Big Game

Spring was coming, Teo could smell it in the air after all these years on the surface. It was a joy to see even still, the snow melting and the withered brown plants turning a vivacious green with the returning sunlight and warmth. He stood at the edge of the highlands, observing a patch of green grass amongst the brown shrub, like some great god had breathed life into that spot alone. It was a matter of positioning, of course, but he couldn't help but imagine the sun leaning down to kiss the earth, blessing it with a breath of life. Naturally it made his thoughts turn to his own Suns, both his god and his child. Both had his devotion in equal but different ways, the same as their lunar counterparts. Sun had grown to be barely below Teo's shoulder in height, showing no dimorph but showing every other sign of adolescence. It suited him somehow, no flashy displays like other males, his quiet and thoughtful nature clear on his peaceful visage. Moon was louder, shattering the silence of night and making waves where her brother refused to. She had been the main hunter between the two, even as they hunting as a duo Sun would freely admit that she did most of the work. Teo was waiting for them to return from a hunt actually, his stomach already filled with vegetation. He wondered when it would come, that magical moment where he no longer feared they wouldn't return home safely. He shook himself. They were sensible young Acros now, he had to learn to trust them at some point.

Moon grunted as she hit the ground, all the air pushed from her lungs in one fell swoop. The snow cushioned her fall somewhat but its freezing damp crept into her feathers within seconds, chilling her chest to the point she had to gasp to catch her breath. She could vaguely hear her brother yelling but it was drowned out by the bellow of the bull moose that had knocked her off her feet. She curled her legs up, ready to kick out in defence but the moose was violently sidechecked by Sun and shifted to the side, somehow keeping its footing. Sun snapped at the air, trying to keep the mammal back more than trying to inflict any kind of damage. It was enough of a distraction to allow his sister to stand up again, shaking out her feathers and roaring back at the moose. Sun didn't even have time to scowl at her before the aggravated bull swung its mighty rack of antlers at him. It clipped the bottom of his jaw and rattled his whole skull, making him reel back to avoid the follow up swing. This moose was clearly out of their league to hunt, he had no idea why Moon had insisted on engaging with it. He allowed himself a quick glance at their surroundings. The cliff face they had tried to trap the moose against was now at their backs, keeping them trapped instead between the sheer rock and the angry moose. 

Moon could feel Sun's glare boring into the side of her head but she had little time for his disapproval. Despite her brother's misgivings, she knew this fight was far from over, she had energy to burn and their prey was dangerous but disorientated, eyes darting between both carnivores. By the sheer power of outnumbering this animal, she knew there was an inherent advantage that they couldn't lose unless Sun lost heart and tried to flee. He may be the softer of the two of them, but she knew he would never leave her to face something like this alone. Their advantage remained, even if their prey had the upper hand of manoeuvrability. She made a move to stand further apart from Sun to split the moose's attention further but like he knew what she was doing, the bull charged instead. She winced and lunged in retaliation, latching onto the hard rack of horns and clamping down hard with her teeth. They were solid but not as hard as the likes of Styra horns, and she felt the velvety covering begin to slip as her teeth sawed through it. She twisted her head and barely moved the heavy bull at all, feeling the briefest tug as it was dragged across the rocky terrain. It pulled back and the moose's ridiculously thick neck muscles managed to tear the horns from her mouth, taking some of her teeth with it. No matter, Acro teeth were built to be lost, she simply let the blood trickle from her mouth, unable to spit it but unwilling to let it sit in her jaws as a potential hazard.

Sun couldn't stand by, not only when his sister was in trouble but also when prey lined itself up so perfectly for him. He charged, feet finding the little traction they could in the snow and pushing off the ground, his powerful legs sending him forward faster than the moose could register. His teeth met its spine, and he wrenched his head side to side, feeling his teeth turn muscle to bloodied flesh under them. To his surprise he felt the moose grow immobile, not moving as he tried to pull it off its feet. He opened his eyes, expecting to see his sister pinning down the animal but she was still too far away to attack. His eyes widened. Through sheer force of will this beast was standing its ground. He couldn't process that for long, as with a bellow that shook the snow from the trees, the moose drove its head back and flipped itself sideways, taking Sun with it. Both of them landed on their sides, still locked together by sheer jaw strength, but the impact shook Sun's grip, letting the bull struggle out and back to a standing position. It raised its front legs instantly, bringing them down onto Sun's chest with its full might. He felt his ribs creak under the force and knew he was a few well placed strikes away from broken ribs and a punctured lung. 

With the moose having brought Sun down it was entirely focused on him and Moon took her chance to strike. She charged like her brother did but she aimed for the back legs as the moose reared, grabbing the left and kicking out at the right. She missed with her kick but taking one leg was enough to send the moose to the ground, landing partially on Sun's prone body and striking out at him still even as Moon dragged it away. It fought like a warrior and she was almost loath to kill it, but she knew with a wound that size in its neck it wouldn't even make it to spring. She stood on its chest, hearing bones crunch under her weight and as the moose wheezed in pain she finished it with a vicious tear of its throat. It stopped moving shortly after, a quick death after all.

"You alright?" Moon asked, her breathing ragged and mouth still partially swimming in blood.

"I'm fine, but why am I the only one that gets hurt on these harebrained hunts of yours?" Sun demanded, pulling himself upright.

"Quit fussing and come get your dinner before it gets cold," Moon rolled her eyes, already swallowing chunks for herself.

"I'll ask dad and see if he thinks it's just fussing," Sun remarked plainly but his sister's face grew grim.

"No wait, no need to involve dad! Look, I'll get better at picking fights and you'll get better at dodging hits, we'll work it out eventually," she assured him, mildly panicked. As she fretted, Sun moved to tear a chunk from the moose's flank, savouring the taste before it vanished down his throat and then savouring how the gnawing hunger grabbed onto it with the same prickling limbs it had been tormenting his gut with for the last few days. 

"I suppose we've got nothing but time to improve," he sighed, interrupting whatever Moon was rambling about.

"Exactly, Dead City wasn't built in a day," Moon remarked, quoting one of their uncle Kaiwi's favourite sayings.

"It also wasn't attacked by moose regularly, I'm pretty sure," Sun quipped. Moon began to argue against that statement, of course she did, but her brother just sat back and nodded as he continued to eat.