Hyroc

by Freestone, Adam;

  Near the creek the next afternoon, Hyroc found another rabbit. He managed to shoot it before Kit could do anything to spook the long-eared creature.

  “See,” he said happily, as he removed his arrow from the rabbit. “That worked much better.” He slit the rabbit’s throat, and held it away from him by the back legs. He sighed as he looked at the hare. “I don’t know about you, but I’m really getting tired of having rabbit all the time.” Kit stared at him, and he took it as agreement. “I know we got a turkey yesterday but if we got a deer we won’t have to worry about meat for a while. And I can finally try smoking some venison.” He smiled derisively. “We haven’t gotten anything big enough to even bother doing that with.” By now, the blood had stopped dripping from the rabbit’s neck. He tied the lifeless animal to his belt and left the clearing.

  Although Kit’s technique for being quiet while hunting had improved, to Hyroc’s frustration, the cub still managed to spook something at least once a day for the next three. But every time this happened, Kit seemed to learn from his mistakes; doing something slightly different. Over the next week, the spooking incidents eventually ceased and Hyroc started being the only one scaring animals off as he got into position to shoot them.

  Then shortly thereafter, the hide he had been working on seemed finished. He showed the hide to Svald to make sure and the man confirmed it was finished.

  The following morning, when he stepped out of his cabin, he nearly fell on Donovan who was just walking up to the door to knock. Curtis stood behind his brother trying not to laugh aloud.

  “That’s one way to start the day,” Donovan said with a smile.

  “Sorry,” Hyroc said, after regaining his balance. He regarded the two boys with a puzzled look. Beyond Svald and Harold, this was the first time anyone had dared visit his cabin. What did they want?

  “That’s okay, we’re just –” Donavan paused looking down at Hyroc’s feet. Following his gaze, Hyroc felt a bolt of fear shoot through him when he saw Kit standing beside him in full view of the two boys. He stomped his foot, irritably jerking his head back. Another secret was out!

  Donovan pointed at Kit. “Is that a mountain lion cub?”

  Hyroc bowed his head. “Yes,” he said with a sigh. Kit growled, keeping his eyes fixed on Donovan.

  “Dose my father know about that?”

  “No.”

  Donovan regarded him thoughtfully then with a smile, said, “Don’t worry; I’m not going to tell him.”

  Hyroc gave him a confounded look. Why wouldn’t he tell his parents? A large predatory cat – even a cub – should be of some concern to them. “You’re not? Aren’t you worried about him killing your goat and donkey when he gets older?”

  “A little, but as far as I know, mountain lions don’t normally hunt during the day and we always keep Grettle and Packard locked up in our barn during the night. Besides, Dilo tells us if anything we need to be worried about comes near the cabin. So I don’t think we really have anything to worry about from him for a while.” Hyroc breathed a sigh of relief. “And well, you’re the first person I’ve known that has a pet mountain lion.” Hyroc smiled appreciatively. “I’ve never actually seen one up close or dared to. What’s his name?”

  “It’s Kit,” Curtis answered.

  Hyroc and Donovan rounded on him. “How do you know his name?” Hyroc demanded. How many others knew about this? Donovan’s assurance really didn’t mean anything if everyone already knew about Kit.

  All remnants of a smile disappeared from Curtis’ face. “umm…because…Elsa told it to me – I wasn’t going to tell anyone.”

  Hyroc breathed a sigh of relief. That was probably okay. As long as her little brother was the only person she told. But Donovan’s reaction indicated even he didn’t know, so it seemed reasonable no one else knew.

  “That’s good,” Donovan said malevolently. He indicated Hyroc with a jerk of his head. “Because I’m sure Hyroc here doesn’t want you telling anyone. And if you say anything to anyone, you’ll have me to answer to. Got it?”

  Curtis nodded.

  There was a long pause. Donovan crouched down and extended his hand toward Kit then pulled it back. “Does he bite?”

  “Not usually; mostly when he’s hungry, but I fed him when I got up, so you should be safe.”

  Donovan nodded, cautiously reaching over to Kit. The cub sniffed his fingers inquisitively, before allowing him to scratch the top of his head. Curtis came closer, and in likewise fashion he pet Kit.

  “So, umm – what are the two of you doing up here? Not that I mind. You two are the first actual company I’ve had since coming here. I’m just curious.”

  Donovan stood. “Oh, I found some deer tracks up by the river north of here and I was wondering if you’d like to try getting it with us. Our father’s in the village running errands with our mother and sister, so we could use an extra bow. We’ll split the kill with you.”

  Getting some venison would free up some time for him to get a few other things done. But he thought he caught glimpses of suspicion in Donovan’s eyes. That made him wonder if there wasn’t more going on here than it seemed. He doubted it was anything dangerous due to the casualness of their interaction. Maybe Donovan was trying to figure something out about him. Maybe he was trying to get a look at his demeanor for himself. And that might be a good thing. It could mean he was in some way curious about him. Curiosity was a lot better than out right fear. It meant his mind wasn’t entirely made up about him. And he could see there wasn’t anything he needed to worry about with him. He just needed to make a good impression.

  “Yeah, I’ll go,” Hyroc said.

  “I figured as much,” Donovan replied.

  “But I’ve still got to check my traps; I don’t want to risk missing anything I might have caught.”

  Donovan studied him thoughtfully. “They’re along the east side of the mountain, right?” Hyroc nodded. “Okay, you can check them on the way, the deer tracks are in that direction anyway.”

  “And I’ll have to bring Kit.” Donovan raised an eyebrow. Hyroc felt a surge of anxiety at the look. Was he asking too much? Had he already done something to damage Donovan’s evolving opinion about him? “Don’t worry he knows how to be quiet,” Hyroc quickly interjected.

  Donovan gave him an even stranger look. “Umm – I don’t see why not; he’s probably more useful when it comes to hunting that that mutt we have back at the cabin. But try not to take too long, I don’t want to risk the trail going cold.”

  Hyroc breathed a silent sigh of relief. No damage done. “Thanks,” he said, as he closed the door to his cabin. “I’ll be quick.”

  Donovan nodded. “Lead the way.”

  The first trap at the back of the valley was empty.

  “What have you been catching?” Donovan said conversationally, as Hyroc stood after looking his trap over.

  “Mostly rabbits and those strange hares with the antlers.”

  Donovan and Curtis gave him a perplexed look. “Why are they strange? You didn’t have those where you came from.”

  Hyroc returned their gazes with an equally disbelieving look. “No, back in Forna we only had normal rabbits.” He gritted his teeth, realizing what he had just said. He didn’t want anybody to know where he had come from. If they knew that they might figure out The Ministry was looking for him.

  “You’re from Forna?” Donovan said sounding surprised. Hyroc nodded, denying it now wouldn’t be the least bit believable. Donovan was quiet a moment. “You came all the way from there, all by yourself?”

  “Well, I really didn’t have a choice and I –” he trailed off unwilling to admit June’s part in his running away from there.

  “Were you running away?” Curtis said.

  Hyroc gave the two of them a severe look. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he said pointedly, a note of sadness entering his voice. He turned away and headed off toward the next trap. There were too many memories of what he had been forced to leave b
ehind for him to talk about Forna anymore. An awkward silence descended between the three of them to and from the trap at the ravine.

  “Isn’t there a cave just over that rise?” Donovan said, as Hyroc knelt to reset the tripped but empty trap at the base of the incline. Hyroc nodded. “I hear Jägerin lives in a cave near here, I wonder if that‘s it.”

  “She not there anymore; she died after I got here.”

  “Do you know what got her?”

  “Spi –” he sighed, barely managing to stave off a shiver. “I‘m not sure,” he lied. It still seemed risky to tell anyone in the village about those creatures. Donovan‘s eyebrows drew together in a look of subtle disbelief, but he nodded.

  “Can we see the cave while we‘re here?” Curtis said.

  Donovan sighed “I guess we could while Hyroc finishes with that trap,” he said. “Nothing‘s moved in there since the mountain lion died right? I don‘t want to accidentally run into a den of wolves.“

  “I don‘t think so.”

  Donovan nodded, then the two of them made their way up the incline.

  Hyroc had finished with his trap just after they disappeared over the top. He headed up to join them. They were both standing beside the mouth of the cave looking at the pile of stones marking Huntress‘ grave.

  “Did you bury her?” Donovan said, as Hyroc came to them.

  Telling them a white tattooed magical talking bear had actually done it seemed a great way to make them think he was crazy. And that wouldn‘t exactly help him. Hyroc shrugged. “I thought she deserved a proper burial,” he admitted. It was true, he would have done it if Ursa hadn‘t for him, so he wasn‘t really lying.

  Donovan and Curtis regarded him with intrigue.

  “I heard she had cubs,” Curtis said. “Do you know if any of them made it?“

  Hyroc looked at Kit. “Only one,” he said with an affectionate smirk.

  When they came to the trap at the dirty pool of water, there was a rabbit caught in it. After dispatching it, Hyroc slit its throat and waited patiently for the blood to stop. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Donovan and Curtis staring at him with odd expressions on their faces.

  What had he just done to make them look at him that way? All he did was slit the rabbit‘s throat. It seemed absurd to think he could‘ve done anything strange while doing so.

  “Umm – Hyroc, what are you doing that for?” Donovan said.

  Hyroc gave him a perplexed look. “I’m bleeding it,” he said.

  Donavan and Curtis looked at each other as if he had said something unheard of. “We’ve never bled rabbits.” Donovan stepped over to him holding his hand out. “Let me show you something.“

  Hyroc slowly handed him the rabbit, curious as to what the boy was about to show him. Holding the lifeless rabbit by the hind legs Donovan dropped its head onto the ground. He pressed the heel of his boot firmly down on the head and gave a hard yank. With a disturbing sounding wet crunch, the rabbit‘s head, spine and its organs were ripped from its body. Hyroc felt mildly queasy but he was almost to fascinate with what he had witnessed to notice. Donovan handed him the headless carcass

  “See, much easier,” Donovan said happily. “Though you still need to clean out the inside.“

  Hyroc nodded thankfully as he examined the rabbit. After a moment he tied it to his belt.

  “Can I see your sword?” Curtis said.

  Hyroc regarded him a moment before saying, “I guess. Just be careful.” With one hand, he slid his sword from its sheath and carefully offered Curtis the bottom of the hilt. “You got it?” Curtis nodded and Hyroc slowly relinquished it to his grip. Curtis looked upon the blade with awe. His expression reminded Hyroc of the joy he felt the first time he had held a bow. He quickly shied away from that memory.

  “Just don‘t cut your hand off,” Donovan said. “Mother would kill me if anything like that happened to you.” Curtis rolled his eyes, taking a few steps back. He swung the sword experimentally, then made a fast downward slash as if slaying an invisible monster. He then turned his attention to the thin stalk of a plant. It made a quiet snap as he sliced it in half.

  “Okay you‘ve seen it,” Donovan said. “Now give it back to Hyroc so we can get going.” Downtrodden, Curtis moved back toward Hyroc and gave the sword back to him.

  The trap beside the creek was empty.

  “I was wondering,” Donovan said, shortly after they started toward the trap beneath the fallen tree. Hyroc looked at him inquiringly. “Those claws of yours – do they by chance help you climb trees?“

  Hyroc nodded. “Yeah. I can get up where there aren‘t any branches to grab onto. It really comes in handy when someone wants to beat you up.“

  “You had bullies?” Donovan said sounding surprised.

  Hyroc cocked an eyebrow. Why did that always seem surprising to people? He thought his appearance would make it obvious. “You seem surprised by that?“

  “Yeah. No offense, but I wouldn‘t want to get in a fight with you – ” he indicated Hyroc‘s hands with a head nod “– especially considering your claws, those don‘t exactly look dull.“

  Hyroc couldn‘t help smiling a little at that. Holding his hand up, he said, “I think a few of them discovered that.“

  Donovan gave a look of humored empathy. “Well, it seems you can hold your own in a fight.“

  “Do you shed?” Curtis said.

  Hyroc raised an eyebrow, causing Donovan to snicker from seeing the look on his face. “I might,” Hyroc said. He wasn‘t quite sure if he did or not, all he knew was he seemed to get very itchy during early spring.

  Donovan smiled. “Maybe you can stuff something with your hair and use it as insulation during the winter.” Hyroc rolled his eyes.

  “Can you track by smell?” Curtis said.

  “No, I can only smell things a little bit better than – than a normal person can.”

  “Can you see in the dark?”

  “Yes, but I still can‘t hunt very long after dark.”

  “Do they glow?”

  “When it‘s dark.”

  There was a pause. “What color–”

  “Curtis enough questions,” Donovan interrupted. “Stop impersonating a squawking magpie.”

  Curtis frowned. “I‘m not!”

  Not long afterward, they arrived at the next trap. It was empty. When Hyroc finished with it, he started heading in the direction of the crossing he used to get to his final trap.

  “Where are you going?” Donovan said.

  Hyroc turned around and pointed in the direction of the crossing. “There‘s a crossing back the way we came.”

  Donovan pointed in the opposite direction. “There‘s one our father showed us not far from here up that way. Its a lot shallower than the one I think you‘re talking about and I figure it‘ll be easier –” he used his hand to indicate Kit “– to get your cat across.”

  Hyroc knew about the other crossing but he had been purposely avoiding that area after he found the half liquefied spider kill. But he was reasonably confident even those spiders wouldn‘t attack a group of people even on the off chance there were any. He figured he could safely get away with remaining silent. He took a deep breath and said,” alright. But I‘ve got one more trap on the other side of the creek.”

  “Is that where we cap –” Donovan said, looking suddenly embarrassed. “– I mean, where we first met you.”

  Hyroc narrowed his eyes in annoyance. It was obvious what Donovan was implying. So obvious he wondered why Donovan even tried to hide it. “Yes, it‘s right about there.”

  “Yeah – yeah that‘s fine, it‘s still on our way.”

  Hyroc nodded.

  At the crossing, he was still forced to carry Kit to the opposite shore, but other than a few drops of splashed up moisture, the water remained comfortably below the lip of his boots. From the crossing, they entered into the trees. Then they came to the hill where he had found the spider kill. As they walked up the hill, he constantly scanned th
eir surroundings with his hand on the hilt of his sword ready to draw it in an instant.

  Hyroc started slightly when Donovan said, “You okay?”

  “I‘m fine,” Hyroc said, composing himself.

  “You just seem, a little tense ever since we started up this hill. Did you run into something here?”

  Without thinking, Hyroc started saying spider, but after the first two letters left his mouth, he realized what he was saying and for some reason said badger, causing him to say,“Spadger.”

  Donovan cocked an amused eyebrow. “Oh a Spadger,” he said smiling. “I‘ve never seen one of those. Are they dangerous?”

  Hyroc rolled his eyes half humoredly. He had to admit that was kind of funny.

  They traversed the area and turned in the direction of his final trap. In the trap, they found a squirrel. Donovan gave Hyroc some advice on how to properly skin it as he tied its carcass on his belt. From the final trap, they picked their way north until they reached the shore of a river.

  Hyroc put a hand above his eyes to block out the sun, as he gauged the distance to the other shore. The river seemed to have a moderately strong current but if he needed to, it looked like he could swim across.

  “Is there a way across,” Hyroc asked.

  Donovan stared off toward the opposite shore thoughtfully. “I think there‘s one a few miles back, past the mountain, but we usually only cross in the winter when everything‘s frozen over.” Hyroc nodded and turned away, continuing along the river.

  They stopped for lunch beside an outcropping of rocks jutting out into the river. Donovan shared some jerky with Hyroc that was flavored with some herb he had never tasted. Kit began nipping hungrily at Hyroc‘s ankles. Hyroc skinned the squirrel, and tossed Kit what was left. They waited for Kit to finish play-eating his meal before continuing on their way. Hours passed before they came across some fresh deer tracks. Donovan called for everyone to be quiet while he and Hyroc got their bows ready for use.