Kneeling over the freshly downed deer, Aedomon looked down at the blood covering up to his elbows. His aim had been true, and the small buck had gone down after a short distance, but the contents of Aedomon's stomach still did their best to come up. He had seen them killed many time before by his father, but had never killed one himself in his ten and three years. Dropping his gutting knife, Aedomon ran quickly to a nearby bush, falling to his hands and knees, the contents of his stomach spilling over the ground. Blood began to drip. Raising his arm to his face, Aedomon wiped his mouth, the blood from his nose running over his upper lip.
"All in the ways of survival, Aedomon. Every part of the animal is used in some form, this you know. Catch your breath, then come give me a hand dragging this back to your mother. She will be very pleased with your take," Croi said quietly, kneeling to retrieve the bloodied knife. "You did good, son."
Standing slowly, Aedomon once again wiped his face, his long hair sticking to the sweat on his cheek and forehead. Grabbing up some moss, Aedomon quickly began scrubbing his hands and forearms, removing what blood he could before walking over beside his father and grabbing an antler. Angling his foot sideways, Aedomon pulled hard against the deer, his small frame not allowing it much movement over the small log they had pulled it over for easier gutting. Almost loosing his footing as Croi grabbed the other antler and began dragging the deer, Aedomon stepped quickly to catch up. He could see the smoke from the fire in the stove where his mother would be, preparing lunch.
*****
Lifting the mallet high, Aedomon pounded the last log of his small cabin into place before climbing back down the ladder, his body covered in sweat. Tossing the mallet aside, Aedomon looked at the long construction that had gone into putting together the walls, every cut done by hand, each log skinned with the blade resting with his father's other tools.
Rafters, roof, and chinking. At least another week before I can actually move in, and give mother some more time alone with father; their cabin is too small for the three of us. But then again, father had built it before he even met mother. Shaking his head, Aedomon looked at the cabin on the far side of the clearing, the small garden plot nestled between the two, and the horses in a small stable to the south.
Laying the planks against the wall, Aedomon tied his rope to one end, passing it under the log he had already positioned at the base of the plank. Tossing the free end of the rope over the wall into his cabin, Aedomon pulled on his light leather gloves. Entering the cabin and grabbing the free end of the rope dangling over the wall, Aedomon dug his feet into the packed dirt floor, stepping back and pulling arm over arm, forcing the log to roll up the planks into position.
*****
Sitting on his bed, Aedomon let his head sink into hands. It had been several months since he and his father had come to the Grey Tower, and he had entered his training as a Drin'Far'Ji, but the loss of his mother had taken a serious toll on him. Now, his father had a new love, a Gaidar, this Leisha Lukonia. As much as he despised the woman, there was little Aedomon could say. He himself had found love here, in the form of a young woman: a sweet, tender, and rather attentive Novice.
Jelena...why did we have to meet here, of all places? Light, if we had only met back home, the life we could have had. Simple; our only cares whether to crawl into bed for the afternoon, or to go to the market. Sighing softly, Aedomon raised from his bed and walked to his table, sloshing some water into his basin over a cloth. None of this bloody training; day in, day out. Its enough to gag a bear, I swear.
Wringing the cloth out, Aedomon ran it over his bare torso. The sun was yet to rise, but Jelena had left hours before, having spent only enough time to lay and cuddle for an hour after they had snuck into his chambers for a secret meeting of lovers. Smiling as water trickled down over the blood red mark on his chest, Aedomon shook his head. She always knows just how to make me smile. Quickly finishing his wash, Aedomon walked over to his chest, pulling out his uniform, freshly cleaned and pressed. Scowling at a small splinter of wood from his chest, Aedomon plucked it off the uniform before slowly putting it on. Strapping his belt around his waist, Aedomon paused to check the peace-strings on his dagger were tied before pulling on his boots. Stomping his feet lightly to settle them, Aedomon grabbed his staff from the corner of the room.
Closing the door behind him as he slipped into the still-dark Yards, Aedomon glanced around at the few Gaidin practicing before breakfast. Angling the staff at his side, Aedomon broke into a quick jog around the grounds, doing a couple warm-up laps before digging his toes in and sprinting a half dozen more. Jogging across the Yards to where the Aes Sedai generally stand, Aedomon leaned lightly on his staff, his breath coming in long, deep movements. The sun was starting to come up now, and he noted the number of people in the Yards begin to increase.
Rolling the staff around as he walked back onto the packed ground, Aedomon slid with one foot forward, bring the butt of his staff up hard in The Wave Breaks on Rocks. Thrusting the staff out at chest level, Aedomon swept his back foot wide around him, pulling the staff around in the air like a mallet as he spun in a circle. Rolling the staff around under an arm, he braced it briefly before snapping it back around in the opposite direction.
Stopping only when he was out of breathe, Aedomon looked around to realize the Yards had become quite full. Deciding to take his leave, Aedomon turned on his heel, making his way quickly towards the mess hall.