Chapter 19. Omel-ing Into The Woods

Following deeper into the woods Charon was still shocked at what had conspired an hour earlier between the two boys. He didn't know how it happened but Leo Omel deemed him capable of 'sitting at his table', whatever that meant. 

'Will he give me free food?' Charon naively thought, unaware of the young knight's meaning behind the words. 

"Come on Charon! We gotta hunt something to celebrate this mark in our friendship." Leo announced with two lines of mud under his eyes, applied by himself in an attempt to mimic hunting paint. "My Father always does this when he makes a new friend at our house. The two head out in the morning and come back by nightfall with a beast in their hands, then they spend all the night drinking and laughing!"

"Hunt? Hunt what?" Charon inquired as Leo climbed a tree to reach a low bird's nest. Getting high enough in the tree he climbed across the branch and looked into the nest, disappointed by what he found he climbed back down with a glum look on his face.

"To hunt a great beast duh!" Leo proclaimed with a twig sticking out of his hair. 

"....." Charon was speechless.

"You'll see, hehe." 

As they continued their journey, Leo's excitement was palpable. "My father once brought back a boar! Imagine if we could find something like that!" Leo said, swinging his stick with enthusiasm.

Charon, feeling a mix of anxiety and thrill, followed closely behind. He had never hunted anything more than small game in alleyways, and the thought of hunting a "great beast" seemed daunting. Yet, Leo's confidence was infectious.

After a while, they came across a small clearing. Leo crouched down, signaling Charon to do the same. "Look over there," he whispered, pointing to a cluster of bushes rustling slightly.

Charon's heart pounded in his chest as he watched the bushes. Slowly, a rabbit similar to the one they spotted earlier emerged, sniffing the air cautiously. Leo grinned and motioned for Charon to stay still. 

"It's not a great beast, but it's a start," Leo said quietly. He began to creep forward, stick in hand, ready to catch their first prey.

Charon watched in awe as Leo moved with surprising stealth. When Leo was close enough, he lunged forward, but the rabbit, sensing danger, darted away into the underbrush. Leo sighed, standing up and brushing dirt off his knees.

"We'll get the next one," Leo said with determination. "Come on, let's keep looking."

As the day progressed, the boys continued their hunt, and a silent understanding filled the air. If they were to fail to at least hunt something by the time the sun falls then it would have been considered a failure.

Charon, once shy and unsure, began to feel a newfound confidence in the company of his bold new friend. The woods seemed less intimidating, and the hunt more exciting. Tightening his grip on the now sharpened branch he held as a makeshift spear his eyes darted around in search of anything. 

Suddenly Charon felt a presence behind him. There was no sound besides the chirping of birds and the scurry of the occasional squirrel yet he felt the presence of the creature even now. 

Stopping in his tracks, Leo continued to walk unaware of his friend's halted steps. Looking around rapidly Charon was searching for whatever had given him the chills now running up his arms.

Straining his ears he tried to use his senses to the max. 

"Charon? What's wrong?"

At Leo's voice the presence he felt before disappeared, as if it had never existed in the first place. 

A massive rustle in the bushes behind them sounds as heavy footsteps come closer. 

Snapping their heads in the direction of the bushes Charon barely lays his eyes on the creature before Leo yells out.

"Boar! Dodge!" He shouted just in time as the two boys jumped to the sides narrowly avoiding its charging tusks. 

Rolling on the ground the two boys quickly stood up with their makeshift spears in hand. 

"This is it Charon! The beast we must hunt!" Leo yelled out with a huntsman vigor evident in his voice. He lived for this thrill and loved that he would soon share a trait with his father and grandfather.

Holding the point out at the almost 4-foot-tall boar as all 200lbs of the beast continued to charge past them, Charon readied himself for what was to come. Yet, something was strange. Yes. The boar hadn't stopped his charge yet and continued to run away from the two.

"Hm?" The audible confirmation from Leo confirmed the doubts they shared about the creature's behavior. 

Even after a couple more beats the animal had still not turned around to face the two and continued to run. It was running away.

Charon watched the creature's back and a fearful thought entered his mind, 'If it's running away..' Snapping his head back to where the boar had come from he saw two shadows stalking out of the bush. 'What is it running from...'

Coming out of the bush were two gray wolves side by side as a low growl emerged from the both of them. 

"Leo.." Charon muttered as he slowly backed away from the wolf that advanced towards him. Looking over at Leo who had now turned around to face the wolf that split to face him Chaorn could see the blood drain from his face. 

"Wolves." Leo's voice was filled with evident fear noticing the two beasts dismissing their attention on the boar and now focusing on them. 

Before another word could be said between the two Charon jumped back as the wolf in front of him snapped his jaws at his legs. 

Mirroring his moves Leo and Charon both thankfully moved out of the way in time to give a sharp glance to each other. 

"Run!"

Leo swung the makeshift stick like a baseball bat with two hands allowing the blunt of the branch to impact the wolf's head, stunning it in time for him to turn and run down towards the nearby sound of rushing water. 

Watching as his companion made his escape Charon brought the tip of his spear down on the animal's shoulder. Feeling the makeshift spear bite down in its soft flesh Charon heard the cry of the wolf before turning back to run. 

Sprinting toward a collection of rocks jutting out from the earth Charon scrambled up the formation in a desperate move to avoid the wolves. 

Upon reaching the top of the large boulder marking the peak of the formation he turned around to gauge the distance between his pursuer. Spotting the wolf still at the base of the formation he watched as it writhed in pain from the injury it sustained from his fleeing attack. 

Bending its neck as far as it physically could Charon watched as the wolf snapped the makeshift spear that had lodged itself into its shoulder. With a canine cry at the pain Charon watched as the weakened wolf limped up towards him with fierce raging primal anger in his eyes. 

The hungry wolf stalked forward willing to end his life for the hunt as Leo was fending off its partner. 

They both knew what had to be done, and what awaited them if they couldn't. Tooth and nail they had to make sure they came back from this hunt.