LoZ OTP100 – Prompt # 46 Hunting
Word Count: 1039, a bit long
Warnings: Um, shooting of animals? It is a hunt…
Characters: Epona, Link, Zelda, Blanquer
Disclaimer: I am not condoning the killing of animals, and I do not own the Legend of Zelda, Link, Zelda, or any of the characters in the series. I do own Blanquer's name.
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The slight sound of hooves rustling leaves broke the quiet of the autumn forest, as a herd of four deer pawed at the ground while eating. The six-point buck and three does were oblivious to the Hylians who'd come to hunt in their woods, enjoying the last sweet grasses of the year. The herd felt they were safe here, nestled in between a knoll with a birch sapling near its peak and the sliver of a forest stream.
In the distance, just before a grassy knoll with a birch sapling, two horses and their Hylian riders paced quietly deeper into the woods. The man on the roan mare with the simple bridle-less saddle had chosen this particular section of the Lost Woods for their hunt because he knew it had deer that wouldn't suspect such intrusion, deer that would be easy for a beginner. He was experienced enough to have had the thrill of chasing down a seasoned nine-point buck and taking the prize home with but two arrows loosed. The hunt today was one he'd gone along on as a friend, one where he wanted to share his own woodsman's secrets.
As the knoll's crest came under the hooves of the two horses, the riders pulled nearly identical vertical hunting bows from their shoulders, knocking two arrows as they crested near the sapling. The woman on the white stallion with the ornate saddle gear and a black forelock had come prepared to hunt, bringing her most responsive horse and a bow that had been hand crafted for her by her companion during their youth, but found herself wanting to begin the hunt under someone experienced. The deer didn't seem to notice their presence, but she was sure that charging down the hill would be the wrong approach, that it would be impossible to catch the fleeing deer, even if they weren't used to being hunted.
"Link? Exactly what is the best way to hunt deer without scaring them into a long chase?"
"Zelda, the chase is the hunt. You can't claim to have hunted deer if you haven't even let them try to get away from you. That's like using your Triforce to beat your political opponents, instead of your own wit."
Zelda, princess of Hyrule, ah'd in the back of her throat, then glanced back down at the secluded clearing where the buck and does were still eating peacefully, oblivious to the Hylian hunters atop the hill. Link, sitting astride Epona and at Blanquer's right flank, resisted the urge to prompt his companion down the strategic left side of the knoll. This hunt was to teach her, not pull her along blindly behind him. She had suggested it, wanting to impress at her father's annual royal hunt tomorrow. He had agreed, wanting to help her become a well-rounded queen for a future when he might not be able to support her.
Finally, she seemed to realize the wind's direction and clenched her breech-clothed legs together around Blanquer's middle, tugging his rein left. Urging Epona forward with a prod from his left knee, her companion followed her down the grass-covered knoll's left side, checking the flight of his arrow as he descended. If the hunt went well from here, Hyrule's crown princess would walk away with a six-point buck to brag about during the morrow's hunt. She would get experience as well, and he knew the single learning opportunity would be enough to serve her well on the king's highly orchestrated hunt.
True that the Hylian king enjoyed a real hunt as much as his daughter's unknown hero companion, Link, but also true that the nobles accompanying him did not. None of them had the patience to really seek out game in the wild, so the annual hunt took place in a section of forest near the old palace that was kept stocked with many deer and game birds. Link had never been to one of the royal hunts, but the king had a standing invitation to enjoy a real hunt with the hero retired to a woodsman's life, courtesy of introductions that Zelda had made between the two.
The two blondes had thought the graying king might accept when this particular trip was proposed, but neither had complained when he had declined. There was scant time for them to enjoy being together now, and that amount would surely decrease as Zelda came closer to coronation. It was a pleasure to be able to pass in the afternoon in the peace of the Lost Woods, even if they were both tense in anticipation of the hunt right now.
Down the left side of the knoll, the two friends rechecked their bows and arrows, before charging into the clearing towards the deer, starting the chase. Link kneed Epona in the left side, urging her to cut between the buck and does, as Zelda surged Blanquer forward, pushing the fleeing buck before her. Her hunting partner fell in behind her, a line of trees between them, knocking his arrow and pulling the bowstring taut as a new, wider clearing came into view. Watching him stand in his galloping mare's saddle, Zelda pulled taut on her own bowstring and urged her stallion to beat out Link's swift mare to the deer.
A thrill surged from her head to her feet as she pulled ahead, thinking that the buck barely inside the clearing was hers. A twang behind her warned that this might not be so, and she watched breathlessly as the shaft whistled through the air, seeming to be true for the buck's heart.
Elation filled her as it missed, and her hunting companion slowed his ride to draw and knock another arrow, as the deer turned to flee again. Excited to have her second chance, the young woman straightened in her own saddle and loosed her arrow after sighting it in front of the running buck.
Smiling proudly, the young man watched as his hunting partner's shaft cleanly pierced the buck's chest mid-leap. Seeing her stop her horse and turn to him, he waved happily and trotted his own horse over to congratulate his friend on a hunt gone well, never intending to let her know he'd missed on purpose.