Billy Jo was worried about Gyda. He knew it would take her some time to recover from the death of her parents, but sitting around crying was helping. He had talked to Harfreder and she had agreed to take Gyda hunting. He knew how they hunting people were and he was hoping it might help Gyda or at least distract her for a while. Harfreder had tracked down an isolated male boar. It was just separated from it’s mother and was still little more than a baby and not really a threat. While Harfreder liked to hunt dangerous game she would never put Gyda in danger.
The hunt was easy compared to others they had been on. Gyda and Harfreder where ready and Billy Jo was in charge of flushing the boar to them. Gyda hadn’t been as excited about the hunt as he had hoped, but she did agree to go along so that was at least something. His tracking and hunting skills had really improved and he had no trouble finding the board. He yelled and charged, startling the young boar and it took off fleeing in the direction he intended. He was a lot faster on his feet than he used to be and he had no trouble keeping pace. They were getting close Harfreder and Gyda’s position, so he steered the boar a bit to the right towards Gyda. The board was pretty small and if Gyda failed to catch it on her spear he’d take it out before it could hurt her.
As them came through a tall patch of grass he could see Harfreder and Gyda. The boar was already headed in Gyda direction, so it put it heads down to charge her. Gyda stood with spear planted and she’d practiced many times and took the boar In the throat. It was a clean kill, though the boar was still twitching and rolled over on to its side. Gyda pulled her spear out it’s throat and stabbed it the stomach. She pulled the spear out and stabbed it again, then again. She stabbed it again and again fiercely and began yelling at it. She wasn’t even yelling words, just incomprehensible words of hate and frustration. He was stunned. He wasn’t sure what to do. He look at Harfreder who was in a similar take of confusion and concern.
“Gyda.” He said gently. “It’s dead now. You killed it.” She turned to face him tears streaming down her cheeks. She dropped her spear and hugged him tightly sobbing. He knelt down and hugged her. She hugged him fiercely crying. She cried for a long time before finally passing out from exhaustion. He looked up into Harfreder’s face seen the same concern he felt mirrored there. He carried the sleeping Gyda back to the village while Harfreder carried the boar.
He was even more worried about Gyda now than ever. He had a cousin that would fly into rages like that. Not that he was much better. He lost his temper easily and got into a lot of fights, but until he fought the lizard men he had never attacked anyone with the intent to kill them. His cousin had been different he had hurt some people badly and had to be pulled off them before he seriously hurt of killed them. His cousin wound up in jail after he stabbed someone in the Walmart parking lot. He didn’t want something like that to happen to Gyda.
“Harfreder, I don’t know what to do. ”
“I don’t know how to help her either. I think we need to speak to Mother Gytha.”
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