"You protected this forest from the cat from the mountain. I do not know how to thank you except for staying with you."
Man entered the forest other than to hunt. One such hunter, The Great Hunter, has a history in the forest. When he goes missi...
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Darby left the thicket after waiting half an hour after the cougar left. She crouched down and stuck her head out before moving out further with the sharpened stick in her left hand.
"Alright, little fawn. We need to get to my father's rifle." She said, moving back into the thicket. "We are going to travel in the thicket. I am not going to risk being out there where the cougar is."
She didn't even care that it looked insane for her to speak to a fawn like it was a person, but perhaps the deer had their own weird language, and the fawn would recognize a few terms. Hopefully. At least understand. She was not surprised when she saw the fawn follow her. She was glad if anything. She didn't want this fawn to die.
Once they reached the same thicket that led to her father's stand, she turned to the fawn and turned its head softly toward snow that was trampled down by the deer herd that went through it. "The moment you see the cat, you need to run the way your head is pointing. You should be able to recognize the path, yes?"
The excitement that the little fawn had made her smile. However, it also made her sad because somehow, she knew she was not going to make it to dinner that night nor any other night. But the fawn would and that satisfied her enough.
"I am going to step out now. Stay here." Darby spoke, using her hands to tell the fawn to stay, sticking her head out to check that there was nothing before stepping out slowly like a predator, keeping herself crouched as she crept toward the tree stand. She looked around cautiously. She kept the spear in front of her. The moment she reached the stand and had two fingers off the spear, a bleat of fear was heard over the clearing. She turned quickly and was knocked to the ground by a force heavier than she had ever felt before.
In the fury of cutting claws and sharp glinting teeth, she used her spear to block the feline from sinking its teeth into her neck, pushing the side of the spear into its mouth to hold it back. She finally recognized that she was on the ground and felt light-headed, recognizing the feeling immediately, but she didn't allow the fear to take over her like it did before. If she didn't know then, she knew now that the cougar was going to take her life.
"RUN!" She screamed hoping the fawn got the message. Even though her ears were filled with growls and hisses, she heard the soft thunder of hooves on the ground and let out a sigh of relief until she saw the blackness of the cougar's eyes. Something about the blackness made her terrified and shake. That was when she knew she was in trouble as fear exploded inside her, but she was not letting the cat go. She inched the spear slowly to the pointy end so eventually the pointy end would stab into the cat's head. In one hard bite, her spear was in two. She stared in complete horror, and then in a sad effort she threw her leg up to kick it. However, that is when the pain began.
