The Wolf and The Hunter

Chapter 3

Yoongi was, as usual, strolling along the forest floor, bow in his hand though he rarely used it. Yoongi was not much of a killer. He preferred to pick berries and fruits for sustenance. When it was time to go back, only then would he go for the kill.

He was perched on a tree, poised. His arms were drawing his bow, arrow nocked. His muscles tensed, his core clenched. His eyes were trained on the wolf curled, sleeping right under him, at the base of the tree.

He inhaled. He exhaled.

"This is an easy kill, easy kill, easy kill..."

This was his routine, every time before returning home. Scout an easy game, preferably a small one that is asleep. Hide, be in in the bushes, or atop a tree. Nock his arrow. Draw his brow. Focus. And it ends the same way, every time.

Never kill.

"Damn it," he sighed. Amidst his hesitation, he accidentally dropped his bow.

"SHIT!"

The wolf, startled, jumped to its feet. Its ears perked up, head swiveling around, frantically scanning its surroundings. Throughout its life, clamor equals danger. However, jumping from dreamland straight to fight-and-flight left it a bit discombobulated.

Yoongi dropped down from his tree, hands above his head showing that he meant no harm.

She just eyed him, deciding whether to fight or run away. Instead, she just stood there, eyes still on him.

A scream, a screech of a beast suddenly permeated the forest. Yoongi covered his ears, his face scrunched in pain mixed with anxiety. If he didn't leave now, he would face trouble. More than he could handle. But before he could take any action, a creature forty times his size bursted from the thick forest. Black fur covered its gargantuan body, its eyes red, mouth dripping with saliva. Its eyes betray its hunger.

The pressure emitted by the beast is not lost on the wolf either. It can't move, the killing intent of the beast was palpable. It suffocated them; both the wolf and the hunter. Yoongi's brain went on overdrive, cycling through different options, different escape routes. He couldn't take down this beast by himself; he was very clear on this fact. It took him and all of his brethren to even barely bring this dreadful beast down.

Fortunately for Yoongi, the beast wasn't focused on him. Thank god he instinctively hid behind the tree, years of hunting honed his instincts for survival. The beast had its eyes set on the wolf, its fur glistening under the moonlight would catch the attention of many, beast and man alike, so it was not much a surprise.

Yoongi knew he had the advantage here. He could slip away, preserving his life to hunt another day. After all, the wolf was supposed to be dead. He was supposed to bring it back home. If it were one of his brothers, the wolf would have been carcass long before the beast even came here.

But, Yoongi couldn't leave that wolf alone. He always had a soft spot for animals, not wanting to kill for food, evident in his daily routine in plucking berries and fruits to fill his and his brothers' stomach. But this wolf felt... different. Usually, approaching a wolf like he did would engage it, or fended it away. But this wolf, it just stared like it was sizing him up. Its glare was almost... human in nature.

"I'm going to regret this... or not."

He drew his bow and arrow, but before he could shoot, the wolf attacked the beast. Mighty brave for the creature, but evidently, it was a risky, idiotic move to make. Its bite merely pricked the beast; the monster barely felt it. However, its action earned it a gruesome roar, and a backhand form the beast. It flew, finally hitting a tree. It fell unconscious.