The bunny raises its long pointy ears and bravely stands on its hindquarters. It looks at the silver fox and cocks its head to the side. Moon Beam does the same. The rabbit rotates its head back and forth, checking Kiowa out with both eyes. Its soft pink nose rises and falls, and it reveals its long, pointy teeth. It licks both paws, then bathes its ears by bringing them down one at a time.
"You are brave," Kiowa says, drawing the bow back. He bites down on his tongue and squints one eye so tight that it puckers his face. As he's about to release the arrow, he stops and slowly relieves the tension. "It is wrong to kill you while you clean yourself. I will go and find another bunny."
He decides that if he must kill, he will strike a rabbit that is not so cute and not in the middle of its busy day. He eventually notices a fat rabbit whose belly and chest are white. He draws his arrow and aims.
Enthusiasm swells in his chest as he sees how stationary his prey remains, versus the squirrels that move as fast as lightning.
Aiming at the center of the rabbit, Kiowa releases his arrow and watches it fly toward his target. His devotion builds at the thought of striking the bunny in its furry heart. He imagines the accolades when the tribe sees his first kill.
But then the thought of hurting the bunny causes his heart to ache. Almost at the same time the arrow deviates off course, striking the ground just a few feet in front of the rabbit. It splits from the arrowhead and snaps the shaft on impact. Now mixed emotions of sympathy and anger compete for expression.
"Arrgghh!" he growls, nocking another arrow.
The rabbit continues to graze and completely ignores him.
"This time I will be quick, and you will be dead!"
As he releases an arrow, a voice interrupts his concentration.
"You are the great warrior that will embrace this people?" Kida sighs. The chubby girl looks more like an Eskimo than a Kiowa squaw. She shakes her puffy cheeks back and forth in disbelief. Her long braids flap against her fringed deerskin dress. She wraps her fingers around a carved turtle-shell necklace, made of turquoise, with two pearls pressed on either side.
Kiowa looks at the bow and arrow in her hand and laughs.
"You're just a stupid girl! Go be a stupid girl with the other stupid girls! I am learning to become a great hunter!"
"Is that so?" Kida asks haughtily.
Kiowa folds his arms and stomps his foot as he's seen the bull buffalo do. Moon Beam moves over and sits beside him.
"Let me pet your fox friend and I will teach you how to aim."
"NEVER, KIDA!"
"Why?"
"Because he is pure and you are tainted. You will ruin him!"
She squats down and smiles at Moon Beam. "But he's so cute! Come to me, Moon Beam. I will rock you in these arms and shower you with kisses."
"Leave him alone, stupid girl! You can't do anything right!"
"I can aim!" Kida stands up. She draws her arrow and releases it with accurate swiftness. She moves so fast it doesn't even appear that she takes aim. The arrow soars past Kiowa and strikes his target in the center of its chest. The rabbit falls over and kicks its hind legs violently. Blood mars its beautiful white fur. It squeals, thrashes, and does its best to get away.
Kiowa winces. Moon Beam flattens his ears. For a moment sympathy overtakes his anger. That was my friend. See how you ruin everything, Kida? Kiowa thinks, but he dares not say.
Kida struts past him and collects her prize. She puts her hand on his shoulder and shakes her head again. Kiowa takes note how her braids seem to emphasize her deep disappointment.
"He was eating. I was going to wait for him to finish."
"I am greatly concerned for the safety of our people," she says, then walks back toward the village.
Kiowa tosses his bow in frustration.
"Teach me how to aim, Kida!" he shouts.
"How can I? Stupid girls mustn't mingle with stupid boys. They will make stupid children, and then where will the tribe be?" She holds the rabbit by its foot. She does her best to keep the blood from dripping on her ornately beaded dress.
Frustrated with his inadequacies, Kiowa returns home and grabs his fishing spear. He sprints off to the fishing spring, where he knows he will find success—and his good friend Makes Trouble.
Certainly I will fare better in good company, he thinks, brushing Kida's bad medicine off his shoulder.
Moon Beam huffs, casting her bad magic off himself, too.
Along the banks of a fishing hole, a wild-looking, scraggly boy crouches in the shadows of a boulder. He makes every effort to conceal himself from fish that surface to swallow lazy, resting bugs.
"I thought I would find you here," Kiowa shouts.
The boy holds his finger up to his lips and whispers, "My father wanted me to gather wood and help collect berries."
Kiowa whispers back, "You had better do what he says or he will punish you again."
"I keep telling him my spirit is as free as the wind. Who can control the wind? I just land where my feet carry me. Besides, I am his only son. My seven sisters are perfectly capable of gathering wood and picking berries. My job is to be a great hunter."
"Have you caught anything?"
"Just ugly water bugs with big pinchers."
"Well, we can use them as bait."
Makes Trouble shrugs. "I guess so."
Kiowa spots the gray back of a rainbow trout gently swimming along the bank. He lifts his spear and aims just a little in front of its nose. "I don't think he will see it your way." Kiowa hurls his spear. It splashes through the water, striking the fish just behind the gills. Its tail flips up, the sudden commotion mixing blood and soot.
"Grab your spear before it fights off!" Makes Trouble warns.
Kiowa lunges into the water and grabs the spear with both hands. The thrill of the tugging handle forces him to push down hard, pinning the fish. Moon Beam watches from the banks. He prances up and down, chattering with excitement.
Kiowa snatches the fish by the tail, then scoops it out of the water. Moon Beam sniffs and licks its lips. It's as long as his forearm and as wide as his head.
"That's a good size. One day I hope to fish as well as you, Kiowa."
"How long have you been out here making trouble?"
"All day."
"Maybe you should take the fish. Your father will be less angry with you when you return with a catch. Your sister Kida just killed a rabbit."
"Oh, then we will have enough. You should take the fish to your mother. Besides, I won't take what I did not catch."
The boys spend the rest of the day fishing and talking about their favorite weapons. Kiowa tells Makes Trouble stories of his father. The boys act out the scenes with Kiowa playing his father and his friend playing the part of the dying, treacherous enemy.
When the sun sets, they return home.
"I wish every day could be like this."
"Me too, Makes Trouble."
"MAKES TROUBLE!"
Makes Trouble's courage evaporates when he hears the sound of his father's angry voice. His shoulders slump and his head hangs low.
"I didn't realize we were so close to my tepee."
His sisters stand in a straight line, from tallest to shortest. They each hold a switch.
"Your sisters have had to carry your weight once again. Unless that fish in Kiowa's hands is yours, you have to pay the price for your windy feet."
Kiowa offers his friend the fish, but the proud, wild boy holds up his palm and refuses to take it.
"Keep it. I have a plan."
"What is your plan?"
"The wind is my friend."
"What does this mean?"
"I'm going to run..."
A Note for your benefit: Wouldn't it be terrible to be slaughtered? It would be even worse to be slaughtered before you could finish your last meal. Doesn't Kiowa have a sweet heart? Well, keep in mind hen is just a boy. Soon to be a man. I wonder if that heart will stay sweet and pure once he's thrust into war. Hmm... Well if you don't want to sit around and weight for the next chapters, jump onto Amazon and type in "Harvest Moon," by Zachary Lovelady. You can get the book/kindle. Also check out instagram. You'll find a movie trailer we put together.