Arda reached a clearing in the outskirts that he was familiar with; this clearing served as a boundary to his wayfaring. He was yet to delve further into the forest, for some instinct of his always warned him against it. It was this clearing that he reached every time before he then made his way back home.

But not anymore. No, he decided that on his next trip he was ready to ignore his instinctual wariness and go beyond. Preferably on his own. He would have to make plans.

Breaking out of his reverie in alarm, Arda inhaled sharply and pivoted on his heel, twisting a few blades of grass underfoot as he surveyed the clearing. He soon noticed something moving in the dark of the cover that the surrounding trees cast. His hunting knife slipped out of his belt and nestled itself inside his loosely held fist, sharp and on edge, just like his senses.

He caught sight of a roe beneath a tangle of branches and bushes, bent on its forequarters as it craned its neck to pick on some brambles, its white skin glinting in the sunlight that had found a gap to creep its way in.

With an appreciative smile that formed on his face come the passing of the tension in the air, Arda twirled his hunting knife and approached the roe with practiced stealth, trying to get a better look at the features of his soon-to-be catch through the tangled mess that separated predator from prey.

The roe was a decent size. Its filling features hung gently against its frame, and looked less and less on the stiff side. Healthy enough for Arda to grin at the numbers he had conjured in his mind. This animal would fetch a generous price. If only he could make the kill now…

He was close enough for the glint of his eyes to give himself away, yet he still persisted. The roe had just found another bunch of berries to munch away in contented oblivion.

Arda silently angled his weapon backwards, carefully weighing the projectile in his hand as he had always done back at his forge in Acanon whenever he crafted tools. The weight of it helped him stay grounded and focused as he played the events that were about to unfold in his mind before he acted.

“Your sacrifice is our blessing.” Arda whispered in reverence before flinging his knife at the roe.

The knife cut through the air - blade first - with a whistle of warning. Arda had got the technique just right as the blade spun, allowing it to dart through the gaps in the branches undisturbed. The roe jerked its head towards the sound - just as Arda expected - and found a knife slicing clean through the front of its neck.

The roe gave out a quiet lament of surprise, before keeling over on its side.