Hunting

Hunting! What a fascinating concept it is for a young child, even more so a teenager deprived of such thrill.

What I had anticipated to be a quick action filled endeavor, was a rather dull adventure. We have been lying in a bush for the past two hours waiting for any game to fall for the bait we placed. I was covered in mud, leaves and a variety of animal feces, yet my father was not. His explanation was that he does not need to mask his scent like I did because of his magic. Teasing me greatly, as if I was not in the least frustrated of my inability to explore this fantastic concept.

A Rustling sound came from a distance not too far from the bait. My father tapped my shoulder wordlessly and pointed towards my bow, as he drew his. Father's bow was gigantic, it was more than thrice my size at least. He drew it smoothly, not a croak even sounded from the wooden weapon. His eyes sharpened and his body stilled. He was like a statue of flesh and blood, not a muscle twitched, nor did his stance waver for a single moment. In comparison, mine was sloppy. I struggled to fully extend the new bow my father gifted me, and I almost tripped while getting into a stance. While still in the process of adjusting my position, I rustled the bush too much. An elk, just peeking out from the tree line up ahead looked in my direction, and instantly charged. It completely ignored the bait and rushed with its antlers pointed at me.

I couldn't breathe. I froze up in fright, my attempts at fighting this fear ended up in me stumbling back and falling to the muddy ground. Right before the elk could get too close, an arrow whistled through the air and buried itself in the elk's eye traveling all the way and plunging into its skull. The beast's eyes dimmed and became lifeless as the elk fell to the ground dead.

A laugh then broke the tense atmosphere "BAHAHAHHAHA. Did you see that Eli, Your father is amazing isn't he." Looking over with a grin that stretched from one ear to another Isaac patted his son's back. Waiting to see his son praise him, Isaac noticed that there was nothing but shock and fear in the young boy's eyes.

'Shit, I messed up. Aurora is going to kill me!' Isaac quickly knelt closer to his son and tried to console the frightened child. "Hey Eli, it's alright. It can't hurt you anymore its dead, see?"

Meanwhile Elias was on the ground sitting with a shocked expression. 'Damn, that elk would have completely skewered me alive. I want to be as strong as my father, that shot was no joke. And his stance and concentration are leagues apart from mine.'

Gradually, Elias's expression turned from one of fright to that of excitement. "Dad, that was so cool! You never said you were this good at archery!"

'Phew, that was close. If I would I have traumatized the boy, Aurora would have traumatized me.' Isaac gave his son a toothy smile and laughed boisterously. "BAHHHAHHAHAH. Your father is a strong man Eli, I was an A rank adventurer." Elias laughed with his father at first, but then picked up something interesting. "Adventurer? You said that yesterday as well dad, what's an adventurer?"

'Shit'

Walking back home I couldn't help but feel impatient. I looked at my father who slung the elk on his shoulder and was somehow walking nonchalantly. "Hey Dad, Why can't you explain it to me?"

"I will Eli, just not now. When we get home."

"But we are not doing anything now. Why can't you explain it?"

"I told you Eli, I just can't right now. Let us wait till we are home."

"But Dad"

"Enough! Elias. We'll talk when we get home."

'Shit. I know what it means, I read the fantasy genre plenty of times. Why won't he tell me? Why do I feel like everyone is hiding something?'

The Duo kept walking in silence as they trudged through the forest. Suddenly, Isaac's face scrunched up and he placed a hand on Elias's shoulder to stop him.

"What's wrong, Dad" Elias asked with a concerned face.

"It's quiet. The forest, it's too quiet."

Seemingly out of nowhere, a giant axe with a hammer on the opposite side of the blade materialized in Isaac's hand. The silver blade and its wooden body shone with green Nordic-like runes. Isaac dropped the elk on the ground and picked up Elias under his arm.

"Hey! Dad, what's going on?!"

Looking up at my father's face, I could no longer see the gentle giant anymore. What I saw was a warrior, his face cold and detached. He gripped his axe, the size of a man and monitored our surroundings with caution.

'Shit! Shit! What the hell is going on?'

"Eli, no matter what happens, do not open your eyes. Do you understand?"

I nodded my head listlessly. I was just too shocked, where was the man whose laughs shook the entire house? Where was the giant who hid behind Otso from mother?

"Now. Close them until I say otherwise."

What happened next was the worst roller coaster of my life. I felt that man move in ways that someone of his stature should not. We moved at speeds so high I thought we were in a sports car.

"You can open them now Eli"

After much begging for this experience to end my father suddenly set me down on the ground, only for me to empty my stomach of all my breakfast.

"What happened Dad?"

"Nothing kid. Nothing happened, we just had to rush home to have lunch."

Looking ahead, I found us right at our house's door step. Not only that, but the elk my father dropped earlier, was somehow still there on his shoulder. Before I could get the chance to ask any more questions, my father waltzed into the house

"Honey, we're home"

I walked behind him still in shock of what happened. He was acting as if everything was right and dandy.

After lunch I practiced some more archery until the sun set, and then I went up to my room to end the day. Trying to sleep I could not help but visit the scene from this morning. I felt so weak and helpless, just like that time. My eyes started to water, and a low whimper escaped my mouth, but I held it in. I can change all of that now, this world is filled with magic and monsters and I'll be damned if I don't make a name for myself and conquer my fears.

Inside the same house, yet rooms apart, Aurora, Isaac and Sophia were discussing today's events.

"YOU TOOK HIM WHERE? HOW COULD YOU BE SO RECKLESS ISAAC?! Eli is three years old! What would we have done if something happened to my sweet baby boy?"

"Calm down Aurora, calm down. I'm sorry alright. I just wanted to spend some time with him. Besides, have you ever seen a three year old practice archery? Have you ever seen a three year old able to fully draw his bow and shoot targets five meters away?"

Seeing that this argument was going nowhere, Sophia decided to mediate.

"If I may. While Lady Aurora's concern is not unfounded, what Sir Isaac says does hold truth. Young Elias's capabilities are far beyond what any other three year old could hope to match. Not only those in the physical realm of endeavor, but also what requires mental effort. His studies have been going splendidly. Besides, I believe it would aid young Elias's development, hunting with his father would allow him to not only to perfect his archery but allow him a glimpse of the outside world."

Aurora paced back and forth before she clicked her tongue and asked "How close were they?"

"They were a few kilometers deep in the forest, not too close yet"

"Damn it, that is still too close for comfort."

"Don't worry, I had Otso mangle the bodies. They won't suspect a thing."

"Let's hope so Isaac, let Elias retain as much of his innocence as possible, I hope he does not have to be exposed to that wretched life."

The young couple looked each other in the eye, before sharing a brief hug and walking away. Sophia glanced at the moon in the sky in reminiscence as she sighed lightly.