Warriors of Blue moon
Chapter 9 - So this is home.

It’s been three weeks since I fought those two rogues, I’d only come across one more and from what I could catch off its scent it was a male, but he didn’t look bothered when he saw me and he just took off in the opposite direction, he ’wasn’t skinny or bony so maybe he hadn’t been here much longer than I had… luckily I’ve managed to eat well, surviving off of rabbit and squirrels although the squirrels were fast fuckers so it was mainly rabbit but they were all enough to sustain us each day and allowed us to sleep without felling hungry, not to mention my bag was a lot lighter now I didn’t have to carry food bags around with me each day.

After a few days of sleeping in whatever safe places I could replace I knew I’d have to settle somewhere and start living a bit more in one place for a while at least, all this travelling each day and sleeping in trees wasn’t helping me to feel at home here and my body was starting to feel tender from sleeping in awkward positions! I Had just come across a cave that was hidden under loads of trellises and behind bushes and trees, I only managed to replace it when I was trying to catch a damn squirrel. The entrance was small and narrow but inside the walls were high enough for me stand up in. The whole cave itself wasn’t very big but it was enough for me, and it was well hidden.

But what made me want to stay there even more was that within a few minutes’ walk was a long clear and wide river flowing down from a water cove with a streaming waterfall splashing down. It was so serene, and soothing. As soon as I had come across it, I jumped in and had another wash and scrubbed my teeth. the water was so fresh and cold and now it had become my daily bath.

I had also started to collect long bits of wood and large stones and vines so I could start fashioning some spears and some traps, so I didn’t have to hunt all the time for my food. of course, my first few attempts at making the traps were a disastrous failure, as soon as an animal would go near it, it would just collapse or snap at the wrong time, making the animal run away. But I kept trying to perfect it and they had gotten better... although they still sometimes worked and sometimes, they would break or just not do anything. Soon though, soon I’d get them working without fail, I was determined.

I also did a makeshift basket with a lid to keep the food I had caught in and hid it in my cave behind some small rocks, mud and pine leaves to keep the smell hidden from rogues, that way I always had food stored and luckily toward the back of the cave it was cool and breezy. I have even managed to make a clothesline using vines and hung them in my cave so I can wash my clothes in the lake every day and hang them up to dry properly instead of them staying damp in my bag.

Although I’m still on alert every day and I still don’t sleep much through the night even with my dagger in my hand and my sword next to me, I’m always trying to keep prepared for any rogues that might pass this way and replace me, I may have killed those two rogues without a scratch on me but I still didn’t feel at ease enough to drop my guard but I liked this part of the forest and I was sick of moving from tree to tree every day. This is my new home from home and although I still incredibly miss everyone every day and I think about them all the time, especially at night before I’d fall asleep.

Six weeks later:

The kill I’ve had over the last few weeks have been great, my basket is always fall now I’ve managed to get the traps right…. and I get to spend most of the days making new weapons, like spears, arrows, the arrows were easy to make… but it’s the bow I’m trying to work on and now my cave has a pile of self-made weapons which make me feel a whole lot more safer during the night. I’ve set a spiked booby trap on the inside of my cave in case anything tried to come in during the night and only I can take the trap down from the inside for when I come and go.

I was just wringing out the water from my clothes that I wore yesterday as I just finished washing them in the lake, I shook them out and placed them on a rock next to me as I quickly picked some fresh flowers to hang up on my clothesline, to keep my stuff smelling fresh rather than of mold or damp. I gathered a huge handful, grabbed my clothes and headed back to my cave, I went in and hung everything up. When I had finished, I took a dead squirrel from my basket and headed outside to my small hidden campfire I used to cook my food on. Instead of remaking one several times a day I just kept using the same one with sticks I had collected and hidden it under loads of leaves and branches.

The food was cooked perfectly, and I groaned in satisfaction as I ate the fresh meat, and it filled my stomach nicely. It did make me, and my wolf feel a lot better not being so hungry all the time. I took a walk once I’d eaten and covered everything back up. I had crossed the lake and walked further left just to get to know more of what was beyond my cave… My eyes almost popped out of my head and my breath hitched when suddenly four rogues were just stood about twenty yards in front of me, as they all looked at me in hunger, smiling and licking their lips. Unlike the male rogue I had passed a while ago, I knew this lot weren’t about to just walk on and leave me alone, you could see the wickedness in their eyes.

"Fooood” one called in a deep lustful voice... and all at once they all rushed toward me, I pulled out my dagger in a flash and a spear and threw it as I flipped myself back. I hit one straight in the head making him fly off his feet and slam onto the ground, the others just growled as they ran even quicker to get to me. I pulled out my sword and slashed one in the stomach as I ran to him and slid past him on my knees, the cut was deep, deep enough for blood to gush out while he too fell to the floor, his body writhing in pain as the blood splattered and poured out of him.

One female jumped on me after I had stabbed another man in the chest knocking me on my back, she raised her arm and went to slash me with her claws but I sliced my dagger across her wrist, completely cutting it off from the rest of her body. I pushed her off of me, just as another had already reached me and started dragging me by my feet, I grabbed hold of a tree trunk making him falter but only by a little but as he dropped my leg he clawed it making my skin rip open I yelped in pain but kicked him hard in the face with my other foot, he stumbled back and I readied my dagger in my hand and threw it at him as he tried to steady his feet, and it hit him in the neck, he tried pulling it back out, but every time he did, blood would splutter out. He crumbled to the floor coughing up blood... I slowly walked over and pulled out my dagger, then removed my spear from another lifeless body.

I looked at the bodies around me as the woman who lost her wrist was screaming, clutching at her wound as she shuffled to her feet and ran away. I took off my shirt and wrapped it around the claw marks on my leg, luckily, they weren’t too deep, but they would take a full night to heal... I hobbled back to my cave, picking handfuls of Lavender plants to mask the scent of my blood for the night.

Once I got back to my cave I cleaned and bathed the wound and wrapped it in some gauge from my bag and I rubbed the lavender plants all over the bandage. I ate and drank my water to help my wounds heal quicker, then I did more work on my bow, trying to make it stronger and flexible.

After some time had passed and my eyes grew tired from staring at the bow, I and my fingers were splintered and sore, I put everything away, held on to my dagger, placed my sword beside me and fell asleep, but still waking up several times through the night to check my trap and listen for any noises. Every night I’d always wonder to myself if I’d ever get used to sleeping out here and to be able to sleep properly.