Ruby and Harkness are taking a stroll through the woods. It's been about ten minutes since they had split up from the others to hunt for some fresh food. "Hey Ruby, check this out." Harkness said as he crouched down, beckoning Ruby to his side. She walked over and knelt next to him. There was a small cloud of dirt floating mere inches off the surface of the ground.
"What's going on?" She asked, not sure why he called her over.
"Take a look at the ground here." Was his response. "What do you see?"
"A bunch of kicked up dirt? What's that have to do with anything?" She realized what he was getting at the second she finished her question, immediately feeling foolish.
"That means something was here to kick the dirt up. And that they're still close." He stood and began looking at the ground around them until he found exactly what he was looking for.
"This way." He said and then began moving through the bushes the hoofed footprints were pointing towards.
Ruby followed him as best she could, trying to swat branches in her path and not lose sight of the soldier. He eventually stopped when they came upon a clearing. In said clearing stood they're target, a full grown female deer.
Harkness reached his hands to his back and his storage device built up a bow in his left hand and an arrow in his right. The soldier put the arrow to the string and pulled it back, ready to release the arrow and pierce the heart of the animal, but he stopped.
With the pressure building up on the bow he eventually slowly drew the arrow forward and sheathed the weapon earning a confused look from Ruby.
"What are you doing?! It's right there!" She whispered while also raising her voice slightly.
"And so is its child." He said lifting his hand to point at the delicate creature and it's young.
Ruby had not seen such beauty before. There was the mother doe and her calf nuzzling noses in the clearing and beginning to lay down. The duo of hunters sat and watched the mother and child lay in the open field; The sun was at the perfect angle to cast a radiant light across the glade. The sight was truly textbook for a beautiful painting, that sadly, no one would be able to create.
"It would be cruel to kill her here. It's such a serene setting. Pristine even, I wouldn't want to ruin it." Harkness said bringing Ruby's attention back to him.
"Yeah. It's so beautiful, why even bother?"
"Exactly. Come on, we can look for another deer somewhere else." Harkness said slowly backing away from the scene.
"Sure thing, just one second!" Ruby whisper-shouted again making him stop. Ruby pulled out her scroll and turned it sideways, snapping a picture of the two beauties of nature nuzzling into each other falling asleep together. "Alright, I'm good."
The two left the area and began searching for more tracks. It wasn't long before Harkness picked up another trail.
"You know what, I'll let you take the lead this time. But first," He stopped and looked at a stone and branch that caught his eye. "We've got to get you a bow."
"Can't I just use the one you pulled out earlier?"
"No, I'm going to teach you how to make one from what we have here. I hope you'll never get stuck in a situation that requires basic survival skills, but I'd like to teach you with the chance that you might need them eventually." Harkness said with a stern look on his face.
"Really? Why? I mean, it's nice and all, but why?" Ruby asked.
"Because I know that a huntress might get stuck in bad situations in the field, and I'd not want to hear that the niece of my godfather died because she didn't know how to keep herself alive in the wilderness."
This was true, but he had other reasons as well, but he would not give her any indication that there was any reason but the one he gave her.
"That's fair I guess." Ruby responded. "Thanks Harkness."
"Don't thank me yet, we haven't even started."
So he began teaching her how to weave a bowstring from leaves. It wasn't as durable as most bowstrings, but it would get the job done.
Next he showed her how to pick a proper branch to use for the bow's body and how to get the string wrapped around it. The branch they used was perfectly flexible enough to bend slightly with the string, yet strong enough not to snap when trying to shoot. Then he showed her how to carve sticks into arrows using the sharp stone he saw earlier. They also made a quiver from more leaves to store the extra arrows.
Now Harkness let Ruby lead on the trail from the animal they were tracking. She followed it well, soon finding the target. It was also a deer, but this time a full grown buck.
"Alright, all of that effort has led up to this moment Ruby. Now you just have to take the shot. Have you ever used a bow before?" Harkness asked in a low voice, as to not alert their prey of the hunters' presence.
Ruby had used a bow in her basic training at Signal Academy, but that was years ago, and she hardly remembered how to use a bow properly anymore.
"I did in combat school, but that was a while ago. I don't think I can anymore."
"Alright, then I'll help you." Harkness got behind Ruby and set her arms in the proper positions. Ruby let out a small yelp at Harkness's first contact, earning a quick apology from him. He set her fingers to hold the arrow properly and steady.
"Now, pull back slowly and take aim. Make sure you aim a little above him since we're a good distance away." Harkness advised.
Ruby took a breath and did as he said. After a few moments of silence, she let the arrow loose and it pierced the buck through its chest, knocking it to the ground, leaving it still alive but heavily wounded.
"Good shot." Harkness said as he stood up and walked over to the creature. He moved a hand over the plate on his right thigh and a knife materialized itself in his hand.
Harkness began speaking to the wounded animal, but not in any language Ruby knew of; It sounded like something she never heard before. On his final phrase he plunged the knife into the animal's neck then twisted it, instantly putting the creature out of its suffering.
Harkness then picked up the carcass and slung it over his shoulders, surprising Ruby at his strength for his age. Then she remembered he was in the military.
Sure Ruby was able to swing Crescent Rose around like nothing, but it was made of lightweight materials and she had spent years learning how to use the scythes properly for combat. After a few minutes of walking back towards the camp Ruby began speaking again. "Hey Harkness."
"Yes Ruby?"
"What was that back there? With the whole... You know, other language thing?"
"It's tradition for hunting in the village I came from when I was younger." He looked away after saying this.
"Oh, sorry for bringing that up." Ruby immediately felt as if she were treading on bad grounds for the soldier. Qrow had mentioned to her when they were alone to not ask about Harkness's home.
"No, it's fine. Hunting was one of the last things I got to do with my father, so it actually brings back some good memories." Harkness said turning back to Ruby, making her feel reassured that she hadn't brought the teen too much pain.
"Did your father teach you to hunt?" Ruby prodded, curious of the boy's relationship with his father.
"Yeah, he also taught me all I know about survival. Of course the military covered it too, but it was more or less review for me at that point."
"I'm just curious, what does your dad think of you being in the military so young?"
Now she crossed a line. The look of pain on Harkness's face made that as clear as day. She knew that look, for it is one that she had borne once before.
"I'm soooo sorry, I had no idea!" Ruby apologized almost immediately.
Harkness just walked in silence, looking dead ahead of him. They continued in this silence for what felt like hours, when in all actuality it was probably only about five to ten minutes.
"I'd hope he'd be proud." Harkness's said out of the blue. His sudden statement made Ruby jump with a yelp.
"I think he would." Ruby responded after recollecting herself. "I don't know one dad who wasn't proud of their son joining the armed forces. It gives a kind of respect that can't be earned in many other ways between a father and son."
"True." Harkness agreed.
"Plus, your dad sounds like a pretty cool guy, so I'm sure he'd be proud of you no matter what you did!" Ruby said enthusiastically.
Harkness chuckled slightly, and seemed to have a lone tear run down his cheek. "You have no idea how right you are."
They walked in silence the rest of the way to the camp, this time being more peaceful rather than awkward.
The rest of the group was sitting around the campfire conversing when the hunting duo returned.
When Qrow saw the two and the game they had caught he let out a moderately long whistle. "That's one hell of a beauty you caught there. And I don't mean my niece." He let out a smirk.
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby yelled at him with her cheeks gaining a slight red hue to them. "Nothing like that happened." She looked away with a pout and crossed arms after defending herself.
"Qrow, you are one dirty old man." Harkness said with a small chuckle.
"C'mon man was that extra bit really necessary?" Juane asked the Huntsman, earning a shrug from the man in question.
"Anyway, I still have to prep the meal here so I'll go do that." Harkness said walking away from the group.
"Where are you going?" Ruby asked.
"Well, gutting an animal for its meat isn't exactly the most pleasant sight now is it?" He responded.
Ruby gagged a bit. "Good point, forget I asked."
And with that Harkness walked away from the camp to harvest the edible parts from the deer. After a while he came back with the parts that could be eaten. He then began cooking the venison over the fire for everyone. There was a good bit to go around.
The group chowed down on the meal, with the original five being grateful they didn't have to eat some old canned beans again.
"Thanks Harkness for getting us the great meal. It's nice to have real food for a change." Ren said.
"Actually I wasn't the one who got it." He paused and cast a look in Ruby's direction. "Ruby here was."
The party was silent for a few moments; Everyone, apart from Harkness and Ruby, being surprised that the most innocent person they knew had hunted down and killed a deer, one of the most peaceful animals that comes to mind.
"Um, guys? Why are you looking at me like that?" Ruby asked worriedly.
Juane was the first to regain his senses. "It's nothing, just, I guess we never expected you to kill an animal like that."
"Give the girl a break." Harkness spoke up. "At least she did something to contribute to the group apart from just sitting up at night 'guarding us' from dangers that haven't even showed up since Qrow and I came in and saved your asses. So shut up and eat the rest of your food." He left the last sentence with an aggravated tone.
Everyone there was shocked at Harkness's outburst. The whole thing wasn't a big deal in all actuality, but he acted out like it was. Qrow was used to seeing Harkness have random outbursts of rage and panic attacks, but he felt there was more to it here, which raised some questions in his mind.
Harkness took a step back, then turned towards the woods and ran after he realized he took the whole issue farther than he needed to.
"Wait!" Ruby got up to follow him and tell him everything was fine, but she was immediately sat back down by Juane.
"Don't worry about it Ruby, I'll talk to him."
Ruby at first thought that Juane was going to get into a fight with the other teen, but with the way his voice sounded and the calm look on his face, she realized that wasn't the case.
Juane walked into the woods the same direction Harkness did to have a talk.
A/N:
So, stuff is kicking up again!
I loved making the hunting scene between Harkness and Ruby here, and I personally think the whole doe and her child bit was just beautiful, but let me know what you think.
Also the whole thing about Harkness talking in another language to the deer that they killed will be explained further in the story, and I can't wait to get that out there! Just to give some context on how it would've sounded I'll give a hint: It's from a country that is part of Asia. Send me your predictions if you feel like it, maybe I'll give the first few who get it right a shout-out.
I just have to say once again how grateful I am to everyone continuing to read this story. I'm really enjoying it and am working on getting certain blank spots in the plot to be filled in, so stay tuned!
Feel free to review, favorite and/or follow, and have a nice day!