The Hunt Begins

[Kira Adia]

This is good. The sun was well above the horizon and she had made good progress into the woods. Southwest, just as advised, and three hours out. She’d started well before dawn and the sting of the early morning chill had turned to a simple biting cold as she moved and warmed herself. She had already seen signs of small game as she went.

And there is what she was hoping to see. A tree with fresh gashes in the bark. And if she looked closely... yes, deer tracks. Not close enough to be certain of a catch, but not far. This had to be his territory. She began to look about for a place to make camp.
———
She found what she was looking for. A hillock with an outcropping of rocks at the base. An opening just large enough to secure a cache of supplies. She hid away the camping gear, trail rations, and other goods. She had already checked the area and found too little traffic from others to be concerned of. Her camp hidden just as she’d been taught, she knew she could reasonably expect this to still be here for her in a year if needed.

She gathered up fallen timber and made herself a small fire to warm herself. She made a lunch of trail foods and tea from a small tea set she’d purchased the day before. When she finished, she took the remainder of her tea and poured it at the base of a tree, saying a silent prayer of thanks.

She felt no need to hurry back. She took out one of her books from her backpack-the pack that would be returning with her-and read for a bit next to the fire. The sounds of the crackling wood, the wind and the trees, and the occasional distant stirrings of the Wild brought her a sense of peace she hadn’t felt since her arrival in Rhy’Din. Survival and life in the wilds until now had left their mark. She turned the page in her book. Fierce Artemis, look after your child and make safe the road upon which she walks.
———
The sun had crept to its highest point as Kira packed away her belongings and struck camp. She hid any trace of the fire and disguised the area around her cache back to its untouched state before finding her own trail further back. She continued in another direction, looping away at a leisurely search that intended to find nothing.

She made a wide arc in the woods, occasionally zagging about obstacles and finding fox trails, noting tracks and other signs of game as she went. As she crested another small hill, she saw her patron in the distance: a young stag, a bow shot away ahead of her. It had heard her approach first and their eyes met for a brief eternity. She beast then turned his head and kept into the brush, disappearing along paths only he knew, escaping her vigilant gaze. She smiled. Well met, dear friend. Next time we meet: the hunt, the pursuit, the patient maneuvering of predator and prey would begin. Her patience would win out in the end. And when that happened, she would honor her friend with all the dignity he deserved.

She found a good spot and created another small cache at the base of the hill. A decoy, this one, to reward any who might search the area and mark her passing beyond the trail she left. She would be back home by mid afternoon, she knew. Plenty of time to freshen up and head to Books and Brews for a spell. The maiden huntress would start a new hunt then, a task no less challenging and no more testing of her patience and will. Her old friend had left a trail, and now she knew where to look.