Chiyo followed the man for some time and after calming down from the fright, noticed the bow and quiver hanging from the man's shoulder. Then he seemed to recall all the people in the group he left behind were carrying old weapons.
He also became wary upon realising he was following a stranger. But this forest left him with little choice, so he scrutinized the man carefully to ease his worry. To Chiyo the man seemed benevolent and kind, like an old grandpa. While he appeared similar in age to his little uncle. His long deep brown hair tied in a low ponytail appeared weird. It gave the man a touch of feminity. It confused little Chiyo, whether the person was he or she? That was the question. He gave up sometime later, unable to conclude.
He instead wondered about the other things he couldn't understand, including the strange language he discovered them speaking. His thoughts were soon interrupted when his stomach started growling.
When the man ahead heard the growl, he looked back amused. Then a brief glow flashed across his face as if he had some epiphany.
The man looked around for a bit, observing the ground, sniffing the air and touching the surrounding plants.
After he was satisfied with whatever he was doing, he began walking cautiously to the right of the trail they were keeping to. As Chiyo ran after the man trying not to lose him, the man turned back and gave him a low, dragged out "Shhhsss", with a finger in front of his lips.
Chiyo obediently stopped running and began walking by pressing his feet to the ground, making sure not to step on any dried twigs and leaves. A delighted smile came upon the man's face and he nodded continuously as if satisfied with Chiyo's intelligent and thoughtful reaction to his prompt.
Slowly the both of them moved inside the bushes. The man in front was as silent as a stone, if you don't look at him with your eyes you wouldn't know he's there. Although Chiyo tried hard to follow the man in silence, he was as loud as a drake's roar comparatively in this quiet morning. Apparently, it was good enough.
Weaving through the bushes and trees, both of them advanced for some time until they reached a clear lake. The man gestured Chiyo to stop, then went forward towards the bank of the lake. Chiyo couldn't see much, only the man, trees and the lake through the gaps. He stood in place and observed the man, wondering what he was doing.
The man took up his bow, nocked a blue feathered arrow from his quiver and stood still while drawing the bow.
Chiyo found the scene very cool, like those in anime. He was staring at the man with fascination, waiting for something to happen, and when the arrow was released, his gaze followed its path.
The man started laughing when he caught the look on Chiyo's face. It appeared as if he was happy with his performance. He waved for Chiyo to follow and came upon the bank.
On the bank of the clear lake, there you could see a deer, toppled over, gasping its last breaths. The arrow shot its heart, so its suffering was short. When the deer was breathing its last, the man was staring at Chiyo, as if searching for something specific.
Chiyo, ignorant as ever. Lost in his own world comparing his favourite anime character, able to defeat anyone with just a punch, to the man before him, who killed a deer with one arrow. He was amazed to see such exciting events and was daydreaming about being a superhero. The man was content to see Chiyo's excited face, thankfully he never knew that the actual reason behind his excitement was finding someone strong like his idol.
It was a very important day for Chiyo, as it was the time he had a change of heart. The man standing in front of him became his idol. His dream changed from defeating everyone with a punch to defeating everyone with an arrow.
Finding Chiyo unfazed by death and blood, the man increased the simulation and started skinning the deer followed by field dressing and cleaning in the lake. Throughout the process of preparing the meat, Chiyo stood as far away as the trees, with a hand pinching his nose. Looking at Chiyo's disgusted face, Weiss had a pleasant laugh while working his knives.
Soon the meat was butchered into pieces, and the man started a fire out of nowhere. Chiyo was shocked that the man only gathered a stack of branches and with a snap of his fingers the fire lit up. While he was staring at the scene incredulously, the man added more wood to the fire and started a barbeque with the venison.
The appetising aroma of the cooking food filled the area as Weiss added some seasoning from his waist pouch and the growling of Chiyo's stomach increased. Weiss kept chuckling when he saw how the little kid behaved. While the food was cooking he decided to probe the kid a bit.
"Hahaha, you are a quiet one, aren't you?... What's your name brat?"
"..?"
"Can't you speak?"
"Mister, I don't understand what you are saying," Chiyo said with confusion on his face.
"A foreign language, huh? All right, little brat time to eat." Weiss tore a piece of cooked meat and gave it to Chiyo.
Not eating anything from a day before had left Chiyo so hungry that he even chewed on some green leaves that morning. When he got the piece of meat, he gobbled it up fast but the richness and taste of the meat still left him exclaiming, "Yoi! oishī!"
"Hahaha " Weiss was left chuckling by the expression of bliss on his face.
..…
After an hour-long trek through the jungle, both of them walked out of the treeline. In front of them was a sprawling prairie on which a distant town stood far from them. The town had an open plan with no walls or boundaries. It gave a very welcoming vibe.
Chiyo had a feeling that he was visiting the countryside because of all the wooden houses he saw, he took in a deep breath trying to find a familiar smell. After Chiyo adjusted to everything in front of him he looked up to Weiss only to find that he was staring at Chiyo with a slight smile on his dignified and elegant face.
"Is this where you live, sir?"
"I don't understand what you are saying, but this place is kid-friendly, people call it Backlog town even though it is a small village.", Weiss said when he picked up the inquisitive tone in Chiyo's voice.
"Come along, I shall introduce you to a beautiful sister."
Even though his legs were hurting from walking all morning, Chiyo lumbered along and tried his best to keep up. As the duo set foot inside the town, many people around them noticed Weiss. There was fear, respect, admiration and envy. Many emotions were dancing in the bystanders' eyes as they took a quick look at Weiss and turned back to what they were doing hurriedly.
While people failed to notice the young Chiyo following after Weiss, he was too busy taking in all the new views himself. The clothes worn by the people in town looked foreign to Chiyo, he knew he had seen similar clothes but couldn't recall where.
The words on the storefronts were also foreign to him. Everything was so new and interesting that Chiyo momentarily forgot that he was lost and was following a stranger.
Weiss stopped in front of an enormous courtyard with the words 'Hunters orphanage' hanging above the door.
"This shall be your home for the time being."