Bushcraft

Ilargi was in a bad mood, she had been since before the journey began. She walked in front of him in silence. When he tried catching up and walking next to her, she only sped up until he lagged behind again. He sighed and followed. To his surprise, they were going back in the direction of the mountains they had passed days before. They can’t just return me to the prison, can they? Well, they all tried to kill each other the last time they met, so probably not.

The silent day was dragging on, until Ilargi stopped by a river and took off her backpack. That meant it was time to stop for the day. They began setting up the tent. Corbin tried to help, but was more in the way than useful. He thought he heard a growl coming from Ilargi.

“Hold,” she said and handed him a corner of the tent fabric. She tied some knots and set up the sticks and Corbin held on with all his might. I won’t look even more pathetic even if it kills me. As she was done, she came back and took the end from his hands and repeated with a different end. Corbin made sure to watch closely. I have to learn at least these basic things. This world doesn’t look like it will tolerate useless people.

After they were done Ilargi took out the fishing line and hook from the backpack. He watched her tie the hook onto the line and go to the river. She lowered the hook into the water. Why? Surely there is a better way. He watched for a while in case there were some rules for fishing in this world, that he didn’t know, but after a while Ilargi’s mood continued to sour. If looks could kill, we would have enough fish to eat. At that point he decided to act. He approached her, at which point she let out a small, frustrated scream and threw the line to the ground.

“Wait,” he said and picked up the line, then he reached into the river and pulled out a handful of pebbles. He went on to cut off a branch from a nearby bush. He tied one of the pebbles near to the hook and next to it a piece of the branch. Further away he tied the line to the long stick. I never liked fishing, but I’m glad my father made me come with him a couple of times. He looked at Ilargi, who looked with still looked annoyed, but at least somewhat interested. Let’s see, what she thinks of this. He started rummaging through the brown leaves on the ground and under rotten old fallen tree trunk that laid nearby. There it is. He picked up a worm. It was too grey compared to the ones from his world, but they seemed similar enough. He faced Ilargi with a smile and waved the worm. She backed away in disgust. I guess it works everywhere. He suppressed the laugh that he felt coming and went back to the river. He cast the line in the slower part of the river and waited. My favourite part. Waiting with no one to talk to just like back home, but now even without any music.

Slowly Ilargi came up behind him and began looking over his shoulder. The disgust was transmuted into suspicion. Just a bit longer and maybe I can trick her into fishing instead of me. To his surprise it only took a couple more minutes before he got a bite. With slow and practised movements, he began retrieving the line. After a couple more pulls, the fish broke surface. It wasn’t very big, but not bad for the first catch. It wriggled as it was lifted in the air. I can’t believe I caught one on the first try. Even Ilargi forgot her bad mood as she watched the fish.

It turned out to really be a fluke. It took a good part of an hour, before Corbin was able to catch enough for dinner. Ilargi didn’t move away and was intently watching as he fished. Doesn’t she get bored? She could’ve been doing other chores all this time. He studied her face and then it hit him. Could it be? Is she also just trying to learn? As Corbin stood up, Ilargi looked at the small pile of fish and nodded.

“Fire, wood,” she said. They split up, each picking up various dried branches. When Corbin came back and placed his bundle of wood on the ground, he saw that Ilargi managed to collect a lot more wood and was already assembling the fireplace. She went through his pile, throwing away some of it and using the rest. She lit the fire using a piece of flint and a knife. She took the fishes and started assembling cooking supplies.

“Wood, go,” she said. Corbin nodded and set out once more. He took care not to lose sight of the fire. No convenient maps here. He decided to try collecting more wood this time. “Kemen, food,” Ilargi said. Finally, I’m starving. He put down the wood and took a seat on one of the rocks. Ilargi passed him his portion of the food and his mouth watered. He brought his face close to the fish and breathed in deeply, and then almost choked. This is burnt. He looked up at Ilargi, who was eating and scowling. When she met his gaze, she gave him a look that dared him to say something. He chose the wise path and started eating. The fish was dry, but as long as he avoided the blackest bits, it was at the very least edible. I was never good at cooking, but maybe this is another thing I can do.

They took turns keeping watch by the embers of the fire. Ilargi went first and Corbin was fairly sure that he fell asleep a couple of times during his own turn. I don’t know, whether I’m more afraid of being attacked in the dark or of Ilargi if she found out.

The following day continued much the same way, except that perhaps Ilargi was just a bit more serene. Not really calm, but now instead of being annoyed, she looked just alert. When they stopped for the day Corbin was just a little more useful with setting up the tent. After the fire was ready and Ilargi started making preparations for cooking again, he decided to intervene. He carefully, but firmly took hold of the pots, taking them from Ilargi. She gave off an annoyed grunt, but let him take over.

As he began cooking, she went away into the woods. After a while she was back with some more wood and also some herbs. She pushed them in Corbin’s hands, then sat on a rock on the other side of the fire. Corbin smelled the herbs, which had a pleasant peppery aroma. He crushed the herbs in his hands and threw them into the pot. He passed Ilargi her portion and began eating. She carefully smelled the food, then started stuffing herself and blowing on the hot fish. She wolfed down the meal in an impressively short time.

After the meal she got up and went towards a shrub. She cut of a couple of branches, then began cutting off all the leaves and smaller branches, leaving only a sturdy stick. She handed one of them to Corbin. And gestured him to come.

“Go Kemen,” she said. They stood facing each other in a clearing. Ilargi’s battle stance made what was going to happen obvious. Corbin sighed, but got ready either way, trying to copy Ilargi’s pose. She lunged towards him, striking with the stick. Corbin raised his stick for defence, but was struck on his hand. He yelped and dropped the stick. Ilargi came even closer and her stick stopped just short of Corbin’s neck. They went a few more rounds with similar results. After that Ilargi stood next to him and showed him how to strike with the stick and how to use his feet. He then practised slashing at Ilargi, while she only blocked. When they were finished, he felt just about ready to collapse from exhaustion. Even in the hard journey through the mountains he had never sweated as much as he did at that moment.