The Wild Hunt - Reprise

[Clover]

((K’mih’s adulthood trial. Happens a few days after this scene http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=3295 ))

 

 

For a long moment, all K’mih could hear was her own breathing, louder than it should be, and an inconvenient beep in her head. The enormous worm moved slowly through the sands of the desert, still unaware of the candidate for predator that watched it behind the trees. At a certain distance, also unseen, the huntress observed K’mih’s performance in her adulthood trial.

 

It was alright, so she told herself. She had her sister K’nahli’s token of luck tied up to one of her arms; her other hand held the special arrow Kiht had given her. She couldn’t fail, not after their gifts—not after their trust.

 

Slowly, she started tensing the bow. It was oddly hot that day, why were her arms shaking?

 

“I-I can’t…”

 

Lowering the bow, the young Miqo’te grabbed her own arm, as if trying to stop the shaking. She needed to relax, she just had to breathe. Inhale, exhale, repeat. Inhale, exhale, bow raising slowly once more, inhale, exhale. Gaze focused, heart pounding. The image of K’nahli’s back with her bow tensed, precise and perfect, was drawn in her mind again. She just had to do the same, she just had to…

 

The first arrow cut through the air in a matter of miliseconds, and that was all it took to perforate the wild creature’s thick skin. But K’mih wasn’t her sister, and there was no precision in her still shaking arms. Her first shot hadn’t killed her prey; it’d only served to enrage it.

 

“…!!”

 

The girl's eyes opened wide when the sand worm emitted a horrifying sound, turning all its attention to the culprit who’d dared to hurt it. She wanted to run, but a strong voice reminded her that if she started doing that now, she’d have to keep running until she was far from home. Failure wasn’t an option.

 

There was no time for a second arrow. The monster was over her with a bang, all teeth and drool and death, and all the little Miqo’te could do was dodge the impact of its head against the sand.  Her next step was to quickly grab her axe as her vision became blurry.

 

This was no longer an adulthood trial. This was no longer about gaining her right to stay at home. All she wanted now was to live.

[K'nahli]

"..ahhh.."

 

The words slipped free from K'nahli's lips, her voice rattled silently in a distressed murmur. Her anxiety was becoming increasingly more difficult to contain. Her right hand clutched her bow tightly by her side to the extent that it began to hurt. She had long since learned to contain certain emotions and had done well up until now, but truth be told, she had been far more nervous than K'mih ever was. At least it certainly felt that way. Intervening now could result in her expulsion from the tribe or even the automatic forfeit of K'mih's trial.

 

She reached her left arm across her chest and clutched her right arm firmly in an attempt to subdue her involuntary shaking and prevent herself from acting rashly in an attempt to help her sister.

 

"She's strong.. she doesn't need me" she whispered to herself, her voice crackling harshly as she failed to hold back a tear that began rolling down her cheek from the sheer mental agony of it all.

 

"She doesn't.... she... doesn't.." she repeated to herself, her voice becoming closer to a whimper as her legs grew weak under her, bringing her close to slumping down on her knees.

[Clover]

It’s amazing how the body reacts when danger is a reality.

 

Being a small Miqo’te, K’mih was faster than the worm even with an axe in hand. She managed to make use of that advantage, her only one; after dodging one of the monster’s impacts against the ground, her axe did its job against its skin, breaking through the thickness and tearing it apart almost accidentally.

 

She was unsure of what happened next, or how many hits the sand worm had to take before falling. It was like waking up from a strange possession, like falling asleep to nightmares. When the young Miqo’te realized, she was half covered in blood, panting as her lungs struggled for air. Unblinking, wide eyes glued themselves to the monster, noticing it was still alive.

 

It breathed with difficulty, drowning in a painful pool of blood, yet still alive. Such was the condemn K’mih had inflicted upon it. No matter how hard she’d tried, she’d been unable to properly kill her prey. Her work of art was nothing but a mess; an excruciating, obscene mess.

 

A scream came out from the depths of her throat as she desperately raised her axe again. She stabbed the monster once, twice, again and again, until it stopped breathing.

 

After that, there was nothing. Nothing but scarlet under her feet, bitter tears from shut eyes, and small sobs.

 

She’d passed the test.

 

It was a happy day for a Miqo’te.

[K'nahli]

The first distinct sound of steel slashing through the worm's flesh immediately caught K'nahli's attention. Up until now her vision had become hazy and shaky, unable to focus on her sister's actions. All she could see was her petite frame facing off against that monstrous and unforgiving beast.

 

But now, with the alerting sound of success, her vision came back into focus. K'mih dodged the worm's attack effectively and countered with several, heaving slashes of her axe. Her strikes were imperfect and not as clean as she was capable of, but they did the job. The incapacitated worm throbbed and groaned in pain on the arid, desert floor before succumbing to the young Miqo'tes final strikes as she handed out it's death sentence. It was done. Her baby sister had passed the test.

 

"She.. really did it" the girl whispered softly to herself in relief, resting the side of her head against a nearby tree.

 

She remained there alone in silence for a moment, deep in thought as her garnet-coloured eyes stared blankly at the ground below her. Her eyes flickered lightly in realisation as they lifted once again to focus on the young miqo'te in the distance. A subtle smile slowly cracked free on the silent observer's face. She was unquestionably happy, but above all else, she was a resolutely proud sister.