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"What?" Tara said, looking at Clover surprised. "You've never killed a rabbit before? What kind of forest-dwelling creature are you?"
"I usually let my brothers do the hunting when I go exploring. I only know how to fish..."
"Well at least you're good for two things so far," Tara grinned. "But you should learn how to use a bow and arrow too. You never know when you might need it to defend yourself, like with the wolves last night."
She paused as she pointed toward a mossy tree about fifty feet away.
"Look, there's another one," she said, handing Clover her bow and taking another arrow out of her quiver. "Now you try it."
Clover looked in the direction she was pointing and noticed another rabbit foraging in the brush. She placed the arrow on the bow like she'd seen Tara doing earlier, then she pulled it back, closing her eyes.
"You're going to need to open your eyes if you want to hit the target," Tara whispered into her ear.
"But it's so cute!" Clover said.
"You eat meat, don't you?"
"Yes..."
"Well then, you're going to need to learn how to kill it too. I can't do everything for you."
Clover opened her eyes and took aim at the rabbit, shaking her bow nervously in her hand. Then she released the string and the bow flapped against her arm with the arrow falling down onto the ground between her legs.
Tara peered at her like she was a helpless baby, then she picked up the arrow and handed it back to her.
"You're thinking about it too much," she said. "Don't release the tension so slowly. Instead of lifting your fingers off the string, slide them over. That releases the tension more quickly and makes the arrow fly true. Try it again."
Clover placed the arrow back in the bow, then pointed it around the clearing until she found another rabbit. This time, she slipped her fingers off the tensed string, and the arrow shot out in the direction of the animal. But it landed a few feet to the side, and the rabbit scurried under a fallen log.
"Better," Tara said, nodding. "It takes a bit of practice to find your aim. Try it again."
It took another five tries until Clover managed to catch the leg of one of the rabbits, then Tara showed her how to slice its neck to quickly put it out of its misery. They collected three more rabbits before the sun rose high overhead, then they stopped to build a fire, where Tara showed Clover how to skin and dress the animals to roast them over a makeshift spit.
"Not bad for your first day," Tara nodded, watching Clover tear into the freshly baked meat as they sat cross-legged facing one another. "Does it taste better after you've caught it yourself?"
"It tastes pretty damn good," Clover said, licking her lips.
"Good enough to get over your hesitation to kill it?"
"It might take me a while to develop your cutthroat attitude, but I'll get there eventually."
"So you're thinking of sticking around Abbynthia a little longer? Or are you planning to return to Tennessee United States?"
"I hadn't really thought about it, to be honest," Clover said. "I've been so distracted ever since I got here. But it would be good to know how I can get back when I need to. My parents will be worrying about me. Can you take me back to the meadow where you found me to see if the portal is still there?"
"Sure," Tara said, smiling at her new friend. "But are you sure you want to go back there just to find the waterfall?"
"Are you referring to the erotic flowers?" Clover said. "Why do I need those when I have you?"
"You never know when we might get separated. Besides, who said I was going to keep you? I've been managing just fine all alone all this time."
"What?" Clover said, looking at Tara with a hurtful expression. "You don't want me anymore? What about this morning and last night?"
"Don't get your knickers in a knot," Tara said, reaching out to squeeze Clover's hand. "You're beginning to grow on me. And now that you've learned how to hunt, you're useful to me in other ways."
4
After their lunch of roast rabbit and wildberries, Tara and Clover headed back in the direction of the waterfall. Clover's plan was to go back to Asheville just long enough to tell her parents that she was okay and that she planned to go on a long hitchhiking trip. If she told them she'd found a hidden portal to a fantasy world, they'd lock her up in a mental institution. But when they reached the waterfall, Clover was alarmed to find that on the other side there was only an impenetrable wall, no gateway back to Tennessee.
