“Have you been on a hunt before?” Thor called out to Reece, narrowly avoiding being trampled by one of the King’s men as they ran. It was hard to hear, with the barking of the dogs, the horns sounding, the screams of men, laughing, victorious, as they took down animal after animal.
Reece had a big smile on his face as he jumped over a log and continued running.
“Many times! But only because of my father. They don’t let us join the hunt until a certain age. It’s a thrilling thing-although no one tends to get out of it unscathed. More than one man has been hurt, or killed, chasing boar.”
Reece gasped as he ran. “But I’ve always ridden on horseback,” he added. “I’ve never been allowed to be on foot before, with the Legion, never allowed to hunt boar. It is a first for me!”
The forest suddenly changed, with dozens of trails stretching out before them, splitting in a dozen ways. Another horn sounded, and the huge group began to break up into smaller groups.
As they all split up, Thor stuck close to Erec, and Reece and O’Connor joined them; they all turned onto a narrow path that curved sharply downward. They ran and ran, Thor clutching his spear and jumping a small creak. Their small group comprised Erec and Kendrick on horseback, Thor, Reece, O’Connor, and Elden on foot, making six of them-and as Thor turned, he noticed two more members of the legion running up behind them, joining them. They were large and broad, with wavy sandy hair that fell past their eyes, and big smiles. They looked to be a couple of years older than Thor-and they were identical twins.
“I am Conval,” one of them called out to Thor.
“And I Conven.”
“We are brothers,” Conval said.
“Twins!” Conven added.
“Hope you don’t mind if we join you,” Conval said to Thor.
Thor had seen them around, in the Legion, but had never met them before. He was happy to meet new members, especially members who were friendly to him.
“Happy to have you,” Thor called out.
“The more hands the better,” Reece echoed.
“I hear the boars in this wood are huge,” Conval remarked.
“And deadly,” Conven answered.
Thor looked at the long spears that the twins carried, three times longer than his, and wondered. He noticed them looking at his short spear
“That spear won’t be long enough,” Conval said
“These boars have big tusks. You need something longer,” Conven said.
“Take mine,” Elden said, and ran over beside him, and tried to hand it to him.
“I can’t take yours,” Thor said. “What would you use?”
Elden shrugged. “I’ll be okay.”
Thor was touched at his generosity, and marveled at how different their friendship was now.
“Take one of mine,” ordered a voice.
Thor looked up and saw Erec ride up beside him, gesturing to the saddle, which held two long spears.
Thor reached out and grabbed a long spear from the saddle, so grateful to have it. It was heavier, and more awkward to run with-but he did feel more protected, and it sounded like he would need it.
They ran and ran, until the air burned in Thor’s lungs and he did not know if he could go any farther. He was alert, looking about him for any sign of an animal. He felt protected with these other men around him, and invincible with a long spear. But he was still very much on edge. He had never hunted a boar before, and had no idea what to expect.
As his lungs burned, the forest broke open into a clearing and thankfully, Erec and Kendrick pulled their horses to a stop. Thor assumed that granted them all permission to stop, too. They all stood there, the eight of them in the forest clearing, the boys on foot gasping for air, and Erec and Kendrick dismounting from their horses. The horses panted, but otherwise it was quiet, the only sound the wind in the trees. The noise of the hundreds of other men racing through the forest was now gone, and Thor realized they must be very far from the others.
He stood there, panting, looking around the clearing.
“I haven’t seen any markings of animals,” Thor said to Reece. “Have you?”
Reece shook his head.
“The boar is a crafty animal,” Erec said, stepping forward. “He won’t always show himself. Sometimes he’ll be the one watching you. He might wait until you’re caught off guard, and then he’ll charge. Always keep your guard up.”
“Look out!” O’Connor yelled.
Thor spun and suddenly a large animal burst out it into the clearing with a huge commotion; Thor flinched, thinking they were being attacked by a boar. O’Connor screamed, and Reece turned and hurled a spear at it. It missed, and the animal flew up into the air. It was then that Thor realized it was just a turkey, disappearing back into the wood.
They all laughed, the tension broken. O’Connor reddened, and Reece laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t worry, friend,” he said.
O’Connor looked away, embarrassed.
“There are no boar here,” Elden said. “We chose a bad path. The only thing down this path are fowl. We will come back empty-handed.”
“Maybe that’s not a bad thing,” said Conval. “I hear a boar fight can be life-and-death.”
Kendrick stood there, calmly surveying the wood, and Erec did the same. Thor could see on the faces of these two men that something was out there. He could tell from their experience and wisdom that they were on guard.
“Well, the trail seems to end here,” Reece said. “So if we go on, the wood will be unmarked. We won’t find our way back.”
“But if we go back, our hunt is over,” O’Connor said.
“What would happen if we should return empty-handed?” Thor asked. “Without a boar?”
“We would be the laughing stock of the others,” Elden said.
“No we wouldn’t,” Reece said. “Not everyone finds a boar. In fact, it’s more rare to find one than not.”
As the group of them stood there in silence, breathing hard, watching the woods, Thor suddenly realized that he had drank too much water. He had been holding it in the entire hunt and now he had such a pain in his bladder, he could barely contain it.
“Excuse me,” he said, and began make to his way into the woods.
“Where are you going?” Erec asked, cautious.
“I just have to relieve myself. I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t go far,” Erec cautioned.
Thor, self-conscious, hurried into the woods and went about twenty paces from the others, until he found a spot just out of view.
Just as he finished relieving himself, suddenly, he heard a twig snap. It was loud and distinct, and he knew, he just knew, it was from no human.
He turned slowly, the hair rising on the back of his neck, and looked. Up ahead, maybe another ten paces, was another small clearing, a boulder in its center. And there, at the base of the boulder, was movement. A small animal, he could not tell what.
Thor stood there, debating whether to go back to his people or to see what it was. Without thinking, he crept forward. Whatever the animal was, he didn’t want to lose it, and if he headed back, it might be gone when he returned.
Thor stepped closer, hairs on edge as the woods got thicker and there was less room to maneuver. He could see nothing but dense woods, the sun cutting at sharp angles. Finally, he reached the clearing. As he approached, he loosened his grip on his spear, and lowered it down to his hip. He was taken aback by what he saw before him, in the clearing, in a patch of sunlight.
There, squirming in the grass, beside the rock, was a small leopard cub. It sat there, squirming and whining, squinting into the sun. It looked as if it had just been born, barely a foot long, small enough to fit inside Thor’s
