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 Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 11:07 am
Smiling, Osero offered Lucius some of his own food. The hunter had brought a mixture of dried meat and fish, along with some bread. He had actually accounted for Lucius when he was packing the food, so there was more than enough. He hadn't thought that Lucius would have brought his own food.
At Lucius' comment about the berries, Osero smiled. "Berries aren't bad. Well, depends on the berries I guess. It's good to have a mixture of things though."
The hunter paused, seeming to consider something for a moment. "After we're done here, how would you like to go on a proper hunt? Test out what you've learned for real?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 4:36 pm
Stuffing the remainder of his food into his mouth, Luc gave a few quick chews before swallowing. His eyes wide, he merely nodded, blinking a few times. "A real hunt already, Osero?" The boy was on his feet before Osero could answer, swinging his bow around. "You betcha, Osero and I'ma be so quiet you won't even know that I'm around."
Done babbling, Luc picked up his now-empty knapsack and stood expectantly, waiting for Osero to lead the way.
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Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 4:43 pm
Osero was faintly amused by the boy's sudden enthusiasm. "Well, we need to get you a bow string, don't we?"
Finishing off the rest of his food, Osero began to pack everything away into his leather belt pouch again. Standing up, he picked up his fish spear. It wasn't ideal for hunting large game, but if he was careful, it should all be fine.
"Ok. What we need to do first is actually find our prey. I can start to show you a couple of things about tracking. While we're tracking, it's good to move quietly. Just remember everything we did this morning."
Turning, Osero began to lead the way out of the clearing. Hopefully, he'd be able to pick up some deer tracks before too long.
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Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 5:01 pm
Finally! A bowstring. It was as if a piece of him was missing and he'd finally have that last bit that would make him complete. "Yeah, a real strong one, too, can't have it breakin' when I'm huntin', huh?"
Luc was nearly hopping in anticipation of his first hunt. He was a little jittery and a lot excited, but he calmed down marginally at Osero's words. "I'll be so so so quiet, Osero, just watch."
The boy followed Osero, staying close but not too close. He closely mimicked the older Aerandir's movements, brows furrowed in concentration.
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Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 1:25 am
Osero nodded, pleased at Lucius' enthusiasm. It was obvious that he was suited to his job in any case. As he moved from the clearing, Osero kept a careful eye on the ground and low lying shrubs. He was looking for marks of a particular kind.
It took some walking before Osero seemed to find what he was looking for. Stopping, he crouched low to the ground and beckoned Luc closer. With his free hand, he pointed to some depressions in the soil before speaking quietly.
"You see these marks here? These belong to a deer." He traced his finger along two largish, tear drop shapes, with the points facing upwards, and the bottoms coming in closer to each other. "Deer have split hooves, which is why you have this space in the middle. These tracks are fresh too."
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Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 1:04 pm
Luc hunkered down next to Osero, his eyes locked onto the deer tracks. A small hand reached forward to brush against the depressions that the moving deer had caused, the image of the track locked into his brain. He'd have to remember to ask Nyxa for animal-track books of some kind.
"Fresh, how'ja know?" The boy was almost trembling in anticipation, his eyes bright and his little body fairly pulsing with energy. He whispered softly, not wanting to frighten away any deer that may be hiding within the underbrush. The thrill of the hunt was invigorating.
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Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 1:25 pm
"Because the prints are nearly perfect. If they're a few days old, then all sorts of things can change their shape. The weather can break them up, other animals can pass by and leaves can cover them over. The ground's quite soft here, so the marks are quite deep. If the ground's hard, then it's more difficult to see tracks." Osero replied softly. He looked up from the ground, his eyes searching the area for a moment.
Keeping low, and moving quietly, Osero looked back to the tracks again, searching for the remainder of the trail. Picking it up again, he began to follow it.
It wasn't much longer before Osero stopped. Crouching down, he turned to Lucius with a finger held to his lips. Motioning the youngster closer, he slowly and carefully lowered a branch just enough for them to see.
In another clearing, this one much narrower than the one that they had trained in, a single deer browsed. It was a young buck, with only single pronged antlers. The clearing had only two clear exits, being hemmed in on the sides by trees and shrubs. Possible to break through them, but not as quickly as the game trail openings.
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Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 1:35 pm
Giving a thoughtful nod, Luc looked once more at the print in the dirt. That made sense, he supposed. When Osero began to move, Luc was his shadow, following the taller Aerandir closely.
When Osero paused and motioned for Luc to draw closer, Luc moved slowly, inching over to peer through the trees. He saw the deer, ears perking and his full attention focused on the single buck. No sound passed his lips, but it was obvious he was nearly giddy with excitement and adrenaline. It pumped thick through his veins.
But he waited, much as he'd have liked to run forth and.. who knows what. Bash the deer over the head with his bow? Not likely. Turning his head, Luc peered at Osero, waiting for the other Aerandir to make some sort of move, to direct him in some way.
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Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 1:43 pm
After letting Lucius get a good look at the deer ahead, Osero pulled back quietly. After waiting for Luc to do the same, the tall hunter spoke quietly.
"Did you notice how the clearing looked? There's only two easy ways out; this side, and the other side, where the trail must go further. He could jump out of the side if he wanted, but it would be quicker for him to run through one of the two gaps if he had to. We can use that to our advantage.
What I want you to do is wait here for the moment. I'll circle around in the woods until I reach the other opening. When I'm there, I want you to run out into the clearing and scare him into running for the other gap. Then I can ambush him with the spear.
Does that sound ok to you?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 1:56 pm
Luc merely nodded; he'd had no idea he'd be able to actually participate! The thought made his knees a little wobbly, but not with fear, it was pure excitement. "Got it, I'ma scare that deer so good he won't know what t'do, Osero, I promise." He couldn't help but giggle just the slightest, and thought it was an out-of-character thing to do, he couldn't help himself. He was just too giddy about the whole situation.
Well, maybe he was a little scared.
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Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 2:04 pm
"Alright. When I'm ready, I'll give you a whistle like this."
Osero gave a short warbling whistle. It sounded like a bird call of some sort. "Just listen out for that." He gave the youngster a smile. "I'm sure you'll scare him well."
Turning, he slipped silently between a pair of trees, moving out of Lucius' sight. The hunter circled widely around the clearing. He didn't want to spoil the hunt by giving the deer a scent.
It was a short while before Osero found his way to the other exit to the clearing. The deer was still there, but it no longer looked quite as unconcerned as it did before. It had stopped browsing to glance around. Hopefully, it wouldn't bolt before he was ready. Crouching down behind a bushy shrub, he readied his spear. When he was all set to ambush, he mimicked the birdcall he had made earlier to signal Lucius.
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Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 2:09 pm
Luc stayed as motionless as he could when Osero disappeared, and that was pretty darn motionless. His ears were perked perfectly as he waited for the signal that Osero had mentioned.
And there it was. The strange bird-call noise echoed through the treetops and in that instant Luc was off, arms waving in the air in a display that could only be tagged as quite ridiculous. The boy was screaming his head off like a demented banshee as his little legs carried him into the narrow clearing.
And the deer was off. In a frightened jump, it started to head directly towards Osero, its muscles moving fluidly as it made its escape.
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Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 2:21 pm
Osero was poised ready to spring as he waited for Lucius to make his move. And make his move he certainly did. If that noise didn't scare the deer, then nothing would. As the deer came bounding through the entrance to the game trail, Osero was up on his feet and launching himself at the animal. He crashed into the buck, his two-pronged spear digging deeply into the animal's chest.
The deer shrieked, wrenching away from him with a last burst of adrenaline. It made a half leap away from him before collapsing down to the ground, its lifeblood pumping out onto the forest floor.
Splattered with droplets of blood, Osero drew his belt knife and leaned down over the dying buck. Pulling back its head, he quickly slit the deer's throat. It would die anyway from the spearwound, but this would hasten it.
Standing up, he smiled at Lucius. "Well done. You did very well there."
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Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 2:30 pm
Skidding to a halt after Osero burst through the brush and into the clearing, Luc's eyes widened as the other Aerandir's spear made an entry into the deer's chest. Frozen, Luc could merely stand there as Osero made quick work of the fatally wounded animal.
Fighting a sudden and unexpected bout of nausea, Luc forced a smile. There was no way in heck he'd ever lose face in front of Osero. "Th-thanks, Osero, that was pretty neat how you came outta the bushes like that, the deer didn't even know what ..hit him." The last words were weak, but that was the only outward sign that Luc was still a bit shocked at all the blood that was now soaking the grass beneath the dead deer.
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Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 2:48 pm
Guessing from the youngster's hesitant speech that he was a little taken aback by the sight of something actually being killed, Osero gave him a reassuring smile. It was only natural for a first time. If he was serious about hunting, then he should get over the shock fairly quickly. He decided not to mention anything about it to the proud child.
"Well, Lucius, you just earned your bowstring there. One of the most important things to remember is that if you kill an animal, then you shouldn't let its death go to waste. Not only will this buck provide a bowstring, but also food for everyone in the village. Its pelt can be to make a rug or blanket, or leather. We should kill only when we need to; not because we can."
Sheathing his belt knife again, the hunter first propped his spear up against a tree, to make picking it up again easier. Then, bracing himself, he lifted the dead weight of the deer, arranging it to sit over his shoulder. He was glad it wasn't one of the larger, older bucks - then it would have been even heavier. Grunting slightly, he picked up the spear with his free hand, holding the deer in place with another. He was also glad for being as large and tall as he was.
"How about we head back to the village now? We've done a lot today."
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