We parted ways and I took out my knife searching out the area until I found a few small bear-like rodents up on the trees. Instantly, my instincts took over. A breath for a breath. My eyes saw the target and the knife flew wide. Away from my target, flying through the leaves and landing on the ground.
My mouth hung. I can't believe I missed! I do not throw that badly.
And then I remembered. These weren't the knives I was used to. I always adjusted for my old knives because they weren't balanced. These were. I took back my knife and pulled out the rest of the set from the case. I had to practice them so that my muscles could move instinctively and accurately again. I couldn't help but smile at the workmanship. Every last one of them was beautiful--from the boning knives to the cleavers. In all, there were six knives I could throw and the rest were large and heavy duty. I picked up the six knives and started throwing them on the ground, getting the feel of each of them before I started targeting a tree.
Memorizing each one was easy and in no time at all, I was back hunting. I held onto one knife. A breath for a breath. I couldn't afford another miss. My lips were chapped and my throat parched. I needed to get back to our meeting place before I got too weak with dehydration. I managed to pick some herbs and noted some berry bushes along the way, until I finally saw a deer. My eyes locked onto it and the knife flew from my hand before I could think of anything else.
The deer dropped dead as the knife lodged at the neck just below the head.
I got back to the meeting place without a sign of Daevi and decided to start without him. My father taught me nine ways to start a fire and with limited resources, I was left with two options: drilling wood or ploughing it. Though my hands were a little callous, drilling would still give me splinters and cuts, so I opted to plough.
Soon, I got a fire started and started cutting up the deer as I let the fire grow. I knew this was dangerous and it would give the invaders our location, but we had no choice. I made quick work of the deer and roasted the pieces. Still Daevi didn't come.
As the deer cooked, I dried the hide of the deer near the fire and looked for anything I could use to tie it with. Finding none, I cut a piece of the hide and made slits around the edges of the main hide to create a huge pouch. The other hide, I kept with my knives.
I knew I had waited far too long, so when the deer was finally cooked, I put the meat in the pouch and kicked dust in the flames to stop the smoke. I wasn't sure how soon the invaders caught sight of my smoke, but I wasn't willing to risk any more exposure, so I ran and looked for his trail. It wasn't difficult to know where he went. His tracks were clear and so far, she didn't see any signs of struggle. Grass and weeds stomped underfoot. Twigs broken in passing. Pebbled upturned and footprints on exposed soil.
While it was easy to track him, I could feel the effects of not having any water to drink. I was tiring too easily and I was no longer sweating. I had to find him and water soon.
And then I see a hint of salvation. Bamboo! It didn't only mean that there was water nearby, but it also meant that I had my water. I took the long, thin stalk and cut it on either end. It wasn't long until I was drinking a long trickle of water. In my head, I couldn't thank my father enough for teaching me things that were all just fun and games, until now.
I eagerly gulped the whole thing, realizing too late that there were footsteps behind me. While my father had always crept up behind me, this was a different matter altogether. The invaders wouldn't tickle me like my father would after catching me unaware.
Unable to do anything else, I ran, dodging and zipping left and right. It was the only way to make it difficult for them to shoot me down.
"Evna! Evna, wait!"
I stopped and looked behind me. Daevi ran at me carrying a thick bamboo cylinder sloshed at the sides. I relaxed and bent over with my hands on my knees. I couldn't help but laugh despite the scare. I must've looked so silly running away from him.
He looked down at the bamboo in his hand and muttered. "I'm sorry. Most of the water spilled over." He handed the bamboo to me and I drank from it like a cup. At least, it didn't taste like stagnant water.
"Well, it is my fault. I ran away. Where did you get it?"
"A stream near the side of the mountain. More of a trickle, really."
I nodded. At least, I knew that was safe water. At least, safe enough for me not to empty my bowels over.
"What about you? What are you doing here? Do I smell meat?"
I smiled and opened my makeshift pack. "The hide is not exactly cleaned and dried to perfection, so there will be some blood here and there. There are also some roots inside if you want more than just meat."
He smiled and I could feel myself smiling back. We both agreed to eat near the stream, hoping to buy us time from when I gave out our spot to the invaders with the fire.
"So," he licked the juices from his fingers, "What else has wise Chaim taught you?"
While he made an effort to get a conversation going and lighten the mood, I couldn't help but notice that his voice was barely above a whisper and his eyes still darted back where we came from.
"He tried to teach me how to wrestle but that never worked. Like you said, I'm too scrawny. You'll likely do better if father got his hands on you." I was as wary as he was, but I relied on my ears more than my eyes. That sent me rigid quite a few times making him laugh at how jumpy I was. There were too many small creatures making a ruckus. "What about you? How did you know of clockwork?"
"I know enough of the clock at home. I started tearing it apart the moment I could temper steel by feel. I started from there, but I don't think I've gotten far enough. But I do know how the gates open now."
"So, when you're not at the forge, you're at the gate?"
"Under it. There's a tunnel that goes directly to the clockwork inside."
"You should get more time outside."
He grinned. "I think I'm getting more than what I'm used to right now."
I wanted to say something more to him, but right then, the threat of the invaders occupied my mind more than making a simple conversation. We both knew we couldn't linger any longer and so we set off filling his bamboo cup while I cut out more of the thin bamboo for extra water should we run out. Not knowing the forest, we went back by the trail we came through, dodging in and out of it in case the invaders came looking for our trail. We soon saw the road in the distance and we continued our trek.
By the sun's trail in the sky, I knew we lost too much time. The sun was too high up. We wouldn't make the capital by nightfall. Realizing this, we moved faster, trotting when we could, and conserving what little water we had. Good thing I had more than enough hide to cover the bamboo cup with, or else we could be spilling more precious water.
We were making a good run when we heard screaming.