The Primal Hunter

”OW! For fuck's sake, that hurts!” Jake growled after being hit by yet another arrow.

“Jake, are you sure about this?” Casper asked, genuinely wondering if Jake was actually a masochist. He had been shooting padded arrows, with dulled arrowheads wrapped in cloth, at Jake for nearly three hours already. The cloth came from Jakes's own jacket, which he had been wearing under his cloak this entire time.

“Yeah, just give me a second,” Jake said, getting ready once again. He had wrapped the torn sleeve of his jacket around his eyes, acting as a blindfold.

“Are you really sure this is doing anything? Well, I guess it’s good target practice for me, but…” Casper said, mumbling the last part. Jake’s plan was rather straightforward. He would have Casper shoot arrows at him while blindfolded while trying to react to them without relying on sight.

While Jake certainly had reservations of his own plan's veracity, to begin with, he had made progress throughout their training session. In the beginning, he merely flinched milli-seconds before the arrows hit, while now he could react to at least try to attempt to evade the arrow before it hit him.

“Just keep the arrows coming, I can feel it!” Jake said, still hurting, though also very positive.

He had been wondering about his weird senses since coming to this tutorial. He somehow ‘knew’ the big boar was charging through the bushes before he saw or even heard the beast. Actually, to say he knew was a bit too strong of a word. He just had this vague feeling that a massive danger was coming.

In combat, he didn’t really think much per-se but merely went with the flow. He was still in full control of his body, of course, but at times it felt like his brain couldn’t keep up with his body. His instincts. He just did what felt most natural at the time. And the results spoke for themselves.

And that was how Jake got the idea for this kind of practice. He wanted to train his senses and allow him to understand exactly what was happening to him and why it felt like he had a new sixth sense. He had suspected it had something to do with being an archer or may be tied to the perception stat, but Casper didn’t have the same experiences as him at all.

With the big boar he had felt that the boar was coming for him as he had just begun climbing the tree. His logical mind then took over, concluding it would hit the tree, allowing him to strengthen his grip and avoid falling.

At the beginning of their impromptu practice-session, Casper had merely thrown small sticks and cloth-wrapped stones at him. Jake felt nearly nothing before the things hit him. He could get a feeling that something was coming towards him, but not how fast or where it would hit. It also came way too late for him to react.

him, and even more so when it actually did hit. Got a nice blue mark from that one. A round of Casper apologizing profusely later, Jake had calmed him down and convinced him to switch to the cloth-wrapped arrows. They still hurt like hell, but at least they were not able to cause any real damage. Well, he had lost a few health points, but it was barely noticeable, and they were regenerating quite

He had a far more distinct feeling that something was about to hit him than when he

it. He ended up still getting hit again and even ended up tripping while trying to dodge it. He got up again, not at all discouraged. He had felt it there. Not just the concept of

up the practice a bit more, with Jake even managing to dodge an arrow or two here and there. Casper was finally beginning to believe in whatever Jake was doing, and even asking questions on how to do it.

prepared, and while neither Jake nor Casper were hungry, they knew the importance of sustenance. No one knew when

two badgers killed earlier. Grilled haphazardly over a small fire after being skinned and gutted. Bertram knew

it when she sat down next to him while they ate in order to heal his wounds. The healing felt good like a cold stream was running through his veins, and he saw the blue

chatted while Caroline mainly asked questions about why he had let Casper use him for target practice for the better part of four hours, and about other minor

to her and explained his training with Casper and what he hoped to achieve by doing it. He also explained to her how he had practiced archery growing up and how he did it from time

he sadly had to give up going pro due to an injury, much to Caroline's interest. She had always seen him as the silent nerdy type, and not at all sporty. This also made Jake realize how little he had interacted with her outside

setting, really. While he wasn't absolutely hopeless in social interactions, he did try to minimize them. Heck, he ended up doing archery, to begin with, because his dad insisted on him doing some kind of sport, so he picked one where he had no team or direct opponents to interact with.

were two of the only people outside of his family that he felt comfortable around. Because of his welcoming nature and open demeanor, Jacob allowed pretty much anyone to feel good about themselves. Caroline, on the other hand, he couldn't put his finger on why he liked her. He just did.

doing it, it improved his self-confidence tremendously during those years. Getting a girlfriend and a few close friends did even more for that confidence to develop. All until it was brought down the day he walked in on his girlfriend and his supposed best friend. Apparently, it had been an open secret in their little

for naught and his self-confidence and self-worth in the gutter. His girlfriend claimed it was just ‘having fun’ and that it was nothing serious, while his so-called best friend seemed to think it was no big deal at all, and that he just

old introverted ways. He studied, did archery, played games, watched TV, and went to classes. A good day

that was forced to engage in the social system that is the workplace. Jacob was the one that had gotten him out of his shell initially and made him open up more to his colleagues. Enough to be on friendly terms with everyone, at least. Jacob seemed to always try to invite Jake to

professional setting, he had no issue speaking or expressing himself normally now. The same reason why he had no problem arguing for his decision-making with Jacob earlier and talking with Casper during their training. But what he was doing right now. Casually small talking with Caroline… it was more nerve-wracking than facing down

conversation, Dennis yelled out to them,

on her?” All said while nervously shooting glances at Jake. Caroline did not hesitate and excused herself as she followed Dennis over to Joanna. Not that they were very far away, being less than five

were angry at him. In her eyes, he was the indirect cause of

stand there and argue that he stood by his decision? Or would it get heated and turn into another huge argument? He