Chapter 1: Lessons
The scope was centered. The target was set. Every inch of his body was controlled, or rather, as controlled as an eleven-year-old could manage under supervision. "Deep breaths, in and out. You have to control every aspect of yourself, hold it steady." That was his father, Tyris Vakarian, watching over his latest lesson. Zaric had often been taught by his father, but now, for the first time he held a rifle in his own hands.
"I…I don't…" He was too young and too shy to really express why he thought this way, but these animals weren't aggressive, they were quite peaceful. And the thought of killing and shooting one of them with the laser rifle in his hands, it was too much for him to think of. He hadn't really considered the consequences until now. Father was right there, looking over him, and demanding results.
His life was one spent innocently on a rather small planet. His fathers tutelage, and his mother's love, was all he really knew. Speaking strictly, he was a rather shy boy. He didn't have any close friends, and he preferred to spend his time with books.
"You need to learn, Zaric. It is the mark of a man to be able to feed himself and his family, and to protect them. You need to know what it is like." Zaric tried to wrap his head around it. Yes, he had eaten the meat of these creatures before, but you could gather food from the fruits and vegetables of this place. It was a veritable paradise, they didn't need to kill like this! Mostly though, his thoughts lay in fear of killing another living thing. Tyris' inscrutable face seemed to broach no resistance.
"Do it." It was that harsh voice of Tyris', when he demanded results, and refused to not get them. Zaric hadn't heard it many times. Usually he gave in to his father's demands. He had even gone as far as placing the sights on the Balicus, but couldn't go all the way. "I killed my first game at your age, you will too." He had frozen up. "I…can't…" He looked up from the scope, pleading eyes looking straight up into their opposites, the cold steel of Tyris' grey eyes. "You looked away, you might be dead now." Tyris pulled out a pistol from a holster at his belt. The rifle was just to make this easier for Zaric, Tyris could make the shot at this range.
"They're animals, they don't know about the world like we do." He aimed, and fired. Once, twice, the mark of a good hunter, just as Zaric had been told. "They're meat for us." No matter how much Zaric heard it, he didn't want to believe it. "Come on, there isn't much light left, it took us long enough to find these things. You'll be carrying your share." If there was disappointment in his eyes, he hid it well. Zaric couldn't comprehend it, they didn't need to do this.
It took a couple hours to clean the kill and get back. The disgusting smell seemed omnipresent for the entire time he was walking, a bloody bag on his back. There were more efficient ways to carry this, but Tyris believed in an older way of building character. As soon as Zaric had deposited the bag into the storage shed outside of their house, he rushed inside, searching and searching for the one person he knew would make him feel better.
But, he couldn't find her. He couldn't find Mother. He searched every nook and cranny of the house, but he just couldn't find her. Finally, hesitantly, he went to his fathers side, and tugged on his shirt. He seemed strangely bothered as well, his head slumped over this desk. "Father, where's Mom?"
Apparently, this, of all things, struck a chord with his father, whom immediately had the first unabashed look of sadness he had ever seen. "Khaylia…" He opened his mouth to say more, but the mention of Mother's name, and that look, made him realize, that something had happened.