I had spent too much time training. I had calluses on my hands in places I didn't know calluses could exist. I knew I was using it as a tool to escape the reality I was living in, but I wasn't sure how to fix whatever was making me want to escape. I was hiding from him, I knew that much. My whole being was pulled in every direction when I thought of him. I was angry with him, scared of him...but somehow. I shook my head. No shred of logic existed as to why I was still getting butterflies thinking of him near me. It hurt too much, was I crazy? I was insane. That made sense.
I flipped the blade in my hand, watching it rocket towards the target and twist into the bullseye.
"Its time to put that arm to good use, Girl." The voice made me turn uneasily. Felix stood at the edge of the clearing, club resting lazily across his shoulders.
"What?" I muttered in response.
"You're coming along in todays hunting party." Felix watched my expression with amusement.
"Me?" my voice cracked.
"Pan's orders." He turned on his heel, obviously expecting me to follow.
What choice did I have?
After a quick breakfast we gathered outside of Legend. I had strapped a spear to my back with a thick leather strap and a few knives to my thigh. I couldn't help feeling fierce but wasn't thrilled at what the weapons meant. I wasn't a vegan by any means, but I felt uncomfortable at the thought of hunting with primitive weapons. I had gone fishing, but other than that I hadn't really killed anything but the occasional fly or mosquito, much less a wild boar. I walked up to the edge of the group, met by a chuckling Nate. It didn't look like he had fully realized me going wasn't a joke. It seemed to finally dawn on him as Pan turned to leave after a quick approving glance of the group.
"What? Her? Actually hunt? But she's useless!" Nate sputtered.
Then again, there was a first time for everything. Those rotten pigs could take a flying leap. I wasn't about to let Nate get away with a comment like that. I adjusted the strap on my shoulder and shoved passed him as the group started to move out, ignoring Nate's protests.
Nate's backup arrived late, gasping for breath just as we left Legend behind. A few eyerolls greeted a still queasy looking Byron. He was recovering rather well, besides the hallucinations. To my relief Timothy was also getting stronger, making a quick comeback.
Will was still to injured to go hunting. I assumed I was the replacement. It was Pan, Felix, Seth, Nate, Byron and I who set out into the icy morning. I couldn't say I was exactly comfortable with the group; over half of them hating my guts.... come to think of it, Seth might be the only one who didn't have a strong opinion towards me, but that was just an assumption at this point.
No one had told me what to expect on the journey and I had neglected to bring my cloak. That was my first mistake. The chilly forests' breath nipped at my flesh, the dryness shortening my breath as we pressed through the trees. We walked for many hours, only stopping for a couple of short breaks that were few and far between.
After the sun had reached its summit and began to descend, signaling the afternoon, a stag was spotted. We pursued quietly, the buck leading us to his small herd of four does and a couple of juveniles. Seth produced his bow and noiselessly fitted an arrow to the taught string. Nothing that I noticed had given us away, but the stag suddenly seemed to stiffen and become alert.
In a moment he had gathered his little herd and led them without delay through a small ravine that cut through the mountain in front of us. The alpha had carefully led his charge through a thicket, making it nearly impossible to get a clear shot as the sure-footed creatures disappeared into the undergrowth between the mountain.
We took a path up the ravine in hopes to cut our quarry off. The ascent was nearly more than I could handle, my strength was strained with each passing hour that it took us to climb, sometimes crawl, the sheer rise. We dared not rest at the top in fear of losing the deer. To my surprise the climb down was almost worse. My limbs burned, and it was hard to keep my balance.
The trees started becoming thicker as we dropped in altitude and we were able to use branches to aid in our descent. Byron had constantly fallen behind. Felix, either sent back by Pan or had taken it upon himself to be Byron's prodding encouragement, was now holding up the rear and jabbing his club into the slacking boy's back when he decided to slow.
I chose to stay behind Pan in the line, keeping as much distance as I could between Nate and myself. I shifted the strap holding the spear to my back, my legs were exhausted, I didn't know how much further I could go on without a break. Time seemed to blur. My head grew fuzzy, the changes in altitude and subsequent changes in oxygen were probably affecting me. How long had we walked? It felt like an eternity.
My knees buckled without warning. We were still on a slope and gravity shoved me forwards, right towards Pan's back. It seemed as if he had somehow felt me coming and turned. But he hadn't turned fast enough.
Having no time to stop myself I stumbled into him. One arm caught me, but it was too late to steady ourselves, and my momentum forced us to the ground. I squeezed my eyes shut waiting for impact on the rough soil beneath us. Somehow, he had twisted around and taken the brunt of the fall. We had stopped moving. I felt warm breath fan my face and slowly opened my eyes, locking with the emerald gems inches in front of mine. I had landed on top of him.
His chest rose steadily, his arms wrapped around the small of my back. His eyes didn't leave mine for a solid moment. I couldn't decipher the expression on his face, it was one I wasn't familiar with. He didn't seem angry or annoyed, not exactly pleased to be landed on but .... there was something I just couldn't put my finger on.
He removed his arms from around me and I realized I had his shirt in a vise grip. My heart was going at a million miles an hour and I'm sure he could feel it. I released his tunic and lifted myself off of him. We rose hastily then. Felix had jostled his way to the front of the line, curious about the commotion no doubt, and the rest of the boys were now standing dumbly, unsure of what to do. I wasn't sure how much they had seen.
Pan wasted no time in taking control of the situation, moving the group forward to a small stream a few yards away. We took a few minutes to drink before moving on once more. The small stop and drink had revived me and as if by magic my legs no longer felt like jelly.
I was confused...Pan was human, but his reflexes were usually not lacking. That expression...I couldn't place it, and it bothered me. I was probably over thinking this too much. Must have been a fluke of my imagination...that, or all apart of his game to toy with me. I tried to push it out of my mind and focus on my footing, not wanting whatever had just happened to repeat itself.
Deer tracks were spotted at the ravine's exit. We followed, the musical sound of rushing water growing louder in the distance. The soft imprints in the soil led us to a churning river that blocked our path. The wrathful waters warned us away. This stretch bent around the mountain at a steep angle creating a strong current. The tracks disappeared at the water's edge. The deer must have somehow swum across...or flown. Both scenarios seemed equally unlikely, but they were nowhere in sight. Dear 1, hunting party 0.
The pursuit had taken us much longer than anticipated. The sun was starting to sink as our feet greeted the level ground. It was becoming clear this wouldn't be a day trip. We retreated from the river and set up camp at the base of the mountain, gathering wood for a fire along the way.
Third Person Point of View
Having already thrown a hefty armload of logs at the base of the newly born fire, Felix shifted on his feet watching the others scurry to and fro, collecting more wood to feed the hungry flames. He glanced over at Pan who was surveying the work beside him, his expression cold and calculating. Felix's mind wandered. Was his leader losing his edge? It was at least clear to him that something was occupying his mind, but what? It must be important. He seemed consumed with preoccupation lately, distracted. Felix didn't like the way Pan hesitated when the girl fell on top of him. Or the way Pan stole glances at her sometimes. Even if Pan had been watching her, he, Felix, shouldn't have noticed. Even knowing his leader as well as he did, it wasn't like Pan to reveal his focus. He wasn't as guarded as he used to be. Was it the girl's fault? Possibly. Considering the prospect that the girl could be a formidable distraction for his leader was irritating to say the least. This girl was turning out to be more of a thorn in his side than he anticipated.
~~~~~
No one had told me to prepare for an overnighter and I grimaced, watching the boys unroll their animal skin mats. It didn't take long for the unfriendly rocks, imbedded in the dirt surrounding the fire, to evict me with their uncomfortable jabs when I tried to lay down to rest. Lingering near the warmth, I pried myself away in favor of sleep.
I picked the least hard groundcover in the clearing I could find; a mossy spot at the base of a tree that looked rather inviting. The ground was cold, and I couldn't help shivering a little as the sky darkened and the sun's warmth slipped from the earth.
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