After walking for five hours Vain had luckily not run into other creatures. Instead, he heard the first sign of flowing water.
Following the sound he eventually saw a river flowing over a small waterfall. It was at this point he stopped and started using anything he collected to show his way back. After all, even if he killed the Beaver Bear, if he couldn't get it back to the village it would just be a useless piece of meat.
After marking the path he took to get here, he started following the river downstream. After following the path for only thirty minutes he saw the first sign of life.