–Elazar–
"You did what?!" I looked at both Kion and Kora bewildered and furious. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Faux I couldn't even believe what I saw when I had returned and found them both gone.
I thought that maybe they went to the river to gather some water but as they returned to the camp looking disheveled and unnerved, I knew something else had happened.
I knew they were both prone to causing trouble but this- what they just did!- "you are both completely reckless! Are you incapable of understanding how foolish that was!?"
"Hey if you had just listened to our idea before then we wouldn't have gone out on our own!" Kora snapped back.
"I told you both no, to avoid a situation like this! Draven frequented those fields meaning the risk of running into that abomination were much higher! You are both lucky you did not get hurt, killer or even worse caught!"I snapped back angrily while my tail swooshed behind me.
Kion was keeping his head down taking the scolding quite seriously while Kora stood before me defiantly. Upon hearing this new information however her hard glare softened and she realized she was wrong.
"And You." I gestured to kion. You of all people should have known better-"
I was cut off as Kora held up her hands and stood in front of Kion as if to shield him from my wrath.
"Don't yell at him, it was my idea! Look I know it was a bad idea and extremely stooped, I dragged Kion with me he tried to talk me out of it so don't get angry with him!"
I narrowed my eyes while looking at the small female before me.
"Look, we got what we needed and came back without a scratch on us! We aren't endangered anymore alright and that big dumb monster might even be dead now!"
I was silent while my tail swiped at the ground behind me. As much as I wanted to continue scolding the two and keep telling them how foolish and dumb their actions were I knew fighting Kora on this subject further would be pointless and cause more turmoil in us all.
She admitted to her mistake, I only wish she will understand the importance of all this. Had she or kion been caught or killed- I closed my eyes trying to push that idea away. I don't need that kind of burden on my heart. With a sigh I relinquished my anger for now. I was still extremely frustrated but yelling would not help anything.
"It would not have died so easily." I walked away and moved closer to the campfire. Crouching down I grabbed a nearby stick to stoke the fire while trying to think of what I should do. When the drakov discovers what happened to their queen they may get angry…
Kora and Kion shared a look before coming over and settling down.
"What do you mean? It looked badly injured-" Kora spoke up.
Running a hand over my face I stared at the burning embers before me. Injured? Sure. Dead? Highly unlikely. The draven is feared for more than The simple reason of them being dangerous. They are hard to kill, In fact the only thing known to have the ability and strength to kill such a monster has been a full grown xian. The dravens armored body is nearly impossible to break through otherwize.
Whether it be fortunate or not, the xians do not frequent or nest anywhere near here, meaning it's up to our kind to rid ourselves of the creature. "It most likely is licking its wounds somewhere. Draven are not so simple to kill…"
Kora was silent as her gaze moved to the forest in deep thought.
I looked up at the cloudy night sky above us and sniffed the air. The scent of rain weighed heavily in the air, it would be raining soon. If the draven truly is injured, now might be the best chance we have of ridding ourselves of it. I will need to track it down and find its hiding place before the tracks and scent are washed away.
If I find where it's hiding I might be able to gather the others from my tribe and we could corner it.
Grabbing my spear that was resting against the fallen log beside me I stood up and looked down the path that two trouble makers came from.
"What are you doing?" Kora questioned and sat up straighter.
Glancing back to her and kion I gripped my spear tighter. "I am going to track down the Draven and find its place of refuge before the rain comes."
"What?! Alone?!" Kion jumped to his feet.
"Isn't that dangerous?! We should-" I quickly cut Kora off.
"WE should do nothing, both of you have caused enough trouble tonight, i do not need you getting into more. It will be quicker for me to track it down alone and less dangerous. You two WILL stay here and await my return once the first sun rises. Understood?"
They both went silent and Kora settled back in her spot by the fire. I know she's disappointed and upset with the way I'm treating her, if i could i would tell her just how important she is to me, that there is reason behind my anger, that I just want her safe.
I hated the idea of leaving them alone again but finding the dravon now was important. If there's even the slightest chance that we have the advantage now and can get rid of the draven then I cannot let this opportunity go by.
"Please just do not put yourself in danger again. I will return soon."
With that I turned away from the camp and strided into the forest to start my hunt.
–next morning–
Scanning over the burned remains of the field I could see the fires had completely died. Out due to the humidity and rain that had passed over already. The clouds above were still stormy so I needed to move quickly.
Searching the area I found where the dravens tracks started and where it had attacked kion and kora. Following the trail I saw evidence of what the two had said.
The remains of the burning tree that had fallen on the creature. From the tracks alone I could reimagine the creature's struggles as it took off into the forest. The trail left behind by it was clear and easy to follow but before I went after it I noticed tracks that didn't make as much sense.
Crouching down, I inspected them much closer. They resembled kora's foot coverings in a way but seemed larger…
The sound of unfamiliar voices threw me into high alert as I dived behind cover.
"Dammit why does boos have to drag us out here? Does he really need so many men out here for a single baownty?" As I hid behind a tree listening I recognized the language being spoken. It was English. These were humans.
Peeking around I could see Two human males standing a distance away conversing with each other while carrying large bags on their backs.
"Because it's safer! We already lost two men. Do you want to lose more?" The second responded to the first.
"Yeah Okay but why are we stuck carrying supplies? We're so far behind the others because this shets so heavy!"
"Maybe if you would stop complaining and didn't need to pizz every half haour we could keep up!"
I watched the two carefully before climbing up the tree and making my way into the branches above them. I watched closely as they started making their way towards the trail back to camp. Readying my spear I waited for the perfect opportunity before letting it fly.
It went straight through the bag attached to the second Human's backside and pinned him to a tree. He screamed in fright from the scare as the other human stumbled and fell. Jumping down with my blade in hand I put my tail to the pinned human's neck then grabbed the one on the ground by the front of their coverings and put my knife to his neck as well with a snarl.
The human before me yelled and I cut him off with a snarl before speaking the best to my ability in English. "Silence!"
"What the fuck was that english?!" The first one stammered only to whimper as I pressed the tip of my tail further into his skin.
"Why you here? What purpose?" I struggled to remember the right words while also holding my threatening appearance.
"Hoolee fack, it does speak english!" The second spoke up panicked.
I snarled again pushing the question again. "What humans doing here?!"
"Whoa whoa! Chill! We aren't here to bother you! o-or any of your kind! W-we are just looking for someone!" I already disliked their answer.
"Who."
"A-another human! We just want to find them and we'll leave!"
Kora… they are looking for Kora.
"Why?! What purpose!" I shouted at the terrified man as he turned his head away and bared his neck in fright.
"We are hunting them! Our leedar wants them dead! The rest of our group is hunting them down right now! We are just here to carry supplies!"
My eyes widened as I distinctly remembered Kora telling me that other humans would probably kill her. Is this what she meant? Are these humans the ones who tried to hurt her?!
I need to get back to the camp. Looking over to the train I could see the multiple footprints left behind by the rest of the humans following Kion and Kora's trail. Faux! Why now of all times why-
The sound of a click made me look back as I saw the man pinned to a tree holding a weapon just like the one kora had before, and it was pointed directly at me.
"Eat shet and die freak!-"
I dropped the human in my hands to stop him seconds too late as a loud bang rivaling the sound of thunder echoed through the trees.
—----
–kora–
I was startled awake by the sound of thunder Outside and immediately sat upright before looking to the cave entrance.
Sure enough it was a bit darker outside than usual with storm clouds blocking out the sun's.
Groaning, I rubbed my eyes and looked around me. Elazar and kion were nowhere to be found. El must not have returned yet, as for kion, he's probably outside.
Stretching my arms over my head I let my muscles wake up before stoking the fire with a stick.
"Kora!" Looking back to the entrance I saw Kion come back inside with a cloak and hood similar to the one Elazar had given me. "I got some wood, it looks like it's gonna rain."
Smiling, I got up to help him bring in all the sticks and logs he gathered and stacked them up near the entrance. "Thanks kion, I'll get breakfast ready. Have you seen Elazar yet?"
"No nothing yet he should be back by now-" Kion stopped mid sentence as he noticed my worried gaze as I watched the entrance.
"Hey don't worry Kora Elazar is the best hunter in the entire village, nothing bad will happen to him!"
"Yeah you're right I just can't help but worry…" I grabbed a basket near the wall that held some fruit and pulled out a knife to start cutting them up and putting the fruit in a wooden bowl.
Kion anxiously rocked on his heels beside me. "So uhm- can I ask you a question?"
I glanced at Kion and arched my brow. Why does he seem so nervous suddenly? "Sure?"
"Are you and El…I mean do you- uhg!" He buried his head in his arms momentarily groaning. "H-how do humans mate?"
My eyes widened in surprise and I stopped cutting to look at Kion, both in surprise and confusion. "Why Are you asking such a question?"
"Ah well… I just want to know if you and Elazar are going to participate in a hunt together-"
"Wait wait wait! What does hunting have to do with us mating and having sex?!"
"I don't know that word- but that's not what I meant by the hunt! The hunt is a mating tradition for our people! It's the final stage of courting to finalize your relationship, I wasn't sure if your kind Does such things…"
Mating tradition? Why hasn't Elazar said anything about this before?
"First off, why don't you tell me what happens during these 'hunts' then I'll tell you what I think and how humans and our traditions work."
"Okay!" Kion got comfortable and sat down then grabbed a slice of fruit. "Well most of the time there's a whole celebration beforehand where everyone dances and drinks, the hunt doesn't start until the second moon rises. Once the second moon comes over the horizon the weaker partner is supposed to enter the forest and try to avoid capture by their partner until morning!"
"Okay…and what happens if your partner catches you?" I asked curiously.
"Well you simply mate the rest of the night until morning in order to conceive a kit that's about it"
"Conceive a ki- that's a bit sudden don't you think?!"
The sound of a branch snapping outside drew our attention towards the entrance to the cave. "El must be back! He can tell you more about the hunt, I don't know all the details, just the basics-" Kion exclaimed, jumping to his feet before moving to the entrance.
Before we could even peer out of the entryway a gunshot pinged off the stone ledge above us and I cursed grabbing kion to pull him away from the entrance
What the hell?!
"Ahem, Do not be alarmed!, that was merely a warning shot. If you have any weapons I highly suggest you consider tossing them outside, I'd like to resolve this matter as peacefully as possible!"
A male voice called out from the outside. Kion looked at me confused and panicked. The mountain hunters…they've found me.
"Now please come on out and let's talk!"
My mind was racing with a number of possibilities of how this could go. Those bounty hunters have us cornered. We have to get out of here… I have to do something.
Gulping I moved closer to the entrance and responded to them. "What do you want from me?!"
"Well now there's a number of things that I'm sure would greatly benefit the both of us sweetheart. I'd much prefer we become friends not enemies!" The same man spoke up.
"Yeah? Could've fooled me after seeing your men out here to kill me!" I snapped back.
The man just seemed to laugh at my response. "You've got fire in you, I like that. I apologized for that little…incident. It was not my intention for things to turn out as they did, being down here you'll find that most of these men are idiots and keeping criminals in line is much harder than one would think. Allow me to make it up to you, I am not here with the sole intention to kill you, In fact I have a proposition that would greatly benefit the both of us."
Glancing at Kion, I hesitated before responding. "How about you show yourself first? I'm not one to strike deals with someone when I can't even see their face."
"Alright we shall have it your way…"
The man who had been speaking before stepped forward revealing himself. Short dark messy hair and dark green eyes, dressed in old worn down, outdated military clothes stood before the treeline across from the cave entrance.
"allow me to introduce myself sweetheart." He gave a mock bow with a smug smile across his face.
"My name…is seth."