Lark had just turned five. By this time he had already learned many lessons, such as how to hold deer hide while his dad dressed it, how to clean the equipment they took hunting, and how to recover arrows without breaking them. Apprentice work.

Now his father was teaching him something essential, stealth. Normally, especially in this period, hunting would be done in a party of individuals, or by setting up traps. His father felt that all that rigmarole was unwarranted and that if you were skilled enough, traps were pointless. Thinking candidly, Lark thought him a bit biased, especially because he didn’t actually need to hunt, as he wasn’t completely reliant on game to get food. If they had a bad couple of weeks of hunting, which, to be fair, they never did, they could just take their dried goods and travel to the city market to get grain or something.

Lark wasn’t going to mention this to his father, though, because he knew that Henry was extremely passionate about hunting. He enjoyed every part of it. From the hours of walking, or waiting, to dressing his kills. Lark could tell that he was connected to nature in a very real way. It was magical watching him walk through the forest without making a sound. At first, Lark thought it actually was magic, he still hadn’t given up on it existing yet, but his father told him it was just skill and instinct.

“No, Devon, you're walking wrong. You have to step on the edge of your feet, and slowly put your weight down. Great Job! Oops, you stepped on some foliage, if you can, make sure to avoid anything that will crunch or crack!”

He continued to encourage Lark whenever they went out hunting, which was pretty much every day. They didn’t catch always catch something, in fact, most of the time they caught nothing, and Lark had a feeling that it was on purpose. After all, Henry didn’t want to scare animals away from this area, and they didn’t need that much food. One deer could sustain them for months if his father didn’t make monthly trips to sell the excess.

He figured that, besides his father’s love for walking through the forest, the main reason they were coming out every day was for him to practice.

Lark was focusing on each step, making sure to avoid all the detritus on the ground that could cause him to make a sound. Every step was calculated, and a look of intense focus was on his face. Unfortunately, he was a little too focused on the forest floor and ran right into a tree, letting out a high-pitched yelp that scared the deer he was trying to sneak up on.

Damn it! I was so close, it was only thirty feet away!

He then heard an odd sound behind him. Like someone was choking. Lark turned around with a confused look on his face. The branch-shaped red mark on his head caused his father to finally break, and begin howling with laughter.

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Through ragged breaths Henry finally managed to get out “That - that was great son, you managed to get really close that time, but you have to look at your surroundings if you want to actually sneak up on something!”

Lark's lips twitched downwards, but then he stopped himself. He couldn’t pout, he was a grown-ass man for fuck's sake! After taking a second to calm down, he looked back up and his father burst out laughing again. At that moment, Lark forgot about being an adult, and his face twisted into a scowl. Then his father began laughing again when he saw the annoyed look on Lark’s face. It wasn’t Lark’s fault that his scowl was a picture-perfect replica of a child’s pouty face! His father laughed even harder. Finally, Lark gave in and started laughing with him. Yet another successful day.

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A few months later

Lark was traversing the forest with his father, both silent as ghosts. In front of them, only thirty feet away, was a doe. His father prepared to nock his bow, but Lark put a hand on his shoulder. Henry looked back, confused, until he saw Lark with a knife in hand. Henry showed an incredulous look on his face, but a wave of understanding then showed on his face. He didn't look thrilled with the idea, but with a reluctant nod, Lark’s father allowed him to make the attempt.

Slowly creeping up on the doe, he avoided sticks and leaves as if they were landmines. Not quite graceful, as he had to make a few last-second adjustments, but eventually he got close enough. The doe’s nose twitched. I guess the scent eraser doesn’t work this close. With a quick lunge, Lark stabbed at the doe’s neck.

Before his knife made it even halfway toward its throat, she was already galloping away.

“Damn it!” Lark said

“Devon, what did I say about swearing.” His father spoke threateningly

“Sorry, dad. I was just so close!”

“Hey, most seasoned hunter’s wouldn’t have been able to get that close. I'd wager to say that a forest witch couldn't have managed that! You’ve got real talent, kiddo. Don’t feel bad.”

“Would you have been able to pull that off?”

“Of course! But it’s going to take more than a couple of months to catch up with your old man! I’m kind of the expert on stealth, you know.” Henry said with no small amount of pride, but Lark felt that it was warranted with how goddamn good he was.

“Alright, let’s move on. You clearly need some more practice. If you manage to sneak up on another animal today, I’ll do your share of chores.” Henry said, confidently.

Lark gazed at him suspiciously, Henry didn’t make bets he thought he would lose. Not seeing what the trap could possibly be, Lark went along with the bet.

For the rest of the day, Lark could not get within two-hundred feet of another animal. Back at home, he finally asked why.

“That’s simple.” Henry said with a shit-eating grin. “When you scared that doe away, you stepped in the present it left you!” Henry finished, finally unable to hold his laughter in.

Horrified, Lark looked down at his shoe. Lo and behold, shit.

“Damn it all! I knew I shouldn’t have taken that bet.”

“HEY! What did I say about swearing?”

“Sorry!”

“Good, now you have to do my share of the chores too for that potty mouth of yours.” Henry said triumphantly

As he was lounging in his chair watching his son do the housework, he gave a sage piece of advice.

“If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Also, make sure to be aware of your surroundings. I thought I had already smacked that one into your skull.”