Ch 6 - Careful Curiosity

I woke with a jump as the cave rumbled and small bits of dirt fell from the ceiling onto my face. I sat up and shook off the dust. I looked out my door and saw Kisang across the way, looking out her doorway toward the entrance. I followed her gaze to see Eijong trotting through the dark waterfall and entering the main cave area. It was still dark out, but by the chill in the air and the sound of faint chirps through the crashing sound of the waterfall, I could guess it was nearly dawn. He held his finger to his lips as we watched him for an explanation to the rumble from above. We all drew closer to hear him better.

“Humans.” He whispered. My heart raced, still not knowing what these humans were or how they looked. How would I know what kind of creature to avoid if I’ve never seen one?

“That’s not the worst part.” He continued, “They were riding horses.”

“I thought they might,” Kemi added. “They were riding horses when they attacked the other day. I saw the hoof prints all over the place.”

“Yes. And they have new weapons too.” Kamokeh whispered as she went to stand by Kemi. “The new weapons are sharper and more deadly than before. We need to be careful.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this before? It’s a very important information, Kamokeh.” Daegom said alerted.

“I’m sorry, we just had other things on our mind.” Kemi said wrapping Iris arms around her body for comfort. Kamokeh nodded sheepishly in agreement.

“We will have to revise our battle strategies.” Haenami whispered with wide eyes. The rumbling above us faded as the group of humans on horses passed.

“They seem to searching for us, so we need to cover our tracks better from now on.” Daegom announced. “These humans are getting smart and they are doing it fast, so we need to move out as soon as possible.”

Kamokeh was the first to leave, and Kisang was in her room before I could blink. I looked up to see the nest above me, but didn’t see Ounsu’s tail poking out the side. I looked around but didn’t see her buzzing around anywhere. She must be with Inau.

I went back to my room with a burning curiosity that made me restless. I slunk over to Inau’s room and knocked on her wall lightly as I entered. She was already sleeping, which impressed me that she could fall asleep that fast. I searched her room but didn’t see Ounsu anywhere, but that wasn’t the main reason I was in Inau’s room.  I leaned over her and shook her shoulder until she groaned at me to stop. She looked at me with sleepy eyes.

“What do you want, Sachi?”

“What is a…..” I couldn’t remember the sign for ‘human,’ so I signed, “that creature that rides the horses?” I paused a few times while signing, but for my first question after our lessons, I thought I did pretty good.

“What is an animal that rides rabbits?” Inau translated with confusion. My eyes grew wide in embarrassment. I had turned my hand the wrong way when signing a horse. I tried to sign my question again.

“Oh! On horses.” She giggled. “A human?”

I nodded my head with excitement.

“I’m a bit tired, Sachi, but I’ll tell you about them on the way to the villages, ok?” With that she shooed me out of her room and plopped back on her bed making snoring sounds in mere seconds.

My hopes dropped as my curiosity grew. I couldn’t wait till then. I wanted to see one. I looked around the cave, and heard only the voices of Daegom and Haenami in their large chambers, whispering loudly about how to get to the village with no tracks. I tiptoed to the waterfall and snuck through a small dry opening off to the side that the water fell just far enough away from that it only sprayed a light mist on my feet. I walked onto a wet rocky path that trailed down to water. I looked for a dry path to take as the rocky path ended, but the only way to get to the land area, was to try and jump. I saw one small rock poke out of the water that I could try to hop onto get to the other side.

I leaped to it carefully, but as soon as I put all my weight on it, my bandaged ankle burst in pain and I collapsed into the water hitting my elbow on a rock. I sank in the water, trying to rub my elbow. It throbbed through the bones in my arms and back as I tried to swim up to the surface. I took a gulp of air when I broke the surface and I began to swim to the edge in great difficulty. I stumbled onto the dry dirt and grass at the edge of the lake where my fur felt chilled instantly, which helped my elbow go numb and no longer hurt, but my ankle throbbed more now that it was cold and wet.

My body shook as I tried to shake off the water and dry my fur, but given the limited about of cloth I was wearing, I couldn’t seem to get very warm. A small darkness of regret grew in my chest, but I ignored it and started to hop toward the trees with one foot. I crawled up the side of the hill that formed over the waterfall cave, and imagined the humans running around on horses. They had left a while ago, but I hoped one was still there. I felt adrenaline drive me forward as my curiosity grew and my heart pounded in my ears with excitement. My body was nearly dry when I reached the top and peered around the large tree trunks. I didn’t see anyone. No humans or even horses, but just a shallow river surrounded by tree and loosened dirt from horse hooves.  My hopes fell and I stood up in disappointment, then something with great strength and hard surface snatched me around my waste and pulled me back. I screamed in surprise and the creature set me down. I turned and saw Ambyok staring back at me.

“You shouldn’t be out here.” He whispered. “There are humans around this place; I can smell them.” I stared at him as he headed back down the hill carrying a goat, and a small dead buck. I looked back at the river behind me and wished I had seen a human, but knew that Ambyok was my only hope to get back in the cave without getting completely wet again. I followed him all the way down as my ankle and elbow began to throb again. Ambyok saw me limping far behind him as we reached about half way, and came back for me. He lifted me onto his shoulders and carried me the rest of the way. I felt extremely awkward and guilty as I sat on his shoulders like an extra piece of luggage for him to carry. When we got to the cave, he walked through the water, which only reached up to his shoulders, and he took me and placed me in the cave, before entering himself.

“Where were you?” Jonsa called as he ran to me. “Did you go off on your own again? Did you forget what happened last time?”

“It looks like she was with Ambyok to me.” Kamokeh said behind him. “Theres no need to freak out, Jonsa, she looks fine to me.”

“How is your ankle? It looks wet and dirty, you should get Yak to replace it for you.” Jonsa mentioned ignoring Kamokeh.

“Don’t be so over dramatic.” Kamokeh snapped at him. “She can take care of herself, Jonsa. She’s not a baby.”

“Actually she was just born three days ago, so technically….” He trailed off.

“Out of a tree, not a creature.” Kamokeh snapped then walked off.

I got irritated at his constant reminder that I was just a pup, so I pushed him away from my bandaged ankle and walked to my room.

“Way to go, Jonsa.” I heard Eijong say to him before I got to the door of my room.

 I sat down and touched my soaked and cold ankle wrappings. Yak said not to take it off until I could walk on it properly, but would taking it off just to wring out the water be that bad?  I slowly unwrapped the cloth, trying to memorize the way it was wrapped. I felt my ankle get cold from the wet fur being exposed to the cave’s cold air, and quickly grabbed my blanket and wrapped it thickly around my feet. As I wrung out the water from the wrappings onto the floor, I could smell the meat of the hunt being cooked by Daegom. Only moments after I felt the warmth of his breath fill the cave and for an instant my ankle no longer throbbed.  Just then Yak appeared in my doorway.

“Here,” He held up a new dry cloth for my ankle, then walked in and knelt down in front of me as he pulled the blanket away and did his magic. It felt like he wrapped it faster this time than before. “Jonsa said you needed new wrappings. Be careful this time, ok? These wrappings don’t grow on trees, you know.” He joked.

When he was done he patted my knee and we went out and enjoyed some breakfast. Not long after, we were ready to go out and travel to the village at the base of Sora Moutain.

                Eijong let me ride on his back as we watch for humans behind us. Eijong reassured me that he is a faster runner than the horses that the humans ride. I looked up to see Haenami carrying Inau as Kemi flew next to her with her beetle-like wings.  Ounsu’s wings buzzed in the air next to us while walked quick paced but careful not to break too many sticks or turn too many leaves. Daegom flew ahead of us, carrying Jonsa on his back with Hwajay flying right next to him holding Kamokeh in his arms.  Iri and Kisang raced through the forest to scout ahead for any human-like scent that may have been left behind. Yak and Ambyok stayed behind to clean up the bones of our meals and cover up our tracks. Daegom and Haenami decided to have as little amount of feet on the group as possible, to lessen our chances of being followed or tracked by the humans.

As Eijong and Ounsu chatted about what animal would taste most like a human if they were to eat one, I sat on Eijongs back just staring into the sky at Hwajay. He was so large and fluid as he moved up and down through the air. He was a beautiful creature with his white fur and slight red highlights burning in the sun. His long horns on his head traced through the clouds as his head guided his body through the sky. I wish he had decided to carry me rather than Kamokeh. Kisang said that this trip will last until nightfall before we reach the village. I sat there day dreaming until we suddenly stopped at a large log surrounded by patches of grass and dirt.

We sat down to eat a quick meal before heading out again. I was given a rabbit that Hwajay cooked, while the others chose from a variety of fish, and birds.

“How’th da wabbith?” Jonsa asked with a mouthful of bird meat and feathers in his mouth.

I giggled at him and gave a thumbs up, hoping he knew the signs I learned with Inau. He smiled and gave a happy grunt, before he swallowed his meal. Oh good, he knows it. I smiled.

After lunch, I decided to try and walk for a while but after just a handful of trees my ankle began to throb. The instant I lost my balance and tumbled down I felt strong hands lift me up by my waist and Eijong threw my on his back. He trotted a smooth as he could and I held onto his strong yet bald abs. After the sun began to turn the clouds orange and pink in the sky, a small opening in the forest appeared in front of us.  A large village was built in the opening with various creatures roaming around and a main fire pit blazing in the middle. Daegom, Hwajay, and Haenami landed in front of us, causing a large puff of dust stir in the air. I heard a few creatures cough, followed by irritated moans from the villagers.  I got down from Eijong’s back and walked next to Hwajay as we fallowed Daegom and Haenami into the village area.

“Daegom! What a sudden surprise.” joyful voice said in the distance, “Ah, and Haenami, you look more delicious than ever.” He used one hand to shoo away the dust that lingered in the air. When the view became clearer I flinched at his appearance. A scaly creature with a thick bright orange line of hair tracing from his head down the back of his neck stood before us.  His snout was long and smooth, shimmering in the red glow of the setting sun. He had more sharp teeth than I could count, and as he stood there talking to Daegom I noticed how his roughly strange skin made his muscles appear bigger than they had at first glance. He wore a dark brown cloth around his waist and attached to his belt rope was a string of rat sculls hanging on his right side. There was also a simple black string tied to his left bicep held a small sun-shaped pendant. 

“Hello Sunshine.” Daegom said with a smirk.

“That is not my name, Daegom.” The scaly thing glared. “My name is Iljo.”

“But that sounds like an ill man named Joe.” Haenami complained. “I like Sunshine much better.”

“Yes, but I prefer Iljo,” Iljo stressed. “So let’s just keep it at that ok?”

“Even though Iljo, literally means Sunshi-?”

“YES!” Iljo cut in. “Just call me Iljo. I have been building a good reputation with Iljo and don’t want it to go down because of you. Ok?”

“Fine.” Daegom and Haenami said right after each other.

“Why’d you come anyways?” Iljo asked. While other villagers gathered behind him to see who was visiting. “And with such a large group?” He glanced back at me and the others.

“Two more will be here at dawn.” Haenami said before Daegom could speak.

“Well…there was an attack.” Daegom explained. “We’re the only ones left.”

The mood became quite dim at the bad news and the group behind Iljo shuffled awkwardly as he leaned in close to Daegom so his group wouldn’t hear him.

“Humans?” Iljo whispered.

“Yes. We ask permission to stay here to regain our strength.” Daegom requested.

“Well it not like we haven’t had our fair share of attacks.” Iljo snorted, then looked back at the group formed behind him. They all looked eager to hear the news. “Get Mae.” Iljo commanded a creature that had a similar shaped body as Haenami, but had a beak in place of a snout and had a lighter, slightly prettier coat. She smiled and leaped off to the left with lightning speed.

I searched around the village for this creature called Mae, when suddenly a large winged creature landed in front of Daegom, causing Iljo to fall back and land on a creature with strange horns on his face and spikes down his back. He yelped in pain but got up without a scratch, possibly due to his thick scale-like skin.

“Haenami, how are you?” She said with a smooth voice and a smile.

Haenami gave a light laugh. “We have had better, Mae.”

Mae looked up at Daegom and sat down, wrapping her tail around her paws and tucking in her wings.  “The humans got to you?” She paused. “I told you not to settle near the beach. It’s too dangerous.”

“It’s good to see you too Mae.” Daegom ignored her. “Since it seems you already know everything, what do you say me and my group stay her for a little while, until I find a more suitable place to settle?” Before she could answer, Daegom sprang up in the air and flew off into the sunset.

“He’s had a hard few days, Mae. I’m sorry.” Haenami said as she watched him fly away with his massive white wing.

“Well it looks like his temper hasn’t improved much since last time.” Mae observed.

“No, no, he has gotten much better, but for some reason he loses it when he’s around you. I’m not sure exactly why…”

“No worries, Haenami, let’s get your group in here and under some shelter. I predict it should rain soon.”

“Thank you, Mae.”

“Hey, what’re best friends for?” Mae said then gave Haenami a quick hug, causing me to notice that she was a little taller and better built than Haenami. We then followed her to a spot that was a bit far away from the rest of the village but a small hut and half a built shelter were provided for us to sleep under.

“Sorry I didn’t have anything better prepared for you.”

“This will do fine.” Haenami smiled as Jonsa grabbed a wood slab and placed it on the roof to cover a hole.

“Dinner will be read when the sun hits the top of the mountain.” Mae informed, then she spun around and flew off toward the fire pit with extreme grace and fluidity.

We arrived at dinner just in time to grab a seat near the fire. I got my food and ate awkwardly as the villagers stared at us. I gazed at them as well, taking in all the strange shapes and colors that they had formed as. Jonsa sat next to me and chewed on a hunk of cooked meat as he tried to tell me a story through his chewing, but I ignored him as I saw Kamokeh sitting on a log talking to one of the creatures that lived here. I watched her fondly as she chatted away, with no care that everyone was staring at her. Kamokeh and Jonsa were both similar in several ways, I’ve noticed. Then I looked down at her tail that ate at the pile of meat on the floor by her feet. I watched the tail for several minutes until my hand couldn’t find anything else on my plate and caused me to look down at where my dinner was supposed to be. I then realized that I ate it all without paying attention. I flopped my ears down in embarrassment as a few of the villagers who were watching me, giggled as continued to eat their meal.

A fresh and cool scent was carried on the wind as it breezed by us. I then got chills which caused my fur to puff up all over my body. When my fur fell flat again, I felt a drop of cold water hit my nose. I looked up to see the sky flash and roar as a sudden wave of rain engulfed the group. The group ran in different directions, while some stayed and tried to save the remainder of the dinner. I looked over to the pile and saw Ounsu grab a small piece of meat off the floor and fly off with it, wobbling in the air as her tiny wings were struck with various drops of rain. Inau ran behind her and caught her in mid-air, then tucked her into her chest as she ran for cover. I followed them to see that I was the last one under the shelter. Kisang pulled out a small cloth from her pouch and tried to dry off Ounsu and Inau. When I got to her, the cloth was already soaking wet. I sat on the edge of the shelter and took my tail and wrung out a large stream of water from the thick fur. I resisted the urge to shake off the water from my fur so I wouldn’t get the others wet. Jonsa walked over to me and helped me squeeze water from my hair and clothes. Then he started to lick the fur on my shoulder. I pushed him away, not sure what was going on.

“What?” He seemed confused. “I’m just grooming you. That’s what we do sometimes to clean our fur. It works well to get rid of water too. You’ll become dry faster this way.”

I looked at him, then looked back at the others who were licking their fur as well. Even Haenami was licking water from her bat-like wings. So I relaxed a bit and nodded to Jonsa to continue. He began to groom my shoulder and made his way down my back as I tried to lick the fur on my arms. It was amazing how well this strange action got rid of the water from my fur so quickly. I jumped a bit as Jonsa licked my hip. He laughed, “Oh, sorry. I got carried away.” Then he moved to the other side of me started to groom my other shoulder. I felt guilty as I thought of how Kamokeh must feel with Jonsa grooming me rather than her. I looked back at her to see that her tail was grooming her. Well of course she didn’t need help in the hard spots to reach. She has her tail do it. I rolled my eyes jealously as I wondered how Mae knew it would rain tonight.

We all looked a bit fluffier when we finished. I wrapped my tail around my hips and fell asleep on Kisang’s tail as she cuddled up to Inau and Ounsu, who all used Eijong as a pillow. Jonsa and Kamokeh curled up together on my right side and Hwajay slept on my left. Iri and Kemi were the only couple that could fit in the tiny hut next to us, so everyone else had to gather under the half built shelter. As I drifted off to sleep I saw Haenami sat at the edge of the dry dirt, gazing into the night sky as the lightning continued to flash and the thunder grumbled angrily across the mountain side.

The next morning we heard Daegom and Iljo talking with eachother as they walked around the camp. “I think if we train each of the villagers how to fight to the best of their bodily structure, then we will get more done.” Daegom was saying, “ Those who walk on 4 legs or is a similar structure to me I will train, and you can train all the ones who walk on two legs or up right like you do.”

“Sounds perfect!” Iljo said glancing around the camp to see how many were in two legs.

Daegom decided that my injury was still too severe to let me start training with Iljo. So I was forced to do strange exercises to make my ankles stronger and help prevent further injuries. The female creature named Mae that worked with me was a little bigger than Haenami, but almost the same shape. She had sharper front claws, a tuft of fur at the tip of her tail and her wings were large and covered in feathers. She also had a black beak and her eyes were piercingly round. She even had pointy ears that poked out of her furry head.

Haenami and Hwajay flew off to another Clan to the far east, then later to a clan near the Dark mountain, to get more creatures to join our army. While they were gone, I had to stand up and balance on one foot while rising on my toes and then back down again, repeatedly for several minutes, then switch feet. My ankles burned and ached as I watched the others in jealousy. Today they learned how to use their tail to trip their opponents while they dodge a fist swing. That one motion was fast and looked exciting to learn.

“Focus, Sachi!” Mae snapped as my ankles bent out to the sides. I quickly straightened them and continued to rise up and down on my left leg while holding onto Mae’s shoulder for balance.

“You need to get the hang of this. Tomorrow you won’t be using me as a crutch.”

I paused and stared at her, with a worried expression.

“Yes, you’re going to heal fast and hard, so we need to step up the therapy process. Which means you need to focus.” She stressed then grabbed my bending ankle and snapped it to a straight position once more. After about an hour I would get to rest my ankles while she massaged them with her front paws that were shaped more like my hands, and even had a thumb, unlike Haenami’s paws. She then applied the same medicinal mixture that Yak had put on my ankle the first time I hurt it. I watched Kemi trip Kamokeh with her leg since she didn’t have a tail, then Kisang tripped Kemi from behind. Kemi got up angrily and began to complain that it wasn’t fair since she attacked from behind. The argument didn’t last long once Iljo walked over.

I shifted my glance to Daegom’s group. He was teaching them to jump up high and attack from above. He tried to get some creatures not to use their wings, but it seemed to be a lost cause, so he bound their wings down with rope. The winged ones seemed to have the hardest time jumping high enough. I laughed as the tumbled on top of one another in a pouncing practice.

By dinner time, each group was rubbing their sore spots and stretching their tight muscles. Ambyok and Yak, who arrived just before dawn and had been sleeping in the den all day, went out with Eijong and caught a goat, three wild boars, and a handful of birds and fish. They were either shot my arrows or had their skull smashed in. I could only guess who killed what. Eijong set down the birds and his bow and arrows on the ground, near a bowl of water to clean off the blood. Ambyok and Eijong, however, went straight to the center area where the fire was being built, and dropped their kill off to be cooked.

Everyone’s mouth watered as the meat simmered. After the quick yet filling meal, everyone headed straight to bed to get ready for the next day of training. However, I decided to stay up for a few hours and go over the attack moves I saw each group do, on my own while everyone slept. MY heart would race at the thought of Mae catching me jumping around in my room, but I needed to know how to fight, if I wanted to keep up with my classmates.

The next few days were the same as the first. New attack moves, and silly mishaps while I continued to strengthen my ankles and heal my wound. Then we would eat dinner and I would go practice what I saw them do that day, while they slept.  By the end of the week I had forgotten about my twisted ankle and began to train harder and longer at night, but by morning I would become tired and soon Mae would start to notice.

“Doesn’t your ankle hurt?” Mae asked as I bounced up and down on my injured foot faster than before. I stopped and looked at my foot, realizing that it was no longer swollen, and all the pain was gone. I shook my head slowly at her with a slight smile, that grew wider and wider as I realized I could join the training now that I was healed.

“Well I guess that medicine, Yak gave me, really is a magical remedy. I tried to ask what was in it, but he refused to give away his secret recipe.” Mae laughed. I jumped up and down with excitement and pointed to the groups that were training.

“Not yet, Sachi, we need to catch you up really fast before you join in with them.” She said as she went to take off my bandage. “Actually, let’s keep that on a little longer. I don’t fully trust that you’re completely healed yet. Your tendons may still be weak.”

I shrugged, not caring at all if I had the bandage on or not.

“Let’s start your training then. Follow me.” She turned and pranced through the trees and disappeared into the dark shadows of the forest.  I followed her far enough that we couldn’t hear the clan and I would probably get lost if I tried to go back alone. We stopped in a wide open area with flat dirt ground, and thick trees surrounding us in every direction.

“Now I know you have been practicing the moves you watched the others do. That’s why you were so hard to wake up this morning.” She said in a low accusing voice. My heart jumped as I felt guilt rise in my chest.

“Don’t worry, it’s perfectly fine. But let’s see how good you are.” She said as she got in low stance for attack. Suddenly she came at me with blunt force and extreme speed. I tried to swoop down and trip her as well as throw her up from kicking her belly up in the air, but she flapped her wings and jumped over me, then jumped on me and slammed me to the ground. I became flustered for a moment, then struggled back up to me feet after she flew back to her starting position.

“Not mad, but I can anticipate what you are about to do. Try to surprise me and go much quicker.” She advised. Then after a few breaths she charged me again. I dodged her swipe and then as she jumped off the side of a tree trunk, I slid under her pounce and when she landed I jumped on her back and tried to flip her. Suddenly I was flying in the air and landed on my back so hard my breath was knocked out of me. I gasped for air as she told me what I did wrong.

“Don’t jump on creatures with wings, because we can thrust you off with a great amount of force before you even have time to grab on. But if you were attacking a human, that would have been a perfect move. So good job.” She smiled at me and helped me to my feet with her hand-like paws.  I stumbled forward but caught my balance and prepared for the next attack.

My training went on for hours with minimal breaks and rarely any wins. I learned more than I had ever thought I could in one day, but we went over everything I saw the clans do during the week. We only did each move a few times for practice because it got dark quicker than we thought.

“Time flies when we’re having fun, right?” she breathed heavily. I nodded, sitting on the ground next to her. We both jumped at the sound of leaves crunching and sticks cracking off to our left. We stood tall and perked our ears toward the sound, waiting for whatever creature was coming.

“Sachi? Mae? Are you over here?”

We both relaxed as Inau crawled through a tall bush that towered a few inches above her.

“It’s time for supper; Daegom sent me to tell you.” She said annoyed and out of breath.

“Why didn’t he send someone with wings? It would have been faster.” I signed to her while trying to talk, but still just making strange squeaking sounds.

“I don’t know, maybe he’s punishing me for letting Ounsu fly off on her own. I didn’t even ask where she was going. Just figured she went to get some berries or something.”

“What? How long has she been missing?” Mae cut in.

“She left this morning. I’m sure she’ll be here buy supper.” Inau shrugged off her worries and we followed her back through the mountains and trees until we got to the village. Not soon after we saw Daegom talking to himself in the distance and it looked really strange. As we got closer we saw a small blurry thing floating in front of his face.

“Ounsu.” Inau whispered as she elbowed my hip with her elbow. We watched them for a few seconds noticing that he looked more concerned than angry. Then I noticed a pile of berries on the ground below her.

“Guess you were right.” I singed to Inau. She looked down at Daegom’s feet and nodded, then we went to the fire pit and ate our dinner with the rest of the group.

Author's Note

This chapter will be rewritten and soon will be divided into 2 or 3 more chapters with more detail and more action.