Hyroc

by Freestone, Adam;

  “Nice shot,” Svald said. He turned his attention to Donavan and Curtis. “Don’t get hung up on that, we just started, there’ll be more. Go find your arrows before you forget where they landed. ”

  A long stretch of boredom passed before another flock landed in the field. Donovan and Svald got one each, while Curtis and Hyroc missed. Then Svald and Hyroc got one each from the next flock. On the following group, something made the fowl take to the air before anyone was ready, but with a lucky shot, Hyroc got one mid-flight. The momentum of the duck carried it close to the trees on the other side of the field.

  “Nice shot,” Svald commented excitedly. “I didn’t think any of us were going to get anything from that flock.” Hyroc nodded thankfully. “Go get it,” Svald said to Dilo. The hound gave him an uncertain look, but remained where she stood. “Go get it,” he repeated. Dilo still didn’t move. He nudged her with his boot. “What’s wrong with you girl, go get it.” Svald shook his head in annoyance when she still didn’t move. “Hyroc, I don’t know what she’s doing, so I guess you’ll have to go get it.” Hyroc nodded his understanding and made his way across the field to collect his prize.

  When he was a few steps from the felled bird, the shriek of a dying rabbit sliced through the air. Startled, he looked in the direction of the disturbance. Peering between the trees, he felt a thrill of terror when he found the rabbit. A giant black spider stood over the rabbit with its enormous fangs buried in its flesh. His shoulder itched with pain as he struggled to nock an arrow. The spider pulled its bloodied fangs from the rabbit and turned its attention on him. His breath caught in his throat. The spider regarded him with its ebony eyes then used its mouth to grab one of the rabbit’s back legs and drag it further into the shadows. Heart still hammering away in his chest, he scooped up the duck and ran back to join the rest of the group. He didn’t care what they were going to think about him, he needed to tell them about the nightmarish creature.

  “SVALD, SVALD,” Hyroc yelled, as he came up to Svald, who was looking over the dead fowl.

  Svald’s happy expression sharpened into alarm. “What – what wrong,” he called out.

  Gasping, Hyroc pointed where he had seen the spider. “There’s – there’s – there’s –” He couldn’t seem to say what he wanted.

  “There’s a what? Take a deep breath.”

  Hyroc took a deep breath. “There’s a –” A crash in the trees behind Svald cut him off, drawing everyone’s attention. Kit came into view walking toward them. A new kind of fear took hold of Hyroc.

  Dilo instantly started barking in alarm. Svald swore throwing his arms out and yelling menacing warnings at the cub. Kit paused, regarding Svald curiously. Still yelling, Svald nocked an arrow. Hyroc threw himself in front of Svald to block his shot. “GET OUT OF THE WAY HYROC,” Svald roared.

  “I can’t,” Hyroc said sternly.

  Svald swore and lunged forward to throw him out of the way. Hyroc backpedaled out of reach. Svald stopped as Kit ran up beside Hyroc, with his teeth bared, ears flat against his head, and growling savagely.

  “KIT STOP,” Hyroc snapped. Kit covered his teeth, his ears rose and he stopped growling.

  Svald looked from Kit to Hyroc in bewilderment.

  “STOP!” Donavan and Curtis yelled as they came between their father and Kit. “That’s his pet. Don’t shoot.”

  “Pet?” Svald stated, focusing a stern gaze on Hyroc. Hyroc nodded, knowing he was about to be in trouble. Svald folded his arms, his expression darkening. He indicated Donovan and Curtis with a look. “The two of you go.” Donavan and Curtis gave Hyroc a sympathetic look before they turned and walked off. “Why have I not heard of this?” The anger in his voice was clear.”

  Hyroc cringed. He was in for it now. “I was afraid you would kill him.”

  “Kill him? And why would I kill him, if he’s your pet, hmm?”

  Hyroc bit down. “To protect your livestock.”

  “And why’s that?”

  “Because… mountain lions… kill… livestock.”

  “Yes, mountain lions kill livestock. You might see why I’m upset with you,” he said pointedly. “If you were one of my children, I’d give you a whipping for this, fortunately for you, you’re not.”

  “I’m sorry, I –”

  “I’m disappointed you kept this from me.”

  “I meant no harm; please don’t kill him.”

  “I’m not going to hurt your pet,” Svald said irritably.

  “You’re not?”

  “No, killing somebody’s pet needlessly isn’t a decent thing to do.” Hyroc breathed a sigh of relief. Svald’s expression darkened further. “But don’t go thinking you’re off the hook, I’m not finished with you yet.” Hyroc stiffened, bracing himself. “Right now, he’s not much of a threat to anything much bigger than a house cat. But he won’t be like that forever you know. If I catch him stalking around my home –” Svald paused “– I won’t hesitate to protect my family. Am I understood?”

  Hyroc nodded, avoiding eye contact.

  “Good. Take your ducks, and you and your pet had better head on home before I change my mind.” Svald stalked off.

  Hyroc bowed his head guiltily as he collected his felled ducks and headed off with Kit. When he arrived at the cabin, Ursa was laying in the shade of Kit’s tree. Hyroc grumbled to himself; he was in no mood to talk with her. Especially if everything she said was in riddles.

  “What happened?” she said calmly. “It felt like you were in danger and then the feeling vanished.”

  Hyroc shrugged. “I saw a spider,” he said scathingly. He glared at Kit. “Then stupid here got seen by Svald.” Kit growled in response.

  “I see. You should have known better than to think he would be content to spend his morning idle while you hunt.”

  “Well, he picked the worst possible moment to go exploring and he got me yelled at. And now Svald doesn’t trust me.”

  “For the moment maybe, but it will pass soon enough. They will not abandon you over something so trivial. All you can do now is learn from your mistake and move forward.” Her expression darkened slightly. “But you must still be careful; you can never come back from the shadowed tunnels.” Hyroc glowered at her. He knew he should have expected nothing less of her. The darkness vanished from her face and she got to her feet. “You need not worry about that spider, it will not harm you.” With that, she left, leaving Hyroc to wonder about the mysterious tunnels she had mentioned.

  CHAPTER 36

  Mischief

  A damp orange leaf listed wildly from side to side as it drifted down from its branch, landing between Hyroc’s ears while he sat beside the stream with his fishing pole anchored into the ground, waiting for a bite. He promptly brushed the leaf away. Reaching behind him, he picked up his coyote pelt, that with the help of Helen he had finished fashioning into a hat the day before. He thoughtfully regarded the folded skin of the coyote’s face as its eyeless sockets gazed back at him then stuck it on his head. The fur wasn’t as soft as he would have liked, but it still fit comfortably, covering his ears without folding the ends of them enough to be a bother. He had only needed to use the part of the pelt above the shoulders for the actual hat, but a considerable amount of the hide remained unused. Not wanting to waste any of it, he decided to keep the remainder attached and it hung halfway down his back.

  He walked closer to the edge the stream. Leaning over the water’s surface, he looked at his undulating reflection. He slowly turned his head from side to side. As far as he could tell, other than the unsightly part hanging off the back, it looked like a passable hat.

  He turned toward Kit who lay at the tree line resting his head on his paws, lazily watching the fishing pole. “How does it look to you?” Hyroc said. Kit lifted his head and yawned. Hyroc shrugged. “Yeah, I don’t really like it either. But its –” his fishing bobber plunked down into the water. He jumped for the fishing pole. With two hard yanks, he pulled a small fish from the water. Smiling
, he walked from the water’s edge with his catch dangling from his line. He set the flailing fish down, reaching for his knife. Kit bounded forward and snatched the fish off the hook.

  “HEY,” Hyroc yelled, lunging forward to grab his catch. Kit dodged out of his reach, bolting for the trees with the stolen fish in his mouth. “GET BACK HERE WITH THAT” Hyroc dropped his pole and took off in pursuit. Kit was rapidly pulling ahead. A wrong turn around the trunk of a tree led him to a thickly grown alder he couldn’t easily pass through. Kit bobbed his head from side to side, trying to figure out how to overcome the obstacle. His hesitation gave Hyroc just enough time to grab him by the tail before he could escape. Kit yowled out angrily. “HA, I GOT –” Kit wheeled around and clocked him upside the head with his paw. The force of the impact threw him off balance, skewing his hat over to one side of his head, and causing him to lose his grip. Kit scrambled up the nearest tree. Hyroc shook his head to focus his eyes and when the world stopped moving, he readjusted his hat. He glared up at Kit who was now happily eating the fish on the branch of the tree. “I’m the one who caught that you know,” Hyroc said pointedly. Kit looked down at him while licking his chops. Hyroc sighed, got to his feet, brushed himself off and stormed back to the stream to try for another fish. And this time he was going to be more vigilant.

  He landed another one not long afterward, but it was uselessly small. Why couldn’t Kit have stolen this one he thought grudgingly. Knowing that turning the tiny fish into a meal would be more work than it was worth, he tossed it back into the stream. Too frustrated to try for another, he picked up his fishing pole and went back to his cabin. He propped the pole up beside the fireplace. From the cabinet, he retrieved a grain sack brimming with the feathers from all the ducks he had downed since arriving at the mountain. He set the sack outside the front door, settled down beside it, pushed any protruding feathers back in, threaded a needle and started sewing the opening shut. It was a pillow. He smiled excitedly as he worked, knowing tonight he would be resting much more comfortably. Halfway through closing the opening, he ran out of thread. He squeezed his eyes shut, annoyed with himself, wondering why he hadn’t brought the entire spool out with him. He poked the needle in a crack in the wood around the doorway and went inside to retrieve the spool of thread.

  When he came back outside, he was horrified to see Kit, holding the pillow between his paws and kicking it savagely with the claws of his back legs. “KIT NO,” Hyroc bellowed, grabbing hold of the pillow. Refusing to let go, Kit bit into the fabric when Hyroc tried to wrench it from between his paws. Hyroc pulled even harder, causing Kit to respond in kind while growling. “LET GO – THAT’S – MY – PILLOW.” Mustering all of his strength, he yanked on it as hard as he could. A loud ripping noise emanated from the pillow as its middle was torn open and it erupted into a cloud of feathers. Hyroc and Kit were thrown backward with the sudden release of tension.

  Hyroc stared at the destroyed pillow in shock seeing its innards littering the ground and floating gently through the air. Kit bounded forward, batting at the descending feathers. Hyroc covered his face with his hands, rocking his head from side to side and moaned in frustration. After all the time and effort he had put into that pillow, this was his reward. Nothing ever seemed to be easy for him. He took a long deep breath before uncovering his face. He watched Kit play with a maelstrom of unpleasant feelings toward the cat swirling around inside his head. With a sigh, he got to his feet and walked over to assess the remnants of the pillow. Mourning it’s passing wouldn’t help him be more comfortable tonight. Seeming to sense his foul mood, Kit stopped his play, taking an uncertain step back. Hyroc smiled ruefully at his reaction. Yeah, you’d better watch out.

  Picking up the pillow, he was dismayed – though not at all surprised – to see a large tear slashed across the middle, but it was still salvageable. He stuffed the feathers in his knapsack and set to work repairing the damage to the pillow, wary to keep it away from Kit.

  It took him the rest of the day and part of the night to complete his task. He reverently placed the resurrected pillow on the head of his bed. He sighed happily when he laid down on it, as the plush cushion contoured to his head in its delightful embrace. Kit leapt up on the bed. Hyroc glared at him angrily. Kit countered with a look of supreme innocence. Hyroc couldn’t maintain his anger toward that. He rolled his eyes. Maybe what his companion had done wasn’t so bad. His pillow had still gotten finished. “Okay, I guess, I forgive you,” he said with a reluctant sigh.

  Hyroc leaned sideways in the yellow light of morning, trying to see around the trunk of a tree. “Kit,” he called out. His first three traps were empty and he was just leaving the incline, when a small furry something darted into a bush ahead of him. Kit immediately disappeared into the foliage after it. “Come on; I need to get to the other traps.” Hyroc shrugged, heading in the direction Kit had gone. “Kit get over here already.” He caught movement in the shadows out of the corner of his eye. He turned in time to see Kit barreling toward him from around a tree before his feet were knocked out from under him. Startled, he sat bolt upright only for Kit to leap on him and knock him back down. Kit gripped his shoulder and neck with his paws then playfully nipped at his face. Hyroc cringed at the painful wet pinch of teeth. He grabbed Kit around the shoulders and threw him off. Kit fell on his back, but instantly righted himself, bounding back on top of him. Kit lightly nipped the side of his snout. He threw Kit off with an abrupt roll followed by a hard shove. Before Kit could recover, Hyroc threw himself at him and pinned him to the ground. Kit quickly wriggled out from his hold and lunged into his chest. Hyroc stuck his arms behind Kit’s neck as he was thrown backwards, pulling the cat down with him. He realized he was laughing as the two of them hit the ground. A warm sense of joy washed over him. Kit backed out of his hold. Hyroc coughed as Kit bounded off his stomach sideways. He crouched; a ripple ran through the length of his body, then he took off back toward Hyroc. Hyroc threw an arm out toward the charging cat, causing Kit to veer away. He jumped to his feet and stood hunched forward with his arms extended, ready to intercept Kit’s next charge. Kit regarded him through wild eyes as he lurched left. Hyroc leaned in the same direction to block him. Kit then lurched right. Hyroc countered by leaning that way. The two of them repeated the same moves twice more. Kit straightened his stance, giving Hyroc an annoyed look.

  Hyroc patted the ground invitingly. “Come on, get me,” he said excitedly. Kit regarded him before crouching and charging. He came at an angle to avoid the center of Hyroc’s reach. Hyroc playfully jabbed Kit in the side, causing him to tumble forward as he lost his balance. Snickering, Hyroc poked his hand at Kit’s belly. Kit swiped at his hand. Hyroc pulled his hand back. Coming in with the other, he ruffled the fur on Kit’s unguarded side. Kit rolled onto his back and swatted at his other hand. Hyroc alternated between attacking hands until Kit bolted out of reach. He patted the ground to insight another charge. Kit charged, but ran past him. Hyroc ruffled the fur along Kit’s back as he darted past. The big cat then abruptly wandered over to the shade of a tree and laid down, panting heavily.

  Hyroc sat down beside him, resting his back against the same tree. “Yeah, I think that’s enough for a while,” he agreed breathlessly. Reaching over, he smoothed out a patch of disturbed fur on Kit’s head. He drank several mouthfuls of water from his water skin. Kit regarded him with tired eyes. Hyroc looked at Kit thoughtfully, lowered the end of the water skin to his mouth and squeezed two squirts of water into it. Kit licked a few stray droplets from around his mouth. Hyroc felt a stinging pain on his face and the side of his neck. When he touched the spot on his face, he grimaced. Pulling his hand back, he saw a thin coating of blood on his fingers. He laughed, not entirely sure why the sight of his blood should be humorous.

  Once rested, the two of them continued on their way through the traps. Other than a deer rabbit, they were all empty. Hyroc regarded the animal’s small antlers curiously while he ate his lunch at the cabin. He pressed a finge
r experimentally onto the tip of the antler. It didn’t cut into his finger, but it seemed somewhat sharp. He wondered if there was a use for them. Svald would probably know. He grimaced, remembering the yelling at Svald had given him. That had happened nearly a week ago and the mere thought of coming to him, made Hyroc nervous. He shook his head ruefully at himself. He felt like he was being immature about the whole situation. All Svald had done was give him a warning, a warning he had obeyed. Besides, the whole time Helen was helping him make his coyote hat, Svald hadn’t acted like he was angry with him. It wasn’t as if he had punched Elsa in the face or anything. If he had done that then he definitely would have something to be afraid of. All he had done was make a simple mistake and no one had gotten hurt because of it. Like Ursa had said, they wouldn’t abandon him over something so small. There was nothing for him to be worried about.

  As soon as he headed in the direction of the Shackleton cabin, he heard Kit’s claws scraping down the trunk of the tree. He bowed his head in mild annoyance, turning to see Kit sauntering toward him. “No Kit,” he said calmly. “I’m going to the Shackleton’s; you can’t come with me there.” Kit regarded him curiously. “I won’t be long.” He took several steps and Kit continued toward him. He held his hand up sternly. “NO, stay.” Kit took another step. “Stay!” Hyroc said more forcefully. “I’ll be right back.” Kit slowly sat. Hyroc continued on his way and to his relief, Kit remained where he was.

  Helen, Elsa and Curtis were in the garden extricating the last of their vegetables from the soil. After exchanging greetings and dodging an inquiry from Helen about the scratches on his face, they directed him to the back of the cabin where Svald and Donovan were working on a hide.

  He braced himself for the possibility of a reproach from Svald. The man showed no signs of remembering the scolding he had given. Relieved and feeling irritated at himself, he held up one of the deer rabbit antlers. “I was wondering if there’s some use for these,” he said.