Killian narrowed his eyes slowly, clutching his crossbow firmly in his hands. With his finger on the trigger, the young man's breath was caught in his throat. A young buck was twitching its short tail back and forth, its ears swiveling to and fro to pick up any sounds that could possible elude to danger lurking in the shadows. The animal was beautiful, Killian had to admit. Strong, majestic even. He would feel guilty taking down such a noble stag, but no part of it would go to waste. Even if Killian didn't eat much of it, he knew a lot of the group wouldn't mind taking their share.
It took the young hunter a few moments to realize that this scene was somewhat similar to the one he'd experienced a week—maybe more—ago. That felt as if it had been months previous. Time seemed to go by agonizingly slow in their new reality. Every day was a passing chore, a desperate attempt at survival. Pushing his thoughts away, Killian lowered his head and aimed the arrow up, holding his breath and pulling the trigger. The bolt pierced through the deer's eye, and Killian stood up from the long grass he'd been hiding behind. "I'm impressed," Tom chuckled, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "I thought we'd been waiting for nothing."
With an annoyed huff, Killian shot his leader a slight glare. "I wouldn't be laying in the gross for forty minutes if I didn't think something would come along to graze." He muttered. "Lucky Dominick finally managed to sit still where I told him to."
Chuckling with embarrassment, Dominick rubbed his arm self-consciously. "Sorry. I get impatient."
Stepping carefully around a patch of brambles and thorns, Killian narrowly avoided some poison ivy and stalked over to his fresh kill. Kneeling down beside it, Killian gently ran a hand over its smooth pelt, admiring the animal's lean muscles and strong antlers. "It's a nice one," He said. "Have to admit, I feel a bit guilty."
A soft sigh could be heard from Tom, and Killian could only imagine the large man shaking his head. "It's either the deer or we go hungry. You did well, Killian."
The young man beamed at his leader's praise, feeling his chest swelling with pride. "Bet Casimir couldn't have done better, huh?" Killian crowed, ripping his arrow from the deer's skull. "Or if he tried, he might've hit it in the wrong place."
When he glanced up, Killian could see the flash of amusement in Tom's eyes. The man's rumbling voice replied, "Go on ahead. Dominick and I will take care of carrying it. You can make sure no biters take a chomp out of us." Nodding once, Killian hopped back over the tangle of thorns and onto more solid ground. He mused over the sight of Tom and Dominick attempting to haul the deer up and carry it. Shaking his head he snapped, "Just drag it by the antler or the leg." With an exasperated huff.
It didn't take long for the patrol of three to arrive back at the motel. As the small patrol reached the lot of the motel, Killian barely held back a huff of annoyance when Tom and Dominick dropped the deer to the ground unceremoniously. Dominick stretched his shoulders and felt the back of his neck with a groan. Knitting his brows together Killian snapped, "This is why I told one of you to drag it instead of carrying it on your shoulders." Crossing his arms, Killian nodded to Dominick directly. "Now, you're going to be the one to help me prepare this thing and dispose of the useless bits so it doesn't bring any biters knocking on our doors."
Dominick frowned, "But-"
Before the young man could complain and volunteer their group leader, Tom interrupted him. "Well, I'll leave you both to it. Just save some for the rest of us, yea?" The large man turned on his heel and strolled off towards the rest of the group, who were glancing at Killian and the deer eagerly.
Killian's nose wrinkled into a scowl when Casimir proclaimed loudly, "That's gonna feed five of us at best. He should have brought back at least a rabbit or two as well." Casimir's voice was infuriatingly smooth, like silk. There was that charming smirk that gently tugged at the corners of his lips, those cold blue eyes that seemed to transfix anybody who looked at them. They weren't the welcoming, gentle gaze of Jasper. They were just as intense, but more ominous and menacing.
Forcing himself to look away, Killian felt a deep shudder run down his spine. His brows narrowed together, a frown on his lips. Dominick raised a brow as he helped Killian flip the deer over and sprawl out its legs. "You and Cas really hate each other, don't you?"
Shooting Dominick a glare Killian muttered, "Whatever gave you that idea?" Rolling his eyes with an exasperated growl, he flipped his skinning knife out from its sheathe at his hip and caught it by the handle. The razor-sharp blade glinted in the silver moonlight. He could have sworn he saw Dominick gulp out of the corner of his vision.
Straddling one of the deer's legs with his knee, Killian would have much preferred to have a rack to work with for preparing the fresh kill, but knew that luxury was far from realistic. He would have to improvise, as well as be more careful with the animal while gutting it and removing the inside organs. Looking at the short blade of his knife, Killian knew it still wouldn't be enough to hack off the unneeded limbs. "Dominick, see if I can borrow Chris' machete." He said. "But say you need it. If he knows it's me who's going to use it, he won't give it up."
Dominick knit his brows together, tilting his head to the side. "So, I'm just your assistant then?" With a teasing smile playing at the corner of his lips, Killian glared daggers at the other man. "Alright, alright. Fine." Dominick relented, standing up and shaking his head. Killian barely heard Dominick's passing mutter of, "How Jasper managed to get on your good side is beyond me."
Waiting wasn't exactly Killian's game when it came to anything other than stalking or idling for prey. Hunting was something that occupied all of his senses. His peripheral vision, spatial awareness, sense of smell and touch. Every little thing mattered when it came to staying hidden from his prey. Even the snap of a miniscule twig or the rustle of leaves would make a rabbit dart back to the safety of its warren.
To Killian's relief, Dominick returned with Chris' machete in hand. He immediately noticed that the large blade was sharpened well enough, and Killian got to work immediately. As he went through the process of skinning the animal, hacking off all of the limbs that were unneeded, removing the inside organs and cutting the meat; Dominick had taken a surprising interest in trying to learn everything he could. Killian's chest swelled with a fierce sense of pride whenever the other man would ask about complicated actions, or why certain steps needed to be in order. Perhaps, Killian thought, Dominick might be interested in learning how to hunt.
Would Killian even be a good teacher, though? He couldn't help but ponder on that. What gave him the right to lecture Dominick on what was the right way to do things and what wasn't? He wasn't as good as Jasper when it came to confidence or giving out orders. So how could he possibly be of use teaching somebody these things?
The deer was prepared in a little under an hour and a half. It took Killian another half hour of searching for any dry wood to build a nice campfire big enough to cook the meat well enough to eat. The aroma of it made his mouth salivate, his stomach rumble with the desperate promise of enough food that could finally fill his belly. It had been a long, long time since Killian had eaten a hearty meal. He could only hope he got to lead more hunting patrols in the future.
Killian jumped as Dominick spoke up and startled him out of his thoughts, as well as his hunger-induced stupor. The other man had a barely visible smile on his lips as he said, "Why don't you come and hang out with the rest of us? I mean, you barely know anybody else here and you've with us for almost a week now." Parting his lips to immediately argue, Killian's gaze slowly trailed past Dominick and towards the campfire a few dozen yards away, where the rest of the group was gathered. He could hear Tom's hearty, strong laugh and see Cohen's amused expression.
As soon as Killian looked over, he saw that Casimir was staring straight at him. Gooseflesh spread across his arms, raising the hairs at the back of his neck. Still, he forced himself to hold Casimir's piercing gaze. His muscles slowly coiled, bristling and ready for a fight. But eventually, Casimir averted his gaze and focused on the animated conversation Tom was having with the others. Dominick had followed the trail of where Killian was looking. "Don't let Casimir stop you from going over there."
Finally, Killian cleared his hoarse through and lied, "It isn't Casimir that's keeping me away. Somebody's got to watch this so it doesn't get burnt." Dominick held Killian's stare for a long time, long enough to make Killian increasingly uncomfortable.
In a sing-song voice that made Killian want to punch Dominick across the jaw, the other man replied, "I don't believe you." He noticed the way Killian was clenching his fists and laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean, I kind of don't. So...please? Even just for a few minutes?" A small, impish smile spread across the other man's lips. "I'll carry your next hunt back to base for you." He bargained.
Knitting his brows together, Killian weighed the benefit of this deal. On one hand, he could spare himself of sore muscles. But on another hand, he'd have to remain awkwardly seated amongst a bunch of possibly aggressive strangers he didn't want to know, or care to know. After a long time of debating Killian said, "No. I'll stay here, thank you very much." A snarl tugged at his lips, "Now leave me alone. I'll tell you all when your second dinner is done."
A small frown tugged at Dominick's lips, and he held Killian's gaze for a few seconds more until he said, "Alright, fine." He paused for a few more seconds, unmoving. Killian gave Dominick an uneasy side-stare in return. Dominick eventually broke the brittle silence and said sharply, "Look, if you're going to be part of this group then you're going to need to learn to get along with everybody when Jasper isn't here."
Killian parted his lips to deliver a stinging retort, but Dominick interrupted him yet again. "Don't say that isn't what's going on, because we both know it is. Everybody does. Maybe this hunt proved you're useful, but as far as everybody else is concerned you're still an unfriendly asshole."
Bristling at the other man's comment, Killian slowly began to grit his teeth. He barely held back an angry growl, his hand almost shaking with the urge to punch that smug smile off of Dominick's face and teach the other man a lesson about respect. After a few long moments of contemplation, Killian let out a long sigh. "Fine." He growled, massaging his temples in preparation for an inevitable headache. "But you still owe me."
Dominick grinned, "Great!" He said, beaming. Killian wanted to take his knife and give Dominick another good scare like he'd done a few hours prior, but Jasper's words rang in his ears. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone, Boy Scout. Those probably hadn't been his exact words, but it was close enough.
Reluctantly hauling himself to his feet, Killian began his awkward and unenthusiastic shuffle towards socialization.