Arkanos pushed the canoe up the sands as Kulana and the Hero moved towards a good spot to set up a camp. The two watched as the fallen god shoved their craft out of the water and onto the shore, far enough away from the waves to keep it from getting picked up by high tide. Kulana then turned her focus from Arkanos to the hero, seeing that he had not changed much since their journey had begun. This boy was not ready and needed to be trained properly.
Arkanos turned his head to focus on the Hero as well, thinking the same thing. This boy was what constituted as a hero now a day? He shrugged off that negative thought and looked towards Kulana, who was staring at the Hero. He then made a decision, looking to his golden arm and popping open a panel on his forearm.
"Boy!" Arkanos said, looking at the exposed buttons on his arm. The Hero turned to look at the god, as did Kulana, both curious as to what Arkanos wanted. Once the god was fiished entering commands into the arm, his last two fingers began to transform, as did some of his arm. They shifted and turned into golden spears, detaching themselves from Arkanos, leaving his arm to be a strange slender three fingered limb. He closed the panel and grabbed the spears, tossing one to the Hero. "We are hunting." The Hero, fumbled the spear that was tossed, almost cutting himself a few times before he managed to grip the handle. Arkanos then turned to Kulana. "Make sure our camp is ready by the time we return. We may be gone for some time." The priestest nodded, returning to her work.
The Hero looked towards Kulana, unsure if he should leave her alone on this island. "Are you sure? I can stay here and-"
Arkanos grabbed the Hero by the shoulder, causing the Hero to flinch due to the strong grip on his still aching body. "We. Are. Hunting." The god said in a low tone, glaring at the young man with his one good eye. Releasing the shoulder, he nodded to the jungle that lay past the shore and beyond a field. "Go look for dinner. I will be behind you." The Hero turned his eyes back to Kulana, who was looking at the pair with fear. He was supposed to return home alive. It would be bad if he was killed by the god who was supposed to help them. It would be a sign from the All Mother that their island did not deserve to survive. He reluctantly turned away and walked towards the field, not waiting for Arkanos.
The god turned to look at Kulana who had returned to setting things up, rolling out a sleeping rug. Saying nothing, the god began to follow the Hero, moving through the knee high grass and catching up with the demoralized Hero.
The young man slowly made his way through the field, not particularly paying attention to his surroundings, and missing the audible hissing sound coming from up ahead. Arkanos grabbed his arm again, this time avoiding any red areas, and stopped him in his tracks. The Hero was about to say something but was startled by Arkanos chucking the spear right at his feet. A quick rustle of the grass and the hissing stopped. The Hero looked down at what he had just done before Arkanos grabbed the shaft of the spear and raised it, revealing a vibrantly colored snake. The Hero jumped a little once the animal was revealed, realizing that he could have been dead a few moments ago and collected himself. "Pay attention your surroundings, boy, or something else is definitely going to get you." Arkanos said, slinging the dead animal around his golden arm.
The Hero, still slightly shaken, nodded, looking back to the jungle and hearing the cacophony of wildlife streaming from it. He took a deep breath and slowly walked forward, trying to listen through all of that chaos for something worth more than a snake. He hunted back on their island, so he should be able to find a hog or something nice ad juicy.
The duo moved slowly in the jungle, making sure to put their feet down lightly as not to make too much of a disturbance. Both were vigilant, scanning the surrounding area for any potential game. They each held their spears, prepared to throw them at their prey once one came into sight. The music of the wild filled the air, so the Hero had to hold his hand up to notify Arkanos to stop moving and look at that direction. Both the Hero and Arkaos gazed upon a rare island creature: A silverback boar. These things stood out against the green of the jungle, and from the tales that were passed down, they had the best meat. The Hero, eager to get a taste of that sweet bacon, threw his spear, making contact with his mark.
Surprisingly, the spear bounced off, and the pig ran into the jungle. The Hero grunted in annoyance and prepared to run after it before Arkanos stopped him again. "Wait!" The god's voice seemed to stop all of the animals in the jungle, because the air became deathly quiet.
The Hero stopped and picked up his spear, turning to Arkanos with a look of eagerness. "We need to get that beast. That'll give us good food for at least half of a month!" The Hero gripped his spear tightly, ready to run through the forest if he needed to.
"No. The Silverback has a thick hide. This isn't any normal boar you would hunt back o your island. You must be patient and wait for the right opportunity to strike." Arkaos replied calmly, mirroring the Hero's eager tone. The Hero sighed, his face losing all of that energy it had a moment ago. Arkanos sighed in seeing the Hero depressed once more. "Listen to me as we move." He said, walking in the direction the boar ran off to. The Hero complied, tailing Arkanos as he followed his footsteps. "You were not ready for this journey. I don't know what your people told you you'd face on this journey, but they obviously did not train you for it properly." The god assumed, not looking back.
Sadly, it was true to a degree. He had been trained to deal with life outside of his island, it was just that what he knew barely applied to what he had gone through so far. It was not like he could train with nocturnal monsters back on his island, for there were no such beasts. He didn't know what to do when that massive Serpent Squid attacked, because the Serpent Squids he had dealt with were no bigger than his arm. From Arkanos' description of the fiend Rotiak, he felt that he wouldn't be able to even scratch that hybrid of a monster.
He had no special weapon gifted to him by the gods, he had no special powers which allowed him to command the waves or summon a Moon Hawk, massive hawks that were said to be the direct children and servants of the All Mother. He was just a boy from an island who was a part of a bloodline of heroes. That was it. One of his ancestors saved the island once and then his family became the ones to be sent out if the island ever needed to be saved. His father was no hero, not was his mother. He only knew how to hunt, fish, skin and chop, basic skills that he knew completely.
He didn't ask for this hero bit, and frankly, he didn't want to go through that ceremony. The one he truly loved was not Kulana's sister, but rather one which would be a threat to his bloodline. He knew that it was a relationship which could not bear fruit, though, and therefore was not one that could be pursued. The voice of Arkanos pulled him back to reality. "But you're here now, and you have me, and while I may not be an expert warrior.." He paused, motioning for the Hero to stop as well. The two focused on their mark once more, now with two other boars. Two of them had larger tusks, while one has smaller tusks. Two males and a female. The two males seemed to be challenging each other, pushing tusks against one another and squealing angrily. Arkanos pointed to the boar who's face was revealed to them. The Hero understood his meaning and prepared to throw his spear, making sure the wind would not be a hindrance to the spear's trajectory.
The Hero put all of his strength into throwing the spear and the weapon cleanly pierced the creature's eye, killing the animal instantly. the two remaining boars took off together, leaving the male with a victory of his own as they ran off to do what animals do.
The two approached the beast, looking at its still shimmering hide. The Hero took the spear out of the beast while Arkanos reattached the spear he had to his arm. He held his hand out and demanded the spear back, a request that the hero complied to, making the golden hand whole once more. "...But I can teach you how to survive in a world plagued with monsters. I was on that island for countless of years, so I've been able to train up a bit with those monsters." Hearing that made the Hero smile before he grabbed the beast and placed the body onto his shoulders, holding the hooves with his hands. "We'll make you some armor with this hide here. As you saw, it deflected the spear, so it could prove useful." The Hero nodded as they walked back through the jungle, Arkanos talking to the young man on how to properly use that axe against opponent larger than him, and the Hero giving the god before him his full attention.