Inner Beasts
Madeline Crell
Period 3
There was so much blood. Corpses were strewn all over the forest floor. Mangled and broken, blood continued to spurt out of the gaping wounds of the lifeless bodies, dyeing the ground a deep, monotone red. The worst part about the scene though, was the lack of sound. The silence pounded my ears as I strained to catch even the lightest rustle of leaves or the snap of a twig. Desperately I spun around trying to search for any signs of life, but I was surrounded by a sea of death. "H-hello? Is anyone here?" I called warily. Suddenly there was a flash of light, breaking through the canopy's thick foliage, momentarily blinding me. Usually the light was a sign of goodness or hope in such situations, but to my absolute horror, it caused quite the opposite effect. The seriously disfigured bodies that lay so still just moments ago began to twitch. Slowly they all began rising as if controlled by a tangled web of strings, and their empty and bloody eye sockets locked onto me. Their arms snapped up, pointing accusingly at me, and began to shriek.
I bolted upright, cold sweat pouring down my face as I realized that the corpses shrieking in my dreams had been me, screaming in my sleep. My heart thudded in my chest as I panted heavily, trying to catch my breath and collect my thoughts on what I had just seen. But before I could slow my racing mind, the flap of my tent was flung open, flooding my quarters with morning light, and the imminent heat and humidity of the day.
"Nina, will you get out of bed already? It's not like you to sleep in so late!" The girl that stood before me was eyeing me with a certain frustration, but her face remained soft and caring. My best friend Stormy grinned and swatted at my rear under my hammock. "Come on, get up, lazy buns! You need to start training today…and your father wants to see you as soon as you get up." Her hands were now placed firmly on her hips, tilted in a manner that was clearly giving a feisty attitude.
"Alright, I'm awake…" I mumbled through the crook of my arm, shielding my eyes from the sudden light that had intruded in my tent. Sighing, I swung my feet out of my hammock and onto the warm floor. Stormy swished her long, striped tail back and forth in anticipation as I dressed and combed out my wavy blood-red hair. "What did father want to talk to me about?" I asked with sincere curiosity in my voice.
Stormy shrugged. "I dunno. Sounded pretty important, though…And with the war moving closer to home, I hope it's not bad news." She ended her train of thought with a dazed look in her eyes.
As soon as I finished dressing, Stormy dragged me out of my tent into the increasingly scorching day. Our little village sat in the near center of the vast Hybrid Hills, covered in a dense jungle. Our cozy little village was one of many that spotted these hills, and one of the few privileged enough to allow each citizen a freedom of choice. Above the chirping of the many birds in the jungle, low booms echoed from farther beyond the jungle. The war was definitely moving closer.
Over the past century, the Transformation War raged through the lands, tearing tribes apart and forcing them to fight. Two powerful tribes started the entire war with just one speech. The Tolero and the Lupis tribes believed strongly that their subjects should all transform under only one spirit beast in an entire tribe. The Toleros residents all became bears, and will "forever be bears," as the chief had exclaimed with much bitterness in his tone. The Lupis citizens would always be wolves, their chief reasoned that "the essence of the wolf were their strong packs and their strength in numbers would always conquer." My father, Talus, is the chief of our village, the Rogues, whose spirit animal is the Black Panther. He and many other small tribes are fiercely against the beliefs and reasoning of the Tolero and Lupis clans, and the disagreements sparked a violent and murderous war.
I approached my father's tent while idly holding a conversation with Stormy. She was grinning and swinging her tail enthusiastically as I glanced enviously at her spirit transformation. Stormy had easily mastered the art of Transformation shortly after discovering her spirit animal, a white tiger. Her snowy fur was slashed with beautiful blackish blue stripes, her slender build framed by long, silky ebony hair. I had yet to discover my spirit animal, try as I might and therefore could not begin my training.
"Okay, Stormy, I'll meet you in the clearing in a bit!" I called out to her as she raced off after giving me a quick hug and a "good luck." I wondered what that was about.
"Good morning, Father," I addressed him as I calmly strolled to his side.
"Ah, good morning, my daughter. I trust you slept well this evening?" he replied.
My father embraced me warmly, squeezing me tightly into his strong, sleek arms. This puzzled me, for he did not usually treat me with such sudden affection. Pulling away, I searched his face for hints. "Father…what's wrong? What's going on?" Worry filled my voice as I queried his actions. His blank expression began to sink, a frown pulling at the side of his lips.
"My, my, am I that predictable?" He muttered as his long pitch black tail twitched. "Nina…you know I love you. So much, I can't bear to think of anything happening to you…and speaking of bears, the Tolero tribe converted another village today…it wasn't too far from here, just over the hill near our river." He mumbled something inconspicuous under his breath. I only caught the word "slaughtered" and shook my head solemnly.
"Those savages…Things sure are getting out of hand." I scoffed with disapproval.
"They're getting closer…and more brutal. This is why I'm…sending you away." He concluded gravely, his golden yellow eyes locking on mine.
I gasped in shock, struggling for words. "W-what?! Y-you can't send me away! I haven't—I just – I can't leave!" I scrambled helplessly, at a loss for words. "I haven't even gone on my spiritual journey into the Hybrid Hills! I'm supposed to start training for Transformation today! I need to stay here, father!" I pleaded, tears beginning to pool in my intent emerald eyes.
He shook his head and stared unmoving into my eyes. "No. You are not to stay here any longer. We will send you south to the coast, where you will stay until I send word if you should hop on a ship or if you may return. I don't want anything to happen to you. If the Tolero or Lupis reach our village, I will refuse to be converted, and they will slay any who stand in their way. I don't want to risk your death." I fumed, listening to his words. My fists were balled tightly and I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off again, with urgency filling his voice. "You are leaving tomorrow morning, and that is final! I will hear no more complaints out of you, I'm doing this for your safety!" he roared, his eyes flashing dangerously.
His words stung me, and before he could speak another word, I bolted out of his tent and ran blindly into the forest towards the clearing where I'd meet Stormy. How could he!? He knows how important this journey was for me, and now he ships me off without a second thought? At this rate, I'll never find my spirit animal and I won't learn my Transformation magic in time for my 18th birthday… Needless to say I was furious. The only thing on my mind was how stupid this whole war was, what it had caused, and what it had taken.
I burst into the clearing to find Stormy lying on her back, eyes closed. She seemed to have sensed me enter the clearing and called out to me. "So what's the word from your dad?" She opened one deep chocolate eye to glance at me as she spoke.
I was nearly sobbing now. "My f-father is sending me away. He's shipping me out because of the close proximity of the war." I managed. As I spoke, Stormy's expression remained blank, but the fur on her tail and shoulders began to stand on end. She sighed and gracefully leapt to her feet.
"What do you propose we do? You were supposed to go on your journey this week…" She began pacing back and forth, concentrating very hard on the matter at hand. "What to do, what to do…" she began mumbling under her breath, obviously listing options to herself.
Her behavior was starting to get on my nerves and with one pull of her tail, she yowled in frustration and turned to face me. "I'm going to run away. Tonight." I seethed. "Come with me if you like, but nothing's stopping me." My jaw was firmly set, as was my mind. Stormy's jaw on the other hand dropped momentarily, but she then quickly gathered herself.
"Alright, then I'm going with you. It'll be like our own personally guided journey. Wherever you go, I'm going too." Stormy exclaimed with enthusiasm, true dedication shining in her eyes. "We'll leave together; tonight…We'll stay out of trouble and still find your spirit animal. I promise."
Later that evening, in the dead of night, I quickly packed the necessities for our trip, and sadly bade farewell to my father, who slept soundly thinking that his daughter would be safe. I would be, Stormy and I are intelligent travelers, but being shipped out of my home was like ripping half my heart out. We snuck quietly into the forest toward the Hybrid Hills, hand in hand to avoid separation, and for mere comfort of the reality of our decision.
We walked for hours, clambering through the thick undergrowth of the jungle in the hills. My heart pounded in my chest, but Stormy's company made it all the more better. Because of her cat senses, she had amazingly sharp night vision, and I allowed her to lead me during the darkest hours of the night. When dawn began to break, we stopped in a small clearing to catch our breath.
"I wonder what my father must think of me now…with our unexpected departure and all." I thought out loud as Stormy took a swig of water from one of the canteens. I looked around us, gathering my sense of direction that I had all but lost during our scramble through the jungle at night.
Stormy shrugged. "We can only hope he doesn't over react and send troops into the jungle…or worse." She shuddered at the thought of something, her face visibly becoming paler, if possible.
My eyes widened in fear. "What do you mean 'or worse?'"
She turned slowly to me. "What if…your father thinks you were kidnapped by one of the Tolero or Lupis tribes? That would definitely trigger his violent side and…" she winced, her words coming out as a whisper. "Go to war."
We trudged on through the forest in silence, save for the constant twitter of birds and animal movement in the underbrush. Stormy's words hit me like a ton of bricks, the sudden realization of a hasty and rash reaction to my disappearance was crippling.
As we meandered further into the forest, we at last ventured upon a wide and spacious clearing that broke through the canopy to let the sunlight pierce the floor. A quiet spring bubbled up from the earth and a clear, sparkling pool reflected the sun. Peaceful though it was, we couldn't help but notice that it was a fresh campsite, and whoever was here would most likely be back. But we were too exhausted to turn around and barrel through the tangled mess of trees and vines, and simply dropped where we stood and drifted into a warm and comfortable doze.
Luckily during my brief napping, no nightmares came to taint my sleep. But when I woke, I sensed that Stormy and I were not alone. "Don't move." A husky voice growled.
I instantly froze on the spot, glancing at Stormy, who was still fast asleep. "Who's there?" I demanded bravely, though my voice quivered. "What do you want?" I shifted and sat cross-legged and scanned the clearing, finding no one.
A tall figure slowly emerged from the cover of the trees and into the sunlight. He held two blades, one in each hand, as he approached me.
He was beautiful. No doubt one of the Tolero, his light brown fur was sleek and looked incredibly soft. His ears were pinned back and he glared at me with soul shattering red eyes from under his pitch black hair with lime green highlights. His body was toned and muscled, shirtless and wore knee length dark brown cargo shorts. Even as he bore his teeth at me, he sent my heart soaring.
"What business do you have here in my clearing?" He snapped, being cautious not to get too close to me.
I puffed up my chest with as much courage as I could. "My friend and I were just passing through. We were merely resting in this clearing…"
"LIAR! I know of you…you're the chief's daughter of the Rogue tribe. He sent you, I'm sure of it." He retorted.
Anger flashed in my eyes and I clenched my jaw. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" I roared. "I left my village to stay in the hills I grew up in. He was going to send me away for my own protection, and the last thing I would do would be to go looking for filthy, murderous Toleros." I continued. His eyes were wide with surprise. At first his glare deepened, and was so full of hatred I instantly regretted that last insult.
But then he laughed. Throwing his head back, his uproarious laughter echoed through the clearing and startling a few birds hiding in the bushes. Puzzled, I stared angrily at him.
He was still chuckling. "If what you say is true, then you are not very bright. The last thing you should do is to wander these dangerous hills where the battles usually rage. You're lucky I ran away from my tribe as well." His red eyes pierced right through my courage and I shrank a little into my still snoozing partner-in-crime. "My name is Kantoh. While it is true that I'm from the Tolero tribe, I side with your father's opinions. I was forced to transform into a bear by my father. He is a very cruel man even from my perspective." He held out his hand for me to shake, which I warily shook.
He smiled warmly at me, chuckling again at my hesitation. "My name is Nina…and this is Stormy." I nudged Stormy lightly, trying to wake her. She moaned softly and stirred, beginning to awaken from her cat-nap.
Rubbing her eyes, Stormy mumbled groggily. "Nina, what's the big idea? I'm still exhausted…" Realizing there was another presence, she was instantly wide awake, bearing her teeth and the fur on her neck and tail rose menacingly.
I placed a calming hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. "Stormy, this is Kantoh…he is a Tolero, but he sides with us. His father really is corrupt in his eyes as well." But she would not yield.
"Sure, that's just what he wants us to think…" she growled, turning her back on him and leading me to the far corner of the clearing. "Nina, what are you thinking?!" She whispered harshly. "He's a Tolero for crying out loud! You should have woken me sooner; he could have killed the both of us if he had the chance."
"But Stormy, he did have the chance." I pointed out. "When you were still sleeping we were arguing and I provoked him. He could have killed us right then and there, but did he? No, he didn't." I crossed my arms over my chest.
Stormy sighed heavily. "Fine, if you trust him, go ahead. I won't trust him no matter what he says…and if he does anything that raises my suspicions, we're gone. Got it?" I nodded quickly, glancing over my shoulder to see him sitting calmly and polishing his blades with a cloth he pulled out of his pocket. Stormy growled softly beside me as I gazed affectionately at him.
We approached him slowly after our private argument and sat with him. "So I've decided to go with you two." Kantoh blurted out suddenly. My jaw dropped and my eyes widened. Stormy's eyes flashed dangerously and she bore her teeth in disapproval.
"Wh-what? You're coming with us? But we don't even know where we are going…" I protested.
"Yeah and we don't need you slowing us down." Stormy spat.
Kantoh shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me where you're going, and I can carry my own weight, no need to worry about me…" he said, glancing at Stormy. "Besides, I think you could use the extra muscle and eyes in this section of the hills." He added absent-mindedly as he swung his polished blades in practice.
I hadn't thought about that…It was true that soldiers from practically every tribe involved in the war were swarming through the jungles by now, and it definitely couldn't hurt to have a young, fit Tolero, much less the chief's son, in our little escapade. "Fine." I agreed.
Stormy glared at me in disbelief but saw she had no choice. He was stubborn, and I had already allowed him to join our group. Grumbling under her breath, she stomped off to the other end of the clearing and pouted.
"Sorry about her, Kantoh. She doesn't…warm too quickly to the Tolero given their reputation and all." I theorized.
Kantoh waved me away with his hand. "Oh, no worries. I guess I have my wonderful father to thank the reputation for." He muttered with much sarcasm. "Anyways, we should head out soon…I'm sure my father doesn't know about this clearing yet, but I have been missing for almost a week and I think he blames one of the other tribes for my disappearance."
I nodded quickly. "It's the same story for my situation! I ran away not but three days ago and I'm sure my father blames the Tolero or Lupis…this could seriously trigger the most violent battle ever." I admitted. As if on cue, a loud explosion rang out from nearby, startling the three of us.
Kantoh's face dropped. "Those are definitely Tolero cannons. We'd better leave. NOW." He said with urgency clear in his voice.
I agreed and quickly ran over to Stormy, who was a little shaken up from the blast, her hearing was much better than ours. "Come on, Stormy we gotta go." I pulled her up and we gathered our supplies and plunged into the forest, Kantoh leading the way.
He pulled us forward blindly, the branches clawed at our clothes and faces, slowing us down drastically. He grasped my hand firmly, while I held on tightly to Stormy. We continued in this manner for a good hour or so, until we stopped to rest when we no longer heard gunshots or cannon fire. I seethed on the inside; hating this war, hating the tribes who thought dictatorship would win over the other tribes, becoming clones down the road in the Transformation process. Remembering the cannon fire and the reminder of the merciless war sent me reeling back into my nightmare, the shrieking corpses and their empty, bloody, eye sockets.
Shuddering even in the heat and humidity of the jungle, Kantoh analyzed me with questioning eyes. I shook my head which signaled to him that I would not talk about it. As of his addition to our team, Stormy was glued to my side, keeping a very, very watchful eye on Kantoh at all times.
During our break I was reminded again by my weakness, the fact that I had yet to master the transformation magic, let alone find my spirit animal. All that was on my mind was the war, and I desperately searched my mind for a way to bring peace. Closing my eyes, I tried to push all the visions of death and anger to try and calm myself, to remind me of why I ran away into the forest in the first place. What came instead were memories of times before I knew of the war, when Stormy and I used to blissfully play, ignorant to the dangers. I thought of my father, his strong physique and his jet black and smooth fur…the way he warmly gazed at me with his liquid golden eyes. I wanted it all to be real, to banish the war and its effects forever, and to live in peace forever.
Stormy jolted me out of my meditating trance, informing me that we had to keep moving. Kantoh was standing quite still with his eyes closed, ears twitching at the slightest rustle of leaves. With Stormy at my side, I moved to Kantoh's side, touching his arm lightly. His eyes flashed open and stared down at me with a fiery intensity. But his expression softened and smiling warmly at me, he led us further into the jungle. His smile left me breathless; he was so kind, gentle and beautiful in every way…far different from the usual Tolero that I had been taught about. We continued in silence, excluding the occasional grunt of frustration and the ringing of blade on vegetation. The progress was slow, but we managed to maintain a steady pace.
We finally made it to a much larger clearing as the sun was setting and we decided to make camp. While Stormy and I laid out our sleeping mats, Kantoh managed to chop down some bamboo shoots that managed to retain rain water in their stem cavities. We filled our canteens with the new water, and laid down to rest.
My dreams were crawling with hidden nightmares, popping out when I least expect it, in the faces of loved ones and in fond memories. During my tossing and turning, I felt an unfamiliar hand laid on my shoulder and occasionally stroking my cheek. At once my dreams calmed and my dreams were filled with images of the stunning bear I had met just earlier that day. He stood beside a mysterious figure with black and white colored fur. They were holding hands and looking fondly at each other. Jealousy flared in my gut, until I noticed she had deep red hair. I tried to get a better look at the girl, but I was disturbed from my sleep and woke with a start to find morning sun beating down into our cozy clearing.
Sitting up quickly, I looked around to see Kantoh sleeping soundly in a patch of sunlight across the way. Stormy was sprawled out on a large, smooth rock soaking up the warm sun. I crawled over to where Stormy lay and brushed back her hair. I really wanted to find my true spirit animal and master Transformation magic. I gazed longingly at her white fur and tail, and looked sadly down at my own pale skin. Stormy was emitting a deep and contented purr, and I chuckled at my friends comfort.
"So, you're awake." Kantoh spoke from across the clearing.
I jumped a little at his voice. "Y-yes I'm awake." I muttered. "Did I wake you?"
Kantoh nodded. "Last night you did. You were tossing and turning something fierce, and your face was scrunched up in what looked like pain." He concluded with concern in his voice and eyes.
I flushed; embarrassed that he had witnessed my nightmares. "O-oh…you saw that? It was nothing really; I just couldn't sleep very well is all." I tried convincing him and myself. I rubbed my neck nervously as he searched my face for any give-away signs from nightmares. Eventually he shrugged and gave up.
"Whatever you say, I guess." He stood up and strolled over to my side, lifting my up from my sitting position. "Hey why don't we practice your Transformation magic? I know you haven't found your spirit animal yet, but you'll need previous training when you do."
"Yeah, alright" I sighed in agreement. Cooperatively I let him lead me to the far end of the clearing away from Stormy.
"So do you have any idea what your spirit animal might be?" He prodded.
I paused and thought back to my dream, of Kantoh and the mysterious figure with black and white fur and red hair the same shade as mine. The animal that she transformed into escaped me at the moment, and I reluctantly shook my head. "I don't have a clue. All I can think about is this stupid war. I want it to end, and let peace spread through our tribes without quarrel." He gave a look of surprise, and a sly smile spread across his face. Noticing his reaction, I questioned him. "What? What is it?"
He continued to grin and shook his head. "Nothing. Come on, we have a lot of work to do." The smile vanished from his face and he motioned me to turn around and face the forest.
Frustrated, I complied. Almost as soon as I had turned around, Kantoh covered my ears and mumbled some sort of spell. A loud ringing filled my head and my eyes rolled into the back of my head. Images flashed quickly in my head, my mind unable to keep up with the speed. A flash erupted in front of my eyes and I quickly squeezed my eyes shut, and the happenings in my dreams began to stream past my eyelids. For a moment I thought I had fallen asleep, my dream was all too clear. I approached the two figures, one I knew of being Kantoh. I finally caught up to them and dashed out in front of them to stop them in their tracks, and to get a good look at the peculiar woman with him. I gasped and stumbled backwards. She was gorgeous, black, furry ears poked out of her deep red hair, while black patches encircled her emerald eyes. Her fur was pure white, but her hands were a silky black and her torso was a dark gray. She smiled serenely at me, or, I smiled serenely at myself. Almost as quick as my shock had come, it was gone. I jolted back to reality, and stood face to face with Kantoh in the now sun filled clearing.
I inhaled sharply, and wobbled where I stood. Kantoh wrapped his arm around me and lead me back to Stormy, who was just now waking up. Still taking in my vision, induced by the one who held me, I shivered violently and curled up tightly into a ball. Kantoh immediately retreated to his side of the clearing and picked up his blades and pretended to calmly examine his weapon. Stormy stretched and was just now becoming aware of my shocked state, gasping in horror. "Oh my god!! Nina, what happened?!" She rushed to my side.
I gathered my strength, which was much easier than I thought and sat up, relaxing my tensed muscles. "It's nothing! Just some muscle cramps. I must be a little dehydrated…" I explained, reaching for a canteen. Narrowing her eyes, Stormy examined me for any traces of physical injury but found none. Taking a swig from the canteen, I again gathered my thoughts.
What on earth did Kantoh do to me? I wondered. That vision couldn't be real…or…not yet at least. An invisible force instantaneously lifted my heart and my spirit felt light and calm. I glanced up at Kantoh across the way and he peered at me from under his dark locks. I then remembered seeing myself standing there with him, with black and white fur…at last I knew. My spirit animal was the panda.
I leaped up from where I sat and pulled Stormy into a tight hug. "We did it. You promised we would and we did." She was thrown off by my sudden burst of affection and even more confused by my comment.
"What are you talking about, Nina? What did I promise?" She looked as if a giant question mark hung over her head.
I grinned. "I know my spirit animal. We can start training."
Her eyes widened to the point where I thought they might bulge out of her head, before a huge grin spread over her face as well. "Fantastic." I could tell she wanted to know how I came to my conclusion, but she was too happy to complain. She pulled me into a tighter hug than my previous one.
Kantoh sat back and smiled warmly, content with his work.
Over the next few days, I rigorously trained in practice for my Transformation. It is usually unknown when the person is ready, but when the moment comes, the change is instantaneous. We had moved on from our clearing where Kantoh persuaded the vision out of me and unknowingly were headed toward the collision point of the Tolero and Rogue tribes in a heated final battle. Unaware of the danger we were headed toward, we came across yet another small clearing and met a horrific scene.
Instantaneous gasps escaped from all of us. Scenes from my first nightmare flashed before my eyes upon seeing a massacre of soldiers. A somewhat old battle scene lay before us, corpses and bodies lay motionless and bent in unnatural ways on the blood stained ground. Waves of nausea washed over me and I crumpled to my knees. Stormy's tail was twitching with anger and disgust, and Kantoh wrinkled his nose at the stench and drew his blades. "Be careful. This clearing is fouled by the bodies…" Kantoh growled from deep in his throat.
"This is absolutely unforgivable!!" Stormy hissed. "How much longer do we have to endure this hate?"
Fury pulsed through my veins. I clenched and unclenched my fists and felt powerful energy flowing through my body. Closing my eyes tightly, a rumble escaped from my throat and spread through my chest. Kantoh and Stormy were taken aback and stared in amazement. As if thunder was erupting from my chest, I felt a tear through my human soul and something else pieced back in place that made me stronger. Then it was over. I stood up and examined myself. My skin was now a sleek pure white fur coat. A black patch of fur covered my torso and my hands, as well as my eyes and ears. I was suddenly keen on every sound and movement in the jungle. I turned to Stormy and Kantoh and they whooped with triumph. I laughed and pulled them into a group hug.
We knew what we had to do. We set off running into the forest and could now hear loud explosions from not far off. At last we burst through the trees and into a huge field filled with soldiers engaged in fierce battle. Cannon fire rolled across the field like thunder. Bodies lay scattered across the scene, but the two that stuck out most were two huge black creatures in the center of the battle. I knew one was my father. I could hear Talus' roars even from here, as he wrestled mercilessly with the Tolero's chief.
"There's my father!" Kantoh and I shouted in unison. We locked eyes.
"My father is the black bear fighting your father. His name is Boris, and he shows no mercy. He will do whatever it takes, even if it's a dirty move." Kantoh shouted darkly over the noise of the fighting.
I nodded. "My father is the Black Panther down there. His name is Talus. He will endure anything for as long as it takes. That could go on for a while." I pointed towards their secluded battle area.
"We better hurry, then." Kantoh shouted as we sprinted down the hill towards the center of the battle.
As we approached the two chiefs, Kantoh easily intercepted their next blows aimed at each other. Surprise flashed across their eyes as they peered down at the brave bear. They pulled back in even more surprise as I strolled to Kantoh's side and entwined my hand in his. "Wh-who…" Talus started. His eyes widened further. "Nina?! Is that you?! You…you're a panda!" he exclaimed with joy, but then remembering the situation growled. "Move away from him at once! Toleros are nothing but filthy cheaters." He glared menacingly at Boris.
"No, dad. I've been traveling with Kantoh for the time I've been in the forest. He looks after us. Not all Tolero are bad." I interjected, moving protectively to block my father with my own body.
"HAH! He's the worst of our kind, believe me." Boris growled. "Nothing but a worthless runt. Good for nothing at home. All he wanted to do was invent things and explore beyond our hills. Utter nonsense!" Boris roared, spraying blood from his mouth where he was missing several teeth. Kantoh's face became grave. It was clear that all he ever wanted was for his father to be proud of him. And Boris could sense it. "Kantoh, my boy, if you want to make your father proud, kill the little Rogue wench." He spat a mixture of saliva and blood on the ground. He was dangling his love for Kantoh in front of him, trying to lure him into a trap. He folded his arms across his bloody chest which was full of deep cuts. My father hadn't held back.
It all happened in a flash. Kantoh lashed out with his blade pointed directly at my neck. His eyes blazed with determination, his lips pulled back to let out a fierce snarl. Boris laughed in triumph as my father lunged towards Kantoh, but Stormy dutifully intercepted him, already sensing something was up. I stood where I was, and stared him down. He winked at me. I nodded. He roared and swung his blade around not towards me, but towards Boris. Having no time to react, fear and regret flashed over Boris' face before the blades pierced his abdomen and ended his life of tyranny.
It hasn't been a year since that last battle scene, but things have already completely turned around. Kantoh, Stormy and I are now the best of friends, and all of the scattered and separated tribes across the hills have now moved closer together to create one big town, with my father Talus as the leader. Everyone is happy to choose their own path, their own spirit. If it weren't for Kantoh, I would have never found my own spirit animal and brought peace to the land. Our destinies are now forever intertwined, and we both know it. You really never know what you'll find on your own spiritual journey.