A droplet of dew fell from the branches above. Inkeri swiped it off from her brow as she knelt by the brush with a mere flick of a finger. Even for something so simple in action she moved as subtle as she could, in caution for the early morning's purpose. A few reckless steps followed by her brother's near-immediate lecturing had especially encouraged her to remain wary and careful. Their trek had seemed to last far longer than what the sun told from the horizon nearby.
They began from their humble home, a simple fur-pack upon each of their backs and moderate tools strapped to their sides to assist them for the long haul. Kabira and Inkeri both knew hunts were often long-lasting yet questionable in frugality, but something told Kabira that luck might be on their sides that morning.
Rocks somewhat stumbled out of place underneath their feet. The bluff loomed overhead during their trek; chords of laughter filled the air from the brave-hearted crows. Kabira reached back behind him with a slow-moving hand.
Inkeri paused once both feet were beneath her. Her brother's fingers were slightly outstretched, his palm facing towards her. She looked from his hand to the back of his head. Though either were entirely silent, they communicated with seemingly telepathic ability, or perhaps mere understanding. Hunting was, after all, no new deed--aside from mastering the ways of handling tools and weapons, learning the ways of communication without voice was essential. During their almost primitive moment of conveyance, a low bellowing whistle sang from nearby.
Once Kabira looked behind his shoulder to Inkeri, she understood.
The two siblings slowly and carefully whisked themselves closer to the looming wall of the bluff, practically glueing their sides to it as they hugged its jagged structure. Their path continued towards the cave entrance. It was a hole in the wall, a natural one, with droplets of dew and moisture dripping from its opening, along the sides. It reeked of musk, sweat, dirt, the kinds of smells that game carried.
Inkeri tried looping around her brother from behind to get a closer look on the inside, but he was quick to stop her. His hand outstretched and pressed into her stomach. She turned her head to give him a look, her eyebrows all furrowed and her mouth nearly agape from being halted so suddenly, but his trained eyes did not linger on her for too long.
Kabira's lips parted. He uttered a single word in their native tongue, yet Inkeri didn't catch it at first. She pestered her brother, reaching with one of her hands to somewhat rattle his shoulder. He more sharply looked in her direction, hastily whispering to Inkeri with a more audible tone.
"Careful."
Inkeri's impatience and boldness encouraged her to do otherwise, however, for as soon as Kabira spoke to her, she shrugged him off and stepped forward, facing the depths of the cave. Along its floors were trails of yellowing bones, broken and fractured by something either heavy-footed or heavy-jawed. Various stains of berries and flesh also made their mark on the stone home, even the odd trail of scales scattering themselves along the path. Before she could inspect any further, a fussy sound emerged not from behind. Both Inkeri and Kabira turned around, alarmed by the shrill noise.
Two furry backsides rushed into the bushes. Their claws dug into the bark of a nearby tree as they hoisted themselves up. Higher and higher. Inkeri was in awe. The two creatures were cubs, young, small, and almost impossibly inviting as if what they grew up to be couldn't possibly be true. She watched them climb up the tree to one of the higher branches still, even stepping in their direction. They whined and wailed from the tree's arms while it cradled them.
As Inkeri remotely approached the tree, though held herself at fair distance, Kabira suddenly sprung after her. "Don't!" he silently exclaimed, yet was silenced by a soon approaching figure. It parted the bushes, its back even grazed some of the lower-hanging branches from the tree.
It seemed the entire surroundings faded into silence upon the arrival of the bear. Whether it was out of respect or out of fear, it was unclear. Her cubs whimpered from up above, crying to their mother as she took her lumbering steps towards the clearing. As her eyes landed on the two siblings, she lifted herself from her front paws until she stood upright.
"Inkeri," Kabira said hurriedly, "get back." He stepped towards his sister, desperate to grab her arm.
When the mother bear launched forwards in a brisk run, the ground beneath Inkeri's feet seemed to swallow her feet whole. She could see the bear's eyes as the creature ran forward, closer and closer.
The earth rumbled from the impact of the oncoming mother bear's paws as they propelled her towards Inkeri and Kabira; her claws glinting, ever sharp; and her teeth a putrid yellow, peeking behind the lips of her snout. Inkeri could hear the mother's heavy, ragged breaths as she quickly closed the distance. The bear's eyes expressed her desperation and need to protect her cubs.
Inkeri felt a wave of sympathy follow the roll of fear that first arrived. Her planted feet were suddenly thrown off-balance, and off she went, landing on her side. The image of her brother crossed her line of sight in a blur, whirring past her in a flurry. Inkeri's mouth fell open--she wanted to say something, but she couldn't.
A rush of muddled brown fur intercepted her view of Kabira, and what soon followed was a crunch, followed by a scream. Kabira's voice rang through the wilderness, up the walls of the bluff. The birds flew away from the nearby trees in flustered flutters, their wings accompanying the chirps that emitted from their beaks.
Kabira's arms waved out from the visible side of the bear. Its head shook a few times, tearing against Inkeri's brother. His flesh ripped and a few of his bones occasionally cracked against the sheer force of the mother bear's bite. He screamed for his sister during the attack. Inkeri tried to locate her brother as if she could see through the bear but to no avail. She then recalled the spear she had strapped to her back and snatched it free from its holster.
When she charged the beast, she didn't expect for its hide to be so thick. The spear tip barely punctured with her jab or perhaps got stuck in the dense layer of fat that the bear had to its body. Up close, Inkeri could see Kabira desperately swinging a blade against the bear's face, but in her rage, the mother bear continued her onslaught. Inkeri's prodding spear only proved to irritate the bear further. Before she knew it, the tides turned and the bear's large head had snapped around. Inkeri watched as the bear's teeth, now fully visible, latched right onto her shoulder; and she screamed once she was down on the ground.
Her back hit the ground first. One of the bear's paws pressed into her torso, holding Inkeri down while the front set of teeth closed around her shoulder like a vice. Try as Inkeri might to push the abominable beast off, to get it away from her. To no avail. Her hand swung slaps and punches against the bear's eye and up near its ear, yet with Inkeri's shoulder held within its jaw, the bone was crunched and horribly wounded.
A vision of white surrounded Inkeri's vision as the bear mauled and bit into her. Its teeth dragged along her flesh, cutting her further before it returned to Kabira. His weakened cries of pain faintly left him, strained as it bit into him again. Inkeri bled heavily but forced herself to rise and, with a knife remaining on her belt, pulled it free from the holster and hobbled over. She plunged her blade for the bear's neck in tandem with Kabira's weakened strikes. Though the bear pushed her down again, even loomed over her to bite again, Inkeri mindlessly stabbed. Its teeth pinched and gnawed against her shoulder again, but the man-made weapons soon prevailed.
The cubs wept as their mother's lifeless body lie in a heap on the ground. Inkeri struggled to get herself back up, not to mention how hard it was to gather Kabira carefully into her arms. They called for help and soon were rescued by another group of tribesmen who had set out for another hunt. Though Kabira was seriously wounded, with intensive care his life was spared. Inkeri and her mauled shoulder healed over time, though the memory remained permanently vivid in her mind; at home and there to stay with the dull pain that persisted from that day onward.
They began from their humble home, a simple fur-pack upon each of their backs and moderate tools strapped to their sides to assist them for the long haul. Kabira and Inkeri both knew hunts were often long-lasting yet questionable in frugality, but something told Kabira that luck might be on their sides that morning.
Rocks somewhat stumbled out of place underneath their feet. The bluff loomed overhead during their trek; chords of laughter filled the air from the brave-hearted crows. Kabira reached back behind him with a slow-moving hand.
Inkeri paused once both feet were beneath her. Her brother's fingers were slightly outstretched, his palm facing towards her. She looked from his hand to the back of his head. Though either were entirely silent, they communicated with seemingly telepathic ability, or perhaps mere understanding. Hunting was, after all, no new deed--aside from mastering the ways of handling tools and weapons, learning the ways of communication without voice was essential. During their almost primitive moment of conveyance, a low bellowing whistle sang from nearby.
Once Kabira looked behind his shoulder to Inkeri, she understood.
The two siblings slowly and carefully whisked themselves closer to the looming wall of the bluff, practically glueing their sides to it as they hugged its jagged structure. Their path continued towards the cave entrance. It was a hole in the wall, a natural one, with droplets of dew and moisture dripping from its opening, along the sides. It reeked of musk, sweat, dirt, the kinds of smells that game carried.
Inkeri tried looping around her brother from behind to get a closer look on the inside, but he was quick to stop her. His hand outstretched and pressed into her stomach. She turned her head to give him a look, her eyebrows all furrowed and her mouth nearly agape from being halted so suddenly, but his trained eyes did not linger on her for too long.
Kabira's lips parted. He uttered a single word in their native tongue, yet Inkeri didn't catch it at first. She pestered her brother, reaching with one of her hands to somewhat rattle his shoulder. He more sharply looked in her direction, hastily whispering to Inkeri with a more audible tone.
"Careful."
Inkeri's impatience and boldness encouraged her to do otherwise, however, for as soon as Kabira spoke to her, she shrugged him off and stepped forward, facing the depths of the cave. Along its floors were trails of yellowing bones, broken and fractured by something either heavy-footed or heavy-jawed. Various stains of berries and flesh also made their mark on the stone home, even the odd trail of scales scattering themselves along the path. Before she could inspect any further, a fussy sound emerged not from behind. Both Inkeri and Kabira turned around, alarmed by the shrill noise.
Two furry backsides rushed into the bushes. Their claws dug into the bark of a nearby tree as they hoisted themselves up. Higher and higher. Inkeri was in awe. The two creatures were cubs, young, small, and almost impossibly inviting as if what they grew up to be couldn't possibly be true. She watched them climb up the tree to one of the higher branches still, even stepping in their direction. They whined and wailed from the tree's arms while it cradled them.
As Inkeri remotely approached the tree, though held herself at fair distance, Kabira suddenly sprung after her. "Don't!" he silently exclaimed, yet was silenced by a soon approaching figure. It parted the bushes, its back even grazed some of the lower-hanging branches from the tree.
It seemed the entire surroundings faded into silence upon the arrival of the bear. Whether it was out of respect or out of fear, it was unclear. Her cubs whimpered from up above, crying to their mother as she took her lumbering steps towards the clearing. As her eyes landed on the two siblings, she lifted herself from her front paws until she stood upright.
"Inkeri," Kabira said hurriedly, "get back." He stepped towards his sister, desperate to grab her arm.
When the mother bear launched forwards in a brisk run, the ground beneath Inkeri's feet seemed to swallow her feet whole. She could see the bear's eyes as the creature ran forward, closer and closer.
The earth rumbled from the impact of the oncoming mother bear's paws as they propelled her towards Inkeri and Kabira; her claws glinting, ever sharp; and her teeth a putrid yellow, peeking behind the lips of her snout. Inkeri could hear the mother's heavy, ragged breaths as she quickly closed the distance. The bear's eyes expressed her desperation and need to protect her cubs.
Inkeri felt a wave of sympathy follow the roll of fear that first arrived. Her planted feet were suddenly thrown off-balance, and off she went, landing on her side. The image of her brother crossed her line of sight in a blur, whirring past her in a flurry. Inkeri's mouth fell open--she wanted to say something, but she couldn't.
A rush of muddled brown fur intercepted her view of Kabira, and what soon followed was a crunch, followed by a scream. Kabira's voice rang through the wilderness, up the walls of the bluff. The birds flew away from the nearby trees in flustered flutters, their wings accompanying the chirps that emitted from their beaks.
Kabira's arms waved out from the visible side of the bear. Its head shook a few times, tearing against Inkeri's brother. His flesh ripped and a few of his bones occasionally cracked against the sheer force of the mother bear's bite. He screamed for his sister during the attack. Inkeri tried to locate her brother as if she could see through the bear but to no avail. She then recalled the spear she had strapped to her back and snatched it free from its holster.
When she charged the beast, she didn't expect for its hide to be so thick. The spear tip barely punctured with her jab or perhaps got stuck in the dense layer of fat that the bear had to its body. Up close, Inkeri could see Kabira desperately swinging a blade against the bear's face, but in her rage, the mother bear continued her onslaught. Inkeri's prodding spear only proved to irritate the bear further. Before she knew it, the tides turned and the bear's large head had snapped around. Inkeri watched as the bear's teeth, now fully visible, latched right onto her shoulder; and she screamed once she was down on the ground.
Her back hit the ground first. One of the bear's paws pressed into her torso, holding Inkeri down while the front set of teeth closed around her shoulder like a vice. Try as Inkeri might to push the abominable beast off, to get it away from her. To no avail. Her hand swung slaps and punches against the bear's eye and up near its ear, yet with Inkeri's shoulder held within its jaw, the bone was crunched and horribly wounded.
A vision of white surrounded Inkeri's vision as the bear mauled and bit into her. Its teeth dragged along her flesh, cutting her further before it returned to Kabira. His weakened cries of pain faintly left him, strained as it bit into him again. Inkeri bled heavily but forced herself to rise and, with a knife remaining on her belt, pulled it free from the holster and hobbled over. She plunged her blade for the bear's neck in tandem with Kabira's weakened strikes. Though the bear pushed her down again, even loomed over her to bite again, Inkeri mindlessly stabbed. Its teeth pinched and gnawed against her shoulder again, but the man-made weapons soon prevailed.
The cubs wept as their mother's lifeless body lie in a heap on the ground. Inkeri struggled to get herself back up, not to mention how hard it was to gather Kabira carefully into her arms. They called for help and soon were rescued by another group of tribesmen who had set out for another hunt. Though Kabira was seriously wounded, with intensive care his life was spared. Inkeri and her mauled shoulder healed over time, though the memory remained permanently vivid in her mind; at home and there to stay with the dull pain that persisted from that day onward.
