Chp.8: Humans

Knowing Darbi's temperament and intelligence, Haku thought that he couldn't stand their sisters' questions for more than ten minutes, so he was mentally prepared to intervene and provide convincing explanations. However, to his astonishment, Darbi was able to surprise him quite a bit.

When they returned to the cave, Haku had gone to lie down in his favorite place, but Darbi, who was much more sociable, was immediately joined by two of their sisters, Keita and Kialandì. They both wanted to know what had happened outside. Haku had worried: if Darbi told what had really happened, then the next day everyone would want to go out and hunt on their own, and Haku would miss the opportunity to create a pack and keep them all together. In fact, if he wanted to succeed in this plan he had to proceed in small steps, first taking out a few of his siblings, then a little more, and only finally all of them. After all, not everyone was as hotheaded as Darbi and they wouldn't have been duped so easily: if they were convinced that they didn't need him, the herd would have disintegrated before it was even formed.

But Darbi hadn't told what really happened. Or rather, he had, but he had omitted some details. Incidentally, the most important amd beautiful details. He hadn't mentioned the euphoria he'd felt when he'd killed the ophiotaurus, or the thrilling sensation of pleasure he'd felt when he'd tracked prey. On the contrary, he had told how extremely tiring and difficult the hunt had been, how he had failed to hunt alone, and how the animals of the outside world were very large and dangerous.

Darbi turned out to be a very good speaker: when he finished Keita and Kialandì were quite scared. As they walked away worried, Darbi secretly winked at Haku. Haku, for his own, couldn't believe that Darbi was able to understand his intent so well. Perhaps he really had underestimated his brother's intelligence too much. He decided that in the future he should have apologized to him for this.

Darbi's story didn't take long to spread among all their siblings, generating quite a stir. As Haku had imagined, many of them had thought of imitating him; but suddenly, they weren't so sure they wanted to do it anymore. Darbi had described the outside world as a dangerous place where it was difficult to get food (which was partly true). If it was Haku who told them, his siblings wouldn't immediately have believed him, since Haku had a reputation for being very intelligent and therefore it would have been natural to think that if he discovered any benefits he would have wanted to keep them all for himself. But Darbi had no such fame and therefore everyone immediately believed him.

Apparently Haku wasn't the only one: everyone had underestimated Darbi. Haku promised himself not to do it again in the future: despite that simpleton appearance, his brother had been able to convince everyone that the outside world wasn't a promising place to go. And so, after a quick reflection, most of their siblings had decided that at least for the moment it was more convenient to stay still in the cave and fight for the food that their mother brought them, rather than to go out and go on a hard and uncertain hunt.

Of course, the only ones who thought otherwise were their weakest sisters, primarily Tikka and Kotaru. They had no choice but to go out and hunt, so they were willing to do it even if it seemed difficult. However, this was a real risk: Tikka and Kotaru were fragile in constitution, which in itself was a debilitating factor, but on top of that they still had the bruises and wounds from fighting for food. While they weren't serious injuries, they hurt when they moved too much, making it difficult for them to run or jump. If they had met the wrong opponent, they could have lost their lives.

Haku couldn't allow that. If he had, then the very purpose of creating a pack, or finding food for everyone to survive, would have become futile. But he couldn't exactly forbid them to hunt. So he decided to resort to a simple expedient: show himself generous and tell them the truth.

When their mother returned that evening with the usual piece of meat, Tikka and Kotaru were still too weak to approach, but the same couldn't be said of Darbi and Haku. Both managed to tear off large chunks of food, but instead of eating it, they took it to their sisters. After all, they both already had full bellies. Tikka and Kotaru were still a little suspicious, but just like they had done that morning they ate all the meat.

The night passed quickly. The following morning the same scene repeated itself: Darbi and Haku took their part of the meal and gave it to Tikka and Kotaru. This time there was no suspicion in their eyes and they accepted the meat willingly, even though their pride was clearly hurt. But after all, when survival was at stake, pride could be set aside. That was the first step of Haku's plan: to be generous. By continually giving their share of the meal to Tikka and Kotaru, Darbi and Haku had convinced them that their siblings really did care about them.

Then, as Haku had guessed, as he and Darbi were about to leave Tikka and Kotaru came to ask him to join them. At that moment Haku performed the second step: to tell them the truth, that they weren't in the right conditions to hunt. Initially both were offended and protested, but it didn't take long for them to understand that what Haku was saying was true, also because Darbi gave him full support. Eventually, they had been forced to admit that they were still too weak to even provide hunting support.

Haku promised them that he and Darbi would have given them their part of food until they were strong enough to join them. As both of them had shown great generosity multiple times, Tikka and Kotaru chose to believe him. What's more, it was impossible for a dragon to break their promise, so they could be sure that Haku and Darbi wouldn't have abandoned them. Even though they hated the idea of ​​having to depend on their two brothers, Tikka and Kotaru agreed to stay safe in the cave. In this way, Haku saved two of his sisters from risking their lives.

Over the next few days, Haku and Darbi kept their promise and always gave their ration to their sisters. Tikka and Kotaru had tried to follow them other times, but Darbi and Haku had always refused since the bruises weren't completely healed yet. Before taking them hunting, Haku wanted to be sure they were both in full strength.

Meanwhile, Haku had improved his hunting techniques. Now, with Darbi's help, things had gotten much easier and he could afford to hunt bigger prey. Darbi had turned out to be an excellent sidekick: he obeyed his every command and always in the most efficient way possible. In the first days, he still expressed doubts about Haku's plans, but then, seeing that they worked most of the time, he determined that his brother was the best of them in planning, and thus he placed absolute trust in him. By the end of the week, their coordination had become so perfect that when they hunted they seemed to be of one mind.

Now that Darbi's trust had become very strong, Haku thought it was time to take his sisters along. However, a hitch occurred: one day Tikka, who was the more irascible of the two, got tired of being pushed aside and she tried to take a piece of the meal brought by Neytiri. Result? She had been beaten so badly that when Haku and Darbi had managed to drag her away she was almost limping. Haku had determined that she needed more time to recover, and Kotaru, worried that that event could repeat itself, had refused to leave her sister alone. So Haku's plans to take them hunting with him and Darbi had to be postponed.

After another week Tikka still hadn't fully recovered, and a third sister had also joined the group: Teramon. She too had been excluded from meals. And once again Neytiri had ignored the situation, and this time Haku was absolutely certain that she didn't give a damn about his sisters. And he couldn't help but be angry about it.

Haku decided that he would have waited another couple of days, and then he would have took them all with him hunting. While he would have preferred Tikka to recover fully, he couldn't wait forever: for within another week the number of sisters excluded from meals would have probably increased to four or even five, and he and Darbi couldn't get food for all of them; they couldn't in fact bring their prey into the cave, or Neytiri would have smelled the dead flesh and would have known that something was wrong. Their mother was already suspicious of Haku and Darbi's behavior, they couldn't afford any more missteps. Therefore Haku had no choice but to agree to take his sisters with him and teach them to hunt, even though Tikka wasn't yet at her full strength. His sisters had obviously been very happy, since finally they would no longer have had to rely on their brothers but they could fend for themselves. Just a couple of days...

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"Damn, look at this place! It sure is blessed by the gods!"

Four figures had appeared at the edge of the valley. They were strange animals covered in clothing, moving on two legs and walking around with strange objects that they used for defense.

They were humans.

Of course, there were no native humans in Neytiri's territory, or even in neighboring territories. The dragons made sure that the place where they lived was well away from any population center. These were clearly a scouting party, it could be understand by the amount of provisions in their backpacks. Unbeknownst to them, they were the very first newcomers to set foot in that valley for several hundred years.

"They will reward us well for discovering this place!" exclaimed the only woman in the group. She was a blond beauty with deep blue eyes who wore a hunter's outfit and carried a bow and quiver. "It's so spacious and inviting! The king might even decide to build a city there!"

"And think of how many things we can find!" said the tallest of the four. He was a handsome man with only a buckskin covering him, showing his powerful muscles. Unlike the woman, he had a powerful hammer over his shoulder. "There will surely be minerals, medicinal plants, unknown beasts..."

"I'm more interested in fruit! Those trees look full of them!" said another licking his mustache. He was shorter than the others and more paunchy.

"Tsk! Always thinking about eating, Sven! Think bigger!" the man with the hammer teased him.

"Can you stop to make all this noise!?"

The three of them turned to the last member of the group. He was a man who appeared to be at least twenty years older than the other members of the party, evidenced by his wrinkles and long white beard. He was dressed more elegantly, a sign that he was a veteran. "We're not here on a tour! This is an unexplored place. We don't know what dangers it holds! Making all this noise won't help us!"

"Oh, come on, Ethan. We've faced all sorts of dangers. Nothing can surprise us now" the woman laughed.

The man named Ethan rolled his eyes. "These young rookies... as long as they shoot down a griffon they feel they can defeat everything. They don't realize the dangers that such a remote place could represent…"

Ethan had been on many exploratory expeditions in his past, and by his sixties had amassed a considerable amount of experience. He knew with certainty that one should never let his guard down. "Enough talk, let's establish a base camp. That clearing looks like a good place" he said. "I take care of the tents. Sven, you check which fruits and plants are edible. Tyana, Ash, you check the perimeter and make sure there are no dangers"

"Mph. As you wish..." the three of them grumbled. Then Sven asked: "Can I go with them? I'll check the food on the way"

Ethan knew it was just an excuse not to be around him. "Do as you like" he said simply.

While he established the camp, the three younger people went into the forest. "Bah! That old man is too paranoid" Ash grumbled.

"I agree. What does he expect to find?" Tyana gave him support. "I don't understand why we keep taking him with us. If it weren't for the fact that he can read the map, I would have proposed throwing him out of the group a long time ago"

"Hey, why don't we do it our own way?" Sven suddenly suggested.

Ash's eyes glittered. "You mean..."

"Let's place some magical traps and capture something. You will make sure there are no threats and I will enjoy the show sitting on a tree while I check the edibility of the fruit" Sven said.

Ash smiled. "So that was what you thought! At this rate you're going to be a whale, Sven. Anyway, I'm with it"

"Me too. Let's show that old man what a real explorer does!" Tanya confirmed.

The three of them set their traps around the forest, waiting for some large creature to approach.