This time, there was no hesitation.
Jasmine nocked another arrow and pulled the string back in another heartbeat, letting it fly straight through the buck’s ribs and into one of its lungs.
The reaction was immediate. The buck let out another cry of pain and tried to leap away, but exhaustion and injury kept it from anything more than a weak tug. That shot was the last that was needed; the buck was dying. It knew, Shahar knew and his companions knew.
As the buck’s strength bled into the dirt, Shahar yanked its head down, rose onto his knees and swung a leg over the animal’s neck. Straddling its shoulders and with full control of its head, Shahar drew his knife, forced the buck’s chin up and buried the blade into its throat. It was not graceful or pretty, but it was effective; he felt arteries snap alongside the windpipe and esophagus, giving the oryx a quicker and more painless death than the fate of drowning in its own blood.
The oryx let out a great sigh, as if suddenly tired, and let its limbs fall. It groaned to the ground, wavered there for a moment, then dropped its head down and died.
Shahar slid off the buck’s neck and landed heavily in the dirt, panting hard. Wrestling an oryx was not easy, it turned out.
Success, he signed tiredly. Give me a moment, need to catch my breath.
Snow came over curiously and butted her head against his chest. He grabbed her by the shoulders fondly and hauled her closer so he could scratch her lower back, where she liked best.
“In the future,” he breathed to Jasmine, amused suggestion. “Let's try to avoid doing… whatever we just did.”
Jasmine nocked another arrow and pulled the string back in another heartbeat, letting it fly straight through the buck’s ribs and into one of its lungs.
The reaction was immediate. The buck let out another cry of pain and tried to leap away, but exhaustion and injury kept it from anything more than a weak tug. That shot was the last that was needed; the buck was dying. It knew, Shahar knew and his companions knew.
As the buck’s strength bled into the dirt, Shahar yanked its head down, rose onto his knees and swung a leg over the animal’s neck. Straddling its shoulders and with full control of its head, Shahar drew his knife, forced the buck’s chin up and buried the blade into its throat. It was not graceful or pretty, but it was effective; he felt arteries snap alongside the windpipe and esophagus, giving the oryx a quicker and more painless death than the fate of drowning in its own blood.
The oryx let out a great sigh, as if suddenly tired, and let its limbs fall. It groaned to the ground, wavered there for a moment, then dropped its head down and died.
Shahar slid off the buck’s neck and landed heavily in the dirt, panting hard. Wrestling an oryx was not easy, it turned out.
Success, he signed tiredly. Give me a moment, need to catch my breath.
Snow came over curiously and butted her head against his chest. He grabbed her by the shoulders fondly and hauled her closer so he could scratch her lower back, where she liked best.
“In the future,” he breathed to Jasmine, amused suggestion. “Let's try to avoid doing… whatever we just did.”
