A Worthy Hunt (1)

2039. That is an infamous year for many people. It was when the stars disappeared, and shortly after, the sun followed as the warmth of Earth disappeared.

The sheer cold followed quickly; it ripped apart the normal daily life with the cold, callous touch of a world without its sun. If that wasn't enough, the starless sky seemed to drip down onto the surface of the world, staining and corrupting it with places that became almost inhospitable for normal humans.

Humanity barely survived the years to come, fighting back against the infinite abyss that Earth seemed to have been swallowed into. A tale full of many heroes, adventures that last lifetimes, and calamities that threaten the very sanity of the weaker willed. Though, those grandiose tales become just that. Tales sung to children as they go to bed, dreaming of becoming Delvers or having nightmares of the creatures of the Abyss.

Time washes the remnants of the tragedies of the Great Fall into the Abyss. A moment to remember, but still something that people simply grew used to. After all, a child who grew up within a World Cage, where their day is measured in the cycle of an artificial sun, will never think of the warmth of an actual sun.

Almost a thousand years within the Abyss tends to do that.

~~~

Jason listened carefully to the sounds of the forest around him. His heartbeat always pounded hard in his ears, drowning out the buzzing of insects and groans of old trees. It was a cacophony that normally annoyed him; his senses were always stronger after his awakening, but his dad said that a hunter must be able to hone them and not be led astray.

It took a moment to calm his breathing, feeling the distinct chill in his chest from the cool, winter air. Despite the thin long sleeves and thicker pants, Jason didn't really notice the chill at first. His body simply ignored it since his awakening, so it was a little awkward to notice such a thing so late.

All that meant was that his chosen prey would be less active during the winter.

He logged the information in the back of his head, deciding that if his prey wasn't going to move, he would. Slowly, almost glacially, his feet moved across the forest floor. It was almost instinctual to avoid sticks and dry leaves as he made his winding path within the woods.

His hands clenched reactively as he moved, feeling anxious as every sound around him filtered in his ears. Despite his deliberate care, he still heard the tiny crunch of foliage beneath his feet. He never could get the technique as good as his father; the older man always seemed like a ghost inside the forest while he amounted to what his dad described as a "abnormally large rat." Whatever that meant.

Jason wished it was a compliment, at least.

A soft click reached the teen's ears, almost making him jump at the sudden noise. He knew the sound was abnormally soft in his ears, meaning that it should be almost nonexistent to anyone else. However, that didn't stop him from shooting a quick survey around the forest. Just in case.

Tree. Tree. Tree. Bush. Tree… And surprisingly, another tree. Jason nodded at his count of trees, knowing that any camouflaged creature would have noticed him a long time ago. And anything that needed a disguise in these woods would not attack him on sight.

After his small scout, Jason brought up his wrist to his eyes. A small, rectangular watch sat on his wrist with a bright touchscreen. A simple timer had run out, letting him know he only had an hour before the World Cage would switch to night. He looked up, shielding his eyes to see the massive, white lattice that broke up the blue sky, softly clicking his tongue at the inconvenience.

Jason was no stranger to night hunts; his father had taken him on "unsupervised camping trips" enough for the teen to know his way around the forest without a sky guide. The problem was that he promised his mother to be home before the night cycle kicked in.

The teen bit his lip in indecision, trying not to pace. He fidgeted in place, perking his ears up in the hopes that a sound of his prey would reach his ears.

"Thirty minutes." Jason whispered as if to answer himself. Setting another time limit for himself, the teen continued his near-silent stalk through the forest.

When the time he promised came around, Jason dithered around awkwardly. He had found clues to his prey; broken sticks said a lot about the creature's weight and gait, allowing him to piece together just how heavy of an animal it was as well as the type of animal. While he wasn't the best tracker or hunter, he still knew the signs of his recent target.

Slightly burnt tracks. Barely visible paw prints. And, most importantly, traces of bark that had been scraped off the closer to the beast's nest you were.

The problem came as he wondered whether or not he had enough time to hunt the best before he had to go home. On one hand, he wanted to prove his skills to himself… on the other, his mom was scary when angry.

Chewing his lip raw, Jason narrowed his eyesight in the failing light. Eventually, he shouldered onwards into the forest as the artificial sun above slowly set. His footsteps were careful, purposeful as he walked. Just because he found his target he wasn't going to start forgetting everything he learned.

It wasn't long before he found himself in an area devoid of the sound of insects; a fact that set his instincts on high. After he had awakened there were very few times where he stopped hearing everything around him. Silence was something he didn't experience often, and it was only his heightened sense of touch that let him grasp the cause.

Static. Like a live wire had been set loose, letting electricity spill out into the air. It was an electrifying sensation that caused his hair to stand on end, and Jason felt like his hair was rising up as if anticipating a lightning strike. Each inhale sent a shiver of static down his spine as if someone sent a couple volts through his skin.

The young hunter stalled immediately, noticing the signs around him. He held back a curse as he patiently stood still. A rookie mistake was always to walk too far into a beast's territory even if you were hunting it, especially when dealing with a species like a Lyonire.

They were solitary beasts, and tended to make long treks outside their nests when going out to hunt. However, during colder months, Lyonires would not stray far from their homes. Instead, they would hibernate while hunting every once and awhile to stave off hunger.

Jason had neglected to think about the fact that the beast would probably be returning before the sun went down as well.

If he had worse eyesight, Jason would have been a goner. A true "blink-and-you-miss-it" moment.

The teen ducked instantly as soon as he saw a few lines of bright white suddenly shine within the shadow of the tree next to him. There was no indication that the beast moved other than the trails of bright light that stained its path, following along the glowing lines that went down either side of its raised spine.

Jason quickly pulled back, gaining distance as he felt his heart hammer in his chest. At the same moment, he took in the beast he had dodged.

It was a large cat with midnight fur, making it blurry around the edges in the current lighting. Four muscular legs each almost three times the size of his own held up its torso. In the night, it was almost indistinguishable from the shadows, but the finger-sized white teeth twinkled in the weak light of the nighttime.

However, the Lyonire's prominent features were the two, six foot-long whiskers that crackled angrily with white sparks, emitting a keening whine reminiscent of a faulty generator. On the cat monster's back were two luminescent lines that extended from the Lyonire's whiskers, went over its cheeks and flowed up to its back where the lines pulsed along its spine before connecting at the back of its short, stubby tail.

The lines on its body glowed brighter as it growled, pacing in front of the teen.

Jason's mother's warnings to not stay up too late were the last thing on his mind as adrenaline poured into his limbs. Unknowingly, he bared his teeth in a wide smile as he felt his heartbeat pulse harder and harder in his chest.

At one point, all the teen could feel was the heavy flow of energy that seemed to radiate into his body with every beat of his heart.

The next second, the beast charged.