Gave myself a day off from writing before starting this.

I think this will be my last story before marking this thing complete and moving on. Forcing myself to keep writing everyday was more tiring than I thought it would be. Regardless, I wanted to make a bunch of stories and I did. I'm definitely going to take more time with my next story.

…...

The Hunter

Part 4

The forest's shadows were thicker than before. The sun was inching closer to the horizon and the creature's from earlier were the only thing the hunter had killed. Every other animal he came across he let go or intentionally missed. Finn and Jake were growing tired of following him by this point.

They had stopped following from a distance and instead had chose to overtly help him. He never took any advice they gave when approaching potential prey. Considering his performance earlier they doubted that this was a case of nerves or that he needed any tips on how to attack. Despite their prodding he refused to give them any information.

He once again came across a deer in the wild, this time he didn't raise his weapon. He simply watched it for a time. Finn started to speak up before a gunshot was heard very close by. The deer collapsed to the ground and a different green skinned man approached the carcass.

He had a smug look on his face, apparently aware that the hunter was there before taking the shot. Upon closer inspection Finn and Jake could see that he had a rather long beard and his skin was somewhat lighter then the hunters.

"Still can't do it huh?" he drew a knife from his belt shaking his head. "You do realize that what you do to those vermin every day would work wonders on these animals right?"

The hunter let out a soft grunt in response.

"Been out here since dawn and you haven't killed anything have you?" He chuckled to himself for a moment before continuing. "Maybe you should just head back, hmm? Just leave getting food for everyone to real hunters... like me. You can kill whatever vermin pester us. You know, instead of doing something useful. Like keeping us from starving."

"I can do it." The hunter responded plainly.

He barely acknowledged him as he examined the deer. "Hmm?"

"I can hunt." His tone was much harsher.

He approached the hunter with an aggressive stride, causing Finn and Jake some concern. To their surprise he simply roughly patted the hunter's shoulder and spoke.

"I know you can. People are worried about you. We need someone with your talents, I don't know what's happening with you and these animals but you need to get over it."

The hunter nodded in response as the man returned to the carcass and he moved on. Jake waited till they were out of earshot before speaking.

"So... Who was that guy?"

A barely discernible smile appeared on the hunters face as he responded. "He's a very old friend... Kind of a prick." He quietly snickered at the last part.

"Does he always act like that?" Jake asked.

"Yep, pretty much. He means well though. This... Thing with me wasn't really an issue until those vermin started devouring all our crops. Hunting's the only thing keeping us from starving right now."

"Is the infestation that bad out here?" Finn asked.

The hunter merely shrugged. "I suppose, I don't know how widespread they are."

"It's not really widespread at all." Jake responded. He felt suspicious about how they could be getting over run by those things despite the fact that none of those pests had been seen in the region outside the forest in a long time.

"It seems like you could wipe their nests out pretty easily." Finn said.

He shook his head as he responded. "I can't seem to find them. I find small ones every week or so but they must be breaking off from a larger one. If I could just find it this whole problem would be solved."

Finn thought about the problem for a moment before speaking. "Jake... I think I know how we can help this guy in a way that's a lot more interesting."

…...

I want to be clear, I absolutely heard your advice about thinking about my plot points ahead of time.

And I did not do that at all!

This story's plot has spun completely out of my control. I'm literally writing blind here, I usually have a vague idea of where I'm trying to go but that is not the case this time. Unlike the ivory pillar I don't hate the story so far though, so I guess it's fine.