Cutter was pouting. Walking threw the woods kicking at stones and anything else that got in the way of his irritation. He was not only in a bad mood, but he was hungry too. The whole tribe was hungry, it had been an exceptionally bad winter and there was nothing left in the woods to eat. Bearclaw and the elders had gotten together to try and figure out what to do, should they move the tribe to a better place with more food till it was okay to return? Should they send their best hunters further out into the un-wandered parts of the woods in search for meat? They weren’t even sure if the migrating animals had even headed back to these woods because the cold was so devastating.  But that wasn’t why Cutter was pouting; it was his season of the right of passage. His time to become a man in the eyes of the others and there was nothing to hunt. He kicked at another stone, but this time it was stuck in the fridged ground, and didn’t budge.

“Owww!!”

He hopped around on one leg and held his injured toe in his hands. All of a sudden he heard laughing. He stopped hopping and with a red face looked to the trees above him where the laughing was coming from. It was Skywise, his slightly older friend, and a friend that had gotten to go on his right of passage hunt.

“What are you doing here? Can’t an elf have some peace and quiet to think?”

            Cutter crossed his arms and glared at Skywise. Skywise was still laughing when he jumped down out of the branches.

“Look here Cutter. You know we are not aloud to go anywhere by ourselves. When you left I just wanted to keep an eye on you. Why such the long face?”

Skywise fingered Cutters lip that was still hanging down and that just made Cutter even madder. Cutter stomped his foot.

 “Why do you treat me like a cub? I am not a cub anymore and I can take care of my self!”

With that Cutter swung at Skywise and hit him in the shoulder. The young elf still didn’t have his full strength yet and Skywise didn’t even flinch. Skywise tried not to laugh at his young friend but Cutter saw this and flew at him to tackle him. Skywise stepped aside and when Cutter landed on the icy ground Skywise put a foot on his back to hold him there squirming.

“Easy little brother. I know it is frustrating, I don’t mean to laugh. We are all a bit annoyed and being hungry doesn’t help. We’re all ready to chew our own ears off. Don’t be so upset, the elders will figure out what to do.”

Cutter was still now, the rage gone out of him. He knew Skywise was right, Skywise was always right. He sighed into the frozen grass and Skywise removed his foot, helping Cutter up. He wasn’t pouting anymore, now he just looked anxious. Something had just occurred to Cutter and Skywise knew that look in his eyes.

“Uhoh, what are you thinking Cutter?”

“Were not aloud to go out by ourselves…”

Cutter trailed off and out of nowhere started running back towards the Holt.

“Hey, wait for me!”

As he got to the holt Cutter called out for his father.

**Father! Where are you?**

He ran right up to the father tree and inside, nearly knocking Moonshade over in his haste. He apologized and kept moving until he reached the den he shared with his parents and without so much as an ‘ahem’ he blurted out.

“Father, I can go with the hunters.”

Cutter was breathless as he spoke. His mother, Longbranch, Treestump, Strongbow and One-eye all looked at him like he had lost his mind. Joyleaf spoke first.

“Cutter, what are you talking about?”

Skywise caught up with Cutter just as Cutter caught his breath.

“The black necks, maybe they didn’t migrate back. Maybe they are still out by the marshes. I am supposed to go on my hunt this season but the cold has kept the animals away. I’m not supposed to go out by myself, if I go with the hunters I won’t be alone and I can help bring back meat.”

Cutter stood there all proud of himself for thinking of this all by himself. Behind him, Skywise looked worried, he wasn’t laughing this time. He knew when Cutter was serious and was glad when he heard Strongbow’s open sending.

**You’re crazy cub. And your father’s even crazier if he is considering it. The marshes are a long way off. At least a moons ride. We cant go out there and have to worry about a wayward cub who still doesn’t know his way around a tree without getting lost.**

Cutter’s face was turning red again. Strongbow always had a way of making someone know when they are not wanted. What’s worse, the other elders were nodding in agreement. Joyleaf spoke again.

“Cutter, Strongbow is right. You should wait until the herds have come back into familiar territories. The trek to the marshes is long, and we haven’t got any provisions to send along. Please understand.”

Cutter heard Skywise’s sigh of relief behind him but ignored it. The whole time, Bearclaw had just been sitting there listening. It was very unlike him. Finally, just before Cutter felt like he was going to explode, Bearclaw spoke up.

“I agree with your idea about going out to the marshes cub, but like your mother and the archer said, it is a dangerous trip for someone who has no experience. I say no.”

With that Bearclaw set his jaw. Skywise also knew that look and was relieved again. Cutter wouldn’t be going anywhere. Cutter knew the look on his fathers face too.

“This isn’t fare!”

Skywise quickly got out of the way as Cutter pushed past him. Normally he would go after him, but he thought he would leave him alone this time. He looked back at the elders who were now looking at him and gave a shrug as he too made his way out of the father tree.

Cutter wasn’t running this time, he was storming, arms swinging and feet stomping. He got to the edge of the water and turned to the left. He fallowed it until the father tree was behind him and stopped. His hands were shaking. He was so mad.

“They don’t know what they are talking about. Adults don’t understand.”

“What don’t they understand?”

It was Nightfall, can he ever find a place to be alone? She walked over to him with a slight smile on her face.

“I was just gathering some fresh clay for mother. Are you all right Cutter?”

He just looked at her all bundled up against the cold holding a damp leather bag full of clay. He shook his head.

“You wouldn’t understand either.”

He plopped down on the ground and watched as a fish made it’s way down the wintry stream. His belly said to grab it and eat it, but he just propped his face in his hands and proceeded to pout again. Nightfall was his closest age-mate, and she had a slight crush on him. The elders believed she was destined to recognize Cutter. She set herself down next to him and was quiet until he was ready to talk. She didn’t have to wait long.

“The elders wont let me go on a hunt with them. They say it’s too dangerous.”

It was hard to be mad around her. She was always so calm and understanding, and she let him talk when he was ready, unlike that good for nothing Skywise who had to poke his nose into everything. He was probably being nosey right now. Nightfall nodded as she spoke.

“I was supposed to go on my first hunt this season too. Looks like I’ll have to wait until the herds come home.”

She calmly patted some water on the bag so it wouldn’t dry out. Cutter’s eyes grew big as he watched her. He hadn’t even thought of that. Nightfall was his age. They were both missing out on the biggest moment of their lives so far and she dealt with it with so much more grace. His face turned red again, only this time he wasn’t mad.

************************************************

Bearclaw watched his son leave the den. Cutter still had a lot to learn, and having inherited Bearclaw’s temper wasn’t helping any. He looked at Joyleaf and the others and spoke to them again.

“Cutter was right about the herds pausing beyond the marshes. They’ve done it before. I am willing to send out some hunters to bring home some meat. Is anyone here willing to volunteer?”

**I’ll go Bearclaw, I’m the best with a bow.**

Strongbow’s sending was mixed with excitement and the scent of blood. He was hungry like the rest of them, and anctious to hunt.

“Aye, and I’ll go. My axe could use some blood on it.”

The others nodded and were making plans when they heard a whisper of a voice.

“I think Cutter and Nightfall should go by themselves.”

Everyone turned and looked at Longbranch. The eldest of the wolfriders, everyone respected him and listened when he spoke, but no one could believe his words. He sat calmly in his spot noting the looks on the others faces. Before anyone could ask if Two-Spear had pinched him or something he spoke up again.

“Cutter was correct about not being able to go out alone. And we have figured the beasts are still near the marshes. Both he and Nightfall are old enough to be trusted on their own, and they each have a wolf friend to keep an eye on them as they travel. I think it would be good for the both of them. A good way to show us they can do it.”

He waited for a response. Everyone just sat there stunned. Nightfall was Longbranch’s daughter; they were surprised he would even consider it. Joyleaf, ever the practical one, chimed in.

“Longbranch, Nightfall is your own daughter. Do you really want to send her out there?”

He smiled at her words.

“Brownberry will not be so pleased with me. But it is the way…”

He paused in his words and looked at Bearclaw.

“And I would trust her to anything.”

He kept his eyes on Bearclaw, careful not to look challenging.

“It is the way for the young ones to show us they are grown. To go on a lone hunt, Cutter has shown us he is ready, and my calm daughter is just as ready as he is though she carries herself differently. They would be a good match on the hunt, with her bow and knowledge of the blade, and Cutter’s spear and willingness. I think they should go.”

And just to make them realize he wasn’t loosing his mind to the foaming sickness He suggested sending hunters out in the other direction toward the edge of the woods, where the tusk hogs migrate. That way they would still be likely to have food brought home even if the young hunters aren’t successful.

“A journey for these two would be good for them I suppose”

Said Treestump. He wasn’t to sure, but could understand Cutter’s need for the hunt. Strongbow just grunted in answer, and One-eye nodded, leaving the final decision to the chief. Bearclaw didn’t even need to look at Joyleaf. He knew the look she would be giving him. He put his hand on her leg and said.

“Very well then. I will trust in the council. We have all been threw hard winters but none so hard as this. I will send hunters to the edge of the woods to bring back what they can find. And I will send Nightfall and Cutter to the marshes. My stubborn cub could use a lesson in life.”

Joyleaf could not argue. She wouldn’t anyway. She didn’t want her son out there so far away from home, but two chances at bringing home meat was better then one.

*****************************************************

Cutter was so excited to be going on this hunt. He got no sleep that day as he went threw everything he had learned about from the other hunters. That evening before the sun was even down, he put on his warmest leathers and gathered his spear, cloak, and hunting knife. He wouldn’t be needing anything else. He climbed out of the father tree and met Nightrunner at the opening. Nightfall was already there with Woodshaver, dressed similarly to Cutter, only she carried a bow. She smiled at him as he exited the tree.

“Can you believe it Cutter? You and me on a hunt. It’s going to be a long ride.”

She happily jumped on to Woodshavers back. Both wolf friends were still young and were jittery with their elf friend’s excitement. They walked over to the group of elves that had gathered at the edge of the holt. Cutter and Nightfall noticed the other hunters. They knew they were going out as well, but they were going in the other direction. At first it irritated Cutter that his father didn’t trust him to bring back anything for the tribe, but Cutter soon resolved to show his father he was wrong.

‘Let the other hunters go. I will bring back the biggest buck of the herd and prove them all wrong.’

He thought as he came to a stop in front of them. He saw Strongbow as well as Treestump, Foxfur, and One-eye. Some of the tribes best hunters. Moonshade, Clearbrook, Longbranch, Brownberry, Rillfisher, Joyleaf and Bearclaw were also there to see all of the hunters off. Nightfall climbed down from Woodshaver’s back to bid farewell to her parents. Cutter noticed a few tears being shed by Brownberry, a rare site indeed, as private sendings were shared within the family. Cutter squared his shoulders and walked up to his parents. Joyleaf was quick to wrap her arms around her son; she too shed some tears,

“Now don’t go getting yourself killed Cutter.”

Those were the only words she could get out of her mouth.

**I expect you both to come home safely. You hear me.**

  Cutter hugged his mother fiercely and then pulled himself away so he could face Bearclaw. Bearclaw was astride his great black wolf, not showing any worry on his hard face. Cutter walked up to him and looked him in the eyes.

“I will bring food home to the holt father. I will not fail you.”

Bearclaw smirked at Cutters words.

“I never thought you would cub.”

Bearclaw put his hand on Cutter’s shoulder.

“Now remember, Listen to your wolf friend. They always know things about the world around them long before you do. Travel at night so the humans do not see you. And trust in your hunting partner, you are there to help each other. This is not a race. I want you both to come home alive.”

Bearclaw squeezed Cutter’s shoulder once. It was his way to show affection. He then turned his attention to the hunters as a whole, leaving his hand on his son’s shoulder.

“I expect you all to come home alive. This is a hard journey for all of you. I would not normally send you out like this, but the tribe is hungry, and it is up to you to bring back whatever it is you can find. All of you will be coming home as providers. Some of you will be coming home new elves.”

With this he squeezed his son’s shoulder again and released it. Cutter and Nightfall as well as the others climbed atop their wolf friends. Lifemates said goodbye to lifemates. Mothers said goodbye to cubs. Cutter couldn’t help but notice a certain elves absence. He looked around for Skywise and then called for him.

**Skywise, I am leaving. Aren’t you going to see me off?**

Cutter got no answer, and couldn’t wait for one. It was starting to rain. Cutter and Nightfall watched as the other hunters left, then as their lifemates found shelter in the father tree. Their parents watched as they slowly started into the woods. Nightfall noticed Cutter’s expression wasn’t like hers.

“Aren’t you excited Cutter. What’s wrong?”

Cutter got mad at Skywise and decided he didn’t need him to say goodbye anyway. He pulled his cloak over his head and made sure it was tied tightly.

“Nothing, lets get going.”

He urged Nightrunner into a run and Nightfall fallowed his lead. They ran for long periods of time trying to close the distance between the holt and the marshes. Periodically they spotted humans and hid till they passed, or ran past them so fast the humans didn’t realize what they had seen. They stopped only to sleep in the trees, or to forage for edibles. There was no playing along the way. They both took this trip seriously and ran the wolves hard for the first few days.

*************************************************

On day five of their outing, Cutter was trying to sleep in a nitch in a tree when the wind tickled his nose with a familiar scent.

‘Skywise?’

Cutter sat up and looked around. He saw Nightfall curled up on the branch next to him asleep. He saw the wolves on the ground underneath their tree, and he saw woods. He didn’t see any movement what so ever. He finally chalked it up to his mind playing tricks on him and relaxed back into the tree.

**************************************************

Skywise heard Cutter send to him but didn’t answer. He didn’t want Cutter to see him wearing his travel clothes. When Bearclaw decided to let Nightfall and Cutter go on this quest for adulthood and food, Skywise was not happy. He didn’t think the fool headed cub Cutter was ready for it yet, so he decided to fallow them at a distance and keep an eye on them. He didn’t tell anyone he was leaving. Someone would eventually notice but he would be long gone by then. He fallowed Cutter and Nightfall, always down wind so they wouldn’t catch his scent, and he kept himself hidden. He swore to himself that he wouldn’t interfere in any way on this hunt. He knew that if he did Cutter would never forgive him. He was just along to observe, and make sure they didn’t get into to much trouble. On the fifth day he was climbing a tree to get some rest when the wind changed. He paused and looked in the direction of Cutter and Nightfall. The wind blew right in their direction. He just knew he was caught. He saw Cutter sit up and look around. Skywise stayed as still as possible. In this part of the woods the trees were not all full of leaves like at home. Any movement would give him away, even from this distance. He was glad he sent Starjumper into the bushes. He relaxed only when Cutter sat back again. Skywise sighed. He was also glad that he had given up his usually blue leathers for some dull tan and brown ones, and his tunic had a hood to keep his ears warm and his silver hair hidden. He finished climbing his tree and was soon asleep.

It seemed like only a few minutes past by when he heard Starjumper whining. He quickly sat up and told the wolf to be quiet. The wolf sent images of Cutter and Nightfall leaving their tree, and feelings of Skywise being mad at him if he didn’t wake him up when they did. Skywise then realized it was getting dark out. Resting time was over. He jumped out of his tree and pat Starjumper on his great head.

“Thanks friend. I guess we should keep fallowing them.”

And they did. For days Skywise stayed just out of sight of them, fallowing tracks and scents, foraging for food when he couldn’t stand the emptiness in his belly anymore. One night, he was looking at the stars when he heard Cutter talking to Nightfall. He quickly stopped his wolf.

**Moss brain! We almost ran into them!**

He jumped off and into a tree nearby. There wasn’t a lot of wind today so he got a little closer so he could hear what they were saying.

****************************************************

After that day Cutter could swear he felt Skywise nearby. He tried to ignore the feeling; Skywise was back at the holt. Or was he?

‘Skywise would fallow me like that. He doesn’t trust me to do anything right.’

He put the thoughts out of his mind best he could so he could focus on his travels. He and Nightfall ran side by side every night without incident until one night they finally came upon tracks.

“Look Cutter, tracks. Finally tracks. Do you think we are close?”

Nightfall jumped off of Woodshaver and knelt down to take a closer look. Cutter shook his head.

“Those are old. The frozen ground kept them in place. But we now know we are going in the right direction.”

He turned to mount Nightrunner again when he noticed his wolf friend’s ears were up and he was sniffing the air. Cutter motioned for Nightfall to be quiet. She mounted her wolf friend slowly, ready to run if she needed to. Cutter sniffed the air, faintly he smelled …

‘Skywise. I knew it.’

Cutter became red in the face. Nightfall asked what was wrong.

**That good for nothing stargazer is fallowing us. I thought I caught his scent a few days back but didn’t see him. Now Nightrunner can smell him too. He’s here somewhere.**

Cutter looked around, squinting into the darkness. He still couldn’t see him. He decided to let Skywise think he wasn’t caught.

**Lets let him think he isn’t caught. I want to surprise him when he isn’t paying attention. So don’t let on that we know he’s here.**

Nightfall agreed. It upset her that Skywise would fallow them like that, but she trusted Cutter to know what he was doing. If it were up to her she would call him out right now and confront him. Cutter mounted Nightrunner and urged him forward.

They fallowed the tracks until the trees became sparse, and the ground started to become soft. Nearly a full moon had gone by since they left home. Now that Cutter knew he was there he caught Skywise's scent more often. On the last day before they headed out into the marshes they spotted dear. Great black necks. The deer were thin from not eating enough, but were a sight to the elves that had not eaten a decent meal in a long while. Cutter and Nightfall let their wolves take down a small one so they could eat and have some strength for the big hunt the next day, and when finally, they were climbing into their tree to rest before they headed out into the open, he told Nightfall his plan.

*************************************************

Skywise thought he had been caught, again, but to his surprise Cutter just turned around and mounted Nightrunner. When he and Nightfall started off Skywise thought to himself,

‘Boy Cutter, I’m glad you don’t trust your nose.’

Thinking he had gotten away with it again he waited in the tree for a bit then climbed down to fallow the young hunters.

When the trees started to become thinner he found he had to stay farther back so as to not be noticed. On the last day before they entered the open marshes Nightfall, Cutter and their wolf friends rested most of the day after taking down a small deer for food. Skywise’s belly growled at the sight of all that meat walking around out there. It took a lot of will power to keep Starjumper from going after it. It was hard to explain to the wolf that they were hiding from their friends. The wolf just wanted to eat. When he finally got the wolf to understand, for the most part, Skywise found a tree that was just within sight of them and planted his rump in its branches.

**************************************************

As the sun rose higher Skywise let himself fall into an uncomfortable sleep. Cutter and Nightfall tracked down the tree he slept in and when they found it, they crept up to it. Cutter had to send to Starjumper to be quiet. It took some doing but he got the wolf to let him come close without pouncing on him. When they were sure Skywise was asleep, they both slowly climbed into the tree and right up next to him. It was all Cutter could do to keep from just pushing the stargazer out of the tree. He was so mad to see him here. Nightfall was stiffeling a giggle as Cutter razed a piece of grass to Skywise’s nose.

Skywise nearly fell out of the tree as something tickled his nose and he jumped. He squealed as he caught himself, then he realized he wasn’t alone. He slowly turned to see Nightfall and Cutter standing over him in the tree. All he could do was smile at them.

“Now Cutter. Don’t be mad, I only fallowed you to…”

Cutter punched him in the face. Skywise fell out of the tree and landed with a thump on the hard ground. Nightfall caught her breath, but she didn’t feel to bad for Skywise. She was pretty mad herself.

Cutter jumped out of the tree and onto Skywise fists flailing. He was so mad he couldn’t speak.

**You have no right to be here!! This is our hunt not yours!**

Skywise tried to get Cutter off of him. The young elf’s rage surprised him. Finally Nightfall was there pulling Cutter off.

“Stop it Cutter! That’s enough!”

Cutter struggled only a little as Nightfall pulled him off of Skywise. Skywise dragged himself back a little and looked at Cutter.

**I was… I didn’t mean to…**

Nightfall was still holding Cutter when she spoke to Skywise.

“What are you doing here Skywise? This hunt was not meant for you.”

Skywise pulled himself up and leaned against Starjumper. He could see anger in Nightfall’s eyes too. He didn’t mean to make his friends so mad. He looked at his feet as he spoke.

“I… I just wanted to keep an eye on you two. It’s… well… It’s a hard journey and I wasn’t sure Cutter could make it without me…”

With that Cutter started to shake but Nightfall held her ground and held him firm.

“This journey was to prove we could both do this on our own. You had yours and Cutter didn’t interfere, why would you do that to him? Or to me? Do you not trust us enough to let us, let Cutter, make his own mistakes if he was to make them?“

Nightfall stood there with her hand on Cutter’s chest, not letting him attack the silver haired elf again. Skywise shook his head.

“I wasn’t going to interfere, just watch. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. This time of year is dangerous for the elders who know what they are doing, let alone those who have never done this. I was just going to watch.”

“If Bearclaw can trust Cutter and me enough to send us out here on our own, you should have been able to. Bearclaw has more to lose in Cutter then you do.”

With that she let her hand fall from Cutter’s chest. He was still shaking, though not as badly. Skywise and Cutter were looking into each others eyes with a knowing look. Sharing something only they knew, and Nightfall wouldn’t understand. A season or two ago, they had shared a part of themselves with each other that they didn’t mean to share. In the midst of another fight. Cutter let his fists relax. He knew now why the stargazer had fallowed, but he was still mad at him. He walked over to Skywise and put his hand on his shoulder.

**Soulbrother, I want you to go home. Leave now and I will forgive you. This is my hunt, not yours, I need to learn to do this on my own.**

With that Cutter mounted Nightrunner and headed back to the tree he and Nightfall were sharing. He hoped he had made himself clear to his friend. He didn’t always need him. Nightfall watched as Cutter had silent words with Skywise. She knew not of what they shared, but she could see the connection between them. She was relieved to see Cutter just turn around and leave without anymore confrontation, but was saddened by the look on Skywises face as Cutter left. Skywise climbed up onto Starjumper and started to leave.

“Wait, Skywise, here.”

Nightfall pulled out some leftover meat from a pouch on her hip. It wasn’t a lot, but it would put food in his belly.

“We will have plenty more tomorrow. Safe journey home.”

Skywise took the meat gladly, then turned and headed home.

Nightfall walked back to her tree and climbed up to sit next to Cutter. He had fallen asleep already, so she made herself comfortable. She didn’t fall asleep right away, instead she thought of Redmark. He had trained her in the ways of tracking and taught her the ways of love. She was a young elf, he is much older then her, but she found herself drawn to his gentile ways. She thought it was sweet how he avoided death, preferring to work on his sleeping magic talent of stirring the life in plants.

‘He will be a great tree shaper someday.’

She thought to herself with a smile. She looked at her sleeping friend. She and Cutter had played at love as well. Him being a young elf and new to it all, he wasn’t as gentile as Redmark. He had a rougher edge about him. They were good friends, and she found herself vowing to always be loyal to him, to trust in his judgment and to lead him in the right direction when he needed it. She liked that she was able to do this hunt with him. He would be the next chief and this is a big step toward that goal. She put her head on his shoulder and fell to sleep. Tonight would be a big night.

**************************************************

Nightfall heard rustling on the ground. She opened her eyes and saw it was Cutter, he was sharpening his spear. She smiled and stretched her limbs. As she jumped out of the tree Woodshaver came up to her and sent images of the blacknecks into her head. He was anxious to bring down more deer.

“Patience friend. All in good time.”

She turned to look for her bow and arrows, picking them up and checked the leather straps on each arrow to make sure they were sturdy. Then she checked her bowstring. Strongbow would be very disappointed in her if she had neglected to take care of her bow and arrows on this journey. When she was satisfied, she tied her knife to the outside of her tunic were she would be able to get to it easily. When she was ready, she looked up to see Cutter looking at her with his hand on his wolf.

“It’s time.”

He said. He had a stance about him that she had never seen before. He was growing up, turning into the leader she knew he would be. She nodded and they mounted their wolves.

**There are a lot of deer out there. Most of them are not worth eating. We should go for the fattest buck we can find and one of the does. Lets link minds in sending, and fallow our wolf’s lead.**

Nightfall nodded again, the adrenaline starting to pump in her veins. She could feel the wolf inside her like never before. Nightrunner being slightly higher ranking to Woodshaver went first. They crept into the shadows and silently closer to the herd of deer. A few started to get jittery, some looked in their direction, but none moved until Nightrunner lurched forward.

**Nightrunner, you oaf! Not that one.**

But it was too late. The herd had started moving. Cutter held on as Nightrunner ran next to one of the older bucks.

“Nightrunner!!”

The wolf jumped and caught the buck in the haunches. Cutter growled and had no choice but to use his spear and deal the deathblow.  He put the spear through the buck’s neck and watched it die. He looked up as other bucks ran past him. It wasn’t the buck he wanted, but it would do for the first kill. He looked closely at the herd as it went by him, and there it was. The buck he wanted, with a rack on it’s head bigger then Cutter. Cutter picked up his spear and ran after the buck. Nightrunner came up next to him and Cutter jumped on his back mid-stride. They fallowed the buck, ushering it into a dead end. When they did the buck became furious. He raised his hooves and shook it’s rack at the elf and wolf that were standing in its way. Cutter got off of Nightrunner and circled to the left, Nightrunner going right. Thinking it had more to worry about in the wolf, it inched closer to Cutter, but when it saw danger there, it shook its antlers again. Cutter couldn’t get out of the way quick enough. He thrust his spear in but it got caught in the antlers and thrown out of his hands. The buck charged him, and got him in the ribs. Cutter let out a loud scream as he was thrown aside.

***************************************************

Nightfall saw Nightrunner jump at the old buck out of the corner of her eye. She herself was heading for a doe that had some good meat on her. Woodshaver ran right beside the doe so Nightfall could get a good shot. She raised her bow, and let fly. Twaang! It missed. She growled and pulled another arrow. Twang! This on hit but wasn’t fatal; it got the doe in the shoulder.

‘Not a clean kill.’

She was upset with herself as she pulled one more arrow.

**Steady friend. **

She slowly notched and pulled back, closing her mind to everything else around her. Twang! The doe dropped hard. She had gotten her kill shot. Woodshaver slowed and walked back to the dead doe. Nightfall wasn’t happy with herself. Strongbow had taught her better then this. Redmark wouldn’t be happy either. The doe had suffered. She knelt next to it to make sure it was dead. She pulled out her knife and as she slit it’s throat said.

“Thank you friend for the meat you will provide. Go back to the land from which you came.”

She cleaned off her knife on the skin of the doe and looked around. Where was Cutter?

************************************************

Cutter was dazed but not dead. He got up with the help of Nightrunner and looked around. He spotted tracks and fallowed them. He noticed blood. Nightrunner must have bitten the buck to get him away from Cutter. As he fallowed the tracks he held his ribs.

‘Owl pellets. One of them is broken.’

He hissed as he raised his spear to see if he could still throw it. It would hurt, but he could do it. He kept going and soon found the deer. Nightrunner had gotten it all right. Cutter didn’t want to get to close this time; he found a good spot and gauged the distance. As he pulled his arm back to throw he let out a hiss, alerting the buck to his presence. Cutter cursed himself and threw the spear with all his strength. It hit the buck right behind the shoulder, and threw the heart. It dropped like a bag of rocks and didn’t even twitch.

Cutter leaned on his wolf friend and tried to breath deep. He was bleeding, but not to badly, mostly scratches. He looked around, he would need some good branches to make a carrier for his kill. He worked slowly, but finally finished one. Nightrunner helped him to get it on the carrier with a bit of scolding. The great wolf wanted to eat some of it.

“Not yet Nightrunner. We have to get back to Nightfall first.”

**********************************************************

Nightfall was cleaning her kill when Cutter finally showed up.

“Cutter!! What happened to you?”

She ran over to him. He was doubled over holding onto his ribs.

“I’m fine Nightfall.”

He tried to sit upright and winced.

“Only broke maybe one.”

Nightfall shook her finger at him.

“You should have called for me. You could have been killed.”

She helped him off of his wolf and sat him down under a tree, then proceeded to rip her leather cloak into strips.

“We need to wrap your chest. Sit up.”

Cutter did as he was told. Soon she was finished and asked him what happened. He told her about his buck. How they had it cornered and it threw him. Then he tracked it down and killed.

“Your lucky it didn’t kill you. Are you going to be able to help me clean these?”

Cutter nodded his head. He wouldn’t make her do it by herself. He slowly got up and walked to the first buck he and Nightrunner downed. Pulling his knife he cut a hole from its neck to its genitals. He pulled out the heart, the lungs, the liver and all of the other intestines putting them aside. He threw one of the lungs to Nightrunner.

“Here you go friend.”

When he was done with the gutting, he cut the small antlers off and set them aside. Then he proceeded to skin it. He looked around for a stream or some kind of running water. He found some not to far away and cleaned the hide there. He also cleaned the insides of the buck and wrapped them in the skin nice and tight. He cut the meat from the buck in long strips. It was kind of tough; he would smoke it and take it home dry. When he was finished cleaning the buck he looked over to Nightfall, she was just about finished with her kill as well. He threw one of the bones to Nightrunner and walked over to the other buck. This one had more meat on it. He started on it just like he did the other one. When he had pulled all of the guts from the inside Nightfall came over to help. They took off the antlers and set them aside, they would make great knives or decorations. They skinned it and cut the meat off. With this one they also saved the tendons for bowstrings, and the bladder for a water pouch.

“How are we going to get all of this back to the holt?”

Nightfall was standing looking at all the meat and innards they had just cleaned.

“Well, We are going to have to dry it I guess. Or we can wrap it in the skins. The weather is cold enough that it shouldn’t go bad. I should make it to the holt okay.”

Nightfall nodded, she wasn’t sure about taking raw meat all the way back.

“We should dry it. At least we know it won’t go bad that way. And I am sure everyone will be just as glad to have the meat even if it isn’t fresh.”

They started a fire and proceeded to dry the meat. The innards they ate that night. It was quite a feast for both the elves and the wolves. As the sun came up they hadn’t smoked all of the meat yet. They decided to take turns sleeping until it was done. Cutter slept first at Nightfall’s insistence. After a day and a half the meat was dried enough to make the journey home and it and the extra stuff was bundled and kept safe in the skins.

The tendons were used as rope to secure it to the wolves as they rode back. It wasn’t as long a journey home as it was leaving. They made it back in much better time. When they got there the other hunters had already gotten home with their kills. Everyone rejoiced in the tribe being together again, and in Nightfall’s and Cutter’s new found adult hood. There was quite the howl, and feast, and storytelling that night. As the greetings calmed down Nightfall was lead away by Redmark. Cutter smiled at them as they walked by. Bearclaw came up to Cutter.

“I am proud of you son.”

He motioned for Rain to come over and heal his son’s ribs. They were still sore and the long ride didn’t help any.

“You did well.”

He squeezed Cutter’s shoulder and walked away to the circle of Wolfriders eating their fill. As Rain finished healing Cutter looked around for Skywise. He was missing again.

“Rain, have you seen Skywise?” 

“He disappeared soon after you did. We all figured he had fallowed you. Almost two eights of nights went by before he returned. Bearclaw gave him quite the scolding for going out alone. He was here not to long ago. Maybe he is waiting for you to find him.”

                Rain smiled a small smile and walked away. Cutter knew where to find the stargazer. He walked to the clearing that wasn’t to far away and there he was. Sitting on the hill all by himself looking at the stars.

“I’ll never understand what you see up there brother.”

              Skywise didn’t look away from his beloved sky.

“That’s because your head is full of dirt.”

                 Cutter threw a piece of meat at Skywise and they both laughed.

“Cutter, I didn’t mean to make you so mad out there. I was just worried about you.”

         Cutter nodded his head.

“I know. But you had to let me deal with what was going to happen. I needed to do it alone.”

“And you did.”

“Yes I did.”

                Cutter handed Skywise more meat. As they chewed Nightfall came into the open. She sat next to Cutter and smiled at them. No words needed to be said. They just laid back and looked at the stars, until Cutter couldn’t stand it anymore…

                                               S.C. 2007