My eyes were fixated on the stag. I took a deep breath. Leveling the tail of the arrow with my eyes, I pulled the string taut. I relaxed my shoulders, and let go. The arrow sailed in a perfect arch, hitting the deer spot on. It made a sort of whimpering sound before falling to the leaf-covered ground. I beamed smugly before looking over at my younger brother who was rolling his eyes to the moon. I chuckled silently at that. Gesturing him to follow me, I pushed past the many leaves and thorny branches which we had used as cover from the deer.
Sharp spikes and thin, splinter-like branches scratched and scraped at my skin, some drawing blood. I ignored the slight numbed pain and continued toward the now dead deer. I looked back to see my 12-year-old brother not-so-quietly stumbling after me. I shot him a glare, raising my finger to my lips, signaling for him to be quiet. Honestly, what was he trying to do? Attract the whole forest of animals to come and kill us?
I stopped in front of the deer and yanked the arrow out of its body. I grimaced as some organ matter spilled out along with the deer's blood. After wiping the blood off the arrow onto a leaf nearby, I slotted it back into my quiver, along with my bow. As I stuffed the bow into my quiver, I could practically hear my father nagging at me. "Ah Qiang! Stop putting your bow into your quiver! It will destroy your bow! You have two hands for a reason!" I smiled at that.
I nodded my head towards the deer, signaling for my younger brother, Chu Qian to help me carry the deer home. I pulled its forelegs up, hoisting it over my left shoulder before wrapping my arm around to the other side of the deer, holding it in place. Once Chu Qian got a secure hold on the deer's hind legs, both of us set off onto a clearer path out of the forest which animals usually keep away from.
There was haste in our steps to get home before sundown. Though by the time we were out of the forest, we had slowed down to a stroll, mostly because Chu Qian was still young, his stamina was not the best as of now and I didn't want to over-exhaust him, otherwise I would have to either find a way to carry two dead bodies home or leave the deer and carry Chu Qian home which would also come with a wonderful bonus of getting lectured by Father for not taking care of my younger brother and I would also not get dinner for that night.
I sighed tiredly, looking up at the sky as I walked slowly. The bright swirls of yellow and orange mixed together perfectly. The sun dropped lower into the horizon, turning the sky darker with each passing minute. I shifted my arms, as the deer only got heavier. I glanced back at Chu Qiang to see how he was doing under the weight of the dead animal. His face was strained and flushed. At least he wasn't dead yet...
I winced, my back was killing me. For the past hour, the bow that I had previously shoved into my quiver has been continuously poking at my back. Although I endured this back pain everyday, it just did not outweigh my laziness. I didn't want to carry my bow and the deer.
The gentle trickling sound of water from the river just a few yards from our home grew louder as we walker further out of the dense forest. Familiarity invaded my senses as I walked. Now eager to get home, I rushed forward, making Chu Qian stumble. Trying not to laugh, I apologised, " I didn't mean to move so quickly, I promise." He just glared at me, regaining his balance.
[Sensitive scene](!TRIGGER WARNINGS!: Graphic descriptions of blood and gore/injuries)
Chu Qian eyes shifted to something behind me. It was obvious something had caught his attention. I looked back to the front, following his gaze to the hard rocks at the shore of the river. A girl was lying there, in what I hoped was just sleep. Both of us moved closer, curious. I let the deer drop, barely registering Chu Qian sighing in relief.
The girl looked like she was at death's doorstep. Her face pale and dirtied with mud. Her chapped lips had cuts on them, blood tainting her lips red. She had long frizzy, muddied hair that draped over her left eye. She wore a powder blue silk dress that reached her knees, its elbow-length sleeves shifted slightly in the evening wind, showing the deep cuts that ran up her arms and the crimson blood running down her arms. Her legs were also covered in the same deep cuts as her arms. Colourful bruises, purple, blue green, yellow, littered on her shins as if she had fallen down many times. She was barefoot, her feet riddled in cuts, blisters and callouses, supposedly from walking or running without shoes.
Though if I looked past what had happened to her, I could see her smooth, fair skin, heart-shaped, rose-coloured lips and long, silky brunette curls. Without her misfortunes, she could have passed off as one of those daughters of some wealthy minister one would see strutting the streets of the city near the bottom of the hill. Father would take me and Chu Qian there to trade the skins of the animals we hunt and wood for money for food.
Stepping forward, I brushed the girl's hair aside and tried to find her pulse, which was there, but just barely. I exhaled, relieved. She's alive.
Chu Qian looked up at me from where he had collapsed in exhaustion while I was examining the girl's injuries. "She's barely hanging in there. We have to bring her home. Otherwise, she'll freeze to death, or maybe she'll get eaten by the animals, or maybe she'll just bleed out and-"
"Okay okay I got it. Mother can fix her up. She won't die. Let's go."
Chu Qian was eager to get home. He picked up the deer and I did the same with the girl. Both of us speed-walked home. Chu Qian didn't even complain about the deer being heavy, he only showed urgency in his movements.
Although Chu Qian was young, he had really strong morals and he was really compassionate. He would not show it at first, he might even come off as cold to others but as long as someone needs help, no matter how ridiculous, embarrassing or small the situation is, he would drop everything to help them. Even if his face held no emotion, his eyes shone with worry, concern and compassion for anyone, you just have to look for it.
[End of Sensitive scene]
Summary: On their way home from hunting dinner, Chu Qiang and Chu Qian find an unconscious and heavily injured girl. They decide to bring her home to where their mother can tend to her. Chu Qian also revealed as a quiet, cold 12-year-old boy but, really, he cares for people. He has a unique understanding of compassion that not everyone has and will help anyone who needs it.
There might be more to Chu Qian than we know.
~~~
As I opened the door to my home, Xiu Tian, my older sister came to greet me. Chu Qian had gone off to the shed behind the house, which was near the back door of the kitchen, to leave the deer for Father to prepare for dinner.
Xiu Tian's eyes widened at the sight of the girl in my arms. She urged me inside, leading me to the bathroom. She gestured for me to place the girl into the tub then instructed me to call Mother from the kitchen while she prepared the ointments and balms for the girl's injuries.
I wandered out of the bathroom to the kitchen when Mother was preparing the side dishes and rice for dinner. A mixture of savoury aromas and fragrances wafted through the air, paradise to the nose. My mother ignored me as I stood my her side, waiting for her to finish her task before talking.
"Mother, big sister needs you in the bathroom. It's a girl, a traveller. Chu Qian and I found her by the river. She is badly injured, Mother. She needs help."
Mother simply nodded. She turned off the stove and took the pot of soup off of it, placing it on coaster. She tidied the countertop slightly before nodding to herself, walking past me to the bathroom.
With that, I left through the back door to see if Chu Qian needed my help.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Word count: 1450
Hi,
I'm gonna start with sorry because I know I said I was going to try and post more during the holidays, which was 2 months ago... um... well, long story short, I did not post because... well, I don't actually have a good excuse, I was procrastinating.
Anyway, this chapter is not really my best work I couldn't really think of how to make it better but if you have any suggestions, comments, corrections, that would be great.
The picture on top is the dress that the girl in this chapter was wearing. I could not find any dresses that looked like the one I had envisioned on Google so I just decided to draw it out. (I know it's kind of bad and really simple but I wanted you guys to have a better understanding of what I'm trying to show. So there ya go. :))
I will be back with another chapter soon (I hope). Hope you enjoyed this chapter because I sure didn't. :D
-Em
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Bluesrone
Werewolf'Aleria Anne Bluesrone was nothing more than a dead, injured alpha, mate-less, orphaned, nothing more than a freak, an abomination.' At least that was what the Greyclads had said. Aleria had gone missing and was presumed dead, her pack in a mess. Wh...
