Chapter 233: Hunting
[ Osian ]
All week his brother seemed off, and Osian couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing something. Not only was Selvin acting smitten with Loraven, but she was also acting nicer to the pair of them. That was when there was no other company.
Now they were on a hunt in the snow. It was tradition, and yet so different to their own hunt, whereby there were no dogs or horses to help them travel long distances. Instead of hunting for a day and returning to a campsite or the palace grounds for rest and food, they stayed in the wilderness. It was currently their third day, and Osian was close to returning to the palace.
The cold was too much, even with the clothing gifted to them by the Lyvarians for the brutal weather. Osian had yet to catch anything, whereas the Lyvarians, aware of their surroundings and the best spots to find these great white elk, among other creatures, caught a lot. On the first day, Loraven pulled her own catches back on a sledge and placed it in the area servants would then retrieve their prizes to return to the palace.
The princess was now currently with them covered in furs like the rest of them, belted at the waist, weapons resting on her hip and bow and arrows at her back. The daylight was gradually decreasing, and with it, it grew colder. Selvin caught four hares by luck, Osian believed.
"Osh, there should be some hares up ahead. If you cannot shoot, then set a trap. I will not tell the others," Loraven winked with a giggle before turning away and leaning against one of the pine trees, crossing her arms nonchalantly.
The princess most likely caught enough game that she probably won the competition, or like how her personality came across, she didn’t care.
Osian nodded with a grimace as he pulled his mask higher to cover his nose. He stalked forwards, his feet quiet along the snow as he held onto the bow and arrow, pointing down whilst searching the snowy landscape for these white hares. It was quite impossible. It also looked like the wind was picking up with more flurries of snow.
Yet, while Osian was trying to focus on the task at hand, his thoughts returned to the Lyvarian princess.