Idle Hands

It had been a week since Hunter was back and being nursed by the twins. At this point he could walk on his bad leg but exercise was out of the question. His face was looking a lot better now that the swelling went down and the two black eyes faded to their normal color. Now he could breath a lot better and was no longer coughing up blood. He was alone now that he could move again. The twins demanded he take it easy for a while and insisted he stay with them till he was back on duty. Luckily word of mouth had gotten around and everyone knew Hunter was staying with the twins. So any messages and deliveries came there instead of the barracks. It made sense since Nicolaus had to many patients to take care of. Since Hunter was away from work he had no clue what happened to the others from the mission. He didn't even know who survived sine he was incapacitated before they escaped.

His belongings were delivered to the shack of of the twins since there was a concern of theft. Since he had time on his hands he checked his pack and what was left of his weapons and supplies. He was upset his bow was gone since it was a very good bow compared to what could be found around the area. He was also missing a lot of arrows and some throwing blades. He rubbed his head as he remembered the redcap again. It irked him that he was defeated and lived by that creature. He needed to get strong so he could kill it the next time he came across it again. Then he saw his bloody clothing and realized how bad the damage was. It was a miracle he lived through that experience. So he decided to clean his clothing and patch it up so he could use it again. Since he was frugal with his money he tried to recycle what he could.

He made a list of what he would need to replace but some stuff he could make himself. He needed to find a good wooden core for a new bow and some good wood for arrows as well as some feathers. Since he was hurt he would have to wait on chopping down a tree. Then he had some hot stew that was made by the twins for him. After seeing his coin bag was a lot lighter, he guessed the twins used some of his money. This explained how they could afford the medicine he had been eating. He had no reason to be upset with them since they were using his money to save his life even though he didn't ask.

Out of boredom he put on his winter coat and walked around outside the shack to see what he could do to pass the time. As it turned out their was a pigpen and a chicken coop behind the shack. Granted they were empty now, but it was possible the parents of the twin raised pigs and chickens to make a living. By the looks of it the twins were not able to do that job for some reason for several years since the area looked run down. As he looked it over he saw a few spiderwebs left over before the winter. Then he noticed a small worn out shed. Out of curiosity he opened it and saw some old farming tools that had seen better days.

However inside the shed was an orangish log being used as a pillar to keep the shed up. Hunter was confused by this since it was a bit of over kill to used such a large log
(8ft L x 16in W) to hold up a small shed not being used anymore. As he inspected it more he realized the log was Osage Orange. Back home where he lived Osage Orange wood is strong, yet elastic enough to support repeated bending and stretching. He also noticed the log was in great condition and had been dried out very well. It would be ideal to use to make a new bow and he would not have to leave to the forest. Then he looked back at the un used pig pen which had a partial shelter and proceeded to clean it up so it could be used as a workshop for the bow and some arrows.

Eventually the twins came home and saw Hunter in the back. After talking to them he learned they gave up on raising animals when they lacked the skills. They didn't care about using that stuff anymore and let Hunter make his archer supplies in the back to let him stay busy and safe. So then they helped him move the log to the pig pen/workshop now. Since that was a lot of work they called it a day and Hunter ate dinner with them before sleeping. Of course he was again haunted by the nightmare of the redcap in his dreams and woke up early to work on his bow and arrows with the left over wood. It was a long process of shaving the log down and making sure the shaved parts could be used later for arrows.

Since Hunter was in need of physical activity he worked on the archery set all day as the twins worked their stall in the market. He found working with wood to be calming and therapeutic even when he got a splinter or two. After two days he managed to make his bow the way he wanted. He had extra strings he adjusted to fit the new bow and then tested it out on the chicken coop. Much to his delight it was easy to use and vey accurate. Then he used animal fat to seal the wood from the elements. Once he was done he began working on making arrow shafts with the left over wood. When he finished shaving them down he made a few arrows with the left over feathers and arrowheads he had in his pack. Sadly he would need more in the future to resupply his weapons. However he did save a lot of money making his own bow and arrows. Since he received his mission payment with his belongings he was not hurting for money.

He was a bit surprised that he was not told to make a report yet. This could only mean that Tarmen made the report for him when he was out cold. He felt bad that Till, Alexis and Voah didn't make it back. It was going to be weird not seeing them around. Sadly no one told him what happened afterwards while he woke up and ended up with the twins. So till he could recover he was off duty and left on his own. He didn't hear from Nick or Tarmen and figured they were dealing with their problems too. As he looked up at the cloudy sky he felt very lonely. If not for the twins he would go stir crazy with his pent up stress.

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