Master Of None

Gil was by no means going to give up on the lord boar. He knew that the boar would be sleeping with the other mud boars and would not make an easy target at the moment. Therefore, trying his luck as a star fox was a pretty worthwhile test of his skill and would make him more familiar with night hunting. 

Zephyr more or less was silent making Gil think that she may have run off. However, he found that she was just floating in the air looking at him with some worry. "What? I have you here and we would never get beaten by any monster at night or in the day." Gil had full confidence and was sure that Zephyr would as well. 

"But, won't you be cold at night? You need a fire." Zephyr had realized that the wind would get cold. She would not feel it because she was made of mana. As long as she had her wind elemental mana she was fine. But Gil was a human. He needed a fire to stay warm. 

This was unexpected. Gil knew that Zephyr cared about him because he had been with her for longer than even he had known, but this was the first time she had directly expressed worry for him. "Don't worry, my cloak has double layers so that I will stay warm. It also helps keep any mist or dew out." Zephyr grew visibly more energetic with this answer and decided that she would take a spot on Gil's shoulder while he started his hunt. 

Feeling like he had more foundations under him after learning that he had skills he was missing out on by not meditating and better understanding wind, Gil held the bow firm and moved forward. "I know a small clearing by the stream up here. It will be the best place to stake out for anything roaming at night. We will climb a tree and watch." The plan was simple but it could pay off very well. 

The area that the two came to was a slightly larger than he had made it sound and the first thing he did was sneak through and check foot prints. "Looks like the mud board come through here. They should come through for water later. This is perfect. We will have a shot in the morning. Other than that maybe a forest wolf or two but some smaller prints. These might be start fox but could easily be prints from a grass fox. We will see." 

The tree that Gil chose to rest on was not the largest but it had a branch that came to the side and had plenty of room for him to sit and watch silently. The leaves were still bushy around him so seeing him would take an extremely sharp eye looking for him. He had brought one of his older cloaks that blended with greens and brows so he was very well camouflaged. 

It didn't take long for Zephyr to feel a change in the wind, "I can feel something coming." Gil could tell the wind shifted so whatever it was that was moving was large enough to cause a change. He could also tell that this was the difference in his new understanding of the wind. Through his connection with Zephyr and understanding the wind elemental mana better he could feel what she was feeling to a degree, if only limited. 

The footsteps of the heavy monster were not being hidden at all, Gil knew the sound of it and when it came to the clearing he could barely make it out in the moonlight as the monster headed toward the stream. "That was a bark bear. They are pretty fierce but they usually just eat the wood grubs under rotting tree bark. I can't carry it back with the lord boar anyway, we can wait." The bark bear drank its fill and was off. 

The pair sat for some time watching as the moon rose in to the sky enjoying the stars. Eventually, a darting shape caught Gils' attention. He drew the bow on instinct before he realized that what he was seeing was a thorn hare. It was a very tough rabbit that would make burrows in thorn bushes. However, this made it less valuable because the meat was too tough for anyone to want. Unless, you were a monster that enjoyed eating thorn hares. 

"Keep an eye out. That is the thorn fox's favorite prey." Gil was looking everywhere while the thorn hare made its way to the edge of the stream to take a sip of water. Yet, the thorn hare did not get anywhere. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared. Gil and Zeper were both stunned. The slightly greenish rabbit that had been slowly hopping toward the water was suddenly lost to the darkness. 

The only sign that there was something in the area was the soft growl and tearing sound that was soon paired with the sounds of eating. "It's behind the two trees over there." Zephyr alerted Gil before dwelling with the bow and gathering the wind elemental mana as Gil drew it taught. He was planning to use a wind elemental wither spike arrow with the bow's ability to use the wind elemental mana. The goal would be to pierce through the tree and get the star fox. 

"Good." Gil could feel the shot and let it fly as silently as possible. He did not need to worry about damage. The start fox pelt was black and would not be damaged by any blood so this shot just needed to wound or defeat the monster. 

There was a splintering sound that was immediately followed by a sharp yelp. One of the small trees was split and began to bend over without falling. There was a dragging sound that Caused Gil to jump from the branch and run towards the prey he had just injured.

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