Human Error

The Real Challenge

All of them rested after being bandaged, taking at least an hour to do so. That hour seemed short as they'd been awoken by angry, growling stomachs and pangs of hunger.

"Are there any rations left?" Historia asked, keeping her voice soft and calm.

"No, we finished them off last night," came the straightforward response from Guardian, who flipped his hair out of his eyes while responding.

"Ooh, does that mean we get to go hunting?"

"Fox you sound a lot more excited than you usually are…"

"Because I am, Vines! I've always wanted to try it out. The humans made it seem so interesting with some of the creatures they hunted. And they say the meat is really good."

Some giggled at her reaction, others just smiled. Jack, however, looked unsure. He didn't like the idea of hunting and killing other creatures, it seemed…wrong to him; it went against what his rabbit instincts told him. Sure, he put up a big fight and all, but he would never kill something or someone, not intentionally at least.

"Hey, Jackie, you good?" the Harpy asked, using a nickname that she knew he might not like.

Her suspicions were right. He glared at her for a second, then wiped it away quickly and nodded slowly.

"Just… could I hunt for berries and stuff instead? I mean, we gotta eat greens too, right?"

'Yeah, I guess so… Vines, you wanna stick with him? You should know what's edible and what's not, yeah?"

Said boy nodded, "for the most part."

And so, the group was off, splitting up into partners and one group of 3. Vines and Jack; Eyes and Fox; Guardian, Historia, and Silencer. Of course, just going with only their person wouldn't suffice; they needed weapons. They knew how to make them out of wood, so they got to work. Fox always fancied the bow and arrow, so she tried to find a decently curved stick and some straighter ones. They didn't go far yet.

She went over to the harpy and asked for a few feathers for her arrows, to which she gained. Silencer was working on finding a thick enough stick to make a spear with, and another for a dagger. The little patches of grass sometimes had branches and sticks lying about, and one patch had a small tree. They use that tree, and rocks nearby to make their tools. Things were sharpened, molded, and made precisely. Now, they needed sinew for Fox's bow and arrows and to hold their weapons together if needed.

Silencer, Historia, and Guardian went off to find something small, like a hare back home. Something similar to one scurried by and they followed it.

Meanwhile, the boy with the sprout on his head and the jackalope kid were off foraging. They found a bigger grass patch that was a small, dense forest with bushes, vines, and plants galore. The older kid showed the younger which were edible and how to tell, then left the ones he didn't know of. They'd each gotten a decent pile laid out, then went to rip vines from branches and weave a basket.

They brought it home and the other kids brought back small prey, weapons, and some leaves of water. The water was transferred into a little canteen they had onboard and they shared. The food was cooked over a small fire and they had a decent meal.