The Girl with the Glowing Eyes (Blessed Book 1) Draft Book

2

Water trickled along the little brook Shane had found a few days earlier, and he sat down on a slippery rock, relishing the feeling of the morning mist on his face as he filled his canteen. He set his bow and quiver on the rock and splashed the cold water on his face. The pale spring sun shined through the canopy, illuminating the creek and making the water shine.

He finished filling his waterskins and tucked them carefully in his bag, slinging his quiver over his shoulder and picking up his bow.

The forest was beautiful, with ancient oak trees and prideful ash trees. Willows grew wherever there was space, and the dirt ground was littered with patches of grass where the light hit. Bird sang in the trees, and occasionally Shane saw a cougar snake its lithe body up a tree to wait for prey.

"Come on," he muttered to himself as he crept through the woods to the clearing where the deer had been grazing for the past couple of days.

Sure enough, there was a handsome stag standing proudly with his mate and their fawn. Shane snuck to a space in the bushes and drew his bow, willing it not to creak.

His arrow flew silently through the air struck the stag in the neck. The doe and her fawn bolted, and Shane ignored their startled bleats as he walked to the stag and murmured a quick prayer.

He slung the beast over his shoulder and carried it back to the campsite, where Zhi and Amiya were sitting. Amiya opened her eyes wide when Shane emerged from the woods, sweaty and tired, carrying a 200-pound deer.

"This'll be our dinner for the next few nights," Shane told them as he dropped it to the ground and pulled out his hunting knife, ready to slice into the body.

"Um, how many times have I told you not to butcher that thing in front of me!" Zhi said indignantly, fleeing into the tent. Shane looked up awkwardly at Amiya.

"You don't have to stay if you don't want to," he told her, slicing a thin line in the stag's belly.

"I mean, blood doesn't really make me sick like other people," she said. "I can help if you want."

"Well, I can't force you to stay, but an extra hand would be nice," he said, making more cuts.

Amiya crouched down across from him, pulling out a dagger hidden in her boot. "Will this work?" Shane nodded after inspecting it for a second, and she began to expertly skin the beast.

"If you don't mind wearing leather, I can try and make your shoes from that hide," he said as he divided the meat into pieces and placed them in a tin.

"Wow, really?" Amiya asked, looking up excitedly. "That- that would be amazing. Thank you."

With Amiya's help, butchering the deer took half the time it normally would, and they had the tents and supplies packed up in another fifteen minutes.\

Normally a move took about 7 hours to move to a secure location and set up the campsite. Sometimes it took longer because they needed to scout out a new area, and this time was no exception. After 9 long hours, Shane collapsed on his mat next to the fire, exhausted. Zhi was asleep before she was entirely horizontal on her cot, and Amiya had to lunge to keep her from falling to the ground.

"All in all," he said, closing his eyes. "A successful move. Tomorrow we'll smoke the venison."

"Sounds great," Amiya said softly, turning her head to look at Shane. "I'm looking forward to it."

Heyo, cheerio here. I just wanted to say thanks for reading my buch(Book in German :P) and yep. I would appreciate it of you could comment your favorite part of the chapter every chapter, that way I know what to keep writing about and stuff. It doesn't even have to be a scene, just a feeling or character relationship/attribute. Alright, bye!