I sneak along the jungle, holding my sons hand to be sure he is close by. In my other hand I hold the crude dagger I chipped from the cave rock, not a real weapon as much as it is a cutlery.
The risk of taking my son with me is outweighed by the greater risk of him being found alone. We are careful not to draw attention, as even the slightest sound can mean death. Though my heart beats tremendously, I know that I must take the risk; we can not go much longer without food. I can hear the turbulence just a quarter of a mile ahead. I give my son whispered instructions similar to the ones I always tell him in situations like these.
"Tanhí, stay back for now. I promise I will tell you when it is safe."
He simply nods, and and hides behind a fallen log. I go forward at a painfully slow way, my heart beating so rapidly I fear if can be heard. Once I am as close as I can get without being seen, I wait crouched. I only turn my head to look before mr at the fighting or back towards my son for a few seconds at a time. The few glimpses I get of the fighting, and the conversation of talkative hunters, give me an idea of what is going on.
Three or so hunters are currently hunting a yerik, shooting arrows at it while it flails around in its own confusion and agony. The three hunters, two male and one female, are adorned in hunter paint specific to their clan. After a few minutes, the yerik collapsed on the ground and gasped for air. The hunters chattered while they closed in for the kill.
"See? I told you its a big one."
The lead hunters younger brother indeed saw how big it was. "How are you always able to find the best ones?"
The female hunter asked, "Are you talking about me?"
The younger male hunter replied jokingly. "No, but would have thought you pissed off Eywa is she pared you with someone half as ugly as my brother."
The older male hunter also jokingly rebutted, "At least I can hunt."
"I can practice and become a good hunter, you'll still be ugly."
They playfully bantered while killing, cleaning, and stripping a good amount of the meat off the yerik. What the older male hunter said next gave me hope.
"That's enough, we'll save the rest for Eywa."
The term 'save it for Eywa' means to leave a portion of the meat from a hunt behind to feed the creatures. I do not think Eywa needs it.
As I heard their voices grow dim, I could conclude they were leaving. Once they were gone, I gained the courage to slowly lift my head above the shrubs. What I saw was proof that this trip was worth it.
Lying on the forest floor, covered in its own blood, was the butchered remains or an adult yerik. Resisting the urge to run towards it, I slowly and with caution walked up to it. This will have enough food to last me and Tanhí at least a week. I am not too far away for him to see me, so I gesture with my hand for him to sneak over here.
Like a shadow, he is next to me. As I cut the meat away he eats some of the chunks I set aside for him. Most eat as much as they can after being close to the brink of death by starvation, others eat slowly to make the moment last as long as possible. Tanhí and I are in the second category, as we savor each morsel of food and somehow manage to gouge ourselves to fullness in less than half an hour. We gather up as much as possible, and carry it back to the cavern. We will have to leave the cavern tomorrow, but first we will need time to rest.
When he sleeps, Tanhí reminds me so much of his mother; I miss her even to this day. I still remember when I first met her, I remember that moment that passed years age as though it happened less than a minute in the past. Her eyes, also brown like dead leaves, were the most beautiful sight to grace my vision. We spent several years working together, trying to survive a world that was actively trying to kill us. We quickly came to love each one another, regardless of an inability to undergo tsaheylu. I wish she were still here.
Now I rest, falling into a half sleep in which my eyes are not closed and my senses still on alert. I have not had a full sleep since childhood, and I do not think I would know how to if I ever got the chance. While I listen, I can only hear the breath of myself and my son; two travelers with countless enemies.