Salahkah leapt back, narrowly dodging another claw from the owlbear. During his prey’s escape, the owlbear grew more frustrated by the circumstances in which he was provided with. The arrow in his eye made for a difficult time seeing, and so he charged into the tree with Maxi on top, knocking it over. Maxi jumped to another tree, firing a few more arrows into the owlbear’s back. Salahkah entered in range for long enough to slash, slash, and jump back. His sword shimmered with a blue energy.

“I’ll finish it off,” Salahkah said with certainty, and jumped on top of the owlbear. He grabbed a mixture of fur and feathers. Using the arrows as an anchor, he picked up his longsword and placed it at the nape of its neck. As soon as he slid the sword into the beast, a single arrow flew into the right eye of the owlbear. The owlbear abruptly stopped and hunched over, letting its weight fall wherever it may.

Salahkah pulled his sword from the owlbear and used his rough-leather sleeve to clean off the blood. He looked up at Maxi, who was smiling with self-satisfaction.

“You did it again,” Salahkah said with a slight smirk. “I called the kill, and yet you fired anyways.”

“What’s the point if you call it, and it dies anyways?” Maxi hopped down from the tree and started to pull any arrows that he could salvage from the corpse of the owlbear, including both eye sockets.

“My point is that a respectful warrior would oblige his comrade’s wishes.” Salahkah began to cut off a paw of the deceased owlbear, as he could sell it for some good coin, or have Gelmana make a potion or concoction with it.

“Hah! Respect? You know how long we’ve been friends for, Sal. I love you, but I don’t respect you like that.” They finished up their skinning and took as much meat as they could from it. They brought the meat back to the cabin.

Akahsha and Winona walked back to the cabin in a strange silence; Akahsha had narrowly avoided death, and it was his first encounter with a beast of such great stature. He could see the owlbear roar in his face, and that scream. It no doubt alerted his father and his father’s friend, as it probably echoed into the town of Holstenkaft as well. The fear in his heart nearly stopped the beating in his chest, and without Winona helping him to his feet, he most likely would have perished.

They walked along the trail back to the cabin. Winona picked a few more herbs, and Akahsha would stop and watch her pick them. He’d look around and see a few faeries fly overhead, laughing as they went. The feywilds in the distance called to him, and as he picked up his feet to walk towards it, his mother took him by the hand.

“Come on, little ones. Back home we go.” Gelmana said in a soft voice, and she extended her other hand to Winona. Winona smiled wide and took it. They walked back to the cabin. When they entered its confines, the savory smell of freshly-cooked mushrooms, vegetables, and salted meats wafted to their noses. Gelmana poured them both a bowl and watched them slowly slurp, then quickly devour it. She herself had a bowl while they were gone, and when the loud roar of the owlbear sounded, she quickly hurried to the forest, thinking the worst had already happened.

“Finished!” Winona announced, and Akahsha was slurping up the last of his before he slammed his bowl down and announced that he wanted seconds also. Gelmana smiled and happily obliged.

The door opened and Salahkah entered with a hefty amount of meat in his arms. He found an empty space on their wooden table and placed it down next to a plethora of other ingredients. He looked at Akahsha, walked over, and kissed the top of his head. He brushed his hands off on his own leathered pants, then ruffled his son’s hair.

“I’m sorry you two had to see a lot of that, but these woods are dangerous. Please use more caution in the future, and try to sneak away if things are to ever transpire like such again.” He looked around. “Your mother and I won’t always be nearby to help at a moment’s notice.” He reached into the corner of the shed, where he pulled out an iron dagger. It was basic, but Akahsha could tell that it was sharp and sturdy by looking at it.

“This is all I can give for now, but when you are strong enough, I will go with you to purchase your first blade.” He handed the dagger to a sitting Akahsha. He inspected it closer, felt the weight of it in his grasp.

Salahkah turned his attention to Winona. “Young Winona, I especially apologize to you. I hope you won’t speak much of this to Ronaldo and Wanda.”

Winona smiled and shook her head. “I won’t tell them about the scary thing, but I will tell them about this tasty stew.” She looked over to Akahsha. “If it weren’t for Akahsha, I wouldn’t be here right now. He saved me!”

Akahsha looked up from the dagger and grew flush. “You’re my friend, I have to save you.” He turned his face away as to hide his embarrassment.

Gelmana leaned over to her son and pinched his cheek. “You did such a good job, though. She’s appreciative of your service.”

Salahkah smiled and folded his arms. “Now, I’ve got to get back to Maxi. We’re just setting the tanning room up with the owlbear’s furs and feathers. That reminds me,” he dug in in his large satchel. He pulled out a whole owlbear claw. “I was able to salvage this, Gelmana. I figured you’d want to look at it before anything.”

Gelmana took the claw and examined it closely. She turned it over and pushed pressure on the center of the palm to make it close slowly. She nodded and handed it back to her love.

“Please be careful when taking out the actual claws, and we can fashion a necklace out of them.” Gelmana said, before refilling the bowls of the two children.

Salahkah nodded, turned, and left the cabin. He walked from the front of the cabin that he built for his family. He almost lost his son today, due to carelessness. He’d never thought he would have to stop an owlbear from mauling the neighbor girl, either. To Salahkah, the hunt was a grand enjoyment. He seldom thought about the fear that the creature felt, but more about that in which people felt. He was always aware of it, but didn’t bring much attention to it, for fear of himself growing soft.

He often hunted to cure himself of frustrations felt from life, and when he would return home he would be fine again. Even though the folly was slain, he can’t help but wonder what could have happened in the moment that they arrived. Had they not been there, the owlbear easily could have trampled, or even eaten Akahsha and Winona. Salahkah didn’t let himself think of such trivial things for long, however. He was confident in his abilities, and they reacted swiftly.

When Salahkah and Maxi heard the loud screech, Salahkah’s instincts shouted that his child was in danger. He’d tracked down monsters, and chased them down until he caught them, but no time was as dire as this. Even if Gelmana had been there, he wouldn’t have worried, as he knows how powerful his wife is. The owlbear would have been turned into a pile of flames and thorns.

Salahkah opened the door to his tanning shed, a building he built down the hill from his hovel. He wished to spare his family the scent of the leathers and other crafts he’s spent time in there making. Gelmana would come to help and clean up after Salahkah would spend hours upon hours at his craft. The owlbear pelt was a great addition to his materials, and he would be able to fashion a beautiful coat for his son, or a nice scarf for his wife. With whatever ingredients he had left over, he could make himself a coat, or shoes, if it was just a few scraps left. The beast was large, and aside from a few sword markings and arrow holes, the coat was pretty intact.

Maxi sat on a table, looking over some of the notes that Salahkah often kept on the monsters he hunted. A large book, bound in the leather of a beast he’d slain an odd twenty years ago, when he was about Akahsha’s age. Maxi flipped through the pages, nodding to himself, thinking about slaughtering the same prey.

“Well, Maxi, I’m glad we had a little excitement to occupy our visitation-time,” Salahkah said while taking off his coat and placing it on a knob mounted to the wall. “I appreciate you coming out to Holstenkaft to see me, but I think it’s about time to go.”

Maxi placed the book on the table and jumped down. He gathered his belongings and looked up at Salahkah.

“You know, Balan says that he may come see you.” Maxi said with a grin. His eyes weren’t smiling. “I know how much you love Balan.”

Salahkah chuckled and shook his head slowly. “I do love that man, but he’s trouble. Give him my blessing when you see him, let him know that Akahsha’s gotten taller since the last time.”

“I will, and I know how much trouble he is. Balan Fortunato surely is a man of adventure still. You know people still call him ‘a man of many fortunes’?” Maxi walked towards the door.

“The only fortune he’ll have is visiting me and mine. Be safe on your way back to Heaven’s Gate.” Salahkah held the door open for him as he left. “See you, Maxi.”

Salahkah let the silence of the shed wash over him, like a cool spring shower. He’d hunted great monsters, and he would only hunt more, he was sure. What would become of his son? Would he follow in his mother’s footsteps and live a life with magic, or would he become a monster hunter like Salahkah? He hoped that whatever Akahsha chose, that he’d be happy because of it. No doubt the life that he could provide for his family was better than that in which Salahkah’s father Bodahkah was able to.

They were different times, too; he couldn’t fault his father for the crimes he’d committed, and the debts he piled on in his life. Salahkah was sold just like a sack full of potatoes in a market. He eventually hunted enough monsters to retain his freedom, and then some. The master hunter rose to such a prestigious rank in such a short time, that he’d never stopped to realize how much monster hunting was his life.

The landscapes he’d traversed, and the people he’d met laid the foundation for how he felt about others. No matter where he went, the Feywilds called out to him. He could see things that no one else could see. His father often beat him for believing in such things; Salahkah would never forgive him, and would never see him for the rest of his life. How sad, he thought.

His father would never get to meet the woman who he called home, or the son that they had raised. It shook him deeply, but he would never show his family. They didn’t need to know of the horrors he’d seen, as they have and will see more horrors. He couldn’t kill his memories like he could kill monsters, but he so wished he could.