Studying her reflection in the water, Asiu returned to the memory of being stuck beneath the mother animal. When the stranger smirked down upon her from the tall grass.

"Gaurdwa, hunter. Degara ta?" He asked, prodding, with a long stick, the dead beast atop her.

His skin was a dark grey with a large, lighter patch that covered his chest, shoulders and abdominals. He had an athletic build, muscular legs and a thin face structure. The falling rain made him appear dull and extremely serious; despite his smirking.

Instead of asking for aid or replying back to him, Asiu resumed pushing against the beast's body, snarling. She could feel her breath slowly fading as her body became exhausted.

The male confidently circled the beast before tugging at one of its legs. He ordered her to push while he pulled and she feebly complied; though feeling humiliated in doing so. However, with their combined action, the beast was pulled from her body and Asiu could breath properly again.

Gasping, Asiu slowly rose and slumped against the creature as the male watched her. He stepped towards her smugly, still smirking to himself.

"Ruk!" she ordered him and, taken by surprise, he instantly froze in place. She pressed her hands onto the body and stared at him and though he could not see her eyes, he could feel a heat behind them. Ferocious Yet somehow alluring.

He teased her with another slight movement toward her and suddenly she was against him.

From her curled mouth, she hissed at him threateningly. Though within herself, she still reached for air and her legs were weak.

Reminding him that she had been the one to find this beast, and that it was hers, he took a step back. His grin disappeared and his placed his hands behind his back.

He looked at the large animal, at the pieces that could be used to feed his own tribe. He examined the black creature before him; her tongue still hissing.

"Cannes huss chukuve" he spoke gently to her, hoping that by showing that he understood, he would be able to reassure her. He pointed to the beast with his palm as he said this and stepped back again before ushering to her body and apologetically uttering "canne degara cannes".

"Canne degara canne, tio!?" she spat at him "Gaurdwa! Gaurdwa!"

She found herself unable to fully comprehend his meaning. Though it were true that she had been briefly trapped, she was certain that she'd be free by now even without external help

She watched him closely as he slowly cowered from her, not turning his back, but returning both of his hands behind himself. She smiled to herself at this. He was at least obedient. She knew inside herself that she was too weak to fight right now. Fortunately, her display of strength had scared him away. Or so she hoped.

When he was far enough from her, he cautiously turned away from her, leapt into the grass and disappeared.

Immediately, Asiu slumped back onto the animal and let herself fall carefully to the floor. Her legs still felt fragile.

Focusing, she again used her sense to find another member of her tribe and, finding one some distance from her, she sent a large vibration, a signal and awaited the other member to come to her and drag the animal back to the tribe with her.

Now returning to her reflection in sorrow, she looked upon a character that only appeared to be similar. Her heart felt tender when examining her own face.

A soft cracking sound woke her from her trance and, expecting to see the other osa in the pool was hatching, was surprised to see that it was her own. She could see that the skin of the hole had pierced and a large crack had formed down the side of the egg. Looking behind her, she found that the osani had drifted into a deep and irresponsible sleep.

Quickly, without a moment to spare, Asiu sprung from her position and with her nails, reached into the crack and pulled the shell apart to expose the young specimen inside. Large chunks of a translucent gel dropped into the pool and the shell scattered into pieces. Connected at the stomach to the hatched specimen was a small pink sack. It seemed that the specimen had been surrounded by a gel and had somehow been sustained by this pink sack.

As soon as the osa had completely split apart, she snatched her offspring from the pool, brushed off any excess gel, bitten through the tube that connected the infant and the sack, then observed her infant in her arms.

Small, black and chubby, with small, fat cheeks, fingers and toes. In the centre, over his chest, stomach and shoulders, was a light grey patch. The infant wriggled in her arms silently, struggling with the sensation of gravity. Seemingly, despite the noise, the offspring also seemed to be asleep.

As she observed the child in her hands, she found that it was not as she had expected.

Seeing it finally, Asiu's chuku slowed and she lost all excitement.

She has seen many newly-hatched infants and found that they often shared alikeness. Same small body and the same soft skin. She examined its mouth to find not even a point of a tooth had pierced the pink gums. She noted the time it had taken to hatch from his shell. Perhaps it was lazy. Perhaps it was lame. Perhaps it wasn't deserving to be hers. Miraculously, despite the sudden disruption to its prison, it even seemed to still be asleep. She watched it cuddle into itself in her hands.

As it writhed in her arms, a deep feeling of disgust arose within. Was this it? The long seasons without hunting, the death of her partner, the agonising isolation, the grief, the desperation. All of that suffering for this to be the result? A child that would neither be a hunter or warrior but likely a Clesician that would die within its infancy. Too lazy to walk without aid. Too dependant to hunt it's own meals. Too greedy to know patience. A combination of two feelings filled her body.

Bitterness and sadness.

In the back of her mind, she knew that her offspring could develop, could be strong, may one day be great even, but in the forefront, a part of her that had lived in pain and anguish for too long, she fooled herself into believing that her child, and in essence herself, were worthless.

She looked down at the infant and studied it. How would she make him different?

She remembered a symbol from her youth. A symbol from a language lost upon others of her tribe. Though they would all recognise it, they would know it's meaning. She remembered the symbol of stone and might.

She raised one of her hands to her child's head and slowly caressed it, stroking her hand over the smooth, bald crown. Then, with the speed and lethality of a striking cobra, Asiu buried her sharpest nail into the infant's soft forehead and dragged this through the infant's ripe flesh until she reached his nose, creating a sharp, straight tear through his face.

Immediately the child's scream rang from its mout ash and without a thought, Asiu thrusted her bleeding finger into its mouth and, quickly searching her surroundings, hissed at the child.

Weakness.

She couldn't finish this here.

After blowing on the cut, she scooped a handful of the pool water into the cut. The water's healing properties would cause a quick scarring. Necessary for any child, especially this one.

She reflected upon the speed that her body healed compared to those of the young. Their armours scarred slower and was easier to pierce. Their fangs and nails were also underdeveloped meaning that many couldn't even defend themselves.

Raising her head so that she could see Ukut, she hoped that he may bless her, the cut would scar and the infant would live.

She would finish off her symbol soon. For now though, she urgently needed to leave. She could only imagine the possible consequence of being caught like this with her own offspring in this state.

On the other hand, it had been so long since she had journeyed. Too long since she herself had hunted.

She looked into her reflection again but instead of the bold self from her past, she saw a soft, dependent and weak coward. She now understood her child's appearance.

There was no chance that she could stay here now anyway. The cut was too recent and obvious. She had lacked careful situational judgement. She could not stay in this tribe.

But...

she could go to another.

Not the other Clesician tribe, but one beyond the wildlands of Cles. If not, Asiu would raise the infant alone and, if the infant survived through its infancy, past the age that Asiu had seen in the vision, then maybe she would return to her own tribe; child now matured and scarred.

Asiu looked into the plains ahead and knew that within the long, waving grasses, creatures stirred, ready to feast. They waited with saliva dripping from their chins.

Her first challenge as a mother.

She had no need to be fearful. If death was to befall her young infant, she was sure that she could always find her way back to this tribe. The child may even serve as good bait or a distraction if needed.

In the shadow of night, Asiu drew her last breath as a Clesician and abandoned the memories of her life here. She would be Asiu, a long tear through the land as she searched for a new home.

tealthily entered the wildlands; aware of the animals and the other Clesician that may have also been venturing through the fields.

Her new life would now begin.

Author's note 🤔

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