NOVEL NEXT Chapter 38: CH 38
Harry didn't mind. He had plenty of food, and for once, didn't have to worry. He could spend his time gazing into the fire, or stare at the half-shaded forest through the curtain of rain. He was at peace.
He slept well that night, despite not having done anything other than collect firewood and stuff himself full of boar.
The next morning, the weather had changed again, and the sun was shining. Harry smiled at it – maybe he would have to make an offering to Mister Apollo at some point.
It was his last full day in the forest. Seven days. Tomorrow, his test would be over, and Zoë was going to take him back. He hoped that he had done well. He'd definitely survived, and even had it good, but he was also aware that he had made some major mistakes.
He started scraping the boar hide to remove any fat and tissues from it. As he worked, he thought about his performance. He'd prioritized the fire too much the first day or two, and it had left him extremely hungry. Too hungry, as he had eaten those dock roots, which had turned out to be problematic. He was lucky it had been a severe bout of diarrhea, and not something worse.
When he finished scraping the hide, and cut some holes in it and turned it into a makeshift vest. The boar's fur had a bristly top layer, and a very soft undercoat. It was also very warm. Harry grinned, he could have used his boarskin vest the first couple of days, when he had been cold and shivering in his tent.
He decided that he was going to make a feast of it tonight, to celebrate having it good and to celebrate his final evening in the woods. He went out and looked for edibles. He found a couple of handfuls of wood sorrel; like lettuce it contained flavor but few nutrients. He also collected more blueberries. He also found a dandelion or two.
Using his knife, he peeled some bark from a birch, and wrapped it tightly around a couple handfuls of freshly picked pine needles. That would make for a great candle.
By the time the evening fell, Harry had pulled a tree stump next to the fire for him to sit up, and had constructed a rudimentary table out of a second tree stump. He lit his improvised candle at the campfire, and stuck it in the middle of his 'table'.
On top of said improvised table was a salad of wood sorrel and dandelion leaves, a hunk of boar meat, blueberries and blueberry sauce, and a canteen full of pine needle tea.
He sat down, and was about to tuck in, when he looked at where Zoë had camped. He hadn't seen her eat or drink, so he assumed she was doing so out of his view so as to not tempt him. She was probably making do with some sort of rations, though. "Miss Zoë?" he asked.
"Harry," she answered.
"Would you like to join me?" he asked, pointing to the other side of his 'table'. "I have plenty of boar meat left, and it would be a shame to let it go to waste."
Zoë definitely seemed to like his rustic cooking, as the blueberry sauce slathered boar meat vanished quickly.
Harry grinned. He loved it when people appreciated his food. He ate with gusto as well, and soon they had both finished.
Holding out a cup of blueberries, Harry asked, "Blueberry dessert?" Zoë laughed, and picked a couple of blueberries out of the cup, leaving the rest for him.
Her first reaction was obviously to decline, he could see it. Preparing himself to eat alone, he could see her reconsider, before shrugging. "Why not?" she finally said, dragging her own tree stump over.
Harry grinned, and hurriedly put a second filet-o-boar near the fire to heat it up.
"A candle, Harry?" she commented as they waited for the meat to heat up.
Harry shrugged. "It's my last day here, I thought I'd try something different. I'm just glad it worked."
Zoë laughed softly. "'T would be a different atmosphere to eat in total darkness, I admit," she said.
They sat in companionable silence.
"The meat's almost ready," Harry said, judging the time with an expert's eye. "Let's start with our appetizer," he added, motioning for the salad made from wood sorrel, dandelions, and other assorted greens.
Zoë just nodded in amusement, and they divided the salad between them. Having planned for one, the salad was a bit small for the both of them, but neither said anything, as there was plenty of meat to come.
Having judged correctly, Harry served the boar meat. "There's blueberry sauce to go with it," Harry said, motioning for the cup holding the substance in question. Again, they divided between them. CH 39
The Hunter looked amused. "Is that thy way of asking my age? Thou should know never to ask a lady her age!"
Harry sputtered, that hadn't been his intention at all! "No, that wasn't what I asked at all!" he protested. "I just wanted to know if you were part of any large events in history!"
His teacher smiled faintly. "Not often," she replied. "My Lady doeth her best to keep us from harmful events." She thought for a few moments. "There is one tale that may interest thee," she added. "'t is how I learned to drive an automobile. During the second world war, us Hunters were tasked with evacuating innocent maidens from London during the Blitz. As such, I learnt to drive an automobile while evading exploding bombs."
Harry blinked. "Whoa," he admitted.
They sat in silence again, listening to the sounds of the forest and the snapping of the wood in the fire.
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