Way of The Pride

20| The Attack I

P. S: Extra long chapter

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The morning of the attack
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"You are early." Were the words that welcomed his arrival. He was suddenly hit with a whiff of animal's blood coming from within the shed. Did he go hunting?

His Master was busy setting out collections of daggers on the table. He was that focused he did not look up to acknowledge his presence.

"I could say the same for you, Master." Aniweta gestured at the empty sheds in front of him. It was morning already, the time when farmers head out to their farms and traders journey to buy goods.

Apart from the old woman putting out beads and anklets in front of her shed, his master was the only one in the market.

"I like the silence." His thick voice had a humorous bite to it.

Aniweta knew what he meant. The peace and quiet was a far cry from the noise and large crowd he encountered yesterday. Besides, no one was looking at him.

"What do I need to do?"

His Master motioned him over to his side as he brought out a very large antler. Bits of flesh and fresh blood still clung to the roots. It was recently killed. Now he knew where the smell of blood came from.

He grunted in appreciation at the sight of the antler, the natural bone carvings that can only be crafted by the gods themselves. It was rare to catch animals with antlers especially beasts because of their aggressive nature. How did his Master get his hands on such a prized beauty?

"You want to guess which animal it came from?"

It was there in his crossed arms and raised chin. His Master was challenging him, testing his knowledge of animals. He hid his amusement under a blank look and nodded.

Challenge accepted.

"Well," he picked it up. "To start with only males grows antlers of this size, so it is from a male." His Master nodded for him to continue.

"This one has many branches and the bones are older and paler so it is a matured male."

His Master rose an eyebrow as if to say, am I supposed to be impressed by that? Okay old man, prepare to be shocked.

"The tip of all the bones curves in except these two," he pointed at the two small bones on the root. "They are straight which means these are the antlers of a stag."

Pride gleamed in his eyes as he looked at him with something akin to approval. He looked like he wanted to say something but thought better of it.

"You pass. Now.."

He began to show him how to break the antlers into pieces without destroying the shape. They spent the better part of the morning working on it as they switched between chipping off the bone's edges with stone knives and sharpening the tips.

By the time the sun started to shine, the market square began to fill with traders, market women and their customers. He paid no heed to them as he worked on his piece, finding some sort of satisfaction in the strenuous work.