"Hey, Solène, do you know where Harkin might've gone?"
A woman with bushy black hair walked toward Solène. Solène looked up from her washing line and waved.
"Oh, hey Miss Arlene."
"Harkin?"
"Now that you mention it," Solène said, frowning a little. "I actually haven't seen him all day."
"He must be with him again."
"Of course he is. Why did I even bother checking." Arlene sighed.
"Anyways, Solène, do you want to come by our place later for dinner?" Arlene smirked. "Harkin would definitely like that."
"This silly boy, running off again... probably near the stream. He'd better have brought a torch with him, or I swear, I might have to kill the both of them."
"Hey, hey—easy, easy. Hold it with a grip or else it'll—"
The fish flailed violently and slipped from the boy's hands, splashing back into the stream with a wet smack.
"Aw, damn it!" the boy groaned. "Why do I have to be patient? I hate this."
"Harkin, patience is somethin—"
Before he could finish, Harkin leapt straight into the stream, boots splashing through the dark, shallow current. He stomped wildly.
"Die, die, die, you little slimy runt!"
He kicked his foot up with a triumphant grin. A limp fish hung from his heel, lifeless and dripping.
"See?" Harkin declared, holding it up. "Told you, Thorne, we don't need patience."
But Thorne didn't laugh. He brushed past Harkin and gently took the fish in his cupped hands, his calloused fingers worn from hunting. His hair hung low and wild, damp at the edges from the mist of the stream, catching flickers of torchlight in its coarse, pale brown strands that swayed softly in front of his face.
With a faint frown, he kissed the fish's head before slowly laying it across a flat rock and splitting it with care.
"Harkin," Thorne said quietly, "there's a difference between monsters and creatures like this." "Monsters they'll try to kill you. These little things don't. When we take 'em for food, it's a blessing—from the gods, from the land. We should show some respect... "
Harkin's shoulders slumped. Guilt prickled under his skin.
"Oi," he muttered, "stop always makin' me feel like the villain."
Their torch crackled, its flame thinning, the light flickering as if exhausted by the endless black canopy above.
"We should head back," Thorne said with a sigh. "Your mum's probably pissed at us right now."
Thorne stood ready, his fists clenched tight. He sensed things Harkin couldn't. "Stay close to me, you tiny runt.""Oi," Harkin muttered, scowling, but edged closer to Thorne. He stood more than a head shorter, his hair short and spiky, slightly tousled from the misty breeze rolling through the underbrush. The forest around them was thick with twisted roots.
From deeper within the trees, low growls echoed—distant, but drawing nearer. Harkin flinched and stepped closer again."Pick up a few rocks," Thorne said sharply. "You've still got that knife on you, right?""Yeah..." Harkin replied, rummaging through his belt.
Thorne scanned their surroundings, eyes darting between the trees around them and the stream that was gently rushing with water.
"Shit…" he muttered under his breath. "It's a bloody Shuddrum pack."He turned slightly. "Stay close, Harkin."
Harkin complied without hesitation, moving closer to Thorne.
A few heartbeats later, shadows shifted in the bramble ahead. Then he saw them—five hulking beasts, just barely visible through the foliage. Their muscular limbs moved in jerky silence.
Thorne began counting under his breath. "Damn it…. five of them."
They stood still for a moment, the only sound their shared breathing and the soft hum of the stream near them.
"Think we can outrun them?" Harkin whispered.Thorne shook his head. "I probably could… not sure about you, buddy. And besides, we'd draw more of 'em."
Then one of the Shuddrums stepped forward. Its matted fur shimmered faintly in the dying torchlight. It locked eyes with Thorne—and growled.
Thorne's stance deepened, heels digging into the forest floor.And then it charged at them.
Harkin scrambled to grip the stones in his hand, his fingers fumbling as the Shuddrum edged closer. The low growl was guttural—feral. Just as it lunged for him, Thorne sidestepped with startling speed and drove his right fist into the beast's snout. The creature was lifted clean off its feet, crashing back far away into the undergrowth with a crack of bone and leaves.
Now they were all aware.
The rest of the pack snarled in unison, their glowing yellow eyes emerging from the trees looking blood thirsty.
"For fuck's sake..." Thorne hissed irritated. "Harkin, get your knife ready!"
Another Shuddrum came barrelling toward him. Thorne ducked low, letting it overshoot by a few inches, then snapped his elbow upward into its chin. The beast reeled. With a grunt, Thorne caught its grotesquely muscled arm, pivoted, and hurled it overhead. It hit the earth hard, just in time for Thorne to drive a brutal knee into its snarling face.
He turned sharply—Harkin was down.
One of the Shuddrums was practically on top of him, its twisted maw wide open, ready to bite and devour him.
"You ugly sack of shit!" Harkin yelled, flinging the stones in his hand. They bounced off the creature's thick hide, barely irritating it. His hands trembled around the knife hilt, heart thundering.
The Shuddrum loomed.
Thorne moved like lightning.
He finished off his own opponent with a crunching right hook to the jaw, dropping the beast in a heap, then burst forward in a blur of speed. Just as the Shuddrum clawed down, raking Harkin's side and drawing blood, Thorne grabbed its massive ribs, His eyes flashed with an unnatural white streak.
With a roar, he slammed the beast into the ground, lifted the knife from Harkin's shaking grip, and sliced its throat in one fluid, brutal motion.
But there was no time to breathe.
The first Shuddrum—his original target—came crashing back with a grotesque howl. Thorne turned, eyes flashing again with that same eerie white streak. He blitzed forward, snatched up a pebble mid-run, and crushed it in front of the creature's eyes, sending dust and fragments into its face. As it flinched, he ducked low, hammering an elbow into its knee with enough force to shatter the joint. The beast roared in agony.
Thorne surged upward, driving his fist into the creature's mouth before slamming his opposite elbow down atop its skull. A sickening crack echoed. Its lower jaw hung loose, detached, as it collapsed with a gurgled screech.
Another came.
Thorne tore its arm clean off in a gruesome display of strength and hammered its face with fists and knees until its body went limp.
The last two turned to flee.
Thorne didn't let them.
He darted after them like a predator unchained, using his primal, animalistic style of fighting to kill them off in an instant.
The forest was quiet again.
Panting, Thorne wiped the blood from his knuckles and made his way back to Harkin, whose breathing was ragged as he clutched his grazed cheek.
"Hey," Thorne muttered, extending a hand. "You alright, runt?"
"You've never taught me how to fight like that." Harkin said irritably as he took Thorne's hand up.
Thorne laughed. "Eventually, like I said, patience."
The two of them walked back under the fading light, their torch flickering against the cold breeze. Shadows danced across the trees, and Thorne gave Harkin a sidelong glance.
"Well, we'd better hurry. Both your mum and your little girlfriend Solène would love that, wouldn't she?"
Harkin's cheeks turned bright red, a fresh flush blooming right over the already bleeding graze on his face.
"Hey! She's not my girlfriend," he shouted.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say," Thorne muttered with a grin.
They finally stepped into a small clearing nestled deep in the woods. A dozen or so weathered huts stood scattered about like forgotten stones, smoke curling lazily from one or two chimneys. Harkin was still bickering with Thorne as they approached a hut near the edge.
The door burst open before they could knock. Solène ran out toward Harkin, breathless.
"Hey! Where have you been?" she asked, worry and irritation blending in her voice.
Thorne smirked at the sight while they stepped inside. The warmth of the hearth met them, but so did another storm. Arlene.
She stormed toward them, visibly irritated. "Thorne, why'd you keep him out for so long?"
"My apologies, Miss Arlene," Thorne said, sounding genuinely apologetic. "I didn't realis—"
"Harkin," she cut in suddenly, her voice rising. "Why are you bleeding from your—" She turned her head toward Thorne like a crackling whip. Her voice sharpened. "Did the two of you run into monsters?"
Thorne faltered. "Uh… yeah, we did," he admitted, his eyes fixed on the ground.
"I'm sorry, Miss Arlene. I didn't expect—"
Arlene's voice swelled, cutting him off again. She began to rant, her tone furious and motherly all at once. She scolded Thorne for dragging Harkin out with him, knowing full well it was dangerous, even for Thorne himself. At least he could take care of himself, she snapped. But Harkin? Absolutely not. She finished by saying Harkin wasn't allowed anywhere near the stream again.
Thorne nodded solemnly. "Yes, Miss Arlene." He turned to leave, but she called after him, asking if he'd stay for dinner.
"No it's fine Miss Arlene I don't need t-," he replied, already at the threshold.
Then, from behind him, an outburst shattered the tension like glass.
"Why do you always have to ruin everything? Is that why Dad got annoyed and lef—"
Solène tried to stop Harkin from speaking, Arlene looked visibly hurt as her face started to show her emotions.
The words hadn't even finished leaving Harkin's mouth when he felt a sudden, sharp pain explode across his cheek. His body hit the wall hard, air rushing from his lungs.
Solène gasped in horror.
Thorne's fist trembled from the punch, his expression twisted in fury as he stormed over and grabbed Harkin by the collar.
"Don't ever say things like that to your mother again," he growled. "You don't know just how lucky you are to have her."
His voice cracked with heat and a deep flush of emotions.
He made Harkin apologize. No yelling. No negotiation. His glare and the pain from the punch was enough.
Then, without waiting for Arlene to speak again, Thorne led Harkin out the door into the cool night.
"I'll bring him back," Thorne called over his shoulder.
"I need to teach this fucker just how ungrateful he is."
Arlene said nothing. Solène stood frozen, her hand over her mouth. The fire crackled quietly in the silence they left behind.