The first day had passed without any difficulties. Since he had still been within the village's sphere of influence, no beasts had caused him trouble. Though, that would change from now on.

He cleaned up his camp as soon as he woke up, and burned one of those scent-dispersing herbs the hunters liked to use. It would keep beasts off his trail, so Aiden had recommended he use it every time before and after spending the night somewhere.

For breakfast he took out some dried meat and fruit. The rations he'd been given were only enough for half a dozen meals, so he would need to scavenge some food of his own.

After eating he once again took to the sky.

It took some effort to keep his mind from wandering. Travelling alone was after all quite boring, but it meant he had to stay alert even more. With only one pair of eyes and ears it would be easier for danger to sneak up on him.

At this point he'd even prefer Jyl's grandfather for company, despite the man's obvious dislike of him. It'd gotten better, but as soon as that one topic in particular came up...

Groaning, Arick reminded himself to stay attentive.

Any minute now he would be arriving at the hunting grounds of the beast he was targeting. After that, it was a matter of luck and patience. He hoped to come across it as quickly as possible, then he could fight it and go back.

Daren had explained to him why this was necessary, so he hadn't objected. However, that didn't change the fact that this forest made him nervous. The was the Great Forest, after all, it could hardly be compared to the oak and beech forests of Obsidian, where the most dangerous animal was a normal wolf or bear.

Yet he was on his way to battle a bird of prey the size of a building. One of the monstrous animals that are called 'beasts', inhabitants of this Forest.

On the other hand, this dangerous environment was why the Village and its hunters interested him so, why he had decided to accompany Jyl to her home.

Movement at the edge of his vision caught his attention.

Two green mice the length of his forearm were scurrying among fallen leaves, apparently searching for food. Despite walking around busily, not a sound could be heard from them.

These little beasts were at the bottom of the food chain, and were only able to live here because of their advanced stealth. They were also the preferred prey of his target.

That posed the question: should he continue on, or stalk these two in hopes they attract it?

He quietly touched down on a branch. For now he would wait, it would be more productive than wandering around randomly.

While trying to stay as still as possible, he passed the time observing the mice. Patience was not usually something he had trouble with, but after a couple hours the boredom threatened to overwhelm him.

He wished that bird would show up already.

Shaking his head side to side, he attempted to regain focus. It took a couple tries before he managed to calm himself down. Though, how much longer would he be able to keep this up? Perhaps he should move on after all.

It was at that moment that a blur passed through his field of vision, taking one of the mice with it.

He smirked. Speak of the rat and you'll see its tail.