Beastly Beauty

Chapter 1 : The Tragedy

A little boy played alone near a river. He was catching some fish to show to his father. Suddenly, he was surrounded by a group of much older boys. It's his half siblings from his mother.

"What are you doing little fatty?"
Asked a blonde-haired boy.

"I... I... am cat... catching lunch!"
A red-headed boy mockingly answered the question in stutter.

"Stop messing with him. His dad gonna get angry. Don't say I didn't warn you..."
A purple haired boy interrupted.

"Don't ruin the mood Raed! If you don't want to join us, you can go back to mom."
Said the blonde boy in annoyance.

"Fine, fine do whatever you want. I'm just saying... don't mind me... carry on..."
The purple haired boy named Raed said while holding both his hands up as a sign of surrender. He moved a little bit away from them.

"So fatty, you're slacking here eating...? While we went out hunting to prepare for winter! If you're going to be this useless don't go home anymore! We don't need you. You're big enough to live by yourself. Go now! I'll help make up excuses for your disappearance."
The blonde boy smile evilly.

"Unless you want to be a devoted son, maybe you can spare mom some of your meat if the need arises...? We can never have enough meat for winter anyway... What do you think Shu...?"
The red-headed boy suggest with glittering eyes.

Exactly when he finished the words, a big brown bear rushed and knocked them into the river. But the purple haired boy was perfectly safe. Either he's lucky or the bear missed, he quietly left the scene. The big bear huffed and stomped the ground hard while threateningly watching the boys in the river. The two unlucky boys struggled to get on their feet and ran to safety leaving their bullied little brother alone to face the big angry bear.

"Why did you let them bully you?"
The big brown bear asked angrily.

"I don't care... they're just mocking... They haven't touch me yet. Don't worry father. I can take care of myself... Look, I caught some fish for mother..."
The little boy casually answered.

"Mother won't eat fish today. I'll eat them with you later... don't forget to take it back... Now, let's spar a bit. I want to see how much you've grown, how much you have practiced your fighting skills... And I won't go easy on you son. Come on!"
Father smirked challengingly.

The father and son exchange blows and brawled to their heart's content. The father would sometimes suggest how to attack, and which skill is best of use to deflect or counterattack. They would even try an error on which skills have the best results together. However, the harmonious scene didn't last long as ear piercing screech echoed in the sky. It's an emergency! Something bad happened to the village! What about mother?!

"Whatever happen, you have to protect yourself first! Don't act rashly! Remember what I said!"
Father said sternly.

The little boy followed his father back to their village. There were signs of fights and struggles everywhere... the air smells of burnt... some of the houses were on fire, some were caved in... it was chaotic... things were scattered everywhere. The village was turned upside down! A few of the unfortunate elders and children perished either trapped under the rubbles or were caught in the violent fights. The screeches continued in a nearby forest. The surviving villagers must've fled there. Birds fought in the air, it's impossible to recognize the party involved. The big brown bear anxiously looked for his family by following the sounds of the birds and finally found them. 

They were surrounded by a lot of beasts and was outnumbered. Their likelihood of survival was to fight to death. Seeing his beloved partner trapped and covered in cuts, the angry bear charged towards the beasts and body slammed them. He knocked over quite a lot with his powerful attack. He didn't stop there and continued to stomp mercilessly on the beasts. His sudden appearance overthrows the result of the fight, opening a way for his family to escape. The injured family seized the chance and ran for their lives leaving the bear to deal with the beasts. The startled beasts soon overwhelmed the big bear and chased after their fleeing preys. The little boy who was looking at the whole incident slowly came out of his hiding to his father's side. His father was gravely wounded, his whole body covered in cuts and some openings was so bad you can see the bones! Some chunks of meat were missing here and there. The little boy kneeled in the pool of blood. Tears rolled down his face. The little boy cried silently. Something dawned on him of what's to come next, but he refused the idea adamantly.

"Don't cry Aethon... it's my duty to protect our family... One day, you'll understand when you have your own... I hope you find a good partner... I'm tired, I need to sleep now... take care, I love you my child... stay strong..."
Father said in uneven whispers.

The little boy stayed with his father for two days and two nights hoping for a miracle. Maybe father will wake up and greeted him like always, it had always been this way before... any male beasts that were wounded just need to rest and sleep a lot then the pain and bleeding will heal on its own like nothing happen. He was so hungry after two days without food nor water that his stomach starts to growl loudly. But father didn't even budge an inch. The little boy shakily nudged his father's side... it's cold, the furs rough... he tried to sniff but all he could smell was rotten flesh! His nose had gone numb from the grimy and filthy surroundings. And his family didn't even come back looking for them.

"Father, I'm hungry... I'll go hunt for you too, you should focus on recovering.
I'll be back soon..."
Aethon hesitantly left his father's side.

Aethon cautiously walked in the forest. He found several more bodies torn apart beyond recognition. Not far from the bodies he saw a fallen family member! It's a cheetah, Shu's father. He stopped a bit and checked on the body... the cheetah had a large hole on its chest. His internal organs, missing. Something must have eaten it. The little boy continued to walk randomly. Soon, he discovered several more familiar bodies... but no matter how much he searched nearby, mother was nowhere to be found. That means she's probably still safe! Aethon left the gruesome scenery and went to find a river to drink, eat and wash himself.

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Hello everyone! Thanks for reading 🥰

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