, but when he felt Sasha’s ruby ??horns press her palm, he came out of his stupor and withdrew his hand in discomfort; He usually did this when he tried to comfort Claire when she was sad, but he had forgotten for a second the fact that the person in front of him was a girl he had known for less than twenty-four hours.

This led to an uncomfortable silence in the room for a few seconds, meanwhile, Sasha blushed again with great shame, but for a different reason than she had a few moments ago; in the end, Sasha had been alone for a long time and the only person she showed affection for was her teacher who died years ago, so she was taken by surprise in more ways than one by Desmond’s action at this time.

′′ Do they bother you? ′′ Sasha whispered.

′′ Eh? ′′ A puzzled expression crossed Desmond’s face at Sasha’s question.

′′ The horns, do they bother you? ′′ This time besides embarrassment there was a hint of nervousness in Sasha’s whisper.

′′ Oh, you meant that. . . Hmm, they don’t bother me, it’s just that I’m not used to it so I’m not sure how to treat them, I mean, I’m not sure if they cause you any discomfort if I touch them and I didn’t want to be too rude about it; also the gesture was more of an instinctive reaction so I wasn’t sure if it bothered you as well. ′′ Desmond explained clearly hoping to clear up the misunderstanding.

′′ sure? ′′ Sasha asked with eyes full of expectation as she slightly raised her gaze.

′′ I had already told you before, I like your appearance, all of it; you are beautiful and each of your features contribute to it. . . all of them, including those horns of yours that are like gems. So stop thinking about it. . . Do you want another pat? ′′ Desmond re-stated his position on Sasha’s appearance, then offered a slight display of affection to lighten the mood and cheer Sasha up.

Just a slight nod was the answer Desmond got, but it wasn’t like he needed a whole lecture on it either, therefore Desmond raised his right hand and gently ran it through Sasha’s hair, ruffling that soft, slightly wavy hair a bit that it was the color of a raspberry; feeling the edges of his palm touch the inner side of both horns Desmond looked down to see Sasha’s reaction to it.

′′ Do not worry, they are only sensitive to energy, as long as you do not push them too hard it does not cause me any discomfort. ′′ Sasha whispered without looking up as she almost prophetically knew what Desmond was thinking at that moment.

This scene lasted for almost a full minute before they broke apart silently, proceeding to put their leather armor back on, pick up their weapons and check that they were in condition; Desmond turned around and smiling at her in a way that it might as well kill a weak-hearted woman, he exclaimed:

′′ What are you waiting for? We will have to hurry if we want to take advantage of the sunlight and fill our food cabinets, I am going to suppose that for some of them you already have some idea of ??where we can find them; so let’s save those for last and go find the toughest things first. ′′

Bump * Bump *

Feeling that her heartbeat was almost so strong that her heart was going beyond her chest, Sasha tried to calm her overflowing emotions before just nodding, but between that almost hypnotic smile, the dream she had last night, and the memory of Desmond exercising his incredibly manly body; Sasha could almost feel any logic or restriction in her collapsing dangerously the more time she spent with this strange hunter.

Having her mind almost as cluttered as her house had been before Desmond arrived, she Sasha could only muster enough IQ to search for the things she would need during her food foraging journey; she could only hope that things with Desmond would be calmer from now on or she would not know what she would do with all the emotions that being in her company caused him.