Time to hunt [p]

Slinging the bow over her shoulder, and ensuring her quiver was stocked of the fresh arrows she had crafted, she set out to track the deer. She walked out about thirty paces, turned, and headed down another twenty. The animals were not likely to roam close to her camp, and definitely not in the same direction. Crouching low to the ground, she gently pushed aside leaves and foliage, looking for any tracks that may be fresh, or even within an hour. They were early risers, preferring to feed early in the morning, and late in the evening. If she could track one within the hour, she shouldn't have much trouble finding her prey.

Finding nothing in this particular patch, she moved on, keeping her eyes on the ground, periodically scanning the area, moving slow to limit the sounds her movement made. They were skittish animals, and easy to scare. Another twenty paces, and she crouched low again, brushing aside from broken twigs and leaves, finding half of an imprint in the soft dirt. The other half seemed to be broken up in dry dirt, proving to be more than an hour old. Possibly by a day, not worth following. She was patient. She had learned to be at a young age.

As she walked, she realized there was a second set of prints now. Slightly softer than the others, which meant either a doe, or fawn. If a fawn, she would leave it be, but a doe would be easier to track. However, a buck would feed her for longer, with enough meat to last her a few days. She nodded, she would continue her path on the heavier tracks, veering to the left, she made sure to watch for anything that may have spooked it, but found nothing to show that the pace or steps had changed. It was consistent in depth and spacing, and appeared to be walking rather casually. Perhaps it was looking to feed, or somewhere to rest.

Either way, it would soon find itself on the receiving end of Serilda's arrow. Her stomach growled again, and she placed a soft hand over her abdomen, patting it lightly. She hadn't realized just how hungry she actually was. Luckily for her, the tracks were becoming more and more fresh, which meant she was getting closer to intended target. If she was lucky, it would be a trophy kill, as well. Both in weight, and rack. It wasn't often she took the antlers, but she would make an exception, if it was worth it.

Slowly, and cautiously, she moved from one tree, to the next, taking care not to make any noise and spook the deer. If it ran, it would be gone, and she would have to start her hunt all over. They were fast, and moved a lot more nimbly than most, Serilda herself could probably follow, but it wouldn't be worth the hassle. As she neared the last tree, she leaned around and saw it in full view. Yes, it was large, it would feed her for at least two days, with maybe a little to spare for a third. That was good enough.

Slowly, she removed the bow from her shoulder, and nocked an arrow. Slowly she pulled the arrow and drawstring back, taking aim towards its heart. She wanted a nice clean kill, and would rather it did not suffer. If she missed, which she wouldn't, it would be torture for the animal to run with an arrow in its hide, bleeding and hurt. No, she needed to take it down in one shot. Slowing her breathing, she took aim, and let the arrow loose. It whizzed through the air and between the trees, and sunk deep in to the hide of the deer, and in to its heart.

She slung the ropes over her shoulders and turned in the direction of her camp, pulling the large buck behind her. It was heavy, and would prove to be slow going but she had her prey. That was good enough for her. IF she had remembered to bring it along, she simply would have brought an extra bag or pouch for meat, and skinned it right there. Ah! That's when she remembered, she DID have an extra pouch. It wasn't a large one and wouldn't hold the entirety of what she intended to take, but it would be enough to get back to camp.

Then she could come back for the rest. Yes. Letting the ropes go, she let the antlers slump to the ground and drew her hunting knife. First, she had to skin it, cutting from the head, down the belly, and towards the groin. It was a simple task, one she had done hundred of times, and it took no time for her to get the hide pulled away and access to the meat. She looked at the pouch and estimated that she could take a few larger chunks, perhaps some of the flank. Yes, that would do.

She took off in a jog at first, letting her body would up, and her muscles to loosen. When she felt comfortable, she sped to a full out run, dodging low hanging branches, and jumping over roots in the ground that threatened to trip her and break her ankle. Her hunt would mean little if she injured herself now, and that was a sure fire way to lose her kill to other animals. She sure as hell wasn't about to let that happen. She wasn't exactly sure how far out from the camp she had traveled, but it didn't appear to be too far.

The camp had come in to view after about twenty minutes or so of running, and seemed undisturbed. That meant no nosy pests, animals, or humans. That was good. Slowing her pace as she reached the camp, her breathing hard and coming in gasps to suck in as much oxygen as she could. Walking over to a tree, she pulled out a piece of twine and wrapped it around the neck of the pouch, and then strung it up over a branch, hoisting it in to the air. This would prevent any other animals from coming and stealing it while she was gone.

While tiring, it had always brought her pleasure, running, here she felt freedom. The wind against her face, the fresh smell of the forest invading her nose, and for the briefest of moments, she could forget about her grisly past. That was the reason she had traveled this far, exiled for something she didn't even do. Merely being associated with the name. But it mattered little, she would get better, practice her aim, and when she was stronger, she would retake the tribe that was rightfully hers to lead. She was not a cruel person, and harbored not hate or grudge against her people, she simply could not understand their reasoning.

It was all bullshit. Sighing, she neared the spot where she had slain the deer, taking note of a few ravens who had caught scent of her kill, but had not yet began picking at it. Shooing them away, she uncovered the corpse, and pulled her knife from belt, and began cutting. Each piece was sized evenly to better fit in the sacs she had brought with her, as she filled each one, she would place it to the side, grabbing the next. By the time the three sacs were filled, there was little meat left, of no worth taking. It would feed the birds tonight. Satisfied, she slung the three sacs of hefty weight, over her shoulder and started back.

Allowing her thoughts to wander as she walked, she hummed a tune from her childhood, often used to put youngsters to sleep. It had always had a calming effect on Serilda, and she often found herself humming it in times of silence, whether resting or on a mere walk like this. She did not have to worry about scaring off the animals, for she had caught her prey and would not need to hunt until sundown for a quick dinner. And that was easier, a few snares would catch a hare or two and be sufficient enough to keep her stomach from rumbling through the night.

The deer meat was best used as a breakfast or lunch meal, it was heavier, heartier, and gave her energy to help her complete daily tasks without tiring too quickly, or growing hungry. Though, she would have loved to catch a moose, they were much larger, and the meat was better tasting. At least to her, but she had a preference. That, and it would feed her for much longer, a couple days to a week at least, and that was just an average sized moose, a large one could last up to a month if she rationed properly!

As she arrived at her camp, she placed the sacs full of meat off to the side and out of the sun, to slow their spoiling. In truth, it could last the full day in the sun but it was merely a preference for her. Better safe than sorry, the sickness that came with tainted meat was not a fun one. Walking over to a mound of dirt that had been dug up recently, she scooped a few hand fulls away and grabbed a smaller sac of meat, salted and treated so it would preserve and last longer.

Kept cool by the soft dirt and shade of the trees also helped to protect it from going bad. Smiling, she walked over to where she had laid out rocks in a circle, and threw some timber in a pyramid shape, with loose pieces beneath it. A rock and piece of flint was struck together to create sparks, igniting the flame. Crouching low, she blew on the flame, fanning it so it would spread and stay lit. Satisfied when it had gained enough heat, she pulled out a makeshift roaster that she could hang a pot over the fire with, adding just a bit of water, she threw the meat in to the pot. It would cook, but in the mean time, she needed to wash her hands.

She shook it off, though. It was the way of the world, and with time, brought technological advances. She could not stop it, but she did have the choice to live among nature. And that's exactly what she had chosen. Smiling, she sat down beside the fire and added a few spices and leaves to give the meat some flavor, though the broth was thin and would not make for a good stew, it was better than nothing. Stirring the contents in the pot with a large twig, she ensured none of it would burn or cook unevenly. Adding a few loose pieces of timber to the fire to keep it burning hot.

Taking a piece of tree she had gathered days before, she took out a carving knife and began to chip away at it. It was a small hobby of hers, creating something out of nothing. Usually they were just little figurines of animals, the ones she saw in the woods. Today, though she saw only a deer, she began carving a wolf, shaping it first, she would add the fine details later. She had learned this when she was younger, there was not much to do in the mountains as a child, especially with animals that lurked about. She founds way to entertain herself.