[Flashback] First Hunt (Solo)

[Louise Risll]

Timestamp: 57th of Spring 507AV Louise wouldn’t tell a soul, but she was terrified. Every step she had taken the past two days had driven her further and further away from the only place she had ever really known: home. But it was no lie that since her brother had left to become a courageous Syliran Knight her home life had changed. Gone were the days when her father would return home from Sunberth with his purse jingling with coins, eager to show her brother and her new tricks with the sword and bow. Those had been glorious days. Wooden sword battles between her father and brother. Joining her father for small hunts. And her mother…always smiling…always happy. She still couldn’t understand what caused it all to change. Her brother had not run off to become a knight. He had announced his plans well in advance. A small celebration had even been thrown in his honor for pursuing such an honorable life. But once her brother had kissed them all farewell and set off…the sun had set on those beautiful days. Louise could only hope her brother had taken their old luck with him on his journey. She had no idea where he was in this huge world. His letters had been few and far between. And now, away from home…she’d probably never know until she chose to return home. But the fear she felt coursing through her veins did not have her scrambling away in fear. No. She continued onward through the wilderness. The constant noise of wildlife…well she would just have to get used to it. There would be a lot to get used to. But this life, whatever it turned out to be, couldn’t compare to the dull life her father had all set up. Marriage to a man she neither loved nor cared about. A quiet life where all her dreams and passion of adventure would be nothing but the ashes. That was not what she had learned from her father when she had been a child. But those days were dead now. The sun was falling to the horizon when Louise felt the first pang of hunger. Her pace slowed as her hand went to press lightly against her empty stomach. Two days of constant travel to put as much distance between her and her home had taken its toll. Her travels would need to be halted so she could eat. Louise knew she could possibly find her way over to Sunberth and find some cheap food to eat there and continue onwards, but wasting coin that could be spent on much valuable things like arrows was an absurd notion. No, she would need to hunt down her own food. Eat and cook it all on her own. Maybe even rest until dawn and continue her travels some more. She had no set destination at the moment. No reason to go anywhere. She was just…traveling. No. Wandering. Louise decided she would set up camp after she had captured her meal for the night. It would be easier that way. You could never tell where the game would take you. It would waste energy to set up camp only to end up capturing her game miles away. No. Food first. Then camp. Her pace now slow, Louise reached behind her and pushed her satchel of arrows around to rest against her hip. She looked down at the satchel, taking note of how many arrows she had. Not too many. She would have to make each one count. But all she really wanted was a meal to settle her hunger. Nothing big. She wasn’t going to waste an arrow on small game. Tracking and trapping it was then. Once she had trapped her game she would use her dagger to do the rest of the work. She sighed. This could take awhile.

[Louise Risll]

Louise walked slowly through the wilderness, her eyes on the ground. Every now and then she would glance up to make sure she wasn’t being hunted herself. The wilderness was a dangerous place and Louise knew that the hunter could end up the hunted if one was not careful enough. It was something her father had taught her many years ago when she first started accompanying him on small hunting trips. But she was not with her father anymore. She was completely alone out here. She did not expect to run into anyone or anything friendly. After a bit of walking Louise spotted some tracks in the dirt. She quickly bent down to examine the tracks. They were big tracks. Not huge, but big game. Bigger than what she needed at the moment. Possible deer or larger. No. These weren’t the right tracks to follow. She sighed quietly and straightened up into a stand. She continued her slow pace. Sooner or later she’d find the right tracks. She just needed to look around carefully. A bit of time crawled by before Louise spotted a hint of a track half hidden beneath a small blanket of leaves. Bending down again, Louise gently brushed the leaves aside and smiled. Beneath the small blanket of green leaves was a pair of small rabbit tracks. They were small with the front end of the tracks digging deep into the dirt. A small smile stretched across Louise’s face. Finally she had found the correct tracks. A rabbit would settle her hunger pains. Now that she had found the tracks she would need to follow it to catch up to her prey. Brushing away more leaves up ahead she spotted more of the same tracks leading eastward through the wilderness. Louise slowly followed the tracks, keeping low to the ground so she could spot tracks more easily. Several long minutes passed as Louise followed the tracks, being careful where she stepped so she didn’t mess up any of the tracks and throw herself off course. Her excitement began to stir slowly within the pit of her empty stomach. This would be her first real hunt by herself. She prayed it was successful and wouldn’t end up becoming any creature’s meal. Suddenly the tracks came to an end. Louise blinked, not sure what to do at that moment. The tracks had been clear and steady for the past few minutes, leading her in what she hoped would be the right direction. But the tracks just…ended. Right here. Looking about Louise couldn’t spot the rabbit anywhere. Her focus shifted back down to the last pair of rabbit tracks. No, this couldn’t possibly be right. Her prey wasn’t here. Clenching her teeth together in frustration Louise looked around at her surroundings again. She was missing something. The rabbit couldn’t have just disappeared! It had to have gone somewhere. Louise was close to screaming when she spotted a little grey tuft of rabbit fur stuck between some twigs sticking up out of the ground. Bingo. Louise moved quietly over to the tuft of fur, running her fingers over it. Yes. It was definitely rabbit fur. Figuring the rabbit must have brushed by it or tried to move through the twigs she focused her attention ahead on some bushes about four feet away. The smile reappeared on her face. There was a large chance her prey was either within those bushes or munching away on the other side. But before she could go any further she needed some sort of trap for her game. Something to help catch the rabbit so she could easily kill it. But what? What would be the perfect tool for catching a rabbit without wasting an arrow?

[Louise Risll]

Louise remained where she was, bent over the last few rabbit tracks and the tuft of rabbit fur she had discovered. She continued to scan her surroundings, trying to come up with a good way to catch her prey without the waste of an arrow. She knew there was a way. She just needed to focus and think. Several long minutes passed as Louise combed her mind for the correct answer. She felt pain in her legs as her muscles protested staying in such a position for such a period of time. She ignored the pain though, far too focused on catching her prey. The pain would be worth it in the end. The pain would seem silly when she had her camp all set up and a stomach full of rabbit meat. As her eyes wandered over to the trees she spotted dark green vines growing along the rough bark. Vines…vines…like rope…like a… Snare! A grin stretched across Louise’s face. Keeping as quiet as possible Louise headed over to the closet tree and collected the vines growing along the bark. Once she had enough vines she quietly came back over to the spot where she had found the last few tracks and the tuft of fur. Pleased that she had finally come up with a suitable answer for her problem, she set out constructing the trap. She remembered watching her father build snare traps before. Her memory was a bit hazy but Louise set to work. She made a loop with the vine, assuming the rabbit’s head to be as big as her fist. Once the loop was big enough Louise knotted the end of the loop, leaving enough extra vine so she could set her trap up anywhere and not have the problem of not having enough vine to work with. Once that was done Louise searched for two short sticks and moved away from the last few tracks she had found. She quietly maneuvered about until she found a sturdy low hanging tree branch near the tracks she had been following. If luck was with her, her prey might travel back the way it had come. Louise tied the vine to the low hanging branch, making sure the knot was tight and wouldn’t slip off at the added weight. Once the knots were secure Louise knelt down and took a few minutes to prop up the loop with the two sticks. Once the trap was set Louise quietly headed over to a nearby tree. Slipping away behind it she silently pulled her dagger from her boot and peaked out from behind the trunk of the tree. The trap was set. All she needed to do now was wait for her prey to come. If she was lucky the rabbit would get caught in the snare and the rest of the work would be easy. But the rabbit chose to take a different path…then she could find herself chasing animal tracks again. She reminded herself that this would all seem silly soon. The hard work always came first. Hard and grueling. Pleasure didn’t come till later. And since she had yet to catch her prey there would be nothing but more waiting till she did.