1 - The Scientist and the Huntress

Meet the lead perspective of the story, and get used to her point of view on some of the normal and strange happenings in her life.

He stood in the middle of the leaf strewn road of late autumn. His clothing brought questions to my mind, such as how did he get such a fabric? He also wore some sort of reflective frame around his eyes, the sun glaring from his face.

I was cautious about getting close, even if it seemed he was unarmed. There had never been tales in our time of people attacking one another. We'd only seen such violence as accidents while hunting in groups.

He sighed, and removed the lenses from his face, rubbing his sweat beaded forehead with his white cloaked sleeve.

"Where is the nearest town?" he asked.

I was at first surprised to understand his speech, since he wore such outlandish clothing. I had been far from home, so I should not be surprised as no other area took up a different language.

I closed my mouth to gather my thoughts and took a deep breath in through my nose before answering.

"The village I'm heading to is beyond where your standing on this path. It's not much farther."

I was reminded then of the burden that weighed down on my shoulders. It was a sizeable doe, enough to feed a family for a week if used sparingly.

"Would you be so kind as to escort me? I'm afraid I'm still unfamiliar with these parts and it would be awful should I be attacked by wild animals."

I giggled slightly at his last words, "Wild animals...since when are they tame?"

True surprise coloured his expression.

"I'll guide you to my village. You're obviously not armed for a fight, and your scrawny arms wouldn't help if you tried to fight."

He nodded his head, and tried his best to keep in step with me as I passed him. For such a tall man to be so slow...it bothered me.

"Where are you from? I've never seen that kind of clothing and I've been months of journeying from this village."

"I'm...from a lot further of a place than months of travel would provide the distance."

A strange answer, especially since there was no possible way his perfectly white robe would have stayed so clean from such a long travel, and his legs were too thin to make such a trek.

He was a very strange man. Very strange indeed.


"...I believe from what I've gathered in information, either I managed to go back in time - which was my goal in the first place, or I'm on an entirely different planet similar in ways to where I'm from. Your language being the same as mine, and your population being so different in technology level is astounding. It makes me want to believe either the other planet theory, or farther in the past than my history examination covers."

"I understand...astoundingly. What was your purpose in such a travel? Surely you didn't believe you would be able to make it back to where you had come from?"

The two men had already been talking for hours. It was more staring at each other and weighing their mental prowess before making the next statement.

"If you need me for anything else, elder, have Echo bring word to me at home. I have to get this doe cleaned before it starts rotting."

He nodded his head, not taking his eyes off of the strange man.

Our society is based on a rather big equality. Everyone has a job they take up or are raised into. Most families raise farmers, tending to crops and making tools to ensure the job doesn't take their lives. Other families craft clothing from the hides of larger animals slain by the hunters, who were the most few.

The hunters, such as myself, were very few in number. Few were brave or adaptable enough to go into the wilds and hunt animals that were built by nature to make us their food.

There were other jobs, such as builders, and miners. People who tried to give us strong, and insulated homes to protect us from cold winters and powerful animals.

That I was one of only two in my home village community that took up the most dangerous job, was something everyone looked up to.

Typically hunters take on animals in a group, but for myself I prefer to go alone since it gives me a chance to see how the animals react to their natural environment, and find easier ways to kill them, or find bigger animals that provide less fight and more food.

The other hunter in the village was taught by my father, but he was an average hunter, who blundered often and would likely die to a lone hunt.

I'm not over confident in the slightest of my ability. I know what I can hunt, what I have and can kill easily, and what is impossible with my gear. A better dagger would help against bears, but for now it would be impossible for a girl of my height to kill a bear.

I tapped my hardened-mud coated boots against the door stop before entering the house, letting my mother know I was finally home.

"That took you surprisingly longer than usual. Was there anything the matter with the hunt today, Ririe?"

I always felt warm being welcomed by my mother's calming voice.

"I ran into a strange clothed traveller on the way back. I just sat through two hours of him and the elder weighing their bony frames against each other."

Mom giggled at that. "So, another deer today? Looks like they bred a lot while you were gone. That's three weeks straight that you've been able to bring one back every day."

"Yes, it's quite strange actually. I've never seen so many, and I've also never seen them alone this often. It's a huntress' paradise out there."

"Saying that will only make me want to get my old hunting gear on..."

She hopped up beside me. She had a lot of energy for a woman who retired hunting before giving birth to me - and I was well into my twentieth cycle.

"How about you go get properly cleaned up and I'll clean this deer for you? You just got me into such a good mood."

"Oh, you already finished your seams-work for today?"

"It never takes that long for me to do it, it's just when I decide to get it done that makes you see me doing it. I find it really boring so I tend to put it off."

I nod my head, leaving the carving set on the table beside where I left the deer hanging.

"Would you also clean your other weapons? I've been nervous you might get into a fight with a wolf and your knife be too dull to cut through its fur."

"I'll consider it, Mom."


Finally back into some decent clothes for around the village, I sized myself up in my Mom's mirror. I had sharpened the tools while bathing in the pond just outside of the village, so I had nothing left to worry about for the day - save unless the elder would send for me after I had left that thought with him.

The reflection of me cast a younger, yet slightly different version of my Mom. I was slightly shorter than her, shared her light grey eye colour, and some of her dark ginger hair colour. My hair also had streaks of golden blond and dark brown. My face was far from clean in complexion. Where there wasn't freckles which coated the majority of my face, there were often pimples, or some form of dirt that didn't want to get off until another mark had stained my face.

Currently, my face seemed...normal in complexion. The freckles were obviously still there, but I didn't even feel a pimple on it for once. There were no streaks of dirt, and my hair flowed in gentle waves starting from just away from my left ear down passed my rib cage.

My body was rather thin, but in comparison to others in our village, much stronger and more full. There was one perk to being one of the few who had the hardest job in a community - you needed to have decent meals in order to function, and it would be provided.

My feet were one thing I usually neglected looking at in a mirror, mostly because a mirror never looks that low from where they are hung. Also, because I know they are very scarred and unattractive from all of the abuse I cast on them from day-one I took up hunting.

I was always very hard to talk to or approach it seemed whenever I went out into the village to relax. People were either afraid of me, or were more interested in habits they were already used to doing.

It was also awkward since I was the only girl in our village not attracted to a man.

I shook my head and walked back into the carving area of our home and saw my Mom leaning against the door frame, eyeing the sliced meat on the counter.

"Obviously not as much meat as you get off of them, but not bad considering how long it's been since I've carved a deer."

"It's great Mom, thanks for the help." I kissed her on the cheek, standing on my toes to reach her cheek."

"Ririe! The elder wants you back at the meeting area!"

Echo's voice was loud enough that he could be heard a long way outside of the village, let alone inside the village. It would be nearly impossible for him to get lost, which was obviously a good thing since he was so young.

"Did you finally tell the elder you were going to start training me to be a hunter with you?" He asked with the voice of a child with his front-top teeth knocked out. He was really excited and energetic, nearly bouncing on the spot.

"You have to let him rest from those kind of requests or he'll never let you go on those kind of jobs. A hunter is the most at-danger job after all. You're still young, so give it some time."

He lost some of that energy and hung his head in a pout.

He looked back up at me anyway with a confidence in his eyes. "I just won't give up! That'll be sure to convince him to let me be a hunter! I want to be just as good as you Ririe!"

Back to bouncing, he hopped away as fast as he could back home.

It was going to be a long end to the day. Meetings with the elder were always drawn out unfortunately. This time was going to be unfortunately worse.