Bounkola

The white hob ran blindly through the jungle, looking for shelter and water to cool his wound. Despite the fire being out, it still felt as if it was burning his face, eating away the skin bit by bit. The pain was almost unbearable and he had to focus not to faint. He couldn’t open his right eye, as he felt the injured skin tug at it and he wanted to clean and rest it first, as there was a high probability he might lose his eyesight, if he hadn’t already. He should’ve seen it coming. That Mayur wanted to kill him from the first moment they met, he was foolish to have turned his back on him so quickly. But still, he was alive. The red demon had not succeeded in his task and he wouldn’t give up on himself that quickly. 

Finally he felt like he had run far enough and found a small puddle with relatively clean looking water inside. He held his head over it and used his paws to carefully pick up water and let it run over his face. He flinched and clenched his teeth, as this made the pain even worse, but he knew there was no way out of this.

After Ruvik was done, he looked in the puddle and saw his reflection. His face was horribly disfigured, the white fur gone and red, wrinkled skin showing beneath. The scar reached up to his eye, but he carefully opened it and, after some time adjusting, he knew it was still unharmed. The hob turned his head and looked at his neck, where he had felt the first flames lick his body. His mane was completely gone, burned down, and the skin was irritated as well. The now maneless Kumba sat up and looked around cautiously, his ears pricked and attentive. He heard something rustling in the bushes and a twig break under the feet of some animal, but he wasn’t keen on finding out what it was, especially because Makuta could’ve followed him, so he cowered into the undergrowth and disappeared.

Next task was to put something on his wounds, so they wouldn’t get dirty or infected and to sooth his already weak albino skin. He found some large, wet leaves that he cut off with his claws and carried a while in his mouth. He wasn’t sure what to do to make them stick and he wondered whether there was some kind of ointment he could put on, until he remembered a beehive they had found on their way to Kezme. He retraced his steps as well as he could remember and easily reached what he was looking for, then put some honey on his paw and, with every touch still burning like hell, put the golden substance on his face, then stuck the leaves on it. Now that his eye was covered up, he had to be extra careful not to fall into a hole or run into a tree, as his depth perception was horrible. Without thinking about it, he headed south, towards his home, not knowing if Shiro would find her way back, but he didn’t care about her, not really. She was just a means to an end, nothing more. He had to save himself now.

A quarter-moon had gone by and Ruvik had already reached the border to the desert, hardly resting at all, too scared to be ambushed again, but he remained in the jungle for a while longer, as it was his only resource location to treat his burns and offered him shade from the sun as well. But he didn’t want to stay, he was sure about that, though before he could venture into the desert again, he had to craft something he could use to hide his scars from others and keep his exposed skin away from external harm, as the leaves wouldn’t be a long term solution. But one time, as he had explored the desert and it’s flora and fauna, he had discovered something that might come in handy now.

That night he walked across the border, looking for a specific plant, a yucca. It looked like a little palm tree without a trunk and had very long, slim leaves. It didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for and he cut off a bunch of leaves, as much as he could carry, and returned to the jungle.

The plant had very strong fibers, he had discovered that before, but it surely would be easier to work with it next to a body of water, where he could soak the material. After he had found a slow river, he placed the leaves inside the cool liquid and put a rock on top of them, so they wouldn’t float away. He lay down next to it and waited.

Ruvik checked them often, but it took a whole day until they were soft enough to proceed.

The albino hob grabbed the leaves and cut and tore them into very thin strings, only as thick as a hair from his former mane. Then he placed them on the ground and began weaving them. The first couple tries didn’t work out and it took him a couple days to find the best possible way to craft some kind of cloth, but he had to go and get additional leaves two more times, as some broke and he just needed a lot more of them.

Finally, after half a moon, he was done and held a cloak in his paws that fit perfectly over his face and neck. It would not enable him to be outside in the sun, as still parts of his body were exposed and his skin had never been able to bear the heat from his birth on, but it would protect him in many different ways nonetheless.

The next night he set foot into the desert once more, this time for good. He wouldn't leave his birthplace anytime soon again he swore to himself, as even though the weather and environment were harsh, but he was used to it and had the upper hand. He managed to survive despite his disabilities all his life and he would continue to do so. He traveled and traveled for many quarter-moons, all over the desert, with no goal or destination. Ruvik wasn't sure what to do, other than survive. But with every day he was keeping himself alive, he felt his will become stronger and his lust for revenge deeper. He would show everyone that they wouldn't be able to just push him around, to hurt or use him however it pleased them. He'd arise from the ashes and show them his true nature. Like a locust swarm that haunts the desert, he'd come over them and tear them down, no matter what.

That night, as he reached the top of a high dune, the hob stopped and looked around, unsure of where to go. The hood he had crafted made it difficult for him to see, but he didn't mind. After he had turned his head around and let his gaze wander along the horizon, his eyes stopped and got stuck on a shape in the distance. It was clearly a Saliko, very brightly colored, or at least the light of the full moon was making it shine. The hob just stood there, waiting, unsure whether to avoid contact or seek it and let his anger out on the unsuspecting victim.

The other Saliko had spotted Ruvik as well and looked up to the small silhouette on the hill. The albino was too far away for the cream jill to recognize, but something scratched her mind at the sight of him. It seemed so strangely familiar, as if it had happened before. This strange, ghost like appearance before her felt like from a very distant dream and without thinking, Shiro began walking in the direction of the stranger. Her feet carried her closer and closer, while her mind drifted away. She had been alone for too long while travelling back home and after all she had experiences since the attack, her broken head had begun protecting itself by hiding her weak and naive side behind a cold and ruthless personality. Before the cream one had reached the hob, her body still in autopilot, her mind shifted and she turned into the other Shiro.

Ruvik had seen the Saliko walk closer to him and decided to stay. He wouldn't run from others anymore, so the hob waited patiently. As the jill came more into view, he realized it was his friend, but he wasn't sure how she'd react to his appearance and the fact he had left her behind with the crazy Mayurs.

Finally, Shiro had caught up to Ruvik and the two were standing opposite of each other. The jills eyes were still empty and grey, her head hanging low and she looked straight through him, not saying anything, and Ruvik, knowing her well enough, didn't disturb her in that state. After a while, she finally raised her head high and properly looked at him, her mind like awoken anew. But the smirk on her face and cold, dark eyes staring at him immediately showed Ruvik that Shiro had shifted personalities once more to the powerful version that he had discovered and loved before. And he grinned back.

«Welcome home.»