Our Journey (the Fourth Book in the Her Weakness series)

Chapter 70

Lexa's POV

Octavia, Nomon (mom), and I walk silently through the forest. Our weapons are drawn but are not held at the ready. A twig snaps in the distance and we all turn towards it, raising our weapons. We still, our bodies frozen like statues, waiting for another clue as to where the animal could be.

The crackle of something stepping on a fallen leaf sounds as loud as fayagons (guns) in the silence. I hear a soft step of a paw or foot into the soft earth and listen harder, trying to figure out what it is and therefore where to aim. A quiet munching sound of something biting down on a twig tells me exactly what it is.

I hear the crunch of it beginning to chew and soundlessly adjust my aim. I let out a breath and throw my small throwing knife. I guess Octavia and Nomon have not figured out where it is.

Nomon and Octavia look surprised when there is a thud sound coming from where the animal was. I walk over, my favorite knife drawn just in case it is not dead yet and wants to fight back. My aim is more deadly than I thought it was, evidenced by the knife sticking out of the deer's neck.

Its flanks are still and its eyes are open and lifeless. Blood slowly trickles down from where the knife is still embedded in its neck, staining its light brown fur red. It is a large buck, which is one thing that surprised me when I was listening. It was surprisingly quiet for such a large creature. It is young, as well, with strong muscles that make me glad that it is dead.

Octavia steps up behind me and I can feel her still. "What. The. F*ck." She says, stopping between each word to give them emphasis.

"What?" I ask, looking over at her.

"It has four eyes! And one horn! Oh my god, did you kill a unicorn?" Octavia gasps.

"No, unicorn horns are not antlers." I answer, amused. "And they do not exist."

"Rude," Octavia sniffs. "What about the four eyes, though? That's weird right?"

"No, it is a common sight here," Nomon says.

Octavia shakes her head. "Earth is weird. Should we bring this back? I don't want to forget where this is. Or have a bear get at it."

"So you would rather have the bear 'get at it' at our camp," I deadpan. Octavia pales at the thought and I chuckle. "I am kidding, O. Bears have long since learned to stay away from human camps."

"Why? That didn't happen on Old Earth, they just went right up in there and stole the campers' food." Octavia says.

"Because our camps tend to attract larger predators like a Pauna," I explain.

Octavia pales further. "I'm too pretty to be smooshed under the fist of a giant gorilla!"

"It is more likely to grab you and throw you than it is to smash you. Our bones are hard and could hurt their fists, so they use other methods. Like pulling people apart or picking them up and hitting them against something hard." Octavia stumbles back against a tree, her face ashen. She looks around worriedly and I chuckle. "Octavia, Paunas are always killed when they get too close to a town. There has not been one seen near here since Clarke and I had our encounter with one."

"Lexa, you didn't kill it! It's still out there!" Octavia panics.

Nomon and I pick up the dead deer after I retrieve my throwing knife. I will have to clean it later, it is covered in deer blood. Octavia helps us carry it and we begin heading back to the camp.

"It is not still alive, Octavia. After it had attacked Clarke and I, I sent my best archers and strategists to kill it. They brought it to TonDC and fed everyone with it. They sent a rider with some of its meat to me to show that it was dead."

"Thank f-" Octavia catches herself before she swears again, looking at my Nomon sheepishly before changing her words. "Thank the gods. Sorry, Mama Heda."

Nomon laughs at that. "Mama Heda. I like that."

Octavia grins, delighted by the fact that my mother likes her nickname.

Between the three of us, all of us strong muscular women, carrying the deer back to camp is not difficult. We set it down on an area that has already been cleared for our catches. I blink in surprise when I see an impressively large rabbit lying next to where we set the deer down.

"It looks like the others managed to catch something too." I say, nudging the rabbit with my foot.

Its head rolls to the side and Octavia yelps. I look back at her, alarmed. Her eyes are wide and she has a hand pressed against her chest. She lets out a breath.

"Sorry, I just wasn't expecting to see three eyes on a rabbit," Octavia explains.

"Neither did I."

I turn around to see Raven walking towards us with Clarke and Noni (dad) by her side. Clarke has a squirrel with a large metal needle in it, almost like the kind that you use to sew. I know immediately that it was my father who killed that, the large needle being his admittedly unusual weapon of choice.

Raven has a bit more swagger in her walk than usual, which is saying something. I know Octavia probably appreciates that, but I don't want to look back at her to confirm my suspicions. Raven is carrying a fox with a crossbow bolt sticking out of its side.

"I'm awesome." Raven declares, holding up the fox with a wide grin.

"Yeah you are, babe. That's a good catch!"

"She heard a rustling and got scared so she shot," Clarke explains.

I chuckle as Raven sticks her tongue out at my fiancée. "Still managed to hit a fox. Directly in the heart."

Raven caught something! I feel like a proud mom haha, go Rae! Next chapter will be more hunting? Probably? We'll see. But we're getting closer and closer to the wedding ;) Thank you all for reading and for your lovely comments! Stay awesome!