The next day, just as planned, Noctis started moving towards the deeper forest. As he moved closer and closer to it he got the similar feeling as when he first visited the outskirts.
He felt as if he longed to go into the forest. Deeper into the woods. No. More than going, it was more akin to returning to the forest.
As he walked among the rows of lush green, he felt a peace different from the usual feeling he got while gazing at serene landscapes.
Rather than taking joy in the beauty of nature, this felt like being part of it.
He grew more and more curious about his origins as he stopped thinking for a moment to just bask in it.
The first thing that came to his notice the moment he crossed the symbolic threshold of the outskirts was the heightened activity around him.
His instincts flared warnings in all directions of various dangers and opportunities.
The density of foliage and trees gave much better protection to prey as well as much population to predators.
As he moved deeper and deeper in the forest, the canopy almost entirely blocked out the sun leaving the floor damp and atmosphere humid.
Barely any signs of human activity could be found. Noctis had to carefully pick his prey and plan his movements here.
He did not want to end being a Mantis stalked by Oriole while hunting a cicada.
In the end he decided not to hunt but rather just note the signs of predators and animals around the region closest to the outskirts.
He had his house stored with a week's worth of rations. He could afford advised caution here.
***
Noctis was very carefully moving through the thick foliage tailing his prey for the last hour. He was terribly tired since moving to the deeper region was much more challenging due to the increased amount of thickets as well as animals.
He had tried to hunt down an elk today after a few days of observing. The elk moved between a set destinations everyday, gazing, ruminating and resting everyday.
Today, he decided to hunt it as it was solitary, pretty big, as well as had commercial value in its beautiful pelt and antelopes.
What he didn't foresee however, was that his arrows barely penetrated its hide. He had nailed three arrows in its hide but none did much damage.
And thus he was tailing it for an hour looking for an opportunity to somehow kill it.
Noticing that the elk was moving towards the creek he always drank from, he found the opportunity.
Moving quickly he reached the creek before it and took a position behind a large rock at the downward flow of the creek.
He carefully positioned himself close to the rock and drew his arrow to its full stretch.
It was a gamble. The elk would have its sides open towards him to take a precise shot. But the eyes at its sides would constantly scan the surroundings.
He hoped that the rock would break his silhouette and the elk would be deceived by depth. He had to remain absolutely still or else it'd notice easily.
The elk came to the creek with two arrows stuck around his shoulders. They penetrated the hide but couldn't go further to his heart or lungs.
As it lowered its head to drink the water, it came in direct view of Noctis's arrow aimed at his spot while he stood absolutely still.
Noctis held his bow stretched to max so as to release the arrow without prior movement that'd give away his position. He didn't even breathe as stood there.
As the elk started drinking water, Noctis celebrated inside his mind and focused on its eyes. If the arrow traveled far enough it could penetrate the brain killing it immediately.
As his body started aching he finally loosened the arrow, praying it gets the job done.
The arrow traveled in a blink of an eye and hit the target straight point blank.
The elk gave out a loud, deep guttural scream that chilled his spine and started writhing at his position, jumping up and down.
Noctis immediately bolted towards the woods from the creek. The moment his arrow started moving his position was compromised.
The arrow had struck but the beast lived, now far more dangerous than ever before.
He immediately picked a tree and climbed it as fast as he could but kept moving through the branches without stopping.
'Dammit it blinked.'
The elk ran towards the position Noctis had entered, still writhing and screaming hoarsely.
It struck the tree that Noctis had used to climb up with so much force, Noctis felt it even after switching the tree. The elk didn't stop and kept ramming itself on the tree and the surrounding.
Noctis could feel the shockwaves passing through trees as he held onto the branches knowing falling meant certain death.
The elk entered the forest but kept ramming itself to trees without any direction. Noctis started moving away from the radius of it.
He was already considerably tired from running around but kept on moving forward for his dear life.
Unfortunately since in the forest the elk could smell him, unlike at the creek which washed it away, it moved towards his position.
Looking at its build, it was unlikely it would fall down just from the injury.
Although the silver lining was the beast was moving around wildly rather than in a single bee line charge towards him.
But he had to try to deliver a final shot to end its, and his own misery, as the moment he stopped or slipped…
He pulled out an arrow from his quiver and knocked it on his bow. Without looking back, which would undoubtedly slow him down, he tried to judge its position.
Since it was charging towards him, he could target its much more vulnerable front hoping it would penetrate from this close.
He didn't want to let it go after coming this far. After finding his resolve, he sped up with all his strength one last time.
After going a bit far he stopped and moved around facing the charging elk. The elk's eyes penetrated with the arrow bled and left a trail of blood moving down from it to the ground.
Left alone, it might die of blood loss, but it would take hours and he couldn't risk another predator coming towards it to wrestle it with him.
He focused on the elk and drew his arrow to the maximum. It was moving towards him screaming and wild, shortening the distance at alarming speed.
Noctis stood still, forcing himself to remain calm and looked for just one chance.
It did eventually come as the elk came closer and closer and gave a huge scream moving its head upwards.
Noctis, close by and just at the right height, took aim and loosened the arrow straight towards the open maw of the beast.
Noctis immediately jumped towards his right and out of the tree. He fell sharply on the ground but avoided one last slam of the elk in the trunk of the tree as it flailed.
Silent this time as the arrow remained stuck in the throat sliding deeper and deeper as it twitched.
Finally its movement slowed down as it looked like it was being suffocated and finally dropped still on the ground.