Chapter 2: Glories of the Hunt
The caravan stopped, and Ja'rahzdo and Ma'dhana started to put up the tents. They were in Skyrim now, and Falkreath wasn't that far off. Ja'rahzdo took out a bowl filled with a crystallized mineral substance.
"Want some Moon Sugar, Zhavanji? It's about time you had a taste!" Zhavanji looked down at the bowl and growled.
"Devil food is what it is. When we're out selling wares, Zhavanji will not spend her free time pining for skooma! My mother brought me up without it, and that's the way it will stay," spat Zhavanji, turning away from Ja'rahzdo.
"Ma'dhana wouldn't mind some Moon Sugar, Ja'rahzdo. He is old enough now," said Ma'dhana, reaching for a handful.
"Very well, apprentice. Not too much, now; you are still young to experienced traders such as us. You have much to learn about the art of bartering," lectured Ja'rahzdo, handing Ma'dhana the bowl. Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes. A large moose, old and fat, stepped out of the bushes, swaying his large antlers towards the Khajiiti. He blinked at them and disappeared in a flash.
Antbah and Zhavanji jumped to their feet and, bows in hand, gave chase to the deer. The pair snapped branches out of the way and tromped through the undergrowth, finding it hard to hunt gracefully in the unfamiliar terrain. Zhavanji shot an iron arrow, but it whizzed past the moose's head. Antbah ran in front of her and aimed a steel arrow at the stag, following his movements precisely with the bow. She narrowed her eyes and whispered a prayer to Hircine. The arrow pierced the moose's chest and managed to slow it down. Zhabanji finished it off with an arrow to the neck.
"Excellent kill, Zhavanji! We will be eating this beast for days; look at the size of it!" said Antbah joyfully. Within moments, Ja'rahzdo and Ma'dhana were running to them through the forest, panting heavily.
"Yes, Zhavanji…why don't you…have the first cut…" Ja'rahzdo gasped in between breaths. Zhabanji was beaming; her first successful hunt! She readily obliged, and began walking towards the carcass, ready to skin it with her dagger. The other Khajiiti were heading back to the camp. Zhavanji's ears perked at a noise coming from the woods. A rabbit, she thought, and began to cut.