I take it that this thread is going nowhere. Ah well. Back to the drawing board. Claire is now available for plotting again.
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The sun had yet to grace the world with its presence and dispel the night. The trees hung heavy and dark against the pale of the waning moon and the silence was broken only by the odd noise as the nocturnal and diurnal worlds intersected for a few brief moments as the night began to end.
Through the dim patches of light that pervaded through the gloom, a pale green figure clad in simple hunter's garb stalked cautiously a winding path through the forest. Claire took slow, purposeful breaths to match the deliberate steps that she chose. The bow in her hand, arrow already nocked in the string, was simple. The way she held it away from herself, like some unwanted gift, combined with the disapproving air around her face told that she did not particularly want to be here.
Through her mind, she kept forming the words. Brother, I know that I must do this, but I do hate it so. Why has trade been so slow brother, that I must now hunt down one of your ilk? But I cannot let my wards grow weakened. They must have meat to keep their strength and make speedy recoveries. The mantra was the only thing that kept her resolve as the field where the early morning grazers would take their first meal.
Crouched now low and hidden among the bushes, Claire steadied her shaking arm and pulled tight the string of her bow. She watched from target to target, sizing each one up. Her eyes settled on a young male, limping a bit away from the others. He was not as large as the other bucks, and the scars that cut through his hide told that he was not very high up in the chain of command. But what really made Claire choose him was the broken splinters of horn that adorned his head. They looked to be paining him, and without proper antlers he would never be able to defend himself.
