A/N: Time/Day/Country you started this book
***
Ian peeked over Alayakin's shoulder. "It's huge! No wonder I could hear it from across the stream."
Squealing as if its life depended on it was a giant forest boar, its black fur sticking out rather considerably against the white stones of the gorge.
"What's it doing? Why isn't it moving?"
Alayakin squinted. "Looks like its leg got stuck in something."
"I thought trappers didn't come out this far out?"
"I don't think so either, it could be something else – hey, what are you doing?"
Ian had slowly begun retreating backwards. "I'm going to get my bow."
"Why?"
"Because I'm hungry."
"So? That doesn't mean you can just poach another hunter's kill."
"I know – that's why you're going to check."
Alayakin blinked. "Check what?"
"Check if it actually is another hunter's kill."
He sighed as Ian started to disappear behind their vantage point. "Remind me again would I do that?"
"Because," Alayakin could practically hear the grin in Ian's voice, "you're probably just as hungry as I am."
Upon closer inspection, they discovered that the boar wasn't caught in a man-made trap but a natural one – its front leg had fallen into a small crack in the ground, making it virtually impossible for it to safely pull out its meaty leg.
Ian nocked his arrow, carefully lining up his shot.
"Don't forget to actually hit it."
Ian scoffed. "Who do you take me for? You?"
It was technically the perfect shot – with no obstruction in either visibility or weather, a large, unmoving target such as theirs was practically impossible to miss.
But something changed. Maybe it was the wind that had carried over their scent, maybe it was the crunching of the pebbles underneath their boots. Maybe it was just particularly good at sensing danger, and that's why it had become to grow so large.
Whatever the reason, there was no doubt the boar had gotten wind of their presence. Spotting them with its small beady eyes it started squealing louder than ever, its remaining legs kicking up a cloud of dirt in a desperate bid for escape.
Ian swore as he released the arrow – the burst of commotion had taken him off guard. It skited harmlessly past the trapped beast, missing by at least three paces, but even as he scrambled to nock another arrow (under Alayakin's unimpressed gaze), its urge to not end up on a dinner table overcame its fear of pain – with one last painful squeal it forced itself out of the hole and stampeded away, forgetting to take along with it a large chunk of its own leg.
Alayakin just gave Ian an exasperated look. "Really?"
They trailed after it, following the blatant line of blood and fur, and although it certainly helped in making the tracking less tedious, it did little to help with the drastic changes in temperature – the warmth of the afternoon sun was interrupted several times by the gorge's massive walls, not doing them any favors as they walked against the gentle but chilly breeze.
