It was going to be Zok's first time in the animal enclosure where Tulak and dire wolves were kept. Zok had been dragged along with his father and brother because, this time, even his mother had sided with them.
She, too, believed that Zok needed to gain some sort of skill if he wanted to continue being a member of the tribe. And after the ultimatum his father had given him, it didn't seem like he had much choice either way.
The three of them were standing in front of a massive wooden building that had been reinforced using stones. The building itself was a circular structure divided into over a hundred sectors.
Each sector could store up to ten Tulaks or twelve Direwolves and yet have enough space for the creatures to freely move around and relax.
However, the tribe had made it a point to keep the Tulak and Direwolves in different sectors within the enclosure. Although both of these species were carnivorous and did not prey on each other in their natural habitat, they could harm each other without much effort when kept under one roof.
Half of these sectors acted as breeding grounds for the animals and housed the female monsters. While the other half of the sectors were reserved for the males, who were regularly trained for various purposes such as battle, transportation of men and resources etc.
It wasn't like the male monsters were more ferocious than the females, or they were better in any other way and thus were the only trained monsters. Nor was it so due to any gender bias. The reason behind it was simple and even absurd, but it was a valid reason.
The male population among the monsters readily accepted their handlers' commands as long as they were rewarded for doing so. Hence they were easy to train.
Meanwhile, the females tend to be a bit moody and only obey the order when they feel like it. This attitude in battle could lead to unnecessary deaths, and hence the tribesmen had learned long ago to stick to using the males for most of the purposes and not bother the 'queens' as they used to refer to the female monsters.
In the middle of the enclosure, a big pool had been constructed. The monsters had restricted access to the pool, and they couldn't jump in whenever they felt like it.
But most of the time, both the wolves and the Tulak just sat by the edge of their respective sectors, hoping to dive into the waters as soon as their handlers allowed it.
Moreover, this was only one of the five enclosures made over the decade. With that many monsters in their enclosures, the Zukira never had to worry about an invasion from their enemies or the beasts.
Also, in the unfortunate event when things did go southwards, all of them would have at least one monster that they could use to escape. After all, for the ten thousand tribesmen, they had well over eleven thousand monsters to aid them.
When Skah told Zok they were going to the animal enclosures, he immediately felt repulsed. He imagined the enclosures to be dirty and foul-smelling places littered with animal faeces and whatnot.
However, he was surprised when he saw that the stables were cleaner and more hygienic than his own room. He couldn't comprehend why a bunch of animals were being treated so well. At least it was better than he was treated by the rest of the tribe.
Zok tried to keep that question to himself as he knew it would give the others a chance to throw another verbal jab at him. Unfortunately for him, Ahuli had already picked up on the change in his facial expressions and reacted quickly.
"It seems you're surprised to see the livestock is treated with more respect than you are. Wanna know the reason behind it?" Ahuli shook his head upon seeing Zok's reaction before asking him.
"Sure... I guess," Zok replied.
"It's because they work and can save our lives as and when required, and you, on the other hand, can't do either of those things. So you better use this opportunity and make the other tribesmen acknowledge you."
"Hm..."
Zok had not expected his brother to be so kind to him. After all, previously, he would've said something far worse than he did this time. It made Zok think that it was for the best that he was being forced to work.
If just agreeing to it could bring such a change in his brother's attitude, then Zok could get the tribesmen to acknowledge him with time. But that was only till his lazy attitude didn't decide to kick in.
'I mean, I can try to impress them, can't I? Everyone would be happy that way. No one will nag me, so It'll also be relatively peaceful for me.'
However, unlike what Zok had expected, Tulaks and Direwolves weren't the only animals that lived in the enclosures. Zok had never seen nor heard about a couple of other creatures. One such creature, in particular, attracted his attention more than the others.
The crimson-skinned creature was almost as tall as the building itself and was twice as wide. It had four large floppy ears. Two at the side of its massive head and two on top of each of those.
It also had two massive trunks that extended from its ginormous head to its legs that were as big as the columns that supported the roof of the enclosure.
Not to mention its four tusks that were about as big as its legs. All in all, the creature looked very intimidating and yet gentle at the same time.
"That's an Abelion. An omnivore creature we didn't even know was tamable until father decided to take one for a ride." Ahuli proudly explained to Zok, "Although, when he returned, he had multiple fractures all over his body.
Father is the only one in the tribe who has one of them. Even I haven't been able to tame one myself. But maybe someday, I'll tame something even more majestic than an Abelion."
"I'm sure you can. After all, there are still quite a few spots left for you to get tattooed on." It was the first-ever proper conversation the two brothers had had that Zok could remember.
And talking with his brother felt... somewhat soothing. For once, Ahuli wasn't trying to put him down; instead, he spoke of his goals.
"As majestic as Abelions are. We are not here to watch her. So let's get you paired up with a Tulak." Skah said, and they went off to complete their primary objective of finding Zok, a partner.