As the sun scorched the ground, I felt a trickle of sweat run down my neck. I glanced to my left, spotting Sare. She was crouched low, hiding below the grass line just like me. Her straw yellow hair blended in well with the tall grass. My eyes met hers and I could see her uncertainty. Her tensed front leg started to tremble lightly. I turned to look at my right. Cyrn was pointed forwards with a large grin in place. His eyes were like sharp steel, never losing focus on the prey ahead. His spear was gripped firmly in his hands, the point directed straight at the beast ahead. As if sensing our hesitation, he flashed us a confident smile. That was enough for us. The three of us had been hunting for a while now and both Sare and I knew just how reliable Cyrn was. When he set his mind to the hunt, nothing could stop him. His broad shoulders carried all our worries.
The monster ahead was relatively small, only about the size of a bicycle. It had long ears, standing up straight and matted, patchy fur strewn around the rest of its body. As it bent low to chew on a patch of grass we could clearly see the power hidden in its back legs. Having spotted it, we near leapt for joy. It was called a jumir. These creatures had very strong sinew from their hind legs, which made excellent string for bows. The hide could also make tough clothing and the meat didn't taste half bad either. The creatures were walking gold mines, but the best part about them was the fact that they were herbivores. Almost every other creature worth even half as much as the corpse of one of these would have razor sharp claws and a powerful bite. Of course, just finding the jumir didn't mean we would catch it, but this was an opportunity we had long been waiting for.
Sare and I looked at Cyrn. He slowly raised his spear and the signalled with it. One. Two... At the third drop the three of us burst from the grasses, racing towards the beast. Sare and I were in charge of confining its movements, and drawing its attention away from Cyrn, whilst he would wait for an opportunity to strike! Sare darted to flank it, using her own spear to try and maim its leg. Seeing her move had both me and Cyrn pause for a brief moment. Despite her skin being tanned from the hot sun, it didn't show any sign of weather damage at all. The sweat that had built up added a distinct shine to her muscles, and added to the contours of her figure. The slim-fitting vest and trousers she wore only added more to her beauty. Catching the flicker of movement from the jumir's hind legs snapped me back to the situation at hand.
"Ahhhh!" I cried as I crashed straight into the beast and tackled it. Despite my best efforts I couldn't bring the creature to the ground. It was just too strong for me. It bucked and I went flying, stirring up a large dust cloud where I had landed. However, my efforts were not in vain. Although I couldn't compete with it at all, I had managed to buy the time needed for Cyrn to position himself and strike. He stood in the blind spot to the monster's left and stabbed his spear straight into the pressure point behind the jumir's ear. The point passed cleanly through the weak point of its skull and was rammed directly into its brain. The blow caused the beast a final convulsion, its back leg narrowly missing Sare as she dived to the side. My eyes went wide at the scene. If that leg had managed to hit, Sare would not have survived.
"Are you alright?" Cyrn immediately rushed to her side, his eyes darting around to look for any injuries.
"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Sare replied, panting heavily, her flared nostrils revealing the extreme panic she had felt.
"More importantly, how's Rav?" She came running over to me.
I was still lying on the ground. The impact from the fall had winded me, and I was still trying to catch my breath. I did my best to sit myself upright. Sare bent down to see if I was alright.
"Don't worry, I'm alright as well." I struggled to get out between ragged breaths. "Just a bit winded, that's all. Just give me a moment."
Cyrn and walked over to us by now.
"I knew you'd be fine. It would take a lot more than a blow like that to stop you!" He said smiling.
"Yeah! What's the point of drawing attention if you can't take a hit or two?" I smiled back.
"You're really going to get yourself hurt one day, if you're not careful!" Sare still seemed concerned. "You'll die if you keep throwing yourself in the way like that!"
I looked over to Cyrn. "We did get the kill, though, did we not?"
Cyrn looked back at me nodding. "We sure did!"
Sare just scowled at the both of us, too used to the same events.
The walk back was quite far, about eighty kilometres. The terrain in this zone was easy to travel over though, consisting of only barren earth and the occasional patch of tall grass. We could also relax and talk along the way as predators were extremely rare here. Whilst it was hot, by now the three of us had become used to the heat, allowing us to take few breaks. As Cyrn was the strongest he carried the carcass on his shoulders for most of the way. Sare and I would only take it for short bursts when Cyrn needed a break. We were nearing the familiar hill that let us know were about half way back tothe city.
"We're going to be rich! We're going to be rich! I just can't wait until we're all rich!" I was singing merrily to myself as we walked along.
Sare lightly hit me on the back of my head. "You're going to jinx it if you keep singing!"
Cyrn just laughed.
"Those tendons are in perfect condition! And thanks to your perfect thrust," I nodded to Cyrn, "the hide is of excellent quality too! With this haul we'll have more than enough to buy our own house! No more living in that cramped orphanage! If we find the right buyer, we might even be able to get a house with a garden!"
"Do you have to keep spouting nonsense? You're going to drain away all of our luck!" Although Sare seemed angry I had known her long enough to tell she was just as excited.
"First we have to get this bloody carcass back!" grunted Cyrn.
"Oh, sorry! Would you like to switch now?" I asked, stepping over to him.
Cyrn didn't reply and simply heaved to great weight onto my shoulders. I nearly collapsed.
"Cyrn." I did my best to speak. "Are you sure you're the same age as us? It's not right for a seventeen year old to be able to carry a weight like this for so long."
"Oh! Are you jealous of my superior physique?" Cyrn paused to flex his muscles, flashing me a bright smile.
"Not jealous. I just think it's unnatural." I said under my breath.
"Ha ha!" laughed Cyrn. "And what do you think Sare?" Cyrn turned towards her.
"I think you two should focus on getting back before it gets dark."
Both Cyrn and I burst into laughter.
Just as we reached the bottom of the hill I caught something in the corner of my eye. A large explosion had just happened, only about ten kilometres from us.
"Look! Look!" I jumped up and pointed in its direction. Sare and Cyrn stared instantly.
"That looks like a veloplane!" exclaimed Sare as the wreckage began falling from the sky.
"Let's check it out!" I leapt forwards, heading to the falling debris.
"No, it's far too dangerous." Cyrn's voice was stern and serious. "We already have an excellent haul this time. The devil hunts the greedy."
"But it's a veloplane! Sare, surely you agree with me?! The parts from the wreckage alone could buy us a mansion! Not to mention whatever it's carrying!"
Sare didn't speak. I could see her mulling over the choice. I continued to try and persuade her.
"Come on! An opportunity like this won't fall out the sky every day! You know how much that technology and fuel are worth. With this find we might even be able to get some enhancements and join a kingdom! From there our futures are set! No more need to worry about food or living! We'd have an entire faction to back and support us! We might even be able to travel to other planets!"
Mentioning joining a kingdom managed to persuade Sare.
"I think we should do it!" Her resolution became firm.
"No. We'll just head back and call it a day. We'll be fine in the future. We'll hunt more creatures."
Cyrn seemed firm in his choice.
"You don't get it Cyrn." I softened my tone. "Sare and I... We can't keep relying on you all the time. We only managed to hunt that jumpir because of you. We can't keep holding you back. If it wasn't for us you would have accepted that recruitment offer from the Mammals. This way we could all move forwards. Please. Just let us try."
"Huh... Fine. But you follow my lead. We run at the first sign of danger."
"Thank you!" Sare and I looked at him gratefully.
"I'll hide this carcass in the grass over there. Let's hope no one finds it." Cyrn dropped off the body before we headed to the crash site.