Deep inside the middle of the wolfswood forest, there was a constant fight for survival happening between prey and predators. The varieties of tree species inside this forest were too numerous to be counted by even the Maesters. But the most common of them were oak, evergreen, black brier, sentinels, soldier pines, hawthorn, beech, ash, chestnuts, ironwoods, and firs.
On a particular ironwood tree, a dead stag was hanging from one of its sturdy branches, and if that was not unusual enough in the middle of the forest. A snow-white horse was sitting just beside that tree with its eyes closed and from the looks of it seems to be deep asleep without a care in the world.
It was very unusual as the horse was located in the lower part of the food chain of this forest so as a prey it should presumably be more skittish and vigilant of its surroundings.
The scent of the dead animal mixed with the one of a live horse was like an invitation for the beasts inside this forest. It was too tempting for any of the countless animals in this forest and before long one such predator took the bait.
Wolfs in this forest usually hunt in groups so as to increase their chances of success, but there are always some exceptions and the lone wolf warily watching from the bushes was one such peculiarity.
While still smaller than its cousins the direwolves, it was one of the biggest wolves in this area of the forest. That meant that this wolf was huge enough that it could hunt most of the prey in this area alone so it didn't have to share its food.
This wolf had various encounters with the hunters during his life, so it was very cautious of the cunning traps made by them. It was very strange that the horse wasn't jumping around scared by its scent, but it just assumed that it was a particularly stupid one.
After a while, the wolf was sure that it was safe and didn't hesitate any more and instantly flicked out of the bushes and ran toward the sleeping horse. He closed the distance rapidly and when he was a couple of meters away, he jumped toward the prey in triumph.
Just as it opened its jaw full of gleaming teeth with the desire to tear the delicious meat in front of it to pieces, a sudden tang sound rang in the air, and before the wolf could think about the sound, an arrow went inside its eyes and into its brain, killing it instantly. The wolf's body skidded across the ground before stopping a meter away from the horse who opened its eyes calmly.
"This bow really is too strong," Jon said in awe while admiring the new bow Old Mark had gotten for him before he went away. It was a bit hard to draw for his young body but the power it gave made it all worth it.
He quickly jumped down from the tree where he was hidden after a thorough look around the area. Running toward his majestic-looking white horse who was lazily standing up while glancing at the dead wolf with disdain, Jon was very happy with how far she had come since he had bought him from the Barrowtown trader.
"You've gotten really good at pretending to be bait...Huh Peggy," Jon said while rubbing Pegasus's neck, "Maybe you finally believe that I would never miss my mark no matter what,"
Pegasus scoffed and tuned his body a bit to show Jon his belly where a thin faded scar lay, proof that Jon wasn't completely right, "Hey! That was just one time and I didn't actually miss—the boar was half-dead already, it's just it took a wild dying swing and you got caught up in it..."
It had taken quite some training for Pegasus to start getting used to doing things that went against her instincts but as Jon began to warg into her regularly her intelligence also started to increase exponentially which helped a lot so now the horse was almost never scared no matter the situation she was in, and could always think with almost human-like intelligence.
Pegasus rolled her eyes at her two-legged's excuses, but Jon wasn't done yet, he said while pointing toward the semicircle around the part where Pegasus was lying "And didn't I start taking precautions after that,". The earth in that area looked a bit irregular as if it had been dug and filled recently.
If the wolf had taken one more step, it would have fallen into a tip full of sharp wooden spears that would have killed or injured it heavily.
"But it looks like we will have to change locations again," Jon said while field-dressing the dead wolf, "We hunted too much here and now all the animals around this place have started to avoid this area,"
"But we got a really big one this time— It should fetch us quite a few silver stags, maybe even a whole dragon, considering its size and that the skin is almost completely undamaged," Jon mumbled happily while draining the blood from the wolf, and he didn't have to worry about getting ambushed as his other partner Frost was keeping watch above him, and nothing hides from her eyes.
Jon had become one of the best hunters in Wintertown with his combination of Frost, Peggy, and his own hunting skills. And he was one of the wealthiest too as he always went after the biggest game which was always in demand, it meant that he always got a premium price, and considering he had almost no expenses, he had saved up a lot.
"I think these should be enough for the day, Peggy," Jon said while putting the dead stag as well as the wolf on his horse's back, who stood up easily after he had secured them tightly, "You sure you can handle the weight," Jon asked but Peggy just snorted in disdain at his unnecessary worry and even jogged around a little to show him that the weight meant nothing.
"Yes! Yes! you're very strong. No need to show off," Jon said while rolling his eyes, before looking up at the dense canopy, and whispered, "Frost we are done for the day. Show us the safest and shortest way home,"
Jon's whisper had no chance of reaching anything, but Frost immediately replied back with an echoing majestic Caw that scared all the birds in the surrounding trees away.
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