Chapter 44: New Skill Unlocked
"I would like a fair warning the next time," Leif responded weakly, his heart pounding away in his chest.
"If I told you, I would have lost the deer in the first place!" Irene exclaimed.
The girl quickly climbed down the wall, jumping off of the rope ladder when she was six feet from the ground. She then sprinted to where the small deer had fallen. It was a small buck with tiny antlers, but it was her first deer and she was still proud.
The aim was nearly perfect, but she still pulled out a hunting knife and severed its neck artery as she had done for smaller animals in the past hunts. She didn't want it to suffer in the small chance it survived having its lung punctured and heart stabbed. The bow she shot was hard to pull but it was a fast and firm shot.
She heard a horse's hoofbeats approaching and she quickly straightened out to face whoever approached.
A grin appeared on her face when she saw Sir Gunnar arriving, suddenly interested as to why the girl discharged an arrow without fire. He was hyperaware of his surroundings and, since the sun was rising and it meant that it was nearly time to switch duties, he was already getting closer to the wall.
"Will you be staying awake later than usual to skin this animal?" he asked.
That was something Irene hadn't considered.
She nervously scratched her head as she looked up at the knight.
"I suppose I wasn't planning ahead," she admitted. "I've never had to do it before."
The knight smirked faintly and shook his head.