Chapter 8: You want to hunt what?!

Kanan and Terin made sure to gear up properly before heading out into the wilderness. They told the guards that they were going hunting, but once they arrived at the hunting grounds, they quickly changed their course.

There was a grass plain to the north of the village, mountains to its south, a forest to the east, where the hunting grounds were, and the river to the west. Past the river sat the Typhon Tribe, but they didn’t interact with each other unless there was conflict.

Moving to the south, Kanan and Terin trekked all the way to the base of the mountain where it and the forest met. They had come across animals, both prey and predator, and handled them with ease if attacked.

"You know, Terin, you never told me what monster we’re hunting." Kanan was sure Terin wasn’t stupid, so he wasn’t worried about attacking a strong monster.

"It’s the Sabertooth Spirit Tiger."

Kanan paused. "The what?! Are you insane?! The Spirit Tiger? You plan on killing the spirit tiger?"

"It’s okay. They live in solitude, and we’ve prepared enough to kill it."

"That’s not what I’m worried about. That monster is notorious for killing expierenced warriors because of its ability! We don’t even have our abilities yet, and you expect us to kill it?!"

Terin faced Kanan with a fierce determination. "Listen. You can leave now; I won’t blame you one bit. But I need this, Kanan. I need to show my strength, my resolve. If I can kill this beast, even with your help, then I’m sure the gods will bless me the role of a warrior to help defend our home."

"You’re crazy! I want to punch you in the face, but I can’t deny your grit and determination. I’ll see this through with you."

Terin’s face lit up, and he tapped Kanan on the shoulder. "Thank you, my friend! I shall repay this debt once we make it back to the village after our successful hunt!"

’Man, Aunt Glena is going to kill me.’

The two of them pressed forward.

Using his hunting skills, alongside the knowledge Terin knew about the Spirit Tiger, the two of them managed to make it to the Tiger’s territory.

Terin drew his bronze sword and walked very slowly. He was slightly crouched and looked around to see if he could spot any trace of the tiger.

Kanan followed suit, drawing his bow and having an arrow already notched. There was a long bronze knife on his hip in case he ran out of arrows or if his bow was deemed unusable.

"Kanan, be careful. You never know when the tiger could attack. It’s said that their bodies can turn into raw spirit energy, making them invisible."

"So now you tell me that?!" Kanan growled. He wasn’t too familiar with monsters, only animals. But this didn’t mean that his knowledge was useless.

They continued to look around carefully and cautiously, having each other’s backs, and keeping their eyes and ears peeled for any sign of tiger activity.

A silent snap of a twig caught the attention of Kanan, causing him to jerk to the left and pull back his bowstring. He went still, yet his eyes continued to wander at a certain spot.

"Kanan, you see anything?"

He didn’t respond and kept staring at the same spot, even squinting to see if something was there. A subtle flash of light did catch his attention, but the sun was also facing him, so Kanan brushed off the thought of it being the tiger.

Terin tapped Kanan’s shoulder. "I don’t see anything; let’s move."

"Wait. What are the abilities of the spirit tiger again?"

"They can turn invisible and can travel fast as a ray of spirit energy. Why?"

"Hey, would you think that light would flash when the tiger travels as spirit energy?"

"Hmm, It’s possible."

Kanan acted instantly, turning around and letting his arrow go, his arm getting tired from holding it, and quickly tackled Terin to the ground.

A light breeze blew across their backs with death hanging over their shoulders, and a deep, mind-rattling roar pinned the two boys to the ground out of fear.

"Ohhh fuck! There it is, the tiger!" Kanan quickly got up and grabbed another arrow from his quiver. "Terin, get up!"

The tiger lunged and nearly swiped Kanan’s head off if it wasn’t for his quick reactions.

"It’s only barely an adult! I got him!" Terin charged with his sword and swiped at the beast, only for it to turn into a ray of spirit energy and end up behind them.

"You should have brought a spear!" Kanan shouted, shooting an arrow where the tiger reappeared. While the arrow did pierce its skin, it only went through the initial layer of flesh, barely even doing damage to the beast.

"I know! I’m just now realizing that!" Terin ran at the tiger from the left while Kanan attacked it from the right, putting some distance between them.

Monsters weren’t creatures of instinct and were highly intelligent. Seeing Kanan back away while Terin charged at it told the tiger that Kanan was the weaker one, so it went after him.

"Crap!" Kanan fired an arrow, but it missed as the tiger went into its spirit form and shot past it, ending up behind him.

Kanan ducked the claws of the tiger, then rolled along the ground to avoid its ferocious stomps.

He quickly pulled out his knife and stabbed it into the tiger’s paw as it came down, pulling it out as he got up and ran to safety.

Terin lunged, impaling the tiger in the leg before being kicked off and slammed into one of the few trees around.

It galloped toward the now-injured Terin, but Kanan managed to pick up his bow and quickly fire off an arrow that struck the tiger in the arm.

"Terin! If we make it back alive, I’m going to kill you!"

"Don’t say scary things, man!"

Distracted by the arrow, the tiger didn’t notice Terin stab it in the chest, pushing his blade deep into the beast’s body.

"Nice!" Kanan shouted with triumph as he rushed over to his friend.

Roaring in pain, the tiger turned into a beam of spirit energy and reappeared in front of Kanan.

"Oh fu—"

It chomped onto his collarbone, shattering it with its bite force. Kanan screamed and cried in pain as the tiger tightened its bite on him.

It ran away, fast, leaving Terin on the tree and sprinting to god knew where.

"Arghh! G-Get off!" Kanan punched the tiger in the face repeatedly, hoping to get it off. He punched its injury, only for its bite to get harder around his shoulder.

"F-Fuckk!" Grabbing his knife, Kanan slammed it into the Tiger’s neck, a squeal coming from the beast as it finally let go, but at that point, it was too late.

The tiger had run all the way up to one of the mountain’s peaks, only to slip off the side from Kanan’s attack, causing them both to plummet to the bottom.