Chereads / Fight To Live Another Day / Chapter 2 - Growing up

Chapter 2 - Growing up

-A few years later-

Renn was currently hiding behind a bush, trying to breathe flatly as he could, while eyeing his prey. It was a tiny rabbit, which was chewing happily on an open root, not realising the danger it was in.

Renn was smart, he knew that he had to stay against the wind if he wanted to have at least a chance at capturing the rabbit.

He slowly crept closer, feeling his hunger. Readying to assault it, he tensed up his muscles, searching just the right moment.

There it was!

He instantly sprinted and jumped on all fours onto the clueless rabbit and before it even realised what happened, it was already dead. Proudly and happily he lifted the rabbit with his mouth and walked back to his nest, a big cave, where he and his pack-family were living.

Back at the nest, his 2 brothers and his only sister were already there enjoying their meal.

'Oh back already?' One of his brothers, Thal, remarked.

Thal had a rather imposing figure compared to his siblings. He was at least a 2 meters tall, having whitish grey fur, giving him a rather majestic air.

Renn grinned wolfishly 'I managed to finally capture a rabbit!'

Kaede, his sister cheered. 'That's great!'

'Did you hear it? Renn finally managed to capture his own animal!' she told Asik, the other brother.

Asik was totally different from Thal, having pitch-black fur and a slender figure, giving him combined with his intense blue eyes, a sharp, keen look.

And Kaede.. well Kaede was just adorable and beautiful, also having white fur similar to her mother, but different. While her mother had a bluish glowing white fur, just like the true energy they were sensing, Kaede had a more warm looking white with a tinge of flame red. Both Thal and Kaede had warm looking golden eyes.

'That's great for him', Asik murmured seemingly tired into his fur.

'Gosh Asik! You and I both know that you have just waited for the day Renn finally hunts his own prey!!' Kaede teased him playfully.

'Have I?' He asked with a grin. Suddenly jumping into Renn, wrestling with him playfully.

'HAHA, my little brother finally is a grown man!!!' He shouted excitedly while licking his helpless brother.

Even though Renn was probably of the same age as them, he was a lot smaller than those natural born predators, which made them think of Renn as a little brother, but Renn didn't mind, knowing that they cared a lot about him.

Thinking back, the first time he realised that he was different from his siblings was a few summers ago, when he saw the reflection of him on a puddle. Perplexed as he was, he immediately ran to his mother, Agacie, asking her why his face was bald and flat.

Amused and serious at the same time, she touched his forehead, transferring a flow of memories, old memories of ancestors and memories of her own, regarding the 2-leg-bald-monkeys and how he was found by Agacie and even a clear picture of his own look, showing him his brown-eyed flat face. He also realised that his look was in totally different from his siblings or his mother.

Overwhelmed by this new revelation, he sat back and gazed into space.

'You're different, Renn. And you don't have our looks.' She said seriously.

'But you are nevertheless one of us and you are one of my beloved cubs. And we will be always one family.' She said warmly, licking over his bald face.

Sensing her motherly love, his shock and agitation were soothed.

'Really?' He asked unsurely.

'Yes, of course, Renn'

Biting into his prey, he felt surprised by how surges of vital energy flowed into him. The rabbit was a mortal earth type, and he could feel his body strengthening and his inner vital energy growing.

'Surprised?' his mother asked him amused.

He nodded.

'Every beast has a vital core. Beasts solely with a vital core are called mortal beasts.

Beasts with a spiritual core would be called spirit Beasts, they would be generally stronger than mortal beasts since they could use spiritual force and possess some intellect.

And if a beast already had a true energy core, it would be called true energy beast.

They would be a lot stronger and wiser than spirit or mortal beasts, having stronger vital and spiritual force and also the ability to use the most potent energy of all, the true energy.'

Agacie explained, 'By eating a beasts core, you are able to absorb a part of its energy, but not all of it. The moment the beast dies, a big part will flow back as true energy into the environment. True energy is the energy, that surrounds everything, fills everything and sustains everything in this world. Vital energy and spiritual energy are only lower forms of it, but they still have its origin in true energy.'

'But how come I don't feel the true energy?' He asked while wagging with his hands, trying to feel some true energy.

She laughed 'Most beings can't feel it or sense it otherwise. Only beasts with the light affinity, or should I say true energy affinity, are able to do it.'

'What's an affinity?'

'Affinities describe, in which way true or spirit energy is expressed, If you have a fire affinity, your spirit force will have to do something with fire or when you have the earth affinity, with earth.

And if you have the light affinity, you are able to directly use true energy.'

'Ehhh, isn't that boring?'

Hearing that, she instantly vanished and reappeared behind him, licking his one ear. 'Is that boring?' she asked playfully.

'You could do that because of your light ability???' His eyes gleamed. She nodded.

'And what affinity do I have??'

'Right now? None.' She said. 'But don't worry, when your true energy core grows, you will be able to sense it.'