Mia and An stepped backward and their swords were drawn again. Guard stances were attained, but the beast simply ignored them. Mia and An could only frown as the beast turned its back on them. Instead, it focused on its formidable opponent. The Perrafin struggled to stand on its feet, but was not trembling anymore. Its resolve was reflected in its pale blue eyes. D notified him that the Upriser class beings can only empower themselves with the affinity, if it were attacked by the same element.
Ruella took a few steps back as Lee gestured. He bent himself slightly to his forward. His palms faced the ground and conveyed his vigilance. The beast growled for a bit, but did not emit any hostility. Perhaps it was because it found Lee and his less powerful companions troublesome, the Perrafin positioned itself a distance from the party. An and Mia joined Lee and stood guard to Ruella. When it was showing its reluctance to fight, the beast's stomach growled out loud.
*squirm*
The growling of the stomach could be heard, but the pain it provided was only felt by the beast. It squirmed for a second, and then glanced at the humans. Fero, who was standing on the sidelines, was intelligent enough to evaluate itself powerless in front of the Perrafin. The beast caught the hyena in its sight, but did not attempt to attack. The stomach growled again, and the beast took a step backward. Its movements notified D that it is trying to escape.
[The Perrafin is trying to leave, you stupid idiot. Give him some meat to make it stay, or you will fail the quest!]
'Oh damn!'
Lee had completely forgotten about the quest. As the beast took one more step backward, Lee remembered his Essence reserve depleted. Without seeking D's advice, He pulled out a Spotted Bush Deer from his EsGen storage. It was inside his EsGen since the time he went to hunt down the bandits.
The sudden appearance of the Deer made it hesitant to take another step. The EsGen had messed with its mobility. But the sheer predatory sense of the Perrain can detect the freshness of the Deer. Sparkling eyes locked onto the prey, which was only the size of a 40" television. Lee found it amusing, as he moved the deer from his left to right and the beast followed it.
The actions were reversed, and the Perrafin took a step forward. Noticing the loud growls of its stomach, and its drooling mouth, Lee can tell that it will certainly pounce on the deer. So he threw it towards the beast. The deer, unbeknownst of the impending death, drew an arc in the air. The Perrafin did not let it to be soiled, as it received the deer with its mouth.
*crunch crunch crunch*
The noise of breaking bones resonated in the air as the deer went down the throat of the Perrafin in a gulp. A moment of relief surfaced on the face of the Perrafin as it savoured the taste. Realising the situation, it peered at Lee for more. The beast courageously stepped forth a few steps and halted as it stared at Lee, conveying its need. Lee had no other way, than to give it a couple more deers as food.
Disappointed! Completely disappointed! Fero, who was previously baring his fangs at the beast, had a blank expression now. It sat on the ground and blankly glanced at Lee and the Perrafin. All the time he was with Lee, he was not fed any of such juicy fresh meat. Glancing at An an Mia, who were lowering their guard, Fero simply conveyed his discontent in Lee's behaviour. His eyes reflected the soul of a betrayed being!
*nomnomnom*
The Perrafin no longer resounded hostility, but was getting familiar with the party. Fero came walking towards Lee, and gave a glance at the beast. The towering beast scoffed inside, and gulped down the churned meat. Blood dripped from its mouth, and onto the grass below it. As the hyena walked past it, the antelope came running towards An. The Perrafin caught a glance of it, and found its delicate figure alluring, but was distracted by Fero's growling.
*burp*
The Perrafin gave out a sudden burp and it jolted Fero. The antelope leaped with its life at risk and reached An. Fero turned his head and glanced at Lee with complete discontent.
'I have something better for you!'
Lee was hoping to console Fero so that he wouldn't turn rebellious. Taking his bipedal buddy's word for it, the hyena took a few steps back and sat on the ground. His eyes were still plastered in the beast's face.
[The beast has eaten sufficiently, so it will leave soon. Do something to tame it!]
D sounded his argument to Lee, but he had no idea what to do. Fero was a special case when he tamed it. But this Perrafin?
'So be it!'
Lee took a step forward. He was not cautious. Gesturing An and Mia to sheathe their sword, Lee took one more step towards the beast. Letting out a deep sigh, he stared into Perrafin's eyes. The beast felt a sense of tranquility from Lee. It stared back at his eyes without any motion. Silence enveloped them as it gracefully closed its eyelids. The enviably attractive eyelashes kissed each other and opened up again.
Lee had reached near it. The absence of hostile intentions assured the beast of the safety of the surroundings. Looking down, it saw Lee standing in front of it, with his right arm extended. His palm facing the sky was bright with the daylight. The pale blue eyes showed signs of surprise seeing his palm. The Perrafin glanced at Lee and his hand repeatedly.
=====
2 P.M.
24350 Essence harvested.
=====
Staring at the incomprehensible face of the beast, D inquired about the amount of Essence harvested, after he sacrificed a number of deers.
[24350 Essence were collected. Do you want to use it for elemental progress?]
'No, drop that process. Let's amass Essence for a while.'