The Hunting

Chapter 1

The sound of a crowing rooster woke me up; it's still dark outside. I groaned like I always do each morning. Slowly rolling out of my cot, I stood up. My mother yelled from down the hall, "About time you got up little missy!"

I groaned walking into the large area of our house, meeting my mom. I gave her a hug. "Morning darlin'." She said flashing me a smile.

I looked at her, eyes blank, "Nothing is good about the morning Mom."

She chuckled lightly and swatted the back of my head with the palm of her hand making a soft "thump". Shaking her head, she spoke, "I honestly have no clue where you got your sarcasm. Maybe your..."

"Father?" I finished the sentence for her. The "F" word was always a sensitive subject for her. Anytime it comes up awkward silence follows.

She looked around trying to come up with something to say. "Oh, you might want to get ready for your hunt today."

I smiled and walked back to my room. I changed into one of my very few sets on clothes. I put on loose-fitting black pants with a plain green t-shirt with some old, worn-out mid-calf hiking boots. I put my light brown hair in a braid, the braid reached my mid-back. I grabbed my bow and quiver filled with arrows and threw it over my back. It was apparently a hand-me-down of my father's. The bow was made of dark brown Osage wood that has some spiral hand carvings on it. I've been using this bow since I've first started hunting which is about ten years ago when I was seven.

Even though I'm a girl, they let me hunt; most of the girls, women, and elderly people in our village harvest and deal with the crops. The men of our village are the hunters and do the heavy labor; everyone in our village needs to take part in something. In our village, if your family doesn't help with something, you don't get the benefits of that. Since hunting is what puts the meat on the table, we need to take part in it. Even though the village agreed to allow us to eat meat if we don't hunt, I refused. At first, the men were hesitant of me hunting, but once they realized I wasn't that bad they accepted me. I walked outside heading towards our fire pit, my mom already waiting for me. "Are you ready for the hunt today Arden? I heard from Tatum's dad that they have seen a herd of elk not far from here. "

Knowing exactly what she was talking about I spoke, "Yeah, Tatum's dad has been tracking them for a couple of days; about two, three bucks then about 8 does, we were thinking of getting two does, but that plan isn't solid yet. "

My mother nodded, handing me a bowl made of wood, "Here you go, sweetie." The smell of what the bowl contained already wafted into my nose, my stomach groaned. The bowl was a mixture of eggs and bacon, my stomach groaned again in anticipation. I heard the town square bell ring twice in the distance; the hunters were heading out in about five minutes. My mom looked at me shoveling the food down my throat with concerned eyes. I sighed, "Mom I'll be fine."

I stared at my mom observing her familiar features, she and I look nothing alike. Her black hair contrasts with my light brown hair. Her narrow, brown eyes are different than my wide, pale blue-green eyes. My mother told me when I was younger than I was the spitting image of my dad. The only thing that I got from my mother was my short stature. Grabbing the empty bowl out of my hands, putting it in a pot full of water and soap my mother sighed, "Well I'm sorry that I worry, it's what mothers do. You'll understand soon enough." Mother grabbed a canteen of water from our supply and hooked it around my waist.

I groaned and rolled my eyes, "Mom I'm only seventeen, there is no need to get married now."

Another sigh slipped through my mother's lip. "I know, but you're the prettiest girl in the village and plenty of boys have given you the eye. Soon enough I'll have to start beating them off with a stick."