Convincing that stubborn man is not easy, in fact, Alex has never succeeded. Wilhelm’s grief and regret is unmeasurable and Alex himself won't ever know how it feels to experience what Wilhelm experienced. Wilhelm hasn’t even told anyone the story of that mournful time, as a childhood friend it frustrates him that he’s visited every few months but is unable to force him to even stay in town for a day. Propping himself on a rock he sighed, he needed liquor to calm his stress and frustration. Popping off the cap of flask, he chugged down half the contents, completely oblivious to the armed body behind him.
Down the trail, Wilhelm wandered listlessly, truly regretful of his words and actions directed to his friend. Though he has never shown Alex any emotion since that day, Alex had shown him a tremendous amount of compassion and patience. Shaking his head furiously to a point the world almost revolved to blackness, he began focusing his thoughts to his next task. Setting up his camp.
Slowly exploring and scouting around the ideal area for camp, his mind wandered back to the warm house that smelled of fresh baked bread and lavender. The warm furnace and the sound of him wrestling with the family dog, his almost scream like giggles under the large, golden furred dog piercing the humble voices of his family at the dinner table at the other side of the room.
That happy house, no… that happy ‘home’ that he abandoned and left behind because of nothing more than cowardice.
Nearby a crow screeched, snapping him out of his depressing thoughts, looking around for a glimpse of the charcoal bird, he finally spots it a top of a dying pine. His breaths made frozen wisps in the air, the sun had painted the sky in a rainbow of red and orange. The undeniable beauty of the colour often associated with hatred and madness calmed him. Shrieking once more, the crow thrashed its wings before managing to gain enough air underneath its wings to fly. Sensing a small familiar presence to his left he sighed, driving away his insecurities.
“To me,” Wilhelm mumbled and a medium sized feline silently paddled to him and squirmed lovingly around his leg. Finally breaking his poker face he finally softly smiled. Crouching down he began to scratch the feline tenderly behind the ears earning a soft purr.
“Hey Saber,” he softly cooed in a voice that doesn’t match his earlier demeanor. Slowly tracing back to his planned campground, he began collecting large twigs and sticks for the fire, Saber contently trotting beside him. Saber is a lightning attributed Siberian, a magical beast. Magical beasts are creatures with an affinity. Saber was not meant for battle in any means, she has use in one but is not built for one. Her build caters to speed rather than strength, rather than claws she will use her long whip-like tail. She’s a magical beast that’s a bit special due to the fact their species rely on a mutualism, in which they pick a slower and stronger hunter to bind to. They require a slower and stronger hunter because of their inability to strike a proficiently strong enough blow to easily kill most beasts and prey.
After leaving the abundance and almost over exaggerated amount of sticks in the small clearing he now calls his camp, Wilhelm began his hunt. He took his spears with him, one spear he wielded on his right hand was just a normal hunting spear, the spear he left attached to his back was oddly shaped and is more built for battle. Though it’s called a spear, it looked more like a partially completed circle, with a centre spear that protruded menacingly straight vertically from the handles and body. Being outside camping instead of staying in town meant he has to support his own necessities, including food. Quickening his pace to a light jog, he began to glide over different sections of the forest setting up a camp meant that prey had left a small radius around him, therefore he has some lengths to travel before being able to spot prey.
It was only after Wilhelm hopped down a small natural ledge then he began stalking for any small prey to hunt as food. It only took Wilhelm about half an hour to spot a small rabbit that was just bigger than half the size of Saber. Quickly after spotting it nibbling on a small patch of barely green grass, he hid behind a large bush that hasn’t lost most of its leaves yet. Crouching down to a smaller level to compliment his body to the shape of the bush he slowed his breathing.
Gently Wilhelm pressed three fingers on Saber’s shoulder blades to which she immediately responded by quickly stalking off. Using her nimble body to accent the small depressed areas on the ground. Her soundless travel caused Wilhelm to tense, by now Wilhelm has not moved even more than an inch from the bush, not even bothering to brush off a strand of his hazelnut hair that fell on his face.
The uneven undergrowth caused Saber to disappear from his line of sight a couple of times before finally he was unable to spot her overall. Despite the lack of vision, he could feel her, her presence was visible to him in other ways. It didn’t take him a verbal question to understand she was in position. Taking a deep breath as preparation, and a slight shoulder roll, he sprang up and shot his spear with blinding speed at the now shocked rabbit.
Having barely enough time, the rabbit shot away, but the spear manage to pierce it's soft flank, leaving it slightly disabled. It still shot out of his reach. He covered part of the distance while ripping out his hunting spear from the ground. Without breaking a stride he jogged lightly waiting for Saber’s interference, similar to Saber, he preferred speed over strength, his agility is still unmatched as none had compared to his capabilities.
Was was around eight to ten meters behind before a whip like fluffy tail shot out from behind a tree, causing the rabbit to stumble. With no hesitation Saber pounced on the brown mass of fear, careful to not damage the skin that might make it dirty to eat. Followed after Saber’s swift attack, Wilhelm switched his spear with a small dagger, whispering a soft prayer, he struck the rabbit’s spine, an instant kill.
Carefully wrapping the limp animal in some rope, he slung it over his back attached to a hook so his hand was not required to hold the bag back to camp. He began a casual jog and climb up the earlier ledge and once again began listlessly maneuvering around trees and over shrubbery. Before arriving at camp, he stroked the clearing with a calm gaze, his hunt had refreshed his mind. Wilhelm didn’t even notice his stillness until Saber began circling his legs for attention. Plopping down cross legged on a dry hard area with his back towards a tree, he beckoned Saber with open arms, in which she happily complied and jumped into in a loud purring ball of fluffiness.
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