//------------------------------//
// Longing for home. 
// Story: Hunters of the forest. 
// by Sylif Daring Doo 
//------------------------------//

______*Equestria, Everfree Forest, the same day, 2:00 PM*______

There are many things that could be said about the Everfree Forest, and just as many different views, one constant however is that it is not friendly to outsiders, those who would trespass are viewed with hostility, and those who would willingly enter the first are seen as crazy or foolish.

None are viewed more critically however, than those who live inside the forest, Timberwolves are hated and feared, Cockatrices are avoided at all costs, Hydra's are feared and respected for their strength, even the more peaceful denizens of the forest are not trusted.

Zecora, a female zebra shaman used to be seen as a witch by many, and while the nearby town of Ponyville is more accepting of her presence, there are those who are still wary, she lives in a hut along the safe paths of the Everfree.

And then there are the two more recent inhabitants of the forest, they are lesser known as they do not go into town very often, or not at all, the Troll Jod'ka, mysterious and intimidating to the few Equines who met him, and his Night Elf daughter Shanda, young and willfull, as well as a skilled Hunter, they both live in a hut deeper into the Everfree Forest, and while they live in a dangerous forest, they are not openly hostile.

Jod'ka and Shanda lived with their animal friends, Rock, a mountain lion, Shade, a panther, and Shard, a raptor, they all worked together to survive the forest and beyond.

_____*Jod'ka and Shanda's hut.*_____

Footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs, the owner of said footsteps was Jod'ka as he walked down the stairs, he walked to his herb cabinet and sifted through it, he grumbled under his breath about not having 'the right ingredients' as he grabbed a few green rooted weeds, he grabbed a nearby bowl and ground the weeds into a paste, he then emptied the bowl into his cauldron and set the bowl back down, he then walked over to another cabinet and opened it, revealing several potions, he grabbed one with a blue liquid and opened it, he walked to the cauldron and poured it in, he set the vial down and stirred the liquid in the cauldron.

Jod'ka was not expecting anything, as he had added many different things to the cauldron before, but then the liquid changed from a misty green, to an ethereal blue, his eyes widened and he stopped stirring, he then took an empty vial and filled it, he then took a deep breath. 'Please don't taste like rotten eggs.' He hoped as he downed the liquid, thankfully it was tasteless, like water, he swallowed it down and waited for anything to happen.

As Jod'ka waited he looked around the hut, everything here seemed so normal, so very much like his home, his expression saddened as he thought of home, he closed his eyes and sighed. 'We cannot build a life here, no matter what we end up feeling, we have to go back, I only hope Shanda does not get too attached.' 

Jod'ka was pulled out of his thoughts as he suddenly felt his body react painfully to something, he grit his teeth and waited until the pain passed, once it did he felt renewed, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes, he walked to the potion cabinet and grabbed a bunch of glass vials and jars of various sizes, he then began to fill them all one at a time until they were all filled, there was still a small amount of potion left In the cauldron and he quickly worked on cleaning a few now empty vials, once he was done he filled them up and saw that there was barely enough potion left.

"Not even worth a shot glass." The troll whispered to himself as he doused the fire under the cauldron, he walked over to a small desk and opened a drawer, he grabbed a scroll and pencil, he then wrote down the recipe for the potion and put the pencil back, he headed upstairs and walked to his bed.

The upstairs was little more than a single room, the ceiling was low so Jod'ka had to crouch to move around, there were two simple beds in the room, they were both made of uncarved wood that was at least debarked, the bedding was made of thick dirt with a patchwork wool cover, they also had fur blankets for when it got cold, there were two travel packs, one next to each bed with several side bags next to those, the rest of the room was empty.

Jod'ka approached his bags and knelt down, he opened the main bag and placed the scroll inside, he then closed the bag and headed downstairs, as he walked he could not help but notice just how quiet it was now that he wasn't focusing on the cauldron, he looked around the hut and found himself thinking of his home again.

He missed Sen'Jin village, he missed enjoying a quiet night by the ocean, he missed watching Bom'Bay 'cure' the occasional traveler, as much as he hated to admit it he missed the stupidity of the war, but most of all he missed traveling with Shanda, the adventures they had together were always odd or dangerous, but they met lots of good people on the road, some of them were even with the Alliance.

Jod'ka sat down at the bottom of the stairs and lost himself in his thoughts, his memories of home. 'Sen'Jin, if only you could have been alive to see all of this.' He thought.

Jod'ka looked at the weapons cabinet, he stood up and walked over to it, he opened it and knelt down, he grabbed a dagger and looked at it with fond recollection. 

The dagger was hand carved from stone and Kodo bone, the hilt was three and a half inches long and the bone was starting to decay, the stone blade was dull and curved at the tip, it used to be sharp and much stronger, the dagger was a gift to Shanda when she was younger and wanted to join him in hunting.

He laughed quietly at the memory of her first kill, she had snuck out in the middle of the night and tracked a wild raptor, she had managed to ambush it but it fought back, they had fought for hours and by the time Shanda killed it the sun was up, she dragged it back to the village and showed him her trophy.

Jod'ka shook his head, after Shanda showed him the dead raptor, he quickly brought her and the raptor inside and proceeded to heal the numerous wounds on her body, after she was healed he had grounded her for a month, what he hadn't told her until after the month was up was that he was actually proud of her for managing to take down such a ferocious creature on her own, he then gifted her one of the raptors feathers so she would remember the day.

Jod'ka set the dagger down and stood up, he walked to the stairs and sat down again. 'Leaving this world may break her heart, but it is necessary.' He said to himself before reaching into his pocket and grabbing something that was in there, he pulled it out and opened his palm, he held a silver chained necklace with a crescent moon made of mithril, he stared at it for a while, and he remembered his promise. 'I will do whatever it takes to protect her.' He told himself.

He returned the necklace to his pocket and grabbed something from his other pocket, Jod'ka stared at the object and sighed. "Even if I have to break my own heart to do so." He whispered to himself.

The object was a wooden circle with a crescent moon on it, there was writing on the other side but he did not read it, he returned it to his pocket and sat alone in silence, no sound came from the hut aside from the crackling of the ever burning torches, Jod'ka felt alone now more than ever, and he found himself wishing he had Shanda's enthusiasm, or just the ability to keep moving and not feel fatigue.

The troll's eyes opened and he looked up at the door, he had heard faint footsteps approaching the house, followed by three sets of four, he relaxed and stood up, resolving to clean up his cauldron instead of sitting in an agonizing silence.

The door opened and an all too familiar voice spoke. "I got dinner." Shanda said.

Jod'ka looked over his shoulder and saw that Shanda has caught a large buck. "Good, set it down and help me clean the cauldron." He said.

Shanda brought the buck over and set it on the prep area before looking at the cauldron. "You actually finished it?" She asked out of surprise.

Jod'ka huffed and grabbed the cauldron. "You actually caught food?" He replied with an amused tone.

Shanda sighed and helped her dad empty the cauldron and clean it up. "Whatever." She muttered out of irritation.

Jod'ka chuckled as they worked, and he felt his spirits raise themselves up again. 'Problems for another time I suppose.'