Jungle fever

Chapter 1

Rays of light were falling gently on the mossy ground. High up in the giant trees some birds chirped and a pair of apes groomed their fur. On the ground, bumblebees were flying from calyx to calyx, sipping the morning fresh nectar. Near a water source was a giant deer with her fawn grazing the juicy grass. The morning was peaceful and the moss soaked with water from last night's rain.

It made no sound as a foot stepped carefully on it. The bushes rustled lightly and some water droplets fell on sun-kissed skin, making the young man shiver. His crimson orbs observed his surroundings carefully. He knelt down, his muscles under the smooth skin tensed as he leaned a bit more forward and zeroed his gaze on his prey.

His breath came steady and his concentration let him knit his double eyebrows together.

The mother deer made a step forward and leaned her head down to take water with its long tongue. That was his cue. The tall man shot up from his hideout and threw his long spear through the air, aiming right behind the foreleg.

And missed.

A long-drawn cry of frustration broke the morning silence as the deers made their escape. The birds flew away in a hurry and the apes scolding screams echoed through the jungle as they hopped fast away through the branches.

Taiga, only son of the Kagami clan, plopped down to the ground and fell backward, his muscled arms spread out to his sides. He looked up to the slightly moving leaves far up high and cursed loudly.

It was the third day in a row that he had no hunting success and his stomach did a somersault because he was so hungry. The small edible berries did nothing to fill his bottomless pit.

Another angry growl of his abdomen let him sit up and he drew his fingers through his red shoulder-length hair, letting it unruly stand up. He needed to catch something or he would starve to death.

He ogled his spear and sighed as he stood up to fetch the useless utensil. He would try out another spot, hopefully with more success.

꧁✿.｡.:* ☆:**:..:**:.☆*.:｡.✿꧂

A few hours, curses and some scratches later, Taiga was leaning against a tree trunk, bowed forward, and put his hands on his knees closing his crimson orbs. He still hadn't had anything to eat and his stomach rumbled, making his guts twist painfully.

Before him quite near, was a stream flowing. Maybe water would still his hunger a bit.

Exhausted he pulled away from the tree and went down on the way to the river.

Upon reaching, he stopped in his tracks and his eyes grew big. There, laying on the sandy ground was a huge pile of fishes. Big ones, small ones, and he even spotted some crayfish.

His tummy growled violently and his drool pooled in his mouth. Like a hypnotized rabbit, his feet moved forward without him noticing. He reached his hand out and grabbed one fish. It didn't matter to him anymore, he was so hungry he could eat it raw.

He opened his mouth and was about to take his first bite when a sharp blade was pressed onto his throat.

"Thief. What do you think you're doing?", a velvet voice growled low beside Taiga's ear.

He froze, his brain was working fast and his reflexes kicked in. He rolled to the side, away from the knife, and came up to his feet a bit away from his suddenly emerged opponent.

The other man also stood up to his full high, what was a bit taller than Taiga, and looked angry but with caution at him.

Their eyes clashed, crimson met midnight-blue and a growl escaped Taiga's throat. He clenched his fist around his spear and a puzzled look formed on his face.

There was no spear. He looked down at his hands. One still held the fish, the other was empty.

His eyes shot up and searched frantically for his weapon.

A groan leaked out from his mouth as he encountered it beside the mountain of fish.

The other man was still watching him, but this time with a drawn up eyebrow.

Taiga didn't know what to do. Make a dash for good or try to get his weapon back.

The decision was made for him. The tall, dark-skinned man leaned down and grabbed the spear. Taiga watched him carefully.

"You want this back?", the man asked, with a smirk showing on his handsome face.

Taiga nodded, "Yes ... uhm, please."

Better to be polite, in his present constitution he couldn't do much against the other.

The man grinned upon hearing the weird courteous way the redhead spoke in. "Okay, but first give me back my fish." He held his hand out towards Taiga.

"Uhm ... can't I have it? You have so many." Taiga whispered and averted his eyes.

"Ha? No, you can't. It's generous enough of me that I don't kill you right here, right now for stealing my food. And now give me back my fish!"

The demanding tone let Taiga flinch and anger was boiling deep down in his gut.

"Fine. Here have your fish."

And then he did something stupid. He knew it the instant he did it, but it was already too late. He charged forward, threw the fish in the tanned males face, rolled his body to the side, and grabbed his spear out of the guy's clutch. Then he landed beside the fish pile, snatched another, and sprinted away. But he came not far.

A huge body tackled him from behind and they were both falling to the ground. Tanned strong arms wrapped around him and pressed the air out of his lungs. Taiga rolled to his back, trying to squish the other beneath him, but his limbs were tangled with long muscular legs and again he was on his belly, his face pressed harshly onto the ground.

"Let me go you bastard." Taiga snarled and tried to kick his rival, but failed in doing so.

The other instead clutched Taiga's arms tight behind his back and let himself fall on top of him, holding the redhead down.

"Dream on. You will get what every thief gets in my clan."

Taiga heard a scratching sound as the man drew his blade out of his leather scabbard.

'Oh shit, no!'

Pulling his whole strength together, Taiga pushed himself up from the ground and smashed the back of his head against the forehead of the man behind him. A loud groan was heard and suddenly his hands were free.

He rolled fast over and tried to come to his feet, but his efforts were in vain. A strong tanned hand grabbed his ankle and jerked him back. This time Taiga couldn't catch himself with his hands in time and hit the ground hard. A bough pressed painfully into his abdomen and a grunt escaped his throat. Taiga tried to change his position, but a new weight was added to his back and pressed the branch deeper into his empty stomach. Suddenly he felt very ill. He still registered the snarling voice behind him but not the words and then everything went black around him.