Chapter 7 - Hunting

~ Seven cycles of the seasons - 16 Years earlier ~

The crust of snow shimmered with the bright morning sun, the trees already starting to lose their white coats, faster by the day as the seasons shifted to spring. Nearby, a small drift of snow slid from the boughs of a fir tree. The hare’s ear twitched with the sudden noise but it remained still, testing the air, slowly looking about and on alert for predators. It quietly took one small hop, its light brown pelt glistening in the sun, taking a fresh blade of grass that poked through the snow and nibbling at it. As the short winter days grew longer, the slopes and mountain passes started to wake from their slumber, life returning to the forests and streams that ran in the valleys.

The hare took another small step forward onto the exposed bank of a stream, the sun warming its back as it nibbled at another blade. Suddenly it twitched, the fresh grass forgotten, its whole body tensed up as the nearby sound of wood skittering off exposed shale, then a clattering before a charged silence returned. It stood there rigid, ears alert, a faint whistling sound grew before the shale right beside it exploded in a shower of pebbles, spooking it into motion, disappearing back into the warm snow covered burrows nearby before the last pebble stopped rolling.

Two, almost silent sets of steps walked along the bank from downstream, the occasional crunch of the shale underfoot being drowned out by the babbling of the busy waters. They finally reached where the hare had been.

“You were distracted, dear Lia.” said Harks as he watched Lia recover her arrows.

“Hmmm, I know, but couldn’t I just use my thread to charm the hare, then I could take as long as I wanted to aim?”

Harks smiled to himself as he watched Lia inspect the shafts and fletching of the arrows before placing them back in her quiver. She met his eyes with an impatient glance. He looked at the entrance to the burrow, his eyes narrowing.

“How far have you walked this morning on an empty stomach, dear Lia?”

“Since sunrise, maybe two hours.” she said.

“Did you sleep well last night, dear Lia?”

She frowned slightly and shook her head, watching him reach up and stroke Kelis’s head, “I can do it, Harks. I can charm it. And I will hit it from that same spot, I’ll show you.”

Harks nodded, shrugging, “If you must.”

She nodded curtly to him and started walking back to where she had taken her shot from. Harks chuckled to himself, leaning down and plucking a small handful of fresh grass. He crushed it and left it at the entrance to the burrow, the scent hanging in the air; hunger at the close of winter was a powerful lure, even to a hare. Quickly checking his position, he silently slipped behind a tree and waited.

Lia stood in position, her eyes on the same spot. She looked about in amazement, Harks’s skill as a woodsman allowing him to be concealed so quickly. She slipped the bow off her back and nocked an arrow, keeping the string relaxed. Within a few moments, she could see the hare’s ears as it ventured back out. Without drawing, she sighted along the arrow, waiting for the hare to be clear of the snow. Within bare moments it was time. Faint blue flames came to light in her eyes, the amber stirred into otherworldly life. She called on her thread, grasping at a single strand of it, amplifying it and letting it entwine with the hare. Taming it into a sense of calm and blunting its fear and caution.

She watched the hare bound out onto the shale, and readied to draw the bow. She concentrated, fighting the slowly growing dizziness. Steadying herself, she drew and sighted along the arrow, taking aim while focusing on keeping the hare trapped by the thread.

Harks watched the hare as it languidly moved around, thoroughly trapped within Lia’s charm. He took care, slipping around a tree, keeping it between himself and Lia while watching the hare intently. Time stretched on, until finally he heard the whistle of an arrow flying wide and far, before deflecting off a tree upstream. He glanced at the hare and walked out, quickly grabbing it by the nape of the neck as Lia’s influence rapidly wore off.

He brought it close and looked it in the eyes, “It is with gratitude that I accept and respect your sacrifice, your life shall sustain three and your fur will give warmth in the following winter.”

Harks gently stroked its head, bringing it to his chest as he started to walk back, calming it before quickly snapping its thin neck. Without a further thought he slipped it into a canvas bag that he had slung over a shoulder and shook his head as he came across Lia. She was sprawled out in the snow, her bow still in her limp grasp.

Lia slowly stirred, her sense of taste dominated with the coppery aftertaste of blood. Her whole body ached, every muscle throbbing in time to her heartbeat. She swallowed, her throat was rough and she could feel she was on her side, a cloak rolled up and serving as a pillow. Lia’s eyes opened a crack and through her blurry vision she could see a small fire, a glimpse of something roasting over it and it smelt good.

“Stay still, dear Lia.” said Harks, his voice drifting over the crackle of the fire, “You need to rest.”

Lia blinked a few times, her vision clearing somewhat. She recognised the skinless, butchered carcass of a hare cooking over the flames. Suddenly she felt Harks help her sit, his arm supportive and a skin of water at her lips. Lia drank, the cold water washing away the copper tang and wetting her tongue and throat. She tried to reach, but the ache in her arms made her whimper.

Laying her back down again, Harks sat beside her, his eyes on hers.

“I suggest taking some moments to rest, dear Lia.”

She coughed, immediately biting back pain.

“You over-extended yourself.” he said, patting her shoulder gently, “Using individual strands that make up your thread, burns through much more in quicker time for a young one over such a distance, dear Lia.”

She frowned, “Why didn’t you stop me?” she managed to whisper.

He looked at her with an unimpressed expression, an eyebrow raised.

Lia looked past and at the fire, “Is it mine?”

Harks smiled, “Yes.”

She looked at the flames, the roasting hare and concentrated, thinking.

“I missed,” she swallowed, the coppery taste returning, “Why say it’s mine?”

“Because you learned a far more valuable lesson today, your attempt allowed me to simply reach out and take it easily. It is your catch.”

Lia screwed her face up, readying a protest.

“A small victory when suffering a great defeat helps to lessen the sting, don’t deny yourself that, dear Lia.”

Lia bit her lip and nodded, watching as he reached out and rested his hand on her forehead. He nodded to himself before turning away to tend to their lunch.

“I think we will return to the cave tonight. We will stay here until late afternoon, after you have recovered a little.” Harks said gently, once again sitting at her side.

She tried nodding, suddenly finding it difficult to keep her eyes open, lazily blinking in the attempt to remain awake.

“Sleep, dear Lia, I will wake you when it is time to eat.” Harks said softly, gently patting Lia’s arm.

He watched her drift off, her face relaxing. Turning back to the fire, Harks stared at the embers with a pained expression.

“You remind me of my daughter.” he said under his breath, before smiling and looking wistfully up at the blue sky above, “Is this how you intend to draw an old friend back into the world, Odessia?”

He chuckled quietly to himself, spotting Kelis on a branch nearby. Lia shifted slightly, her eyes moving under their lids.

Lia opened her eyes, still snuggled in her cloak. The sun was cutting through the trees at an angle that led her to believe it was early afternoon. Moving her tongue in her mouth, the strong coppery taste had returned, causing her to gag slightly. She slowly raised herself onto an elbow, thankful that the tortuous pain had reduced to a feeling of fatigued weakness. Drawing her legs around, she sat cross-legged and fought the feeling of vertigo. A small pot was simmering over the low fire, hanging from a simple tripod made of trimmed branches. Despite her dizziness, the scent made her mouth water and her stomach rumble.

Lia glanced about, her eyes finally finding Harks, he was sitting carving something small, “Harks?” she called.

He looked up with immediate concern marking his brows, his intense blue eyes snapping to her. He quickly re-sheathed his knife and slid the carving into a pocket.

“Hungry?” he asked.

Lia nodded, “The pain is leaving too.”

Harks smiled and took a bowl and some flatbread from his rucksack and ladled out a portion of the stew.

“Eat slowly. There is no need to rush, dear Lia.” Harks said, handing her the bowl before sitting.

Lia set it in her lap, dipping the bread and eating. Savouring the thick flavour that puffed the flatbread; filling it with gorgeous warmth that spread through her. She looked at Harks, his features strong, the scar once concealed in beard that ran along his jaw and clipping back in line with his missing tip of the ear. He had recently taken to having his hair cut short, raven black with subtle strands of silver despite no signs of physically aging on his face. She took another bite, her thoughts straying to the last words he had said before she fell asleep.

“Lost in thought, dear Lia?”

Lia looked into his eyes and shook her head quickly before frowning slightly.

“I am sorry for making you worry. I was just…trying.” she said, embarrassed.

Harks smiled, “No matter what words I say, it is best to experience overtaxing the thread to truly understand what it means.”

Lia looked at him, “But I was in so much pain, is it not dangerous?”

Harks reached out and took the bowl, “More?”

Lia nodded enthusiastically and he smiled.

“There are two main ways of going too far, one is physically painful but not that dangerous. You have just experienced it. It’s demanding more than you can physically afford, a limit to recognise and avoid.” he said, stirring the pot and ladling more stew into her bowl.

Taking the offered bowl she asked, “The other?”

He sat, his expression darkening, “The other is can be disastrous. But not for one of our kind, it is when one loses control when using our strength at the extreme, it becomes fuelled by emotions and feeds off that energy, protecting us.”

Lia looked up, speaking through another bite of stew-soaked bread, “That doesn’t sound too bad.”

Harks smiled sadly, “The words do not sound bad, but the truth can be terrible. The way you approach your thread switches in an instant, now you ask it to do your bidding, you control it. But if you lose yourself, it controls you, until it can drain no more.”

He watched Lia’s expression shift before he continued, “If you can manage to wrestle control over it then your power will be supreme. But to do so, to make it successful would be like balancing on the edge of a razor-sharp knife.” Harks shook his head, “The risk is too high and the cost could very well be the death of those you hold dear. You must remember, you control it, it is yours. Not the other way around dear Lia.”

Lia looked at him and nodded, “Is it really that dangerous?”

Harks nodded and traced the scar on his face, “Another time I will show you the rest, they were all caused in one instance, by one losing control.”

Lia stared at him, “Who?”

Harks smiled, “Who and the situation is cautionary tale for when you are older. It was someone close to me, dear Lia. A very close friend.” he said.

Harks moved to get up, “More?”

Lia shook her head, her eyes following him as he took the pot and started to spoon it out, finishing off the remainder.

“Harks?”

He looked up, “Hmmm?”

“Do you have a family?”

He slowly lowered the pot, a thoughtful expression in his eyes, “I did. Once. Before destiny stole them from me.”

“Destiny?” asked Lia.

Harks nodded slowly, a regretful twist to his lips, “Yes, dear Lia. Destiny.”