valor and strength

More questions than answers

What do you need to face what you can't defeat and, despite knowing it, give it your all until the last moment? Some might say, 'Doing something like that is foolish,' but I would reply, 'Doing something like that without any kind of meaning is foolish; doing it for a friend is true valor.' A simple 'thank you' is not enough.

Coeni had saved me once again, risking his life this time in the process. In my mind, I replayed the moment when I saw him confront the fierce animal with nothing but his will, but now he lay sprawled on the grass next to the rock against which he had crashed, not moving at all, while a pair of crows flapped their wings overhead, cawing incessantly.

In the distance, I could see something approaching swiftly through the grass. As it drew nearer, the sound of its paws against the ground increased, as if it were a herd of antelopes stampeding.

I tensed up and lowered my head, waiting for whatever was approaching until a few meters before reaching us, it started to slow down. I understood that the crows were signaling our position to it.

It was then that I saw a huge boar, twice the size of any I had known before. It had giant, sharp tusks, thick and rough skin, and its hooves looked more like claws than extensions of its legs; somehow, its bristles were tangled in such a way that they seemed braided.

When it reached me, it bellowed, 'So there you are!' I had no idea who it was or why it was looking for me, but upon seeing the poor rabbit's body next to me, its expression changed as if it were someone else. With anger, it confronted me, saying, 'What have you done to Coeni?' Before I could answer, it lunged at me with those large tusks aimed at me.

Fortunately, the pair of crows circling above me started to descend, repeating, 'Tenami, the wolf, Tenami,' until they landed on one of the rocks.

Although their cawing was annoying, thanks to them, the boar relented.

The crows had an unusual way of speaking. Apparently, they couldn't structure very long sentences, so they spoke very little and repeated the same phrase multiple times within their society.

The boar, still eyeing Coeni, asked, 'What happened to him?' 'One of the cardobians who were here, a wolf the color of the earth to be precise,' I replied, to which it retorted, 'But that's not possible, I dealt with him, and with every beast I've come across,' 'Well, you didn't do your job well,' I responded somewhat annoyed, although I knew it wasn't really her fault.

Apparently, she was the one who had left the two pumas in that state, but somehow the wolf survived and was now heading back to his kind.

She asked me about the wolf that had attacked my friend, so I explained what had happened, though I didn't mention how the rock had glowed upon contact with Coeni, as I still didn't know what implications it might have, and I didn't think it was relevant to the situation either.

'It can't be!' she exclaimed. I understood her concern. If the cardobian pack or any contingent of their great army found out what had happened there, they would undoubtedly seek revenge.

The boar looked me in the eyes and asked, 'You're Raoban, right?' and added, 'I pictured you larger.' I asked her, 'Who are you, and how do you know my name?' but instead of answering me, she asked, 'Do you know the name Raobeon?'

Her question stunned me for a moment, but all this circling annoyed me, so I shouted at her angrily, 'Who the heck are you? How do you know my father? Answer me now.'

But the boar simply replied, 'My name is Tenami; I have a message from your father, but we must talk calmly when he returns. I realize Coeni is breathing; take him quickly to his home, Mavane knows about herbs, she can heal him. I'll see you there.'

She turned around shouting, 'Which way, crows?' The crows took flight ahead, while Tenami followed them at full speed. I knew what she was trying to do, and although risky, it was necessary if we wanted to avoid a bigger event.

I took Coeni as gently as possible between my antlers and began to walk toward his home. The pair of mice that had stayed hidden until Tenami left hurried to inform Mavane of what had happened.

As I walked back and being alone, I could see the plains of that region with different eyes. I wasn't someone on the verge of collapse anymore but someone curious and amazed by the beauty of the place.

Unfortunately, my mind was not at peace. There were many questions I needed answers to: Where is my father? Why didn't he come looking for me? Who is this Tenami? What was that glow that scared off the cardobian?

With all these doubts in my mind, the only thing that gave me peace was knowing about my father. Until before traveling to the north of the forest, we hadn't had a real connection, but recent events had changed my perception of him in many ways.

While all this was going through my head, Coeni woke up and started moving. 'Stay still, brother. I'll take you home,' I said, but he replied, 'Now I know how you felt when you arrived with us,' I smiled without realizing it. It was the first time I heard him make a joke, so I commented, 'It seems you just needed to be half-dead to be funny.' We both laughed and complained about the injuries each of us had, so we looked at each other and laughed even more.

Just before we could see his home, he asked me, 'Set me down here, please.' I didn't think it was convenient; although he was better than I thought, rest was necessary. 'It's better not to strain yourself yet,' I affirmed, but he gave me his reasons, 'I don't want to worry Mavane and my kids anymore. I can walk,' so I carefully set him down.

His first steps were slow, but upon seeing his home and everyone waiting for him, he picked up the pace. Mavane ran, or rather, jumped to meet him along with fourteen little rabbits who surrounded Coeni as soon as they had him close.

They entered his house, and Mavane already had everything ready: water, herbs, and the place where she would place him. As expected, many onlookers were there, wanting to know what was happening.

Mavane ushered everyone out of the house, including her children and the curious ones, and told me with her characteristic kind voice, 'Please, give me some time to heal my husband's wounds.' So, I lay down in front of her small house to block the entrance.

Being so close, I could hear Mavane speaking somewhat worriedly, 'Look at you, I thought you were losing your life. Remember, you can't lose something that isn't yours.' Coeni replied, 'You're right, I promised you I Coeni replied, 'You're right, I promised you I would give my life for you every day. It's just that the big guy needed help.' They laughed, and I let out a laugh, which they heard and laughed again, somewhat embarrassed, I apologized.

With the atmosphere more relaxed, we were able to rest peacefully, unfortunately, that was the last night in a long time that we could sleep like that, while I waited for Tenami's return.