“Awooo~” What are you cooking?
Long Ming stood on tiptoe and watched the beastman pour all the dark, odd-smelling oval fruits into the iron pot, then use a flint to light the wood underneath. Light once again filled the cave.
Gelu looked down at the curious little cub and rubbed its head. “I’m boiling pinecones. Go play for a while. Soon there’ll be pinecone porridge to eat.”
Long Ming stood in place and thought for a moment, then turned around and took out the little picture book to continue reading. His tiny body was so plump that he had to sit with both legs stretched straight ahead, placing the little booklet—or more accurately, picture book—on his lap.
Watching the chubby cub study with such solemn seriousness made the wrinkles at the corners of Gelu’s eyes deepen with amusement. Before long, the pinecones in the pot boiled open, revealing the white flesh inside.
The hardworking goblin scooped the floating cones from the water and placed them on a stone nearby, then poured the used water into a small passage behind the cave. The pinecone shells would soon rot into nutrients there. Gelu planned to plant a few shade-loving Marguerite flowers in the spot after several days. Their nectar was sweet. Perhaps the little fatty would like it.
Long Ming read for a while, then smelled food.
Immediately, he could no longer concentrate on the book.
Gelu was wearing a dingy gray apron and stirring something. Long Ming braced his claws against the floor, pushed himself unsteadily upright, and walked toward him.
“Gulu~” Gelu.
Long Ming: …
Gelu looked down at the little creature that barely reached his lower leg. He ladled a bowl of cooked pinecone soup and placed it on the large stone beside him. Long Ming immediately pattered over. The soup was milky white, but rather thin. The fruit had cooked apart and was nowhere near as thick as yesterday’s meal.
Gelu served himself a bowl as well, then sat cross-legged on the other side of the stone, waiting for the soup to cool before drinking it.
He watched the little creature stare blankly down at its pinecone soup. Even the tail that usually wagged so energetically had gone still. Its head drooped, making it look terribly disappointed and sad.
Gelu’s sparse brows furrowed. He pushed the bowl closer to the little fatty and began rambling without caring whether it understood him. “There’s no food in winter, cub. Make do with this for now. Once spring comes in a few months, I’ll catch some little animals for you to eat.”
Long Ming did not understand. He stared blankly at the beastman and gave a soft howl.
Was there no soup like yesterday’s anymore?
He waited for a while. When he saw Gelu drink his own bowl, he gradually understood. There was probably no food. Heavy snow covered the world outside, and this beastman obviously was not much of a hunter. He had no scales, no claws, and no sharp teeth. He could only gather those strange fruits to eat.
Long Ming looked at the soup in front of him and suddenly felt deeply troubled. What was he supposed to do? If only he were grown up already. Then he could eat anything he wanted. He would roast meat, pan-fry meat, drink three huge bowls of warm milk, and bring along the beastman who had found him.
But thinking about it changed nothing. Long Ming heard his little stomach growl, reminding him that it was time to eat.
He could only lift his personal bowl in both claws, tip back his head, and gulp it down. It tasted slightly sweet but had not the faintest trace of milk.
Gelu filled another bowl for him.
Still hungry, Long Ming drank two more bowls. Yet even after finishing them, he did not get the warm, full feeling he had experienced after yesterday’s meal. It felt more like drinking water.
“Awooo~” No more.
Long Ming refused the next bowl Gelu offered. If he drank any more, his stomach would contain nothing but water.
Gelu crouched down beside the little creature, whose tail had stopped wagging entirely, and rubbed its belly. Soft and warm. It did not seem full. He looked at the pinecone soup nearby. Compared with yesterday’s ant honey, there truly was a huge difference. This was nothing more than ordinary liquid food, without any of the nutritious earth elements. Gelu had heard that cubs of high-level magical beasts normally ate magic crystals, elemental high-grade beast meat, or other treasures if they were to grow quickly.
But Gelu had none of those things.
All he could offer was a safe home during the cub’s childhood.
Gelu sighed. Raising a cub was not easy.
Not long after drinking, Long Ming became hungry again. He rubbed his little belly and looked around but could not find anything edible.
Gelu finished the remaining soup and rummaged through the entire cave. At last, he found a single artichoke root tuber in one corner. He shifted the burning pinewood, set the tuber among the coals to roast, then pulled it out after a while. Long Ming sat nearby and watched the beastman peel away the skin, revealing something pale yellow that looked a little like a potato.
“Eat. Tomorrow I’ll go farther away and find more food.” Gelu placed the artichoke tuber into the little fatty’s claws, planning to leave early the next morning.
Long Ming smelled its soft, sweet aroma, and his stomach immediately growled. Perhaps the two great instincts of any cub were eating and sleeping. At least, Long Ming felt that his entire mind was currently filled with food. He wanted milk. He wanted meat.
The tiny potato-like tuber in his claws was so small that it would barely make one bite. Long Ming was just about to stuff it into his mouth when he saw the beastman put the peel he had just removed into his own mouth.
Long Ming lowered his head and stared at the tiny potato in his claws. Eating it would not fill him anyway. After thinking, he took the beastman’s hand and placed the little tuber back into his palm.
“Awooo~” You eat it.
It would not fill Long Ming even if he ate it. Better to let the beastman have it. Gelu still had to search for food every day.
Gelu had not expected the chubby cub to return the artichoke tuber. He stared blankly as the little creature softly called his name.
“Ge… lu~”
The little creature sat on the floor and called him in its milky voice, leaving the only food for him even though it was so hungry that its tail had stopped wagging. Its large golden eyes shimmered, warm firelight reflected inside them, clearly mirroring Gelu’s own short, ugly goblin face.
Huh?
Long Ming looked curiously at the beastman, who had suddenly lowered his head, and howled softly. What was wrong? He stood, then walked unsteadily toward him.
“Ge… lu.”
Long Ming could now pronounce the two sounds of Gelu’s name properly, though only very slowly. Whenever he tried to speak faster, they turned back into “Gulu.” A cub’s voice naturally carried a soft, almost coquettish sweetness. Long Ming tilted his head at the beastman and gave another quiet, “Awooo~.”
Only after collecting himself did Gelu raise his head. He stroked the little fatty’s claws, his cloudy small eyes glistening faintly in the firelight.
“I’m fine. You eat it.”
It was simply the first time he had ever experienced what it felt like for someone to care about him.
Long Ming stared up at the beastman whose eyes had suddenly turned slightly red, helplessly hugged his own tail, and then found the little potato pushed into his mouth. One bite and it was gone.
“Come, I’ll teach you how to read. What we’re learning is the common language of the Azerik Continent. Once you grow up, you’ll understand how important it is to know a common language.” Gelu set the chubby cub on the floor, turned toward the pile of miscellaneous belongings, and dug out a booklet and a small wooden stick. Remembering the past, the poor but hardworking goblin began rambling again.
“My teacher once used the common language to make a deal with those sly fox folk and became a priest of the western branch of the Goblin Extortion Tribe. He’s dead now, but I’ll teach you properly, little one.”
Long Ming listened blankly. The beastman spoke much too quickly for him to understand anything. Fortunately, whenever Gelu was actually teaching him, he slowed his speech considerably.
And so one taught while the other learned, and the atmosphere between them grew increasingly warm and peaceful.
By nightfall, Long Ming lay on his sparkling pile of gem fragments without the slightest hint of sleepiness, while the goblin who had labored outside all day quickly fell asleep.
Long Ming rolled over and idly picked up a gemstone chip in his claws, staring at its shine. After a while, he could not resist rubbing his little belly again.
He was so hungry.
What should he do?
Long Ming looked around the cave until his gaze settled on the tunnel. Gelu had dug food out from there yesterday. Maybe he should go take another look…
No sooner thought than done. He rose unsteadily and carefully stepped around the scattered objects on the ground. Gelu was sleeping deeply on the bed. Firelight illuminated the cave, making the pitch-black tunnel entrance look even more like the throat of a giant beast waiting for Long Ming.
Long Ming paced around the tunnel entrance several times. In the end, hunger won, and he entered the passage.