Half-Kind

Chapter 1

Night in Raenyr had just begun to fall.  Thera treaded softly upon the leaf-covered ground towards her quarry, she had to; this was a dangerous creature, a Chaser.  She approached the Chaser from behind, steadily and calmly, careful to avoid twigs and branches which are all too apparent around the outskirts of the great forest Scilvatrin. This Chaser had a striped pelt with dark and light browns, pale greens, and rich gold.   It was one of the prettiest, but perhaps most deadly, she had seen.  The way the patterns of colors swirled made this creature almost invisible against the thick foliage.  She shook her head, and then grinned perversely, it had its attention fixed on something in the distance, now was a great time to catch it off guard.  She mentally prepared herself, and then began her approach.  She was ten yards-then five away.  That was when she knew something had gone wrong.

 The Chaser’s bulging muscles were tensed under his thickening winter pelt and his slender tail twitched subtly, it knew she was approaching.   Thera’s eyes widened in dismay as she realized the imminent danger she was in, she would have had a difficult enough time dealing with a Chaser caught by surprise, one that was prepared for her attack may prove to be too much of a challenge for a huntress so young. Stealth had always been her most reliable weapon and it had failed her.   She faltered and paused for several minutes, heart pounding loudly to her own ears.  In that moment, the Chaser relaxed slightly and Thera leapt forward while drawing her dagger in a smooth, practiced motion.  The Chaser spun unsheathing his formidable claws and swiped the dagger from the girl’s hand.  His tail swept her legs from under her and he lunged forward.  Thera rolled out of the way and back onto her feet.  The Chaser leapt after her snarling with its claws out, using her powerful leg muscles, she sprung high into the air landing on a low tree branch above the Chaser to evade his onslaught.  He stared up at her intensely, forcing her to hold his gaze and then he began to speak to Thera.

 The Chaser’s voice was low and grating as he said, “Why have you come to fight your brother?”    Her eyes widened in horror and she denied him fiercely saying, “I am not any relation to a fiend like you!”  He grinned back saying, “Little sister, don’t you realize that if you weren’t of my blood you’d already be dead?”  At that, she angrily leapt from the branch landing on him and stunning him. She whirled around and snatched up her dagger from the cold, grassy ground and plunged it through his back and vital organs.  He lay face down, convulsing in a pool of his oddly purple colored blood.  He whispered her name softly, “Thera” while he coughed pitifully.

She approached the Chaser, curious, and asked him, “Who are you really?”  He turned his head to look in her eyes and said, “I really am your brother, my name is Ahron Fireclaw.”  She could see in his now dim eyes that he told the truth and a pang of guilt and sorrow surged through her since she would be the cause of his death.  She spoke softly saying, “I’m sorry Ahron, I wish I would have known for certain. What do you know about me, how do you know about me?”  He replied, “The fault is mine as much as yours.  I’m sure if I had offered to explain myself you would have listened to my explanation.  As for your questions, our father is a Chaser named Slinche Firemane but your mother was not a Chaser, she is the one who killed my mother Fheari Paleclaw.  All I know of her is that she was an arduous hunter of our kind, but was open to peace between humans and Chasers.  Our father was much impressed at her skills, and after recovering from his bitterness at the loss of his life-mate, he told her he would help to forge an alliance if she agreed to be his new mate to compensate for his loss.  I was already on my own by then, but when all Chasers and clans met up at Argen we spoke of her.  He said she was a great beauty by human standards and she had a fierce spirit.”

“What is Argen, Ahron?”  “Argen is the week when the purple moons of Raenyr shine the brightest and call the Chasers together to share news and to reunite with family members that have joined far away clans or have become loners.  I am a loner, for that you are lucky or my clan would avenge my death because to Chasers a clan bond is second only to blood bonds.”  She sighed, “I have hunted Chasers ever since I came to age two years ago but I know nothing of their customs and now you cannot educate me in their ways because I have laid you on your deathbed.  No other Chaser that I have encountered even mentioned the shared blood, why is that so?”  “After our father took a human as a mate, the Clans discovered his union and deemed it treachery.  They banished him from Argen and prohibited him from having his own clan, not even a clan of his own blood… Thera I grow weary, I am fading quickly now.  Ask your last question and leave me to rest.”