“Do you hear it?”
Leaves crunched under foot as the group of hunters began closing in on their quarry.
“There’s a clearing up ahead.”
The dense foliage posed no obstacle, as the smaller plants were quickly brushed aside and the thick, mossy vines were cleaved and trampled.
“We’re close now, boys.”
The predator would soon become the prey.
“There she is…”
The team of seven Drabatan hunters slowed their pace as they neared a clearing in the thick Pipada brush.
Standing proudly on a large, ancient stone monolith was an enormous Howlrunner. It’s jaws were lined to the brim with razor sharp teeth, and it’s eyes gave off a surprisingly ominous red hue.
The oldest hunter leaned in towards the Drabatan at the front of the party, “that’s the pack leader alright. You can see it in her scars. You ready for this?”
The youngest Drabatan scoffed, “Are you kidding? I was born for this. Compared to tomorrow, this is going to be a piece of jaiinn.”
The first Drabatan frowned, “Kroe’Draba’Gechi, do not get cocky. I don’t want the rest of the tribe’s praises to cloud your judgement. You are still mortal, and you will still make mistakes.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Kroe said as he motioned to the hunter on the other side of him, who hesitantly handed him a rudimentary spear. “I would make a lot less mistakes if I was allowed to use my guns.”
“Don’t scorn our traditions. If you want to lead this clan, you must respect the hunter’s ceremony. If you can actually manage kill today’s and tomorrow’s prey with the weapons of your forebearers, you will truly be set for life.”
“Listen, Obo, I feel like I’ve told you all a thousand times, so hopefully this will be the last, but I don’t give two bucketheads-worth about all of you and my father’s rituals. If I had my way, they would’ve been abolished long before the Empire showed up so we might’ve at least had a fighting chance…”
Kroe smeared a red, clay-like substance around his eyes and readied his spear. “And I really don’t care about being clan-leader or “chieftain” or whatever label you want to call it either. You know I don’t want these responsibilities. The only reason I’m going along with any of this is because of all the influence I’ll get in the long run.” He paused, wiping his hands on his pants as he closed his eyes, “I just can’t bring myself pass up a chance like that, but I really wish I could.”
Obo’Leeoro’Dantechi sighed and pulled his cloak up over his head. “Your father must be ashamed of that attitude… but I still think you have great potential as a leader. If only you would listen even a little, and try to learn from-“
“I’ve got nothing left to learn, Obo. I was born a warrior like everyone else here, and if I do happen to lack anything, I can usually just make up for with my kriffing blasters.”
Kroe tightened his wrist bands and gripped his spear with every ounce of strength he could muster. He didn’t know why the older man was so worried, this would be over in a moment. And then he would be ready for the final hunt tomorrow.
The Drabatan to his right, Kanto’Bree’Oreleo, took a crouched step back and whispered, in a somewhat demeaning tone, “it’s now or never, boss.”
“You can call me that tomorrow, Kanto. For now, it’s still just Kroe.” He stood up and looked at the other six Drabatans, who began disappearing backwards into the brush one-by-one.
“We’ll wait here for you to finish. Don’t forget, since this is just a sort of trial run, if you fall into any trouble, we can assist you. You will not have that liberty tomorrow.”
Kroe exhaled an arrogant huff as he glared at the elegant beast in front of him. “Trust me, this is child’s play. You guys could honestly head back to camp if you want now. I won’t be far behind you.”
When he got no reply, he turned to absorb Obo’s usually stern reaction, but none of the hunters were anywhere to be seen. They had all now retreated back into the forest, their cloaks allowing them to camouflage incredibly well.
His fellow Drabatans were just so… uncivilized. The universe had changed, and Kroe wished they had changed with it. But alas, because of the Imperial occupation, they had kept to their own outdated ways in order to preserve some illusion of normalcy. And so, tomorrow’s ritual would go on.
Kroe slowly stepped out into the clearing. The hand-woven cloak he was wearing would mask his smell from the Howlrunner’s unnaturally strong nose, and the acia berry concoction under his eyes would soon seep into his skin, giving him an extreme adrenaline boost over the course of the next few minutes.
He neared the cracked monument the Howlrunner was perched atop and wondered just how wide its field of vision was. Either it hadn’t seen him yet, or just didn’t perceive him as a threat. Kroe was sure the rest of it’s pack was out foraging, and would most likely return before nightfall with food for their leader, only to realize she was nowhere to be found.
Kroe raised his spear.
He could attempt to get in close and land a physical blow, but the quickest way to incapacitate his foe would be to simply lob the sharp javelin at it, piercing a vital organ. He didn’t debate very long on which option to choose, as he knew he needed to finish this kill as fast as possible and get home to celebrate and prepare for tomorrow’s ceremony.
In a single motion, Kroe drew his arm back and hurled the streamlined killing device straight at the large canine’s heart. What Kroe didn’t compensate for, however, was the shaft of the spear he had crafted earlier not being perfectly linear. And upon release from his hand, it waned through the air, redirecting itself, and missing the beast’s torso entirely, instead lodging itself into the hind leg of the massive wolf.
The Howlrunner cried out in pain and sharply turned to face it’s attacker. It dropped it’s head down to the ground as it snarled, and Kroe was barely given any time to react before the creature had lunged an insurmountable distance forward from it’s perch.
Kroe suddenly felt his arm in the beast’s mouth, dozens of needle like fangs sinking their way into the flesh of his upper arm. He had never felt a pain quite like it, and for a moment, he experienced a tinge of panic. But the adrenaline from the acia blend finally kicked in, and he felt a crashing wave of invigoration and stamina begin to surge through his veins.
The Drabatan hunter forced his fist to connect square with the Howlrunner’s eye, the creature loosening it’s toothy grip just enough to allow Kroe to tear his arm away, unfortunately turning the needle like incisions into deep gashes during the process.
Still, he was free, and he lunged for the spear, trying to dislodge it from the canine’s thigh. He felt the stick snap, and he saw the tip of the spear still plunged deep into the animals hide as it tried to put some distance between itself and it’s surprise attacker. That weapon really had not been his best work…
Kroe crossed the spearhead off as a lost cause, and tried to think of a different method to kill the beast, but the acia mixture in his blood was forcing his brain to run rampant, an unfortunate side-effect of the vivifying concoction.
His pride would not allow him to call out to his fellow hunters for help, and he was sure Obo, Kanto, Gree, and the others were watching on in disdain, disappointment, and possibly even twisted enjoyment at his suffering. If only they would have just let him bring his blaster.
Blasted “traditions.”
As Kroe attempted to get a better grasp of his current surroundings, he realized that he was now squarely between the large Howlrunner and the shattered monolith that had served as its royal throne only moments ago. And located on the side of the cracked and crumbling stone slab were a number of jagged outshoots, potentially the perfect makeshift skewer. If only he could…
The beast was charging again at a full speed, and Kroe only had one chance to turn the tables. Instead of reacting to his fight or flight instinct, he stood his ground.
Kroe waited until the beast was about an arm’s length away, and it had placed it’s front paw down on mossy ground inches away from his own feet, before shifting his body to the side.
At this point the creature could not correct it’s direction, and it’s momentum sent it tumbling towards the stone. However, it skidded to a stop just shy of the cragged outcrop.
Kroe knew the rest of this fight would be decided by strength alone.
The beast began charging in again, but from an incredibly reduced distance this time. And Kroe stood his ground once more. He knew the beast would try to anticipate and catch him when he moved to the side this time, and that would be it’s downfall.
As the Howlrunner grew close, it reduced it’s speed ever so slightly to allow it to move whichever way it needed to finally capture its prey between it’s serrated fangs.
And that’s when Kroe swung an adrenaline-fueled uppercut.
The beast whined upon impact as it bit its own tongue, and Kroe grabbed its front two legs, pushing it back as it tried to regain it’s bearing from the blow. It began sliding back towards the rock, and the battle of strength came to a peak.
Kroe could hear the whoops and hollers from his fellow hunters in the trees cheering him on, and he fought back against the creature, who furiously tried to reach around its own neck and bite his head off.
But it was too late.
The moment Kroe got close enough to the jagged rocks, he thrusted the creature back with all of his might, and it was rapidly impaled by a number of sharp, stony points. After a moment of guttural screaming and flailing, the creature went limp.
Kroe wiped the blood specks from his eyes and looked around, victorious. His fellow hunters began emerging from the trees around the clearing to congratulate their soon-to-be-leader and help him carry his bounty back to the village.
“Very good,” Obo said, “you are ready for tomorrow’s hunt. Let’s get you back to the camp and let the medman patch that up.”
Kroe smiled. After tomorrow, he would become chieftain. And while it wasn’t a responsibility he was thrilled to undertake, maybe he could finally start to abolish some of the ridiculous laws and traditions his tribe had held in place for millennia. They could finally drive the Empire off world, and maybe eventually even start integrating their people into the rest of the galaxy en masse, better late than never he thought. And the idea of inheriting sizeable wealth and power didn’t bother ‘Kroe all too much either.
Who didn’t want a little bit of that?
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