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She was positioned perfectly. Her atal was in position. The deer had no idea she was there. She was about to throw when a loud shout made the deer run away. Damn it. She had spent the past two hours on that one. She had been working on hunting for some meat since dawn. It was almost noon now. She had failed miserably as a hunter.
“Lydia!” Hal yelled again, “Where are you?”
“Over here, ” She said.
Some rustling and Hal emerged from the thicket of bushes behind her.
“There you are,” He said, “Ma’s worried. Said she asked you to hunt for meat but thought you were gone for too long. She was worried something happened. She sent me looking for you.”
Lydia had to suppress a smile as she replied. Hal’s Mom always worried about her too much. “As you can see, I'm fine. Only problem is you scared off my catch. Now it'll take almost another two hours to get another one.”
“Never mind that. Ma wants you back. She said even if you couldn't catch anything worthwhile.”
“You're Ma worries too much. Tell her I'll be back when I catch something. I'd be a failed hunter otherwise.”
“Sorry. No can do. Ma said she wanted you back, and I'm not gonna argue with Ma.”
Lydia had to laugh at that. Of course, Hal would break Hallashom’s laws just to make sure he crew was safe, but wouldn't dare disobey his Mom at all.
“Ok, ok, I'm coming.” Lydia said.
The entire walk down Hal was weird though. He kept fidgeting with his belt. He looked everywhere but her eyes. He was clearly hiding something, but no matter how much she drilled he didn't give anything, not even a little hint. When they reached the village Hal visibly relaxed. It was getting on her nerves. If Hal had a secret he should just tell her. Lydia cut off his path.
“Hal,” she said, “I trust you. You trust me. So, whatever you are hiding, just tell me. I assure you, I can take it.”
“I'm not hiding anything,” he said. His voice said otherwise.
“You're not very convincing. Just tell me what happened.”
“I can't.”
“I'm not going to let you pass until you tell me.”
“Lydia, you said earlier, you trust me, so can you please trust me when I say I can't tell you until we get to Ma’s cooking house?”
Lydia sighed. She had said that and Hal had beat her at her own game.
“Fine, but you swear you'll tell me?” She asked.
Hal smiled, “Of course,” he said, and started walking forward. For some reason it looked like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. They made good progress and reached Katrina's cookhouse in a matter of minutes. Hal opened the door for her. Inside Stig, Edvin, Ulf, Wulf, Ingvar, Stephen, Jesper, and Thorn were sitting around a table looking forlorn.
“What's wrong?” She asked.
Hal guided her to a chair. As she sat everyone else suddenly jumped up and shouted, “Happy Birthday Lydia!”
Karina came out of the kition holding a big honey cake. She put it down in front of Lydia and cut her an extra big slice. Lydia was speechless. How did they know when her birthday was. Karina must have read her mind because she whispered in her ear, “I know you didn't want me telling anyone, but they wouldn't stop bothering me until I told them. They care a lot for you. Enjoy the party.”
And Lydia did. She laughed and ate and laughed some more. Dusk and darkness fell much too quickly. She was about to excuse herself when she noticed a knitted bulk had appeared on the table.
“What's this?” She asked.
“It's your birthday present,” Hal said, “Edvin kitted the cover and everyone else chipped in to buy the rest.”
“What's the rest?”
“Why don't you open it and see?”
Lydia did. Inside were fancy carving tools and a sharpening stone.
“We noticed you had a hard time making more darts, so we bought you some stuff to make it easier,” Stig said.
“They're wonderful,” she said. She was about to say she had to go when Thorn gave her a great big hug, and then the rest of the Brotherband joined in. It was an amazing party.