Chapter 22 The Beast in the Woods (2/2)
The group turned to the man in question, but Phillip simply looked at the wound on the Stag with calculative eyes.
”We have not had an incident like this before in Cordon, correct?” asked Phillip.
”There is no record of one, no,” the Baron confirmed.
”Then for now, treat it as an isolated incident. We don't want to cause panic in the populace unnecessarily,” Phillip stated, ”I have not heard of this creature either, but this could indicate that it is reclusive, and simply passing through. It is better we do not disturb it. If it sticks around...we will determine our course of action based on its behaviour”.
The others hesitated for a moment, but agreed it was the best option. Nobody wanted their wives or children to be terrified of a creature they had never seen nor heard of before. After some further discussion, the group dispersed, and Phillip returned to his house where he found Rassa also sneaking back inside. He pulled the boy aside, cautious in the darkness.
”Father? What's wrong?” asked Rassa quietly.
”They found the Stag,” Phillip said, ”The one you hunted last night, it was dead, died of blood loss”.
”But it was fine when I left it,” Rassa frowned, ”Immobilised, but alive”.
Phillip sighed, ”You said their was an instinct, one to lick the wound?”
Rassa frowned, then realised his father's line of thought, ”You think it seals the wound?”
”Whatever you hunted tonight, you need to go back and check. It would have taken a long while for that Stag to bleed out with such small wounds, and its unlikely that they wouldn't have clotted, so perhaps your venom prevents that as well,” Phillip stated, ”Go, now”.
Rassa didn't hesitated, he moved back to the forest quickly.
However, it seemed he was too later.
The Hunter Marcus had been unable to keep his concerns at bay. He had ventured out again, and this time, found a doe, immobilised and bleeding out. Rassa watched silently from the shadows as the man put it out of its misery, then carried it back as a second peice of evidence.