Feather

Chapter 9

 Chaper 9

Shraya didn't know what to think about the tracks; were they a good thing, or a bad thing? They meant that the forest was livable for a horse, which was a good sign, but if it was a stallion, it could mean bad things for Feather.

Shraya searched around the lake, riding farther and found more tracks, but they all seemed to be from the same horse.

When Feather smelled the tracks, she snorted and pawed the earth, obviously interested in them.

Suddenly, there was a loud squeak, and a large commotion going on in the bush no far from where they made camp. Feather sidestepped and flattened her ears, not liking the sound of fear.

Shraya road closer, being cautious, then she realized it was a rabbit, caught in the snare. She jumped off Feather and stepped to the thrashing creature.

Looking at it skeptically, she didn't want to grab it in fear of being bitten, so she looped Feathers lead rope around a branch and ran to her pack where her machete was. She made her way back to the rabbit and looked at the creature. She didn't want to kill it like this, but she had no other choice.

Gently pushing down its head with her foot, she swung he machete back and slammed it over the rabbits neck. It stopped squirming immediately.

Heart pounding and stomach churning, she picked up the limp animal and brought it back to camp. Taking out her pocket knife, she carefully skinned the rabbit and gutted it. Taking all the unpleasant things, Shraya walked them quite a ways into the bush and dumped them, trying to avoid unwanted visitors to their camp. The last thing she wanted to encounter was a bear.

After washing up in the lake, the fire she'd made earlier was looking quite pathetic so she added more wood and blew on it, bringing back the flames.

Shraya proceded to cut the rabbit meat into thin strips, laying them down on several pieces of wood she'd gathered. Once she was done stripping the bones, she tosed them in the lake and found a stick long and thin enough for her next task. Using her knife, she sharpened the stick on one end and peeled the bark off. Then she poked the thin stips of meat onto the pole and layed them down again. Taking two branches with forks in them, she buried them on opposite sides of the fire part ways, and layed the stick over them, the rabbit meat dangling over the fire in the air.

Leaving them to dry, Shraya set out again to gather firewood. She was surprized how much fuel and open fire needed. So, gathering armful after armful, she made a large stack oustide her small, temporary home.

Feather always stayed near, the grass and other odd plants growing around the lake satisfied her enough to not have to roam far.

"Feather, what are we going ot do if my parents still don'tlet me keep you when we go back?" She asked out loud. Feather only snorted, and she grinned, wrapping her arms around Feathers neck. "I just hope that they will realize how much you mean to me."

Shraya knew that they would only be here a day or two before they headed back home. Just follow the river back, she repeated to herself constantly. She knew the dangers that lurked in this forest, and the wild tracks still bothered her, not knowing where they had come from.

When the giant orb of the sun began sinking, Shraya prepared herself for night. Not trusting her suroundings, she tied Feather up for night, picking armfuls of grass for her. When the moon began to shine, she layed down on her pokey bed and watched the firelight dance on Feathers coat, every breath she took, they moved diferently. finally she closed her eyes and tried to empty her head so she could sleep. Exhaustion took over soon and unconsciousness settled over her soon.

Little did she know, that there were other things out there waiting for her sleep than just her.