The Hunter
The glow of the dancing flames lit up the dawning darkness ...
Cries of despair, and pain, and cruel laughter echoed in the valley …
His eyes stared at the crackling blaze, igniting the roofs of straw and wood, spreading from house to house ...
He had woken up this morning to the first light of dawn ... and let the sun's rays warm him, sitting in front of his family's house …
He always got up early, unlike his sister, who stayed curled up in the sheets for long hours after sunrise ...
Today was going to be a great day… he could feel it in every fiber of his body!
His tail swung behind him, the adults were already awake, and he observed their activity in the village …
He had waited impatiently for this day, today he was going to hunt ... he trembled with joy ...
His race lived in a small remote village, deep in a valley …
They were peaceful, living off what they could hunt and fish, and on their unique culture… more than anything, they avoided contact with humans…
Besides, their laws were strict ... and if a human found out about them ...
A movement behind him made his ears wiggle.
His sister appeared at the front door, the hairs on her ears ruffled, yawning, baring her magnificent fangs …
She was seldom up early. His tail swung faster, today was really going to be a beautiful day ...
She sat down next to him, rubbing her eyes, then rested her head on his shoulder, her ears tickling his cheek …
He hugged her… letting the warmth of the rising sun warm them both…
He leapt over the tree trunk, his prey was not far ahead of him, and he could feel her desperately trying to escape him …
She slipped through narrow passages, sprinted around the trees… she was very agile…
And that amused him ... he was closely behind her, squeezing through every corner, thanks to his exceptional agility ... his tail was his greatest asset, affording him perfect balance when he had to make a turn, fast. Moreover, he could use it to propel himself and slightly increase his speed ...
In other words, his prey had no chance of escaping him ...
He was just having fun ...
After a few more minutes, he caught up with her, and killed her with a single snap of his fangs ...
No unnecessary cruelty ... such was the law of nature ... we killed to eat, but never for mere pleasure ... This fact, every creature knew, and there was no reason to feel guilty ...
He grabbed the prey in his arms, and stared at the sky …
He hadn't paid attention, but he had strayed far from the village ... and played for a lot longer than he thought ...
The sun was already setting…
It would take a while before he got home… and he would probably be in a bit of a scolding when he did…
Well, at least tomorrow, he would have some meat to eat ...
He loved meat ... and yet he ate it infrequently.
The memory of the scents of grilled meats, and the sweet scent of spices, filling his nostrils ...
He was already salivating just thinking about it ...
He ran towards his village ... jumping over the roots protruding from the ground, climbing on the trunks of fallen trees ... He loved the forest, it was the ideal playground …
He quickened his pace, the sun had already set, and half of the sky was already covered with the black shroud of night ...
Half the sky ....
He stopped himself.
A strange orange glow was visible above the treetops ...
He stared at the emerging stars, luckily the sky was clear, so he could see them ...
He found his landmarks… and confirmed his doubts…
It was the direction of his village ...
He set off again!
A forest fire? Possible ... but they never started a fire in the forest ...
So there was little chance …
The vegetation was becoming less dense, and the glow more and more, the temperature was heating up ...
No… this fire did not come from the forest…
He ran with all his might, and threw himself against the trunk of a tree, pulverizing it, as he leaped onto a high branch ...
The glow of the dancing flames lit up the dawning darkness ...
Cries of despair, and pain, and cruel laughter echoed in the valley ...
His eyes stared at the crackling blaze, igniting the roofs of straw and wood, spreading from house to house ...
He let his prey fall, and clenched his teeth… the village was on fire… he had to go help them… he saw figures running around… he had to go help them… some fell, while bangs rang out… bangs ? ... whatever, that fire had to be put out before ... his eyes widened ...
A line of figures was advancing through the village, carrying long sticks, and aiming at other figures trying to flee …
As they advanced, they threw torches on the roofs of the houses, which set alight ... forcing all who had been hiding inside to come out …
Behind them, other figures captured them, and ushered them into large cages, in the backs of wagons ...
Humans… He clenched his fists, his fingernails penetrating his skin, and rolling tears of blood down his hands…
How did they find them… why were they doing that…
Another roof burst into flames, and he opened his mouth ...
His house… his father, his mother, his sister !!!
He had to get to the village! He had to save them! He was going to kill these humans, down to the last man!
Three figures ran out of the house …
He leaps from the branch, making a jump several meters high and lands in a roll, running towards the village!
He heard a cry of rage… and saw three humans being thrown into the air.
He turned around a corner of a house ... and saw the whole scene at the end of the alley ...
His mother was protecting his sister, while his father fought against humans …
He saw the sticks rise… he saw them aiming at his father… he heard the cry, “FIRE” and the detonations… which hit him like a punch…
He saw his father crumble… in slow motion… his mother screaming and rushing at the humans…
“FIRE”… no… no… no… his mother lay on the ground, not moving…
He saw the humans move closer to his little sister… his legs tensed, ready to pounce and kill them all… tears streaming down his anger ravaged face, his fangs bared…
She met his gaze… a few seconds… and shook her head… tears rolling down her cheeks…
His legs collapsed under him… as he watched his sister being grabbed by 3 humans… she tried to struggle… until one of them struck her hard on the head, and threw her into one of the cages...
He stood there ... unable to move ... his face tortured with pain ... tears flowing like a torrent ...
Screams echoed… behind him…
He turned around, two humans had seen him ...
He jumped up… they raised their weapons… too late…
He hit the first one, and planted his fangs into the humans' neck, the man screamed, trying to free himself… until his neck was torn out with a swift twist of fangs…
The second man raised his weapon ...
The human fell to the ground, lifeless, as he was thrown bodily against a wall.
He fled ... as fast as he could ... blood dripping from his mouth ... and disappeared into the forest ...
Dawn was rising ... the fires were almost all out ... and the smoking ruins of the houses were all that remained of his village …
The humans were gone ... he couldn't hear anything ...
He came out of his hiding place, and walked towards the village, heavy footsteps ... haggard eyes ...
He strolled through the village… only the rustle of the wind was perceptible… and moved forward… looking left and right… without realizing… the humans had carried away all the bodies… only the bloodstains on the ground still testified to what had passed …
He stopped in front of his house ... which had become a pile of burnt wood ... and looked around ...
Puddles of blood, completely absorbed by the earth, were in the place where he had his… tears misted his eyes… was there a chance that they were still alive… and his little sister… he thought back to her …
He got up and walked up the creaky front steps of his house… he saw his little sister's face, covered in tears, being taken away by these humans… he couldn't shake the image… why…
They were all living in peace… they were happy… what had they done to deserve this?
He walked into the common room… or rather what was left of it… a pungent smell seizing in his nose… everything had burned… the wooden furniture… the frames, the decorations… he walked to his room…
There too, the fire had spared nothing ... He walked over to his only piece of furniture ... and opened it ... the drawer crumbling in his hands ...
He stared at the contents of his drawer, all his things ... everything was burnt ...
He got up and left his room… heading towards his parents' room…
A beam had fallen across the hallway, he bent down, his ears brushing the blackened wood, and covering himself in soot ...
He looked through the burnt door, his parents' room ...
He saw her again, luminous, radiant, he saw his mother there tenderly weaving silk, humming ... he wiped the tears that ran down her cheeks ... everything was blackened ... the sweet fragrance that had rocked his childhood had given way to this acrid smell of burnt wood ... and soot made the atmosphere heavy …
He followed the corridor, and arrived in front of the last room ...
He gritted his teeth, and slowly pushed open the door ...
Like the rest of the house, his sister's bedroom had not been spared ...
He stepped inside, observing the damage caused by the fire ...
He stayed in the middle of the room for a few minutes, then turned around ...
This house ... the place where he grew up ... there was nothing left ... he had nothing left ...
His family ... his village ... everything ... everything was gone up in smoke ...
His gaze stops at the small solid wood cabinet in the corner of the bedroom ...
This piece of furniture was a gift from the village to his parents for the birth of his sister ...
Having a child was already rare for a Kitsune… so having two was an exceptional opportunity…
He knelt in front of the cabinet ... it was blackened ... but hadn't burned like the rest of the house ...
His shaking hand opened the drawer… the contents were almost intact…
He lifted the clean clothes, and snuggled his head in it, the smell of burning was there, but he could make out a trace of the smell of clean laundry, the smell of the soap his mother used ...
He put the laundry back in the cabinet, and continued to search ... he felt a box under his fingers ...
It was a finely carved wooden box ... he remembered ...
He opened it ... inside was a finely crafted brush ... he grabbed it gently, fingers shaking ... it was his little sister's 100th birthday gift ...
It was beautiful ... and the box was small enough to carry ...
He hugged the box tightly… sobbing…
Finally he closed the box, and slipped it in a pocket, in his clothes ... he would find his little sister, ... he would promise ... he would look for her everywhere in the human world ...
He could feel it inside him… she was alive… they were linked…
He stood up, his gaze determined… it would take him years… even tens of years… or even hundreds of years… he would find her again no matter what…
He left his house ... and stared at the sky ...
It was time to start hunting ...
A hunt that was probably going to last a long time ...
He pressed the case against him ... the wind picked up, blowing the dust of the ashes ...
He was already gone ... running towards the entrance of the valley ...
They had come and had ruined his life ...
They had come and killed his relatives, taking his sister ...
His step quickened like the wind ...
This time he wouldn't have fun on this hunt ...
This time there was no law to obey ...
This time… he wasn't hunting for food… he stopped, sniffing the footprints of the men who passed by…
He was going to hunt them down, relentlessly ...
He ran, ever harder ...
He would find her ... wherever she was ...
His long strides leaving no trace behind him ...
He was the hunter ...
And they were the prey ...
