22nd Spring 513
Kitchi moved slowly, each foot placed carefully in front of the other. Her bow was drawn already, it was better to be ready then to miss. Her sapphire eyes scanned the rows of trees, searching the lines of green and brown for movement, her eyes twitched towards the any fluttering of leaves. Watching for an abnormal amount of movement, any sign of life besides the plant itself. Eventually she found the movement she was looking for, the fluttering of leaves, the snapping of twigs. Something was definitely hiding. She smiled and drew her bow. Her movements remained slow as she drew the bow up besides her, placing the wood and flint arrow into line with the wood. Measuring the wood against her head and pulling the string back. Her arms soon slightly as she held the bow in the ready position. The fluttering of leaves started to increase and she remained locked on the position. The creature broke free, a flurry of leaves and feathers. A split second of thought, the arrow fired, the brown creature flapping in a desperate escape as the arrow sailed towards it. Kitchi's eyes widened as she finally realized the bird who she had fired at. The only remaining possibility was for her to miss. She preyed she would miss, preyed her archery skills would fail her. What would she do if she hit? Bury it? Have a funeral? She couldn't tell anyone, they would never forgive her. A million panicked thoughts flicking through her mind in a flurry of red and danger. Everything seemed to happen in a fraction of a moment. Her thoughts, the arrow still soaring and spinning as it travelled. The feathered creature desperately flicking its wings. A loose feather flickered free and started to tumble to the ground, spiralling. The arrow got closer. It made contact, barely. A scraping of feathers. A squeak of panic as the bird ducked to the side. A sigh of relief as Kitchi lowered her bow. The sound of wood shattering echoed dully. For a moment she simply stood and watched the bird flutter away quickly, feeling the relief wash over her skin soothingly. Once the first had vanished and the world had stilled once more Kitchi moved forwards. She had to find the arrow, she didn't want to waste it. The bushes shuffled and rattled as she moved through it, had bow had been returned to her back and would occasionally knock against her. Her eyes would occasionally flicker down to the floor, checking that the leaves had not been disturbed by her arrow. By the sound of it it had hit a tree and she headed towards the closest tree. The tree was large and had a chuck of bark knocked from it. Her fingers brushed over the new bark that had been exposed before she started to search amongst the tall grass pressed against the tree. A glitter of metal caught her attention and she quickly pulled it into the light. She had retrieved her arrow, at least. With a sigh she shifted around, thankfully she had missed. With another few steps she started to make her way back into the forest, her blue eyes scanning for another prize to take home.
