The Oblivion

the lesson

"AND THAT'S HOW Brook killed a hummingbird. One shot, zap, and before the hummingbird could dart about with more velocity the arrow sliced through its tiny body," Brian finished his explanation, gesturing with his hands. Ariana listening with no interest at all, her head rested on the bare cave walls, her leg tapping impatiently. I tried to look as interested as possible, leaning forward as if I was yearning to listen. Brook's skills were unimaginable, but over the last week we heard many endless stories about the period in between the tornado disaster.

"How about we end it there?" Brook said calmly and gently. Ariana was now snoozing, her head slightly tipped backwards and tongue lolling. I blushed for her, wondering how she could be so tactless. "Its all right," I said quickly to them, hoping Brook wouldn't get too bashful.

There was another round of awkward silence.

"Shall we hunt, to liven things up?" Brook suggested.

I nodded, glad she thought of something to distract Brian and I.

Brian stood up to get his tools but Brook stopped him."It's just for us girls."

"Do you know how to use a bow?" she asked me. I nodded, though I started to worry about embarrassing myself in the comparison of me and her. Brook walked up to her bow collection.

"Traditional or recurve?"

"Um...recurve."

"Thats my choice too, although Brian loves to go into other traditions." Brook rolled her eyes. I smiled at her. It just doesn't feel right on my face.

Arch followed us as we crept out of the cave, the sun sparkling on us. We set off deeply into the forest, Brook and I holding our bows cautiously. She selected a smooth wooden bow, unshelled but in perfect condition. Brook chose the same for herself, but slightly in a different form.

I was momentarily distracted, lost in my thoughts, until I heard a snap and a mid-chirp, and the sound of the string being released. Brook had caught a raven in less than a minute, while I was just day dreaming.

"Amazing catch!" I praised, mouth open. Brook put her finger to her lips and pointed to the nearby tree. I stared, confused, but as the colors swam into focus I recognized a squirrel perched on top, nibbling at an acorn. I caught a glimpse of Arch raising his ears, perked up in hunger, hunching his muscles to leap at it. I shot him a glare, so soon enough that he paused in his tracks then retreated back into cover. I realized that Brook wanted me to catch this one, so I raised my bow and pulled the arrow tentatively. My aim was clumsy, and I was too worried about shooting straight to focus on my small target. The arrow missed the squirrel, landing on the bottom of the trunk. The squirrel gave a terrified squeal and darted to the bottom of the tree, desperately to fly off the tree. Thinking fast I grabbed my pocket knife, praying that I could launch it properly, drew it backwards and shot. Satisfaction surged through me as it hit the squirrels poor body, and it gave an abrupt halt as it thumped to the ground. My pride got replaced with regret. Seeing anything dead nowadays made my stomach turn.

I covered my hands with my face as Brook approached me deftly, putting her hand on my shoulder and whispered, "That was impressive."

"But I killed it," I whined.

"So?" she sounded surprised, as if she did it everyday. Well, we both did it everyday.

"I-I don't like killing things."

"We need it to survive."

"But we both know that we won't eat a squirrel," I replied.

Brook bit her lip nonchalantly, though she said nothing. We trekked deeper into the forest, the silence deafening.