It was an accident

15.

A new memory faded in to show Amayeli in the woods, this time with Kanata nowhere to be seen. Years had clearly passed; her curly black hair, which had previously only reached her shoulder blades, was now down to her lower back. The girl was quickly making her way through the woods, jumping over roots and fallen trees while hardly making any noise. Before long, she had quietly reached the spot where Sweden and Denmark were crouched, observing the woods from behind some conveniently arranged rocks. She walked up to her uncle, expertly avoiding sticks and crunchy leaves as she moved, and tapped him on the shoulder. The spiky-haired blonde jumped, barely keeping himself from yelling out in surprise.

"Geeze, you're quiet, kid," he spoke in a hushed voice, his hand pressed to his sternum. Sweden smirked at Denmark, giving his daughter an amused wink. Denmark merely ignored his brother, looking around beyond the rocks before turning back to his niece, "Did you find anything 'scout'?" He asked her with a teasing smile. 

Amayeli ignored the name, tired of arguing that she was a hunter not a scout, and nodded her head. "There's a group of deer over that way," she pointed to their right as she whispered. 

"Atta girl," Denmark praised as Sweden ruffled Amayeli's hair, eliciting a few giggles from the girl. The group rose from their spot, and the men gathered their weapons as Amayeli silently led them through the woods. The older two insisted that they needed to get this trip over with before the sun completely set and urged their young ward to move quickly. Sweden did his best to keep the arrows from crashing against each other in his quiver as they moved. Denmark had no such problems, as he only carried his prized battle axe, and was plenty accustomed to its awkward weight by now. Amayeli, unlike the other two, only carried a dagger in a simple hide sheath strapped around her thigh.

They swiftly made their way through the trees, the two men matching their movements to those of the girl's as they silently ran. Soon, Amayeli wordlessly pointed to several overgrown trees and the three of them all ducked behind the trunks for cover. Amayeli and Denmark both peered through the branches, having the same idea. Just past their hiding spot, maybe a few yards away, stood a small herd of deer. Denmark turned to his niece, beaming as he ruffled her hair. 

With no more than a few looks, the group seemed to have agreed upon a plan, and took up places on each side of their hiding spot. Denmark stood behind the far left tree, battle axe ready and gripped in both hands, while Sweden and Amayeli stood in position behind the far right tree. Sweden quietly climbed into the tree for a better view, securing his footing before nocking an arrow. As he aimed, Amayeli unsheathed her dagger, preparing to run. 

Thunk

With the death cry of the center deer, the woods sprang into motion. As the deer fell to the ground, the others bolted in several directions, prompting Denmark and Amayeli to run out after them. Sweden managed to hit another deer that tried to run straight out into the woods. Two more ran to the left of the first deer's corpse. Denmark followed them, attempting to slice into them with his axe. He was only able to hit one, striking it mid-neck and successfully separating its head from its body. 

"Ha!" Denmark celebrated victoriously, pumping his fist into the air as the headless body of the deer fell to the ground. 

"Oof!" 

The two men turned their attention away from their kills to see Amayeli flat on the ground. Sweden began to climb back down to the tree, his face pinched in concern. 

"I'm good! I'm good! I got it!" She yelled to the two as she scrambled up from where she had fallen. Quickly, she raced after the deer, not wanting to be the only one without a kill, and followed it to the right--deeper into the woods.