A Knack for it.

Posted on Tue Oct 15th, 2013 @ 11:14am by Commander Alexandra Vance

890 words; about a 4 minute read

ON:

Steady breathing, focus, inhale.

Alexandra's eyes were closed as she held the string of her bow back concentrating intently on the rhythm of her breathing.

She had wondered how she was able to craft a bow so easily or how she was so versed in archery, but these questions were pushed to the back of her mind as she focused on her technique and more importantly, her target.

Time seemed to stop. She opened her eyes revealing her target and released.

The arrow pierced through the air as it rocketed towards it's target. The deer looked up from grazing but was unable to react to the impending danger as the projectile pierced the animal's lungs.

She smirked as the animal dropped knowing she had executed the perfect shot. She patiently waited a few moments to ensure the deer was dead and would not attempt to run thus ruining the meat.

Once she was satisfied she approached the deer and began to prep it for transport.

"How exactly to you suppose yer gonna get that fine animal back to camp all alone?" came a familiar voice from behind Alexandra.

Alexandra's first instinct would have been to protect the kill from a potential bandit however her instinct told her she could trust the woman. She turned slowly holding the bloody knife in her hand. "I could have crafted a means to transport it, otherwise I wouldn't have killed it." she replied annoyedly.

"Or I could give you a hand and we can get her back to camp before dark. Yer gonna make alot of people happy.

"We would still need another two hundred more of these animals to feed the entire camp." Alexandra replied in a defeated tone seeming unimpressed by her kill.

"Hey now girl, no need to beat yerself up! Every little bit counts. Besides I am sure we could kill a few alot faster now." the woman replied.

Alexandra nodded. "Thank you....I'm sorry I didn't get your name."

"Amarylis Beckinsale."

"Im Alexandra...I don't know my last name though. How did you find yours?" Alexandra asked curiously.

Amarylis reached into her tunic and retrieved the necklace from within it. "These things. A couple of the other people have them but not everyone. There is something else written on them but they have been damaged I can't read them. It seems the same for everyone else."

Alexandra studied the markings on the necklace. "Those are man-made markings. See how deep they are? They would have been worn down had it been over time or just from rubbing on your tunic. Someone has gone through alot of trouble to keep our identities a secret."

Amarylis retrieved a knife from her belt. "Well this is something we can mull about when we get back to camp, I think we should get this carcass back." She didn't know why but something drew her to Alexandra from the first time she met her, like she was supposed to be watching over her or something. Her gut told her the two shared a bond and Alexandra seemed pleasant enough so she was willing to oblige especially since finding friends within the camp was becoming exceeding difficult.

Alexandra nodded and turned her attention back to the deer. Amarylis seemed very sure of herself and confident but she didn't know why she had decided to follow Alexandra, or why she waited so long to reveal herself. Either way the extra help was appreciated.

"How are ya enjoying camp?" Amarylis asked trying to make conversation.

"I thought we were gutting a deer." Alexandra replied jokingly nudging Amarylis.

"That doesn't mean we can't enjoy it. I don't know about you I don't mind a little blood and sweat but I don't wanna make a day of it." Amarylis replied.

Alexandra laughed. "I suppose. I think everyone is doing pretty good considering what has happened. Samantha has really done a great job of keeping everyone together. People are afraid, I mean you don't need to read minds to see it."

"Ya I've seen some people getting pretty edgy but I guess you can't blame them. Besides I'm a big girl I can handle myself."

"Speak for yourself." Alexandra said with a laugh.

"Hey Alex, I know this may sound weird but do you kinda think this is nice? I mean no real worries, whatever crap we were dealing with before is all gone?"

Alexandra sighed as she cut through the deer's torso. "It's nice but it's all just an illusion. Who knows who and what we left behind. Someone could be suffering because we are gone....

But it is nice." Alexandra finished.

"Ya, your right, never really thought of it that way." Amarylis sighed turning her attention back to the animal.

"It's fine, but we really can't help them if we don't know who them is."

Alexandra got up and wiped her knife on the ground.

"I think that will do it, I saw a pond just a few feet north of here. We can clean up there."

"Lead the way." Amarylis said as she stood up.

The two began to walk towards the pond when Amarylis spoke up. "Hey, that arrow hit both lungs, you know that's like the perfect shot."

Alexandra giggled. "I know...Archery, seems like I have a knack for it."

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