Unrest 4
Hunt could have face-planted KiNa during sparring practice a hundred times over and the boy probably wouldn’t have even noticed. Much to the ire of his trainer, KiNa’s mind was stuck on what happened the day before and what he needed to do now.
I wonder what ShiKon likes to do. If she has favorite food. A favorite color?
Finally getting annoyed at the boy’s lack of attention, the Ingway gave him a sharp crack across the knuckles with his sparring staff. KiNa shouted, dropping his stave and stumbling back from the big feline.
Hunt looked amused under his irritation, “You not heard words I say, have you?”
“Sorry…” KiNa frowned, sucking on his knuckles. “Do you have to be so rough?”
“I not if you brought more than half-brain to practice,” the Ingway snorted. Then he crossed his arms, “Which female dumped you this day?”
“Chi.”
“That was sooner than expected,” Hunt scratched the back of his leg with the end of his staff. He knew the boy well enough to realize KiNa wouldn’t be fit for practice until he got all his pining out.
“It’s alright. She was kinda scary, to be honest,” KiNa reached over to pick up his staff and inspected it.
“No heartbroke?”
“Not really,” the boy shook his head.
“Then what wrong?” Hunt mused at him.
“Well, I think I have a really good chance with–”
The Ingway interrupted, “Just dumped and already new female prospect? Is acceptable with your strange people?”
“It’s not like that,” KiNa tried to explain, holding up one palm. “I think… maybe this one… is right.”
“Which one?”
“ShiKon,” the boy responded with hesitation.
They spent so much time fighting like bitter enemies, that he wondered what other people would think about them getting together as a couple. If that was even possible.
“About time,” came Hunt’s unexpected answer.
“What?” KiNa’s mouth fell open.
“So obvious,” he crossed his arms, tail flicking back and forth.
“How could it be obvious? I didn’t even know. I thought I hated her. We fought all the time,” the boy argued.
Hunt snorted, “Argue, maybe. But love scent when together.”
“Love scent?” KiNa asked, squinting before leaning his staff against a tree and grabbing a towel.
“Strange people have emotion-scents.”
“You smell… when we have emotion?” the boy recapped in disbelief.
“When strong emotion. Yes.”
“Okay, Hunt, that’s pretty messed up,” KiNa told him. Then he thought about it a moment, leaning forward. “Did you… smell a love scent from ShiKon, too?”
“Not telling,” the Ingway retorted with mild indignation. “Is messed up.”
The boy groaned at his own self-made downfall, “Come on, Hunt. I didn’t mean it. I need some help here!”
“Ask female,” he advised. “Get answer.”
KiNa shook his head and walked around through the grass a bit. Toeing his boot against a tree, he said, “She’s not going to admit it to me. I think maybe she does. But then, maybe I’ve made such a bad impression that she probably just thinks I’m a jerk.”
“Is she wrong?”
“Hunt!”
The Ingway responded with a purring hum that equated to laughter.
“You’re no help, you know that?” KiNa scowled.
“Plenty help. Just not for you,” Hunt picked up his staff and brandished it. “Now come work training.”
“I can’t. I’m trying to think of how I can persuade her to like me more,” the boy protested.
“Female like male with good training,” the Ingway offered.
“Give me a break,” KiNa huffed with slitted eyes. “I’m not falling for it, fish breath.”
“Worth try,” Hunt shrugged and spun the staff deftly between both paws, showing off. “Ingway female like tough male with good skill and big muscle.”
“Yeah, they all do,” he muttered. “That leaves me out on both accounts. What else you got?”
The feline broke a catty smile, “What else is there?”
KiNa just huffed in frustration. Then he asked, “So what do you do if you don’t have good fighting skills or big muscles? How do you attract the girl’s attention then?”
“You don’t.”
“Come on,” the boy rubbed his temples with his fingers, “Work with me here. What if?”
This time, the Ingway appeared to be thinking. “Gifts.”
“Gifts,” KiNa echoed. “Gifts are good. What kind of gifts?”
“Gutted fish from stream good. Also, color string. Color string ball even better,” Hunt’s tail began to twitch even more at the thought.
“I…. don’t think that’s going to work with a person girl.”
“No taste.”
“You’re no help,” KiNa complained again.
Hunt only flashed his catty smile again, amused more than insulted. “You are professional. Correct?”
The boy sighed, “Not really. So I dated those other girls. But this is for real. This is serious. If I mess this up, I could mess up the rest of my life!”
“That serious?”
“Yeah, it is,” he answered somberly.
“Such serious, talk to SoYa,” Hunt suggested.
KiNa wrinkled his nose, “I can’t bug him about something silly like this. He’s working so hard and always under a lot of pressure. He’d probably wonder why in the world I’m wasting time on this.”
“Not true,” the Ingway chided. “You know not true. SoYa is master. Master care for students. Even impossible students.”
“I know… I know…” the boy folded his arms behind his head.
“If you know, then do.”
“I guess so. ShiKon mentioned that Master SoYa kinda already knew.”
“Probably does,” Hunt tapped his head with one claw. “Smarter than normal strange-thing.”
KiNa quipped a bit, “Yeah, that’s true.”
His smile faded as a strange sound rose in the distance, moving through the trees like a flame carried by the wind. The boy stared up in wonderment, cupping palms over either ears to shut out the intensity of the sound.
Hunt’s whole body now stood rigid, staring upwards, too. His ears flattened back as he took proper hold of his weapon. There was intention to use it in his eyes.
“What’s going on?” the boy asked, grabbing his own staff in imitation.
When the Ingway began to move over the grass in soundless grace, all KiNa could do was run to keep up.
“Alert,” Hunt hissed the word over his shoulder.
“Alert?” he echoed.
“Stranger come into forest. Alert warning,” the feline said nothing more before making a rush for the forest edge.