Crying over a wolf

Luca is yet again out hunting with Sarr'ina, it'd been another month before he finally killed something. His first successful hunt was against a Squirrel that'd made the mistake of being alive around Luca, he had to say his spear throw was magnificent. While it didn't provide much meat or hide it was still an exciting occasion for not only him but also Sarr'ina as she'd been watching him fail for weeks on end.

He'd begun to get the hang of hunting but still hadn't been able to kill anything bigger than a Squirrel... Indeed the only thing he'd actually hunted was Squirrels. Sarr'ina was beginning to get a bit exasperated as every time they found something that wasn't a squirrel he'd end up missing some how. As was the case currently, Sarr'ina had managed to track down a rather large boar. As it was pretty big she doubted a single arrow would be able to bring it down without piercing something vital, she could usually land these shots but was feeling slightly sick today and thus had to rely on Luca to get the kill.

As would usually happen he reared back and threw it as hard as he could, he actually managed to hit the boar but it was superficial as the spear eviscerated it's tail... It gave loud squeal and quickly ran away at a speed Luca didn't think possible for a hairy pig. He looks back to Sarr'ina who had a frown on her face, she turns and sits on the groun muttering about something and Luca didn't have to courage to speak to her after missing such an easy kill, especially if he's able to hit squirrels with near perfect accuracy.

He walks over to a nearby tee and starts looking around for something else to hunt to makeup for his blunder... When he sees a familiar face, a wolf that seems to be limping. It looks healthy despite it's limp which makes Luca curious at how it hunted prey without being able to run properly. It has grey fur and yellow... Wait, it looks like the wolf that was stalking tribe a month ago!

Luca looks at it confused and wonders if the rest of it's pack is nearby, usually he'd just try and run away but with his recent blunder with the boar an idea pops in his head... Should he try and kill it? Sure there were risks but bringing back a wolf for Sarr'ina would surely improve her mood and opinion of him.

Grinning Luca decided to make his move, he crouches low and starts approaching the wolf as it laps up some water from a nearby stream. He grips his spear tightly as he raises it up, when he's close enough that he's afraid it'll notice him he unleashes the spear.

The spear flies through the air without a sound towards the wolf, it's ears twitch as it raise it's head which unfortunately puts it in the path of the spear, which penetrates it's neck fully causing blood to coat the nearby foliage.

Luca shouts in delight as he sees his attack hit the animal, with an injury that severe it'd probably die in a few minutes if not seconds. The wolf turns it's gaze to Luca slowly due to the weight of the spear in it's neck inhibiting it's movements, that and Luca thinks it might have damaged some of it's muscles. The wolf growls at him as blood pools around it, it puts a paw forwards to try and step towards him bu falls over and not getting up.

Luca doesn't dare go near it until he's certain it's completely dead and so throws a couple rocks and sticks at it's body just to make sure. Once he's certain he shouts "Ina come here, I've caught something!"

His voice echoes through the trees and Sarr'ina jogs towards him to see him standing with one foot resting triumphantly on a dead wolf.

"Lu.. What is that..." she says looking around with wary eyes.

"Its a wolf... Isn't it obvious?" he asks in confusion.

Sarr'ina focuses her gaze on him, "Was it alone?" she quickly asks.

Luca nods his head while giving her a confused look.

Sarr'ina looks like she's about to scold him when a voice comes from behind him.

"You... You have killed my companion!" a male voice shouts from the underbrush.

Luca looks over and sees a relatively short muscled man covered in loose hides with a horrified expression on his face. "Er, who are you?"

Sarr'ina bows deeply to the man, "We are so sorry, we beg forgiveness from the Karaskir!"

Luca mimics Sarr'ina bow after taking his foot off of the wolf, "Er... Sorry?"

The man steps forwards and places his spear down next to the wolf, he notes the large spear still penetrating it's neck. He turns his gaze to Luca as he can tell he's responsible from his lack of any weapon. "Why have you murdered Telci.." he asks with a sombre tone.

"I remember it trying to hunt our sheep, I decided to get some revenge." he says without a hint of remorse.

The man scowls at Luca, "Telci has never been near your sheep, I demand satisfaction for her death!" he exclaims.

Sarr'ina steps forward and tries to intervene, "We are sorry but if what Lu says is true then you are the agressor here. Let us not mention the fact that these are our lands." she says with a glare.

"We never agreed to allow you this territory!" he exclaims.

"What right do the Karaskir have to deny us our ancestral lands?" she asks calmly.

The man picks up her spear and shout at her, "The right of strength! I will return to my clan and let them know of your transgressions here today! We will see who is right through battle!" he says, grabbing the blood scruff of his dead wolves neck and starts walking away.

Luca is about to ask Sarr'ina a question when she draws her bow and fires it at the man, penetrating the back of his neck and killing him instantly.

"Holy shit! Ina what was that for!" he shouts in panic, wondering if she'd just lost her mind.

She shakes her head at him, "He made his choice, his death buys us time to prepare for war." she states simply before walking over and grabbing the dead wolf and throwing it over her shoulder.

"But... I thought you were all about respect and honour and all that? How is that the case when you shot him in the back?" he asks in confusion.

"He made his intentions for war clear before turning his back, he should have known what was coming." he says as she starts walking back. Luca picks up his bloody spear and follows her, taking one last look at the dead Karaskir tribesman as the leave.

As they walk back he continues to ask her questions on why she had reacted that way, apparently tensions with the Karaskir were already high before that incident. The tribe used wolves to hunt primarily which allowed them to claim a vast territory as their own as the wolves would mark what's theirs. However they started to expand their reach into the Sua'jiki tribes hunting grounds and picking them clean with the wolves. Sarr'vuln was convinced that they were trying to starve the tribe by hunting all the food available, with the death of the Ruler of the Forest the wolves weren't afraid to encroach into their lands anymore which has allowed them to push further.

"War is approaching but this may be what was needed to start it." she says after explaining the situation.

Luca rubs his now long red hair, "And I'm responsible for it?" he asks fearfully.

"Do not mind it Lu, the Karaskir will not know who started the fight first, only that they lost a member while hunting in our territory. I feel as if this is a goo thing as we have time to prepare for war while they are unaware." she says in a soft voice, though the contents don't seem to match her happy expression.

After hearing all this Luca just walks in silence for the rest of the journey, unsure how to react... He didn't know if he was ready for war. Or even ready to fight with another human, just the thought of it makes his hands tremble. Either way, he'd have to see what Sarr'ina's father thinks of the situation before coming to any conclusions.