An Orc's Despair

A 'Leisurely' Hunt

Gor crouched behind a boulder alongside his mate, Torra. An arrow notched and bowstring taut, he took aim at a great brown bear that made tactless decision to wander too far out of the hyena's forest. Beads of sweat crawled down his green skin as he focused. He loosed. He missed. the light thud of the arrow sticking into the soft earth alerted the beast of their presence. It circled around trying to catch their scent, peering behind each of the large stones and boulders. Its eyes viciously scanning their surroundings.

"Damn," Gor said under his breath. Beside him, he could see Torra poorly attempting to hold in her laughter. He swatted at her leg in annoyance and furrowed his brow. "Don't give us away now."

She looked at him, a toothy grin dominating her face. "You might've done that already."

Gor rolled his eyes and peered around the boulder again. The bear was getting closer and had now clearly caught a whiff of their scent. He signaled for Torra to move and without hesitation, she climbed atop the boulder. the scraping of her boots on stone gave more attention to their location and the bear reacted, quickly running straight to where Gor still was. he made for the climb as well but slipped, only to be caught by the strap of his quiver and awkwardly pulled to the top by Torra. If anyone else had come with them he would have been embarrassed. Hell, he was still embarrassed. She had always liked teasing him in her own strange way.

The bear made its way around the boulder and stood directly where Gor had just been.

"Don't go turning brown now, lover," Torra whispered into his ear while holding him tight with one arm.

The bear's sorts became more audible as its search intensified. First in the grass where the two had just been and then up the side of the boulder. It stood on its hind legs, but could not reach them, nor could it see them. Swiftly, Gor grabbed half a handful of tiny pebbles and threw them in the opposite direction of their would-be prey. They landed with light rustling plops in the grass, drawing the bear toward them.

This time Torra was the one to draw her bow and take aim. Now feeling competitive, Gor strung his as well. with the bear's back turned to them they loosed in unison. His arrow landing its mark in the back of the leg, while hers landed square in its rear end. The bear roared with fury as it turned to face them, now with a slight limp. It rushed toward the boulder and attempted to claw its way up, Gor and Torra both firing another shot each as it struggled. 

This time Torra's arrow landed its mark, sticking the bear in its left eye, while Gor's landed in the tuft of its neck. It roared again as it reared back and ran. The duo attempted another shot each, only to miss entirely.

"Damn!" Gor exclaimed. "It's going to get away!

No sooner had he finished speaking than the bear turned and charged back towards them. This time, instead of attempting to climb the boulder, it ran directly into it. The boulder shook as Torra attempted to stand for another shot. Instead, she fell forward towards the beast, landing on its back. Gor's heart was thumping so ferociously he felt it would hop out of his chest and away like a rabid jackrabbit.

She held on as tight as she could, losing grip of her bow as the bear flailed around savagely. Gor was able to stand now with the bear distracted, but it took all he had not to panic. Torra was capable of taking care of herself, he knew that. Now, all that mattered was how he could help her. He took  aim once again and took a deep breath. The bear didn't make things easy as it continued to whip around with Torra on its back. Gor could see she was losing her grip as he tried to focus, breath still held in his chest. 

For just a split second he saw an opening that he swiftly took advantage of as he exhaled and loosed the arrow. It landed directly in the bear's remaining eye and lodged itself deep within its skull, showing only that tuft of feathers at the very base of the arrow's shaft. The bear seemed to freeze for a moment as if time had stopped for it altogether. Torra dropped down from its back and stumbled as she tried to get her wits about her. Soon, the bear went limp with a slight twitch from its left paw scratching at the air. No doubt it was from the arrow lodged within its brain.

"Well, that went well," Torra said with a crooked smile. 

Gor let out another deep breath and collapsed on top of the boulder, letting his body relax. No matter how many times he and Torra went hunting, he could never shake the tenseness of his muscles until after everything was over.

"Let's just get back to the village so your mother can cook this up," Gor said with relief.

He slid down from the boulder and pulled some rope from his pack. Together they tied up the bear's limbs and proceeded to drag it back to their village.

"I can't believe the day is finally coming," Torra said, staring at the sky above as the light of day waned into the orange and yellow hues of dusk. "You're going to be chieftain." 

Gor looked over at her and smiled, "That I am. Assuming father will let go of the title willingly, you know how stubborn he is."

Torra laughed, "I know he'll pass on the title to you, but, you also know how much he loves to tease you." 

"How could I forget? The only one that gives me more grief than that old man is you!"

With that, the two of them couldn't help but laugh as they headed back to their village with their prize.