Chapter 8 The Wild Boar
The cold winter air blew hard a few months later when Sora and Cloud were riding home after a day training in the woods. The older Ranger had been teaching Sora about tracking and they'd spent the day hunched over and squinting at rabbit trails and deer hoof prints. Another gust of wind blew and Sora shivered, leaning closer to Tug's neck hoping the little horse would offer more warmth. He loved the beauty of winter but hated the cold. Past winters he would be found staring out a window in the Ward for hours at the land buried in snow with his back being toasted by a fire crackling in the fireplace behind him.
There had been one time last winter when Riku had come across him doing just that. "What are you doing?" Riku had asked looking out the window as well.
Sora had jumped and blushed in surprise seeing Riku had gotten so close without him noticing. "Nothing," he said trying to sound casual. "Just admiring the snow."
"From inside?" Riku asked. "You can't appreciate it from in here."
To Sora's surprise, Riku grabbed his wrist and proceeded to drag him away from the window. Had it been anyone else, Sora would have protested about going out in the cold, but he was too stunned to say anything. He let Riku lead him outside and into the courtyard where the wind had blown the snow into drifts. Before Sora knew it, he and Riku were in a snowball fight. Not a fight between enemies, but a playful fight between friends. It ended when it got too dark out to see and, covered in snow, they returned to the fireplace inside.
Once he felt the heat of the fire, Sora realized just how cold he was. He sat shivering on the hearth and hugged himself trying to get warm. "Take your wet clothes off before you catch a cold," Riku said throwing off his coat. Sora took his coat off as well and blushed seeing Riku also stripped off his pants and sat beside him in only his long underwear and a sweater. Shyly, Sora did the same and tossed them with shaking hands in the pile of wet clothes. He turned back to the fire as Riku asked, "You're really cold aren't you."
There was concern in his voice and Sora looked at him to see that Riku wasn't shaking nearly as much as him. "Ye-yeah." Sora's teeth were chattering and he was trying to hug himself tighter and keep his eyes off Riku. He made a small noise of surprise when Riku grabbed his hands and started rubbing them between his own hands which were much warmer. He had sat there staring in shock at Riku, feeling embarrassment warm up his face. The spell had been broken by a disgruntled maid coming in and yelling at them about leaving their snow covered clothes on the carpet. Riku had left with barely a word and the next day they had gone back to their constant fighting.
It was a good thing Tug was paying attention because while Sora's mind had been elsewhere, Cloud had suddenly stopped in front of him. Sora sat up straighter when Tug stopped and saw Cloud swinging down from his saddle. Following his lead, Sora quickly dismounted and hurried to see what Cloud was looking at in the snow. They were tracks but not any that Cloud had already shown to Sora.
"What made those?" Sora asked and looked up to see Cloud with a deep frown on his face.
"Don't see many of these," Cloud said. "Take a good look, Sora. These are wild boar tracks and by the looks of them, a big one."
Sora glanced nervously at the tracks and then at the forest around them. He'd never seen a wild boar but he knew enough about them to know they are very, very dangerous.
"Relax," Cloud said seeing him tense up. "It isn't anywhere nearby. Our horses would have let us know."
Sora looked to Tug and saw he is calmly sniffing a weed that was poking through the snow. Reassured, Sora's heart stopped beating so fast and he mimicked Cloud as the older Ranger swung himself back into his saddle. Clicking his tongue, Cloud urged his horse off the path and into the underbrush where the boar's tracks led. Following his lead, Sora did the same and had Tug trot behind him in silence as his nerves slowly came back.
"So we're going after the boar?" He was hoping he was wrong.
"Yes." Was the only response he got for a moment, but then Cloud glanced back and saw the worry on his apprentice's face. "We're just tracking it though. We'll leave the messy business of actually killing it to the Baron and his knights."
"Really?" Sora said in relief.
"I take it you've never seen a boar hunt," Cloud said pausing and leaning down in his saddle to study the broken branches of a spaling tree. He looked at Sora again who shook his head. "Once we find the thicket where he is hiding, the knights will come with dogs and flush him out. They will be ringed around with boar spears when it charges."
"And they'll throw them?" Sora guessed.
"Not if they have any brains," Cloud said touching the reins lightly so his horse would resume its trot. "The boar spear is more than two meters long, with a double-sided blade, and a crosspiece behind the blade. The idea is to make the boar charge at the spear man. Then he sets the butt of the spear in the ground and lets the boar run onto it. The crosspiece stops the boar running right down the shaft and getting the spearman.
"That sounds dangerous," Sora said doubtfully.
"It is," Cloud said. "But men like the Baron and Leon and other knights love it. They wouldn't miss the chance of a boar hunt for the world."
"And what about you?" Sora asked curiously. "Will you have a boar spear?"
Cloud shook his head. "I'll be right here on Abelard and you'll be on Tug. If the boar breaks out of the circle, we run him down and shoot him with our bows."
"Oh," Sora said and was about to ask more questions when Cloud raised a hand to indicate silence. They both crept forward and peered into a small clearing with a dense clump of undergrowth in the middle. The boar's tracks led right there and the horses shifted nervously under their riders.
Drawing back, Sora and Cloud found their way back to the path and headed home as the sun set. It was dark when they got back to the cottage and Cloud sent Sora inside to prepare dinner for them while he went to the castle to inform the Baron about the wild boar.
…
On his way out of the castle after seeing Baron Mickey, Cloud was stopped by the call of his name. He turned and smiled, seeing Leon hurrying to him. Leon gave him a quick kiss and greeting and Cloud let him as the corridor they were in was currently empty. "You here on business?" Leon asked.
Cloud nodded. "Sora and I found wild boar tracks this afternoon."
"A wild boar?" Leon's eyes lit up at the thought. "There hasn't been a hunt since last winter."
"I knew you'd be excited," Cloud said with a slight smile. "You know, I think this will also be an opportunity for you to test Riku and see how he handles the stress of the hunt. Under such pressures, he'll show you his true colors."
"That's a good idea," Leon said taking Cloud's hand in his. "You want to come back to my apartment? See if you can come up with anymore good ideas?"
"Not today," Cloud said smiling slightly as Leon frowned. "I already told Sora to make us dinner. He'll be concerned if I'm not back soon." He gives Leon a quick kiss and pulls his hand from his. "I'll see you tomorrow at the hunt," he said and headed out of the castle while Leon went back to his own quarters alone.
…
Riku walked out of the mess hall the next day and glanced to his right to see Seifer, Fuu, and Rai waiting for him with smiles on their faces that made him shudder slightly. They started to walk towards him and Riku stayed where he was knowing it would be worse if he tried to run.
"Riku!"
He turned at the voice behind him and quickly stiffened into a salute seeing it was Sir Leon. He saw Sir Leon's eyes flicker in the direction of Seifer before returning to putting Riku under his intimidating stare. Riku wondered for a moment if Sir Leon knew about the treatment he was getting. He assumed he did. As far as he knew, it was part of the toughening process of Battleschool.
"Relax, Riku," Sir Leon said with the slightest hint of a smile. "It is Saturday after all. Have you ever been on a boar hunt?"
"Um...no sir," Riku said remaining stiffly at attention.
"It's time you did then. Draw a boar spear from the armory, get a horse, and return back here in twenty minutes."
"Yes sir," Riku said right away already feeling excitement rising at the thought of joining the hunt.
Sir Leon ran a finger along the scar on his face. "Seems Cloud and his apprentice Sora have scared us up a boar. Time we all had a good hunt."
Riku's excitement grew at the mention of Sora, but then his mood quickly dropped, remembering what had happened last time they'd seen each other. Sir Leon didn't seem to notice as he walked away to get ready himself for the hunt. As Riku hurried off to do as he had been instructed, he noticed Seifer and his gang were nowhere to be seen. He might have thought more about why the three bullies would disappear when Sir Leon was around, but he had too much on his mind, wondering what he would be expected to do on the boar hunt.
kage kitsune no yami, Skydancing Dragon, and Kiwi thank you for reviewing!
Skydancing Dragon: I went back and fixed the mistakes you pointed out. If you see anymore please let me know!
This chapter was all set up for the next one which is THE BOAR HUNT! Eeep! My fav scene! I'm making it my goal to get it our next weekend. Yep, you heard me right. Next weekend. It's Thanksgiving break and I should have plenty of time to get it done.
