A Life of War...

Chapter 2: A Spark of Death

I arrive at the base of my home, a giant redwood tree. "Makakalanie. emoh m'I!" i shout past the door. It is our secret code for; let me in. I'm home.

There is a sound i am still not used to. The door pops back and rolls out of my way. My mother's head appeared and she greeted me with a gentle swipe across my bangs. i smile gently as her old yet kind wolf licks my leg.

"Hey Luna! You and your daughter helping around the house? Where is she anyway?" I take a step in and look around. "Keela, come hear girl." I hear a small whimper. Keela limps into the room. Her paw is still not healing well after that thorn incident. Her paw is wraped but she has been chewing at it. I sigh.

"Can you go hunting for a bird or a rabbit. Your father has brought home enough food for only him and your brothers. The females of the house need food to. Your sister is out hunting hoping to find a doe or a moose to fill the family full unlike it has been in a few weeks. Please find me a good meal." She begged. Her stomach was bulging with her 5th child. Her body weight was shifted back and she held her back in pain.

I grasped my bow and slid it back over my shoulder and placed it in my left hand. i strut out the door and I am intent on finding food. As I look around for a good place to hunt from and i find a perfect tree. it is shaded, cool, and had enough branches to cover me up. i effortlessly place my bow on a knot in the tree. My hands grabbed a branch and on my own count of three i hurtled myself up effortlessly. My tall build and intense muscles does bring me a heavier build, but I can still pull up my own weight.

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After a few hours of sitting and waiting in the tree all I caught was a lousy rabbit, barely enough to make a stew. The hide is very soft though so i can probably sew up some shoes for the upcoming winter. I look around and find another rabbit in a small patch of clover. I casually reach for an arrow and pull up the bow. I ease the arrow with the bow, pull the string back and aim. My fingers start to turn red from the loss of oxygen. I release my grip easily and the bow flies through the air. It slices through the rabbits left leg.

I smile as i realize it is a very plump rabbit. The rabbit will feed at least my mom and I. I place my bow on the knot again and jumped down to grab the bunny. i jogged over easily to the bunny. As I grasp the bunny's ears, I pull the arrow out of its hind quarters. Blood drops hit my arm and drips to the floor. A small pool stained the clover patch along with my hands. I run back to the tree to fetch the other rabbit and my bow. I race home excited to show my mother the bounty I had caught. I raced through the trees until i crossed a rock that i recognized very well. Moss was growing on the rock. I turn left and see my home. the door is open and smells of bear stew.

At first i believe it is impossible for my sister to catch a bear and drag it all the way back here. I step inside to find out the biggest stew pot we have made is used on the grizzly bear. My dad was stirring the boiling pot and my mom was cleaning off it's hide. I throw the two rabbits on the table with a relaxed grin on my face. Dinner was served. I heard my brothers shouting, laughing at one another. Yet my sister was not here yet. Where is Marianna? I thought to myself. I gently placed my bow on the table and unlaced my arrow bag from my left shoulder. Same as always, I first want to find my sister but not today. Instead I find my brothers and find them throwing practice punches at each other. Mesarah threw a punch at Johnny but of course Johnny was quicker. He took Mesarah's hand and twisted it backwards. Mesarah winces in pain and with his other hand slaps Johnny's hand away. I giggle as both boys stop fighting each other and look at me. There is a sense of fierceness in Johnny's gaze.

"What's wrong?" I ask him.

His cheeks are dashed with pink and he turns and walks away.

I can tell I am the reason, but I will have to find out later. Frustrated I walk back towards the door. "I'm going hunting... Again."

My mother grabs my arm and has a look of doubt and uncertainty. "At least eat before you leave."

I nod reluctantly, knowing not to argue with her. She will always win. My father hands me a bowl of the stew. I carefully grab it so it doesn't burn my hand like when I did when I was little. I still have red marks covering them, reminding me of the searing pain in which I once had. I place the bowl on a seat that I carved out of a tree trunk that had fallen over due to it's roots being uncovered by a storm.

Jhaaronku slithers out of his pocket and heads out the door. I was about to chase him, but I knew, to him, it was lunchtime too. I sit down delicately on our mats which are made of animal hides. The one I sit on belongs to a lion. For me it is too prickly, but I don't show it on my face for my father is watching me. I grab the steaming bowl and blow on it, cooling it down as quickly as possible so I can leave. I tip it o it touches my lips. I feel the smooth comfort of the soup sliding into my mouth. I open it wider as a chunk of meat touches my lips. The taste swarms my mouth. I chew contently, enjoying the meal ever so much. Then again I have to take another mouthful. The last meal I had was some berries my mom had collected on a nearby berry bush. Not a very satisfying meal.

I chug the last drops of meat water down my throat and stand up. "Thank you for the delicious meal. I must leave now so I have time to hunt before the ball of light dips below the mountain tops." I glide over to my mother, give the turtle shell bowl to her, and walk over to my spear. "I am hunting deer." I mutter to my parents hoping they don't hear me.

"No," my father's deep,rough, and broken voice commands. "Hunt fish or birds, no deer." He points to a fishnet that is folded on the ground near my feet.

I nod vigorously and wipe away any water that forms in my eyes. I can't cry in front of my father. If I do that he will force me to gather berries instead of hunting. I suck it up, pick up the net, and rush out the door.

Jhaaronku slides out from under a rock cave a found for him. In the middle of his stomach is a buldge. By the size and shape, he caught himself a mouse of some sort. He slithers onto my thigh and wraps himself up around there. Once he is secure I start running towards the river, that flows close to our tree home.

As I approach it there is the sound of rushing water. The sound soothes me a little bit, but not completely. Then I see it. The water is foaming from where the rapids begin, but before that the water is calm and see through. I slowly walk on the rocks, before jumping backwards and taking of my thick bunny hide shoes. They were barely wet, but just to be sure I placed them in a sunny patch to dry. Jhaaronku slithers off of my leg and curls into a ball next to the slippers. I smile gently, before heading back onto the rocks. I feel the cold wet moss stick to my feet, sending a shiver throughout my body. I jump down into the icy water and feel a slice of pain run through my foot. I pull it up, to inspect it. I bite my lip to hold back tears, as I notice blood dripping from a long shallow cut. I carefully place my foot back in the water. I wince from the sting but it isn't as bad as I thought it would hurt. I groan, but just barely.i wade out to a familiar rock and loop one piece of rope around it. I wade over to the other side and tie the other end around the other rock. The net floats, and doesn't curve around like normal. I then realize I didn't tie the bottom string around the top rope. I quickly fix my mistake on both side and climb out of the river. I sit down next to the sleeping Jhaaronku and look at the shimmering water. I lay down and close my eyes.

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I blink my eyes open as Jhaaronku squeezes himself around my wrist. I sit up quickly, but regret it when my head starts throbbing and I feel dizzy. I slowly stand up and turn around. A boy, the boy from earlier is standing there. He quickly hits me over the head with a giant rock, and my world goes blank. I can't feel any pain. I am actually relaxed and calm.

At that moment, I knew I had died.