Predator or Prey | The Hobbit

TEN

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Predator or Prey

CHAPTER TEN.

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Selene loved the rain. It was peaceful for her and she loved the feeling of the water running down her face, gently caressing her soft skin. She loved the fresh smell it radiated, it was so satisfying to her.

The heavy rain continued to pour down as she quietly crept around the woods. For a minute, she almost thought she was alone in the middle of the woods, but the small scent of a lone buck and another smell - that she didn't really care for as of now - caught her attention again.

It fed on the wet grass silently, unaware of her presence, and Selene took that as a sign to inch closer towards it. Her fingers clenched around the bow's grip and her free hand reached back to grab an arrow, placing the nock in its place carefully and quietly. Kíli had taught her how to use his bow, it took several times for her to learn it as quick as she could. And when she finally did, the young dwarf decided to take her hunting.

Selene pulled back the arrow and released, watching it pierce through the deer's neck as the mammal fell to the wet ground. Dead.

"Wow! Excellent shot, Lady Selene." Kíli's voice filled her ears while she trudged through the muddy grass towards the dead deer. She shook her head when she noticed how dirty her black boots were from the mud.

"I tried," She muttered back. She then walked towards the deer, grabbed it and threw it over her shoulders. "Catch anything?" She asked the dwarf.

Kíli nodded with a smile, holding up a string of rabbits in his hand. "Yep!"

"Should we get back to the others then?"

The dwarf looked up at the sky and nodded, "We should, before we get attacked by orcs. I know they're lurking around not too far away from us."

Selene nodded, letting him walk ahead first. That way, if anything were to sneak up behind them, she would be able to stop it before it could touch them.

It took ten minutes for the two hunters to get back where the others were. The entire walk back was dead silent, they didn't want to risk alarming any orcs or other creatures that they would have to deal with.

They broke through a couple of bushes once they saw light from their campfire and the chatters from the other dwarves speaking amongst each other. Kíli whistled a signal that he and his brother came up with, which meant for the Company to know it was one of them and not an enemy.

"We're back!" Kíli grinned at the Company, tossing his catch of rabbits to Bofur.

"You only caught rabbits?" questioned Bofur, as he held up the string to examine the kill.

Gloin laughed in glee, pointing at the deer thrown over Selene's shoulder. "Would you look at that? She caught a deer!"

"Great job, lass!" Selene felt a hand clap her upper arm. She wasn't sure who did it, but she didn't care.

"This should last us... about two days while we travel." Bofur scratched his chin, before moving over to the freshly killed deer Selene caught. "And this one should feed us all tonight!"