Kirl sat motionless. She was perched in a tree, ten feet off the ground, watching, waiting. Her bow was drawn, and it had been for the past five minutes. The tree she was in was at the edge of a large meadow clearing, the perfect spot for deer to roam. Her Brown Hyena, Oax, sat at the base of the tree, also as still as stone.
Four deer had just wandered into the clearing, two bucks and two does. Some might go for the biggest buck, the prize of this group, but not Kirl. She would be aiming for the smallest doe. She didn't need tons of meat. She and Oax wouldn't be able to eat a whole buck, and would have no place to store the excess meat.
A leafy tree branch was in the way of the deer, and they were slowly wandering into her bow's sights, grazing as they walked.
Kirl and Oax hadn't eaten a good mean in nearly a week, and Kirl hoped her stomach wouldn't growl and give away their position. Just a few more feet and the deer would be in her sights. . . There! Kirl drew back farther on the bow, and then she heard someone talking.
"I've chosen this path because assassins from my half-brother would be expecting me to take the main road. Besides, Some wild game for my King wouldn't be hurtful to my health."
The deer's heads shot up, and they bolted off. Kirl swore, a good meal, gone!
The forest road wasn't used much, and when Kirl had decided to hunt next to it, she hadn't thought she would be interrupted.
Well, it was no use now, she leaped lithely down from the tree and made for the road, she wanted to see whoever had ruined her dinner.
Through the trees she could see mounted guards, and a man in front of them riding a green scaled dragon.
The men looked ready for a fight, and Kirl saw Oax walking out onto the road, she didn't want any of these men to hurt the hyena, thinking she was going to attack them, but Oax was already out onto the road. . .
