“We should be able to go into the forest now, Tiger,” Pipsqueak said. Several hours had passed, and one concentrated area of the traps surrounding us were now disarmed.
Tiger nodded. “Everyone who can fight, go out into the forest. Everyone else, make us somewhere to sleep or something. Anyone who hasn’t done anything by the time we’re back doesn’t get to eat.”
It sounded like he wasn’t prepared to share whatever he hunted for free. I was considering going out to hunt myself when Tiger looked at me.
“You’re not going anywhere till you’re done with those traps,” he spat before leading his troupe of kids out into the forest.
He must have seen through my laziness. I’d started to stand but once again lowered myself to the ground. I doubted I would finish with these traps today regardless of my pace. I picked some grass at my feet, knowing I needed to keep my strength up. It was the same grass I had seen during our tracking training. It was edible but far from tasty. I couldn’t remember eating anything other than the roots before. Appearance-wise, it looked like a withered radish. I chewed it in lieu of meat as I continued working.
“Ah.”
I felt myself step on something, then came the whooshing sound of a loosed arrow. I leaped out of the way, the sharp weapon lodging itself into the tree behind me.
“That was close...”
I was sweating. Just as I thought, disarming traps for long periods of time risked accidents because of waning focus. I turned around toward the clearing, hoping to get someone to help me, but they were all too busy setting up camp to even look my way. As dangerous as it was, I figured I might as well try to spring the traps by tossing stones.
I heard a sleepy mumble from behind me. I turned to see the dragon girl, sitting up and looking around with a drowsy expression on her face. From that look, I gathered she was trying to remember what she was doing in this forest. She turned to the right and saw the children working to build a base. They turned their backs to her as if avoiding her gaze. After she swept her gaze over them, she glanced skyward, seemingly wondering where the children on hunting duty had gone. Her eyes finally opened to full wakefulness. Glaring at me, she jumped to her feet and walked straight toward me through the center of the children.
“This way?” she asked, her voice a little hoarse from just waking up.
“Huh? Oh, yeah.” I nodded, not sure what the question was exactly.
She walked ahead of me, exuding vast quantities of essence.
“There are traps,” I warned.
“I know.”
She stepped on something, and an arrow came flying toward her. Turning, she knocked it out of the air. Apparently, I didn’t need to be worried.
She tore down thin wires, stepped through bear traps without consequence, and knocked down every arrow that came her way. Her innate talents were so insane that she was charging through this minefield unbothered. Off she went into the forest. I couldn’t stem my hollow laughter.
I managed to finish disarming my traps, so there was no issue in going out and finding some beasts to hunt for today’s food. It would be a good opportunity to explore the forest too.
✦ ✦ ✦
Our tracking and escape training must have been to prepare us for this. Without the skills we learned, we would all starve to death out here. If survival training was meant to teach us to feed ourselves, it was probably going to last a long time.
It would be dangerous to face a deer or boar alone. Not only could their antlers or fangs be fatal, I doubted I was fit enough to escape since they might be faster than what I was used to. Rabbits were probably a safer bet. In a scenario where weapons weren’t a factor, body weight could be one of the greatest advantages at your disposal. Though they were quick, they struggled to hide from my third eye.
I steadied my breathing and suppressed my essence as much as I could, now able to clearly perceive other presences in the forest. A group of them was moving slowly through the trees. Most likely, they were the kids who went out hunting. Farther out was something larger, stalking our way as if drawn in our direction. A wolf. Other smaller presences were scattered around me. These were rabbits.
I picked out one of those smaller presences and used my pit organ to track it. I followed the trail of warm footprints it left behind until they became more vivid, and I eventually found their owner. I quietly concealed myself.
The rabbit jumped out of the bushes and surveyed its surroundings cautiously, ears pricked and nose twitching. Judging that there were no threats about, it twittered happily and started chewing on the grass.
The moment it was totally absorbed in its meal, I stabbed through the top of its head with my knife. Unfurling my tail from where it gripped the branch of a tree, I landed effortlessly on the ground.
Because I had been watching the rabbit eat its meal while hanging upside down, the blood had rushed to my head. I massaged my face with both hands and waited for my circulation to return to normal before picking the creature up by the ears and returning to our base camp.