Chapter Seven: Catch of the Day
"Alright childlings!" The smurf snapped down to the smaller pair that stood below him, who both stood up to attention the moment the two were addressed.
The two apprentices held their gifted spears tightly, the hybrid grinned and excitedly bounced in place in excitement. While her golden pools glittered with joy as she stared up at her mentor. The little smurfette that stood next to her however, her glowing blue orbs were filled with anxiety and nervousness, fore she already knew what she and Stardust was meant to do today.
Hunting was something that the Clan of Unity rarely ever did. The clan didn't really need to hunt since the forest they lived in was plentiful with fresh fruits and vegetables, though she did hear of times where the clan had run low on food one winter and did in fact have to hunt and another time when an aggressive creature attacked the village but that was really it. The Clan of the sky on the other hand had to hunt regularly, they couldn't fill their stomachs with the plants that grew naturally in the enchanted jungle because most, if not all the fruits that grew here were either poisonous or were far too dangerous to even attempt gathering. Thus it was much more efficient to hunt for their food, instead of risking their lives trying to gather food from a plant that could strike at them faster than they could strike back.
It was because of the fact that the Clan of Unity didn't need to hunt that she never really learned how to before today, then again she was rarely ever allowed out of camp to begin with. And considering the fact that she'd be out there all alone, with her clan possibly looking for her made today's goal that much more anxiety inducing.
"I have already taught you the basics on how to hunt," Mountain continued as he paced in front of the two apprentices, "Today we will test your skills, today I want you both to track down and bring back a squeaker!" He announced, "Now before you go, tell me what are two traits a squeaker has that makes them a challenge to catch?"
Stardust pipped up immediately, already knowing the answer to the question, "Their paws and whiskers! They'll be able feel you coming before they can even smell you if you don't step carefully." The hybrid replied with a proud grin. Her wings fluttering so quickly that they might as well have been the wings of buzzing bloodsuckers.
"Very good Star!" Mountain praised before turning his attention to Silent Secret.
"Their ears and their noses." The little smurfette answered, "They'll be able to hear you if you're not quiet enough and they'll be able to smell you if you're not in the right position."
Mountain nodded proudly, "Correct! Very good Secret."
Silent Secret smiled proudly at the praise, happy that she answered the question correctly.
"Now before you both go, I want you to take a moment to thank its spirit for everything that it's providing for us." The smurf told them, "It's giving its life to feed and clothe us, so it's only right that we thank the spirits of this world for providing what they can for us."
The apprentices nodded in understanding, before rushing off to track down their prey. Stardust took to the sky quicker than thought, while Silent Secret dove for the bushes. The little smurfette ran as fast as her legs could carry her, rushing through the large bushes to keep herself hidden, bouncing over branches and stones to keep herself from tripping.
She stopped suddenly. Her softly glowing pools scanned the area around her as she listened to the sounds that surrounded her. The flapping of feathered wings, the soft padding of tiny paws on the jungle floor, the rustling of leaves and grass as many creatures scurried about, too many sounds for her to focus on just one. The little smurfette held perfectly still for several long moments, listening closely, she held her breath. That's when she heard it, the sound of soft nearby scuttling and sharp squeaking.
Keeping herself low to the ground, she crept through the bushes and large ferns, the sound of squeaking growing louder as she got closer. And there it was, a tiny furred creature with large ears that twisted back to listen for predators, it's muzzle low to the ground as it searched for food that lay hidden beneath the blanket of leaves that covered the jungle floor. Pointing her spear forward she crept closer, watching as the tiny squeaker stopped its scuttling long enough to clean it's whiskers. Her softly glowing pools narrowed at the tiny creature, getting herself ready to strike… only to find herself hesitating. Could she really do this? She'd never taken a life before, she'd never had to do something like this. She understood that if she wanted to eat tonight she'd have to but she still wasn't sure about this.
Silent Secret knew she needed to act fast of the squeaker was going to get away, with a silent breath she shook away the looming feelings of doubt and anxiety, then she rushed forward. Surprising her prey who let out a sharp squeal upon being struck before falling completely silent and falling limp at her feet.
Silent Secret stared at the creature that now lay limp before her, unsure exactly how to feel at this moment. Should she feel triumphant that she had actually managed to track down and catch a squeaker? Or should she feel remorse that she had killed it? As she bent down to pick up her catch a mixture of both feelings filled her and she found herself smiling softly with pride at her little victory. She still felt remorse that it was gone but she knew it was going to a good cause.
She took a moment to thank the creature as well as the spirits of this world for it's life, as she had been told to do, before disappearing into the bushes behind her.
It kept its nose to the ground as it hopped its way forward, it's large ears flicked and swivled back as it listened for predators that may have been nearby, looking to make it their next meal. The white rabbit lifted its head up, its pink nose pointed up to the sky as it sniffed the air for something to eat. Upon inhaling, the rabbit caught the scent of fresh berries.
Cautiously, the rabbit began to follow the scent. Its stomach growling softly with need, hunger was the only instinct driving it at this point, it was the only instinct it was able to listen to.
The rabbit followed the scent to a large leafy berry bush, picked clean of its fruit and there below the bush were a pile of berries, with a few of the berries crushed which is probably what was giving off that strong sweet scent in the first place. The rabbit also picked up the fading and familiar scent of a smurf.
Any animal that lived in this forest recognized the bittersweet scent of a smurf, in fact it didn't surprise the rabbit that it was a smurf that left this pile here, they often left small piles of food of the critters of the forest whenever there was a harvest and the past presence of a smurf meant that the pile was safe to approach.
So with one last sniff to make sure there weren't any predators nearby, the rabbit hopped closer to the pile and began to munch on the sweet bluish purple berries. Completely unaware of the creature watching it from above.
High up in the tree, the smurfette watched her prey eat as she crawled along the thick branch above it, holding her spear tightly as she got into position. Narrowing her softly glowing pools the smurfette drew in a breath and jumped off the branch onto the unsuspecting white rabbit below.
The creature squealed in panic and surprise, attempting to buck the tiny creature off its back, but the smurfette had a tight grip on it's snow white pelt and she was much quicker. Before the creature had the chance to react, she raised her stone head spear and with one swift strike, the creature let out one last squeal before falling to the ground.
Silence drew in a breath, letting herself revel in her little victory for a moment before pulling her spear out of the fallen creatures head. She hopped off the creature's head, sticking the head of her spear in the dirt the moment her feet touched the ground. She stood before the creature, softly bowing her head and silently thanking the creature's spirit and the spirits of this world for providing for her and her new clan.
After a few moments Silence opened her eyes and retrieved her spear. Turning back to the large creature, she tapped the stone head of her spear against the ground absentmindedly as she tried to figure out how in the world she was going to drag this creature back to the village. She didn't bring anybody with her mostly because she wanted to prove she could provide for the clan on her own but in hindsight she probably should have brought someone with her to help her carry her prey back. Silence made a mental note to bring someone to help her on her next early morning hunt. For now she'd have to find a way to bring this creature back on her own. At least the clan would have plenty of food when she got back.
...O0O...
The old smurf drew in a lungful of the crisp morning air as he stepped out of his mushroom house, the sounds of the early morning birds chirping greeting him upon opening the door. He smiled softly as he listened to his little smurf chat amongst themselves. Allowing themselves to wake up a bit before getting to work on their morning chores.
Papa figured Silence was already out and about, considering he didn't see the ancient smurfette in the spare bed she had been using for the past couple days. Perhaps she was going to get some morning muffins from Baker and Greedy, if Greedy hadn't eaten them all yet that is.
They had decided to hold off on building the smurfette a house of her own for a few different reasons, one being that they didn't have enough materials to build an entirely new house for her. They had used most of their stored materials to repair the village after a surprise bunny stampede a month before Silence had been found. They still weren't sure what caused the stampede, he guessed maybe hunters or possibly a burrow cave in. They managed to fix up most of the village but they still had some recovering to do. Silence knew this of course and understood, before they could start something new, they had to finish repairing everything else first.
Papa also wanted to hold off because he wasn't sure if she'd actually be sticking around after the smurfettes arrived. For all he knew, Silence might feel much more comfortable with them in the enchanted jungle far away from here. While it would be sad to see her go, if she decided that's what she wanted then he'd support her. At least she found a place where she could be happy, she deserved to be happy after everything she'd gone through in the past. Though he still wasn't entirely sure what she had gone through, the least he gathered was she had been through some sort of… civil war, but that's all he had been able to get out of her. He hoped as time went on that he'd learn more of what happened to her.
A familiar sounding voice suddenly pierced the air, bringing the old smurf out of his thoughts. It sounded like Smurfette and she sounded angry. Concerned as well as curious, he followed the angered shouting to the edge of the village, where he found a very angry Smurfette and Natural yelling at a very confused Silence, though it seemed Smurfette was doing most of the yelling. Laying behind the ancient smurfette was a large snow white rabbit, the top half of its body tied up in thick vines and as Papa got closer he could see that the rabbits white pelt was stained with grass and dirt and the top of its head was stained red and pink.
Silence didn't… kill this rabbit did she? Then dragged its body all the way here? Oh, he could only hope that this wasn't the case.
"I figured you guys would be hungry, I didn't-" Papa heard Silence reply to a question Smurfette had asked, but she was quickly cut off by more shouting.
"Hungry?" Smurfette shouted in outrage, "You actually expected us to eat her!"
Silence's confused look quickly melted into one of guilt, "Her? Oh, was this Long Foot a pet yours?" She asked, guilt and sorrow seeping into her tone, "Sorry, I didn't know she belonged to someone."
"She doesn't belong to anyone, you hickory nut!" Natural pipped up, "But that dosen't give you an excuse to murder her!"
It was then Papa decided to step in, not wanting things to escalate more than they already have. He stepped in between the three smurfs, causing them to take a step back, "Alright everyone, that's enough." He spoke calmly as he turned to Silence, "Listen Silence, I understand what you were trying to do, really I do. But you should know, we don't eat meat." He told her.
The confused and guilty look quickly melted into a look of realization, "Oh… I didn't.. I wasn't" The ancient smurfette stammered, unsure how to respond. They didn't eat meat! How had she not realized this from the start! That explained so much, like why she didn't see any hunting parties, there wasn't any need to hunt, "That explains why I didn't see any brought to table lately… I should have noticed, I'm sorry." She apologised, her tone laced heavy with guilt knowing that she had basically taken a life for no reason.
"It's alright, you didn't know." Papa tried to reassure the ancient smurfette who sorrowfully shook her head.
"But I should have." Silence replied simply. This was an entirely new area, she knew perfectly well that this world would be different, with different rules! She should have paid more attention… not kept her mind in the past, "I suppose I should find a place to bury this."
Silence sighed softly as she picked the thick vine ropes and began to drag the large rabbit away, the growing appetite she'd had before had all but disappeared now.
"I can't believe she'd murder an innocent animal and then expect us to eat her!" Nat murmured in disgust as she slowly walked away.
With a sigh, the old smurf turned to Nat and Smurfette, "There's no need to be so hard on her, she understands her mistake now."
"But she murdered that poor rabbit!" Smurfette exclaimed, "We can't let her get off that easy!"
"Smurfette, you have to remember Silence comes from a very different era than ours. Her generation most likely had much different rules than ours does." The old smurf told her, "Where she comes from it was most likely necessary for smurfs to hunt. You don't know what life was like for smurfs back then."
Smurfette's royal blue gaze shifted to the ground, "...Right, I get it." She replied softly, "We should apologize huh?" She murmured, glancing over at the smurfling next to her, who's dark blue pools were too filled with guilt and regret.
"I'd give her some space for now." Papa replied, "I'll talk to her about the hunting thing. You both go finish your morning chores for now."
With a nod, the two smurfs trotted back to the village swiftly followed by the other members of the village, who had been listening to the conversation. While Papa turned to catch up with Silence. Which didn't take him long considering she was dragging a large creature behind her. Carefully, he trotted to her side and walked beside her. She refused to look up at him, her softly glowing pools were locked on the forest floor beneath her. And for a moment she refused to talk, a deep frown set on her face.
After a moment of quiet, the smurfette spoke, "Have you come to chastise me as well?" She asked softly, "I suppose it's well deserved after something like this."
Papa's gaze filled with sympathy as he took a breath to speak, only to be cut off before a word could escape him.
"I should apologize for being too hasty, I was too caught up in past traditions to see something that was right in front of me." Silence continued with a sigh, "I assure you, this will not happen again." She stated, setting the thick vine down beside a large boulder. "This seems like a good place." The smurfette muttered under her breath.
"Now hold on a moment Silence." Papa started quickly, stepping in front of the ancient smurfette before she could take another step. "Listen, I'm not going to yell at you for thinking differently than the rest of us." The old smurf told her, "And I'm not going to take away a tradition that has to do with your diet."
Silence looked at him upon hearing this, eyeing him in confusion. How was he not angry at her for this? Why was he not threatening punishment for this? She had broken one of their rules, if she had broken a rule like this back then, there would have been consequences! Of course she had to remember… this was a different era, these smurfs had much different rules, traditions, it made sense that they would deal with situations differently.
"But my traditions no longer belong here… why allow me to keep them?" She questioned with a breath.
"If following some of your traditions makes you happy then I won't stop you." Papa replied, "And I can't exactly stop you from eating meat. It would be like telling a wolf to stop hunting, or telling a cat not to chase mice." He added, "It wouldn't be right."
Silence merely stared at the old smurf for a moment, seemingly stunned by his words, before softly dipping her head and simply murmuring, "Thank you."
Papa dipped his head back before continuing, "I will ask that you don't hunt or anything like that in view of everyone, I'm sure you understand."
Silence nodded, she understood his reasoning. Given how Smurfette and Nat reacted to her dragging her catch to the village she could see why he'd want her to keep the hunting away from everyone.
"Anyway, I'll let you do your thing." Papa told the smurfette, who once again nodded, "I should be heading back to the village."
"Of course," Silence replied softly, "And I'll find a place to take this." She added, turning back to her prey.
"I'll leave you to it then." The old smurf said, glancing one last time at the snow white rabbit before turning to walk back to the village.
Silence stood there for a moment, eyeing him carefully as he walked away. Still unsure of what to make of this development, why was he letting her traditions stay. They didn't belong here and he knew it, so why? It was a question she doubted she'll truly ever have the answer to. Or perhaps she was being too suspicious and he simply meant well.
Whatever the case, she picked up the thick ropes and began to drag her catch away. To find a place to prepare her own meal and maybe a new outfit. World knows she could use some new clothes.