The Hunt

Far in the north of Astra, in the ancient ice forests, a hunting party departs on a political hunt: To prove their leader's point through prowess.

“Filer’s blood.”

“Are you sure, lordship?”

“Positive.” Norichi’s fingers slid back and forth across the viscous fluid.

“Don’t be so sure.” Chand, their top advisor, chimed in. Her discolored red dress flicked about in the cold shimmering water of the ice forest. Her legs took on a blue hue of ice, “Filer muck is a thing, you know. It's their own form of misdirection. An evolutionary perk.”

“Bah… Trust your hunter’s sense, Chand… and Boga, you lost yours long ago.” Boga, the old man and resident pack mule, shook his head and shrugged.

“Perhaps so…” Chand conceded, but only partially.

“No ‘perhaps’ about it. Nothing about it but the truth.” Norichi replied.

“Norichi, the royal hunter. Trusts their gut again.” Boga brushed his salt and pepper beard with the dirt covered fingers of a hunter and tied a bandana across his forehead, “I will follow you and follow the trail, highness.”

“For better or worse, we follow the trail.” Norichi smiled at Boga’s devout support. They brought the thick clear blood to their lips and took a deep breath in, “I know what the prize is.”

“But it's injured, lord.” Chand warned, “What’s the honor in an injured prize?”

“No. You lack vision, lady Chand.”

“Do I?” She looked at Norichi with a wounded glance.

“Look here!” Norichi knelt down, their knees soaking into the cold deep seaweed grass beneath the water, “It floats to the top, yes?”

“Indeed it does.” Chand replied.

“Exactly.” Norichi’s finger danced across the surface, “but look, Chand. Look here.” Norichi pointed down into the fluid, and Chand bent down and stared,

“The blood isn’t coming together?”

“Why do you think that is, good Lady?” Norichi asked. Chand shrugged.

“Simple.” Boga pushed between them, “There were two filers here. They were fighting for territory.” His gruff, aged voice said with confidence. Chand gasped,

“Finding two is a rare occurrence. Is this a sign of resurgence? May our lord, Stitial, guide our hearts.”

“First they must guide our feet to the prey.” Norichi replied with confidence. They sheathed their hunting knife in a strap across their stomach. Boga grabbed their supplies off the ground, strapping bags to the harness he wore tight across his torso. The group pressed on through the cold.

The air was oddly still. Chand felt concerned as she thought about how rough the wind was before entering the forest. It was so bad they had even helped Boga to carry his load - the poor old man could barely handle the load Norichi put upon him when the northern winds kicked up. Ice trees weren’t known for blocking the wind, so she knew the lord Stitial must be guiding them on this journey if the air was this still. Chand slipped her hand into a pocket on her dress and patted her muddy wet fingers against the silk inside before gripping a charm to the god that she always kept with her. She shot Norichi a dirty look,

“Why didn’t you tell me we were going hunting, Nori? I wouldn’t have dressed like I was off to market.”

“Because you would’ve dressed like you were ready for the hunt, and then the cameras would’ve followed us. I’m tired of the recording bots and the cameras and all the nonsense. And your fashion - though I appreciate it all - is a way of being followed. Being judged. Besides… you wouldn’t have come if I told you.” Norichi smiled at the annoyance in Chand’s face, “Surely, you understand, Chand? Besides, what’s wrong with a return to basics? Can we not enjoy the simple pleasures of nature?” A smirk grew greater as they stared at each other. Chand’s grimace broke,

“Your reasoning is still troublesome. I don’t appreciate being manipulated like this.”

“I think our highness has a point, good lady.” Chand flung about and glared at Boga,

“And that is why you carry the bags.” Lady Chand turned her nose up. Norichi paused and raised a hand,

“Hush.” they threw themself low to the ground. They pulled binoculars from a pack on their hip and stared out into the dense icy trees.

“What is it?” Boga inquired. He tried to crouch down, but he began to tip over, losing his footing. Chand grabbed him and steadied him as she brought herself down by his side.

“Ice cracking in the distance. Echoing off the trees… we’re getting close to the zero point zone.” Norichi whispered with excitement.

“So?” Chand asked.

“So, we know Filer creatures like to break the ice to grab the algae underneath. An easy meal, before the flash freeze…” Norichi sounded condescending, as if she should’ve known this. Chand rolled her eyes and continued,

“Sounds dangerous…”

“Aye, it can be…” Boga answered, “but it beats hunting… until it flash freezes them in place and they risk drowning. Then they’re easy prey.”

“We don’t hunt those, though.” Norichi added. ”Only healthy Filers.” Chand shook her head,

“Whatever you say, Nori.”

“Hush.” They whispered back. Norichi adjusted the binoculars. They switched it to thermal, and the land ran a cold colorless heap. “Ah…” There was a shaky heat in the distance. “I can see the warmth of life… something in the distance...”

“Are you sure it isn’t just another ice flower, highness?” Boga asked

“Certain. This one moves.” Norichi put out their hand, “Pipe.” Boga struggled with a small bag, and unhooked it from the harness. He tossed it to Norichi. They fumbled with the bag and pulled out a foot long metal pipe. Norichi clicked an interface and the steel of the pipe let off a faint patterned blue glow.

“May I suggest the blunt force for a knockout?”

“You may.” Norichi pulled out a thin bandolier from the bag and wrapped it about their bicep. It clung to their arm, melding with their black body suit, “but it will fall on my uncaring ears. Today we use energy traps.” Boga sighed,

“Old tools with a modern twist. It isn’t exactly fair play. Don’t even give the creature a fighting chance, highness…”

“I’ll hear your criticisms when we carry back a filer atop our heads, Boga.” He let out a grunt of confirmation, and Norichi pressed forward, “Quietly from here, court.” They demanded. Chand nodded, and Boga snapped a finger in confirmation - an old hunter’s way of communicating. 

They crept through the quiet of the forest, and bent to the will of creeping tree branches and aimless foundering ice canoes long forgotten. The water was as high as their ankles here. Although Boga and Norichi wore protective warming clothes on their entire bodies, Chand walked barefoot in a soaked red dress. From the ankle down her skin was a deep blue. The rest of her was a pasty brown - as though the eternal overcast lands of the northern ice forest blocked the potential of the melanin in her skin.

 Boga caught himself on a tree and let out a gasp. His body shuddered forward, and Chand leapt to him, catching him before he met the cold water with a splash. Norichi shot a glance back at their court. Chand held Boga as though she was dipping him in a regal dance. Norichi struggled not to smile at the thought of the two dancing, and then switched to an irritated face.

“Balance Boga.” They whispered. “Wait here since you cannot keep your footing and stay quiet.” Boga nodded with a sad look of defeat upon his face. Chand brought him up and unhooked his bags from where they had been hooked on a nearby tree. She quickly mouthed, I’m sorry, then began walking forward once more. Chand caught up to Norichi, “No mistakes.” they said and frowned at Chand.

“What do we have to prove, Nori?” Chand asked, her voice gentle and caring.

“Everything.” Norichi moved forward, lifting their feet slowly and dramatically to keep from splashing. They pointed up at a large tree, “Take the top point. Communication to a minimum.” 

“Nori, this isn’t a military exercise.”

“Who said it was?”

“I -”

“Just get in position.” They commanded, waving her away. Chand nodded and grabbed hold of a tree. Her fingers immediately flashed to an icy blue as she threw herself up onto the branches, climbing quickly along the ice tree.

Norichi continued their trudge in silence. Looking back at Boga, they saw he had squatted on a small island patch and was snacking on some salted meats. Norichi shook their head and kept moving. They readied the blow pipe, and pulled one of the glowing red tipped darts from the bicep bandolier. The dart slid into the shaft, and the pipe shifted to match color with the dart. They heard a false bird call high above the trees,

Two Filers. One licking wounds. The other’s fishing.

Just as they predicted. A fight. The winner was enjoying the feast of the territory, and the loser was trying to recover its pride through freezing it’s wounds nearby. Norichi side stepped a tree and the filers came into view. They were majestic large reindeer-like creatures, a white-blue hue to match their terrain, but their galaxy-like eyes were a glimpse into the life within. Their antlers were a tangled concoction of ovular rows and patterns. The smaller of the two - the one who wasn’t head first in the ice - had one of its own antlers digging into its cheek. It’s body was muscular, but it seeped the clear filer blood from its hip and stomach. It hadn’t quite frozen over yet. 

Norichi stared at the two creatures. Which should they take? A strange scraping sound echoed overhead, and both the creatures flinched. The filer whose head was submerged pulled itself from the ice revealing a frozen over gash across its temple and down through its eyes. The water where it had grazed immediately froze over. The creatures looked up with curiosity, and Norichi threw themself behind a tree, cursing under their breath. On a nearby tree, Chand slid down to the forest floor on the same side as Norichi. Her skin was blue and icy all over. Her ornate red dress almost appeared to be a ghost moving at its own accord. Chand stepped away from the tree and her brown skin returned to normal, her cheeks flushed with the cold. Norichi glared,

“Way to get their attention.”

“I apologize, highness, but I do not think that these are the creatures we should be after.”

“And why is that?”

“One is already injured.”

“And the other?”

“Well, at this rate, it certainly won’t live long, trapping its head in the ice like that.” Norichi nodded,

“Your point is seen, but…” They both looked around the corner at the filers, “It appears you caught their attention.” The winner of the two filers was looking about, walking around the small opening. It let out a growl from its short muzzle, and an odd assortment of sharp ripping and dull grazing teeth presented themselves. The other filer stayed behind its superior and bowed, its eyes darting about. Chand hung her head in disappointment,

“Aim true, Nori.”

“Your preservation of the creature is admired, Chand… but your foolishness is noted.” Chand flinched as though the words whipped her cheek,

“I remember before. Before you were on the court. I remember when you didn’t care if we considered you royalty or not. Before you cared if anyone looked at you twice. Before you thought you had to prove anything… and now -”

“- Now? You want to do this now?” They heard the sniffing of their prey in the distance. Chand's sudden outburst had caught more than Norichi's attention.

“Do not pretend like you’d ever decide there was a good time. What about when we were young? What about when you weren’t on the royal court? What about when we were actually friends and I wasn’t just your advisor?”

“What about it?” Norichi stared back at Chand, their gaze turning to steel.

“Seriously?” Chand’s mouth dropped open, “You care this little?”

“I didn’t say that, I -”

“To the aether with you!” Chand snapped, and then quickly covered her mouth. A snuffle of anger came from the other side of the tree, and the large filer charged where she stood. Chand’s eyes grew large as she was stunned by her own frustration. Norichi grabbed her by the arm and threw her down into the water. The ice tree shattered as the ovular antlers crashed through it. Norichi brought the pipe to their mouth and inhaled, but the wind was knocked from them as a stray antler caught them by the fabric of their heat suit and began dragging them across the water. Chand stood up and called, “Nori!” As she chased the filer dragging her friend across the forest. “Boga!” Chand called, “Drop the supplies and help me!”

Boga struggled with his straps as he tried to pull his harness away from his body. Chand shook her head in frustration, “Nori! Pass me your pipe!” Norichi responded, their voice bouncing as they spoke, 

“I’ve - got - it - don’t wor - ry” Norichi tightened their grip around the blow pipe and blew an unsteady breath. There was a spitter of saliva and the pipe let out a warning whistle. Their hand slipped and the pipe clattered to the ground. Chand scooped it up as she struggled to keep up with her friend. She felt herself getting caught on her dress and grabbed the sides, tearing the bottoms so she wouldn’t trip. She put her mouth to the pipe and felt the moist saliva of Norichi, and the strange smell of mint and dried meat upon it. She pulled her mouth away and gagged before refocusing. She stopped running and took aim. She blew a dart and it splashed into a nearby tree, wrapping it in a fiery red light. The net contracted and crushed the ice into a shattered collection of hardened snow.

“Oh unkind lord of the cold!” She wailed as the noble was dragged further away from her, “Hold fast and save them now!” She looked about the pipe looking for more ammunition or something more she could do with it but found no luck. Boga was struggling to catch up with the others as they tore through the forest. He had given up on taking off the supplies and stumbled with bags bouncing against his frail body. 

The filer shattered more trees as it tried to fight Norichi off. Norichi reached their hand around and grabbed a dart off their arm. They squeezed it tightly, and the needled tip shot out of it like a stinger. Norichi gripped it in their fingers and jammed it into the upper shoulder of the filer. As the contact was made, a red energy net exploded out, wrapping around them and the creature. The filer’s legs stumbled about and as it hit another tree, it began to lose its footing. Norichi could feel the net growing tighter around them both. They struggled against it as they ripped the hunting knife from its sheath and dug a hole in the netting big enough for them to slip through.

Norichi fell out into the cold water and ripped out another dart and jammed it into the creature's side, another net entrenching it further. The filer let out a scream of horror as it splashed into the water of the forest floor with a final thud. Blood seeped from the wound. Norichi sighed and sank deeper into the cold water, their thick short braided brown hair becoming soaked. “Fuck… what a ride.” They said in a moment of exhaustion. The creature struggled next to them, braying and thrashing. Norichi made a show of knocking it on its side with their fist, “Calm down. You’re mine now.”

“It was a free creature before. Now what will you do with it?” Chand ran a cold hand along the body of the filer. Every time her fingers touched the net, they gave off a hot glow, and steam rose from her fingertips. She could already see the bruises forming on Norichi’s arms and legs where their bodysuit had torn and revealed the calloused earthly skin of a hunter.

“Ah… I will throw its corpse before the council. Tell them that’s where they can shove their provisionary tax plan to Stitial’s sanctum.

“You aren’t even Stitial’s champion…” Chand sighed.

“I don’t have to be.” Norichi grabbed their knife and put it to the throat of the creature, “I can still serve my lord…”

“Well certainly, your highness, but I -” Chand was cut short by her pure horror as she watched Norichi pull the life from the filer. Its clear blood seeped out into the water, and their eyes imploded, as though a million suns went supernova with its final gasp for breath. The creature stopped struggling, and went limp inside the netting. “Nori… I…” Norichi looked at Chand,

“Maybe you were right before, Chand. Things have changed between us. Maybe we’ve outgrown each other. Perhaps my advisors should be… better suited to my needs.” The cool calculation of their words left Chand feeling cold for the first time on their trip.

“Nori, that’s not what I meant.” She gasped out. Boga finally arrived heaving, but the two ignored him.

“Nor was it what you intended. And yet it is what you said. Boga.” Norichi turned their attention away, “Take care of this creature. We will parade it in front of the council immediately.

“Yes, your highness.” He heaved as he tried to catch his breath. This time Boga glanced at Chand with a regretful apology. “And shall I carry the creature back?”

“Yes. I’m rather tired… regrettably. Maybe we’ll set up a camp for the evening. Chand, it would be for the better that you leave now.” The look of pain that crossed her thin face couldn’t be hidden. Chand was heartbroken,

“But Nori, I -”

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be. Just don’t.” Chand gritted her teeth,

“You have become so short sighted. So filled with the desire to prove yourself to a bunch of dotards. You care little for true reform or compassion! You don’t even care about praising Stitial!” Chand’s outburst left her skin crawling into its icy tones. Even her hair curled into bouncing white daggers, “Who are you anymore? You are not my Nori. You are not my friend!”

“Then why…” Norichi didn’t look up from the island where they had started setting up camp, “Are you still here?” Chand paused,

“Because what do I have if I don’t have you…?” Boga nodded,

“Would we be so cruel as to leave behind your trusted advisor, highness?”

“Is it cruel to leave behind someone you trusted.” Norichi corrected as they began propping up tinder for a fire. Chand’s figure was growing weak as she stood in the water,

“Nori I know… I know how hard being a person on the court has been for you. I know how difficult everything has been… It has left you so hardened, but please… please you must see the flaw in your thoughts. The lack in your reasoning. You throw me aside for what? Caring about you?”

“If you truly cared about me…” Norichi’s face turned blank as they stood and faced Chand, “You would keep your mouth shut. You wouldn’t disrupt the hunt. But every step of the way you were a hindrance.”

“I only voiced my concern - that’s far from every step. I don’t want to be out here killing endangered creatures! Your ego has become so fragile - so broken - that you are willing to murder one of the last creatures of its kind to prove a point!”

“We will sacrifice it to Stitial, and they will bring us more.”

“Stitial has never revitalized a creature before. Why would they start now?” Chand grew impatient and frustrated.

“What do you know of the gods?”

“What do you?” Chand retaliated, her voice growing frustrated. “I ask again - are you a champion to Stitial?”

“Why does that matter?” Norichi laughed as they lit the fire next to them. Boga shook his head at Norichi,

“Your highness, perhaps rethink who you’re speaking with…” He warned.

“What on the frozen fields are you saying, old man?”

“You’re talking to Chand. The child of the ice forest. The woman of the cold. The -”

“- Daughter of the great champion, Siv.” Norichi sighed as they fell into their sleeping bag, “I didn’t forget…” Boga knew they were lying.

“Then why won’t you listen to me? Are you so blinded by ambition that you think going against the champion by blood right is going to end well for you? All those cameras you’re hiding from are going to have much to say. Forget that I’m a champion and remember I’m your friend. We’re supposed to be in this together. Being your advisor was supposed to be to support you. Do you think I need to be here? I’m here for you… like I’ve always been.” Chand pleaded.

“You don’t understand the pressure.” Norichi waved a hand at their friend and rolled over, tucking themselves into the thermal sleeping bag. “You never did. A champion’s daughter has special privilege.”

“And so does someone set for the royal council, highness.” Boga interjected.

“Quiet, Boga!” Norichi snapped. He sealed his mouth. “Chand, I don’t expect you to understand. I can’t just have whatever opinions I want and call them the will of a god.” Chand glared at that. She had disagreed with the teachings of Stital - she was only their chosen champion after all. She had to do their will upon Astra, but she didn’t always agree - she didn’t even think they made the right choice in giving her this power. It wasn’t fair to consider her merely a mouthpiece. She overthought it, ignored it, and pushed on. She knew she needed to pick her battles.

“No. You’re right, you can’t.” Chand agreed. “But you can stand by your principles and stand up for what you believe is right instead of going out hunting for endangered creatures in hopes of proving your point. Do you believe this is right? And for a tax plan, even?”

“What if I did?” Norichi stared back,

“Then I would have no trouble accepting your request for my resignation. In fact, I would give it with pride knowing I was doing the right thing walking away from your disgusting values.” Norichi let crack the firm shell of apathy towards the topic for the first time,

“You’d walk away from me like that…?”

“If I thought you ever did this with pride? Like Boga did in his youth? Absolutely.”

“Hey I don’t think that-”

“- Boga, please.” Chand pleaded with him and the old man closed his mouth again. She didn’t mean to hurt him, but clearly she struck a nerve. She made a note to apologize later. “Nori, I’ve loved you since the day I met you. You’ve been my best friend through it all… but this? This isn’t who you are. And if it is… then I never knew you to begin with, and I think that’s the hardest part for me. I’m not afraid to walk away from a barbaric liar. Are you afraid to prove you aren’t one?” Norichi shook their head at Chand and tucked themself deeper into their sleeping bag, not saying anything. “So what will you do next?” Chand prodded, but there was no reply.

The silence between the two lasted hours. It fell into the night, and was only broken when they shared a laugh as Boga began to snore in the late hours. Norichi looked at Chand, “it’s a Shadow’s Moon tonight.”

“So it is, your highness.” Chand's voice replied from the dark branch of an ice tree, far from the fire’s light. Her leg hung over and was the only human color on her body.

“You know what that means? The eternal thief will come…”

“Uhuh.”

“What do you think will be missing when we awaken?”

“Perhaps the body of the filer.”

“I asked what you thought would be missing, not what you wanted to be missing.”

“And yet…" a deep cautious breath between Chand's teeth, like the wind through the gaps in the trees, "...what I said stands.” The silence drew on a little longer before Norichi broke it again,

“Aren’t you cold, Chand?”

“Never.”

"Well… won’t you come sit with me by the fire atop our little island anyway?”

“I don’t feel I should.”

“But I ask with sincerity.” Norichi pleaded.

“Can I stand to trust your sincerity another day? When will I know you won’t threaten to banish me again?” Chand seethed.

“The night has made you hard, dearest friend.”

“Maybe… or maybe I’m just afraid that you’ll throw me to the darkness beyond fire’s light. And should I have reason not to think so?”

“Our entire lives… have I ever?”

“No. But our entire lives, you never hunted a filer to prove to a council that your word is equal to theirs and your tax bill should pass.” Norichi hesitated for a moment.

“Maybe I was foolish. Brash.” They mumbled.

“No 'maybe'. You were foolish and brash.” Chand shook her head.

“Okay…” Norichi hesitated, “but a good friend and a better advisor brings their royalty back from the brink of mistake. You showed compassion today. Even after what I did.”

“Trick, lie, and murder? Many would say you didn’t deserve my compassion.” 

“Chand, do not overreach your anger into my ego.” Chand froze for a moment. Maybe she had let her frustrations go too far. “I’m not saying you’re wrong. I’m saying your approach is enough to make me want to prove I’m right.” Norichi warned.

“Apologies, highness.” Chand dropped her head, trying to let the irritation pass through her like the wind.

“I’ll let it go… but you’re right. Maybe I didn’t deserve your compassion. But for tonight, can you come sit with me anyways?”

Silence passed between them, but before long, Chand had taken shape by Norichi at the fire. She leaned on their shoulder and they both stared into the fire, watching time blaze away, “What do you think the shadows will take in the night?” Chand asked.

“We'll see when the dawn comes.”

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Morning croaked, and the sun rose. Boga was up at sunrise, and with a gasp he shook Norichi awake,

“Your highness! The filer’s body! It’s gone!” Chand smiled from her spot curled in front of the fire. Her body was a soft icy glow. Norichi’s groggy hazel eyes opened to meet Boga’s gray eyes,

“And so it has been decided.” They patted Boga on the arm, then rolled over, falling back to sleep.