A few years later when Elise was several months into her sixteenth birthday, the world inside the Spruce Family farm could not have been any better. Inside the house, singing to herself was Eleanor. Well, if screeching was called singing, then Eleanor was definitely doing so. She was folding laundry and blankets while making sure the ash from their fire place did not blow into the newly cleaned living room. It was the beginning of spring which ment one thing, even for a family that lived off the grid from the rest of the world. Spring cleaning was a must.
Outside, on a driving lawn mower being powered by powdered Dust, a very large man sat in a grey hoodie and baggy jeans. His hair was a dirty blonde color which was clearly never combed since the day he was born. On the other hand though, he had a very fluffy beard and mustache that he could not be more proud of.
"Hey Elise!" He called out, stratching his beard before giving a long yawn while stretching his arms. "If I fall asleep while cutting the grass, don't tell your mother." He yawned again, leaning on the controls. "Crazy woman waking me up at five." He grumbled before shutting his eyes.
"Yeah, sure thing papa!" Elise responded as she drove a wooden pole into the ground to make a gate to keep chickens in.
"Love ya honey!" Klein Spruce shouted back to his daughter. Though he meant to be quiet, he was still rather loud. With that done, he let himself relax on the machine he was suppose to be working on and let himself fall asleep with ease. Klein, could sleep anywhere.
Elise rolled her eyes at him as she drove another stake into the ground with a grunt. Half an hour later, she was nailing the fencing against the new pen for the chickens her family would raise then butcher. Not without having more born and some eggs to cook with of course. She gave a smile at the thought. She loved it out here like this. Once she ushered a group of hens and roosters into their new home, she made her way to the barn where four horses were.
"Bet you guys are happy winter is over too. I know I am." She peaked over the wooden stalls they were each in, checking for anything that wasn't suppose to be there. "And it looks like papa cleaned your guys' places before I could." She crossed her arms with a faint pout. "Guess that means I just get more time with my Jelly Bean."
She turned around, grabbing a wood beam before hauling herself over a fence that kept a horse in. She hit the ground with a thud, her work boots already covered in mud so she didn't care much for what she landed in.
"How's my baby girl, huh?" She flipped her hair back behind her. Even though it was in a ponytail, it was a mess at the moment. She didn't even have to move as a horse's head rammed into her, pushing her back some followed by a nay. With a chuckle, Elise wrapped her arms around the massive head. "Guess you miss going for rides too." She ran her fingers through the golden mane before the head could lift up. She smiled smiled up at the beautiful beast in front of her.
Jelly Bean had came from a long line of hunting horses, her golden color though made her much easier to see so the owner did not have much of a use for her. Eleanor and Klein later learned that the owner was going to put her down so they both gladly bought the magnificent creature and gave it to Elise for her fifteenth birthday. Who needed a car or a huge party when you could have a horse made of gold all to yourself.
"You know," Elise started petting Jelly Bean's long nose softly. "I might be able to snatched you a few apple from the house soon. Mama's apple tree is blooming like crazy." The horse shook her head, stomping her foot at the same time. Elise just smiled more, running a hand down the neck. "I'll take that as a yes you would like that. But for now, I have to go finish cleaning a few things. I'll be back later." She smiled, jumping over the gate before rushing out.
A few hours later once she was finished, Elise's dark green tank top was drenched in sweat. She wiped her brow, looking over towards her father who was still sound asleep on the lawn mower. She gave a soft smile and chuckled before walking over.
"Hey papa..." Elise whispered very, very quietly. She wasn't even trying to wake him. "I finished everything and I'm going to go out. I'll bring you and mama back dinner." She smiled more as all he did was snore on and on. With out wasting a single second, she bolted for the back shed as quietly as she could.
Not even twenty minutes later, Elise was running through the woods as silent as a deer. She hadn't bothered with changing clothes. She just threw a camouflage jacket over her sweat stained shirt while adding a few pouches to her belt which held up her light brown cargo pants. At her back was an air-compressed marksman rifle she had built herself a few years ago. Sure it had a few dings and dents as well as scratches, but it worked like a charm. At her right side there was also a collapsible baton which was perfect for defending herself when she was younger and couldn't carry much weight.
Elise ran through the forest, her panting soft and almost silent. She needed a tree. A good tree. It took her a couple minutes before she found one and quickly jumped up, pulling herself up by some branches. Pulling the rifle from her back, she crouched down on the branch and leaned against the tree. Then she waited. Sat there still as could be and waited.
In the time that she spent there, any other human would of probably made a sound but she was as silent as an assassin. Her attention then snapped towards the sound of a branch snapping. In an instant, a dart was loaded into her weapon. This dart was something she vowed never to use on any other human being or Faunus so much as she lived. She held it up, looking through the scope just as a deer came into veiw.
She gave a smile as she saw a fawn, not very small so it wasn't too young but also not so big she couldn't carry it back home. It was a gorgeous animal. Small white spots still decorating its brown back.
She took a deep breath, her finger just barely touching the trigger. Slowly, she steadied her breathing and shut the eye which wasn't looking through the scope. She then proceeded to stick her tongue out as she started to aim. And then, she squeezed the trigger as gently as possible.
The dart struck the deer right in its neck, causing it to stumble back before looking where it had come from. Then it dropped as quick as one would normally run away. With a smile, Elise put her weapon across her back and slid down the tree before jumping off and onto the ground. She quickly ran over to her target, placing a hand on its neck to pull out the dart.
It wasn't poison. She would never use poison to kill an animal. Her father could hang her and skin her alive if she ever did. This dart was special which is why she only had one of them. The tip was much longer than a nornal dart, at least three times the size, and was sharp enough to go through bone even from a hundred feet away. Adding to that, there were several small and sharp claws all around it. This made hitting the deer's main artery as easy as milking a cow for her.
"Ohhh, you're going to taste so good." Elise licked her lips while running her fingers across the young animal. "Can't wait for papa to make jerky out of you and all that other good stuff. Mmmhhmmmm. Yes!" She smiled from ear to ear as she put the dart back into a pouch. "Now I just have to get you home." She gave a small sigh, still smiling though as she reached down and picked up the corpse over her shoulders with a heavy grunt. "Your going to taste so good!" She practically squealed as she started her way back home.
At the house, Klein rubbed the back of his head with a chuckle as Elise stood next to him with her prey, both standing on uncut grass. In front of them was Eleanor, her arms crossed while her blonde hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail. Her light brown eyes were glaring hotter than the sun.
"Klein," Eleanor growled as he rubbed the back of his head more. Elise just blinked innocently, looking up at her father before down at her catch for the day. "Did I not tell you to mow the lawn?" Her mother continued. "And then you let Elise go off and hunt with out you?"
"Y-Yes?" Klein tilted his head a bit, smiling ever so slightly. For someone who was over six feet tall with arms and legs as big as his head, he never argued at all.
Eleanor gave a very long sigh, shaking her head before pointing at the back. "Elise, take that near the shed to get it fixed up for tonight. So your FATHER can clean it and cut it nicely like he was suppose to do with the grass." Her eyes narorwed at him as he started to chuckle softly once again.
"Kay mama!" Elise quickly said, carrying the deer away as quick as she could. She wanted to be nowhere near her mother's fury when she exploded.
Once Elise was gone, Klein slowly looked over at his wife, his hand slowly leaving the back of his head. "You know, you re going to have to let go of her one day. She has already proven she can fend for herself."
Eleanor gave a sigh with a slow nod. "I know, I know. But if Grimm found its way here..." She trailed off and shook her head. "She's never seen one before. She might not nowhow to respond."
Her husband just smiled back at her. "She's a hunter. She has my blood coursing through her veins. She will live. She was born to fight and survive."
She rolled her eyes at him, her arms crossing. "I forbid if anyone has your blood in them. Because apperently it makes them lazy while sleeping and eating everything!"
He jumped back, scrambling towards the lawn mower. "I'll mow! I'll mow! I'm sorry! You woke me up so damn early!"
"Just hurry up and cut the grass so you can go skin tha deer!" She snapped at him, smiling softly before turning around and walking back inside the house.