Pig Hunting
Blog entry

08/11/05

When I tried to Send to Torlinque in their room this morning, after I'd got to work and had my breakfast, I got nothing. He wasn't there. He had been in the bed when I woke up this morning, so I went looking for him.

I found him in the woods. He'd gone pig hunting, spur of the moment, with about 10 of his friends in the forest just north of the village. Most of the meat the kitchen serves is either mutton from our sheep, poultry or fish caught in the creek. Sometimes, a group will get together and go hunting for pigs though, just for the thrill and to have something else to eat. It also keeps the numbers of pigs down to a reasonable level. They are brown, with little tusks.

I caught up with him as they were wading through some chest-high undergrowth, spears at the ready. He asked me did I want to join them. I told him that no, there isn't any thrill for me in hunting pigs as they just stand still and wait. They think they are hiding if they stand still. They do not know that I can scan for them. I told Torlinque this, and he laughed in the link. I told him I'd rather hunt the large deer (carribou?) in the Listari lands because even though I can see them, they run, and must be chased.

Suddenly, I sensed them and I Sent to him to stop. He Sent to me, "Where?" and I Sent back, "Just in front of you, eight of them, all brothers and sisters. I do not sense the mother. They are a year, year and a half old."

The one nearest to him must have picked up his scent because just then it squealed and tried to run past his leg. Torlinque is quick, and that pig never had a chance. Pow! Torlinque speared it through the heart as it ran past, killing it instantly. When the other pigs heard that, they stampeded past Torlinque and into the hands of his friends behind him.

He hoisted his pig still on the spear over his shoulder (these pigs were not large), and turned around toward his mates who were finishing off the others. I teased him, "Are you going to take a kill line for that?" He laughed. "No Love," he said, "I don't take kill lines when I am merely hunting my supper." He paused and then said, " If it had been the sow, I might have considered it for a moment though." and he smiled and winked at me.

I noticed his pig was dripping. "Aren’t you going to clean that before you deliver it to the kitchen?" I asked. He stopped, stiffened a little, and looked at me like I'm a bit stupid. Then he said, "No Love, the kitchen will want the entrails for sausage making." "Ah yes." I said sadly, "Forgive me, I'd forgotten...I've forgotten lots of things." "Sshhh.", he said, softening again, "You've remembered the most important things, and you are remembering more all the time. I don't even have to help you anymore."