3 The Hunt

The sun set behind the western mountain range sending out a sea of pinks and oranges through the cloudy sky. Two green eyes could been seen from a hole in the earth, long shadows were cast along the forest. The woods now held an ominous glow as night chased the sunlight out. The fox joined the darkness and slipped through the trees and underbrush not making a sound.

Eventually she came to a small clearing with a couple of leafy squash plants and nearby in another clearing there were a couple of strawberry vines. These small little gardens were scattered though her forest, she examined the plants, it was still spring so she had yet to grow anything harvestable. She then approached another clearing, this spot was cleared of leaves exposing rich soil.

"The potatoes would've gone here," Soinnach said to herself sadly.

The days of warm potato soups crept into her mind. Closing her eyes she could almost see the pot of soup boiling over an open fire in a small cottage. She could almost smell the herbs boiling in the water and even thought she was standing in a cold dark forest she felt warm.

She took a deep breath, half expecting to smell her childhood home instead something sour filled her nose.

It was the putrid smell of a man who had not showered in weeks or longer. Sionna opened her eyes and growled showing her small pointed teeth. Retracting back into the shadows she listened carefully.

She could hear the faint snap of twigs at least a few miles away. Humans were notoriously noisy in the woods especially in the dark. She was curious to see what a human was doing this far into the woods and this late at night. At the same time she disliked most humans, growing up her Papa was friends with Elves, Dwarfs, wizards, a vampire and other magical beings. Yet he did not have many human friends besides being a regular human himself.

For a moment she forgot all about the man reminiscing about the only family she ever had.

Then her ear twitched picking up the sound of a soft buzz. Most magic when being controlled let out a very soft and faint noise. Almost like the buzz of a bee, only creatures with particularly powerful hearing could pick up on the noise.

Sionna was one of those beings and hearing the hum of magic she decided it was best to leave this wizard alone and not let her curiosity get the the best of her.

She went to another section of the woods to hunt, occasionally sniffing the air to make sure not to get too close to him. Eventually she smelt a campfire and she knew the man had stopped for the night. Throughout the night she collected small rodents, plants and herbs. So that when she arrived home, she was able to cook a nice supper and sleep restfully. Not knowing this would be her last night in her little den.

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At sunrise Sullen opened his eyes, he had traveled late into the night following the enchanted potato. He was exhausted, he did not sleep well listening to the sounds of the dark forest. The enchanted tent he slept in was rather nice and spacious on the inside but looked small and shabby from the outside. Though the tent fit a regular bed and a dresser inside along a metal bathtub that he had no intent of using. He felt uncomfortable in the forest and wanted to get back to civilization. Finally rising from his bed he swung his cloak over his shoulders and exited the tent. In the soft morning sun one could see that Sullen was actually rather young, his straggly beard makes him look older but lack of wrinkles gave away his youth. He had a broad forehead that met with a sharp pointy nose which shadowed his beady eyes.

He was anxious to complete his task so he quickly started breaking down his campsite. Surprisingly everything fit into his rather small backpack and before he left he made sure the fire was out. Pulling out the plant he headed out, not bothering to eat breakfast.

The sun was high in the sky by the time he began stumbling through the woods following the potato plant like a compass. He thought daylight would make him more silent and graceful but he was still struggling in the undergrowth. His cloak caught on everything and his footing was uneven causing him to stumble. Finally the plant pointed down and he saw a small hole in the ground.

Kneeling down be inspected it realizing what it was. He smiled a wicked smile exposing yellow teeth as he came up with a plan to catch the little fox.