Chapter 4: 3. The hunt

“Okay first rule of hunting: Anything that attacks you should be killed; however it should always be given the chance to run. Second rule of hunting: Only kill as much as you need, after that you can simply patrol for any changes in the forest - that leads to rule three, always know your environment, you should know the area just as well as the animals that have been here their entire lives and you should never be caught off guard here. Fourth rule: Always be prepared for the worst, whenever I walk in here I'm prepared to have to stay the night, and you should too. Even if know I won't get hurt, I should be prepared for it. Rule number five, the most important rule. The moment you enter the forest you are just another animal here, the agreements of the forest need to be kept." He looks at me making sure I'm paying attention, satisfied that I am he looks ahead while we continue walking deeper into the woods. "The balance between the creatures in the forest is held together by thin strands of non-verbal agreements, and everyone follows them because once one group stops following the rules, so does everyone else. These agreements  are incredibly fluid and are judged mostly by feeling." The hunter pauses before looking around and making a few turns. "A great example is how even though the wolves of this forest outnumber everyone in the village, which is basically just a far off extension of the town, they will never step foot inside it, because the weakness and instability caused by the fighting would invite others to take advantage of it. And once others join in on the fighting no one is safe anymore. The life of prey animals is disrupted, leading to all the fighters without an alternative food source to start preying on each other, but without the prey to support it the entire structure falls apart, and the end result? Everyone is left dead and weak with minimal change to how things were before. Of course most animals aren't thinking this far ahead, its just something they know."

I nod, trying to take in as much of the information as I can.

"So Alice, what was rule three?"

"Uhmm, three was..." I rack my brains to try and sort the information he had dumped on me me all at once, "It was to pay attention to your surroundings?"

"Half mark. That's only a part of it, but anyway the first rule we apply today will be three. We will survey the forest, and when we're done, you will lead us back to this exact spot." He says while pointing to the ground.

"What! But how am I meant to tell this spot apart from any other? They all look the same!" This was an unfair test, he should at least give me a hint.

"You find things around you that could help you find your way, that's how. I'll get you started, the sun is the most reliable landmark you can use, although it is a bit tricky."

"Well since its my first time it should be fine to get a little help, right?"

"Alice, you seem to be forgetting something. What was rule four?"

"To always be prepared." I glumly say, I can already see what his point is.

"Exactly. You might not always have me around, so at the very least you should be able to get home safely by yourself.

"Okay."

We walk for a bit longer before we see a group of three wolves prowling in front of us.

"Now, make sure to keep your voice low and try not to make noise." he whispers with a finger to his mouth.

"Aren't they going to hurt us?" I quietly shout in an scared whisper.

"Why would they do that? We're just patrolling the area." he says very calmly.

"They're wild animals!"

"Come on, give them a bit more credit would you, they're animals not idiots." he lightly chuckles. "Remember how I said everything should be given a chance to run away? This is why. These right here are the packs scouts, they basically just do what we're doing, and whenever I let one go it reports that two or three wolves died after attacking me. And now they just won't attack me unless they somehow judge me as hostile."

"Really?"

"Just make sure not to get too excited, they're also confused since they've never seen you here before, so they might attack just to be safe."

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While I'm still a bit scared of the wolves I trust dad, and take my eyes off of the pack scouts and take stock of my surroundings, from here I think we go left and to the back a bit to get home? Hmm... No, we took a bunch of turns in between as well. Maybe going around dangerous areas? 

"There they go. Seems like they're moving on to another area now."

"So where are we going now?" I ask.

"Normally we would go deeper, but you wouldn't be able to follow me, so we're going back home, where I'll teach you basic survival technique. So Alice, could you lead the way."

Confident on the general direction I lead us home, albeit with a lot of nudging in the right direction. Eventually I'm standing in the middle of the village again.

"So, what am I learning now?"

"First thing you'll need to survive, shelter. This is just protection against the elements and things that might hurt you. The easiest way to do this is to make a fire and find a safe place to sleep. With your magic lessons fire probably won't be a problem, but I always make sure to keep some dry tinder on me to make the process easier. And it's best to prepare a place to sleep during the day while patrolling so that you only have to get to shelter instead of making it."

After teaching me how to start a fire safely and where I can sleep if I ever need to sleep in the woods for whatever reason, it starts getting late and we go back inside. What greets us when we come back is my mom looking like she's either ready for bed, or just woke up.

"Hi! How was the day?" she says while giving each of us a hug.

"Great, I think she'll be ready to start hunting by end of week. How did yours go?" he asks with a smile on his face.

"I'm still a little spent from yesterday, but between the sleeping I made a book for Alice's training." she says while getting a book titled 'Elementary Magic and Basic Improvements'.

"How was your day?" she asks while looking at me.

"A bit scary but i liked the other parts!"

"That sounds like fun." She yawns, "I really should've been smarter with my miracle use."

"Why don't you just use magic?" I wonder out loud

"Well, a long time ago I overexerted myself and now I don't have a mana core, so now if I ever want to do magic again I'll have to start eating into my soul to fuel the spell." she explains.

"How did that happen?" I curiously ask, wanting to know more.

"That's a story for another time, maybe when I'm not so tired." She yawns again." Also I already made dinner for you, good night."

"Thanks mom! Good night."

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