Life of a Hunter

Short Story

Both of them were good colleagues and great friends, so Owen decided it would be prudent not to get involved and be about his business, but before he could re-enter his tent, Jeremiah called out to him.

"Owen my boy, can you do me a favor?" Jeremiah bellowed, "I'm in the middle of something, can you just go around camp to make sure everyone is ready to leave by day break?"

Owen waved his hand in acknowledgement and walked away, leaving the two men to argue to their hearts content. He was never one to try and shove his nose in where it wasn't wanted.

As he began patrolling the campsite, Owen ran into Irvine Blackhorn, the Wolf Clan's second in command. Irvine was the reason Owen wanted to enter the Wolf Clan, as he was his first teacher back at the academy. At this moment, Irvine seemed to be inspecting the camp grounds.

"Well good day to you, Owen." Said Irvine in a cheerful manner.

"Greetings," Owen replied less enthusiastically," I see they have you on babysitting duty as well?"

"Not today," chuckled Irvine," I'm looking for Marcus. His gear is still unpacked and I can't find him anywhere. You know how he is, if he doesn't start packing now, we'll be here till tomorrow night waiting on him."

"Wasn't he on fishing duty this afternoon?" Owen thought aloud.

"Oh? He must be by the waterside, then." Said Irvine as he began walking off in the marshes direction, "I'll go have a look there."

"I'll join you, I was made responsible for the boy," replied Owen, "besides, everything seems ok here" he added, as both men made their way to the nearby fishing spot.

The hunting in this area wasn't great, but the fishing was surprisingly good. So they had kept one man on fishing duty at all times during their stay. At this moment it was Marcus Littlebrooke's turn.

Marcus was boy, still a student at the hunter's academy. The Guild occasionally allowed students to go on expeditions on the condition they not participate in any dangerous activities and be kept to simple tasks. This was a great opportunity for young hunters to gain experience out on the field, and see the pros at work. Marcus always had questions and always seemed to get himself into trouble. You couldn't question his dedication, however, for he was the first to volunteer for anything.

They found the little hunter with his fishing rod cast out and both feet in the mud. Marcus was whistling softly and seemed oblivious to Irvine's and Owen's presence. He was surrounded by buckets, some containing large quantities of different varieties of fish.

"Well... I see your day was productive!" exclaimed Irvine as they approached the shoreline.

The boy jumped up, startled. He looked at the two hunters and let out a sigh of relief. "That was not funny! You guys scared the living ghost out of me!" said Marcus as colors slowly came back to his face, "I've been hearing weird sounds around here all day."

Both hunters laughed out loud, amused by the boy's startled reaction. They had to wipe tears from their eyes and take a breath before being able to ask the young hunter if he needed any help.

"I'm fine. I'll be doing a lot better once we leave this spooky swamp," uttered Marcus.

"Speaking of which," replied Owen," why have you not finished packing your gear yet?"

Marcus grinned and pointed to one of his buckets. Irvine and Owen took a step closer to peek inside, and were amazed by what they saw. The container was filled to the brim with golden coy fish.

"Amazing!" exclaimed Owen, "You caught all these today? With the price these fish go for at the market, we should be able to pay for this entire excursion with the fish in this bucket alone!"