Surion is Attacked by his Totem
Torvil smiled softly as the sun started to set. He softly shook Surion and whispered. "Get up! Get up! It's time to get going again..."
Surion stretched and sat up "Kay dad" he said mid-yawn and shook his head to clear it he wiped the sleep from his eyes and grabbed his spear as he got up
Torvil rolled into a crouch and then started to walk slowly, his eyes darting out into the fading light. "I have a bad feeling..." he murmured, seeing the oddly game-less plain. "Something wrong..."
Surion followed after him holding his spear in his right hand "What's wrong?" he asked he too looked around, he'd never been hunting though and didn't really know much of a difference
"Generally we should have at least run into one herd of game... Maybe two... But no... This is like when the famine was..." He murmured softly.
Surion nodded slowly "does that mean they've moved father away?" he asked quietly staying close to his father
Torvil nodded. "Farther... Or got eaten..." He murmured softly, looking dead north and frowning. "I hope it's not that time of the cycle..." He murmured, still moving into the brush.
Surion nodded as they kept moving north east he kept looking around them listening and watching
Torvil was silent till midnight, then he dropped to his knees and ran his finger over a very fresh track in the dirt. "Deer..." He murmured. "Heading in the way we're going... Probably to the next watering hole..."
Surion crouched beside his father running a finger along the track and then looking ahead of them nodding
"These tracks are about... twenty minutes old... There abouts..." He murmured, and slowly started to move again, his spear at the ready should there be anything else stalking his prey, they needed the food, as they had brought none...
Surion nodded following after his father spear in his right hand and walking silently on the balls of his feet
Torvil stopped near the watering hole, he frowned at the shape of the Dire Wolf that had taken the deer stood at the water, drinking. He looked to Surion. "Is this what you seek? Or should I rid of it and feed us?" He asked.
Surion looked at the wolf and after a few minutes shook his head "My heart tells me this is not the creature I seek as my totem"
Torvil nodded, and then in a flash, dashed out of the bush with his spear. The wolf turned towards the sound, only to yelp loudly as the blade of the spear ripped through it's shoulder as Torvil jumped. It snapped at Torvil, who landed in the water beside it. Torvil growled back and threw his spear hard, lodging it in the wolf's neck. The Wolf let out a gurgle and still went after him, but Torvil dodged and weaved, then Charged the wolf ramming it's side hard with his shoulder and then flipping again, rolling over the wolfs shoulder and pulling out his spear. The Wolf whimpered and tried to stand again, but Torvil quickly cut it's spinal cord and then silenced it with one more stroke.
Surion stayed stalk silent watching the battle until it was over then stood and walked out of the bush as well walking towards his father and the wolf
Torvil was cleaning his spear. He pulled out the large knife and started to skin the wolf.
Surion stood near him and watched his father work he licked his lips the scent of meat reaching his nose
Torvil finished and cut of Surion a large bit of meat.
Surion crouched beside his father planting his spear tip down in the dirt then took the meat eating it, he definitely was hungry he hadn't eaten at all since his father had woken him before the hunt began
Torvil smiled. "We have to eat all of this meat...." He murmured softly.
Surion nodded and kept eating hungrily not worried about the wolf blood on his hands after all there was water right beside them he could wash it off with
Torvil ate and ate, and ate some more, he would cut off huge chunks and just leave them laying for whoever wanted it. When the meat was gone, he broke down the wolf's skeleton and pelt, and started to dig a hole.
Surion washed his hands and drank from the watering hole as his father cleaned up the wolf remains, he stood soon after picking his spear back up and ready to continue
Torvil had dug a six foot hole, or well, was trying to quickly, he grumbled and muttered, working hard, having only gotten so far. He looked to Surion. "Give me a hand, we have to bury these deep... So we can get them later..."
Surion nodded putting the spear back into the ground and moving to help his father get the task done
They finished just as the sun started to rise again, which made Torvil a little mad. He should have been faster, but no matter, they'd make up time now that they'd eaten and drunk. He filled the hole and marked it, then started off, at a run, to the northeast
Surion grabbed his spear and raced off after his father doing his very best to keep up and stay silent even though his legs were not as long as his father's
Torvil darted from brush to brush, and he did not stop running till about noon, where he came to a sudden stop, and knelt, catching his breath.
Surion stopped a few feet away he too crouched his eyes scanned the area catching his own breath
Torvil was looking around and he smiled, "Well Well..." He was fingering a track.
Surion moved closer and looked down at the track he wasn't quite sure what it was
Torvil moved his hand. "Big cat..." He murmured. "I'd say a Dire Plains Jaguar, from the looks of it's size and it's weight..."
"Oh dear Visha..." Surion gulped, it was the one creature he feared above all others. He looked off in the direction the tracks went until he saw that they disappeared into the brush
"In our direction too..." He smiled. "Maybe... this time you won't throw rocks at it..." He smiled and started to move forwards.
Surion nodded and took a deep breath and followed after his father, he prayed to Visha the cat had moved away from their direction further into the brush
Torvil kept his pace slow, and he let his eyes sweep the area. He tried to keep the scent of the cat in his head, but all he could smell right then was a dead deer not that far off...
Surion watched as well, his eyes nervous and he remembered where he'd first seen the Jaguar his grandfather had killed so not only looked around him... but above him
The attack didn't come from above... It came from behind. The Jaguar pounced, raking it's claws into Surion's back and starting to push him down.
Surion cried out landing face first into the ground trying to get out from under the beast, his spear still in his right hand
The Jaguar growled and raked at his back with it's claws then got off, darting into the brush again.
Surion cried out again and with difficulty and a lot of pain rolled spear in hand over to sit up and then get it was his intention to get up
The Jaguar attacked again this time plowing into his front, it's jaws digging into his left armpit. Torvil was already turned around and ready to strike... If Surion cried out for help... Or If Surion went limp...
Surion cried out in pain and brought his legs up under him pushing his feet against the creatures underbelly and tried to get the spear around to a good position to return the attack. It was about then that his gem began to flicker brightly
Torvil smiled and watched his son, but said nothing. The Jaguar hissed and growled as it was starting to get fought back, it yowled and bit down harder, striking out with it's claws at his chest and arms.
Surion screamed both now from pain and determination his free arm finally getting the spear around so the tip was facing away from his thumb and started going after the jaguar with it the gem on his forehead flickering more rapidly as he did
The Jaguar yowled loudly as it was struck biting more and more harder as it thrashed, It kept clawing at Surion with abandon.
By the time Surion lost all feeling in his left arm his gem had stopped flickering and was glowing brightly through his bangs. he brought the spear at the Jaguars' neck as hard as he could trying to get it in the side of the neck
The Jaguar yowled as the spear pierced the neck, and then suddenly, the Jaguar went limp, and a large gout of blood was forced out around the blade of the spear, and the beast released Surion.
Surion pulled the spear out and brought it back to the neck once more for good measure before passing out
When he would awake he would find the Jaguar laying out ready for him to skin.
Surion didn't wake for several hours the gem on his forehead glowing brightly the entire time, the cuts from the Jaguars claws and the wounds from it's jaws slowly healing and expelling any dirt that may be within them in the process. What was left when he begun to wake again was a red skin from the soreness and a hell of a lot of scars covering most of his front part of his back and most of his upper left arm
Torvil was kneeling beside him, he'd taken his shirt off, and his finger was tracing his son's scars.
"Dad" he said quietly slowly opening his eyes feeling somewhat groggy he didn't even try to move as yet
Torvil chuckled. "I've very proud of you Surion..." He said softly, his finger tracing the larges scar.
"Did I get it" he asked bringing the hand of his good arm to his face wiping the dirt he felt on it off
"Oh you got it..." He smiled softly, brushing Surion's head. "You got it..." He said with a proud voice.
Surion nodded "Thank Visha" then he moved to sit up it wasn't easy one arm feeling weaker then the other and his entire torso feeling rather sore and painful
Torvil nodded and handed Surion the big knife. "Time to claim your trophy... and eat..."
Surion reached for it with his left hand and froze just before taking it, his eyes caught sight of the scars on his arm, he looked down his good hand moving to his chest
Torvil smiled. "You're a man now Surion... Those are your badges of honor..." He murmured.
Surion shook his head "I... I don't want scars" he whispered on the verge of tears
Torvil brushed his hair and smiled. He slipped off his own Shirt and looked at Surion. "Surion... Pay attention..."
Surion looked up at his father his eyes brimming with tears which had yet to spill over
Torvil's body was clear of scars, and then suddenly, full of them
Surion's eyes widened a look of pure confusion and startlement in them
Torvil's scars again vanished. "I can teach you how to hide them..." He said softly.
"How did you do that?" he whispered at the exact same time he spoke and then nodded
Torvil smiled. "Well... You have to focus on them, and pretty much tell them to hide... Everyone of them... But right now... Take care of that totem
Surion nodded using his good hand to wipe the tears from his eyes. He reached for the knife again trying his hardest not to look at the scars on his body. He took it and turned to the beast which had attacked him, or rather the totem which had chosen him, he stared at it for a time, his fear turning to absolute anger, then respect as he pushed the creature over and brought he knife to it's underbelly near the neck, he was going to skin it, he was going to bring back it's pelt as his totem
Torvil smiled at watched him, he could not be any prouder..."
Soon it was done, the entire pelt removed from the beast and laying fur down to dry in the sun. he brought the knife back to the Jaguar and pressed it into the meat cutting two large pieces from it and turned handing one to his father and holding the other
Torvil smiled and waited for Surion to take a bite.
Surion looked at the meat and then tore into it, he wasn't THAT hungry having eaten the wolf with his father but he was a little hungry from the energy his body had used to heal him
Torvil smiled and ate, it was mostly ritual to eat the totem, but it didn't matter. He ate, more because he knew he would need the energy later. when he finished eating, he started to stripped the rest of the carcass and started to disassemble the skeleton.
Surion sat staring and watching the pelt dry as his father dealt with the rest of it the more he stared the more determined be became to learn...
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