Chapter 16: Just a Deer

Previously:

Our friend Tore managed to find his way back to his horse, finding everyone and their horses gone— including Thyra. He thinks that this means she escaped the dragons and was able to move on with the hunt without him. He decides to head home, cutting through star river, where he is reminded of the very first time he snuck out past the border. Which, thanks to his bad luck, was not as fun as it sounds.

Now:

Snapping out of my thoughts by a rustling bush, I tense up, reminded of all those years ago. I stay seated, but get ready to run. Please don’t be a dragon, please don’t be a dragon, please don’t be a dragon!

A few tense seconds pass, before a single deer steps out of the shrub and approaches the water. I breathe a quiet sigh of relief. Oh, thank gods it’s only a deer! I am not in the mood to be running for my life today.

I watch it lower its head to the water and start to drink peacefully, its ears twitching at the occasional sound. It hasn’t even noticed me!

Wait…my gaze flicks to my sword. This could be a good opportunity to get some game! And I can claim I got distracted when the rest of the group asks what happened. I don’t have my bow anymore, but if I’m quick and quiet enough… I might be able to take it down.

I raise into a crouch, grabbing my sword and gripping it tightly. I watch the deer, which still seems to be too invested in drinking to notice me. I breathe in and out of my nose a few times, trying to steady my beating heart. I only have one shot at this. If I mess this up, if I hesitate or miss, then it’s game over. I’ll be going home with no game.

I clench my jaw, raising my sword slightly and gripping it tightly.

The deer falters.

I jump forward, sword pointed at it.

It lifts its head.

It jumps to the side.

But my sword is already through its neck.

It’s lost.

I have won.

***

Checking the deer is secured to the saddle one last time, I swing up, patting the horse’s neck happily.

“Good boy, ” I praise him for not throwing a fuss about the new weight. “Now, let’s get out of here.”

I tap his side, pulling the reins to the side, and we step towards the water, quickly entering it with a splash. The horse throws his head up, but other than that he calms down and we continue across the narrow river. Yep, it’s the fastest way to get back home.

We emerge out the other side, and continue along through the forest, quickly finding an overgrown path and surging forward at a trot.

We follow the path for about ten minutes before we come across a much wider, better-kept path. I nod to myself with a relieved sigh, knowing that we’re not too far from the border now. It should be only a half-hour until we get to the wall. Glancing at the deer, I find myself smiling as I’m reminded of the first time I killed one.

It was a hot day, the hottest it had been all month. It was so hot that I found myself in short sleeves and shorts as I waded barefoot through the forest. Not the smartest thing to do, I know, but I was determined. I was thirteen, and I still hadn’t ever successfully hunted an animal. The rest of the kids my age had killed at least two animals already! Phanya, who lives a few houses down, had even killed a baby bear a few months ago. Mind you, her parents nearly collapsed when they saw her dragging its corpse through the village! It was pretty funny. Anyway, it was about time I changed my status from No kills to One kill. Two if I’m lucky!

I wasn’t alone, though. There was about six of us stalking through the forest. The adults make us go in groups bigger than four, so we’ll be ‘safer’. If you ask me, it just makes you a bigger target. In our group was the girls Phanya and Thyra, and amongst us boys was Cato, Emilian, and Orrin. I heard they were going out to the forest—not beyond the border of course because that was dangerous according to the adults— so I decided to join. They didn’t mind. But the only ones who knew my name were Thyra (best friends, enough said), Phanya (cause we live so close, and our parents are friends), and Emilian (he works in my mum’s stables for pocket money). The rest didn’t have a clue who I was. But they were ok, I guess. They didn’t tease me too much. Only when they found out I had never caught anything. Other than that, they were tolerable.

“Who’s gonna get the first kill, I wonder?” Emilian had asked, a smirk on his face. He’s always been very competitive.

Phanya grinned as she scrambled over a fallen log, with us followed soon after. “Well, it’s pretty obvious it’ll be—”

“Me,” Thyra interrupted dryly, jumping off the tree ahead of me.

Phanya squinted at her, “Come on, it’s way more likely I’ll—”

“Miss.” Thyra Interrupted again, a hunt of a smirk on her face as we all travel through the shin-high grass.

“Excuse you? Who’s the one who killed a bear here?” Phanya retorts.

“A baby. And you used almost all of the arrows in the quiver.” Thyra rolls her eyes.

Phanya spluttered, face red in embarrassment. Thyra smirked at her, proud of herself for exposing her.

“Y-you’ll see! I’ll beat you!” She muttered, glaring at her.

“Puh-lease! I’m way more likely to get the fried kill! Maybe even a wolf!” Emilian exclaimed as if he noticed the tension between the girls.

Thyra chuckled and slapped his shoulder as she walked past him. “Good luck, buddy.”

Needless to say, she got the first kill that day. A boar. She only used two arrows.

Phanya was furious. Both because Thyra bested her, and cause she only came home with a hare.

Emilian got a deer, but he was too busy teasing Phanya for loosing to Thyra to care much.

I, however, was probably the happiest of the group, as I’d finally got a kill.

It was only a hawk. But it was in the air! I was pretty impressed with myself. I’d felt pretty badass, considering I ran up a hill and took aim with the bow— I’d borrowed from mum —in a really cool way and shot it out of the sky in one shot.

I even got some positive comments from the group.

“Show off.”

“Where’d you learn to shoot like that? Whenever I see you, you’re tripping over your own feet!”

“Your feet were weird.”

“His feet are weird! Look at them. Who walks barefoot in a forest?!”

Yep. Definitely impressed them.

I shake my thoughts away, chuckling to myself as we continue along the path towards home. I couldn’t wait to show Thyra my kill.

Sure, the other kids had not reacted in obvious praise, but you could still tell they were impressed. I’m pretty sure they remembered my name for a quite a while after that! Phanya had even come over to my place and helped me pluck the bird! She was laughing a lot. I never knew I was that funny! Thyra was acting pretty weird that day though. She came over to my house, found Phanya and I plucking the bird in the backyard, then she remembered she had to help her brother with something and left right away.

Thyra is usually really good at remembering things—she never lets me forget the mistakes I’ve made. I guess she’d eaten something weird. Maybe that boar had a disease. It wouldn't surprise me. It must have made her sick for a few days because I didn’t see her until four days later. Whatever was making her act weird must have gone away by then, cause she didn’t seem to have any more problems.