Paths Beyond

"I'm back!" Grey shouted as he stepped through an animal-skin curtain into a modest wooden hut. A faint ember glowed in the center of the room, slightly dug into the earth, casting a warm embrace over him as he laid his quiver and bow near the entranceway.

"Welcome back," a young girl stoking the embers responded with a smile, turning to meet his gaze. "How did the hunt go? You're back so late. I was getting worried."

"I had to stop at Keen's smokehouse. We had a pretty big haul today," Grey explained as he pulled a slab of meat from his bag. "The rest will take a couple of days to cure, so I'll need you to head over there the next few days to bring it back. I'll be gone early tomorrow, so offer half a leg to the guys there—they'll help you carry it back."

"You're leaving again?" the young girl pouted. Her pine-green eyes reflected the amber glow of the fire, revealing a quiet loneliness. Her small frame huddled further into itself as one delicate hand reached for a couple of onyx-colored rocks.

"You just got back. Plus, you're not even supposed to be going out there. I've been here all day by myself, you know?" she lightly grumbled, starting to strike the rocks together over a pile of dry grass she'd laid on the bed of ashes.

Grey sat beside her, grabbing a thin, smooth stone as she rekindled the fire. He placed the lightly marbled steak on the stone and asked, "You didn't go out to play with the neighbors?"

"They were busy helping their parents, so no one could come out. Plus, it's too cold." She had already started the fire, and Grey placed the stone evenly atop some sticks above it. Their movements were smooth, displaying their practiced hands. As they instinctively began to prepare the meal, Grey observed, "That's right. Everyone's getting to the age where they start working with their families. Time sure flies, doesn't it?"

The girl didn't respond. Only the crackle of the fire and the faint hiss of the rock drying resonated in the room. Not all children worked in their family's trade; some trained in fields offered by close friends of their parents. These exceptions were rare and required trust. The purpose of these exchanges varied, but often it was simply because the son or daughter was unsuitable for the task their family was in charge of.

There was no need to accept strangers into the family just to give them something to do, especially for no benefit, and without such connections or immediate family, Grey knew Tear's future was uncertain. She would remain on the outskirts—alone and drifting among odd jobs while others her age learned their paths.

The meat began to sizzle, its fragrance sweeping through the room. An idea struck Grey.

"Hey, Tear?"

"Mm?" She barely acknowledged him.

With her silence broken, albeit only slightly, Grey continued, "I've been getting along pretty well with Keen and the others recently. He has one of the busiest smokehouses in the village. I can ask him to let you train as a preserver and I can offer him a couple of favors in exchange."

"Really? You think he'll agree?"

Grey hesitated but nodded. Keen had been the only one to formally accept Grey into his squad, but only after Grey proved himself. Sneaking out alone and bringing back plenty of supplies as a show of his abilities. By offering favors and help, he believed, would secure a place for Tear to train. Not even mentioning the opportunity he had just given them earlier today. Grey felt a little bad about lying to Tear about his total certainty, but seeing her hopeful smile warmed him more than the fire ever could. He was sure he could see more after she spent her days socializing rather than sitting around alone and moping.

"Yeah, it'll be no problem," he reassured her with a bump of his shoulder. Smoke slipped through the tunnel dug into the floor, warming the room as they spoke.

"So, what did you get? This doesn't look like a Tree Rodent," Tear teased, pointing to the sizzling meat.

"Are you sure? Maybe it was just a really big one," Grey chuckled.

She tried picturing the small bushy-tailed creature large enough to create such a big piece of meat. If it wasn't for the fact that they ate animals the same size as them, the squirrel-like beasts would be quite cute at such a size.

The thought made her smile wryly. "Come on, stop messing around."

"It was a Hooded Horn," Grey revealed.

Tear's eyes widened. "You mean like the ones in the Elder's paintings? I thought you could only see those on a Grand Hunt."

"Until now I hadn't ever seen one in person either, but it is even bigger than I imagined," Grey said, pride swelling in his chest. He expounded on the hunt in vivid detail as they ate. The biting cold that froze even the thickest tree bark. The colossal tracks left by the beast. The dense, magnificent pelt that could warm an entire household. And finally, the violent majesty of its single horn.

By the time he was finished, they had long passed finishing their luxurious meal, Tear had already drifted into steady, peaceful breathing. Watching her sleep, Grey felt a protective warmth. You could mistake the two for siblings like this, but they in fact shared no blood relation. Despite their lack of blood ties, they shared a bond forged by chance—a bond that began on the day Grey found her.

_______________________________________

It had been his eighth cycle. A young Grey sat on the porch of a wooden hovel, staring at his new home. The Elder had gifted it to him as repayment for a service rendered by his family generations ago. Though grateful, Grey was unsure how to feel about living alone at such a young age. The rest of the village saw him as a burden. He wanted to prove them wrong.

While gazing at the stars, A small mouse scurried out from beneath the hovel's foundation, catching his attention. Its faint red glow was unlike anything he'd seen before. Recently, Grey had noticed similar lights surrounding living creatures—patterns of energy visible only to him. Over time, he'd come to realize these lights weren't a figment of his imagination, but a gift.

"There it is again," he thought. The mouse scurried away, and although it left no trail, it instead was coated in a pale red glow. Grey's focus waned, and the lights vanished, returning the world to normal.

Footsteps from behind broke his concentration. An old man approached, hunched over but still exuding an aura of strength from his prime. He held a walking stick, but even so, he radiated an air of authority and wisdom.

"Are you sure you won't stay longer?" the Elder asked, voice hoarse with age and concern. "I don't like the idea of you living alone here. I only gave the home to fulfill my promise."

"Elder," Grey greeted with a nod. "You've already done so much for me. I want to make a life here on my own. Besides, you've made it clear I'm welcome if I change my mind."

Grey had truly not wanted to leave, after all, he was so young at the end of the day. Being alone here would be desperately lonely, but with his plans, there would be far too many questions had he decided to stay in the care of Elder.

Elder sighed. "If that's your decision, so be it. But about the favor you asked... You can't seriously think of going into the Prowling Forest, can you? Even I didn't venture there alone at your age."

"Don't worry, Elder. I'll stay near the village. I just want to practice," Grey lied, determination masked by a smile.

The Elder studied him, then relented. From his back, he produced a small bow and a quiver of stone-tipped arrows. "You'll practice here. I'll ask Bark to bring a pelt for target practice. But you'll take your meals from me. I forbid you to hunt. Visit me daily for your share." Perhaps sensing the young boy's deadly ideas, he enforced a strict restriction.

"Thank you," Grey said, accepting the bow. Its ash-gray wood was smooth yet dense, heavier than expected. "I promise I'll stay in the village." He hated to lie to him, the man who raised him alone, but he was done feeling the eyes of all the villagers who saw him as nothing but a burden. In truth they were not wrong, even when in a few more seasons he would be old enough to train, there would be no time to show him, an outsider, when everyone had their own families to worry about.

Elder nodded at the dwelling, "There's a fire pit inside. Keen left some pelts and an axe for firewood. There's enough to last a couple of nights."

The sun was already setting, and soon the full moon would illuminate the earth with its clear glow. Elder patted Grey on the shoulder, "I need to head back now, I'll see you tomorrow for dinner alright."

"Alright, thank you for everything."

As the Elder left, Grey watched his retreating figure until it vanished. Alone, he entered his new home. A faint chill greeted him, but the fire pit was stocked with tinder and wood. He quickly built a fire, its warmth seeping into the animal pelt laid on the floor.

Grey closed his eyes, focusing on the sensations around him: the fire's radiating heat, the cold floor beneath him seeping in through the pelt, the rustling wind blowing the decaying leaves, and the scurrying mice cashing small insects hiding silently in the brush. As time passed these sensations all disappeared, gradually fading one by one until nothing remained. Even the feeling from his own body disappeared, he had no form, no feeling, only a realm in his mind remained. In his mind's eye, orbs of light appeared, each differing in intensity and hue. Time passed, and as his breathing steadied, the lights grew sharper.

He started this process when he noticed the lights becoming more intense after he slept. As he became more active, it grew more difficult to notice and comprehend the trails that occasionally popped up around him. When he made his plans to become a solo hunter, he tried to imitate his mind right before sleep, removing all his thoughts from the world, and focusing them only on his senses then removing even those. With practice, he became more and more proficient in clearing his head.

When he opened his eyes, the world had changed. A faint red glow tinged the grass and trees, and dim trails marked the paths of creatures that had passed. He followed one trail to a crack in the wall, where the red lights of his "roommates" flickered.

"Guess I've got company," Grey muttered.

Enough time has passed and the fire had only a few embers still imbued with their orange light.

With his time spent reviving his strange sight, he stood up grabbed the axe leaning on the wall, and headed outside. The moon illuminated the world outside, but even without it, the red hues emitted from the grass, trees, and even dormant flowers guided him. Grey walked behind the house to a secluded part of the fence surrounding the village and plunged the axe into the coarse dirt. Due to his small size, it did not take long the burrow a hole deep enough for him to squeeze through the gap he excavated, and soon a red-tinged forest full of Elms waited in front of him.

Thicker trails of light crisscrossed the forest floor. Gripping his axe and bow, Grey took his first step into the wilderness. The red-tinged world beckoned him forward, a silent promise of the trials and triumphs to come.