Isildilia.(Book 1 of the White Lily trilogy)

Chapter 31- Something they didn't expect to see

(Picture- a Dalmiez) 

 Isildilia sat in a loop of a tree branch, legs dangling over the side.  She was waiting, silently, like a predator should.  She held her olive green bow in her right hand, with an arrow loosely fitted.  She had been watching the same game trail for the whole afternoon now, waiting. This was her favourite hunting spot.

    She could smell it before she even saw it; its thick tempting aurora touched the tip of her tongue. A Jua deer pranced into view, a doe. It was large enough to feed them for a few days. Standing up in a crouch, she pulled her bow string taunt. Staring down its sight, she aimed for a small patch behind the front legs, right at its heart. The doe browsed around, unaware of its predator paused above. Keeping her breathing calm, she released the arrow. It flashed across the gap as a streak of blue and thudded, right where she intended. The deer shuddered, fell, and remained still.  She quickly leapt down to it, before other predators smelt it. She slit its stomach and left the entrails behind for scavengers. Holding it slightly above the ground, she allowed as much blood as possible to drain from the animal, lightening the load and reducing the mess.  The ground around her feet soaking up the crimson spill like a sponge, she was no longer bothered by having such gore on her hands.

       Shouldering the kill, she headed back for the Ovili. She was the first back; the others had also gone hunting, for fruit as well as meat, apart from Plireth; who was still recovering and sleeping in the Ovili.  When she reached the base of the Ovili, she tore a leg off the deer with ease and threw it into the deep waters. It remained on the surface for a few moments before being dragged under in a stream of bubbles. Offering food to the dalmiez became a habit of theirs, just to keep it happy, they hoped.  She removed her knife n set about skinning the dear. It wasn’t the neatest job as it came away in torn patches, skinning wasn’t her speciality.  She left the fur to dry on nearby rocks, in case they would require it for clothing repairs.

        Holding up a piece of dry wood to her mouth, she produced a single flame, using her own breath. Since the incident with Dakelo, she thought she should keep practicing to see if she could control it.  It was a small skill she had learnt to use on her own, and was quite proud of it.  She leant the best way was to curl her tongue up and purse her lips, like she was whistling. The burning sensation didn’t bother her anymore either.

Soon, she had the meat slowly roasting over a roaring fire.  Chunks of meat were carefully cooking on skewers they had high enough so they wouldn’t catch alight.  The spare pieces she had wrapped in kolma leaves and buried, to preserve for later.

   Everyone else returned in their own time. Jundi and Snoli returned carrying ripe fruit.  Ferica and Grillio came back empty handed, but sporting fresh scratches across their faces. Isildilia climbed into the Ovili and brought Plireth down.

    They all sat around and quietly ate their meal. Isildilia sat nestled between two of the large roots at the tree’s base. She looked down and saw a small mushroom. It looked like a don mushroom, the fleshy blue and red tops were poisonous, but the roots were highly nutritious.  Removing a small tooth-knife from her belt, she started to dig at the earth around it.

    A few minutes later, and she was still digging. It was a very deep root, deeper than she originally thought. She brought the knife up and slammed it into the earth, to help loosen it up.  The earth below her suddenly shuddered and lurched. The children looked up. The earth lurched again, and then suddenly collapsed around her.

     Isildilia was sucked down into the hole which had formed under her, with no time to react. For a few moments she had no idea which way was up as she tumbled down. She grunted when she hit the bottom seconds later. Rolling onto her front, she stood up and banged her head. She reached up and felt solid earth. Her eyes were streaming from the dirt that clogged the air. A flicker of orang e light came down the tunnel, from the fire outside, followed by a voice.