It did not take long for everyone in a village of their size to know her plan, but Shirisha knew for certain that the amount of people that gathered tomorrow would be quite a bit fewer. She had scolded them just a few hours earlier for their stagnation, but at the same time she felt that she couldn't really blame them for it. She had a fairly restless night, struggling to internalize fully what she had now committed to, but still rose first the next morning in order to be the first at the location.

The sun rose at last, stretching its familiar dull orange and yellow rays in the cool, constant wind. Rays whose warmth felt limited and only melted pieces of snow, the portions that it can't quite reach creating a patchwork on the ground. Definitely not the rays of springtime. Though in a normal year it still would take several days to transition into spring, she and many others now feared that in the light of what happened, that transition may never happen at all. She looked far downward at Abhinatha's body, even in death impossibly huge. Although their mountains were very tall, there were still considerable spaces between them, and Abhinatha's head seemed to be almost three mountains away. At least three days' worth of walking She thought. Though what our pace will be could vary.

Then she heard brisk footsteps crunching up the path, and turned to see Bibek accompanied by someone a little taller and leaner, a hunter named Milan. He had his bow slung across his back, something he likely hadn't touched in months. The two were of similar age and knew each other quite well, Shirisha now realizing that the two coming in a pair was extremely likely.

In these times however, they did not joke or smile like young men typically did. Bibek gave a nod of respect to her which she returned, appearing ready to face what was coming. She turned to Milan.

"Will there be any more of you?" She asked.

"Three more," Milan responded softly and calmly, "Ahupathi, Rahm, and Abiral are all gathering what they need. The last one took some persuasion, but the other two seemed eager enough."

He looked out across the valley feeling the bow in his hands. "They may take some time to remember the feel of their string, and while we hope they won't be necessary we do not want to take any risks."

"Thank you." Shirisha responded with a bit of relief; her plan that was left almost entirely to chance seemed to be going well so far.

While they were talking, she noticed that Bibek was staring into space anxiously in thought.

"Are you all right Bibek?" she asked with concern. "Are you really sure you want to go?"

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He snapped back into the world, and laughed a little. "Of course. Please don't misunderstand me Shirisha, I completely support what you believe and what you want for our future. Actually, I admire you for it, but it's just..." He paused, turning visibly angry. "The man who caused all of this. If I by some chance get to see him while out there, I want to give him what he deserves."

Shirisha was taken aback, and then stammered out a response.

"Bibek you can't... I understand what you're feeling but he's still one of ours! The best any of us can do is to try and talk to him, convince him to come back to us! Fighting will not change anything about this, and regardless of what is happening you could both get seriously hurt!"

Bibek sighed a long sigh. "Shirisha, you have held my respect for many years, and I shouldn't have to say why. But forgiveness always has a limit, and if he wasn't beyond forgiveness before the murder of the being most sacred to us, then he certainly is now. I'll try to take some of what you say to heart, but know that if I do come across him, it will take every part of me not to shatter his skull with whatever I carry in my hand."

With a crestfallen face, she replied "Please try your best."

Milan paid them no attention, perhaps intentionally, looking back down the path. A few minutes of silence passed before two more hunters, Ram and Ahupathi, came striding strongly towards them, accompanied by three other slightly older men as well as two similarly aged women. Trailing a short distance behind was a young boy that looked about twelve, likely a child of a couple in the group. The two new hunters exchanged brief greetings with Milan, and struck up a small discussion about getting back on the job after so long.

Shirisha quickly greeted and deeply thanked the rest of them while Bibek hung back, asking them out of curiosity why they decided to come. The answer was pretty much the same all around; facing their grief and deciding firmly that action must be taken. The young boy also responded with this, though without the same assertion of the others, giving Shirisha the subtle impression he decided to come more so to prove himself than anything else.

Over the next ten minutes a few more people trickled up the path: a couple with their arms linked that looked to be middle aged, a young adult woman who stood with the most conviction, and three teens just a bit too young to be hunters. Last came up Abiral, fiddling with his tools and muttering to himself here and there, clearly not in the best of moods.

They waited a little more still, just to be sure, but this was everyone. Eighteen in total. Milan turned to Shirisha expectantly, noting that they should begin the journey soon. She realized this, and so began organizing the group into a marching order. She and Bibek were at the head of the line, which held the oldest of them in the center and each of the four hunters at the corners, Milan and Rham leading all of them.

And so they began marching steadily down the path of the village they've lived in their whole lives, the land most of them have never been far outside of. As they went, a few curious heads peaked out of doors to their flanks, looking both fascinated and uncertain. Shirisha did not let any of it deter her mindset, ensuring that she gained confidence with each step. It was not long when the familiar trail started to fade into snowy woodland, and not much longer when Shirisha had traveled the farthest distance from the village than ever before in her life.