35 Ymiden 720 | Azrael Blackfire | Myrkvior Forest
"Well, what is it?" Azrael asked with a little unintended irritation. Tollak looked outside the flap of the tent again and then back at Azrael with an expression that gave nothing away. It was irritating.
"You brought your bow, right?" Tollak asked. Azrael gave him a confused nod and waited for further explanation which came after a few trills. "Something deer shaped came by the tent a few bits ago. We should hunt and eat it."
"Right now? Really?" Azrael wasn't going to reject him but he certainly wasn't thrilled about the hour that had been chosen. He had come out into the forest with Tollak Ra to learn about the wildlife in Melrath and, if he could, to learn a little bit about navigating the forest from a Ydalir.
"A good hunter is always ready and only dead scouts sleep." Tollak said with an enthusiastic pat on Azrael's back before he disappeared out of the tent. Azrael sighed and rolled over, pushing himself up onto his feet and strapping his sword to his belt before picking up his shortbow. He turned around a few times looking for his quiver of arrows and found it leaning against the tent wall. He grabbed the quiver and set it on his hip beside his sword before following Tollak outside.
The forest would have been eerie at night if Azrael didn't see it so perfectly. The spirit's gift helped for more nocturnal activities. Tollak did not seem to have the same advantage. He stepped into the night with narrow eyes while Azrael walked into the dark with eyes wide. "Look here," Tollak beckoned him over quietly and Azrael took a tentative step towards him to see what he was talking about. Tollak gestured towards the ground beside them. "Do you see them?"
Azrael looked at the dirt for a few trills and then back at Tollak, "See what?"
"Deer tracks, right here." Tollak pointed to indentations in the ground that Azrael had seen but overlooked because he thought nothing of them. "Fresh tracks too. It'll be good practice for you. Note the indentations and try to follow them. Stay low, move quietly. If the deer sees you first, you won't see it again." Azrael knelt down to get a closer look at the tracks that Tollak was showing him. It seemed easy enough but the haze of sleep lingering over him reminded him that Tollak had likely done this in the middle of the night to challenge him. Tollak didn't know about his eyes. A set of fresh tracks in the night would be easier to follow than a set of fresh tracks in the daylight.
Azrael put a hand on his arrows to keep them from bumping against each other and making noise as he and Tollak moved from their camp into the forest. They kept themselves beside the tracks to avoid disturbing them and after a few bits, the dirt on the ground seemed to grow harder. The tracks became more difficult to follow and it seemed like another animal had come through before them and created another trail. "How do I know which tracks are the deers?" Azrael whispered to the Ydalir who knelt down to examine them.
"Both the heavy tracks are deer... and it seems some smaller creatures have come through as well." Tollak said, scratching his chin subconsciously. "A rabbit and some squirrels maybe. Not the worst to hunt but not better than the deer. Look here, these are rabbit tracks," Tollak said as Azrael knelt down beside him to see what he was talking about. The rabbit tracks were much smaller than the deer tracks but that was to be expected. They were almost cute, very round. "And these are a squirrel. A little sharper, they climb." Azrael could see what Tollak was talking about. The squirrel tracks looked a little bit more like fingers than the rabbit did. However the deer was what they were interested in.
"So which deer is our deer?" Azrael asked, prompting Tollak to look at the tracks again.
"These are more fresh, follow them."
"How do you know?"
"They're deeper. Tracks fade over time. Let's go." And they did. Azrael took the lead once more and they didn't have to walk for more than a dozen bits before Tollak put a hand on Azrael's shoulder and stopped him. Azrael looked at the Ydalir who pointed a bit ahead of them at a small buck scratching itself against a tree. Azrael crouched lower to the ground and drew an arrow from his quiver as quietly as he could. "Aim carefully, you won't get another shot." Tollak whispered to the mortalborn. Azrael nodded and adjusted his fingers on the bowstring.
He took a deep breath and brought the bow up for a trill before lowering it to watch the buck again. It had stopped scratching itself and was gnawing at some leaves. He didn't like it. Hunting. He'd enjoyed the tracking but now, having to put the beast down felt wrong. It was a nice creature... but if Azrael didn't put the arrow in it, Tollak would. Azrael took another breath and drew back on the bowstring, pulling it to his cheek and taking aim.
Then he let the arrow fly.
