Taking out some strips of cloth from a pouch he quickly dressed his paste-covered wound. The Troubleweed he had ingested earlier started to do its pain-dulling work, however he hadn’t had the time to boil it, he would be saddled with a stomach ache in a couple of hours. But he only had to hold out for a day more. ‘The Old Fucker’ was on his heels. Dawn tomorrow would be his salvation.
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Gingerly testing his leg he managed to put weight on it. He had to make more distance. “Useless brat. When you’ve been hurt and your pursuer has the upper hand; what are your options?” A lesson reminded itself in his mind. Weighing his options he settled on a plan of action. Crouching down and brushing soil over the blood, but not all of it, he had to sell that he was hurt and not thinking straight. Putting the snapped arrow in his quiver. He began making his stealthy getaway anew.
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More than just hiding and trying to get away, he was also trying to sell that his escape was hurried and that he would simply try to outpace ‘the Old Fucker’ for the remaining day. In his “blundering escape” Rava was looking for something, and after a few kilometers of searching he heard the telltale buzzing of the Razorwasps. ‘The Old Fucker’ had taught him to stay away from them, but Rava had observed them and discovered a peculiarity. 337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgU9I84r03w
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Approaching a small clearing between the tree’s he spotted their nest. This would be the place where he would attempt to even the playing field. Rava knew that he couldn’t use tricks taught to him by ‘the Old Fucker’, he had to use one of his own. And this particular one was something he had discovered all on his own during an exercise much like this one but hadn’t had the opportunity to enact. But to do it he had to get stupidly close to the nest.
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Razorwasps build their nests by burrowing into a tree which made them hard to spot if not for the buzzing that usually gave them away far earlier. To approach a Razorwasp nest was no easy task. Rava slowed his breathing, listening to the pattern of buzzing. One step, the pattern didn’t change. Two steps, still no change. It wasn't until step six when he was about four meters away that the buzzing changed, warning him that this was as close as he would get.
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“Good enough” he thought and his hand slowly moved to his herb pouch, bringing out a yellow flower he used his fingers to disturb its pollen-bearing stamen and dropped it to the ground in some high grass, slowly backstepping and crouching down in a bush and watching. 337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK5Gr3xCn6h
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After a few minutes wasps began landing near the flower, more and more. Until the buzzing was silent and they all just stood still near the flower, other than their antennae occasionally moving they were deathly still and wouldn’t move or make a sound unless something disturbed them. 337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8MgbcUV4u
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Picking up and pocketing a rock he started climbing a tree. Even with a hurt leg he was able to use the strength of his arms to easily carry himself upwards. Perched on a branch in the canopy he spread his awareness as necessity had taught him to. Sounds, sights and smell surged into his mind, filed away almost instantly into a ranking system of his mind if he had to divert more or less attention to it.
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This process was taxing and soon sweat formed on his brow, his stomach also reminding Rava that this would have to happen soon, or this gambit would’ve failed and surely him too.
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But it seemed like the gambit would pay off, his attention was subconsciously drawing him to a certain spot, that’s where ‘the Old Fucker’ was, invisible to his eyes but not his awareness. It wasn’t until ‘the Old Fucker’ suddenly disappeared from his awareness that Rava sprung his trap and ‘the Old Fucker’ his attack. 337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4XftmkaNTP
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Throwing the rock in an arc towards the Wasps and dropping off the branch he only gave himself one opportunity to slow down by grabbing at a branch, two arrows had thunked into the tree on his way down both dangerously close.337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Otd7OlqMW
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Rava and the rock landed simultaneously and the forest came alive with buzzing. ‘The Old Fucker’ was closer to the wasps than him meaning he caught their full ire, Rava saw his eyes widen just slightly as he processed the new threat, with quick rehearsed moves the bow was back over his shoulders and two swords where drawn. Rava readied an arrow on his own bow as he saw his teacher, now target lay into the buzzing swarm.
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As ‘the Old Fucker’ dispatched a wasp with each strike, sometimes even two or three he now had to contend with arrows from Rava, each aimed at his torso and each arrow snaking their way forward as he had been taught making them as unpredictable as possible. Rava allowed himself a small glimmer of hope as one of his arrows seemed to hit true through ‘the Old Fucker’s’ defence. 337Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnE10Osi3Vx
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In a flash he was gone and Rava’s eyes widened as a blade tapped his shoulder and then wind washed over him as if from nowhere. “You used magic sir Lowan, unfair.” Rava said, earning him a kick to the back of the knee and toppling him, the blade now pointed to his neck and Lowan looking down on him. “Your enemies won’t care that you haven’t awoken to magic yet” He said and turned away, walking off. A small smile crept onto Rava’s face.
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He had never gotten this far or pushed Lowan to use magic before, nor had he been painfully beaten to mark his loss. He had done something right. “Next time” he promised himself and got up to follow Lowan.
