Terram et Mare

Primum

—IMBER—

Hunting Day again.

It's the only day that Opprimo and Perennis join together and I don't risk my life every time I'm seen standing near a Spatior. Not that I enjoy standing near any type of Spatior for that matter. They're barbaric, all of them.

In any case, I was dragged out of the water to join them for Hunting Day, the day of gathering where both clans must forge as one and collect enough food to last the first half of winter until the snow creatures appear. I asked my mom when I was still little why the Land Dwellers didn't join us instead. Her reply was swift and concise, saying that they didn't have gills or fins like we did. I found it odd and to this day, I'll be honest, it still baffles me.

Our tribe leader, Tempestas, shakes hands curtly with the Opprimo leader, Agitabit, before motioning us to draw closer to them. I noticed a Spatior hiss a few words to his friend out of the corner of my eye.

"Look at these pathetic Denato. They think they're too mighty to join us to hunt. Watch them groom their gills, showing off. I resent them."

I felt my fins frill up in aggravation when his friend quickly responded.

"Come on, Reg. They're not all that bad, I'm sure."

He shot me a nervous glance.

The tribe leaders pulled apart after a quick discussion.

"Everybody, choose your hunting partner! Remember, each pair must consist of one Spatior and one Denato!" Agitabit exclaimed, his eyes glittering with excitement.

Tempestas nodded in agreement, a sly grin on her face.

Too easy, my thoughts snarled as I sauntered over to the rash Land-dweller who decided to challenge our kind.

He raised an eyebrow as he saw me approach, leaning into a mocking bow.

"Well hello there, your royal highness. I nearly forgot to bow."

"That's right, peasant." I sneered haughtily. "I don't socialise with barbarians."

"And so what are you doing now, m'lady?" He scoffed back, just as proud.

"Following the orders of my tribe leader. I wouldn't expect your puny intellect to understand."

He shook his head and stood with his back straight as to demean me. He must have been at least a head taller than I was, his eyes red and full of resentment for me.

"I am Regio, son of a retired war general, and you may address me as Regio and that alone."

"In that case, my name is Imber, the prodigal daughter of an enchanter and a seamstress. You may not address me by any pathetic nicknames."

He folded his arms and smirked down at me.

"Well then, Imber." He snickered, putting too much emphasis on my name. He made it sound like medicine. "Today's hunting day will be rather interesting, don't you think?"

"I simply cannot wait for winter. It will be lovely, trapped under the ice, far away from people like you."

——————

"If you keep making noise like this it will be impossible to catch anything." I hissed at my partner, regretting my decision as it seemed I had chosen the most bratty one of them all. My already bad opinion on the Spatior had somehow sunk even lower.

"It's not entirely my fault that these stupid deer are alert." He snapped in retaliation as I borrowed water from the nearby ocean to strangle a passing bird, levitating it with my hands and crushing them together to create an impregnable capsule of liquid. When the poor creature was dead I returned the water to the sea and let the carcass drop to the ground. I saw Regio's eyes wide with wonder. So expressive, so easy to see the hatred that they would build up.

"Impressive, aren't I?" I bragged, tying a string around the legs of the rather large bird. I gave it to him.

"Don't touch me." I instructed as he went to take it.

"Why would I want to touch a filthy Denato?" He laughed, snatching it from me as if it was his impressive handiwork that merited the kill.

Such fools, their kind were. I shook my head, looking at the basket that held what we had collected. Barely half full, with my idiot partner scaring away half the catch and the other groups invading what I had decided would be our hunting space.

I looked over at the pairs working around us. A few had even filled up their first basket and were working on the second.

"In all my 19 years of life, I never expected I would be spending Hunting Day, the most prestigious day of our year, with a complete dunce." I growled, grabbing Regio's shirt and lifting him off of the ground.

"You will assist me in our duties, or so help me Caelos I will throw you into our dwelling place, the ocean, where you will suffer until you drown."

"I hate your kind for this very reason." He glared when I threw him to the ground, standing up and brushing the dirt off of his pants.

"Our responsibility?" I inquired sarcastically, arching an eyebrow.

"Precisely." He responded, just as quirkily. I despised him.

I watched as he jumped a baby deer and ripped it into pieces small enough to fit into our basket. I felt some sort of regret that we wouldn't be eating half of these. We would maybe bring some pieces of meat, but they would soak, which is why most of us feed on jellyfish, seaweed and the like. This celebration was just for the pathetic, weak Spatior. Granted, of course, the raw strength they had that I witnessed oftentimes from underneath the foamy waves when the Spatior boys went to the shore line and tried to impress the girls by grabbing the nearest fish and making it some form of gory bomb by squeezing it until it burst. It gives me nightmares to simply recall it.

By the time I finished my daydream Regio had placed the bits of deer that he had into our basket and was on his knees at my feet.

"Her highness' wishes have been fulfilled." He sneered.

"Enough of that. We still have a good 4 hours of work ahead of us before the gathering, splitting, and awarding."

"So we share the work equally?" He asked, cocking his head in an attempt to look sweet and innocent though I caught the flash of danger in his eye.

"No, since I did a lot of this." I gestured to our hunting basket. "So get on it."

I laughed when I saw his face fall.

The Spatior were idiots, that was for sure.