Chapter 8: A Harrowing Encounter

Alunya and Antares rest, kneeling, some distance from the river, where they can see the shoreline. Vekt and Tavr were hidden in the brush some ways closer to the river- Even though Antares knows exactly where they are, as he had seen them get into hiding, he still has trouble making out their shape.

I guess it makes sense for us to be further away. Antares reluctantly admits to himself. Our hair probably would stand out like a sore thumb to any creature with eyes. Certainly does back at home. Despite that fact, he still feels a bit miffed. He’d come out here to go hunting, but apparently the first time they would be doing anything, he had to just sit on the sidelines.

... Why do we look like this, anyways? Antares’s bored mind idly wonders- it isn’t like there was much else to focus on, as the time drags out. He was just supposed to stay there and wait. He didn’t even have the good fortune to need to remain focused on animals coming through, since apparently it was too ‘dangerous’ for him to do anything but spectate.

On some level, Antares wished he could look more typical to the rest of the village; just about everyone else he’d ever met had black hair, maybe a handful that are closer to dark brown. It wasn’t that he hated standing out, exactly- He did appreciate attention. But he had a sneaking suspicion that his ‘weird looks’ were why he received so many ‘weird looks’- not just from other kids like Vekt, but adults, too. And that went doubly so for Alunya, whose delicate appearance always attracts askance glances whenever he went out. I wonder if that’s why Mom doesn’t like letting him outside on his own.

Speaking of Alunya ... Antares glances over at his younger brother, curiously. It must be hell for the excitable young boy to stay still this long; He was practically vibrating, his eyes peeled extra-extra-wide open and darting around.

The seconds drag on, painfully slowly. To stay quiet, not only can Antares not move, but he isn’t even able to talk to Alunya, making it particularly boring. I’m kind of amazed Alunya’s managed to keep still this long. Antares thinks to himself in mild amusement. Still, it seems probable that Alunya would end up moving before their wait was over, since who knew how long it would be.

But that was not to be, because as soon as the thought crosses Antares’s mind, his attention is drawn by movement by the waters edge. He narrows his eyes to see an animal- Not as tall as a deer, but definitely stouter- waddling out of the water, towards the forest. Antares glances over at Alunya to make sure his brother had seen it, and sees Alunya staring keenly at it. It’s like nothing he’d ever seen, a slick furry beast, so low to the ground that he can’t see legs, with a wide paddle-like tail covered in scales. The creature is somewhat bulky, but Antares still finds himself wondering how such a creature could bite through a tree. It doesn’t look that strong.

Whatever it was, its senses must be more attuned than Antares’, because it looks up with alertness, sniffing at the air, as if something had alarmed it. But it was too late by then, as an arrow flies from the woods into its side- Before its cry can even finish, more arrows fire from both sides of the clearing where Vekt and Tavr were hiding, flint-tipped arrows piercing the thick fur and hide of the beast.

The sounds that emits from the beaver are nothing like what Antares expected, a high pitched squeal rather than a monstrous roar. As Tavr leaves the woods, the injured animal bolts towards the water as fast as its stubby legs can carry it. But before it can get far, Tavr sticks it in the neck with a short spear, catching it in place, while Vekt emerges and hovers over it on the other side. The creature continues trying to struggle and whining, but it had already been punctured in its vitals in multiple places.

Vekt crosses over it from the front, and Tavr was hovering over its back- both firmly focused on their prey, so that neither sees the second animal bolting from the underbrush behind them. “Vekt, look out!” Antares shouts, eyes wide open in alarm. Vekt looks up, surprised, too late to defend from the aggrieved, territorial mammal that barrels into him, knocking him prone, sturdy teeth opened wide to rip him apart like a tree. This one was larger than the other one, maybe even as large as Vekt was.

While Tavr is stunned, Alunya is already moving, bursting from the trees with the tip of his tongue just poking out from his mouth in concentration, as the overeager energy of the boy finally had an outlet. In one smooth motion, he darts forward, nocking, drawing, and then firing an arrow in a snap.

Twang

The sound of the bowstring echoes as the arrow darts through the air, sailing straight to fly between the open jaws of the beaver, burying itself in the creature’s throat. The beaver makes an odd sound, somewhere between a chitter and cough, as its attempts to bite were suddenly interrupted by being choked on its own blood, before promptly having its end spelled when Tavr got his wits about him and thrust his spear through the creature’s eye socket.

Vekt cowers on the ground in terror, wide-eyed. All of that had passed in just a couple of seconds, with no time to react- From cockily observing his kill, to suddenly having a beast knock him prone, and then have it killed before he could draw breath, the still warm corpse of the beast on top of him. They were goofy looking creatures, compact with stubby feet- one really wouldn’t expect they could be as heavy or muscular as they were.