[Solo] Solitude

[Jonathon DuFraine]

1st of the Day, Fall of 511 A.V
Jonathon glared at what remained of the rabbit corpse. Already picked over of all valuable meat, it was worthless and would be starting to attract predators soon. He would have to bury it; either that or dump it somewhere out in the forest, which was dangerous and time-consuming.

Jonathon sighed heavily and brought out his shovel from the lean-to. Digging was sweaty and blistering work; he was used to it by now, but it wasn't nearly as fun as hunting. Shovel in one hand, corpse in the other, Jonathon walked a few dozen feet away from his clearing and began the shoveling.

As he shoveled, he debated with himself; aloud, so that he didn't lose his voice. He learned to do that his first few months out, although it still made him feel a bit silly. "Now, do I bury it shallow and get back to something useful, or bury it deep to make absolutely sure predators don't dig it up?" After a few moments of thought, he decided to take the risky first option, and watch the burial site over the next few days. If he was lucky, he could make off with a wolf pelt; useful for the coming cold weather.

Rabbit successfully buried, Jonathon made his way back to his lean-to. The lean-to was rather sophisticated compared to others of it's kind; a number of stitched-together pelts with a solid wooden base. It was more of a tent then anything. The inside was frugal; a bedroll and a small end-table for cutting and crafting.

Jonathon took a seat in front of the table, pulling a bunch of straight, medium-thickness sticks from his pack he had gathered on his walks. Using a small whittling knife, Jonathon began sharpening the tips and making the shafts straighter.

Two hours and seventeen broken sticks later, Jonathon was ready to admit defeat. He had hoped to find a way to make arrows by himself, so he wouldn't have to travel to town so often, but it was surprisingly hard to make even simple arrows. Jonathon resolved to ask the fletcher for some pointers next he went to Syliras.

Frustrated, he stepped outside, breathing the calm air of the mountain. The cool air was the best part of the mountains; he couldn't imagine living in a stuffy apartment in the city like he had just five months before.

Still, the mountain had plenty of downsides. There was the lack of common supplies, the plain fair (although his cooking skills were improving), and the danger. But the primary downside would be by far the lack of people. Jonathon visited with his father when he went to Syliras, but it wasn't the same as having a relaxing drink in the tavern, or the occasional hunting trip with a friend...

With a jolt, Jonathon realized he was absolutely food-less. That was never good; time had taught him to always have a meal around in some shape or form, in case a hunting trip went south. Jonathon grinned. Time for a hunt, then.

[Jonathon DuFraine]

Jonathon moved silently but quickly through the woods, adopting his 'hunter's stride'. It took some time for the novice hunter to perfect, but it helped immensely with efficiency in the spotting of prey. Jonathon had to balance speed with stealth; speed to cover more ground and therefore more prey, and stealth so that the prey itself did not escape. As he moved, his sharp eyes, a gift from his Inarta heritage, picked out details from his surroundings, looking for the flash of fur that meant a meal; or the flash of anything else that might be some monster looking for it's own food.

As for direction, Jonathon gravitated to his general hunting points. As he tramped all over the mountains regularly, he knew the best areas to head for to find prey, like sources of water and animal paths. Jonathon was moving up to the first of these now; a quite pool of water made by a stream, which seemed to be a favorite of the local animals.

Creeping up to the pool, he gave it a quick scan before emerging from the bushes in mild dissapointment. Nothing. With a quick drink he was back on the track...

Jonathon kicked a stone into the stream gloomily. Four water sources and two deer tracks, and not a creature in sight, not even a rabbit. Jonathon was starting to get worried; if he didn't find anything soon, there would be nothing for dinner.

This never happened to him back in the city... he always caught something before the day was up, and he was a much worse hunter back then. What had he done differently? Maybe his scent was too strong now? Or perhaps he had overhunted the area? Pondering, he looked out into the wilderness, staring at the burbling stream.

Perhaps it was simply luck? But how could he increase his luck? After a moment of pondering, he shrugged. There was one way... Getting on his knees, he closed his eyes and let nature take him in. After a few moments of breathing deeply, he began murmuring, quietly but firmly.

"Caiyha, Goddess of Nature. Ovek, God of Luck. I live by your domains, and humbly request your assistance with my hunt. I... am sorry for not being pious these past months..." Not sure what to say, and feeling self-conscious and selfish for asking for such a thing, he floundered a moment. "...Thank you for allowing me to exist in my profession and keeping me alive in the wilderness." Taking to his feet, and feeling just a mite foolish, Jonathon set off again.

[Jonathon DuFraine]

Grinning, Jonathon tramped back to his camp site, carrying a deer over his shoulder. Around him, a soft evening light illuminated the Bronze Woods, shining on the trees, the ground, his catch, and presumably himself. Looks like a little prayer never goes awry... Of course, the good fortune could be just coincidence, but he would thank the gods for it nonetheless. Not to mention praying to the God of Luck might be a bit more dangerous then it sounded...

Approaching his camp, he heard a snuffling sound behind a bush. It sounded like an unwanted visitor was hanging around his campsite, but what could an animal want with him? He had no food, and most creatures had no taste for his human meat and scent. After gently putting down the deer, Jonathon sneaked up to the spot, moving silently as his feet could go. After a minute, the bush obscuring his vision was worked around, and he got a clear look at the beast-

Jonathon very, very slowly retreated back to his deer. Picking it up as silently as possible, Jonathon moved in an insanely wide arc around the spot, circling back around to his tent, which was a good fifty feet away from the bear. His unwanted visitor, who was munching on the remains of a rabbit corpse, would hopefully leave without disturbing him. Jonathon made a silent note to himself to never, ever do such a thing again.

Hoping he would be safe in his tent, Jonathon ducked into his tent. Putting down his catch, he began the long process of preparing the food and hide for eating and sale, respectively. First, he used a skinning knife to strip the hide from the deer, slowly and carefully so it came off clean. He bundled up the hide and tossed it in his pack.

Next, he used his hunting knife to cut the edible and tasty portions of the deer away from the skeleton, stacking the meat on his clean table. Recalling the rough spots were you were supposed to cut to the most meat, Jonathon left no morsel behind; by the time the deer was stripped of it's hide and meat, an hour had passed.

Now to get rid of the rest. First, however, he placed a largish bowl that was under his end-table on top of the meat, to trap the smell from predators; it would not due for his hard work to be reversed like so. Then, taking the deer and a shovel, he moved it outside and in the opposite direction of the rabbit burial, hoping dear to Caiyha that the bear had moved on.

Moving twice as far away as the rabbit, Jonathon buried the corpse about three times as deep as the shallow rabbit, determined not to be surprised like that again.

Jonathon stabbed his shovel into the ground and took a seat, leaning against a tree for support. His body, used to the rigors of his life, was still quite glad to see a moment of respite. Today has been an eventful day, hasn't it? Jonathon watched the last glimmers of the sun retreat into the horizon, as the sky turned purple before it. "That it has."

Jonathon put his head in his arms. "Caiyha, I thank you for helping me in my hunt for the deer. Ovek, I thank you for your donation of luck in the catching of the deer... and I thank you both. Without your help, I may not have seen that bear before I ran into it... Thank you." Standing, Jonathon pondered a moment as he dusted off his clothes. The feeling he got was definitely a good one, if not one that he recognized. In good spirits, Jonathon headed back to his tent. It would be an afternoon of preserving meat, and then a night of sleep before the cycle started again. Jonathon couldn't wait.

Fin

OOCHm. This writing is probably a little shoddy, but I didn't really edit it or work too hard. Certainly not my best work, but it was rather fun... Time to get some EXP!

[Templar]

Jonathon: Body Building: 1 - Rhetorics: 1 - Trapping: 1 - Hunting: 2 - Stealth: 1 - Wilderness Survival: 2 Lore: Rabbitcorpse trap - Religious when Desperate - Additional remark: If you have any complaints or feel you have been mistreated. Please send me a PM with your complaint and I will address the issue.