“Zoie!” I call out in a helpless sort of way. “Thanks for dropping in. I could use some of your motivational comments right now. I wouldn’t be able to get through the morning without it.” My sarcasm doesn’t always get through to her.
“Motivational? I just called you a pussy, and you find that motivational? What’s wrong with you?”
I respond with a smile.
She smiles back and quickly lunges forward to punch me in the shoulder. Her radiant, green eyes twinkle in the morning sun, and her short, brunette hair is disheveled as always. I try to ignore the fact she resembles Jay so much and focus on the cute and spunky tomboy she is.
“So, you’re the one who imposed upon my typical breakfast. A breakfast provided by the life of the forest?”
“It’s venison. It was provided by the forest. And it’ll give you a lot more strength than those nuts you’ve been eating every morning.”
“I don’t know about that. I think Fairview has been lacing them with some of her ‘medicine’. The flavor has been tainted.”
“So, can you walk yet? I’m ready for you to fulfill your promise to me.”
“What promise?”
“That hunt! You promised me we would go out and kill something together. Not that I need you, but a promise is a promise, and I expect you to uphold it.”
“Of course I will. Once I can walk, that is.”
“If I had to guess, based on your Sheela attitude, I would bet you haven’t even tried to walk yet.”
“Not today I haven’t, but I did yesterday and the day before and every day before that.” I defend myself, but I’m not sure why. I know she is only taunting me. “I doubt one more day will change anything.”
“Don’t be a Sheela. Get on your feet.” Zoie’s attempt to be inspirational.
“That’s the motivation I’m referring to.” Just for the sake of humoring her, I flop my legs over the side of the bed and gesture for her to come closer. I grab a hold of her shoulder and rise to my feet.
“See!” she exclaims.
“It’s not the standing that I can’t do. It’s the walking on two legs that impedes me.” I take a step with my good leg, putting most of my weight on Zoie. “Zoie?” I ask after the first step and look down at her as she holds me in place. “I’ve been meaning to ask you… How did your parents die? Up on that cliff? I mean, I know you said it was an accident, but what do you think happened? If you don’t mind me asking. You seem to have attached yourself to me like a tumor and—”
“A tumor! Is that what I am to you?”
Zoie’s drama-deprived attitude forces her to overreact, and she shoves away from me. I have no choice but to fall or catch my balance with both legs. Instinctively, I stomp firmly on my dominant—and crippled—leg to hold steady.
“See!” Zoie exclaims.
Her comment irks me, but somehow, I know I deserve it. Zoie had it right. I’m standing on both feet, and I’m pain-free. Come to think of it, it didn’t hurt when she pushed on my ribs either. Wide-eyed, I massage my leg up and down, pushing on it and prodding it all over to see if any pain remains. None. Then I move to my ribcage. No more pain.
“The pain is gone,” I say aloud to Zoie. “It’s all gone. Fairview must’ve… Graytu said… something about the kiwi… ah, who cares? There’s no more pain! I’m free of this depressing bed chamber!”
“I told you that you were being a Sheela,” Zoie points out once again.
I’m positive there’s more to it than that. I didn’t imagine the pain or the bones protruding from my leg. There was blood everywhere. I was sure I would be bedridden for at least a score more of sunrises.
“You’re right, Zoie. All I needed was some of your motivation. Thank you.” I give her a big squeeze. She welcomes it at first, likely shocked, but then pushes me away.
“So, are we going for that hunt, then?” Zoie asks.
“Yes,” I reply. “But—”
“But what?”
She gives me another shove. She is a rather violent girl, but I suppose she has her reasons.
“You promised.”
“Not just yet. I’d like to at least don the proper attire. You do realize I’m wearing nothing but my undergarments?” Zoie looks me up and down and flushes red. “Second, I have someone I need to thank before I do anything else. Let me get dressed, and I’ll meet you at the range shortly.”
“Alright,” she whines like a child half her age. "I’ll go warm up my shot. Not that I need to, though.”
After Zoie exits the hollow, I stretch my legs a bit with some squats, twists, and lunges, just to make sure this is real. Then I pull up my trousers, don my tunic, fasten my belt with my kukri blade sheathed and my arachniwhip coiled, and finish the wardrobe by tossing the quiver of arrows and recurve bow over my shoulder. Before I leave the bed chamber, I fervently devour the venison Zoie mocked me for not eating. Her presence has given my attitude a spark in the right direction. Motivational words or not, she has an influence on me.
A visit to Fairview to thank her for her unyielding generosity is my first stop. She is plopped in her wooden chair outside her hollow with several younglings planted in front of her, as she has been every time I’ve come to visit her. In addition to thanking her, I make a shallow effort to discover what she used to recover my ailments so quickly. She proceeds to tell me she has no idea what I am talking about. The medicines she provided merely eased the pain, allowing my body to use more energy healing rather than fighting off the suffering. If it wasn’t her, then maybe Graytu. I’ll have to inquire about it next time I see him.
It’s a short visit, not without a few subtle and insinuating comments escaping her tongue, and then I say goodbye to Fairview and the children. Next stop is to see my favorite companion of the Redcliffe Village, Zoie.
“Use your Instincts. Listen. Your talents are limitless. Today is the day,” I say as I approach her in the shooting range.
“You’re right. Today is the day,” she responds enthusiastically. “But I don’t see how my Instincts or talents have anything to do with it. It’s pure skill. Today is the day we get ourselves a kill. Are you with me?” she asks while looking through the peep on her bow string, focusing on her target across the way. She looses her arrow, and in a blink of an eye, it’s gone somewhere deep into the forest. It didn’t even come close to hitting the target.
“Are you sure today’s the day? We can do it some other time if you need more practice,” I ask, attempting to hold back a burst of laughter at the same time.
“See.” She points with the tip of her bow to a tree another forty paces behind the target that is already fifty paces out.
I squint, thinking to myself at the same time how ironic it is that people tend to squint to get a better visual, then I see what she’s pointing at. There’s a cosmopolitan crow pinned to the side of a tree trunk.
“Nice shot!”
“You ready? I see you have your bow with you.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t leave home without it. Right?”
“Does that mean you’re really coming with me today?” Zoie asks, trying to refrain from smiling and instead quivering at the lip. “There aren’t any other agendas or tasks you have to fulfill?”
“I’m not getting anywhere with Coloss, or Graytu, for that matter. Today, I was told to seek out my youthful knowledge. So here I am. Seeking whatever knowledge you can bestow upon me.”
“Yay!” she squeaks, followed by an awkward look. Then, she punches me in the gut.
“I love it when you do that. By the way, you sounded like a girl just now.”
She swings at me again. This time I dodge it, but I do so without realizing how close I am to the edge. I fall off the organic bridge and plunge to the forest floor, awaiting an extremely painful outcome. But I come to an abrupt halt before hitting the ground. There is a thin branch lassoed around my waist. At the other end of the branch is Zoie. I stare in amazement at her talent. I knew this village was full of Sprhowts, but I
didn’t know they learned so much at such a young age. I gesture to let her know I’m okay, and the branch slowly retracts, unfurling me from its grasp. I fall the remainder of the way to the forest floor and get a nice jab in the back from my bow, which knocks the wind out of me.
Somehow, Stone’s clumsiness has worn off on me over the seasons. It’s unfortunate. Why do they live in the trees anyways? And without any form of guard rails. It’s so hazardous.
Zoie drops down by my side, using one of the many living ladders in the village. “How have you managed to live a life as long as you have? I’ve already saved your life three times since you arrived.”
Zoie offers a hand. I accept the nice gesture and allow her to help me get back on my feet.
“Thank you. So, where are we headed?” I ask while recovering my breath.
“The grove.”
“But why aren’t we taking the arborcar?”
“I don’t know. You’re the one that decided to jump off the bridge. I just followed. Let’s go. We have a long walk ahead of us.”
I admire her strong will at such a youthful age. I’ve been closed off to everyone except Stone and Jay since last summer, and somehow, this girl has opened me right up and stepped into my heart. I care for her deeply, like a kid sister. However, her angelic green eyes are sobering when I’m expecting to see a radiant amber. I have a mission. I’m here so I can get closer to saving Jaymes. I should be attempting to cross that ravine. I shouldn’t be out for a leisure hunt. But what is another morning? I’ve already spent so many in bed.
“You failed to answer my question earlier,” I say as we stroll through the wood.
“What? About my parents?”
I nod, trying to make eye contact. She lowers her head and turns away.
“That’s because I didn’t want to talk about it.” Her honesty is well received. She’s clearly not ready to open up.
“Understood. I’m sorry I asked.”
“Me too.”
I don’t want to prod if she’s unwilling to discuss it. I know too well what she is feeling. Not only with my own mother, but with Stone and Jay’s parents as well. I didn’t know them personally, but it feels as if I do with the numerous stories I’ve heard about them. And their death was so sudden, and far too early. And violent. Zoie’s situation sounds too similar. She’s still young and likely trying to cope with it as best she can, so I will respect that.
I start talking about my own losses in hopes of softening the self-pity lingering in the air. “I told you about my mother and how she was lost when I was a child.” Zoie continues walking by my side in silence. “I hardly remember her. I was raised by my father, but he is no longer…” I choke on my words because I know it was my choice, yet it is still hard to admit. “…he is no longer my father.”
“What do you mean?” Zoie speaks up. “How could he not be your father anymore?”
“He and I have our differences. I didn’t agree with what he was involved with, so I fled.”
“Are you serious? You still have a father, and you ditched him?” Her voice is cross. “I thought you said he was an honorable man. Don’t tell me you know how it feels or try to match your experiences with mine. It’s not the same when you have a choice. I don’t have that choice. It’s not fair.”
I stop walking and rest my hand on her shoulder. I’ve opened the flood gates. Tears stream down her cheeks, and I lean in to console her.
I hold her tight for an eternity before breaking the silence.
“I’m sorry, Zoie. I wasn’t trying to compare my experiences. And I wasn’t attempting to make my own story more important than yours. I…I’m sorry. It’s how I was raised. ‘Defenses first because even your closest allies will fail you,’ my father always said. And, Zoie…somehow, you’ve torn down those defenses. I was merely opening up, and I apologize if it came across has offensive.”
“My parents…they died only last Spring.”
“I’m sorry,” I interject with a redundant apology. She doesn’t seem to mind.
“This village isn’t comprised solely of Sprhowts. My father was a Sprhowt like myself, and my mother a Dihkai. They worked as a team up on the cliff. They were responsible for maintaining the integrity of the crossing. I was told they both fell to their deaths, but I don’t believe it. They were talented, and they were very skilled climbers. With my father being a Greenthumb, it’s impossible he would let my mother fall to her death. He would have done something, anything to save her. He loved her too much. He loved her like I do you.”
Another moment of silence slams into us harder than Coloss’s simian fists.
“I’m sorry,” Zoie says, and she sprints away.
“Zoie!” I chase after her. “Zoie! Wait!”
“We’re losing prime hunting time. We’ve got to hurry,” she spits back without slowing.
“Zoie! Stop!” I yell. She stops in her tracks but fails to turn and face me. I calm my tone. “Zoie, it’s okay.”
“I don’t mean to spill my guts,” she confesses. “It’s all still hard to accept. Then you came along, and I just…”
“It’s okay, Zoie.” I try to brush by the fact that she just confessed a childhood crush. The pain of her late parents is far more important, and I have a better understanding about how to deal with it than a childhood crush. “Spill out your guts. You’ve experienced something no child should ever have to. Mine was a choice, and over four seasons have passed, and I’m still having a hard time accepting it. It’s not easy, and it never will be.”
She remains silent. I give her a moment before moving onto the next elephant in the forest.
“And about that other thing you said…that…love thing.” I hesitate, and she interrupts before I can finish saying whatever it was I was going to say.
“I didn’t mean it,” she lies.
She’s attempting to defend herself against my rejection. I know she understands all too well it is something that would never be, so I try to lighten the mood with an off-putting comment. “Well…with all that out of the way, it’s time to toughen up, Sheela. Wipe those tears away, and let’s go kill something with antlers. It’ll make you feel better.”
She punches me in the ribs. “Agreed.”
“So, I assume we’re hunting the typical game, a stag, no? Are there any predators in this area I should be wary of? Any giant apes waiting to rip my limbs off?”
“They all go after the same prey we do,” she replies.
“What does that mean? Are there large predators or not?”
“I suppose so. The bear typically roams further northeast. You likely won’t encounter any. You might spot a cougar or black panther, I suppose. But they aren’t your enemy.” She looks up at me from the corner of her eyes as though I am asking a ridiculous question.
“Not my enemy? I would shoot them on sight. They’re exactly the predators I inquire about. They kill what they can eat.”
Zoie laughs, intentionally trying to hold it in. I’m assuming so as not to create too much noise. “Would you shoot your neighbor who picks from the same fig tree? Would you shoot a hawk that preys upon the same pheasant? They are not predators. They hunt just as you do.”
“You don’t fear them?”
“No. But don’t mistake me. If they did attack, I would defend myself. But to kill them on sight is arrogant. Maybe Graytu was right. You’re so naïve he has you learning from the children of the village.”
“Nonsense. Wisdom from a child? Nonsense.”
The walk to the grove wasn’t too far. It gave us more time to bond. And even if Zoie’s form of bonding is punching me in the gut, it was pleasant. When we came within a doe’s earshot of the grove, we silenced ourselves.
Zoie claims her spot in a tree and, through a whisper, tells me what I should be doing. I intentionally don’t hear a word she says because I’m a man, for goodness sake. I know how to hunt, so whatever she said would most likely have annoyed me.
Contrary to Zoie, I prefer to be on
the ground closer to the action, feeling my nerves spike as a large eight-point comes within paces of me. Something about not knowing whether a little twitch or the slightest sniffle will aggravate the beast and set him into a charge is intoxicating.
I snap a few twigs off the surrounding undergrowth and tuck them into my boots one at a time. The first, a huckleberry bush, ripe with berries. I place my hand over it to manipulate it. I visualize the branch—its thin outer layer and the fibrous tendrils within—and see it grow before it physically starts growing. It coils up my leg, around my body, and creeps to my neck and over my face like a vine. Leaving clear visibility. And I’m careful not to obstruct access to my bow or other weaponry. As it grows, leaves sprout all over it, along with a few more berries. I place my hand over the second and third ones, which are of a coniferous variety. They sprout up my leg and around my body as well, spitting out shoots until the twigs reach my neck. I cease the growth. They’re a bit pricklier, so I avoid having them on my face. The final twig is from an apple tree. This one shrouds my body like the others, topping off the camouflage, and when the tip of it climbs to my shoulder, I focus my energy there. A flower blossoms and wilts, and out pops a ripe apple hanging just above my left shoulder.
Now that I’m fully camouflaged with a ghillie suit, I take my stance below one of the fruit trees and wait.
In the distant forest, robins chirp, and chipmunks chatter. It’s a delightful distraction but not what I’m wishing to hear right now. Roughly an hour passes, and a twig snaps forty paces out, judging by the intensity of it, but it sounds like it could have come from above. I look around with my eyes only, not moving a muscle. I no longer see Zoie perched high in the sentinel. I discount the noise and continue my game of patience.
My mind drifts. I notice the trees are shedding an excessive amount of leaves. They’ve taken on some autumnal colors as well. Is the forest dying? I dismiss it as more birds and rodents disturbing the branches above.
Finally, there’s movement. But I can’t take the shot. Not at this creature. I would never be able to find the courage, for if I did, I would have to flee. And wherever I fled to, I would encounter malice. There is no escaping the demons that would haunt me for the remainder of my days, lurking around every corner, and taking every opportunity to strike me down. Similar to the fantastical unicorns of fairytales, this creature is unobtainable. Out of reach. Off limits. Taboo to taint. But real! It is the rarest of creatures.
Season of Sacrifice (Blood of Azure Book 1) Page 46