I awoke the following morning to the ecstatic sound of movement throughout the house. This was my queue.
I got up from my bed, the sun still shy of bearing its teeth out into the sky. I walked over to my wardrobe, still half asleep, as I picked out some basic clothes to wear under my hunting garments. It was nothing more than some simple, soft yet flexible leggings and a blue, long sleeve shirt.
I finished changing and made my way downstairs to the dimly lit dining area, filled with the smell of freshly baked bread. I snuck a piece as I began walking towards the door to head outside, grabbing my bow and quiver next to the door, along with my bag.
Today was Wednesday and every Wednesday, my father and I would borrow two horses to use in our training sessions. It was by far one of the more exciting days that I look forward to throughout my week.
“Morning, Eve. Did you sleep well?” My father asked as I approached our miniature stable.
“As good as always, dad.” I replied with a snicker. My father never bothered to tidy his messy blond hair if he wasn’t going to be seen by strangers. Right now, his hair looked like a messy clump of hay.
“That’s good, because we have a pretty exciting day today; I can’t have you dragging behind and slowing us down.” He teased me with a sly grin.
“From what I remember, it’s usually you who arrives last at our destination.” I said as I finished loading my stuff and mounting my horse.
“I guess we’ll have to see, then. Last one to Aniva’s Trench has to carry today’s catch back home!” He said as he sneaked a headstart onwards past the fence and onto the dirt road.
“Hey!! That’s not fair!!” I yelled, urging my horse to gallop behind him.
Aniva’s Trench was about an hour away from where we lived, however, a simple trip on a horse shortened that time to about twenty-five minutes. Somewhere along the halfway mark, I had passed up my dad who was seemingly struggling to keep up the pace at which he had left. I gave him a teasing face as I yelled “Looks like you’ll be the last one there once again!”, racing past him.
Upon arrival, I led my horse to a nearby tree and tied it down.
“Thank you for bringing me all the way here, buddy” I said, giving him a spare apple I had in my bag moments prior.
Afterwards, I sat on a fallen trunk, eating the piece of bread I had grabbed before leaving, as I waited for my dad to catch up.
I felt the rhythm on the ground before my father had rounded the corner to where I was. “Well look who finally decided to show up”.
“Oh, you know I only let you pass me up so you would have some free time after we’re finished here”.
“Sure you did” I said, practically spelling out my sarcasm.
“In any case, what are we hunting for today?” I asked, wondering why he’d want to come all the way out here specifically.
“Today, my Little Huntress, we’re hunting a flame-tailed lynx” He said, almost nonchalantly as if it was nothing but another deer.
“You’re kidding, right?!? No way!” I said, jumping up from where I was sitting.
“How do you even know that we’ll even find some out here?”
“I used to come here all the time a while ago when I was scouting out potential hunting grounds. That’s when I noticed them. It seemed like they were a bit spread out throughout these woods, albeit slightly rare and hard to catch. Do you think you’re up for the challenge?”
“Of course I am!” Retorting as if it was just that, another deer.
“Alright, in that case, I’ll keep my distance and trail you as I usually do. Once you secure the kill, I’ll meet back up with you. Be careful; I know how good you are, but these lynx aren’t your typical run-of-the-mill livestock; they’ll actually fight back.”
“There’s nothing to worry about, Dad. I’m sure I can handle a little resistance now and then.”
I grabbed my bow and quiver from my horse and began scouting the area. I then began to thread my way through a thicket of different types of trees and plants, eventually making it to a decent vantage point that overlooked the trench below me.
Locating a lynx wasn’t the hard part due to their vibrant colors, it was tracking them that made catching one difficult. Their strength wasn’t really the problem; it was their B-rank level speed and cunning that ranked them as high as they were. It also made them that much more valuable.
I continued overlooking the area to get a general feel for the terrain before hopping down to a nearby tree below.
The branches of these trees were almost as thick as their trunks, making it easy to run along them. Balance wasn’t something I was challenged at, nor did I have a fear of heights. I’d always preferred the highground over the low.
I continued hopping from tree to tree until I noticed a blur of near-like radiant-orange from my peripherals.
‘A flame-tailed lynx!’
Coming to an abrupt stop, I jerked my head around to look in the direction of where I had last seen the colors, still keeping my balance on the tree I was on. I knocked an arrow and drew the string back, preparing for the instant I saw the colors once again.
Losing sight of my prey, I hopped down from where I was to inspect where I had last seen it. It was then that I heard a twig break and some rustling behind me.
I quickly spun around and released an arrow, barely missing my target. I back-stepped from my prey, nearly tripping over a log I hadn’t seen.
Regaining my composure, I continued to attempt to create distance between me and the lynx, however, to no avail. It’s speed was truly something to be wary of.
I quickly knocked another arrow and fired it, this time grazing the side of its ear. With this, it bounced back into the bushes, most likely preparing to strike again.
I began preparing another arrow and drew it, waiting for the first sign of movement. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a streak of orange within an array of green moving slowly towards my back side. I quickly let loose an arrow in its direction, followed by another two in rapid succession.
I heard the impact of the arrows as the lynx whimpered and hit the ground. I fired one last arrow to ensure it had been killed before approaching it. I walked over to its lifeless corpse, however, when I looked at it, my eyes shot wide open, its ear was completely unscathed.
Mere moments after, I began to hear a distinct growling, followed by the sound of rustling grass and leaves. I was prepared this time, though. I quickly jumped forward and released another arrow behind me, striking it clear in its eye. It was not out of the fight just yet.
It lunged a second time, easily clearing the minor distance I had created, catching me off guard. I quickly slung my quiver off my shoulders and in between the animal’s jaws, nearly preventing it from dismembering my arm. The lynx, however, had me pinned on the floor, raring to end my life in an instant.
In one swift motion, I grabbed a handful of arrows from the quiver still in between the lynx’s jaws and stabbed them into its side. With one last motion, I grabbed my knife from my side and stabbed it beneath it’s jaw, ensuring it’s death.
Releasing my breath that I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding, still able to hear the beating of my heart in my ears, I began to push the body off of mine, allowing me to stand up.
“Well, would you look at that. Not only were you able to do it, you managed to kill two. Color me impressed”. My dad said, stepping out of some bushes behind me.
“What did I tell you, never had a single doubt in my mind,” barely hearing my own words over the pounding of my heart.
“Here take this,” he said, returning my bag. “I’ll lug these to my horse and start heading back. Why don’t you wash up in the nearby river down there? Seeing as you’re a little soaked in blood.”
“Ahhhh… yeah. I guess I probably wouldn’t want to head back home looking like this.” I laughed, finally taking the time to study the state I was in. I twirled the bag onto my shoulder and made my way towards the river.
After briefly cleaning up and changing into some spare clothes I had in my bag, I started to make my way to where I had left my horse initially. After about ten minutes of retracing my steps and climbing up a couple of trees, I finally made my way back.
I set my stuff on the horse, running my still slightly wet hand through its mane, and untied it from the tree.
“Why don’t we head back home, buddy?” I said, mounting the horse.
After galloping home back down the familiar path at breakneck speed, I was at the base of our house in a little under twenty minutes. By the looks of it, my dad hadn’t arrived too long ago as he still hadn’t unloaded the second lynx from his horse.
I got off of my horse and helped him hang the second lynx up.
“Well, you finished up rather fast.”
“No, it’s just you’re so slow. I told you you’re always the last one there, old man”.
“Haha, very funny my Little Huntress.” He said, practically dying from holding in the laughter from teasing me.
I punched his arm and then made my way inside to take a proper bath and to rest for a little bit, my legs were ready to give out at any moment.
As I entered the bathroom, I could already feel the warmth enveloping me, beckoning me to indulge in its embrace, something I had no intention of resisting. I quickly got undressed and slipped into the magic-heated bath, slowly losing my consciousness as I began to fall asleep.
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