For: criticalshadow13
I, to say the least, was pissed.
It should not have happened. If Widow hadn't been there... I can't even imagine what would've happened.
Nat came back the next day, "When do we start?" was the first thing she said when she got inside.
I hadn't even heard her jet land.
"Soon as you're ready," I answered.
Her response was to pull a pistol out of her waistband.
"Let me get my bow and I'll meet you outside," I told her, heading to the stairs.
Laura was still asleep, but it was still pretty early.
I opened the closet door as quietly as I could and took my bow along with a quiver of arrows.
I left the room quietly and went out on the porch.
Nat was leaning against the railing staring at the door. "Are we taking the horses?" She asked, sparing a glance at the barn.
I shook my head, "No, I don't know how Napoleon would react and I'd rather not get thrown today,".
Nat nodded in understanding, "So we're walking," she announced.
I nodded my head before walking in the direction of the gate.
I could hear her steps following after me.
.
.
.
By the time we'd crossed the pasture and climbed the fence, day-light was starting to peer over the trees as a dark purple.
I had an arrow nocked as we walked, the only noise we could hear were the cicadas as we trecked through the woods.
There was a coughing hiss from somewhere off to the side, gaining both Nat and I's attention.
Nat shined a flashlight in that direction, there was an opossum staring in our general direction with its mouth open, baring its teeth.
Nat turned the flashlight back off, we could both hear the little marsupial run off into the woods.
"Let's sit down and wait for it to get a bit brighter, maybe we can find some tracks," I decided after we took a few more steps.
Nat hummed an acknowledgment and grabbed my arm, pulling me off to the side.
We sat against a tree and decided to wait, after Nat had shined the light into the tree to make sure nothing was living in it.
.
.
.
We sat and waited for about forty-five minutes before deciding that it was bright enough.
We could also see the environment a bit better, there were some trees surrounding the area and a huge rock that extended from the side of a hill.
I pushed myself away from the tree, Nat stayed by the tree and skimmed over the area.
My eyes were locked on the ground looking for any sign of the cat. It didn't take long for me to find it. There was a huge paw print embedded in the dirt.
I put my hand next to it in comparison, the print was bigger.
I turned and looked at Nat before looking up at the tree we'd been resting under, "You want to wait it out up there?" I whispered to Nat.
She glanced at the tree with a nod.
I put my hands together and gave her a boost up into the branches.
I handed her my bow so that I could climb up after her. We climbed a bit higher and settled into the crook of a few branches, Nat was higher up than I was.
I renocked my arrow and settled into the branches to wait.
.
.
.
Our wait didn't last long, it had been in the area the entire time.
I watched it jump out of a nearby tree, hitting the ground quietly.
It looked around before it started heading towards the rock, one particular detail on the cat made me pull back my arrow.
"Are you sure that's it?" Nat asked quietly.
I nodded my head and brought the arrow to my cheek and whispered one word, "Tail,".
The tip of the cat's tail was crushed, Widow had gotten it.
The cat froze and looked in our direction, I released the arrow on the exhale.