This is Society

Chapter 3: This is Town

I rose even earlier than usual to get a nice head start. If I'm going to town today I want to be there and back before nightfall. Its 11 miles away, and takes me over 7 hours to walk, with scavenging for food and having to be very quiet. Getting found traveling through the woods near town is not something I want to do. Yawning, I grabbed my bow and arrows still in their carrier, and slung them over my shoulder. Then I walked out of the cave, but not before grabbing some nice clean furs and feathers from animals I have hunted. I'll need these to trade for some items in town. I fastened these to a rope wrapped around my waist as a sort of belt to carry the furs safely.

Out of the cave, dawn is creeping upon the forest slowly and nothing seems to be awake yet, besides me. No bird calls flutter through the air, and no squirrels chatter in the trees. Hunting this early would only waste precious time. After I made sure I didn't forget anything, I started my long trek through the forest.

My feet crunch on the leaves and twigs on the forest floor, not bothering to stay quiet. The green, yellow, and brown colors surrounding me begin to glow as the sun slowly makes it's appearance, turning the forest into an enchanted dream. Its nothing like anyone has ever seen before. I imagine this is what it was like before human population spread all around and built tall buildings, tearing away all the beauty to build cities. Now with everything grown up, its so peaceful and natural beauty flourishes.

My stomach grumbles, reminding me I haven't eaten yet this morning. I start in search of something edible to makeup for not being able to hunt. Rather quickly, my eyes caught sight of a bright green bush. Lush red berries are clustered on the branches, completely ripe. Now to make sure it isn't poisonous. Carefully, I examine the leaves, the branches, and then the berries. I have eaten berries like this before, but out here there are several berries that look similar, that are actually different. I have only tried one type of red berry to see if I could eat it, and it luckily wasn't poisonous. Yes, I know it's not the smartest way to find out if it is poisonous. But its the only way out here. Once I eat it, all I can do is hope for the best, but expect the worst. The worst would be me ending up dead. Not my favorite pastime if you ask me. The berries here are the same ones I found to be edible, so without wasting anymore time, I pick as many as I can and put them in two hidden pockets on the sides of my dress. I'll snack on these as I walk. Now if I'm correct, if I look around the north side of some moist trees or rocks, I should find some mushrooms. I look around the trees, but find no mushrooms. Only green and grey moss clinging to the trees' bark. Too intent with the trees, I don't see the rock right in front of me before my toe connects with in and I gasp, falling. My fast reflexes save me from hitting the ground as I grab ahold of a slim tree, catching myself. Once I regain my balance, I look down at the rock that tripped me. Moving to the north side of it, I bent down and scooted leaves away from the base of the rock, revealing four medium sized white mushrooms. I smiled in success and picked them and dusted off all the dirt and debris. These mushrooms I know for a fact are not poisonous. They are the only white mushrooms that grow in my area so I don't have a chance of getting them mixed up with any others. I placed these in my pockets with the berries and began walking again. The sun is still hidden behind the trees, but is rising more each passing minute. My guess is I'll arrive in town around sun high.

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After hours of walking, I am getting closer and closer to town. Anxiousness is rising in me the closer I get. The trees are thinning out and I feel vulnerable out in the open. I'm not used to being in such open places. It makes me uncomfortable to be in plain sight of any predators. Instead of being relaxed and stomping through the forest without worry of anyone hearing me like I was when I first set out, I am doing the exact opposite. I'm focusing on any noises or things I see, looking all around me, and I'm being very quiet, putting my feet down softly so the leaves don't even make a rustle. All I've got to do now is get there and get out safely.