Arizium

Chapter 8

He stalked around the woods, looking for game. It wasn't uncommon around here, if you knew where to look, and living here all his life gave him the knowledge of where to look. He hated hunting, but at least he could get close to animals without them ever knowing he was there. He hated killing them, but he knew that he had to. 

He would always whisper an apology before dealing that fatal blow. They never deserve to die, never, but if he could ever hope to survive, he had to do it. Phoenix knew that he hated killing, it disgusted him more than anything, so she set him to the task of hunting in order to get rid of his fears. No matter how hard he objected, Phoenix always just shook her head and told him that she wanted rabbit for supper. If he didn't hunt, they would all starve that night, that was the new rule. 

Talk about pressure, He thought bitterly.

 A fat hare was grazing only a couple feet away, looking straight at him with beady black eyes. He wanted to cry, it was so innocent, so defenseless. He knew it couldn't see him, but it always felt like they could. He stalked carefully up to it, so close that he could pet it. He slowed his breathing so that the hare didn't bolt before he had the chance to apologize and squatted next to it slowly. It was still looking at the spot where he had been before. It's body quivered slightly and it's instincts told it that something was wrong, and that terrified it. 

He swallowed and slowly pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back. He didn't believe in stabbing, no, stabbing could go wrong too easily, could cause unnecessary pain. He knocked the arrow onto the bow string, drew it back all the way, and aimed it right at its little heart. From this distance, he could hear it thumping rapidly, it was fearful. He wished it wasn't, he didn't want it's last moments to be spent in fear. 

 He looked it over one last time and then whispered, very softly so that he didn't startle it, "I'm so sorry." It's head turned towards him and looked at him straight in the eye. He teared up and closed his eyes. 

 And let the arrow fly. 

 He heard a sickening crunch as the massive arrow propelled the hare five feet away. He let a tear escape, it was easy to cry often when you knew that no one could see you. He sighed slowly, stood up, and removed the energy field around him that made him disappear. It was hard to walk towards it, it always was. It's lifeblood pumped freely from the arrow shaft and turned its white pelt sticky and red. He was glad that it saw him before the light faded from it's eyes, he wanted it to know how it died. 

Maybe it will be able to rest peacefully with that thought, he hoped. 

 He carefully edged the arrow out of the poor thing's carcass, wiped the shaft and head with a cloth, and replaced the arrow back into his leather quiver on his back. He lifted the hare carefully by the leg and placed it into the pack that hung at his side along with five other hares. He had taken all of their lives, they all died by his hand. He sighed shakily and closed the pack. 

It's over, no more killing today. 

 It took him a while to get a grasp of his surroundings. He had a horrendous memory, so it took him a second before he figured out which way to go. Since it was almost dusk, he'd have to hurry back, they wouldn't appreciate it if he was out past dark. He quickened his pace as soon as he stepped onto the game trail. Travelling along game trails was always dangerous, but with a wave of a hand he could easily avoid those dangers.

 I should have a hare for everybody. We'll all go to sleep with full stomachs for once. He thought happily. His mouth started watering at the thought of a hot meal, he had barely eaten anything today, a nice hare would help out a lot, even if he regretted eating it. 

 He was walking so fast and was so distracted that he almost didn't notice the people on the side of the trail. He jumped, squeaked, and hastily disappeared. 

Dammit, why am I so careless? They almost certainly saw me. There's no chance that they hadn't. He thought frantically. But... they weren't reacting. There was no sudden movement and shouting, no pursuit. After some time, he decided to check and see what was wrong. 

It was harder to see in the dimming light, but getting closer revealed that there were actually three of them. A girl and a boy, obviously brother and sister, they both had the same hair. He couldn't make out the gender of the last one. They seemed female, but he couldn't be certain. But... there was something... familiar about that last one. He swore he had seen them before. He got closer than he would have ever dared. It was important to be weary of strangers. They thought of everyone as their enemy, you could never predict what they would do. 

His thumb grazed over his little finger in memory. It wasn't a finger anymore, it was a stump. He had been careless once before and that had ended in the loss of his finger. He had managed to get away somehow, but the others never let him be so careless again. 

 He inspected that familiar face more closely, so close he was inches from their face. His curiousity trumped over his instincts, he knew he should never ever let his curiousity get the better of him, but... he had to know. What was so familiar? Come on, think, think, think, thinkthinkthinkthinkthink. 

 Raven. 

 He gasped as the name came to him somehow. Raven! Of course!  He marked where they were on his mental map and ran as fast as he could back to the others. Oh man, this will change everything, maybe I won't have to hunt as much anymore. He thought and grinned.