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awkwardgtace · 3 months

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Good Hunting

hey hey gt july day 6. Stories might slow down after this one. Been a bit busy and couldn't prep plus a week long trip in less than a week. I will still do the entire month of them though!

Ian goes out into the forest to prove he can be hunter like the others in his village. It doesn't go as planned.

Good Hunting

“You’re weak.”

“A waste of our time.”

“Just be quiet and accept what you get.”

“All you are is a burden!”

The words echoed in Ian’s head as he trudged through the forest. He would prove he could be useful to the village. A hunter like everyone else. He’d said as much as he left. On his own he would hunt something for the village. Something the others had to use a group for. He’d bring it back and prove they were wrong. Prove he belonged.

Ian ran all the lessons through his head again and again. All the ways to stay undetected. Keep his movement slow and quiet. Avoid anything that could potentially make a noise under his weight. He wasn’t the perfect choice for a hunter, but he could do it. He’d prove it to the village and himself.

The sound of a snort made him freeze. Luck could be on his side just for once. He held his breath, pulled a sword from his side, and waited. The snort sounded alongside a rustle in the brush. It just had to walk away. The easiest kills were from behind. That’s what he’d been taught.

Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on his side. A gigantic boar’s face broke through the brush in front of him. He fell back in shock. The warm breath against his skin made him shudder. Ian forced himself to his feet. The boar snorted at him. It was bigger than anything the others brought back. That didn’t matter. If he was smart he could win.

Ian inched back from the boar. Its beady black eyes stayed trained on him, but it didn’t charge. His sword felt heavy in his hand. The boar scraped one hooved foot against the ground. He tensed. It moved.

As he dodged to the side, Ian swiped his sword at the boar. The metal snapped on contact. Ian’s blood turned to ice as he watched half his sword hit the ground. The boar reared on him again. Ian turned and ran.

The boar’s steps matched the loud thumps of his heart in his ears. There were two options. Take the path towards the village or go deeper into the forest. It should be an easy decision, but the sword made it hard. He was given one supposedly used by the other hunters, but it snapped. Ian closed his eyes and veered off the path into an unknown danger ahead.

He tore through the brush as he neared it. Stumbled over roots and fallen branches. Begged for some the boar to lose interest. The heavy grunts of the animal were right on his heels. He tried to duck under a low branch, but his foot got caught in an exposed root. He fell forward, the boar’s shadow eclipsed him immediately. He flipped onto his back, forced to face the monster about to kill him.

The boar knew it had won. It sauntered over lazily. Confident its prey couldn’t escape. The awful stench of its breath was the last thing Ian would ever smell. The thing's mouth came close to him. The snout pressed against his head. He could feel as it smelled him. The way the air was pulled in.

The idiocy of his choice settled on him then. This boar was big enough to bite him in half. He never could have escaped. Ian tried to use the broken sword to at least injure it, but the metal wasn’t strong enough. The boar knocked it out of Ian’s hand with a huff. He watched, tears in his eyes, as the broken weapon landed just out of reach. Even if it wouldn’t help, it gave him hope while he held it.

The boar’s mouth settled right above his head. He stared at what was about to kill him. Tried to be brave, but couldn’t keep himself from squeezing his eyes shut. That only made the moment worse. The boar’s weight grew as it settled in for its meal. It knocked the breath out of him. He swore it was enough to crush the life out of him. That would be a better way to die than the boar eating him.

The boar squealed. Loud enough it made his ears ring. If that wasn’t bad enough he heard a loud, familiar crack. A bone had broken. He waited for the pain, but it never came. Instead the squeal grew louder.

Ian tried to move his arms. The boar’s legs started to scrape the ground around him, the squeal morphed into more of a screech. He never would have imagined this was how boars handled their prey. Another crack. Louder. Sickening. The boar’s weight increased. Ian couldn’t breathe. It lasted for only a moment before the weight was gone.

He took deep breaths as he tried to sit up. His body was sore. Only sore. That unfortunately made sense once he looked up. The boar, its body rather, was in the air. Held by a hand that went up and up and up to a person’s pale face. Ian hadn’t heard of giants before. For a second he thought he might be saved.

Then the stranger opened his mouth. Ian watched as a forked tongue poked out between fangs. Dread filled him. There was only one creature that big with those features. He couldn’t pull his eyes away as the being shoved the boar into his mouth. It was gone after a few swallows. Ian was so much smaller than the boar; he wasn’t even enough for a mouthful.

“Lucky I showed up, kid,” the giant creature said. Ian scrambled back as a scaled green tail slithered into view. The man rested his arm on it, as if it was natural.

“A-a n-naga?!” Ian croaked. The naga’s slit blue eyes rolled. The green tail slithered out of view. Ian scrambled away from it. He couldn’t let this happen.

“Yeah, yeah,” the naga waved a hand, “I’m a big scary naga. Clearly here to eat you after I saved you.”

The biting sarcasm told him enough. At least that he wasn’t a meal, but Ian couldn’t get rid of his fear. He looked towards the sword. He knew it wouldn’t help, but he’d feel safer. The naga’s eyes didn’t leave him. It wasn’t smart to dive for the sword… He did it anyway.

As soon as his body left the ground, hands surrounded him. It was more terrifying when he saw the skin was a rich brown rather than rosy pale. He tried to fight against the hands holding him. This one had to be a lot smaller. It needed both hands to hold him. The sword could maybe pierce this skin.

“Calm down,” the new naga said. Ian ignored the way it sounded. Focused only on escape. If he got out, maybe he could hunt something smaller. With a sword barely stronger than the wooden training weapons…

Slowly, the fight left him. The swords of his village were known for their strength and durability. A hunter’s sword never would have broken against the boar’s hide. He was given that one on purpose. The village didn’t want him. There was no one there for him since his brother died. Going back would only bring him more pain.

“We’re not going to hurt you,” the one holding him said. This time Ian couldn’t ignore how familiar it sounded. That made the idea of giving up all the sweeter. “I’m going to take you home.”

“I can’t go home,” Ian whispered as he went limp. Apparently that made the naga want to see him. One of the hands moved. It took a while for him to choose to look at this naga’s face. A naga was a better death than a boar. They might at least make it painless.

“Ian?!” the naga shouted. It made him flinch. He stared up at the eyes of the naga. A bit of his fear came back. He didn’t know any nagas. “You shouldn’t be out here… what happened? Why can’t you go home?”

A finger rubbed his arm. It was familiar. Just like the voice. Ian forced himself to really look at the naga that held him. He recognized the green eyes, even if they had slit pupils now. The face was one he’d seen a million times. The sharp features that almost hid how kind the person really was…

“Mik?” Ian asked, his eyes wide. “Is that really you? Y-you’re alive?!”

“Wait, this is the one you always talk about? The little brother?” the other naga’s voice made Ian flinch. The fingers around him curled in. Shielded him. It reminded him of the way his brother would protect him from the others in the village.

“Alec, not now,” Mik’s voice was stern. The glare was familiar too. The second the eyes were back on him they were soft and concerned. Just like his brother… “It’s me Ian. You’re safe, I promise.”

“How-I-” Ian swallowed to try and force the words. “You died… You never came back after a trip to gather herbs. That’s what everyone said.”

The fingers curled in around him more. He was brought up to meet Mik’s eyes. Now he could see the fangs the brother he knew didn’t have. A finger curled over him and Ian finally noticed the sharp, black claws. He wanted to trust this version of his brother, even if it ended in his death.

“Well, that’s a bit of a long story,” Mik said. The way he turned his head away was the same. How he looked up to avoid answering. A lot bigger, but the same.

“Come on Mikhail,” Alec said. Ian jumped as a massive arm landed on Mik’s shoulders. He could see just how small his brother was in comparison. “You’re gonna avoid it still. I’ll tell him if you won’t.”

“Alec let me-” Ian was grabbed by the bigger naga. Dropped in a palm with fingers he couldn’t hope to match.

“The kid here was always a naga. Sometimes a kid hatches that looks human. Sometimes they are human. Either way they’re given to a village that knows about the situation. Didn’t happen for Mikhail here.”

“Why not?” Ian asked. Mik’s fingers were on Alec’s hand. Clearly trying to take him back.

“Hunters from your village saw two nagas with a little human. Killed them and took the kid. Brought him home and gave him to some others.”

“Alec!” Alec’s hand moved down enough that Mik's fingers found him. Ian was wrapped in them. It almost made him feel like a doll. He was set back in Mik’s cupped palms. “None of that matters anymore. Ian, why can’t you go home?”

Ian looked back up at Alec. The larger naga shook his head and looked disappointed. Mik was probably right. The past didn’t matter anymore. At least not all of it. Ian had questions he needed answered. Ones that he had to know before he could explain why he couldn’t go home.

“Why did you leave?” Ian asked. His voice cracked as he did. Revealing his pain.

“Ian…” Mik pulled him close. Pressed him against his chest. The closest thing to a hug Ian had since the day his brother never came home. “I didn’t have a choice… The others saw scales on my legs and made me leave. I was going to leave on my own, but they noticed my height change… I’m actually still growing.”

“That’s right,” Alec said. “Kid’s gonna be as big as me eventually.”

“Is that why you didn’t come get me?” Ian wiped at the tears he couldn’t stop. “I’m just a human. Is it because I’m too small or because they killed your parents? Do you hate me? ”

“Of course I don’t hate you!” The pressure around him grew. Only for pale fingers to force their way into the small spot of safety. Ian was forced to stare up at Alec. Face a lot softer, kinder.

“He did try. It’s how I found him. Those hunters nearly killed him when he got close… Which reminds me, why didn’t that sword of yours hurt the boar? The metal is strong enough to cut my skin.”

Both nagas stared at him. He couldn’t avoid the question. Alec had a knowing look. As if he had the answer Ian didn’t want to give. Why he couldn’t go home. Why the sword broke. He bit his lip, but Alec moved away. Came back with the sword pinched between claws. Ian wanted to come up with a lie, but the larger naga smelled it.

“This isn’t the right metal,” he growled. Ian hugged himself. Mik’s fingers curled in around him.

“Ian, did you sneak out? Is that why you can’t go back?” Mik asked. Ian didn’t want to answer. They said Mik tried to get him, but that didn’t mean he was wanted. Two gigantic nagas and he was a human. Eventually he’d barely be the size of Mik’s fingers. He would be a burden around the naga too.

“No…” he whispered. The fingers surrounded him completely. He couldn’t see anything but skin anymore.

“They sent you out here, didn’t they?” Mik’s voice was harsh. Angry. Ian shook, he couldn’t remember the last time he heard Mik angry. The fingers moved and revealed him again, he didn’t want to see him. “With a bad weapon… You can’t go back because they don’t expect you back.”

Ian nodded. The words wouldn’t leave him. He expected to be dropped. Left behind how the village expected. Killed by something big enough to crush him. Maybe Mik or Alec would take pity on him and kill him fast. So he didn’t starve or get crushed later.

“Guess you should go get the kid set up,” Alec’s voice snapped Ian out of his thoughts. He looked up, shocked to see tears on Mik’s face. That one he’d never seen. “I’ll catch something for you kids to eat. I’m the adult and all that.”

“You still haven’t told me your age,” Mik mumbled.

Fingers curled over Ian again. He was brought close to his brother’s heart. It sounded the same. Just how it did when they were the same size. After nightmares or bad days of training. There was just enough space he could see the trees pass by. He had no idea what it meant to get set up.

“...I tried to get you a lot Ian,” Mik whispered. “Even after Alec found me. I couldn’t get close enough to our house to get your attention without alerting the whole village.”

“What would you have done if you got my attention?” Ian asked.

“Asked if you wanted to come with me.” Mik paused and opened his hands enough Ian met his eyes. “Neither of us ever fit in there.”

“So… you aren’t going to send me to some other village?”

“Not unless you want to go. Alec actually knows a few of the villages that talk to nagas. He’s gotten stuff in case I managed to reach you and you wanted to stay. I told him you were good at making weapons so he got some of those tools. Mentioned using his claws to make them so you could go in the forest and keep the danger away.”

“So… you really want me to be around?”

Mik brought Ian up to his face. It was intimidating and comforting. A face Ian knew well. One that had been his rock. The only one who tried to understand him. Now they were literally different species. They weren’t the same or even close to being similar. Ian was going to be smaller than his fingers. That didn’t stop Mik from pressing his forehead to his hand. Just like all the times when Mik would talk Ian out of his spirals. Foreheads pressed together so he couldn’t look away.

“I missed you Ian. Of course I want my little brother around,” Mik whispered.

“I missed you too,” Ian sobbed. An action seeded in idiotic bravery turned out better than he could have imagined. His brother was back and he’d figure out Alec eventually.