I want to do it. I want to…
Mounted on an antlered beast of orange and black stripes, a girl hid amongst the crimson haze of the forest, her spear clenched at the ready.
Kill.
Rushes of wind stirred a cracked anthem through the trees. Its noise trembled the girl's nerves and buzzed inside her eardrums. As the rhythm withered and blossomed, the earth unraveled; the blades of grass whistling and the leaves, lost in feverish dance, plunged together in their suicide descent.
The falling red colors streaked across the girl's vision. Her breath hitched. Swallowing, pulse racing, she stared out towards the targets.
A doe with her fawn on the other side of the small slice of water-stream perked up. The girl grinned, watching the doe's movement, she inhaled the scent of fear and rubbed the side of her four legged monster.
Now, for the signal.
Turning to her left, another girl garbed in dark head down to her toes and whose facial features were blocked by a wolf pelt headdress reached for the sheath at her hip and raised her bone handle sword high. Looking to her left and right, she nodded.
The doe cried.
"Let's go, Eupho!" the spear-wielding girl said.
In a roar loud enough to slit open the heavens, Eupho bounded fast. Claws like daggers unsheathed in the air.
The deer bolted. Sprinting, paws slammed against the dirt. She leaned forward and glared. The evening was clear, but they boomed thunder dashing across the water. Her heart pounded, pounded, the mighty creature, gaining, gaining, and gaining.
She whizzed past the trees.
"Kumiko!"
The girl in the headdress pointed, a blue in her eyes burning cold embers.
Kumiko nodded. She redirected Eupho and raced towards the far left. From the corner of her sight she saw the other girl accelerating ahead on her white wolf.
The little fawn—along with its mother—came into view.
Kumiko lifted her rear. She balanced herself in her body's uncontrollable bounces.
Predator moved into alignment right up at its side with the struggling prey.
One
Kumiko tightened her grip on her spear.
Two
The trees gave way to a clearing.
Three
Yelling and turning, Kumiko launched herself off Eupho's back.
Diving, she tackled the fawn. The spearhead pierced into its neck, its legs kicking convulsively. Before it could even whine again, Kumiko yanked out her spear and stabbed it straight down into the belly. She twisted her weapon. Dug it in. Blood splashing onto her waist.
Sighing, she withdrew and stood. The sound of growling alerted her attention.
The doe ran back and forth. Animalistic anger and confusion stunted its reasoning. Eupho crouched, flicking twin tails, snarling and teasing it in daunting game.
When the doe caught on, she darted. Eupho jumped and raked protruding claws into its rump, sinking them deep into the meat and slowing its speed. Kumiko ran over to the doe. She wasn't done. Not yet.
Eupho dragged the doe to the ground and chomped into its loin.
"You beat me to it."
Kumiko wiped the sweat off her brows, grinning a little.
The doe swung limp in Eupho's jaws, and dropping the carcass, Eupho laid proud, licking a paw clean.
"It's a bit underwhelming, huh?" Kumiko stared at the glint of blood trailing on her spear.
At this moment, her father would tell her his favorite saying; a hunter's thirst is unknown even to the hunter. That's why they pose the most danger to themselves. If hunters aren't careful, they'll become the prey that they chase. And who is to do the stabbing then?
Kumiko frowned. She slicked some blood off and stuck her finger into her mouth. The taste was sweet, flavored, relieving, amazing.
Of course.
Kumiko licked off more of the blood. Her thoughts crinkled and pupils dilated. Amber irises glistened as if tiny lightningflies were trapped inside. Patting her hands on her brown pants cut from their light material just past the kneecaps, she walked over to the fallen doe and bent down.
She snapped her head up and squinted.
There was a rumble she could feel touching the soil.
Massive and bulky, it burst out of the bushes.
Eupho sprung. Heading to Kumiko.
"Kumiko, watch out!"
A girl riding a nimble devil called out. Behind her was the girl with the headdress.
An ookibu?
Kumiko hopped onto Eupho in the haste and hunted after the ookibu.
Exhaling, Kumiko drew up to the flank of the ookibu. Her fingers tapped on the staff of her spear. She had to do it. Now! They were counting on her.
Hollering a bloody bellow, Kumiko jabbed the spear twice into its paunch.
The ookibu swerved to the direction of the tree line, biting her tongue, Kumiko thrusted her spear hard into it. She leapt and used her weapon to anchor herself. Slamming down onto the rear, she gnashed her teeth into the pelt, nails protruding into. Wind lashed her face and blew the fluff of her chestnut hair all around her. They crashed into the thick enclosure. Kumiko peeked open an eye and scowled, grunting while dragging herself up onto its back.
She wiggled the spear out and punctured through the neck. Cheeks flushed. Kumiko stabbed mercilessly, deeper and deeper, down to the core, gasping in air. Her mind washed red.
Legs buckled and the ookibu came crashing.
Kumiko rolled out of the way. Sweat trickled into the corner of her lips. She fixated her gaze onto the ookibu breathing for life.
Hurrying, Kumiko jogged to it.
It's not dead yet. That means she ought to…
Kumiko straddled herself over the ookibu and hoisted the spear above its head.
The sharp point of her spear arched down in raw, brutal force into the eye; the slight squish of the pressure twitched her toes.
Not enough. More. Her task was to kill it. So, kill it already.
The spear bore into the ookibu as easy as it was for Eupho to retract claws in and out multiple times. Pausing, the blood dripped and filled her nostrils full of the smell.
"I killed it, Eupho."
"There you are!"
Kumiko jolted with a wavering squeak and glanced back, mouth hanging open.
"Oh. Asuka, Haruka." Kumiko laughed awkwardly, still warm in the heat of the kill.
Asuka, the girl in the wolf headdress, swung herself off her creature and strode forward, hands resting at her hips and a half-smirk etched onto her mouth. Her face was painted with diagonal yew berry red slashes—three lines for each side— starting near her earlobes. A single white line traced to the tip of her nose. Three black dots, one on her chin and the other two separated between the left and right cheek were dyed above the first and thickest slash like they all were forming the points of an upside down triangle.
"Boo! You left us out on the fun." Asuka said.
Kumiko scratched behind her scalp.
"A-su-ka." Haruka, soft voiced but lips wet with blood, folded her arms across her sash.
Asuka unfolded her palms to the sky and smiled wider.
"Wait!" Asuka leaned closer, "Kumiko, did you kill that ookibu all by yourself?"
Kumiko, wanting to step back from the way too up-close-and-personal Asuka, replied, glancing off to the corners, "with the help of Eupho."
"But, you killed it?"
She let Asuka's words pave the path for her thoughts. Smiling, she nodded more to herself than to the unpredictable beast in human clothing before her.
"Yeah, I did."
Asuka hooked her arm around Kumiko's neck and whistled.
"Does this mean I get to tell everyone that my little cub is becoming a tigress?"
"Asuka, this isn't her first time killing, you know." Haruka mentioned.
Asuka held out her hand, "shut up!"
Haruka stopped. Puzzled by the phrase said in such a strange and heavy accent almost unfamiliar to her understanding.
"Hey, hey, Kumiko. So, how'd ya do it? Tell your suckler."
"Please don't call yourself that…" Kumiko muttered.
"Huh?"
Kumiko stood disinterested as Asuka wrapped her arm tighter around her. The hunt seemed ages ago to her already.
"I didn't count." Please let go of me.
"Asuka, mañyoi!" Haruka intervened, a pout in her facial expression.
Asuka let go of Kumiko, visually showing over exaggerated upset.
"Leader's order. We'll finish this talk later~"
"Kumiko, we're going back to get our kills. You do the same. We'll meet up by the water-stream, okay?" Haruka dragged Asuka away. "And good work today."
"Ah, thanks." Kumiko blinked.
Asuka tilted her head backwards, "better get it before something else does," she advised.
"Right."
Kumiko watched them leave and petted Eupho, who nuzzled her in the side.
The sun wasn't the only thing that drowned in the red sea of the horizon.