Takashi awakes to find a cover of flowers providing shade for him. An appetizing aroma enters his nostrils. He moves the cover and adjusts his eyes to the sunlight. Echo is by his side.
"Glad that you're up", she speaks softly.
The time on his watch shows 1pm, Nov 1st. He looks over to find Artemis is stirring something in a large pot over a fire.
He yawns and stretches his body. "Thanks for that, Echo. I'm ready to resume training. What smells so good?"
"Rabbit stew, but it's not for you. You need to fend for yourself", the goddess reminds.
"Right. I will be back then."
"Do you know how to hunt?", the nymph asks.
Taki remembers that Damian did show him, but he would let Damian handle the kill. He did kill some birds back on Crete, but it was to help him get off the island. Artemis picks up on that.
"Is there a stream nearby?", he asks them.
"No. You know the basics, but never followed through. Echo and I will show you how it's done."
He follows Artemis and Echo into the forest away from the traps. The goddess of the hunt sniffs the air for a target. She motions to follow to the left. Echo stops Takashi with a hand on his chest.
He questions her until he looks down. A pile of leaves that remind him of what's underneath. He mouths a thank you.
Artemis marks the nearby tree with an X with her knife so they don't forget. They find and follow some hoofprints.
She motions for them to get low to avoid being spotted. They crouch down and hide behind a bush. A boar is eating some berries from a low hanging branch. Its ears move around to hear for any threat.
Echo quickly and quietly readies her bow. Taki sees that her breathing has slowed considerably to prevent herself from being found. She exhales and releases the string.
The arrow flies and hits the boar in the head. The boar squeals as it falls to the ground. It tries to get away from what hurt it, but it's bleeding out.
The trio comes out with Artemis handing a knife to Takashi. "If you are serious about your training, then you must follow through."
He hesitantly walks closer to the dying boar that fixes its eye on him. That look stops him in his tracks.
"I picked a boar that lived a long life. Don't let it suffer to its death", the huntress urges.
Can I even do this? He shakes his head to get the doubt out of his head. "You lived a long life, big guy. Time to rest."
His right-hand trembles with the knife as he tries to look away from the dying boar's eyes. Its eyes remind him of the minotaur and the doe: pain and misery.
He gets on his knees and the boar isn't fighting back. He holds the head in place and puts the blade against its throat.
It's not like the minotaur. It's not like the minotaur. This boar lived a long life.
He slits the pig's throat, and its eyes dilate. He drops the blood-stained knife on the ground with shaking hands. Artemis gets her canteen out and pours water on his hands to wash it off.
"I-I did it."
"The pig doesn't hate you. It lived a long life and produced many offspring. It would have wanted to end like this instead of a slow death." She puts her palms together. "Thank you, Gaia, for our prey. This pig has been blessed greatly through the long life you gave it. May we enjoy it and let its offspring be blessed like this."
Artemis then gives Taki's hand a gentle squeeze. He looks at her.
"Breathe with me."
She inhales and exhales deeply. Taki copies her breathing. Artemis feels his heart rate going back to normal.
YOU ARE READING
Kronos (Book One)
AdventureTakashi Watanabe's right foot won't stop tapping. The anticipation of being a first-time father wrestles with the anguish of his past. Just before he laid his eyes on his daughter, an Olympian deity plucks him out of time and space to drop him in a...
