Elder La'lo was the family's storyteller, and one of his favorites to tell was of a hunter who, nearly dead of hunger, found the bones of a dead gigavix. Seven spears he had broken due to his sheer clumsiness, and seven weeks he had gone without a successful catch. When he came across the bones, he remembered the great Kar'rok and his strange powers. He took the bones and broke them in prayer for their power, stringing the fragments to hang from his chest. When he received its strength, he hunted an animal each day for a week. He grew fat from success. The hunter's brother advised him to return the bones now that he had brought so much food, but the hunter never listened. At night, the brother woke to the hunter's fading screams. Gone were he and the bones, his home surrounded by the footprints of the dead gigavix whose bones had been taken.
Koa's grandfather stressed that forests and their denizens can take as much as they can give. He also told the boy that these animals were vicious and keen and to be revered. To kill one, while not forbidden, was not a task to be done lightly.
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The sun was setting by the time Hota told Koa to stop. They found themselves at the edge of a ravine, and Koa began to gather materials for a fire, waiting for Hota to light it. He was setting up the chunk of meat he had found in a spot open to the wind. Koa's spear was leaning against a nearby tree.
"Remember, the gigavix is territorial," Hota said as he tossed a piece of flint and steel to Koa. Koa began to carefully strike the two together over a pile of tinder made of dead leaves and twigs. "We draw it with a call, let the fire distract it. Use this sling only if necessary, stick to the trees."
"Yes, sir." Koa looked for the smoothest rocks he could, finding seven while Hota climbed up a tree. Koa followed his example on a different tree, an old ashen with a branch turned abruptly relatively high up the trunk. Putting the sling and rocks in a small pouch his mother had given him, he waited, enjoying the view of the ravine and the spear across his lap. Despite the sun still shining over the other side of the ridge, the two moons floated just above, their pale shapes visible. Behind him was the Great Arch, a dull grey A that stood beyond the horizon. Koa stared at the night sky as Hota began mimicking calls. To the boy, it sounded like a man howling in pain cut short. Three short calls followed, and then everything went silent, and the two waited.
It was after a brief pause that a low, sonorous call responded—a challenge from a myth that stalked the forests.
Koa took this time to practice his meditation, straightening his back against the trunk of the tree and planting one foot on a nearby lower branch. As his mind began to center, he relished the sensations around him. The croaking creatures, the cool breeze hitting his clammy skin, the sensation of the bark behind him. He got lost in the sensations as his breathing maintained a constant level. His meditation was interrupted by a noise that pierced his senses—a Tytostrix's hooting. Koa recognized the sign and sat up, quietly pressing one of the rocks into the sling's leather pad as the noise of the animals around him quieted.
Hota had ingrained into him specific calls, signals Hota could call out when hidden. Isa had told him that Hota's parents had passed down their mimicry skill to him, and that when he was old enough, Hota would teach him how to do the same.
Such a call meant that something was near and to be ready. Koa lay still, hearing the faint patter of footfalls. His vision was obscured by everything beneath and around him, save for the view of the hanging meat. Koa listened to the beast before he saw it. A soft snort before another low call. Then he saw the bump of its snout, the crest that ran up the middle of its head to two small horn-like shapes on its long and narrow skull. The thick, coarse feathers that covered it rippled as it moved and sniffed the air.
It was massive, feathered and powerful, a hunter that rivaled its stories. Its claws twitched, flexing as its keen eyes scanned its surroundings.
It came looking for a challenge. Koa could only shudder at the thought of it seeing them. He silently began to spin the sling, a soft whoosh catching the creature's attention. Its head snapped in his direction, uncannily quick.
Any second now. Koa thought, and sure enough, both he and the beast stiffened as a twang broke the silence. The gigavix yowled as Koa saw a single shaft suddenly appear, just at the beast's collar.
Before Koa knew it, he was landing hard on the ground and rushing forward, his sling abandoned. He heard Hota scream something, but didn't make it out as the massive predator whipped around faster than he could have thought possible for such a large animal.
Thinking quickly, Koa activated his abilities, his Focus changing his perception, narrowing his attention, and his Acrobatics allowing him to roll under its snapping jaws and to the side. As he sprang back up, he struck the side of its head, already having whipped around to keep the boy in its line of sight. It felt as if he struck rock. The creature barely seemed to feel it, only letting out a sharp hiss before clawing Koa's hands away as he tried to jab at it with a spear. Another arrow pierced its thighs. It moved forward, shoving Koa to the ground, jaws open as it sank its fangs onto the boy-
—only for it to reel back, gurgling with fury as its teeth scraped stone.
The boy was lucky. It only stopped biting from the discomfort. Had his ability's activation not been instantaneous, he would have been missing his head.
Koa struck out with his legs, kicking the beast twice as it planted a massive foot onto the boy's chest. Even with his stone skin, the weight was immense. It pressed down with his weight, and Koa felt the air escape his lungs.
Why did I get rid of the damned sling?
The gigavix's jaws hung open, drool and blood dripping onto Koa's face. Panicking, he reached out. He needed something, anything. He coalesced whatever was near, and he felt the dirt and rocks shift into a small pile floating into his hand. He jabbed the pile into the side of the monster's head, activating a strike ability.
The dirt and stones blasted out from his hand, spraying over the monster's face. It flinched, rearing back and swiping at its eye with a clawed arm.
"Away!" Hota barked as he charged forward, shooting another arrow into the gigavix's leg and leaping. He planted a foot into the beast's rib cage, and though the attempt was futile, it turned its attention to the man. Koa used that to lift himself up and place his hands against the tall creature's chest.
Through Hota's eyes, both the boy and the beast had utterly frozen. The gigavix reared its head to bite, but paused. Slowly, carefully, the animal lowered its head. The boy, in turn, moved to its side, keeping his hand on the beast's feathered hide. Hota moved to notch an arrow into his bow, but Kia shot up a hand to him, motioning to stop.
"Don't attack."
"What are you doing?" Hota's voice was quiet.
"Asking it to leave. Put your bow on the ground."
"Kiran-"
"Just trust me. " At that moment, Hota noticed the animal's claws, still flexed, poised to strike. Its tail twitched one way and then the other. The moment seemed to stretch forever, though it was only a mere breath until the gigavix relaxed its claws and the boy stepped back.
The two watched as it turned away from the ravine, walking away with a low rumble.
Koa let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding before being grabbed by Hota.
"What were you thinking?!" Hota spun the boy to face him, his voice harsh. "Who taught you to run headfirst into its mouth?"
"You were going to kill it!"
"Yes!" Hota's response echoed throughout the ravine below them. "If I do not, people will die!"
"It won't bother them anymore; I made sure of it!"
"And you are certain? Sure enough that it will not come and kill people instead of a damn caged animal?"
"I am."
Hota inhaled deeply, his voice returning to its quiet, stoic demeanor.
"If you are wrong?"
Koa was silent, but unwavering in his stare back at his father.
"If that happens," The boy swallowed. "I'll come and kill it myself."