82nd of Summer, 510 A.V.
Jaeden kept crouched low as he moved along the ground, a certain humidity in the air that caused a small amount of sweat to lightly sleek along his brow. It likely would have been far worse had he not had the various shaded areas of the forest. Summer was nearing it’s end, and Jaeden had spent much time in the city for the season. It was odd in a way, being in a prime season for hunting, only to spend much of it in the city. However, he had soon left the city and began his search for the camping sight of his mentor, Olevar. He had a rough idea of where the person who had raised him after his parents had been killed was, but narrowing it down to one area of the forest when there was so much of it, well that took some time.
At this time, however, Jaeden felt hunger. So he spent his time tracking down dinner, as his eyes slowly followed over the tracks along the ground. The tracks, almost resembling an upside down heart with spacing down the center and half circles at the back of it, were no more than four inches in the length, suggesting a yearling deer in age. It wasn’t huge, meaning the meat he was able to procure from it wouldn’t be too much, and enough to sustain him for at least a couple of days. He could continue his search for Olevar during those two days before needing to stop and grab some more food, unless he decided to dip into his survival rations. That wasn’t much of an option though in his eyes, and it likely wouldn’t be long before he began collecting more rations, especially in the fall, so any trips he took into the forest during the winter wouldn’t prove to hard when it came to remaining fed.
He had been following the tracks for about a chime now, albeit at a slow pace. He was likely no longer than a mile away from his camp in the end, so he could still move further without it wasting too much of his time in the day. He slowly stopped next to a bush sprouting a few remaining berries of the season, noticing a some tears and breaks along the leaves and stems of the bush itself, indicating an animal had been nibbling at it. He slid the tips of his fingers over broken steps and gnawed leaves, holding them up in front of him noticing a hint of moisture had rubbed off. He rubbed his fingers together along his thumb for a moment before slowly inhaling their scent. The deer didn’t pass by too long ago. Jaeden gave a slowly look down to the tracks, wiping his fingers clean along his pants then, before once again resuming his tracking.
About another quarter chime would pass before he spotted the yearling doe in the distance, standing at the edge of a creek as it’s head was dipped down taking a drink from the shallow flowing water. Jaeden slowly crept forward, bringing his foot down softly with each step, minimizing the sound he made. His eyes floated upward as a soft breeze hit him from his right, thankful it didn’t change direction and put him downwind of the animal. When he was satisfied with his distance, he dropped down to one knee, slowly raising his bow which had an arrow already nocked into the string. The feathers along the rear of the arrow lightly slid between his index and middle finger, tickling the flesh there lightly until his finger tips rested along the string. His arms then went taught as he slowly began to draw back the string, his strength battling against the resistance that the bow presented, until his fingers were lightly touching the skin of his jaw, just under his hear. His breathing slowed, his eyes narrowing as the yearling deer came more into focus. He lined the head of his arrow up with the animal, raising it only slightly to cover the distance. Finally, as he slowly released a final breath of air, he released the string of the bow as it suddenly vaulted forward, releasing that subtle twanging sound as it came to a sudden stop sending it’s missile through the air at high speed before coming to a vibratory stop.
The arrow cut through the air smoothly, leaving a whisper of death in it’s wake. It took no more than a second for it to clear the distance between Jaeden and the young deer, before the tip finally pierced through fur, skin and tissue that lined over the deer’s ribs. It pierced through one lung before it finally entered the yearlings heart, causing a jerked reaction and cry of pain from the animal. It took a sudden leap, beginning to run before the lethal shot finally caused it to come to a rolling collapse along the ground. Jaeden lowered his bow, taking his free hand off the other arrow he had been reaching for just in case his first shot had missed it’s mark. He was lucky today, only having to lose one arrow in the process of hunting his prey, and slowly began to feel that slowly, but surely, he was gaining proficiency in the use of the bow.
He stood, and slowly began to walk towards his fallen prey to claim it for himself. His hand slowly reached around his waist, pulling a small hunting knife free from it’s sheath. If the animal wasn’t already dead, a second wound with the knife would then be made to hasten such. As he neared the deer, however, he soon noticed it wouldn’t be necessary as the deer laid along the ground, void of any movement at all. Even it’s chest failed to rise and fall in final breaths, indicating that Jaeden’s shot had only taken about a chime, if not less, to kill it. Such was good, in Jaeden’s eyes, as there was no need for it to suffer needlessly, and Jaeden only wished all his shots could fly so true when he was hunting.
All the same, Jaeden circled around the animal, approaching towards it’s back as it laid motionless along it’s side. Jaeden crouched down slowly, slowly reaching out as his hand came to rest along it’s neck, testing to see if physical contact caused any surprise reaction from the animal. When it did not, Jaeden gave a slow nod, slipping the knife back into it’s sheath behind his back before he slung his bow over his left shoulder. He then slowly looked over it, noticing that the doe was smaller than he had originally anticipated, which was better in the long run for him. It meant less meat for him to turn to jerky and to preserve for breakfast lunch and dinner as he traveled. Another slight grunt was echoed, as he pulled the doe over his right shoulder and began to stand. He estimated the young doe weighed close to eighty-five pounds, which would likely yield him somewhere between twenty-five to forty pounds of deer meat after he field dressed it.
Jaeden soon began moving back towards camp, his foots stomping a little heavier as he walked from the added weight. It would only take him about a third of a bell to get back, having only moved about a little over a mile away from camp itself. When entering his clearing, he first checked for tracks not his own, for the most part making sure the campfire he had left burning did it’s job and kept the wild animals away. He then moved over towards the edge of his camp site, laying the doe along the ground before steps carried him over towards the northern side of the camp, not far from his tent. There sat a tall bundle of long, thick branches, that stood up to Jaeden’s chest and was twined together with a thin rope. They formed a wide tipi in their shape, having a small opening at the front as thick smoke bellowed out from the opening itself and large amounts of heat radiated from it. About another bell and it would be ready for turning the deer meat into jerky, which would take all night and a good part of the morning to complete the first batch.
Finally, Jaeden gave a quick exhale and slow nod to himself as he moved back towards his kill. He slipped his bow off his shoulder, laying it next to his tent. His belt and sword was soon to follow and finally his leather armor, as the short sleeved tunic clung to his chest and back due to the sweat that had been rolling over him throughout most of the day. Reaching down to his belt, he then pulled his hunting knife from it’s sheath once more before making his way over towards the doe. By the time he was finished skinning the animal and removing what meat he could cut from it, the smoker would likely be ready.
