global-wolf
Smash Champion
A short story for an English assignment. I'm posting here for some critique and feedback 
Please enjoy!
Except for one. The young prince of Keil paced in his moonlit room restlessly. Catif was having a bad day. A villager had somehow squirted juice into his royal long black hair in the morning, and though the person had apologized profusely, the event ruined his mood for the rest of the morning and afternoon. After a bath, he spent the time sulking in his house, which was a bad idea. Catif was in his late teens and was active by nature, and doing nothing for an entire day left him wide awake and full of energy at night. He looked longingly out the slit of a window, smelling the scent of the grasslands traveling on the wind. If only he could go outside right now and hunt a bit with Tabre....
But I can, thought Catif. I'm the prince. I can do anything, even go out at an ungodly hour of night.
Catif picked up his bow and bag of arrows and went down the rickety wooden steps, unbolted the door, and walked off towards the stables where the antelopes were kept. Though the day had been pleasant, the night was chilly. Catif wished he had brought a cloak with him. But no matter, he thought. Hunting would certainly warm him up. He reached the entrance of the barn and turned towards the stall where Tabre was sleeping. He slid the door open and gave his mount a light shove to wake him up.
Tabre was not an ordinary dehorned Wildebeest like the rest of the antelopes in the stable; he was a black Sable antelope, with beautiful curved horns. One accurate strike from those curved horns could mean death. Luckily for Catif, Tabre had a very mild personality, and was drowsy from being just woken up.
"Get up Tabre, we're going out," murmured Catif gently. When the antelope didn't respond, Catif gave him a light slap on the hindquarters. That got Tabre to stand up reluctantly, giving Catif an accusing look. "Sorry," said Catif, slipping a rope bridle over Tabre's head and laying an embroidered quilt pad on his back. Tabre looked at Catif, confused; they were going on a ride in the middle of the night? The prince pulled out a piece of cornbread from his pocket and held it out to Tabre, who took it eagerly. Catif led Tabre outside, swung a leg over the antelope's strong back, and rode off towards the tall grass.
----
Two hours later, Catif was seriously regretting his decision to go outside. Though the moon was full, the tall grass blocked out most of the light. Any prey animals in the area had long since settled down in their burrows.The only thing keeping Catif and Tabre from running into a hidden bush or stepping in a rabbit hole and breaking Tabre's leg was Tabre's sheer instinct, and any lion or hyena that happened to wander close would have no trouble dispatching them both.
And then it rained. The sudden downpour ended as quickly as it began, but it had startled Tabre, who tossed Catif and ran some distance away, and soaked Catif to the bone. The antelope wouldn't respond to Catif's calls and empty threats to come back. Now, Catif was cold, wet, grumpy, and without a mount.
"Stupid antelope, stupid weather, stupid person who got juice in my hair!" shouted Catif to the wind, which ignored him and continued to blow and make his wet body shiver. "Stupid wind!"
He trudged through the tall grass in the general direction of his antelope. The long blades of grass wrapped themselves around his ankles almost purposefully, hindering his movement and annoying him even further. As Catif made his slow progress, he thought of nasty things he could do innocent creatures and objects. Strangle them, knife them, bash them against a wall.... Far away, a hyena cackled. To Catif's infuriated mind, it sounded like the hyena was laughing at him; in his enraged state, he did not realize what being able to hear a hyena signified.
Finally, Catif reached Tabre. Catif gave the antelope a reproachful glare. Tabre gazed back indifferently. "What the hell was that for, eh?" Catif muttered, and threw down his bag of arrows. There was a sudden sharp hiss and the sound of the bag striking something soft at his immediate right. Immediately, the anger was gone, replaced by wariness, and Catif leaped back, drawing his knife out. The grass in the spot where the sound had come from shuffled. Catif inched back to the spot, knife ready, and parted the grass.
A stone came flying at him. He barely jerked his head to the side in time and the stone glanced off the side of his face, cutting a long scratch. Ignoring it, Catif looked back at the spot. It was a person, sitting. Judging by the barbarian skin cloak he wore, he was from one of the mud-house clans. Now that he thought about it, Catif could smell the faint but very recognizable scent of the animal pelts. The smell of wet earth had covered it up before. And Catif saw why the man had not moved; his shin bone was bent in the middle, broken, probably from slipping in the mud. The cloak cast a shadow over his face. "Take off the animal pelt," commanded Catif. When the man made no movement, Catif twirled the knife around his hand, and the man slowly took off the cloak.
It was a boy about Catif's age, eyes wide open and staring in defiance. Chunks of pale hair peeking out from his mud encrusted head glowed in the moonlight. And now that the cloak was gone, Catif could see a bag for poison-needles, rendered useless by the rain and mud.
So that's why he's out here at night, thought Catif. And suddenly, the rage was back. He snarled and lunged towards the boy with his knife... and something jerked him back by the collar of his shirt. His shirt ripped, and he tumbled forward with a cry towards the startled boy. The arm holding the knife was pushed away from him, and he crashed onto the boy's body. The boy howled in pain as his broken leg was abused yet again.
Catif lay in shock for a few moments, before pushing himself off and standing up. He looked at Tabre, who was holding a piece of the torn shirt in his mouth. Tabre walked up to Catif, dropped the shirt piece at his feet, and went to stand protectively in front of the boy, who was clutching his leg and looking up at the antelope with an astonished expression. Catif stared dumbly, first at Tabre, then at the boy.
"Move aside, Tabre," growled Catif. When Tabre continued to stand, Catif yelled, "He was going to kill us in the night!" And still, Tabre held his ground. Catif looked first at Tabre, then at the boy, in disbelief. Why was Tabre protecting the boy?
Tabre was looking past him at something about fifty feet away. Catif turned--and saw why Tabre had stopped him. Three pairs of predatory eyes glowed. Spotted hyenas. The pack was a rather small one; they probably thought an injured human was easy prey. The antelope and the other human would be a nice bonus. Catif's anger and confusion left again, replaced by dread. Oh, ****.
Catif had no time to think anything else, because one of the hyenas suddenly rushed. It leapt at Catif, forelegs outstretched. Catif stabbed its paw with his knife, then as it fell screaming he plunged the knife into the hyena's chest. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the two remaining hyenas approach Tabre more cautiously, who was positioned protectively in front of the boy. Tabre stomped nervously, but continued to hold his ground. The hyenas got twenty feet away, then ten feet away. "Move!" screamed Catif. He pulled out his knife from the dying hyena and threw it. In his panic, the knife missed the easy distance completely and soared through the air, almost grazing Tabre's back. The antelope reared in alarm the same time the hyenas dashed forward. One was quick enough to swerve sharply out of the way, but the other was too slow, and Tabre crashed down on its head, crushing its skull. Two down, but still one left, and it was heading towards Catif, who was helpless without his knife. I'm dead, thought Catif, but then a rock came flying out of nowhere to hit the hyena's head, stunning it for a moment, and suddenly Catif remembered he still had his bow and arrows, and without hesitation, Catif drew an arrow from his bag and threw it at the hyena's face. The hyena screamed, its nose punctured and gushing out blood, but it was still very alive. Catif took his bow, and with all his might, shoved the sharp end into the hyena's neck. The scream became gurgles as the hyena collapsed.
Catif stared apathetically for a few moments, then turned towards the boy. Their gazes met. There was the sound of the one remaining hyena's labored breathing, the one who had been stabbed in the chest, and then that died away.
"I wasn't trying to kill your people," the boy spoke up for the first time.
"Oh really now," scoffed Catif. "Then why do you have a bag filled with poison needles? Why are you stepping on our land at this time of night? Why are you outside at night in the first place?"
The boy had an amused expression on his face. "You mean this bag? It's filled with rocks. I was out collecting sharp ones. Here, look." He held the bag out in front of him. Catif eyed the bag suspiciously.
"I'd rather not," said Catif. "You still haven't explained what you're doing in our territory this late."
"In your territory?" echoed the boy incredulously. "This is our land. Didn't you see the tree back there?"
Now that Catif thought about it, he had seen a tree some time back.
"What's your name?" asked Catif.
"Koro," the boy replied happily. "What's yours?"
Catif hesitated for a moment. Then-"Catif. My name's Catif."
The boy--no, Koro--seemed to ponder for a moment. "Catif... That's a nice name," he said. "So, Catif, what are you doing out this late?"
Catif shrugged. "I didn't feel like sleeping."
Koro nodded thoughtfully. "Ah, really? Me too." He started to get up, then suddenly winced and sat back down. "Right, my leg's broken. I guess I'll have to wait until someone finds me here."
"No."
"What?" asked Koro.
"You're coming with me," commanded Catif. For some reason unknown to him, he was suddenly feeling very against the idea of leaving the injured boy by himself. "Get on Tabre."
Koro looked distrustful. "You want to take me back so you can lock me up? Why don't you just kill me here and now?"
"You're coming with me, because there's no way your clansmen are going to find you before another pack of hyenas do," snapped Catif. "Also, that broken leg looks disgusting. Hurry up and get on the antelope."
Koro gave him a look that showed exactly what he was thinking.
"Useless," muttered Catif, and bent down and grabbed Koro underneath the arms. He ignored Koro's startled "Hey!" and hoisted him up as easily as a feather onto Tabre's back. Surprised, he looked at the boy; he could feel bony ribs underneath the clothes. Shaking his head, he went to retrieve his knife and bow, then grabbed the reins and tried to mount Tabre. Tabre stepped away, snorting. Feather-light or not, the antelope wasn't going to let two people sit on him. Catif grumbled and took the lead, and the two boys and the antelope began their slow walk back to home.
---
They were at the fringes of Keil. It was still dark, though hints of the sun were beginning to show in the sky. Catif was sitting on the ground, next to Tabre and Koro. "Okay," he said, "so this is how it's going to go. I'm going to leave Tabre here with you, and I'm going to get the medicine. No one should be awake yet. You just stay here and be quiet."
"You sure this is gonna work?" inquired Koro. "'Cause I'm still not sure if this is a good idea." He quickly added, "It's very kind of you to be helping me, of course."
"If you don't make a noise, it should work," replied Catif.
He got up and left the boy and the antelope. As he neared the houses, he calculated the time he would need to get the medicine. Five minutes to get to the storage, another five to get all the supplies he needed, and then five to make it back. There was enough time; the people of Keil did not wake up until after sunrise. Catif sped up a little, running on stealthy toes. Finally, he reached the building where the medicine was kept, and opened the door. Inside was blacker than ink. Catif fumbled around awkwardly, trying to remember where everything was placed. Catif had no experience with treating wounds, so he just picked out things that might be useful. Some cloth bandages, a sheet of grass pulp, some water to soften the pulp. Items in hand, he began to exit.
Then suddenly, the bugle of a Sable antelope sounded in the distance. Catif froze in his steps. Someone came out of one of the stone houses, and saw him. "The prince!" the man cried."The prince has been hurt!" Then suddenly, everyone came pouring out. "Look at his torn shirt!" "The prince's prized antelope has been stolen!" "I knew those mud house barbarians were no good!" "Whoever did this to the prince must be punished!" The people swarmed like a hive of bees. They grabbed their bows and arrows, and drew their knives. "No!" shouted Catif. "You're all mistaken!" But the people didn't listen. They were running in the direction of Tabre's call now, bows and arrows in hand. "Stop! As prince of Keil, I command you to put down your weapons right now!" But he was ignored. Perhaps the long, wet night had made his throat hoarse, or the people were deafened by their anger.
Catif could do nothing; his mind was as blank as a clean slate. He watched helplessly as the people found Tabre and Koro. He watched helplessly as Tabre panicked and tossed Koro onto the ground. He watched the person who had first woken to Tabre's cry raised his bow and set an arrow; he saw Koro's sad eyes meet his own.
But maybe, he wasn't so helpless.
The arrow fired and the people watched, horrified, as Catif fell to the ground with an arrow in his neck. Koro stared, shocked, at the sight in front of him.
"I did a good thing," was Catif's last thought.
The cold red sun rose and pushed the moon out of the sky.
Please enjoy!
Impulsive
The full moon shone brightly on the stone houses of Keil. It was the night of the first warm day since the end of last fall. All living things seemed to be still getting used to the absence of cold in the air; birds fluttered around hesitantly, crocodiles enjoyed the warmer water, and wild antelope relished the new plant sprouts. The people were also enjoying the change in temperature. Though there had been tension between Keil and the neighboring mud-house clans, the king of Keil had declared the day to be a day of rest after a harsh winter, and the people had spent the day eating, gossiping, or otherwise having a good time. And now, at night, they were sleeping peacefully.Except for one. The young prince of Keil paced in his moonlit room restlessly. Catif was having a bad day. A villager had somehow squirted juice into his royal long black hair in the morning, and though the person had apologized profusely, the event ruined his mood for the rest of the morning and afternoon. After a bath, he spent the time sulking in his house, which was a bad idea. Catif was in his late teens and was active by nature, and doing nothing for an entire day left him wide awake and full of energy at night. He looked longingly out the slit of a window, smelling the scent of the grasslands traveling on the wind. If only he could go outside right now and hunt a bit with Tabre....
But I can, thought Catif. I'm the prince. I can do anything, even go out at an ungodly hour of night.
Catif picked up his bow and bag of arrows and went down the rickety wooden steps, unbolted the door, and walked off towards the stables where the antelopes were kept. Though the day had been pleasant, the night was chilly. Catif wished he had brought a cloak with him. But no matter, he thought. Hunting would certainly warm him up. He reached the entrance of the barn and turned towards the stall where Tabre was sleeping. He slid the door open and gave his mount a light shove to wake him up.
Tabre was not an ordinary dehorned Wildebeest like the rest of the antelopes in the stable; he was a black Sable antelope, with beautiful curved horns. One accurate strike from those curved horns could mean death. Luckily for Catif, Tabre had a very mild personality, and was drowsy from being just woken up.
"Get up Tabre, we're going out," murmured Catif gently. When the antelope didn't respond, Catif gave him a light slap on the hindquarters. That got Tabre to stand up reluctantly, giving Catif an accusing look. "Sorry," said Catif, slipping a rope bridle over Tabre's head and laying an embroidered quilt pad on his back. Tabre looked at Catif, confused; they were going on a ride in the middle of the night? The prince pulled out a piece of cornbread from his pocket and held it out to Tabre, who took it eagerly. Catif led Tabre outside, swung a leg over the antelope's strong back, and rode off towards the tall grass.
----
Two hours later, Catif was seriously regretting his decision to go outside. Though the moon was full, the tall grass blocked out most of the light. Any prey animals in the area had long since settled down in their burrows.The only thing keeping Catif and Tabre from running into a hidden bush or stepping in a rabbit hole and breaking Tabre's leg was Tabre's sheer instinct, and any lion or hyena that happened to wander close would have no trouble dispatching them both.
And then it rained. The sudden downpour ended as quickly as it began, but it had startled Tabre, who tossed Catif and ran some distance away, and soaked Catif to the bone. The antelope wouldn't respond to Catif's calls and empty threats to come back. Now, Catif was cold, wet, grumpy, and without a mount.
"Stupid antelope, stupid weather, stupid person who got juice in my hair!" shouted Catif to the wind, which ignored him and continued to blow and make his wet body shiver. "Stupid wind!"
He trudged through the tall grass in the general direction of his antelope. The long blades of grass wrapped themselves around his ankles almost purposefully, hindering his movement and annoying him even further. As Catif made his slow progress, he thought of nasty things he could do innocent creatures and objects. Strangle them, knife them, bash them against a wall.... Far away, a hyena cackled. To Catif's infuriated mind, it sounded like the hyena was laughing at him; in his enraged state, he did not realize what being able to hear a hyena signified.
Finally, Catif reached Tabre. Catif gave the antelope a reproachful glare. Tabre gazed back indifferently. "What the hell was that for, eh?" Catif muttered, and threw down his bag of arrows. There was a sudden sharp hiss and the sound of the bag striking something soft at his immediate right. Immediately, the anger was gone, replaced by wariness, and Catif leaped back, drawing his knife out. The grass in the spot where the sound had come from shuffled. Catif inched back to the spot, knife ready, and parted the grass.
A stone came flying at him. He barely jerked his head to the side in time and the stone glanced off the side of his face, cutting a long scratch. Ignoring it, Catif looked back at the spot. It was a person, sitting. Judging by the barbarian skin cloak he wore, he was from one of the mud-house clans. Now that he thought about it, Catif could smell the faint but very recognizable scent of the animal pelts. The smell of wet earth had covered it up before. And Catif saw why the man had not moved; his shin bone was bent in the middle, broken, probably from slipping in the mud. The cloak cast a shadow over his face. "Take off the animal pelt," commanded Catif. When the man made no movement, Catif twirled the knife around his hand, and the man slowly took off the cloak.
It was a boy about Catif's age, eyes wide open and staring in defiance. Chunks of pale hair peeking out from his mud encrusted head glowed in the moonlight. And now that the cloak was gone, Catif could see a bag for poison-needles, rendered useless by the rain and mud.
So that's why he's out here at night, thought Catif. And suddenly, the rage was back. He snarled and lunged towards the boy with his knife... and something jerked him back by the collar of his shirt. His shirt ripped, and he tumbled forward with a cry towards the startled boy. The arm holding the knife was pushed away from him, and he crashed onto the boy's body. The boy howled in pain as his broken leg was abused yet again.
Catif lay in shock for a few moments, before pushing himself off and standing up. He looked at Tabre, who was holding a piece of the torn shirt in his mouth. Tabre walked up to Catif, dropped the shirt piece at his feet, and went to stand protectively in front of the boy, who was clutching his leg and looking up at the antelope with an astonished expression. Catif stared dumbly, first at Tabre, then at the boy.
"Move aside, Tabre," growled Catif. When Tabre continued to stand, Catif yelled, "He was going to kill us in the night!" And still, Tabre held his ground. Catif looked first at Tabre, then at the boy, in disbelief. Why was Tabre protecting the boy?
Tabre was looking past him at something about fifty feet away. Catif turned--and saw why Tabre had stopped him. Three pairs of predatory eyes glowed. Spotted hyenas. The pack was a rather small one; they probably thought an injured human was easy prey. The antelope and the other human would be a nice bonus. Catif's anger and confusion left again, replaced by dread. Oh, ****.
Catif had no time to think anything else, because one of the hyenas suddenly rushed. It leapt at Catif, forelegs outstretched. Catif stabbed its paw with his knife, then as it fell screaming he plunged the knife into the hyena's chest. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the two remaining hyenas approach Tabre more cautiously, who was positioned protectively in front of the boy. Tabre stomped nervously, but continued to hold his ground. The hyenas got twenty feet away, then ten feet away. "Move!" screamed Catif. He pulled out his knife from the dying hyena and threw it. In his panic, the knife missed the easy distance completely and soared through the air, almost grazing Tabre's back. The antelope reared in alarm the same time the hyenas dashed forward. One was quick enough to swerve sharply out of the way, but the other was too slow, and Tabre crashed down on its head, crushing its skull. Two down, but still one left, and it was heading towards Catif, who was helpless without his knife. I'm dead, thought Catif, but then a rock came flying out of nowhere to hit the hyena's head, stunning it for a moment, and suddenly Catif remembered he still had his bow and arrows, and without hesitation, Catif drew an arrow from his bag and threw it at the hyena's face. The hyena screamed, its nose punctured and gushing out blood, but it was still very alive. Catif took his bow, and with all his might, shoved the sharp end into the hyena's neck. The scream became gurgles as the hyena collapsed.
Catif stared apathetically for a few moments, then turned towards the boy. Their gazes met. There was the sound of the one remaining hyena's labored breathing, the one who had been stabbed in the chest, and then that died away.
"I wasn't trying to kill your people," the boy spoke up for the first time.
"Oh really now," scoffed Catif. "Then why do you have a bag filled with poison needles? Why are you stepping on our land at this time of night? Why are you outside at night in the first place?"
The boy had an amused expression on his face. "You mean this bag? It's filled with rocks. I was out collecting sharp ones. Here, look." He held the bag out in front of him. Catif eyed the bag suspiciously.
"I'd rather not," said Catif. "You still haven't explained what you're doing in our territory this late."
"In your territory?" echoed the boy incredulously. "This is our land. Didn't you see the tree back there?"
Now that Catif thought about it, he had seen a tree some time back.
"What's your name?" asked Catif.
"Koro," the boy replied happily. "What's yours?"
Catif hesitated for a moment. Then-"Catif. My name's Catif."
The boy--no, Koro--seemed to ponder for a moment. "Catif... That's a nice name," he said. "So, Catif, what are you doing out this late?"
Catif shrugged. "I didn't feel like sleeping."
Koro nodded thoughtfully. "Ah, really? Me too." He started to get up, then suddenly winced and sat back down. "Right, my leg's broken. I guess I'll have to wait until someone finds me here."
"No."
"What?" asked Koro.
"You're coming with me," commanded Catif. For some reason unknown to him, he was suddenly feeling very against the idea of leaving the injured boy by himself. "Get on Tabre."
Koro looked distrustful. "You want to take me back so you can lock me up? Why don't you just kill me here and now?"
"You're coming with me, because there's no way your clansmen are going to find you before another pack of hyenas do," snapped Catif. "Also, that broken leg looks disgusting. Hurry up and get on the antelope."
Koro gave him a look that showed exactly what he was thinking.
"Useless," muttered Catif, and bent down and grabbed Koro underneath the arms. He ignored Koro's startled "Hey!" and hoisted him up as easily as a feather onto Tabre's back. Surprised, he looked at the boy; he could feel bony ribs underneath the clothes. Shaking his head, he went to retrieve his knife and bow, then grabbed the reins and tried to mount Tabre. Tabre stepped away, snorting. Feather-light or not, the antelope wasn't going to let two people sit on him. Catif grumbled and took the lead, and the two boys and the antelope began their slow walk back to home.
---
They were at the fringes of Keil. It was still dark, though hints of the sun were beginning to show in the sky. Catif was sitting on the ground, next to Tabre and Koro. "Okay," he said, "so this is how it's going to go. I'm going to leave Tabre here with you, and I'm going to get the medicine. No one should be awake yet. You just stay here and be quiet."
"You sure this is gonna work?" inquired Koro. "'Cause I'm still not sure if this is a good idea." He quickly added, "It's very kind of you to be helping me, of course."
"If you don't make a noise, it should work," replied Catif.
He got up and left the boy and the antelope. As he neared the houses, he calculated the time he would need to get the medicine. Five minutes to get to the storage, another five to get all the supplies he needed, and then five to make it back. There was enough time; the people of Keil did not wake up until after sunrise. Catif sped up a little, running on stealthy toes. Finally, he reached the building where the medicine was kept, and opened the door. Inside was blacker than ink. Catif fumbled around awkwardly, trying to remember where everything was placed. Catif had no experience with treating wounds, so he just picked out things that might be useful. Some cloth bandages, a sheet of grass pulp, some water to soften the pulp. Items in hand, he began to exit.
Then suddenly, the bugle of a Sable antelope sounded in the distance. Catif froze in his steps. Someone came out of one of the stone houses, and saw him. "The prince!" the man cried."The prince has been hurt!" Then suddenly, everyone came pouring out. "Look at his torn shirt!" "The prince's prized antelope has been stolen!" "I knew those mud house barbarians were no good!" "Whoever did this to the prince must be punished!" The people swarmed like a hive of bees. They grabbed their bows and arrows, and drew their knives. "No!" shouted Catif. "You're all mistaken!" But the people didn't listen. They were running in the direction of Tabre's call now, bows and arrows in hand. "Stop! As prince of Keil, I command you to put down your weapons right now!" But he was ignored. Perhaps the long, wet night had made his throat hoarse, or the people were deafened by their anger.
Catif could do nothing; his mind was as blank as a clean slate. He watched helplessly as the people found Tabre and Koro. He watched helplessly as Tabre panicked and tossed Koro onto the ground. He watched the person who had first woken to Tabre's cry raised his bow and set an arrow; he saw Koro's sad eyes meet his own.
But maybe, he wasn't so helpless.
The arrow fired and the people watched, horrified, as Catif fell to the ground with an arrow in his neck. Koro stared, shocked, at the sight in front of him.
"I did a good thing," was Catif's last thought.
The cold red sun rose and pushed the moon out of the sky.
