Page 5 of A Soul to Touch

On the other hand, Mayumi knew all about her father’s side of the family.

She rolled her eyes.I’m not going to give myself a history lesson. My father gave meplentyof those.

No, she had far more important things to do.

Adjusting her bow so it sat better across her mostly flat chest, she walked down the porch steps. The moment her boots were crunching in the snow, she headed to the right towards the back of her home.

Pressed against the back of the house was a wooden shed. She pushed up the long, heavy wooden latch that spanned it completely to open it. Fetching a long rope, she slung it over her shoulder before grabbing an axe and clipping it to her weapon’s belt.

After she closed the shed and secured it, she walked under the canopy attached to the back wall that provided shelter the entire way. This is where her smithing station was. There was a spring bath that had been made by someone from her family years ago. It connected to the stream nearby, which could be manipulatedby terracotta pipes and dam points to block or release water flow directly to it.

But a bath outside in the middle of winter sucked. It took far too long to warm with the outside furnace.

Once she passed it, she began her descent down the mountain. She didn’t even bother to look back; there was no point.

The surrounding forest was filled with tall, spindly trees, most of which were cedar or fir. They created just enough shadow to make any human feel wary. Mayumi scanned her environment carefully as she hiked.

The snow was thick upon the ground with more falling slowly every second, but she traversed it with ease. She was creating a trail behind her, and she knew she’d be able to follow it home.

Mayumi knew where she was going and would always find her way back. She’d grown up in this forest. She knew it better than anyone. It didn’t matter that it had grown in the few years she’d been away from it.

A sound in the distance caused her head to lift in its direction, but she didn’t pause. She just placed one hand firmly around her bow and the other on her short sword in preparation.

Nothing approached, and it was quiet once more other than her footfall and her steady breaths.

There was a fallen tree she’d started cutting up a few days ago for her firewood, and she eventually saw it down the long hill. Her reserves were empty since she’d thrown the last piece in the fireplace that very morning. If she didn’t want to freeze for the next few nights, she needed more.

A severe snowstorm could also happen upon her at any time.

All the more reason to go to town, I guess. If I get stranded for more than two days, I’ll have no food.She groaned out loud as she came upon the tree she wanted.I’m going to have to go tomorrow, no question about it.

She released her axe from its clip on her belt and rotated it in a circle to prepare her wrist. She also began stretching her arms, back, and neck as she drew closer.

With the axe resting over her shoulder, she eyed the last long branch remaining since she’d already removed the rest. Then she grabbed the axe handle with both hands and slammed it into the thick base of it.

A snorting squeal sounded off to the side of her in a bush, Mayumi’s first strike spooking whatever was inside it. Only a tree distance away from her, it rustled wildly.

She immediately dropped her axe and unslung her bow from her back while reaching for an arrow. She lifted both, pulling back the string until her body locked into position, and aimed it in the shrub’s direction. Something small, black, and hairy sprinted from it.

A Demon? No.

A Demon lure? Yes, and she was absolutely taking it home.

With a skill that tookyearsto hone, she released her arrow, her exhaled breath following it straight into a young boar. It gave a piggish squeal when the shot hit it into its shoulder, making it stumble. She was already running for it.

Just as it was about to get up and start running again, Mayumi leapt. With her weight pressing down on it, she tied its mouth shut to keep it quiet before hogtying it.

With it squirming to free itself, to no avail, she hoisted it over her back. It was heavy, as boars were usually quite dense. She was lucky it was relatively small and that she was unusually strong.

All that training did me wonders.

She dropped it onto the ground next to the tree. She needed it alive for what she wanted to do with it, needed it fresh, but she still needed firewood as well.

Palming her forehead before brushing a few strands of loose hair from her face, her cow-lick curls unable to be tamed, she wondered what she was supposed to do.

She’d used the rope she’d been intending to carry her firewood back with. Somehow, she grew impossibly tired despite the adrenaline running through her.

With her warm breaths fogging in the cold air, the boar received a glare.

---