Astraea's Journey

The Crossing

I awoke to a beautiful sunrise poking through the forest greenery. The birds sang a beautiful song that blended beautifully with the wind whispering through the trees. I quietly slipped off of Asha and soundlessly reorganized my backpack, taking stock of all the items I had gathered in a hurry the night before.  Once I had reorganized my things in a more efficient packing method I took a moment to stretch, carefully being sure to undo any tense muscles from the excitement of the evening before. I took a moment to assess our surroundings, I walked the clearing collecting the few sticks I could collect to create a good starter bundle in case Asha and I found something to cook.  I hadn't grabbed any food last night and my stomach was starting to warn me that it was time to eat again. I sighed as I finished collecting my pile of sticks then took a moment to listen for any nearby streams.  I knew Asha followed the creek so that the water would help disguise our scent and no one would be able to follow us for long. I took a calm centering breath and listened closely after a moment I heard a small gurgling noise letting me know that we were near to the creek.  I grabbed my water bottle and headed towards the stream carefully filling the bottle and  placing in a few drops of iodine to clean it. I shook the water around and headed back to the clearing as I neared the Asha, I felt a warning sense go through the link we had and I stopped in my tracks reaching for the link and sent the question "What is going on?" Asha rumbled "Something is wrong, there is something else that walks among us in this moment. Look through my eyes and see what I see" I blinked and shared his vision. I saw the shadow he saw and figured out how close the shadow was to my location. I blinked again and went back to my own sight and looked towards the shadow from my own perspective. I relaxed and sent a soothing signal down the link " Don't worry Asha, it is a buck.  Nothing too dangerous, but if you wanted to catch it so that I can cook it for breakfast, I will be sure to leave the flank for you to enjoy. " I felt more than heard Asha's consent and in moments the buck was on its side, Asha's teeth sunk deep into his throat.   I grimaced in pain and and rolled my shoulders.  I walked over and grabbed hold of his antlers to pull him into the clearing with us. Once in the clearing I grabbed a rope I had found while organizing my pack and tied up the bucks back legs and threw the rope of the sturdiest branch I could find. I then pulled the buck up so that the blood could start draining and then moved on to create a fire.  Once I had built the fire up I walked back over to the buck and started skinning it throwing the pelt into a patch of sun and after ensuring that the blood had drained as much as possible I then lowered it down and cut into the different pieces of the animal leaving as many of the bones as possible for Asha, who appreciated every piece I told him he could have.  Once I had cut everything I put it on large rocks I had placed in the fire I let it cook WHile it was cooking I started my workout routine going through some strength training and some yoga to really round out my morning. After my work out I walked over to Asha and leaned against him.  Many hours had passed and I knew the iodine had finished cleaning my water I took a couple sips and then looked over to the meat to see that it had fully cooked I looked around for something to secure it and found a large leafed tree nearby.  I selected a couple good leaves and and walked over to the fire once the fire had cooled a bit I started wrapping the different cuts in the leaves.  Once all but one piece was wrapped I placed all the leftovers next to my bag and split the leftover piece in two, one side for Asha the other for me. I threw Asha his piece and started chewing on mine. " I know it wasn't raw the way you prefer, but I figured the safest way to carry it would be to cook it first." I apologised Asha rumbling voice came through loud and clear "No worries, it tastes different but not bad." I smiled at him and leaned over to scratch the back of his head. He leaned into the touch and growled appreciatively.  I stood and wiped my hands on my pants then looked around the small campsite to ensure we left as little a trace as possible. I placed as much of the meat as possible in my pack then walked over to the rope and looped it to attach to the pack I turned to Asha and reached for the link "Are you ready to head into the unlinked lands? I don't want any linked packs finding us before we learn how to work together.  I have been to the unlinked lands once when my father needed to trade with them for some of the technology they have.  We can head towards that town once we have cleared the forest and maybe strengthen our bond before we deal with any other linked packs." Asha nodded his head in consent his voice rolled through my mind "You are far wiser than your years. Your logic is sound and your reasoning good. How will you support us in the unlinked lands?" I paused his question was fair, I hadn't quite thought that far. I took a moment to mull it over and finally decided to share my uncertainty with Asha.  "I am not sure as to that. Lets start on our way and I will think on it, for now though I think the pelts will sell nicely, and I do have a small tent that we can stay in." Asha nodded and we went on our way. I started at a slow jog and Asha trotted next to me.  We went on for a few hours, and paused around sunset in a good sized clearing. I set up the tent as the clouds looked like rain and then started a small fire to heat up a slice of the dear meat for Asha and I. Asha selected to eat his cold, then he looked at me and his voice rumbled through my head once more as he said "I am going to scout around and ensure the clearing is secure. Then we can rest, I will take first watch." I nodded and turned to my dinner. When I finished eating I unzipped the tent and removed my boots before crawling into my sleeping bag in the tent. It was spring and warming but it was still a bit chilled at night. I snuggled down into my sleeping bag and shivered in the cool air grateful for the tent to break the wind. Asha returned and noticed me shivering, he climbed into the tent and turned around to keep his head outside of the tent, but his body heat warmed the area and made the evening much more bearable. "Thanks Asha, you have truly made my life better, even though we have only known each other for a day." Asha shuffled closer to me in appreciation for my kind words. I knew we were both feeling the weight of our missing families, neither of us knew when we would see them again. A few tears fell and I quickly wiped them away. I pressed closer to Asha and closed my eyes. I knew Asha would wake me when it was my shift to watch for danger. Taking a few deep breaths I felt myself drifting off, my worries could last until tomorrow.