Love, perception, destruction

Chapter one, a warning

Holding my breath, I dug my nails into the trunk of the tree, raising my body slowly from the ground. I placed my feet against it for support and moved my hands further up. Slowly I climbed without a sound, keeping track of my prey in my peripheral vision. I swung my hand and grabbed onto a thick branch. I pulled myself up and climbed on top of it. Crunching behind the leaves, I grabbed my bow and an arrow. Slowly without taking my gaze of the animal in front of me I put the arrow in position, took my aim. I held my breath, aiming right for the heart of the animal. It was a large moose, it had no children in sight, and it was all by itself. Peacefully drinking from the nearby lake. It was relaxing in its movements, completely unaware that I was aiming right at it, ready to make the kill. I let out my breath and fired the shot. The arrow pierced through the air as if the easiest in the world. The fastest arrow in the whole land, people used to say. My arrow.

The sharp object dug deep into the thick skin of the animal, cut through the meat and stopped deep inside of its heart. The huge creature collapsed over to the side, gasping for air from the pain and the shock as blood colored the water it had been drinking from red. I heard the shouting of joy from my friends as they appeared from behind the trees. I smirked by myself as I put the bow back behind my back and leaped down from the branch. Seren gave me a firm clap on the back for good effort.

"The best huntsman in the tribe, you never fail, do you?" he grinned at me, tossing a big knife in my direction. I grabbed it firmly in my hand and nodded at him.

"What would you do if I failed, starve? I couldn't let that happen, now could I?" I stepped up to the dying animal and slit it throat so it could die fast.

"I could do just as good a job as you if you didn't feel the need to show off every time we go for a hunt."

"But you don't, do you?" I started parting the animal, handing the bits over to Ferren who wrapped them in leaves and put them in his big bag. He grinned up at us.

"You have to stop arguing like that, it's only for children who feel the need to show off." He dragged out some bottles from his bag and laced it up tightly. "It's getting late, let's celebrate instead."

Seren grabbed two bottles, and tossed one of them in my direction. Kare and Tarn each grabbed a bottle each and sat down on a fallen, nearby trunk.

"To our tribe! May we never see a rainy day!" Tarn shouted in joy as he pulled out the cork from the bottle and put it against his lips. Thick, oat flavored beverage dribbled down the sides of his mouth as he chugged it down with gluttony and pure joy.

"The greatest elven tribe in the whole kingdom!" Seren followed up and devoured his bottle too. I smiled at my huntsmen and got myself a seat next to the young ones on the trunk. I placed my fingers around the cork in the bottle and quickly removed it. The scent of the ale danced up my nostrils and I got this nice, calming chill down my spine. I put the tip of the bottle against my lips and let the bitter liquid flow down my throat.

Ferren put his bag down next to me. "Keep an eye on this for me, will you? I'll go get us some firewood." I nodded up at him and in just seconds, he was out of sight.

"Hey Margel, have you and Eliru figured out a name for your baby yet?"

I turned my head to face Kare.

"Eliru wants to call her a god's name; I think she went for Haranui." I smiled at him. I felt a strange, proud feeling every time someone brought up my little baby. My firstborn. I would make a warrior queen out of the little girl, so she could take over my place as head of the tribe, protector of the whispering woodlands.

Tarn nodded his head. "The god of love, Haranaranui. That is a great name for that little girl. I'm betting she's going to become a great beauty."

"Yeah, she's already the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, without even having been born yet. I'm going to make her the greatest woman the world have ever seen!"