by Vance Huxley
Normally there would be a lot of comments about Hektor stripping to his homespun shorts in front of the maids, but all they could do was stare, speechless. One of the biggest moments in a youth’s life, the first kill, usually happened out of sight of all but a small hunting party. No youth had ever been blooded in front of his friends and peers, and especially maids. Hektor took a deep breath, reclaimed the spear from Mandy, and started through the bushes.
Hektor paused for a moment to look at where he needed to be, or to steady his nerves before coming close to the monster in the stream. The boar still made occasional abortive efforts to lunge up at Rabbit, but from on his side now and the lunges were getting weaker and weaker. Though the beast still had those long gleaming tusks, and when his head thrashed it became clear the boar didn’t consider himself finished yet.
Billi talked through the kill to calm the youth. “Wade out to where you can reach with one step and a thrust. Aim right under his jowls with the blade across his neck, exactly how you killed the pig. I’ll have a shaft ready for anything attracted by the noise; the boar won’t need it. You do know just how far you can reach with the spear?” Hektor nodded then gasped as he put a foot into the icy water. “Then wade out but don’t get too close, and give a nod when you’re set. No rush.”
The boar’s little eye rolled and glared hate as the youth waded out well clear and waited, positioning himself as instructed. Hektor nodded. “Ready, Hunter.” Billi looked all around to make sure the noise and blood hadn’t brought something else, a hunter from the Wild.
“Rabbit will catch his snout and hang on, so he’ll be still for a moment just like the pig at home. Strike fast and sure because he’ll try to throw Rabbit off and gore him. Are you sure?”
A pale face glanced back. “Yes Billi. Er, Hunter.”
“It’s all right, I’m still Billi. Ready?” A short nod and the lad looked back at the hate in that one small eye. “Rabbit, now!”
The words were for Hektor so the youth knew Rabbit would strike. The little song in Billi’s head meant that Rabbit already knew when, and the tune spiked sharply as the Hound lunged. A snarl brought the boar’s attention back to Rabbit and the Hound sank his teeth deep into the proffered snout. The result came as an anti-climax really but only because Hektor struck smooth and sure. The beast gave an indignant bubbling shriek, then the wide sharp spear blade went in and severed all the big pipes and arteries in his throat and the squeal died.
Rabbit leapt back as the boar’s head came up to try and throw him, and then the big head crashed back down. Three long, strong gouts of blood gushed out into the stream and the boar’s legs thrashed and stilled. Billi jumped as a loud cheer rang out. Hektor looked up with a big grin breaking over his face and waved the bloody spear to his peers. Then he jumped out of the stream and started stamping to try and warm his feet.
“Don’t forget to blood him.” Mandy smiled at the look on Billi’s face. “First kill, or the first on a hunt. He’ll want the tail or an ear for the memory.” She had a bit of a shine in her eyes as well and Billi realised that even Mandy had never been on an actual hunt.
“He can have a tusk. Both. Worth it to save me getting wet, especially in that ice-water.”
She laughed quietly. “So nobody saw your stump. Some of us know, Billi, but understand. Even so ‘twas kindly done. I can’t remember the last youth who took a boar for a first. He’ll get a lot of dances at the Springfest, and he’d better start running when the rest of the maids find out.” Then she thought a moment. “I don’t think anyone ever took a Great-Boar as their first. That’s what it is, isn’t it?”
Billi eyed up the size of the carcass, easier now with Rabbit and Hektor to help with the scale. “Now I can see the beast properly, it might be. I didn’t realise at first because of how deep he’d got himself mired. Though Hektor deserves the trophies anyway, because he really was very steady.” Billi chuckled. “Well, I think dinner is ready. We’d better get it packed up.”
“You stay up here and watch out, if you like, Billi. If you’ll loan us your knives there’s enough willing hands to see to the skinning and jointing, and to the packing and carrying I reckon.” She sniggered. “We didn’t bring our butchering knives because wood doesn’t usually need them, but hatchets will serve.” Mandy looked around the clearing the stream ran through. “Well memory served me right, plenty of wood here but we’ll be carrying meat instead. That’ll be a chore even with so many to help.”
“We could drag the meat on travois, since we’ve got the ponies.” Billi nodded at the youngsters gathering round the carcase, still a bit wary. “That way you still get some wood and it will let them all earn a bit of pork to take home.”
“That’s kind as well, I’ll sort it out.” Mandy headed off downslope and soon ropes meant for timber were being tied onto the boar’s legs. It took a bit of doing to tow the carcass upstream and onto the bank, even with so many willing hands, then the youths and maids dragged the boar over to a suitable tree. “Hup, two three four. Hup two three four. The group heaved and chanted until the great head came up into the air and then tied the rope off. The boar’s rear stayed on the floor but they weren’t getting that weight any higher without proper tackle and a pony.
Mandy stood clear and directed the youngsters. “You’ve got the tool for the job, Hektor, and you’re already stripped so you open it up. The rest watch out for the splashes.” Hektor reached with the spear blade and slit the gut open. There were shrieks of laughter as the blood inside the cavities gushed out and then most of the rest of the entrails followed and splashed around the youth’s legs.
Hektor laughed. “A bit warmer than the stream.” Then he grimaced, braced himself and jumped into the stream to wash down. The rest moved in, knives flashing in the winter sun.
Billi shut the distraction out as he watched the surroundings, though he stopped his constant scanning for a moment because someone started exclaiming over the size of the kidneys. “Will someone let Rabbit have a treat, please?”
“A kidney?” Billi almost said yes since that would be a nice treat, but the laughter meant he looked first.
“That’s more like a meal, so I’ll share a bit of it with him when we get home. Just a bit of the lungs or a slice of meat will do for now please.” More laughter followed and hands threw bits of bloodied meat to the Hound. He snapped them out of the air then quickly wolfed down enough offal to keep him going for a day or so, a real treat considering the size of the prey the pair usually took. Rabbit lolloped up the slope to Billi, still licking his jaws, with a lovely triumphant lilt in his song.
The Hound settled in next to Billi, alert to the two small, cautious shapes already lurking under bushes nearby. The Crows arrived next, then a Raven and another small shape in the bushes. The larger scavengers would hang back because they would see or smell Billi and most of them knew how far a bow would reach. With this amount of meat on offer there would be larger Wild hunters coming as well, eventually.
A polite cough disturbed Billi and he turned round to find Hektor trying very hard to look serious, though a big smile kept trying to escape. He had his hands cupped and Billi realised that the youth had brought the blood. Billi had expected... What had he expected? A Hunter always blooded the youth after his first kill and right now that meant Billi. “A first for me as well, Hektor. I’d better keep my hand steady so you can show the stripes to the maids.”
Billi dipped two fingers in the cupped hands, being sure to get them well coated. Then he drew them down one of Hektor’s cheeks, carefully so the lines were thick and straight and parallel. Billi repeated the procedure to mark the other cheek, and the youth’s smile broke completely free. “It should have been your Da, sorry.” Billi was sorry, an important moment such as this should happen on a hunt with friends and family to watch and remember.
“Oh no Hun... Billi, Da’ll be right chuffed. He’s taken me out three times to try and we found nothing, but the hunting has been bad and. Ah, well, you�
��d know.” Hector shrugged. “Anyway Da worried about that being a sign. That I’d not get a Hound and the Wild was saying no.” The youth looked down at his bloody hands. “And now it’s all right. Um. Could I have, you know, something? An ear, for memory?” Billi had expected Mandy to tell him.
Billi grinned. “Take a tusk. One of the big ones so you can brag when you’re old and grey.” Also so the maids would chase and Hektor would have a wonderful Springfest.
“Oh. Oh yes! I thought Mandy was teasing.” Hektor looked back down at the group busy with knives and hatchets. “Do you want the head?”
“Why, do you want it?” Shocked eyes met Billi’s.
“Oh no! It’s just that there’s so much meat to pack there might not be room. It’s a shame to lose the brains and cheeks and a pity the thing is so heavy.” The youth laughed. “It’s as heavy as some of the animals Da takes when he’s hunting.”
“Heavier than most I take. A lot is bone, though there is plenty of meat on it so ask the rest. Tell the others that everyone who helps to pull the load gets a share of the meat. There’s only me and Rabbit and we can only save some of that lot for later. Preserving it all would take more salt than there is in the Village at this time of year.” Billi gestured. “Go on and show off. If they’ll drag the head back, your Ma can have the brains and send me some of her apple pie.”
Hektor turned and raised his arms, and the mob down below cheered as they saw his marked cheeks. The youth bounded off down to spread his happiness and sure enough all the maids wanted to inspect the marks. A bloody but busy while later the youngsters were all in the stream washing off blood, with a lot of flirting and comment this time. Though that included a good bit of shrieking and complaining as the ice-water hit their skin, and none of them lingered.
Skirts had been tucked up, blouse arms and trews were rolled up, and the youths had their shirts off. That had been the only way to keep their clothes clean and dry while butchering but also a lot more informal than such a group would normally be. Now they were all splashing in the stream to get the blood and mud off their feet and arms, and teasing each other despite the shivering. Billi looked down the slope at Mandy and the older lasses, now checking over the bones to make sure nothing worth taking had been missed.
The skeletal remains were scattered with the offal though most of the ribs had been taken as well as all the cuts. With so many helpers brought up with Hunters and Farmers, Mandy had pretty much stripped everything edible. Even as the youths were still cleaning up, the less portable pieces such as the kidneys were being wrapped in the cleaned stomach. A chorus of cheers greeted Hektor’s announcement about shares for hauling and several of them waved and smiled up the hill. That made a change from grumbling and complaints. Rabbit tensed as something big moved closer. It was time to go.
The older lasses had stayed fairly clean, either supervising or gathering some good long branches. Now the lasses were lashing the biggest together to make impromptu travois, with looped ropes at the front for pulling. Even as the group quickly placed smaller branches crosswise for support and stacked the meat, Billi called down. “Time to go, there are scavengers gathering. We need to get our meat away from the big free dinner.” Billi pointed at the bones and offal, then upwards at the big wings circling hopefully.
Mandy quickly organised pony teams of mixed youths and maids, barely enough to pull the nine or ten full-weights of meat. Maybe more, Billi thought, as the four youths heaved the head onto a travois. Since several of the maids weighed less than a full-weight, even eighteen people were going to struggle getting it all home in the snow. Though that would warm them all up a bit after stripping and then washing, because even using snow to dry off with didn’t stop some clothes getting damp.
The sheer amount settled any doubts; this really had been a Great-Boar because bulls gave up less good meat than that. There were other oversized creatures of the Wild, Great-Stags and other creatures including the Great Hunter, a striped cat allegedly bigger than a bear. Arguing about if they were outsized ordinary animals or a different, larger species passed many a wet winter evening. Nobody had ever settled the question. Their tracks were seen more often than the beasts themselves which didn’t help anyone decide. Well now the entire party had seen one, and chopped it up into dinners.
A sharp crack brought everyone’s eyes round to see Edan, red faced and holding his cheek. Mandy glared at him with her hand raised to repeat the slap. “I warned you. Since you have no respect for the Hunter you can carry wood. That’s what you came for. Explain to your Ma why there’s not pork on your table.” Surprisingly, the youth glared at Billi, not Mandy.
Mandy waved at Billi and shouted “not a problem” so he went back to watching the impatient spectators. The little scavengers crept closer to get a mouthful before the larger ones drove them away, while further out bushes moved where larger relatives poised themselves to grab their feast. The first Crows and Ravens darted in for their share, and a Buzzard landed to perch in the tree above the offal.
Within minutes the first travois bumped and skidded into motion and Billi smiled as he saw the huge head perched on one of them. He stumped over next to Mandy. “Boiling the remains of that even after the cheeks, tongue and brains are gone should feed a family for a couple of days.”
“That should make you a complete set of leather clothes.” Mandy pointed at the bundle under the head. “We more or less got the whole hide.” She laughed. “Just in case someone still doesn’t believe that head is a Great-Boar.” She moved forward to get the ropes from one travois untangled. The triangles of big timbers with smaller branches across weren’t easy to pull, but made moving this amount of meat much easier in snow.
Billi slung his bundle of thick sticks over his shoulder and set out just behind the group, while Rabbit hopped up one side and back down the other. This amount of boar meat could tempt a really big predator or scavenger, and Billi sighed in relief when the Wild concentrated on the heap left behind. A cacophony of growls and caws and snarls announced the negotiations over sharing.
Whatever the spat had been about Mandy stuck to her word and Edan didn’t pull any meat. Instead he stamped along beside or in front of the rest, hauling a big bundle of logs with a rope tied to his waist and trying to ignore the whole party. The others traded off, switching from the heavy loads of meat to pulling smaller bundles of wood, and now the snow helped the loads to slide. Almost as welcome, the hard work warmed them up after that stream.
* * *
The older lasses took their turns on the heavier pulling and before dusk the group broke clear of the trees and the Forest. Two of the youths dropped their ropes, leaving the logs for later and running across the fields towards the Village. Shortly afterwards three ponies and several men were trotting the other way, towards Billi.
Steban, the first to arrive, stopped and stared. “Hektor! You’ve been blooded.” He saw the head on top of one load. “Forest and Farm, what did you catch Billi?”
“A Great-Boar, I reckon. Luckily there were plenty of helpers to haul it back.” Billi waved to where the last travois was coming clear of the trees.
“More helpers now. We’ve brought ponies though I don’t reckon anyone truly believed the youths. They usually exaggerate but not this time.” Behind him willing hands moved meat from the travois onto ponies, or in three cases replaced the people pulling it with a pony.
“Here’s Barimar. I haven’t seen him move that fast since he stepped on a stinger’s nest.” A ripple of laughter greeted the man running across the field towards them. One of the youths must have gone on to let Barimar know because he ran straight to Hektor and stopped to inspect the youth’s face. Then Hektor’s Da picked him up in a bear-hug and swung the youth round, laughing.
They talked quickly for a few moments and then Barimar strode across to Billi, arm outstretched, and Billi extended his for the clasp. Barimar clasped firmly and pounded on Billi’s shoulder, a huge smile on his face. He stopped suddenly. “Ah, so
rry Billi, I’ll be knocking you down.” Barimar glanced back at Hektor. “We’ve been worried about him. We tried to get him blooded and the Wild hid.” Barimar did really look relieved.
Billi shrugged, a bit embarrassed. “Just Hunter’s luck. You search for a week and then one raids the cabbage patch. It’s how it is.”
“It’s how it is now, but it was worrying. D’you really give him a tusk?” Barimar looked at the great head. “That’s some tusk!”
“All of them I suppose. I told him if he could persuade them to bring the head he could take it for the brains, in return for one of his Ma’s apple pies.” Several of the nearby men laughed.
“Start that and you’ll be buried in pies on the off chance you find another.” The round of agreement included some laughter and speculation on just where to find another of those.
“Good job that one didn’t turn up in the cabbage patch though, there’d be no cabbages.” They all agreed with that comment as well.
The excited group around the meat called out and Billi went over to explain that yes, the Hunter did say they could all have a share. He confirmed they’d seen Hektor blooded and a half dozen different variations of that seemed to be already doing the rounds. Now those repacking the boar wanted to know the shares. Billi shook his head, at a loss because he had no idea what to give. “Didn’t Mandy sort that out?” He looked around to find Mandy, who grinned then said something to her man, Steban.
He came over, smiling, and explained. “Mandy told them that if they pulled the meat they’d get a share. She says they would have probably done it for nothing, for the sheer excitement of being on a real Hunt. Except Edan.” Steban scowled.