The Otter with the Warpaint

Chapter 6

Sitka was disappointed that Pine had rejected her offer. Foolish otter, she spat in her head, he could have ended his suffering now instead of dragging on. She strutted away and went back to her hut. Sitka knew that guards would be guarding the camp tonight. How would she sneak out of the camp?
There is an oak I could climb but I’m not sure that it would lead to a safe place I could jump off. I'll just take my chances. 
The sun had gone down and she expected her parents to walk in at any moment. She just had to wait until it was time to go to sleep. The otter decided that she should get some rest while she still had it. She curled up on her bed and fell asleep. She expected her mind to flash with dreams but it was just darkness. 
Sitka woke up with moonlight pouring in. She thought it was daylight but realized that it was the moon. She rose to her feet and creeped out of the hut. Sitka swiftly made her way to the oak she had thought she could climb on. Guards surrounded the camp to make sure the murderer stayed out. 
They can’t keep me out, she smiled. The otter climbed onto the low limb of the oak. She scurried her way across the tree like a squirrel but soon stalked around like a wildcat. She spotted one of the guards who sat by the camp. 
Sitka would have leaped down and something moved in the bushes. Something strange came out. A grey beaver. For a moment she thought it was Ridge but from another glance, she realized it was not him. She was disappointed. Sitka watched as the beaver sniffed the ground before patting his tail on the ground. It must have been a signal because four other beavers came from the brambles. 
They had spears and hatchets in their belts. They must be attacking. She didn’t attack but instead let them attack the otters. It seemed that the closest otter guard was alerted by the intruders. He bared his teeth and let out a strange noise that brought the three other otter guards to him. 
The grey beaver had bared his teeth only it was less threatening than otter’s because his teeth were much smaller and flatter. “Scram while you can, bark-eaters!” a guard spat. 
“You killed one of our tribe members, pup-killer!” the beaver spat back. The insult seemed to offend the guard because he lunged at the beaver with a spear in his hand. The beaver blocked his attack with his javelin. The otter tumbled but quickly got his feet. The three other guards ran into the fight. 
Sitka merely just laid down and watched from on the limb. A beaver swung a jagged stone hatchet at an otter. It had sliced the otter’s throat and the otter screamed but he still fought back. The guard took his dagger and plunged it into the stomach of the beaver. The beaver shrieked and clawed the face of the otter in defense. Both of them fell to the ground. 
One otter had been killed by being nearly decapitated by a much larger hatchet and that beaver had been killed by being struck by a spear. Eventually, everyone nearly died in that battle. One otter and one beaver still remained though, both badly wounded and out of breath. 
Sitka rose to her feet and stared down at them. It's time to strike. The otter leaped down from the branch and fell on the otter guard’s back since he wasn’t as weak as the beaver was. He claws dug into his back and she sunk her teeth into his neck flesh. The otter screamed as she held him by the neck, like a wild dog. 
The beaver bared his teeth while still clutching his stomach. Sitka looked up at him before letting go of the dead guard. She slowly approached him and stopped halfway. The brown otter turned her blue gaze towards a hatchet. She slowly picked it up with her eyes still on it. 
Suddenly, she threw the hatchet at the last beaver. The hatchet flipped several times towards the beaver in the air before it hit the beaver’s forehead. He shrieked and fell back. She swished her tail and walked over to the beaver. She opened her hand before slicing the beaver’s throat and ending his life. 
What if someone heard all this noise? Surely they’ll think that everyone was just killed by each other in the small battle, she thought as she licked the blood off her paws. 

Pine was awoken by strange noises in the night. Noises that made his skin crawl. That must be an Awanshi, he bit his nails. Pine remembered hearing the story of what Awanshis were. 
They were large otters with a pantherlike build that helped them leap through the trees. They were much larger than your normal otter. The thing that made these creatures so iconic their skull face like that of an otter from the Redlands. Some even hand large branching antlers or horns and long tusks. 
Awanshis were created by Keoonik when he created the world. They were the first creatures created Keoonik and were cherished by him at first. They looked more like regular otters but just large. 
Keoonik got bored of Awanshis and made otters. He loved otters more than he could ever love Awanshis and only focused on otters. The Awanshis got angry and tried to murder every otter. Keoonik got mad at the Awanshis and cursed them for their jealousy and hate. Their faces rotted away to skulls, horns or antlers grew on top of their head, and their already long teeth grew even longer. 
    They only ever came near otters when their blood was spilled. The murders are probably going to attract more Awanshis. Pine covered his ears and eventually fell asleep. 

Sitka walked down to stream before heading home. She first washed her paws before she splashed the water on her face. 
“What do you think you’re doing out here at this hour,” a voice rasped from behind her. Sitka looked around to see a large otter. He had deep brown fur and green eyes that almost glowed. His body was scattered with scars. He had one silver earring that shone in the moonlight. This was Wood. He was a woodworker which was quite ironic. 
“I’m washing my face, obviously,” she calmly answered. 
“You know a murder lurking around here?” he walked up to her, “and that’s me.” 
“Oh no, I’m so scared,” she rolled her eyes, “why are you telling me this anyways?”
“Because I’m about to kill you,” she could tell he was trying his best to be evil. 
“Hm,” she sighed, “any real murder would take their prey by surprise.” She walked up to him, “like this.” Sitka sliced the throat of Wood with her claws. 
He screamed and fell backward. The otter breathed heavily as his blood spilled on the streambank. “Whos the real murder now, Wood,” she grinned before she finished the otter off.