Spirit Animals - The Assassins Throne

Chapter Four | Amadi |

The vervet monkey looked on in curiosity, as his human partner, Amadi continued to sharpen the stick he had collected earlier that day. Amadi wasn't a hunter so the monkey found it quite odd as to why he would be so transfixed on sharpening this stick. Amadi stopped suddenly when he felt the monkey climb onto his back and perch on his shoulder.

"Hello Moti." The boy greeted. The monkey gestured at the firmly held stick in Amadi's hand. Amadi looked back at the spear and then back at the monkey.

"I'm making a spear." The monkey shrieked back in annoyance as if to say he already knew that.

"I'm making a spear to go hunting, obviously." The boy said as he continued to sharpen his stick. Moti knew something wasn't right. It was too unlike Amadi to want to all of a sudden go hunting. Indeed, Amadi was not alright, his mind had been tainted with a fiery rage and anger. An anger directed towards his father.

"I'm going to go and kill something for tonight's dinner," Amadi said with the utmost confidence to Moti.

"That will show father who's incapable." Amadi seethed under his breath as he etched his knife further into the wood. When he was done, Amadi stood up and admired his handy work. He had taken a young innocent sapling and turned into a weapon. Although a little rough around the edges, Amadi had sharpened the end to a fine point, almost as fine as any needle. He would enjoy launching it into the nearest gazelle, but no joy would be greater than seeing the look of shock on his father's face as he carried his prize into the feast.

Yes. Amadi thought. And what a wonderful prize it will be. Something that would even make his late brother proud. After all, it was thanks to him that Amadi knew how to make the spear.

His older brother Dejen used to take Amadi hunting with him when he was a lot younger before he had Moti. Dejen would show Amadi how to throw his spear swift and true, how to angle it just right to get a fatal blow, but most importantly to never act out on your emotions and only kill what you needed.

~~~

"I see another one over there brother! Let's go get it!" Young Amadi was pointing at another gazelle that was grazing in the savanna. He was heading back home with his brother now having already hunted enough for the day when he spotted the unsuspecting animal.

"No Amadi, we should be getting back home," Dejen told his brother sternly.

"But I want to hunt another one!" Amadi protested. Dejen dropped the gazelle he was already carrying and crouched down so that he was eye level with his younger brother.

"We shouldn't be greedy Amadi we already have enough food to last us a while now." Dejen had told Amadi with a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Never let your impulsive emotions take over when hunting, they can lead to rash actions which usually result in even harsher consequences." Amadi made a confused face at his brother's words. Dejen only laughed at his brother's lack of understanding.

"Amadi, if every hunter killed every gazelle in their sight there would soon be no more gazelle to hunt. You must take only take what you need, no more no less." His brother rose and hauled the dead animal over his broad shoulders. Dejen had always been tall and strong from what Amadi could remember. Such a stark contrast to himself, Amadi had always been short and scrawny. It was sometimes hard to tell they came from the same father at all, even though everyone in town said that Amadi had always taken after his mother more.

"Skinny and weak, just like his mother. No wonder she never lived past his birth." The people would whisper, behind his back in the streets. Amadi couldn't blame them, he really didn't resemble his father and Dejen at all. He almost looked foreign standing beside them.