[The Fringe Forests] Broadheads & Bowstrings (Solo)

[Gianne Basete]

1st Day of Fall, 512 AV Dawn The Fringe Forests She shuffled between two thick patches of thorns, sucking her gut in apprehensively. These were the worst plants in existence; no argument needed. They tugged at her shirt and stabbed her legs. Gianne examined her clothing on the other side of the thicket, groaning inwardly when she caught sight of a small tear in her blouse. "Petch!" Worst plants ever. Someone at the Sanctuary was bound to be able to mend the hole though, so it wasn't a very big deal. All morning she'd been trying to tack down some deer. This was her first time hunting, so she wasn't having a good time at it. Or really it was a terrible time. There were no noticeable tracks, at least not to someone of her skill. Which was really no skill at all. Rhy had showed her some tracking but that had been left in the wake her frightened gelding, and he'd done a lot of damage to his surroundings. At least she had found a game trail on her own. Sometimes she lost sight of the narrow path and would have to scour around, looking hard to find it again. It was frustrating and she was growing bored. This was more of a hike than anything. Gianne went on like this for a while, loosely following the winding trail. Ducking under branches, easing around bushes and more thorns, and even crossing a tiny creek. She stopped there to refill her waterskin and took a short rest, eating some bread and a strip of dried meat she'd brought as a snack. She'd also took off her boots and dipped her sweating feet in the icy water. That eased much of the frustration of the morning. So she set off once more, a little perkier after her relaxing stop. She decided to quit following the game trail; it was the irritating thing about the whole morning. So instead, she cut straight through the trees, pushing aside branches and scoping the area for any sign of deer. A fox squirrel skittered up a tree and a hare ran across her path, but still no deer. Gianne stopped and stretched, groaning as her muscles shivered against the strain. This was going nowhere fast. Surely she could find something better to do with her time. Though no quite ready to give up just yet, she continued her reluctant hunt, walking in no particular direction and just picking one at random.

[Gianne Basete]

She eventually came upon an irregularly shaped clearing. The far side in front of her was bordered by a wall of thorns, her favorite plant in the world. The rest of the circumference was trees. Now that she looked at it longer, it wasn't much of a clearing. There were quite a few trees dotted around and the grass and weeds were stiflingly thick. Nothing like the picturesque meadow that comes to mind when you imagine one. Gianne waded through the tall grass, holding her bow over her head to protect it from anything that might damage it. The dew soaked her clothes in seconds making it stick to her body. Her imagination was starting to claw its way up from the depths now. Of all the times to wonder what was lurking in this grass. Venomous snakes? More wolves? A glassbeak? She'd never seen one of those, but she'd heard stories of their ferocity and knew if she was faced with one she wouldn't be returning to the Sanctuary, nor ever see home again. She shivered at the thought, a sudden sweat beading on her forehead. With no warning a pair of doe burst from the trees to her right, bounding across the clearing with their white tails flagged. Despite the grass being so thick they were some of the most graceful things she'd ever seen. They moved like they were floating. She was too busy staring to even nock an arrow. One of them stopped to stare back, her head held high and ears shoved forward. Gianne's heart was still pounding from the surprise as it turned and ran after its companion. Without missing a beat a small stag loped out of the treeline not far from where the doe had entered. He was petite but healthy looking, the points on his small rack sharpened against trees until they were dagger sharp. Fall was mating season for deer, and even though it was too early for the deed to be done they must be warming up at the thought that the time was so close. He called out to the does, wherever they might be now. It was a longing sort of sound; a little desperate. His complete attention was fixated on the females he'd been following for who knows how long.

[Gianne Basete]

As quietly as she could manage, she slid an arrow from her quiver and nocked it to her bowstring. The buck cried out again, trotting closer to the treeline the females had exited through. He was probably 50 feet away; a little far but not so far that she couldn't manage to get a shot in if she concentrated. Gianne had wore a green shirt today and her pants were the color of wet sand, allowing her to blend better with the background. Her brown hair was inconspicuous out here in the forest as well. It was a sort of unintentional camouflage, but of course anything with good eyesight would be able to see her. Though if someone or something wasn't searching for her, she may be overlooked at a glance. On the other hand any movement on her part would give herself away. So she was holding her breath, poised and ready to release her arrow when the moment was right. The buck had stopped and was searching the air for a scent of the doe, and she took this as her opportunity. Quickly the string was pulled back, the shot anchored to his cheek, then released. The twang of the string alerted the buck and it turned sharply to stare at her. The arrow embedded into its flank near the spine with a loud thud. The stag made a strangled sound and lurched away, hobbling and limping for a few steps before it got its equilibrium back. With surprising speed it shot away to the edge of the clearing and Gianne quickly pulled another arrow from her quiver. She accidentally grabbed two and one tumbled into the grass but she got the other nocked and released it. Of course she missed; the shot sailed over the deer as it bounded into the trees and to her dismay, right into the giant thicket of thorns. "Petch!" she yelled venomously. With a snarl she grabbed the arrow that had fallen into the grass and took off at a sprint after the injured deer. The animal was still much faster than her so it was a hard chase. There were noticeable splotches of blood here and there, and at one point she saw the broken off end of the arrow that had been sticking from its side. That must have hurt. Lucky for her the fletching of all her arrows was a vivid red, so they stood out from the brown and green foliage like a light in the dark. And then the trail went cold.

[Gianne Basete]

Gianne stopped and backtracked a few yards, staring down at the few noticeable tracks left by the frantic and injured animal, then went back to the where everything stopped. She stared and searched as hard as she possible could, and still... nothing. She ran a hand impatiently through her hair, pacing a few moments while she considered her next move. The only thing that came to mind was that she was tired, and wanted to go back to the Sanctuary. She wasn't going to find this deer. Another thought struck her; one that caused some worry. Would Caiyha be angry with her for injuring that buck in vain? It's not like she could help that now. What's done was done. She couldn't see the stag dying from its wound. It would just be in pain until it healed. A little apprehensive now from the thought of her Goddess being angered, she ducked her head like a scolded child and turned back to go the way she'd come. Backtracking was hard since she'd taken so many random turns today. It was fairly easy to get back to the not-so-clear clearing, but then things got harder. Isn't that the rock I just passed? Did I already see this tree twice before? Thoughts like this buzzed in her brain until she found the tiny gurgling creek she'd rested at earlier in the morning. It wasn't the same place she'd crossed before, but it was definitely same the stream. After that things got easy again. Gianne remembered the direction she'd taken when she got off the game trail and succeeded in finding it once again. The path was still a challenge to stay on, it would disappear and reappear, wind back on itself then straighten out again. She found herself annoyed once more, and the thought made her laugh despite the terrible luck of the day. Ironic that this little path had the power to anger her and the fact that she'd lost two arrows didn't. Maybe something was wrong with her. Finally she breached the border of the forest, entering the grasslands once more. She'd came out in a different area than she entered, but with some looking around she found where Gill had been left tethered. He was definitely miffed about being left behind for the few bells she'd been in the trees. He actually stomped his hoof and threw his head back when she tried to lead him from the tree he'd been standing by. She laughed and gave him an affectionate pat, ignoring the outburst outright. What a baby. He got over himself quickly though, and gave her a look that could have said, "What, no deer?" She ignored that too and tied her bow back to the saddle, then swung up into the seat with a great air of dignity. There's always next time.

[Mist]

Thread Grading! Gianne XP/Skills: +3 Hunting, +3 Land Navigation, +2 Observation, +1 Tracking, +1 Wilderness Survival, +2 Weapon(Shortbow) Lore: Thorns:Worst plant ever, The importance of taking a break, Letting fear get the best of you, Hunting:A shot to the flank won't kill, Getting lost and unlost in equal measures Item/ Consequences: -2 Shortbow Arrow Additional Notes: A note here, I gave you points in Wilderness Survival, but also noted that you have not listed which environment that is for. As a novice in Wilderness Survival, you only get one environment to start, with more as you gain competency. So you need to pick one, and specify it on your CS. I would think it would not be to hard a choice, seeing as you live and hunt in the sea of grass. -If you have any questions about the grade, don’t hesitate to PM me.