Aurookahn-the final battle

chapter 2

It was the day before Mia's birthday, Larthax was reading, Scarlet was in the market, Auro was working at the lumber mill and Mia was once again hunting in the woods.

The sky was a pale blue without a cloud to be seen. Mia was hidden in a tree, not even the sharpest of Hawks would of seen her; just like the unsuspecting deer standing in the clearing below her.

Her bow at hand, Mia readied the arrow and just as she was about to take the shot another arrow was fired; killing the deer that was about to be hers.

"You're getting slow".

Mia imidiately recognised the voice, it was Drako.

"Where have you been these past few days?"

"Thats not of your concern." Drako said while climbing on the branch above. "Your concern should be focused on your hunting skills, after all you'll be needing them tommorrow and perhaps the rest of your life."

"Hey, you'll be needing them too since your leaving tommorrow aswell, infact you should of left a month ago."

"First of all my hunting skills are just fine and second of all I wanted to stay here and help you since it's not going to be easy out in the wild so we're going to need eachother."

"How are you coping with the whole leaving thing?"

"I suppose I should be anxious about the whole thing but really, I think I'll do just fine. The last two years of my life have been non stop training and for the first six months I shan't be going far."

"Well if you want to stick with me then I'm afraid you shall. My father has chosen the route I will take for the first two months and I have to travel to Earond."

"Why is that?"

"He says I must learn the true ways of the wild and to do that I must take a proper journey and the fact that his so called wise friend lives there and I must seek guidence from him before I take my own journey."

"That sounds like a very good idea to be honest with you, I think it will do us both good and I've heard Earond is a beautiful place so it will give us a chance to see some quite intiresting things."

"My dad has had quite a bad experience as an adventurer, there is something of his past he is holding back and mum knows it too but I just can't figure out what but he knows alot about the world so any advice he could give me would help me I suppose."

"Well I think it's time we start hunting again and this time we're going to work on speed; your accuracy and placing of the arrow are jus...

"How's that for speed."

Laying in front of him were two dead rabbits and within another few seconds a squirel aswell. 

"Well... ok then, that's speed sorted what about skinning the animal since you still a bit rough on that."

Mia climbed down from the tree and pulled out a knife from her belt then carefully proceeded with skinning the animal, the task was completed with such precision and care it was like she had been doing it for the last five years.

"This just proves how much i've improved in the last week that you haven't been around to tell me what to do."

"I knew you were a fast learner but this is impressive infact you're almost as good as me." Drako exclaimed while smirking." 

"You take that back or I'm afraid I may have to challenge you."

"Oh and what challenge will that be."

"I challenge you to kill two deer within five minutes and the winner is whoever brings them back here and skins them first." 5,4,3,2,1 go. Mia climbed the nearest tree and scouted for any deer and to her suprise there was one only thirty meters infront of her. She jumped to the tree infront and prepared the arrow, she took the shot. The deer was dead and it was hers, she rushed down from the tree and clambered up the mound to find that it was gone.

"That was odd. Oh well twice the challenge."

She ran for about a hundred meters to then find another deer; again she lined up the shot and fired. The first one missed wich alarmed the deer so she climbed another tree to get a got view on where the deer went. She fired another shot which hit it directly in the head giving it an instant death.

Mia got down from the tree and skinned it.

"One down another to go."

She turned back the way she came and headed towards the site where she challenged Drako, on the way she say another deer.

"The woods are full of them today." Mia thought. "Well I'd better snatch this one up before it runs off."

Mia ducked down and looked up, she once again drew her bow and took the shot; the deer was definately dead so she approached it by climbing up the mount that it lay on. When shet got to the top it was gone.

"what? how could...

"Finished". It was Drako

"Drako, that's how. Why did you steal my deer?"

"What are you talking about, this is my dear; didn't you see me go the other way?

"Then how do you explain two of my deer disappearing?"

"What on Earth?"

"That's right; after I killed my first and third deer they had both been taken."

"Well I promise you it wasn't me."

"That means there is someone else here. I think we should head home."

"I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation to all of th..."

"I said we should go home and that means we should go home." Mia said firmly.

" As you wish."

Mia and Drako started to walk north of the spot into the direction of Mia's house. The woodland was a truly beautifal place in the vast region of Bosomeiran. It was thick with trees, oak, yew, and pine. There were mounds throughout the wood leeding to higher ground all across the woodland. Light would hit the floor exposing some of the most beautiful parts of the wood. It was a truely magnificent place.

They had reached the very edge of the wood and were able to see Mia's house.

"You have such a lovely place to live Mia, what a shame that you're leaving it behind."

"Dont you have a house?"

"I did until my parents left when I was thirteen."

"I'm sorry to hear that, do you know why they did it; if you don't mind me asking?"

"They left a note before they left but I burnt it. I decided if they had to leave then they had to leave; no note would of eased my pain."

"Where have you been living?"

"Places;let's get you home."