198 Turkey hun

Audis went to Brayden's room to wake him. Today is his first time going hunting. It's one of the traditions that the family has as a rite of passage. All the men go together for a day of bonding while hunting Easter dinner. Brayden was so excited to go that he slept in his hunting clothes. Audis grins at the boy; He remembers his son's first hunting trips. They were the same way, too excited even to sleep. Audis heard a noise coming from the other room. It's his grandson; he is ready for the hunt. Brayden wakes up and jumps out of bed and puts his boots on, calling out, wait for me. Marshal arrives to pick up Audis and the two boys. Eva already has a picnic basket packed with coffee, hot chocolate, and sandwiches. Eva waves as the four of them drive off. Sighing, she turns to go back to bed. It's not even daylighted yet. 

By the time marshal pulls into the field near the woods, Sam and the others have arrived. Astila looks around and starts to count; there are twelve of them altogether. He looks at John sheepishly and asks. 

"We are not going to kill twelve turkeys, are we?" Marshal slaps him on the shoulder and laughingly answers him. 

"No, each of us is allowed to bag two. We hunt till we at least have four to six for Easter. If we have more, then the ladies will clean them and give them to families in need. We do the same when we hunt deer in the fall; for every two deer, we bag we process it and donate it to a family we know that will appreciate it. We also will give the Inn a few for their menu. That's why none of us ever have to pay to eat there. We present them with fresh game; they give us free meals the rest of the year. It's kind of like we bag it, and they cook it. " Astila greed that is a great system that way, no food goes to waste. They all put their safety vests on and pair up. Brayden goes with Marshal and Audis. John goes with his two grandsons. At the same time, Sam shows the others where to go. Sam releases the bird dogs, and the hunt is on. Brayden looks at everyone with their guns and starts to feel scared. Marshal sees his face and decides to give him a man to man chat. 

"I know it's your first time hunting; I know it can be scary with everyone having guns. If you like, I will teach you all you need to know about it. You know, come fall, Crystal will be going squirrel hunting and possibly deer hunting with her Mom. " Brayden's eyes grow big, and he stutters. 

"Remi and Crystal go hunting?" 

Marshal grins at him and tells him.

"can I keep it?" John looks at the animated face of the boy and nods. They all kneel in a circle around the birds and give thanks to God for the bounty they received, and thanks to the birds for their life that they may nourish them. Brayden asks John a question. 

"Reverend sir, why don't we just buy a turkey from the store?" John kneels in front of the boys and explains. 

"We could do that, but if we don't hunt these birds, they will become overpopulated, and their food will become scarce. They could even start to become sick. They will begin to starve, and they won't be able to have babies eventually. By eating a few of them, we help make sure that they will have enough food and that their flock will have fewer chances of getting sick from being to densely populated. Now we will cook a few of these birds for Easter dinner. The others will go into the freezer since we only got one each, or we will give them to a family who needs food. " Brayden thinks about it for a moment and smiles as he understands why they hunt. Collecting the birds, they head over to Aisling's house for the ladies to prepare the birds. When they arrive, Aisling is directing a few of the cousins to put the large copper cauldrons. Once the pots are full of water, they start to prepare the turkeys. First, they will dunk them in the steaming water to loosen the feathers. Then they meticulously pluck them. It takes everyone to do this part. In no time, Crystal and Brayden are sitting on the ground, pulling feathers together. Crystal patiently listens while Brayden tells her of the hunt. Yona notices that she seems to be pouting, walking over to help them pluck the feathers, he asks Crystal. 

"What is wrong? Why do you look sad?" The little girl looks at him with a sour look. 

" I wanted to go, I'm old enough this year, but Mommy says not until I can shoot properly. It's not fair you took him, and he doesn't even know how to hold a gun." Crystal angrily plucks the feathers from the bird. Yona watches her; his heart would like it if she never held a weapon. He knows that to the family, it's essential that everyone learns. It's she is a girl, she should be protected. John overhears the conversation and sits next to Brayden. 

"Now, imp, you know that you are going to start getting your lessons. You also know that we took Brayden because it's his first year. We took you last year to see if you were ready or not. Brayden did a good job, so if his Mom agrees, he can have lessons with you. Will that be ok?" Crystal looks at Brayden and sees how happy he is for being made a part of the hunt. Crystal reluctantly gives in and warns him. 

"Look, my Bray, you better pay attention when we get our lessons. I am not going to give a moment of peace if you mess up. We must learn to hunt. I plan on breaking Aisling's record when I get to high school. You know she holds the record in archery. Oh, and did you know that Auntie Charlie still has the one for shooting a black powder rifle. They beat all the boys in the school. I plan on winning both of their records. " Brayden looks at the two ladies and then back to John. 

"Did the boys let them win or something? How can a girl beat a boy?" John puts his hand over the boy's mouth and tells him to shhh.

"Don't let Auntie Charlie hear you say that? She is very proud of the fact she can outshoot most men. She earned the record fairly. Learning to shoot isn't about being a girl or a boy. It's about you being one with your weapon. If your intentions are honest and fair, then your aim will be true. If you have bad choices, then your heart becomes tainted. That will cause you to miss use your skill. Aunt Charlie stopped shooting because she was intent on beating the boys. She became so competitive that she was unbearable. She still can outshoot most men, but she won't compete anymore. Every person here can shoot; some are better than others. Knowing how to use a weapon is a skill that everyone should know. You don't always know what life will bring, and it could save your life or the lives of those around you. " John looks at Yona; he sees the pained look on his face. He asks him for a favor. 

"Yona, I have been thinking for a long time about trying to find someone to teach the girls to fight. You know self-defense, since they may not always have a weapon close by HeJin is an excellent fighter, but she isn't around enough to teach them." Yona agrees, thinking if Remi had been taught how to defend herself instead of just how to shoot, maybe she would never have been attacked. 

"How about after Easter we have a big family meeting and ask the women what they would like to do. I think they should learn different styles of combat like HeJin. " HeJin comes over and sees that their turkey is cleaned; she takes it to the brine pot. Brayden notices that there are people he doesn't know and asks John who they are. 

"Well, the family over there is getting one of the turkeys for their dinner. So they came to clean their turkey. Everyone knows that we go hunting on Good Friday and that if they need a turkey to help with the plucking. So that's why you see people who are not family here. Like you said before, most go to the store, but some can't afford one. So this way, for a little work, they get a free one. " John ruffles the boy's hair as he stands up. His sister and wife are calling for him to come rest.