The forest was a bit quiet for a the morning. Other than the rain, that seemed to be never ending. At least it had let up marginally from the night before, which had kept up the hunter hiding within the brush. Of all of the terrors that were seemingly in the Darkwood, this one hunter seemed to be unperturbed by any of it. The rumors, the myths, the legends, that was all that they were, at least to the hunter. The real dangers was the rain ruining a good hunt, covering tracks, making one go home without anything to show for a day of work, no food and nothing to sell.

But, the rain was a perfect time to hunt. To find a good spot to sit and wait. The rain covered tracks, hid the scent. Masked, at the least, for a time. Wash away all traces that anyone was there or is there. The particular piece of brush being used as a hiding place had been covering the hunter for nearly an hour. The animals were used to the rain. It didn't bother them nearly as much as it did an animal elsewhere. Besides, it make small ponds in the mud and ditches that the animals could drink out of without having to make the trip to the river, which was a hot spot for other hunters and predators. No, it was better to walk in the rain, wash the dirt from their fur, and get their water in any of the thousands of miniature lakes.

That was a mistake they made all to often. Almost never the same spot. That made it to where any single area wouldn't become taboo. A bow had been drawn, strung, and an arrow was laid across it. All that needed to be done was aim, pull back, and loose the missile into the target. It made it all to easy. Beneath the rain, the hunter heard the squelching of boots, just barely audible above the downpour, the patter of rain on the leaves, the mud, the hunter. She saw the target, a large thing, a good subject. Might make a nice ornament, if it didn't take too much damage when she let the arrow fly.

The creak of the bowstring couldn't be heard over the rain. Nothing could have heard that, save something unnatural. The thing did not notice. Did not stop, either, kept walking. There weren't many puddles around. No place to drink. No real cover from the rain, either, other than where the hunter was taking cover. Took aim. Wouldn't be long now, it'd be so close that she couldn't miss. Impossible.

The arrow flew. Entered through the neck. It flailed around, fell to the ground, thrashed. Birds taking shelter in the trees scattered, moved away from the dying thing. The hunter merely waited in the brush, waiting for it to die. Watched it. Finally it stopped. She left the brush, collected her prize, and drug them back to the cabin. There would be some work to do while the rain poured.

---

Eva sat in her home, the deer she had caught out spread out across her floor. Heavy thing, a pain to drag through the rain and mud. Even worse than the last quarry she'd hunted and had to drag back, and that one she'd actually needed to chase down. Much of it was skinned already, and she was beginning to dig into the flesh, cut up the meat and prepare to load it up. The head was laying off to the side. She'd have to either begin work soon or throw it out. Wouldn't stay good for too long, especially if the weather worsened and she was forced to lay over in town for a few days. She hated doing that. Too much work to be done, couldn't be stuck in the city twiddling her thumbs and blowing her money on frivolous things.

It took several hours. What wasn't edible in the body or salvageable in the fur, she gathered it up and tossed it into the forest. Would attract carrion and predators, yes, but then she could use that to her advantage, especially if something nice showed up for the guts. Though, the rain and mud might ruin it. Didn't matter, would probably be gone by the time she got back and could take advantage of it. She went back inside, bundled up the meat. Would need to get it to town soon. She didn't have any way to preserve it for long periods of time. Fur was different, but the tanners liked it fresh. Tailors were beginning to pay good for it too. Apparently, fur was in now. Eva'd never payed much attention to fashion. Utility was more important.

Pulling on her heavy coat and [url=http://www.thinktanktoys.com/cache.php?img=http://img.thinktanktoys.com/images/vendors/rubies/49490a-main.jpg]a wide brimmed hat that would be stereotypical of a wizard[/url] to keep the rain from her, hurried the meat and fur, along with some others that she'd been able to keep for a couple of days, and loaded them up into a cart. The mule huffed, obviously not happy about being taken out in the rain. Eva ignored the complaint, and threw a tarp over the back of the cart to keep the rain from ruining the meat and furs, then another on top of the mule, to at least help keep it somewhat dry. Then she hopped up into the seat, took up the reigns, and set the mule to work pulling the small cart out onto the road and towards Blackwater.