Little Feather

Chapter 12

I awoke to the sound of birds chirping first thing that morning, still a bit sleepy and looked around before getting up and getting a bit of food from where I stored it. The day was pretty much the same as I tried to also avoid the settler's encampment nearby and stay out of sight when needed. I decided to try and hunt a rabbit for food. I could cook the meat and eat it and save the fur for when I could make shoes for the much colder months or even make a blanket but that could take months for me to do so making shoes would be easier with rabbit fur. If only I could hunt a buffalo then I could make clothes from the hide or even a blanket to keep warm with or even bedding if I needed something to sleep on as well.

The problem with getting a rabbit is catching one. I needed to be quick to catch one and I had no real means of making a good trap just yet. So my only options was throwing my knife and hope I could get it in one blow or be quick enough on my feet and catch one. I decided to try catching one with my hands and went further into the woods and found a good spot to hide while I waited for a rabbit to appear from the brush. As I waited for a rabbit to appear, I could hear birds chirping in the trees, bugs once in a while buzzing around and I could see a few ants crawling around on wood or leaves on the ground and a worm slowing wiggling through the dirt. Once in a while, bird would chirp and fly away somewhere or I would hear bug's continuing to buzz around. After some time, I hear a sound coming from the bushes just across from where I was hiding and I watched as I waited to see what it was. I was worried that it was a bear or a wild panther or even a wolf but thankfully it was a rabbit. It's coat was white as snow and it's black eyes shined in the sunlight. It's nose twitched as then hoped a bit and nibbled on some grass and soaked in the sunshine. I quietly inched closer, trying not to make any noise and scare the rabbit away. As I crawled closer, the rabbit then stopped nibbling and perked it's ears up and looked in a different direction, it's eyes focused on something. I stopped crawling and stayed still before looking the in the direction of what it could be looking at. At first I saw nothing there, but whatever got the rabbit's attention wasn't moving or trying to be seen. Was it a bear? A panther? Or a wolf? Different species of animals crossed my mind as I thought about what to do next. Should I stay hidden or run away? My instinct told me to run but I didn't know what was out there or if it was dangerous, so I waited and hid to see whatever the rabbit was looking to come out and show itself. My heart pounding in my chest and my breathing grew heavy as I watched and waited for what felt like forever. Time seemed to have stopped as the rabbit and I both lay there watching and waiting until in a second all I saw was the blood and the rabbit falling down on the ground, dead. It twitched for a few seconds then stopped moving. A bit of blood pooled out from where it was hurt and sticking out of it was a arrow. But where had it come from and who had shot it?

I carefully peeked out from where I was and I saw a man with a bow and arrows just coming out from behind the trees, making his way over to me and the rabbit. His pale features and clothing gave me the impression that he was one of the settlers who happened to go hunting right in the area where I was. I started to panic and didn't know what to do, I knew if I came out and started running, I would probably be killed on sight or hunted by the other settlers if he ran back and warned them so I stayed where I was and as low as possible, hoping he wouldn't notice me nearby. He then took the arrow out of the rabbit before putting it back with the others. He then took out a small piece of rope and tied the rabbit by it's rear legs before swinging it over his shoulder and heading back towards the campsite where the other settlers were. I waited until he was out of sight and got up from the ground and wiped off the dirt from my clothing. I then made my way back to my campsite, disappointed that I didn't get the rabbit but it couldn't be helped. If I had tried getting it, then the man most likely would have killed me or do something even more horrible. The thought of dying wasn't something I didn't want to think about but I knew deep down, that it was possible for something to happen to me at some point whether it was by sickness, myself or even by another person. As I was reaching the campsite, I thought of other spots where I could hunt rabbits and avoid any conflict with the settlers. The almost encounter with the man could have been a close call and I needed to remember which spots to avoid so I knew not to go there for the time being. But for the moment I focused on other things like the spears, washing my clothes and bathing. Once that was done, it was almost twilight and I could see the familiar oranges, reds and pinks once again in the evening sky. The light of the fire I had made flicked in the night and the smoke rose up into the air until I couldn't almost see it. I sat on the ground, eating a few more berries and carrots next to the campfire, crickets chirping as they always did and the sound of frogs croaked in the distance. Bugs buzzed and once in a while a owl would call out into the night, looking for food. At times like these, people in my village would be around the campfire, telling stories and making jokes but that no more and I was truly alone with no one to tell stories to or make jokes with. I hadn't thought much about other people until now. The settlers were close by but not all of them would be friendly or welcoming if I tried to come close enough and try and speak with them. I thought maybe my next goal once I had enough food and supplies, I would too like the settlers move on and find a new place to live. But for now that was a faraway dream and dreams for right now were only in my head as I quietly ate, wishing for the days of my youth and the hope that I could see my family again someday and the promise to little wolf to survive.