62 SUMMER, 518 A.V.
Zach had been in Lhavit for a short while now, but he was still getting used to the shining city. Mountains were just so different from flat grassland. He had quickly gotten over any qualms he may have had about heights and over the past few days had let himself explore properly. Two days prior the Drykas had managed to locate the Jugged Hare - the butcher shop that the helpful woman at the Cosmos Center had directed him to. Varda had been more than happy to have another hunter bringing in meat, and Lomki had informed him where he would need to go to find it.
The where in question would be the mountainous woodlands that surrounded the city. Zach decided he should probably go and try his luck and have a hunt in the new terrain. He had been given a few pieces of advice, namely, under no circumstances was he to kill a misty fox, and to look out for the large solitary predators like lions and bears. He understood that deer, rabbits and game birds roamed out on the peaks, and that those were the ones he would need to find.
It was mid-morning when Zach shouldered his bow and headed out from his room at the Solar Wind Apartments. He wound through the streets and over various bridges, occasionally stopping a local to ask if he was heading in the right direction. Eventually, the young man found himself past the Shinya guards, and at the point where the city turned to the wilds.
Stepping carefully along the path, Zach was relieved to see that the mists weren't as thick outside the city, though they were definitely still about. He hadn't realised quite how steep the sides of these mountains were, and he slipped once or twice, causing his heart to staccato in his chest. Slowly he moved down the slope until the mist all but vanished and the trees started to grow closer together.
The Drykas approached the trees with trepidation. This landscape was so vastly different than what he was used to, but he hoped that the actual act of hunting here wouldn't be. Oh how he was wrong. His clumsy and uneven footfalls over the sloping terrain had appeared to scare of any rabbits that might have been out for their morning meal. Zach frowned. He would have to get used to gravel and noisy twigs underfoot.
Moving slowly into the woodland, he pulled out his bow and held a single arrow loose on the string. He had to pause for a short while to let his eyes adjust to the dimmed light. The woodland was like a whole other world, a dark, damp smelling world where everything moved at a whisper. He felt enclosed, the trees pressing around him. It was not a feeling he particularly enjoyed and he felt almost short of breath from it.
Squinting ahead, Zach moved forward at an abysmally slow pace. He constantly caught his feet on tree roots and snagged his shirt on low branches and bushes. A particularly thorny shrub caught his arm, ripping a tiny hole in his sleeve and leaving a thin trail of red blood snaking up his forearm. The Drykas cursed and smeared it away with his hand.
After a bell of his ridiculous pace, a branch cracked somewhere ahead. Eyes narrowed and Zach was just about able to pick out the form of a small deer through the trees. Slowly, quietly he raised his bow to his face, squared his shoulders and held his breath. He pulled the string back and after a tick to perfect his aim, the arrow was let loose, flying through the air to land in the rump of the deer. Not quite what he had been hoping for, but at least it had hit. A further arrow would hopefully find a cleaner mark.
The impact had obviously pained and startled the deer, so Zach quickly whipped his hand up to grab another arrow. Instead, it found solid contact with a tree behind him with a rather loud thwack. "Agh!"
In a shock of surprise pain he dropped his bow and clutched at his hand. Cursing, he glanced round for the deer, but the poor creature had leapt away and out of sight. Zach hoped that it would manage to lose the arrow and heal. If the deer wasn't to be killed by him he would have hated to let it flounder in pain.
Now irritated and in pain, the Drykas turned on the tree. "Petching... Shyke..." Each word was interspersed with a kick to the lower trunk. "I hate trees..." His voice trailed off into grumbling. "How does anyone hunt in this damn place..." Zach unceremoniously retrieved his shortbow from the ground, flexing the fingers of his right hand. With a sigh, he made to continue on, to find that poor deer or some other creature.
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