Chapter 2:

Breaking the Night’s Fast

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So it was that I began the hunt for the morning’s meal. I decided it would be best to stay low and quiet, to avoid startling any further animals. I felt my muscles awakening as I entered once again into the crouching pose that brought my body to the forest floor. As my mind released itself into the hunt, I began to feel a surge run through my body. I had awakened my senses, and now they came into play.

Stretching my arms out, I reached forth, placing each arm and foot on the ground, moving between the trees… Searching. The smells of the forest filled my nostrils as I lowered my head to the ground. My eyes caught the small hints of an animal’s footprints, left in the sodden earth. I slinked across the ground, searching for my prey.

Soon I came across a rotting log and climbed over it to find a young rabbit, crying in pain over a broken limb. I advanced upon the startled beast, quietly reaching out to take hold of its neck. I silently thanked the rabbit for the use of its body and twisted, breaking its neck and silencing the cries. Relishing my fortune, I stood once again, carrying the now motionless corpse of the rabbit.

After placing the rabbit in my pack, I moved onwards, the rush of the hunt gone now, leaving me disappointed. Moving onwards I turned my eyes to the plant-life. I walked for a few minutes in the forest, searching for recognizable plants. I spotted some after some time’s worth of walking. I picked a few berries off of a ripened bush, and worked on the lesser plants with a small bone spade, digging up the valuable roots.

I gathered my rewards into my pack, with the rest of my things, and relying on my sense of direction, worked my way back to my resting place of the night before. I found a few living coals, deciding now I could make a feast. I laid a few twigs on top of the coals, blowing lightly to rekindle what I had smothered earlier. Once I had a flame started, I built a roaring fire from wood taken from the forest the day before.

Once my fire found itself once more, I settled myself into the arduous task of cleaning the rabbit. I took a stone knife from within my pack and made the necessary incisions, peeling back the skin and fur from the delicate muscle and bone underneath. Once separated from the rest, I laid the skin aside for later use.

Taking a few suitable sticks from my surroundings, I spitted the rabbit meat and began the roasting process. While watching flames lick at the fresh meat, I delved into my pack, eating the procured berries with relish. I took the roots from my pack as well and began setting aside a few rocks to harness the fire and cook them thoroughly.

With the juice of the berries trickling down my throat, I slowly moved my body back into a resting position against a tree to watch as my feast prepared itself. I sat as the flames crackled and popped, cooking the rabbit flesh to perfection. I marveled at the glory of the bounty I had obtained, and gave thanks to those lost for my life.

When enough time had passed, I took the meat off of the sticks and placed it on a rock to cool. A short time, and I began to dig in. My fingers handled the tender rabbit flesh and brought it to my mouth, ready to taste the fruit of my labors. I tore a piece off, letting the succulent meat wash over my mouth, fulfilling my awareness and indulging in soft pleasures of taste. I followed each bit of rabbit with a taste for the roots, which I had also harvested for my meal.

The tastes of the roots and meat brought together gave me a wondrous feeling of completeness. My labors had once again satisfied my hunger and basic needs, and feeling full, I once again laid in the grass and began to rest.

Lying in the grass once again, my mind began to wander, dwelling only on the present, living each day for life, living each day for myself.

I hope you enjoy it, feel free to leave a comment letting me know if you do, or if you see any mistakes, or just feel like letting me know you exist.

Check back next Monday for Chapter 2: Breaking The Night’s Fast

Chapter 1:

The Awakening

I am the earth, the fire, the wind and the water. Those who know me call me King. I am one with myself, and with my world. I rule nothing but myself; there is nothing to a name. I am everything and nothing at all.

I feel the wind blow through my hair and I awake to the sounds of water lapping at a river’s banks. The feeling of wet grass on my body and back roused me from my resting place on the earth. The air was heavy, and as I looked, signs of mist were just trailing into the far reaches of the forest. The air was mild, neither a warm breeze of summer, nor the cold sting of a winter wind.

Planting my feet, I stood, exhaling and stretching out my tired arms. I let my gaze fall upon nature’s simple beauty; the lush undergrowth covered the floor of a great forest standing many times again the height of a man, it all truly shone out in its magnificence.

As my body began to fully wake from its long slumber, I carried it down to the nearby river, where it knelt to drink. The cool, clean water refreshed my throat as I drank deeply from cupped hands calloused by years of living.

I set back for my resting area, snuffing out the smoldering coals of a fire when I arrived. The site was small and simple; it was a now-smothered fire, a flattened patch of grass where I laid not long ago, and a few personal items scattered around.

I am King, and that which laid before me was my kingdom, if only for the day. I stooped, gathering the few possessions I had into my pack before beginning to take my steps into the forest.

The sun was shining in its own glimmering way, spilling light through the trees and banishing the mist of the early morning. The leaves of the trees glistened in the light, peppered with dewdrops of life’s morning ritual. The grass between my toes was dripping with the morning’s dampness as well.

The birds sang out as I carried myself and my pack through the forest, taking each step with care, moving myself throughout the trees. The birds sang their beautiful song, reminding me of days past, of wonder and prosperity. The sweet song rang in my ears as I took my steps through the wonder I resided within.

Inspired, I called back to the birds. My voice sang out and echoed back through the vast and seemingly empty forest. I knew life lived within the stretching woods, in the trees, or even within the underbrush. My world teemed with wondrous lives, no matter how large or how small.

I stopped, taking in everything my world had to offer; the sights of the trees, the sounds of the birds and creatures moving throughout the forest, the feel of the grass beneath my feet and the wind on my face, the smell of the dampened forest and ground, and the taste of the cool morning air. Every sense tingled as I stood and slowly became attuned to the world, my world.

Everything felt alright, and everything clicked at once. The world kept moving, everything lived with me, and I lived with everything. The trees were close to me, and I was one with them. The coating of undergrowth, made of various grasses, mosses, and leaves, shimmered as the rising sun spread its rays over the ground.

With true awareness flowing throughout my body, it was my stomach that finally caught my attention and brought me back to reality. The growling and rumbling that I felt let me on to my own hunger.

Rubbing my stomach, with sustenance on my mind, I set my focus towards the great bounties the forest held for all of its wondrous creatures.

My friend Lucid Dreamer and I both love art, and we both love writing, and we’re both reallly reallllly lazy, so we decided to make a bet to ensure that we would keep at our respective stories, so here you are, and we owe the other money each time we fail to update… Yikes!

See you Monday! (Or I’m out a couple bucks.)