Hunter Or Huntress

Chapter 46: Don’t Tell Lorax

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Well following Sapphire's crushing victory in the competition she hadn’t informed Tom they were having. They had gone about picking up their kills. That is to say, she had reminded Tom her leg should still be treated with care while he fetched the quad bike and waited for the others to help him out.

The remaining huntresses had come down as the herd ran off towards the forest, split and confused. They had everything they needed for today after all so no need to give chase. They had helped Tom load up the catch onto the quad and trailer. It was a lot of meat with two deer on the bike itself and the remaining stacked up on the trailer. Tom muttered something about cleaning as the blood ran down the machine.

This had been one of the quickest hunts Sapphire could remember. Sure, stumbling on a herd out in the open was lucky but it happened from time to time. The red deer weren't really that afraid of them after all, they were used to being left alone most of the time.

They had gotten good at driving the smaller deer out of the woods over the years so she could see this tactic working with them as well. The problem was transport, Sapphire didn’t know how many trips Tom had fuel for. Nor if that was all this quad bike thing needed to keep working.

Sapphire had been very pleased with her performance. Firing from the air was a lot more tricky than standing on the ground and today had felt more like target practice than an actual hunt. Tom though had still managed to miss a shot as he had needed to put two shots into the same target. It felt good to be back out here and actually be beating Tom at something.

Dakota had been pleased too. This was the largest amount of meat they had ever downed in such a short amount of time and they would be able to bring it all home with them. Even if there would be a lot of work preparing the meat for storage and such, it was still looking to be a very good day.

Sapphire could see the glint in her leader's eyes though, Sapphire guessed she took a little pride in Tom being outdone for once. Dakota was the one who had trained her after all. Even if she had since outgrown her teacher, Dakota still took pride in how well Sapphire had turned out. It was good to see a smile back on her face which Sapphire thought was genuine at last.

As the wagon Tom insisted on calling a trailer for some reason, was loaded, it became clear he wasn’t done for the day. He claimed he was going back with all the meat and would then be returning for wood. Sapphire couldn’t see anything wrong with that they needed to restock firewood which needed to dry before winter so why not. Some planking and the like wouldn’t be bad either, it might even warm up Kulinger to Tom’s rather unorthodox ways of going about things.

They had been expecting to be hunting the woods for hours if not the entire day so there was plenty of time left in the day after all. Sapphire had mounted up with Tom again as they set off back home going a little more slowly this time. The catch had been secured with some rope but still, it wouldn’t do to drop something.

Their reception had been one of surprised faces, Rachuck in particular, had come down to see if something was wrong since they were returning so soon. He had been delighted at the news the food problems were solved at least for a while.

It had taken a lot of hands to unload the catch and they all went about preparing the carcasses to be hung up. They would need to hang for a while to age before skinning and butchering could begin.

Tom had tried to clean up his bike with some buckets of water and wet rags, trying to get most of the blood off, it had mostly worked though there was still clearly some work to be done. Sapphire volunteered to go back out again on the little wood cutting expedition and so they saddled up again.

Raulf, Kulinger, and Wiperna would be coming along to help Tom out. They had brought out the axes and saws which they had loaded onto the quad bike. Sapphire had kinda expected to see Tom bring out some kind of supersaw or maybe a thing that could take down a tree by looking at it. Saws would do though. Normally woodcutting was tedious in the extreme from all the flying back and forth with the heavy packs. They would be spared that at least.

She might even get around much of the manual labor if she played her cards right. A nice relaxing day out and about, that didn’t sound too bad to her. The trip to the woods had gone without a hitch, the craftspeople not being anywhere near as used to fast-flying long distances at speed meant Tom had a much easier time keeping up.

Once they made it to the woods Tom had asked Kulinger to pick a tree he wanted. It had taken a while but in the end, he had found a fine-looking cedar. It was a fine straight tree. Sapphire sighed a bit internally at how much work it would be to cut it up. She might need to look out for her leg but she would have a hard time getting out of saw duty.

Tom had just nodded “A fine tree, let’s bring it down”. Raulf and Wiperna were already getting out the big two-person saw.

“Think, we need to have a little race. Kulinger, pick another one. First team to have their three cut up and ready to go on trailer wins.”

Great, she guessed they were gonna have to try and keep up with the dude who fought Rachuck to exhaustion and then proceeded to do the same to Kokashi. “You against me” Wait, did he plan on doing it himself, against all four of them? If so, they might just stand a chance.

Tom got out one of the smaller saws they had brought for trimming the branches. He couldn’t be serious. She had thought he would time them or something with the fancy watch he was always wearing.

“Ready”

He was apparently serious then. They got ready, Raulf and Kullinger brought up the saw waiting for the signal. She would go with Wiperna when they were halfway.

Tom raised his hand and went “Go!” dropping it. Then he calmly went over to watch them work dropping the saw with them. Was he really that confident? Oh, she would make him pay for that. She had never been much of a lumberjack, but everyone helped out where they were needed around here. So she was no stranger to using a saw.

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Payback time, if you were gonna race do it properly. Tom believed Sapphire needed a little humbling not to mention this Kullinger guy needed to be introduced to the finer points of a proper saw. The thing they had brought reminded him more of something out of an advert for some rugged Canadian lumberjack.

They had set off at a decent pace, Sapphire seemed rather confident in the beginning, but as he just stood there watching she got more and more confused at why he wasn’t doing anything. When they had made their wedge and were about halfway through they switched, Sapphire and Kulinger taking over. Tom though just kept admiring the work being done.

The woodworker just shook his head at Tom not saying a word. Raulf though had something on his mind for him.

“Well, are you just gonna stand there and admit defeat? Or are you waiting to get the saw?”

“No I have a saw, I better get going you are doing very well”

Sapphire didn’t even look up, she was trying her best to keep up with Wiperna. She was a bit used to this kind of work after all. Not to mention Sapphire might not be in the best shape at the moment, not having done much hard work the last few weeks. He just hoped she wouldn’t hurt herself trying to keep up. He walked over to the trailer and got out the chainsaw.

A look of understanding washed over Raulfs face Kulinger just held out his arms accusingly. They likely had a good idea now why Tom was so confident now.

Tom walked over to his tree and got on the goggles. He couldn’t really wear his gloves on account of all the rings he had been forced to wear at the moment. He did bring up the faceplate though. He gestured to the two paying attention to hold their ears and they did so immediately.

Then he ripped the cord a few times, the saw coming to life with the satisfying *ring ding ding* of a good two-stroke. Sapphire and Wiperna recoiled at the noise, getting their saw stuck in the tree. Sapphire looked over, only now realizing what Tom had fetched. Tom could swear she almost looked horrified as she turned back to her work urging Wiperna to go faster now. Damn, she was competitive, but okay then Tom would give her a race.

He just chuckled a bit, getting to work cutting a wedge in the tree. He was no stranger to forest work, he had lived in the country much of his life. He owned a small patch of forest after all. It didn't even take a minute to bring down the tree. The dragonettes did beat him to the felling, but the race was to ready pieces not just dropping the tree.

All four Dragonettes set to work getting rid of the branches using the small saws and axes they had brought. Tom just went for a leisurely stroll up and down the tree debranching it with ease. All except Sapphire regularly looked up to see how he was getting on. She just kept her head down and worked.

Even with four people they had only just finished with the branches when Tom shut down the chainsaw having cut the trunk into trailer-sized lengths.

“Need a hand?” He went walking over. He knew he was being a bit of an arsehole but hey it was a race after all.

Sapphire looked utterly defeated, dropping the axe she had been holding. She was panting like crazy as she pointed to him with a weak arm.

“That’s not fair”

“Neither is racing me when I don't know it” Tom replied with a smile. “You look rather tired?”

Sapphire didn’t look impressed with him as she bent down, hands on her thighs exhausted. The other dragonettes didn’t look nearly as winded, so Tom guessed Sapphire hadn’t quite gotten the team commitment she wanted. There was a clear interest in the chain saw though, so Tom brought it up to show.

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Oh come now, she hadn’t cheated on the hunt. At least not badly. This though was just plain unfair. There was no fucking way they could have kept up with that thing. And the noise, the thing screamed like a wounded animal that just wouldn’t die.

Tom had shown them the saw and even given them an introduction to how it worked. It apparently used a metal chain driven in the same sort of way as his quad bike just much smaller. After telling them how to use it safely he had even let them use it to cut their own log into pieces. Sapphire was just happy Jackalope hadn’t come along that would likely have ended poorly.

Using it had felt awesome though, it just ate the wood like it was nothing. The noise, the smoke, the smell. She felt ready to charge screaming at the enemy with swinging like a maniac after just a few seconds. She loved this thing! Tom had seemed a little worried as she stood there laughing with a maniacal expression. As she got back to her senses, she quickly calmed down handing the saw back to him apologizing. She had almost turned into Jackalope for a second there. Wiperna had reacted in a similar way, though without the maniacal laughter likely conscious of it after Sapphire's little outburst. Raulf made a comment about what this would cost to buy and Kullinger had nearly not wanted to give it back. Tom had taken it all in stride, after getting the saw back from Kullinger at least.

She did feel a little embarrassed by the outburst. It was just so awesome though. The fact this wasn’t even confirmed this wasn’t even a weapon amazed her. Sure the same could be said for a woodaxe or a big hammer, but still, she wondered what would happen if you got into a sword fight with the thing. As she stood there daydreaming about cutting an enemy to pieces. The others began loading up the trailer. This was work she could be reasonably excused from so she went to sit down on the quad bike. Watching and listening to the forest, there was complete silence now, it did make her a little sad.

She did like the sound of the forest, all the little signs of life. The silence was eerie, it did give the forest a serene nature to it though like she was looking at a painting. Or perhaps a picture like the ones Tom took. She leaned back on the comfortable seat putting her arms behind her looking into the tree crowns to see if she could spot any birds. Even though they had likely all been scared off by the noise. She had been inside for way too long, despite the lack of life this was so much better.

There was a flash of light which surprised Sapphire enough it made her jolt, her hand slipping behind her as she fell over backwards off the quad bike. As she laid there she could just hear Tom laughing and a few of the others snickering a bit. She slowly raised her head back over the seat to look at them. By now they had all turned their attention to her, Wiperna and Raulf laughing, Kullinger was just shaking his head. There was another flash from the thing Tom was holding.

“The fearsome huntress in her natural habitat. Avoiding work.” He went with a wide grin on his face.

Sapphire just lowered her head back down again and sat back against the quad bike. Ha, ha very funny. She was rather glad he couldn’t print those images out. Even if it had been a bit sad he couldn’t give Esmeralda a picture of Anastasi. She bet she had looked like an idiot.

Tom had let her sit for a bit before coming around.

“Oh come now the first one was good”

He showed her the little box he was holding, it looked different to the camera he had shown her. The screen as he called it was bigger though it was smaller. The picture though was beautiful. She had seen herself in a mirror many times but never like this before. Tom handed her the little thing for her to admire, she looked damn good.

Lean and mean just like she was supposed to. Mouth slightly agape, teeth straight and sharp. Even if she had lent Tom a bit of her jewelry she was still nicely kitted out. A beam of sunlight coming down through the treetops behind her making her horns shine like metal. The necklace she had won back in the capitol polished, the gems almost glowing with the reflecting light. Her shining white chestplate had a few spots of dirt on it from the earlier labor, she didn’t mind though. This was what a huntress should look like.

“I take it you like it then” Tom was clearly a bit too cocky for his own good at the moment.

“Well, it suits me a lot better than you. That’s for sure”

“Hey you put it one me”

“True, but you had to look somewhat presentable. Perhaps it’s you we should be taking pictures of, to make sure you never forget just how good you can look when you have to.” She jested getting to her feet, coming up to eye level with him “But when it comes to looks though I certainly got you beat for best girl”

Tom seemed to take it in good spirit “I’m fabulous and you know it”

He flicked his hair turning to go back to help the others with the last of the logs. She did feel slightly cheated, she couldn’t do that. She only had the little tufts of blue-dyed fur used to decorate part of her crown. Still, he lacked horns and his teeth were a joke. She had seen longer canines on newborns. Not to mention he looked like he got hit in the face with a frying pan when he was little.

It did make him strangely adorable though, he looked so innocent and harmless. Nothing could be further from the truth she knew that. Still, it was rather funny.

As the other got to work loading up the trailer she had another look around, she heard a bit of bird song returning here and there. In fact, there was starting to be quite a lot. She could see birds start to fly in amongst the canopy of the heavenoak. That was rather strange, they certainly were not hiding down here and they were still making a fair amount of noise.

She began scanning around to see if she could spot anything out of the ordinary. Lowering her gaze to ground level. This was not entirely normal. She swore she spotted something move between the far-out trees.

“We aren't alone” She called out to the others.

Tom dropped the log he had been carrying Kullinger was a bit slow to notice causing him to fall over with it swearing. Tom jogged over to Sapphire, looking worried

“Good or bad?”

“Don’t know yet, there was something moving between the trees over there” she pointed to where the movement had been, all eyes turning to look.

“You have sharper eyes than most, huntress” Sapphire looked to the others who were all still looking to where she had pointed. She knew telepathy when she heard it, even if she hadn’t actually tried this before.

“Uhmm, Hi” She tried thinking “Can you hear me too?”

“Clearly enough, would you mind explaining what that god awful noise was?”

“Ohh, right, that was my friend in all the jewelry and green… and black…”

“He made that noise? But he is still standing. What is he and why is he black? I wouldn't take Lady Nunuk for one to align with creatures of the dark?”

“No no, it was an item of his that made the noise, and he is perfectly pure of soul. He has proven so multiple times already. He has killed many creatures of the dark in fact”

“I see, so he is dangerous too?” Oh shit, not good, not good. The others had looked to her, seeming curious at her worried expression. This was damn tricky to do. She heard a bit of a giggle in her head, damn mind games.

“Well so are we, after all, I’m Sapphire silvered Huntress of Bizmati-keep. May I ask who I am talking to?”

“I’m Kalestine, your leaders haven't told you who allowed you to hunt my woods?” Oh shit indeed.

“ I must say it’s an honor to be speaking with an equneora”

Tom waved his hand in front of Sapphire, she just brushed him aside holding up a finger to her mouth signaling him to be quiet.

“Your friends seem to be getting a bit anxious.”

“Haven’t done this before, no Tom I’m not stuck” wait did she speak or think that part?

“I see, would you please make sure this dangerous creature doesn't try and kill me on sight?”

“Oh certainly, he would never. We have him care for the kids back home.” That had worked well with Vulzan who knew, it might do the trick again.

By now all attention had been turned to Sapphire as they tried to figure out what was wrong with her.

Out from behind a tree not even 10 meters away walked the most stunning white equneora. Sapphire had never seen anything other than drawings of one before. It was beautiful, she could even see how the flowers grew and bloomed where it trod. 'Just like the stories' she thought.

“Now everyone, be very calm, we are perfectly safe, just don’t draw your weapons okay? And please Tom be very respectful.” She did her best to be reassuring despite the fact she could feel her heart pounding. “Now turn around slowly.”

The equneora just stood there patiently as they all turned to look. Kullinger fell to his knees Wiperna and Raulf just bowed deeply. Tom stood there dumbstruck and just held up his hand pointing.

“Unicorn” Not the best start, Sapphire thought, as she winced. At least he hadn’t been scared of it that was good.