Sabryel kicked at a rock in the yard, bored out of her mind. Plopping her rear in the dirt, she propped her elbows on her knees and did her best to think up things to do.
Her lessons were done for the day, all her chores were done... She tapped her chin.
"Sabryel Shadowmend, are you planning on sitting there in the dirt all day or are you going to come hunting with me?" Her papa came out of the shed with a wide grin on his face.
"Oh papa can I?!" She looked up at him hopefully.
He nodded and gestured toward the shed. "Come on, lets get you outfitted with some weapons and see if we can't put a scare to your mama."
That evening, they returned with enough meat to last them a month.
"Papa, how do we get the meat out of them? Do you squeeze them?" Her wide eyed childish question shocked him for a moment before he burst into laughter and scooped her up for a hug. "My wee littlest, you're a joy. I'll show you. And maybe we can get some skin from them and make you some new britches." He patted her on the rump. "You've nearly worn the backside and knees out of the ones you have on!"
She giggled, and stepped inside the shed with her father. He laid out his skinning tools and his butchering knives on the big, wide table. Sabre went out to the yard and proudly pulled a rabbit from the pack and laid it out for him. She waited impatiently, hopping up and down. "Do it papa! Show me!"
He raised an eyebrow at her and deftly slit the skin from the flesh on the rabbit, yanked it loose, and tossed it on the table. With a couple chops with a butcher cleave, he made quick work of the rest of the rabbit. Looking over his shoulder, he noticed that Sabryel had gone pale white and looked as though she were about to lose her lunch.
"Aww sweetie. Is this a little rough for you?"
She nodded slowly and backed towards the door.
"Go on inside wee one, I'll finish up here. Help your mama finish up dinner."
Sabre nearly sprinted out of there and back into the house.
"I can't BELIEVE you took her out hunting Rian! She's but a child, only eight summers!" Maurana shook her head. "She's my baby, she could have been killed. With Kaliye out of the house, she's all I have left." She sniffed.
Rian crossed the room and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Dearest, you know damn well I wouldn't have endangered her life. We hunted only small prey, and she had only a little bow. But the light shining in her eyes when her arrow found it's mark. I wish you could have been there to see it." He grinned with fatherly pride. "She's a natural. And she's a good girl to boot. She couldn't stand the sight of me butchering up our kills."
Maurana seemed to absorb that knowledge.
"You should give her more credit, more freedom. She's a smart one, and willing to help... and more than that, she's bored to tears most days." Now he was the one standing there with his hands on his hips. "Cause if you don't, I will."
Maurana threw up her hands in frustration. "What am I to do with her? She has no interest in cooking, or sewing, or herb'ing, or any of that. She likes playing outside with her big ol' turtle, digging up rocks, and getting as filthy as possible. She's no girly girl. If you want to take her under your wing, have at it. In fact, I think that's just what she needs."
That night Rian fashioned a gift just for her. With loving care he carved her name into the bow and polished the wood until it gleamed. Using some of the hide from her kills of the day, he created a soft quiver and weapon harness for her. Carefully he burned her name into both pieces, embellishing it symbols to provide her with protection. Lastly, he went through his own blade collection and carefully chose two knives, sharpened to a deadly edge.
When Sabryel awoke the next morning, she saw a brightly wrapped present lying at the foot of her bed. Frowning, she slipped the ribbon off and looked inside... and gasped.
Grabbing up the bow and leathers she ran downstairs. "PAPA!!!"
He sat quietly, and seemingly tired at the dining table.
She flew at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugged him close before looking him in the eye. "Thank you papa."
"You're very welcome wee one. Get on with your breakfast and we'll head to town to get some arrows for you. And some proper boots. We'll start your archery lessons this afternoon."