Free Web NovelChapter 19: The Menace Called Koda
The older wolves were still shaking their heads, but after hearing Nuan’s entire "Aestra" speech, they finally gave in and joined the younger ones.
The clearing turned into a massive workshop. Everyone broke off into small groups of five or six, building their own moon-shaped stone pits and gathering mountains of dry sticks, wooden slabs, and grass fluff.
But a few minutes in, a major logistical problem popped up.
These guys were beastmen. Their raw, heavy-duty strength was way too much for a delicate survival skill. Every single one of them was snapping the friction sticks in half before they could even get a single spin going.
Crack! Snap!
Nuan stood in the middle of the chaotic homework session, rubbing her temples and letting out a heavy sigh.
"Okay, everyone, listen up!" she yelled, waving her arms. "Use a little less muscle! The way you’re brute-forcing it is just a waste of time. If you’re still having trouble keeping the stick steady, do this first: use your claws and scratch one straight, shallow groove into the wooden slab you’re using!"
Koda immediately followed her instructions, dragging his sharp claw across his wooden piece. "Like this, Witch Aestra?"
"Yes, exactly like that! Now, put the tip of your stick right in that small scratch opening and just rub it back and forth between your palms. It’s a bit exhausting, but the groove keeps it from sliding around and snapping."
Koda started doing it, his stick spinning perfectly without breaking. His eyes lit up as he figured out the rhythm. "Oh! It’s just like mating!"
Nuan blankly stared at the overgrown toddler. "Ugh!! Minus ten marks for classroom etiquette," she murmured under her breath.
With the new groove method, all the groups started trying both ways, finding their own rhythm.
While Nuan was supervising, Kael stepped up behind her. His large hands slid around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. "You act like an Alpha," he rumbled in her ear, a proud smirk in his voice. "Do you want to be the Alpha female now?"
"No, idiot!" Nuan hissed, trying to elbow his ribs. "I’m just helping you guys to repay the favor from yesterday! Fire is an essential survival asset. And frankly, all of you absolutely suck at using your sticks!" freeweɓnøvel.com
Kael blinked, completely misinterpreting her words. He looked down at his own waistline, then back at her with a thoroughly confused expression. "But... I haven’t even shown you how I use mine yet?"
"KAEL!!!" Nuan’s face turned bright red as she hissed, pointing a furious finger at the struggling wolves around the clearing. "I am talking about those sticks! The wooden ones!"
Kael looked over at his pack members, completely unfazed by her outburst. "But you did it with ease yesterday with your special silver rod tool."
"Huh? Oh, yeah. My ferrocerium rod and knife," Nuan said, her posture softening as she remembered her gear. "Well, that’s the only one I have, and it’s definitely not a giveaway item. It’s my sacred witchcraft tool, so don’t you dare think about messing with it!"
"No, I don’t want to mess with it," Kael murmured in her ear, his deep voice sending a weird shiver down her spine. "But you..." Before she could snap at him, his large hands started traveling down her hips.
"The Red Evil is being born!!!" Koda suddenly yelled right beside them.
Nuan instantly spun around, shoving Kael back with all her might. Kael let out a frustrated growl at Koda for ruining the moment, but the young wolf didn’t even notice. He was proudly holding up his wooden slab, showing off a tiny, smoking black coal he had finally managed to make.
"Very good! Hurry up, put it in the dry grass and blow!" Nuan ordered, completely abandoning her awkward conversation with Kael.
Koda nodded frantically, his tail doing a happy, high-speed wiggle. The entire pack stopped what they were doing to watch him. He carefully dumped the tiny coal into his grass nest, took a massive breath, and blew—like, completely blew the entire grass nest right out of his hands and into the dirt.
"Huh? Where did it go?" Koda blinked, looking at his empty, furry paws.
"You dummy!" Nuan let out a loud sigh, rubbing her forehead. "You have to blow it like fooo, foooo. Gentle! Look at my mouth." Nuan blew softly into the air to demonstrate. "Like this. A slow, gentle blow so the ember catches the grass. You can’t just blow as hard as you can, it’s risky and you’ll ruin the logistics!"
"What now?" Koda murmured, his ears dropping sadly.
"Do it again!" Nuan said, clapping her hands.
The rest of the pack burst into laughs, but Koda’s small success made everyone else way more confident. They all turned back to their stone pits with fresh energy.
Beside her, Kael was still glaring daggers at Koda, a low growl rattling in his chest. Nuan didn’t hesitate—she delivered a sharp smack to his ribs with her elbow.
"Don’t be mean to the kid," she hissed. "And I would have shoved you away anyways! Remember? Personal space? You can’t just touch me like that, and definitely not in front of the whole audience!" freēwēbηovel.c૦m
"So... it’s fine when it’s just the two of us?" Kael asked, a smug grin spreading across his face. He wrapped his arm right back around her waist, pulling her flush against his side, his hot breath brushing her ear.
"N... no!!!" Nuan squealed, her face burning.
But before she could kick him, Koda yelled again. "I summoned the Red Evil! For real this time!"
Nuan snapped her head toward his pit. Sure enough, a small, bright flame was crackling happily inside the moon-shaped stones. The wolves around him were staring at the fire in pure amusement and awe.
Kael took a step toward the kid, his chest puffed out with an aggressive growl, ready to assert his dominance. But Nuan stopped him, placing both her hands on his broad chest and pushing him back. "Wow..." she murmured, her hands lingering for a split second as she gave his firm muscles a soft, accidental squeeze before quickly letting go. "Control your jealousy, Alpha. He is just a kid!"
Right then, Koda turned to the whispering crowd, puffed out his chest, and proudly announced, "It’s just like I said! I mated the sticks hard, and the Red Evil was born!"
Nuan froze, her hands dropping to her sides. She stared at the proud young wolf with a completely blank, deeply disappointed face.
"Yeah, never mind," Nuan muttered under her breath. "I take back my words. He is not a kid. He is a menace."
