Kellindil groaned in relief as he leaned back against the wall of the small cave he had found a little ways away from the branch of the Dead Orc Pass where he had fought the wolf, enjoying the chance to rest his tired muscles, and he didn't even mind that his arm and scratched leg were hurting almost as much as his throat had when he had first dug himself out of his grave.
After he had finished skinning the wolf, which was what resulted in the sore muscles in his arm, he had had to carefully cut the edible meat from the carcass, and that had been both bloody and time-consuming. He supposed he had been lucky that the rest of the wolf pack hadn't been close by, and that no scavengers had smelled the blood and decided to try for an easy meal. After he had salvaged what meat he could from the wolf carcass, he had washed his hands off in the pond and grabbed his walking stick before stumbling off towards the Pass, since he knew he would have to make more than one trip to transport the wolf pelt and the meat and he would rather know where he was carrying it beforehand.
Luck had been with him, for just a few yards into the main part of Dead Orc Pass and he had discovered a cave just big enough for him to stay in comfortably for the night. The cave had been about two horse-lengths long and one man-length wide, and had been one big room with no tunnels. Perfect for an overnight stay, and so the elf had gone back to where he'd left the wolf pelt and the wolf meat and begun the laborious task of transporting it all to his chosen resting place. He had had to make four trips from the carcass to his newly chosen resting place: once to retrieve the battered wolf pelt and three times to take the meat to the cave along with any loose wolf fangs he could find.
The sun had been at its last stages of setting and the temperature had begun to fall rapidly before he had gotten everything he could carry into the small cave, and then he had had to venture out again to collect sticks and leaves that he could use to start a fire. His walking stick had helped him too much for him to consider using it as kindling, plus he still needed it to move around. He had made a circle of stones inside the cave and stacked some easily burned sticks, twigs, and small leaves inside it, and now the only problem he had was getting a fire started.
Kellindil groaned again, only this time it wasn't in relief, and he pushed himself up into a proper sitting position as he moved closer to the ring of stones in the center of the cave, picking up one of the wolf fangs he had brought with him into the cave as he did so. The elf grabbed a spare rock he had decided not to include in the stone ring and leaned over the pile of sticks as he struck the wolf fang against the stone, trying to cause a spark to ignite the kindling.
He brought the fang and the stone closer to the pile of sticks as he continued striking the wolf fang against the stone in an effort to cause sparks. He longed for some proper flint, but he knew he would have to make do with the wolf fang and the ordinary stone. He grimaced when his throat throbbed again, and he began trying to remember if any healing herbs grew around Dead Orc Pass as he struck fang against stone again.
The elf thought he saw a small flicker when he struck the wolf fang against the rock, and he continued striking the fang against the stone in the hopes of producing the more substantial sparks needed to light the pile of sticks and leaves on fire. He didn't really need the fire in order to see, as he had infrared vision like his kin and darker cousins the drow, but he needed the fire for warmth and to cook the meat he had salvaged from the wolf carcass. His mouth began to water at the merest thought of the addition of meat to his diet, and he struck the wolf fang in his hand against the stone in his other hand with renewed vigor.
That time the elven archer definitely saw sparks when the two connected.
Kellindil glanced over to where he had set the wolf pelt and the wolf meat on the other side of the circle of stones; he had set the wolf pelt fur-side down and he had put the meat on top of the pelt, for lack of anywhere else to put it. The underside of the wolf pelt was also cleaner than the floor of the cave, and he didn't want to eat dirt along with the wolf meat. He looked back at what he was doing, as he needed to pay attention if he wanted to get a fire started with a wolf fang and a rock instead of proper flint. He narrowed his blue eyes when he saw a few flickering sparks when he struck the two items against each other again, and with renewed determination he hunched over the small pile of sticks, twigs, and leaves, striking the wolf fang against the stone again. His face lit up in a beaming smile when more substantial sparks flew and landed on the pile of kindling, which then began emitting a thin stream of smoke.
The elf crouched down right in front of the kindling and began gently blowing on the source of that thin stream of smoke, trying to encourage the small spark to catch hold and grow into a proper fire. He braced his hands on either side of his body, one hand holding the wolf's fang and the other hand holding the small stone, and continued blowing soft breaths into the pile of sticks, knowing that if he blew too hard the fire would go out and if he blew too softly the spark wouldn't catch.
He had to fight the urge to cheer when the spark he had been blowing on caught at the dry sticks and leaves, quickly growing into a cheerful fire. He straightened up and sighed in relief, setting aside the wolf fang and smaller stone and moving back a bit to lean against the wall briefly before he went over to where he had set the wolf meat, grabbing a longer stick that he had found outside in his search for firewood as he did so. The longer stick was broken on one end so it ended in a sharp point, and it was also the perfect size for roasting meat on. Luck had definitely been with him when he had found it, as well as when he had found the cave he currently rested in.
Kellindil picked up a piece of wolf meat and swiftly speared it with the long stick in his hand, then moved back over to his previous spot by the fire. He quickly braced the long stick against the circle of stones ringing the now cheerily burning fire, expertly propping it up so that the wolf meat was just inside the fire, perfect for cooking it. After that he breathed a sigh of relief, leaning back against the stone wall and watching as the wolf meat was slowly cooked along with enjoying the additional warmth that the fire provided.
The elven archer was glad to have the opportunity to take a break, and he absently picked up the wolf fang he had used to start the fire, turning it over in his hands as he kept an eye on the cooking meat, not wanting to have to choke down burned meat and further aggravate his throat. He glanced down at the wolf's fang he was holding and thought, with a small bit of amusement, that his repeated striking of the fang against stone had yielded a slightly unexpected result: the tip of the wolf fang was now razor sharp.
'Well, at least now I have a weapon in case I run into something that won't be felled by walking stick,' He thought wryly, though the downside was that his opponent would have to get very close indeed in order for the sharpened wolf fang to be an effective weapon. Still, he supposed it would come in handy, so he absently pocketed the fang as he moved forward to retrieve his dinner which, from what he could tell, was done.
Outside the cave, it began to rain.
The votes are in! I have decided to cut poor Kellindil a break and not injure him this chapter. ^_^ This is basically a filler chapter because in the next chapter I'm going to (tentatively) introduce one of my own characters, so don't be mad at me for ending it there! ^_^ Please read and review! Constructive criticism is welcome!
