Why I Hunt

Chapter Two

2

By dusk, the streets are lit up with torches and decorative lamps, cheerful music sets the festive mood, and the village square is packed with citizens ready to party. I enter the square beside my brother, who attracts the whole square's attention along with appreciation and applause. I wish I could be like him. It's inside moments like these I am happy he is my brother. For a second, I even pretend it is me that the mass is cheering for. However, being the average-sized ordinary sixteen-year-old guy I am, I doubt I will ever see the day where I am this respected. As I realize this, pretending they are applauding me feels wrong immediately.

As I make my way into the crowd, I spot David, my brainiac friend. I greet him with the normal greeting... and elbow to the ribs when he's looking the other way. He doesn't get mad; he's used to it. He starts telling me about how he's been tinkering with a bow of which he obtained from the blacksmith's scrap pile. Since then, David has been refurbishing the materials and adjusting the parts, as well as trying his hand at archery with said bow. That's as much as he can tell before Charlie interrupts.

She's still all jittery from the hatching. It's funny how she gets so excited. Not having told David yet, she doesn't hesitate to getting right into it. As David is trapped under her enthusiastic recalling of the hatching, I scan for any more of our friends. I spot Will playing a game of cards.

Will is playing a game of cards... a gambling game of card. Oh shit. Will had a problem with gambling. He was good at first, and got a lot of money. However, when the card players became better at playing and beating him, Will took to hustling... one of these days, he is going to get in a ton of trouble. He plays drunks and tough men. If he picked the wrong one to mess with, shit would go down.

Luckily, I arrive at the table as his opponent was collecting pot. This was his fake game, so I arrived just in time. "Hey! William!" I exclaim as I put my arm around his shoulder. "Why don't you come join the gang, ey?"

"But Nate, I have enough money for another game. Matt over there"- he beckons to a huge, scary man –"was going to play me next."

"No, we really want you to join us." Will is a bigger boy, but I manage to pull his fat ass up and into the crowd. I stop halfway to the gang and slap him upside the head "What the hell is in your head? You're gonna get yourself killed one of these days! Not to mention, you're hustling at a Returning Celebration! Not only are these men getting hammered, but it's just damn-right disrespectful." He only looks at me stunned. His mouth opens, but only non-lingual noises come out. "Good, I've made my point." It isn't hard with Will, of course. His body size sure makes up for what he lacks upstairs.

Well... Will isn't fat as much as big, but still.

We get back with the group just as Emily joins. Her sister is also a hunter, but she's always been fascinated more with the creatures than the art of hunting. After her sister would recount the strategy and hunt to their parents, Emily would ask her sister Sam all about the beast they had slain or captured. With her free time, Emily would sketch and take notes on the wildlife around the outer walls of the village. One day, she wanted to go out further into the wilderness and study the beasts for herself.

Now that the group is all together, we go into the bar. Will is able to pass off some earlier hustled money into an adult at the bar to get us some drinks. Once we have ourselves each a cup, we sneak out of the bar into a side street and out the gates. Out here, it is nice and peaceful and all to ourselves as the rest of our village, Fernwood, partied in the square.

"You're gonna get yourself in a lot of trouble one day, but your bad behavior does have its benefits," David tells Will. The remaining three of us protest.

"Don't encourage him," Emily says. "Men are more unpredictable than any wild beast out there. You don't know who you're messing with each time," Emily reasons.

"Yeah," Charlie agrees, "and how these men handle your cheap scheme is just as unpredictable."

"I think I've got it handled. My uncle is close to the village chief," Will argues.

"What if you aren't given the chance," I put in. Again, I put a silencer to Will. Sometimes, it's really nice to have that kind of effect on him. We begin discussing the upcoming hunting competition in the Great City. Everybody except my brother and Emily's sister wanted to enter it. However, outvoted as they were, they would have to compete. If they were competing, we wanted to go watch.

Eventually, David suggests we all go back to return the cups and be there when the team is honored all together. The members would also give a few brief speeches.

We return just in time to hear the village chief announce Sam, Emily's sister. The crowd applauds as she steps forward. She only says thank you before exiting the stage. Next, Jordan and Sue are called up. Jordan doesn't make a speech either, and Sue announces that she has been engaged to her boyfriend. More applause follows before her announcement that she'll still hunt after the marriage and more applause. Next up is co-captain, my brother. The town loves him. They go crazy each time he is brought up in our Return Celebrations. Also, he always gives a speech.

"Thank you," Pete begins. "Thank you all for your applause, your appreciation, and the festivities you all have done part in setting up upon our arrival. It will never cease to feel amazing, standing up here as you cheer for me; for us as a team for protecting you, our people, our family, and our friends. There is a moment that feels better than right now. Maybe it's even better than seeing my family when I return, especially my brother who always eagerly waits for me to spot him on the side of main street. This feeling I speak of that beats all others is out on those hunts. I know, and so does the rest of my team, that without what we contribute to our village there wouldn't be the luxury or excess which we have for such parties. We wouldn't have such a large, bustling population. We wouldn't have these events that bring us together. We wouldn't have our family that will always stick by us and wait at those gates for my team and me to return. You cause that moment, and that moment is my motivation. If I had a drink in my hand right now, I'd toast to you all. Thank you."

The crowd cheers loudly. There's my brother again: being everything I want to be. Finally, the chief introduces the captain, Kevin. I always saw him as an arrogant and selfish snob, but the villagers loved him as much, maybe more, than Pete. To be honest, he was attractive and charming. Really, I think he is in it for fame. He came from a wealthy Great City family that moved here when our last team was nearing its end. Of course, being young and a native won the Great City's hunting council's approval and he became captain. My brother says he often puts the team in dangerous situations as he tries to be the hero of the quest. This is grounds for Kevin's removal, but he'd have the Great City on his side, being a native.

"Hello, Fernwood!" The crowd of villagers roared in approval. "I am very grateful that my team and I can return each time to see you all. I plan on continuing my leadership for a long time in order to make our team great for you." The crowd goes crazy in applause once more. "I am also happy to announce we will be entering the Great City's tournament for up-and-coming hunting teams. I hope to see you all there supporting us as we go down in history. Thank you" So arrogant, but the crowd loves him. Whatever.

The party goes on until near dawn. Around midnight, Charlie is tired and asks me to walk with her to her house. It is one of the farthest houses from the square, since it is near the outside so that it is near the Aptonoth ranch.

"Why don't you hunt?" Charlie asks. "You have expressed interest before, and I'm sure your brother would help you get into it."

"I don't know," I tell her. "I just feel like I wouldn't have much of a chance at getting anywhere."

"Well why not?"

"I'm not fit, I'm not very talented, and I just don't think my personality is cut out for hunting."

"Why not?" she repeats.

"It's just how I feel. I can't explain it."

"Well, I don't think you should completely discard the idea. I think you might make a good hunter." We arrive at her house. She thanks me and hugs me before walking in. My house is just down the outer-road. I decide to go home, as well. It's been a long day.