Chapter 129
The morning mist clung to the lower branches of the pines, softening the world into muted layers of gray and green.
Lucas stood at the edge of the Vermillion Wood, a vast forest stretching across the northeastern border of the Sky Empire's territory, its name earned from the way its leaves would turn the color of dried blood in autumn.
In spring, the forest carried a calmer presence.
The undergrowth was thick, yet still passable, and the faint lines of animal trails remained visible to those trained to notice them.
Nora knelt at the forest's edge, her white eyes scanning the ground in slow, deliberate focus.
She wore hunting clothes suited for movement: a dark green tunic, reinforced trousers at the knees, and boots worn down from repeated travel through rough terrain.
A short bow rested across her back, a quiver at her hip, and a hunting knife secured at her waist.
Lucas stood a few steps behind her.
He wore similar clothing, with only his katana at his side, carried more out of habit than necessity.
"You are standing wrong," Nora said without looking up.
"I am standing," Lucas replied.
"You are standing like you are about to fight someone," she said, finally lifting her gaze. "Shift your back foot. Keep your knees soft. You are not fighting a boar. You are following one. The posture is different."
Lucas adjusted his stance exactly as she indicated.
Nora nodded once and stepped into the forest. Lucas followed.
"What are we looking for?" he asked.
"Whatever we find," she answered. "Boar, deer, it does not matter. Meat is meat."
Her eyes stayed on the ground as she moved. "There is a stream about a kilometer west. Animals will gather there. We will check the banks for tracks."
They walked in silence for a while.
The forest absorbed sound, leaving only birdsong and the crunch of leaves beneath their boots.
Lucas allowed his thoughts to drift away from everything that usually followed him.
Nora stopped suddenly and pointed down.
"There."
Lucas stepped closer and followed her gaze. The earth was disturbed, marked with shallow impressions pressed into damp soil.
"Boar?" he asked.
"Two-star," Nora replied. "Male, Passed through roughly an hour ago." She knelt and traced the edge of one print with a finger.
"The toes angle northwest. That is the direction of travel. The stride is short and consistent, which means it is not stressed or fleeing."
Lucas studied the tracks more carefully. "How do you know it is male?"
"Size and spacing," she said. "Males have broader shoulders, so their front prints land wider apart. They travel alone most of the time. Sows move in groups with their young."
She rose and continued forward.
Lucas followed.
"You pick up tracking quickly," Nora said after a moment.
"I have a good teacher," Lucas replied.
"Flattery will not make me go easier on you." she said jokingly.
"I was not requesting that."
That earned a short laugh from her, brief but genuine.
They moved deeper into the forest.
Nora slowed near a fallen log and pointed without stopping.
"The boar passed here," she said.
Lucas looked at the wood.
Deep gouges ran along its surface, bark torn away in uneven strips.
"Rooting for grubs," Nora continued. "Boars flip logs with their snouts."
Lucas examined the damage more closely. "How do you know it is not a bear?"
"Bears claw downward," she said. "Boars push and roll. The damage is on the underside. A bear would leave vertical tearing."
Lucas nodded once and followed her again.
The trail continued for another hour. Nora read the forest like a language.
Broken twigs, disturbed leaves, faint smears of mud on stone.
Lucas did not interrupt.
He observed, absorbed, and stored everything she pointed out.
Eventually, the terrain thickened into dense underbrush. Nora slowed and then stopped completely.
"He is inside there," she said.
Lucas studied the thicket.
Visibility was limited, branches interwoven tightly. "Do we go in?"
"We wait," Nora replied.
She lowered herself onto a fallen log and retrieved dried meat from her pack.
They ate while watching the thicket.
"This is boring," Lucas said.
"That is hunting," Nora replied. "Most of it is waiting."
"You could walk in and kill it immediately."
"I could," she agreed. "But I would not learn anything from it." She glanced at him. "You said you wanted to clear your mind. This is how I do it."
Lucas leaned back against a tree and looked up through the canopy.
The branches shifted gently, letting fragmented sunlight fall across his face. He did not respond.
Time passed without urgency.
The boar eventually emerged from the far side of the thicket.
It was large, heavy-set, its tusks curved and sharp beneath a broad snout.
It moved toward the stream with steady confidence, unaware of anything waiting beyond its path.
Nora raised her bow.
She drew fusing mana into the arrow.
She held taking a deep breath before releasing.
The arrow struck cleanly behind the shoulder.
The boar staggered once. It collapsed.
No second movement followed.
Lucas stood and walked toward the carcass. Nora followed beside him.
"Good shot," he said.
"Thanks," she replied.
She knelt and drew her knife. "Help me with the dressing. We will take the loins. The rest we will smoke or salt."
Lucas knelt opposite her and followed her instructions as she worked.
She guided him with brief corrections as he made each cut.
He listened and adjusted without hesitation.
He worked steadily.
"Why do you hunt?" he asked.
"Because I like meat," Nora said. "And my father taught me, as it is a way we use to spend time together. "
"Does he still hunt?"
"Sometimes," she replied. "Not as often anymore." She glanced at Lucas.
They finished dressing the boar as the light began to shift toward evening.
Nora showed him each cut in sequence, separating loins, shoulders, ribs, and backstraps with practiced efficiency.
"You will remember this?" she asked.
"I will remember," Lucas replied.
"Good," she said. "Next time it's your turn."
"Yes ma'am."