A bone white arrow cut through the air at breakneck speed. It whistled as it traveled, announcing to the world that it is here and a threat. But, it didn't matter. It was too quick, and the mark could not reaction. A heavy crunch as bone shattered, and an unceremonious thunk as the mark, the boar's lifeless body was pinned against the trunk of a tree.

  The grass shuffled as feet quickly strode across it, as Kus raced towards the boar on nd. *That was a solid thunk!* High above, branches creaked and leaves whispered a swiftly moving presence. The two hunters weaved between the sea of trees as they travelled. Before, *Shit!*, a foot was caught underneath a root. His body, with no qualms, obeyed the root's not so gentle suggestion that he must stop, pivoted head first into the ground.

  A light hearted scoff and a soft smile. *That clumsy boy.* She thought. The branches protested more transparently, and loudly as they were not accustomed to the increase in force she applied for a leap and spun around in midair. The trees' feathered residences agreed, as they all took off with quite a shock. Their fpping wings, signaling to the entire forest, that they are here and are to be avoided.

  Despite the unwelcome distraction, her deft hands reached for her bowstring and pulled on it. White particles formed from the air, converging at the epicenter of the bow. At the apex of her draw, an arrow was fully constructed. She loosed it, and once again it announced its operation as it whistled.

  The arrow nded behind the tumbling Kus. The soft gentle glow turned harsh, but, only for a split second, as it exploded releasing a gust of wind threw him into the air. "Thanks!" As blue particles converged beneath his feet, a broadsword was materialized. He nded on the ft side, ejecting frost from the impact, that gzed the bdes of grass near it. Ice formed around his feet, anchoring him in pce, and cooling it as well. He flew across the forest floor, on his sword of ice.

  In due time, the hunters reached their quarry. "Shattered skull!" Kus struggled, "And! Woah!" The arrow suddenly released its grip, sending Kus tumbling backwards. Fortunately, it was interrupted by Aurora. Supporting him by his shoulders.

  "That would've made five in a day!" A smile on her face. "A new record!" Providing him with a thumbs up which Kus promptly rejected by swiping it away.

  A forceful, "Ok!" Punctuated the start of his defense. Aurora retreated back slightly. "The first one didn't count." She nodded her head, furiously, with a meek, "Mhm".

  "It didn't! And who's counting? Why would you keep track of that?" Aurora didn't looked the least bit bothered by his questions, and instead continued to process the boar. Arrow gliding along its skin, removing fur from the belly.

  "It's just a fun thing I noticed." She stopped in her tracks. "I didn't mean anything by it. You keep track of weirder things. Don't you?" He took note of her gentle tone, her soft delivery, and acknowledged his overreaction and said not another word.

  Aurora made a single long cut from the base of the boar's belly, close to the boar's front legs. Traced it up towards its back before arcing to the right. The arrow continued until it was above the hind legs before she cut downwards to the base, forming a fp.

  Blood slowly oozed from the wound. Frost crept up Kus' fingers as they reached into the wound, grabbing onto the top fp. The frost hardened the blood, preventing it from spilling. He pulled down, revealing the boars' innards, freezing them as he does so. Preserving them.

  "Beautiful." She whispered and administered slow, delicate cuts, and removed the stomach. "Look at the color!" Shot out from her mouth, Kus simply stared at her. "The color! It's deep blue! This little guy has been snacking on anterfols!"

  Kus had no response. "Isn't... Isn't that good?" Her head mechanically turned towards his.

  "Yes, but, not **that** good." He took the stomach and encased it in a block of ice before setting it on the floor.

  "Well, there's a reason why you're the cook of the family." She made more cuts to remove the colon. "I'm only good for well," She motioned to the boar, and handed the severed colon to Kus who once again encased it in ice.

  "Well, there's a reason why you're the hunter of the family." Aurora expected more but no, it ended there. That was the end of the parallel. "I don't have a kitchen here to motion to do I?"

  "No," She chuckled, "No, you don't." She saw Kus separating the organs into two groups. "Which is for the merchant people? The good stuff?"

  He tapped on the encased stomach. "The good stuff, without question." Before adding a liver to the pile. "Abdo is not going to do us justice with his introductions. It's even more important that I whip up something delicious since I can't make it. What I don't like is that it makes him look better."

  "Oh, shush now. It'll make the two of you look better."