The initial nights of the Mal'it Clan's test was supposed to be peaceful. The children had already experienced a night hunt when they were together with their fathers or uncles, usually during their tenth year. This night's incident was a first especially for someone from the older group.
"Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" Lino hissed to the idiot beside him as they were running.
"B-but I thought we could catch that one. I d-didn't know it was still a child." As usual, Tang'ga was not whispering which garnered them another growl from behind them.
"Quiet!"
During their afternoon hunt, Yabang and Lino left Tang'ga in a grove to safeguard their initial catches. However, the idiot fell asleep and only woke up when the warm body he was using as a pillow was being pulled away.
When he looked up while still wiping away the sleepiness in his eyes, he saw a black scaled figure with its mouth biting his pillow. After staring at the sharp, white teeth gleaming in front of him, Tang'ga slowly moved his gaze up the nostrils with horns on both sides, then to the dark red eyes staring at him. The three horns at the top of its head also came to Tang'ga's vision.
It was a shock to see a thief was actually taking their hunt. He could not recognize this one from the other animals he had heard or seen. But, since Yabang and Lino told him to safeguard their catches, then he decided to keep this one to compensate the others it took. Tang'ga thought it was smart of him since it was more difficult to find the stolen meat.
Shortly after, while Tang'ga was figuratively dusting off his hands for a job well done, his two friends came back.
"Hey, guys, look what I got!" he bragged before they even reached him. The pile beside him was bigger compared to before the two left so it was obvious that Tang'ga managed to add another catch to the pile.
Lino was smiling as he walked ahead of Yabang while carrying a carcass on his shoulder. From the corner of his eye, there were a clustering of black figures which made him stop.
When he turned his stare in that direction, he saw not one, not even two, three or ten black-scaled cow-looking beasts. He caught the stare of one pair of angry eyes then it turned to the place where his friend was waving at. Lino followed that stare and saw blood under a smaller black-scaled cow.
"Sh*t! Idiot, run!"
And the rest led them to where they were now.
"Those cows always move in a herd!" Lino reminded Tang'ga though he knew it was already too late. "They were also really protective of their young!"
"Stop your babbling, Lino. Let's run to the river. That will slow them down."
"Uh, but that will slow us down too?"
"Yes, but I remember there were rocks in that part of the river that we could leap to to get to the other side. The current will also hide our 'mist' once we got passed the river."
"Okay!" Lino said with another glare at their still quiet friend.
On the same side of the river was the cave where Ling and Rin were staying. They felt a slight shake of the ground followed by growls outside the cave.
Of course the two never thought of going out. The noturnal herds could be having a fight for territory.
But as fate would have it, a small cow lost its way from the herd. It entered the dark cave but smelled that there were creatures the same as the one who killed its brother so it roared and dashed to the smell's direction.
After a while, Ling and Rin managed to kill the animal. These beasts were actually weak. When they were alone. Now, the herd smelled that another of their brethren was killed.
A shiver coursed through the veins of Ling and Rin. They shared a look then went outside the cave with their tools. It was good that they didn't hesitate or they will be blocked by the incoming herd.
Once the herd realized that the 'mist' of the group in front of them were slowly fading, they decided to turn part of their attention to the other group.
Meanwhile, Tang'ga had already reached the other side of the river with Lino close behind him. When Lino took a glimpse back to check their chasers, he noticed that his other friend slowed down.
"Yabang, hurry!" Lino hissed.
The other ignored him and remained standing on the stone. A frown marred his face. "They slowed down."
"Then that's good!"
"No, they turned their attention to another group."
"What were those guys' problem going out at this time?!" However, he stopped hurtling accusations to that group to glare at his friend again. 'If this guy just try to use his brain even once...'
"I'll try to lead them here too." Lino whipped his head back when he heard that.
But before Lino could stop him, Yabang already jumped back to shore.
Still a little farther away from the river, Ling and Rin were running with the cows close behind them. They had the same thought as Yabang, to lose the cows once they crossed the river.
When they were almost out of the trees with the river in their sights, not too far, another herd also came in their sights and it was running in their direction to block their way! This was the main herd before the other separated. Due to losing the first group they were chasing before, the herd rounded back to chase the other group.
Ling paused for only a second before pulling Rin back to the dense forest. The other herd was smaller and they could outran them if they kept zigzagging in the forest. They have better chances at that instead of facing the larger herd. They just have to avoid losing each other. If they got the chance, they could run back to the river from another side.
However, things didn't go according to Ling's plans. They did manage to get out of the forest to reach a clearing in the river, but once the herd clustered together again, the whole herd started catching up to them. That was tens of cows chasing them now!
As the children kept running by the river bank, Ling kept looking around for a rock to jump on desperately. He was getting tired of running despite absorbing the life 'mist' from the trees. What more for Rin who he had to support now so the other could remain steady. If they could fine a rock, the water might make the cows hesitate in continuing to chase them due to the strong current. It would be a fortune even if only Rin could escape so he could ask for help.
Suddenly, a voice called to them on a rather far away rock, "Hurry! I'll throw a rope and pull you!"
It was Yabang. He already got to the other side but ran parallel to the other two to find a rock he could use to help them to escape. This one could be reached by jumping from his side but there were no rocks leading to the other side. With Yabang's help, they could be pulled using the rope to get to that rock though they have to jump in the river.
"Rin, go!" Ling caught the rope and passed it to Rin while he used a flint to light the end of his spear and brandished it in front of the herd. He used his 'mist' to strengthen and maintain the fire going though he knew his energy could not last for long.
The fire made the herd hesitate but they still kept growling. Some moved back, waiting for the fire to die down, but the others were already circling around, looking for the time when the boy was turned the other way so they could dash and tackle him.
Ling remained vigilant. After what he thought of as a very long time, he heard another shout. He was relieved since the fire was dying down. "Ling, I'll throw the rope again!"
Hearing it, Ling timed his throwing of the still lit spear in front of the cows that were ready to dash forward with Yabang's throw of the rope. Because of their surprise, the herd hesitated again which gave Ling time to jump in the river.
Once Ling got into the water, the three children were relieved. Rin was already on the other side to not crowd the rock while it was only Yabang pulling the rope. It was slower with only one pulling but they might fall in the river if all three were in that rock. It was slippery due to the splashes from the river and not big enough to hold the three children.
However, their relief was short lived as a cow also jumped in the water after Ling. Due to this unexpected jump, it almost dragged Ling with it when it was taken by the current. Fortunately, Yabang saw the jump and pulled the rope harder so the cow still missed the boy.
Other cows also jumped in the river, their growls were joining the cacophony of the rushing water. Some hesitated but the bigger ones managed to steady their hooves on the floor underwater.
Ling managed to settle himself on the rock without any of the cows catching up. Afterwards, he tried to help Yabang who was sitting down. That was when he noticed that one of Yabang's leg was bleeding. The wound was ghastly with some blood pooling on the rock and flowing to the river.
"What happened?" he asked the question but he already realized that Yabang got injured when he pulled the rope to prevent Ling from getting dragged by the previous cow.
Ling surveyed the rocks that leads to the other side. He knew he still had the strength to carry Yabang, but it would be impossible for the two of them to jump on the small rocks and maintain their balance especially since Yabang was taller and more muscular than Ling.
"Rin, throw us a rope!"
Despite knowing the need for urgency, Rin hesitated because of the terrible news. "... I dropped mine when we were running."
The quiet voice was still heard by the two and it felt like the spell of their doom. At that moment, Ling and Yabang had cold sweat running all over their backs. "No. Go, Ling."
When he heard the other speak, Ling turned his head back quickly to give a horrified look at Yabang. "No way!" The other boy saved them. How could they leave him here?
"No, listen. My friends. They were already on the other side. They should have a rope with them." It was a good plan. But before Ling could agree, a large shadow flew from the other side of the river to a rock beside theirs.