Forest in Pacific Northwest- 1202
On one of their next adventures together that landed them both in a forest with nothing in sight, there was one thing that Brooklyn needed to teach young Sil more than anything and that was how to hunt animals if there were no fruits to eat or villages to sneak food from.
"Sil, I know you like animals, but it's imperative that you know this skill to just stay alive. Kids about your age usually go along with their parents to learn this skill when young. I'm going to teach it to you." Brooklyn explained.
"Seen some animals hunt on tv." Sil replied.
"Yes, but there's more to it than what you've seen on tv. Tv doesn't always reveal everything to you, unless you're watching wild animals. You also need to know how to cook food and such too." Brook explained.
"I not really need to cook. I find can eat food raw." Sil declared.
"That's... nice. But maybe there might end up being others with us that need to have their food cooked, like humans. They can't eat their food raw." Brooklyn affirmed.
"But what animals we set off to hunt?" Sil asked.
"Probably a deer or rabbit to start off, but it depends on what we find." Brook said. "We'll take all our stuff with us, but this cave is our camp for right now." They were standing in a cave that they had found for shelter.
"Rules of hunting are stay upwind or downwind of your intended target. It depends on which way the wind is blowing, and you don't want your prey to catch your scent." Brooklyn explained.
"How do you know these things? Never seen you hunt prey?" Sil asked.
"Back from our time over one thousand years ago, our clan elders all made us learn to hunt when we needed to. I remember it, though it's been a while since my rookery kin were taught how to do it. Living in Manhattan took away the need to do that, but while we are on our adventures, this is now a skill I'm passing down to you, so you know how to do it. And unlike humans who use guns to kill usually, we have only our talons, teeth, and swords." Brooklyn explained. "Of course, humans also used bows and arrows and crossbows too, and spears."
"You also have one advantage over me; your wings." Sil pointed out. "But where do we get those weapons?"
"You also have to stay quiet to not scare the prey away. If you're silent, having wings won't matter." Brooklyn said. "You can easily make a spear out of a long, thick branch. You just gotta know how to prepare it and smooth it up to make one."
Brooklyn and Sil went hunting for a long staff-like branch. They eventually found one and Brooklyn broke it off the tree. Then he went about showing Sil how to make a spear. Using a rock that got shaped into a knife sort of after sharpening it on another bigger rock, Brooklyn shaved down the bark and jagged edges with it. Then he tied the sharp rock knife onto one end with some vines that were in the trees too.
Sil was impressed with what Brooklyn knew what to do and how to make this. Then Brook handed it to him. "Take good care of this. You might need it soon. After all, we're both going to get hungry out here and we have no idea where or when we are." Brook declared. "We should also practice your throwing the spear too, or your dagger."
Sil was liking it just being him and Brooklyn alone and the red gargoyle teaching him some more survival skills, including tracking by both sight and smell. And who knew how long they would be here. It was the Gate's decision.
Brooklyn and Sil went to a good open clearing in the woods and Brook practiced throwing the spear into a tree. He also had Sil do the same to try to land it on the spot he had landed it. He told him how to aim it. They also practiced sneaking up on one another. Brooklyn also made sure to have Sil sniff upwind or downwind in the direction the wind was not coming, and Brook made a demonstration of it as he caught the red gargoyle's scent on approach.
"I can smell you, Brooklyn." Sil called out.
"Good. This lesson is about why we must not let the prey catch our scent." Brooklyn came out of hiding then. "Now, let's also get some practice throwing your dagger at a dangerous animal or at prey."
Sil gave the gargoyle his dagger. He held it at the handle and aimed at a tree. The dagger landed in the tree. He also held it by the blade and threw it that way too. It also landed in the same tree if a little differently.
"But can't I keep my dagger for fighting? Can't we make another knife rock?" Sil asked.
"Yeah, having a few of them could be beneficial." Brook agreed with him. He sighed. Being a surrogate parent or real parent was both draining and fascinating. The things that had to be taught to kids to know in survival skills.
There was also teaching him how to start a fire for both light and cooking. Scratching two rocks together or using a piece of wood and making a fast sawing-like motion on it and blowing on it. And in cold places, fire would be needed for more warmth. In daylight, there would also be using a glasses lens to magnify using the sun, but neither one of them needed glasses, so that method was hard to come by.
Another lesson for hunting was fishing too. Catching fish with the spear or your fingers, aside from using a fishing pole created. Brooklyn just preferred the catch-with-the-hands method. There was a stream near their camp cave, and it was a good place to get water along with fish.
Brooklyn caught a fish first with his hands, but he wanted Sil to use his spear. It might have seemed mean to the poor fish, but this was a matter of survival. They were both getting hungry again.
Sil eyed a succulent fish in the water. His mouth watered and his belly growled demandingly. The first few times his hunger made him get impatient and he missed several times.
"I know you're hungry, Sil, but you have to have patience to succeed." Brooklyn urged.
"I can't see in the dark as well as you can. Can't I do that method in daylight?" Sil asked. "Can you please catch one for me too? I'm starving!" He whined desperately.
"Alright. But tomorrow, we're going to go hunting for rabbit or deer." Brooklyn decreed. "You need to know how to handle big and small animals."
Brooklyn then got near the water, and he was fast enough with his hand that he got a big fish for his adopted son. He threw it onto the land for him to deal with.
"Oh, must have it!" Sil cried out, going after the thrashing fish.
It took some effort, but Sil used his spear on it finally. It still thrashed about until it died.
"Now, let's go back to camp." Brook encouraged. They both put the fishes on a stick to travel back.
Brook lit a fire when they got 'home.' He showed Sil how it was done by rubbing the rocks together this time. Then it was time for cooking the fish, but they first had to be prepared.
Brook showed Sil how to gut and skin the fish before it could be devoured. But tonight, it was about cooking the fish that were cooked on another tree limb over the fire. When it was ready, they both enjoyed some cooked fish. It had taken about 13 minutes to cook.
"Wonder what kind of fish these were?" Sil declared.
"No idea. I just like to eat them." Brooklyn replied.
"Me too." Sil stated.
At least the fish were enough for tonight's meal.
Later, Sil tried the spear method in the daylight, and it took up to twelve times before he finally got a fish on the spear. Sil was so proud of himself and would boast about it tonight.
.............
The next night, Brooklyn and Sil went hunting for a land animal.
They eventually came across a deer. It was a buck. Brooklyn also had an ethic code when it came to hunting: No hunting animals with babies.
They both snuck up on the deer being downwind. The buck didn't catch their scents and Sil aimed the spear just right and he threw it directly into the deer's ribs, spooking it but it instantly went down in that case. They came out of hiding and it was still squirming, trying to escape the painful thing in his side.
"What do we do if it's still alive?" Sil asked.
"Be merciful to it as well. Don't let them suffer if you can help it." Brooklyn looked down sadly at the poor deer. He knew it wanted to live but he and his 'son' needed its life to live. He took the spear and pushed it in further, finally killing it. "Now, we take it back to camp before it draws in other animals."
Brooklyn carried the deer to a safe zone from their camping spot and he showed Sil how to gut and skin the deer too.
"And this method is best for all creatures we catch?" Sil asked.
"Yes." Brook replied. "If you do it your way, maybe it might be best if you do it in the daytime then. But this big buck would supply us with enough meat to last for days if we could freeze it, but not here. We can only take what we can eat now and dispose of the carcass."
"Why?" Sil asked. "Much food!"
"Because it can go bad fast. And there's only certain parts on the deer worth eating." Brook explained.
A fire was made and meat chunks for pulled off the deer and put on sticks to cook. After a good hour and a half of cooking or so, the venison was ready for eating. Sil and Brooklyn consumed what they had taken off the deer. It would be enough to fill their bellies for a few days.
"Maybe we should stick to smaller animals." Brooklyn coaxed Sil.
"Agree. Not want meat to go to waste." Sil agreed.
The animal was starting to smell now, and Brooklyn took it away from their camp before a bear or wolf, or coyote or something else came looking for it. It would feed other predators.
At least there had been animals to eat in this vicinity.
This time dance turned into just being a tranquil one and just enough time to teach Sil how to hunt. After the deer hunt, they kept to hunting rabbits and fish mostly until it was time for the next dance. But if one thing was for sure, they didn't stray too far from the other's side if Brooklyn had the Gate on him.
They had stayed in this time period for up to two weeks and it had been like a small break from all the chaos they had had during the last few dances. And even during this time, Brooklyn couldn't help but think about what he had learned from his last time dance, that those other gargoyles had mentioned a mate he had that he didn't have currently. But Sil had been told he was living in Japan in that time period.
Brooklyn was now holding out hope more and more that he would meet this female one day soon. He liked his parenthood role to Sil, but his soul felt empty without a female love to anchor him down, so to speak. Sil also needed a motherly role model too.