21 Chapter 21

The rain continued pouring down for hours, droning against the door endlessly. After an hour, the roughly made door began to leak, small streams of water trickling in through the cracks of the wooden door frame.

The water forced Hugo and Alice out of their resting spots, and the two decided against trying to sleep again and potentially getting wet, instead opting to sit at the makeshift table and play a few rounds of cards. A past hunter had left a deck laying in one of the corners of the cave, providing much needed entertainment for Alice and Hugo.

The game of choice resembled blackjack- it was a popular game to bet on amongst the wealthy. Both Alice and Hugo knew the workings of the game, but Ash wasn't as knowledgeable. He peered over the edge of the table, trying to figure out the workings of this game.

Soon another hour had passed…

And another, with the rain still pouring down…

Finally, after almost five hours, the rainfall began to let up.

At this point, the entire floor of the cave was wet, and a puddle covered the lowest area of the floor. The arrangement of the occupants of the cave was… strange.

Trying to avoid the water running across the floor, Ash had jumped onto one of the spare chairs. Unfortunately, the poorly made chair wasn't made to support the weight of the wolf- or anyone else for that matter. Still desperate for dry land, Ash had found a new perch.

Alice and Hugo had already halted their card game, not that they could play at the moment anyways.

They had managed to find a new hobby: slowly inserting jerky into the mouth of Ash, who was currently splayed across the table. Somehow, watching their lupine friend making strange faces while munching on the chewy meat was more enjoyable than their card game.

^Hehe.. Ash, let me take over. I have a good idea!^

Ash turned over control to Roth, silently observing what he would do.

As Alice leaned forward to feed Ash, Roth lunged forwards, booping Alice's nose with his own.

Giggling, Alice patted Ash's head before shoving more jerky into his mouth. Both Hugo and Ash couldn't help but smile watching the girl laugh.

Alice's smile was something that made both of them willing to give up their lives to protect.

'Wait… I have a kid of my own! How can I be thinking this?!?'

Hugo shook himself out of his daze, but still resolved to spoil his daughter's friend whenever possible. Cheery, kind, and smart. She was the best friend he could ask for his daughter to have.

"Well, it looks like this rain is finally letting up. It's got to be getting close to nightfall right now, so we should probably get heading back."

As the trio made their way outside, they were assaulted by the smell of fresh rain. A dusty smell lingered inside of the cave house, and the fresh fragrance of outside was a welcome change.

Raindrops hung onto the leaves of trees, making the setting sun's light illuminate the forest. A hawk flew past, drawing Alice's sight towards the dazzling horizon. The slowly receding clouds had dumped most of their mass upon the forest, and now were dyed red by the fading sun, setting the sky alight with the amazing vibrance of a wildfire.

"Wow… the forest is really pretty right now, it's even better than our garden! I wish I could bring my dad here right now, and Alex! Both of them would love it here."

Alice gazed at the breathtaking sunset for a bit longer, before turning and following Hugo into the woods.

Their journey back was much quicker than the morning, as this time there was enough light to see. The party stayed quiet as they walked, hoping to see a deer stretching its legs after the rain. Plenty of squirrels were out playing happily, along with other small wildlife, but nothing worth Hugo's time showed itself on the trip back.

Fifteen minutes later, Hugo's trio arrived back at camp. The campfire was already stoked, and a pot hung over the fire, watched by a circle of hunters. Most of the other groups had already returned to the campsite, some of them hours ago. Many of the hunters hadn't sought shelter from the rain- the majority of them were seasoned woodsmen who hunted through freezing winters and scorching summers. A little bit of rain wouldn't scare them. It was a different case for the young girls with on the trip. Su's group had returned to camp when the rain started, and Hugo sought shelter in the makeshift cave house.

Alice joined Su in sitting by the fire, chatting with her friend happily. Ash lay in between the two, enjoying the feeling of their fingers running through his fur absentmindedly. The evening passed much like the previous one- story telling, hot meat from the fire, and early sleep. It seemed this would be the general structure of the hunting trip. An early morning, then finding a comfortable tree to rest in while waiting for daylight. Alice tried her best to stay awake and watch the forest with Hugo, but tiredness won over every time.

After sitting in the tree for a few hours, Hugo would lead on a different path every day, searching for signs of deer as they passed through the woods. Ash was able to showcase his powerful nose once again, locating another doe. Unfortunately for the hunting squad, Alice stepped on a branch as they approached the fleet footed beast, and it flew into the forest, not giving Hugo a chance to take a shot. Hugo brushed it off, cheering up the crestfallen Alice with a joke about his own daughter's mistakes on her first hunting trip.

After venturing the woods in search of deer, the trio would make their way back to camp to share lunch with the other hunters. Two large pots of meat were kept hanging over the fire all day, one for lunch, and one for dinner. Whenever a hunting group returned to camp, they would have to add wood to the fire and stir the food. If firewood wasn't added regularly the hunters could end up with a cold dinner, so they tried to coordinate with the other groups as best as possible. One group would come back to eat lunch around every half hour, quickly leaving the campsite to return to the woods afterwards.

In this manner, there would be a hot pot full of meat awaiting everyone, ready for dinner.

In the evenings, Alice would practice using the recurve, and by the second to last day of the trip, she could finally hold the bow at full draw long enough to steady her aim.

After a week of practice, Alice could finally shoot… in the general vicinity of the target. She no longer lobbed every shot randomly towards her target, but a lot more practice would be needed before she could be allowed to hunt. Within the Bravens, respect for wildlife was greatly valued. Taking a bad shot at an animal was considered shameful, and there was no way Hugo would let an amatuer take a shot at a living animal.

It seemed Alice wouldn't get the opportunity to make her first kill on this hunting trip.