Spoils of the Hunt

Brone's P.O.V.

It was colder than usual today, signaling the start of a long and cold winter. I wasn’t prepared for this. It would take at least another week to haul supplies from the nearest settlement up the mountain, Akhael willing.

I could see the misty clouds of each breath being swept away in the icy breeze as I peered further into the thicket by the cabin. A sudden stamping in the snow, followed by a long whine, snapped me out of my fog, pulling my attention to the behemoth of a hunting dog to my right.

Romal was peering up at me with his large brown eyes, looking impatient to return to the warmth of his spot by the fire.

“Change of plans,” I addressed the hound, “We’re going hunting.”

After returning to the cabin to fetch my bow and look in on Sila, Romal’s heavily pregnant mate, we set out into the woods, carefully scaling a ways down the mountain. It had already begun snowing lightly on the western side, which faced the Choris Sea. And while we were still miles from the base of the mountain, I could smell the faint sea air lingering between the snowflakes.

Romal and I soundlessly stepped along the forest floor, following the faint tracks of what promised to be a doe, traced lightly into the barely sticking white powder. His nose to the ground, Romal let out a short huff of air before lifting his head to meet my gaze, then pointing himself towards some brush just ahead.

I nodded and stepped forward, understanding the signal. Every movement was slow and steady, taking what felt like hours to approach and draw my bow. Once close enough, my slowed breathing stopped, not daring to give even the slightest indication of my presence to the prey.

Taking a second to steady my hand, I released the string of my weapon, hearing only the short whoosh of its arrow cutting through the air before finding its target. Now swiftly, Romal and I bounded forward, quick to catch and silence the wounded doe before it alerted the nearby herds.

Pushing through the brush, Romal lurched for our prey’s neck, clamping down his jaw and tearing into its windpipe until the only sound to be heard was the rapid gurgling of the struggling animal. With a click of my tongue, I called the dog off as I drew my hunting knife, prepared to cut its suffering short.

When the deed was done, I faced the chore of transporting the bloodied animal back to the cabin on the makeshift sled I’d been hauling. Seeing me securing the dead creature with ropes, Romal was all too happy with himself. The beast happily trotted around the surrounding trees, panting with excitement to return home by the fire. I was preparing to congratulate him on a job well done with a pat on the head as he returned to my side, but he froze, his gaze cast in the opposite direction from where we’d come. His body stiffened, and before I could stop him, Romal dashed forward, making his way further down the mountain until- in a matter of seconds- he’d become a speck in the distance.

“Fuck!” I whisper-shouted as I dropped the ropes to the sled and silently prayed that nothing would come along to prey on my kill while I fetched the unruly hound. With one hand steadily placed on the handle of my knife, I rushed after Romal, keeping my eyes locked on his receding figure. Then, just as quickly as he’d begun, he stopped running and became fixated on something in the snow. Turning to me, he barked as if to say ‘hurry up,’ before lying down next to whatever had so keenly caught his interest.

Feeling a sense of relief that I could finally catch up to him and that his demeanor didn’t suggest danger, I lowered my guard enough to release the handle of my knife and bustle closer to the hairy black creature. Only when I was a few feet away did I tear my gaze away from Romal and instead look at his discovery.

I froze.

There, lying in the snow, was a woman. Romal had crept closer to her, lying half of his body over hers while whimpering and looking up at me. She lay perfectly still and undisturbed by the animal’s actions, in such a way that I doubted she was alive.

“Romal,” I uttered firmly, “it’s too late, come here.”

He whined in response, seeming desperate for the body beneath him and not moving an inch.

With a sigh, I kneeled to meet the dog’s gaze, hoping to make him understand that there was nothing we could do for her. Only then did I see the shallow movement of her chest, leaving me dumbfounded once more as I took a second look at the woman who lay in the freshly fallen snow.

Most noticeable was her hair, which was so stark white it rivaled her surroundings. Despite this, she appeared young with smooth skin and full cheeks that seemed to be regaining a twinge of color thanks to the warmth of the beast on top of her.

Still, alarmingly, her lips remained a pale blue, and her skin was like ice.

Removing my fur coat, I shivered as I gently pushed Romal off of her and wrapped her up, only now noticing how little she was wearing. The thin cloth that clung, frozen to her body, was barely long enough to reach her knees and looked as though it had been fashioned from an old sack.

Heaving a sigh, I lifted her into my arms and clicked my tongue to signal Romal to follow.

Adira's P.O.V.

The crashing waves of the sea rocked the giant boat violently, knocking me off my feet and onto the soaked deck. All its sailors kept shouting in their foreign tongues, scurrying to and fro as they tossed and tied ropes. The storm was raging, and I worried the worst was yet to come as I flattened myself against the deck of the boat, feeling defeated and tired, and sore in every muscle. The ropes that these strange and vile men had tied to my legs were beginning to rub my skin raw, making every move dreadful and every splash of the salty sea agony.

One of the other women who'd been tied with me reached out, grabbed me by the arm, and began to drag me closer to the others. Her shouts sounded like the urgent cries of a mother bird, but I couldn’t understand what she was trying to say. Once again, the ship rocked hard to the side, this time throwing many off their feet. Clattering across the floor of the boat, a shimmer of silver caught my eye. The woman who held me noticed it too, and pulling me closer in her arms, she looked around, squinting her eyes against the heavy wind and rain. Seeing that the coast was clear, she reached out and grabbed the object, a knife, and tucked it into the folds of her cloth gown before continuing to pull me along to sit huddled with the handful of other women, all tied like me.

I was exhausted. I didn’t remember how I found myself on this boat, and I couldn’t understand what the others were saying. I only understood that the actions of the sailors left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I understood that I was trapped, and these other women seemed to be as well. We were all birds with clipped wings.

Hours passed, and the sky grew darker, but the boat never ceased to rock and toss us all over one another. The motherly woman held me tight the entire time. At times, her tight grip hurt, but no more so than the ropes that dug into my flesh, and the pain from her tight embrace was welcome. I clung to her just the same, more afraid and uncertain with every roar of thunder and swelling wave. At some point, I heard a great cracking sound followed by a rumble that must have surely been the boat tearing itself apart. The woman I clung to gasped and pushed me away.

Confused, I tried to reach out for her, but she was holding the knife. She was shouting, looking frantically between the other women and me, while she sawed away at the ropes that bound my legs. In seconds, I was free! Only, my excitement was crushed as soon as I realized I had nowhere to run.

More ropes were cut, and more women were freed until the only one left was the woman with the knife. I began looking around frantically, worried we’d be caught by the men who’d bound us, only to discover that we were all that was left. Where had those sailors gone?

Just as I looked back to the woman who’d held me, an icy wave of salt water slammed its fist down on us, tearing us apart and pulling me into its frigid depths.

“By the glory of Akhael, now I’ve twice as much to haul up this mountain.”