Hunting Experience

Father returned alone the next day. I tried asking what he did with the pair, but couldn't make myself do it. Uncle Aron wasn't in the best shape either, but no one blamed him. My parents decided to postpone the wedding for a while, letting uncle sieve through his thoughts. The adults rarely talked about what happened, but me, Vick and Mira talked about it a lot. On one side, we were happy that such a woman was finally gone from our family. On the other hand, we were sad that uncle had to go through such a thing.

A week later, uncle began feeling a bit better thanks to everyone's support. He wasn't in the mood to smile, but his mood got better for sure. "You guys postponed the wedding for long enough. How can I stop you from your own happiness. Let's proceed, this should be a joyous time, not a sad one", uncle Aron said. My parents assured him there was no need to rush, but uncle insisted. "Alright then, let's proceed with the wedding", father replied.

The town became bustling with activity. The wedding ceremony would take place in the training area, since that was the most spacious place in the town. We had to set up a stage, as well as bring chairs, tables and whatnot for all the guests. Of course everyone from the town was invited, and father wanted to make sure we got no food shortage. Others tried to convince him that they would go hunting, but he wanted to be useful.

"Anna, would you like to join me? That'll be a good experience for you", father proposed. I didn't want to hunt that much, but decided to go. "Can I go too?", Vick asked. "Of course you can go. Lana, how about you?", father asked. Lana seemed surprised my father would ask her, but she agreed.

"Alright, follow me then. We might be camping in the forest for one night, since we need a lot of meat", father announced before we moved out. The forest was almost quiet, except some birds chirping here and there. Father showed us how to track animals inside the forest. He also mentioned that even a seemingly trackless environment could give us hints.

He was able to find a group of some sort of animals after a while. They had four legs, a furry tail, and a grey coat. These creatures reminded me of dogs, my mother drew for me a few times during my childhood. "What are those animals called?", I asked curiously. "Huh? You don't know what a wolf is?", Vick replied, stunned. "Well, we don't have these wolves in the North, so the answer is no", I said.

Vick explained a few things to me about the wolves. He also introduced a few other animals we could encounter on our trip. There were bears, boars, rabbits and deer that Humans hunted. "Explaining what they look like would be difficult. The best way is to see them for yourself. We should get a chance to see a few of them, since these animals are rather common", he said.

"Alright guys, enough chit-chat. I'll let you deal with this pack. Lana, did you hunt before?", father asked. "Yes, uncle. I hunted a few times", she replied. "Great! In that case, take Anna and Vick with you. I will only step in, if you can't handle it", father said.

"Did you hunt before, Anna?", Lana asked me. "Yes, a few times…", I replied, but didn't feel that great about hunting. "Vick, you hunted a few times too, right? In that case, I will grab their attention, while you two take the left and right sides. Strike as soon as you see an opportunity. We are going to deal with six wolves, therefore we are outnumbered", Lana explained before we made our way towards the wolves. Fortunately we had time to prepare, since father spotted the pack from afar.

Vick decided to take the left side, which left me with the right side. Lana rushed at the pack, grabbing their attention as planned. Me and Vick on the other hand, followed her closely on each side. Lana didn't look like she needed much help. The very first wolf died in one swing of her sword. The other five tried to attack her from each side, but before they got a chance, she actually killed two more. Me and Vick were responsible for the three leftover wolves, one on my side and two on Vick's side.

The wolf on my side was about to jump Lana, but I got there just in time. With as much strength as my body could muster, I slashed at the wolf's body. That turned out to be completely unnecessary, because the wolf got cut in half. Vick managed to wound, and then kill one of the wolves, while Lana finished off the last wolf. "You didn't have to cut it in half, you know? There's no need to show off", Vick said after the battle. I shook my head, "I wasn't sure how strong these wolves were, therefore my slash contained my full strength… I'll watch out in the future".

Everything happened so fast, I didn't even think about not killing the wolf. '... I was worried Lana would get hurt, but there's no way she would. I mean, she could easily deal with six of them alone', I thought. "Not bad guys, let's take the meat and search for more", father announced while walking over to us. As soon as the meat was in his bag, we left to search for more animals.

"Since I showed you how to search for animals, why don't you give it a try now?", father asked on our way. We didn't mind, and that would help us learn something too. Lana had the most experience with hunting, therefore she became responsible for leading our small group. We searched for tracks, prints, or disturbances that would lead us to another group of animals.

"I have something here… It looks like the paws of a bear", Vick announced. We agreed to follow them, and encountered a small group of bears after a while. 'So that's how bears look like? Hmmm, they look a bit weird', I thought. Lana explained to me that bears were a lot stronger than wolves, but not as fast or agile. They usually rushed at their targets, used their powerful paws to swipe, or their large bodies to tackle. There were occasions where they could try to bite, but that was under the condition we got too close.

"We have three bears in this sleuth, which can be considered really small. Vick, can you handle one of them, or do you want my help?", Lana asked. "I should be able to fight it alone. In case there's trouble, I can simply back away", he replied. Lana didn't ask me, since normal bears shouldn't pose any problems to someone who reached their Outer Limits stage. "Alright, we will do it a bit differently now. All of us advance, and take a bear each. In case there's trouble, retreat", Lana added.

The bears noticed us before we even made our move. These animals didn't try to run away at all, they immediately charged at us. With my sword unsheathed, we advanced forwards. Lana mentioned that bears were supposedly slower and less agile than wolves, but they were by no means slow. The bear on my side actually jumped into the air, with the intention of slamming me into the ground.

This was a futile attempt, because I was easily able to evade it. "Bam", the bear slammed into the ground, which gave me enough time to carry out my own attack. "Tsuu!", my sword pierced the bear's neck from the side. The bear didn't manage to make any sound. I pulled the sword back towards me, while executing a slashing downwards motion at the same time. This happened very quickly, making the whole process as short as possible. 'Though bears are aggressive animals, there's no need to inflict unnecessary pain. We hunt for food, not for pleasure…', I reminded myself.

Lana didn't struggle with her bear either, but Vick had some issues. The bear released a few roars, due to its body being wounded in a few areas. That made the bear slow down considerably. Vick finally got a chance to strike properly, killing the bear with his final pierce. "You have to practice more, Vick", Lana said to him. "Well, I'm not as strong as you guys. Anyway, we are done here, so let's get the meat", he replied a bit annoyed. Father didn't approach us, he only stood there with a smile. The reason became apparent really quickly, when we heard noise coming from deeper parts of the forest.

"Guys, get ready. We have some guests", Lana told us. Me and Vick looked at each other, then back at the location of that noise. Not even a minute later, we saw more bears emerging between the trees. Moreover, there was one weird looking bear mixed into the sleuth. Its fur was black, instead of darker or light brown. The black bear was also a bit bigger than the rest. "The black bear is much stronger than the brown ones, so look out. We are dealing with five bears, but the black bear is the priority. I'll deal with it, while you take care of the rest. At least stall them for a while", Lana explained, then rushed at the bears first.

Me and Vick followed right behind her. I could tell Lana became more serious, her face wasn't as relaxed as before. The sleuth of bears ran straight at us, led by the black bear as their leader. The moment we were about twenty metres apart, Lana unleashed her movement technique. The technique looked like a dance, similar to that of a performer on the stage. Her steps light, but very quick. She was able to approach the front of the sleuth in seconds, but the black bear wasn't stupid.

The black bear roared, making the sleuth separate itself into two groups. One group moved to the left, while the other moved to the right. They intended to attack Lana from both sides, but me and Vick were there to prevent that. I used the footwork uncle Aran introduced to me, and charged at the two bears on the right side. "Raah!", with the swing of my sword, one of the bears suffered injuries, but didn't die. The other bear abandoned the thought of targeting Lana, and focused on me instead.

I quickly rolled to the side, evading the bear's charge. Fortunately, the injured bear was too slow. I was able to pick myself up, and strike the wounded bear once more. This time, the bear didn't survive. Vick and Lana on the other hand, fought against the three bears. One of them being the black bear. Vick seemed to be in trouble, he was facing two bears at once.

Between me and them was a bear, who charged at me one more. "Papak, papak.. Papak, papak…", the sound of its running caught my attention. There was a rhythm, and all rhythms could be broken or used, so long one knew how the rhythm sounded. I tried to match the bear's rhythm, which subconsciously gave birth to something no one would expect. "Swoosh, swoosh.. Swoosh, swoosh…", my footwork evolved into a basic movement technique, but that wasn't the end.

When the bear arrived in front of me, I suddenly changed the rhythm of my footwork. More precisely, I reversed the rhythm the bear had. "Rip!", a huge wound appeared across the bear's belly and neck. The change in my movements allowed me to cut right through the bear's stomach and neck. All in one curve attack. The bear dropped to the ground, while I continued towards Lana and Vick. Before arriving, Lana managed to finish the black bear. With the three of us, the leftovers were quickly taken care of. The struggle has finally ended. Moreover, there were no other noises coming from the forest.