Tess’s face flushed red the second Siridean’s words left his lips. She groaned, rubbing the back of her neck as she muttered something under her breath about “smart-mouthed men with too much to say.”
Shooting him a side-eye, she huffed, “Well excuse me for tryin’ to make sure we don’t actually starve, Siridean! Thought maybe if I was fast enough, we’d have somethin’ other than bark for dinner.” But even as the embarrassment lingered, her jaw set with that same stubborn spark. She refused to be teased into quitting. Standing up, she dusted herself off, determination flaring bright in her eyes. “I ain’t lettin’ no damn rabbit get the best of me. You’ll see. I’m bringin’ us somethin’ to eat—that’s for damn sure. If you believe in me, then it’ll work out. It always does.”
Before he could get another word in, Tess spun on her heel and headed back into the brush, scanning the forest for resources she could use.
Her mind raced, recalling the lessons Smoke and Stack had taught her in passing—how to spot tracks, how to stay downwind, and how to use what nature gave her. Her gaze darted to a fallen branch, a patch of stones, and some long vines overhead. Reaching into the small pouch at her hip, she pulled free a slim knife and a length of durable string she’d kept tucked away for a moment just like this. With careful precision, she carved the branch’s ends, threading the string taut and testing the pull with a firm hand.
It wasn’t perfect, not like something forged by a craftsman, but it was hers. Tess gave a small, proud smirk as she gathered a few straight twigs, sharpening their tips into makeshift arrows. “We ain’t starvin’ tonight,” she muttered to herself, eyes glinting with fiery resolve.
Her eyes scanned the brush, ears tuned to the faintest rustle. One by one, her arrows found their marks—swift, clean, and sure. By the time the sun had dipped low behind the trees, she knelt beside her haul, four rabbits laid neatly before her. A small, satisfied grin spread across her face as she gathered them up, stringing them together by their hind legs. “May have gotten a few little cuts but it’s worth it’,” she murmured proudly, brushing dirt from her knees before heading back towards Siridean.
