~Chapter 2- Hyena Riders~
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"Are you sure you're okay, Corri?" Aero inspected his 10-year old sister's hand. Despite gripping a blade directly, she suffered no cut.
"I'm fine," Corri snapped her hand away. She started giggling uncontrollably.
"What's so funny?" Aero asked.
"The guy hit you upside the head!" Corri burst into laughter, "And you just stood there! You didn't even jump out of the way! You're such a dummy!"
"Hey! That's not funny! It hurt!" Aero said while rubbing the top of his head.
"They should've never been able to land a hit on you," The blonde-haired Jirro chided him, "You were just being careless."
The boys were cousins. Both of them were 12-years old born around the same time; Aero was only a few months older. But Jirro liked to consider himself the more intelligent and mature of the two.
Aero and Jirro pulled their wagon towards a nearby town. They probably could've gotten some domesticated animal to carry the wagon along, but their fathers thought it'd be good training for them to pull it along themselves. They were surely strong enough.
The wheel locked up on the wagon, and rather than fix it, the boys saw it as a challenge. They continued to pull it along as the lodged wheel grinded along the ground.
They passed by a small farm, where horses grazing on the land. The largest of the horses usually only came up to an adult's hip. People were quite fond of them as pets.
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The children reached a modest town, one of few people and wooden stores and buildings. A stable in the town housed several goats and one Labrador, all animals larger than a typical Ralosian. People would commonly ride these animals for travel, though dogs were much more difficult to domesticate. Such large beasts were difficult to tame.
The kids headed for a particular shop. From outside the shop, the children could hear a harmonica playing, and they rushed inside. There was an old man in a heavy coat, with white curly hair, and a cap on his head sitting in a rocking chair. His skin was dark and when he saw the children, he smiled, revealing a single golden tooth.
"Hi Noel!" The children excitedly greeted.
"Hello kids," Noel greeted with his always soothing voice, "What are you in for today?
"Selling some pelts," Jirro answered.
The three children brought the pelts inside one at a time, and after estimating the costs, Noel handed them an appropriately sized satchel of coins.
"Your parents couldn't come with you this time?" Noel asked.
"Nah, they usually have us make these trips," Aero replied, "We should be heading back home now though."
"It was good seeing you!" Corri said with a smile.
"Don't forget about me," Noel said softly.
The three children responded in unison, "Never."
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In the distance, they spotted a group of hyenas sprinting through the plains with a rider on each of their backs. Hyenas were about eye to eye with Jirro, and were terribly ferocious. Many believed that one could never truly tame a hyena. Despite that, the bandits around these parts had taken to using them.
The group of hyena riders rode into town to stir up trouble. They swung their clubs outside of someone's home, demanding they come out. Jirro began to walk towards them, but Aero placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Our dad's told us not to get into any trouble," Aero reminded him.
"We already got into trouble on the bridge. What's a little more?" Jirro replied.
Corri chimed in, already seated on their wagon ready to go, "I don't know about this, Jirro..."
"Come on! You two got to fight those bandits on the bridge. Now it's my turn!" Jirro walked defiantly towards the bandits.
He could tell this group wasn't as much of pushovers as those on the bridge. But that shouldn't make any difference. He wouldn't be sloppy like Aero. Jirro knew he could defeat them quickly, without taking a single blow.
The hyenas growled at Jirro as he approached, and the three bandits turned to the blonde boy who dared to approach them.
"Have a problem, kid?" One of them asked with a sneer on his face. He took his club and lightly tapped it into his palm. Jirro smirked.
Before the man knew what happened, Jirro threw a swift kick across his face, knocking him out cold. The other two bandits were driven to alertness and swung their clubs wildly at Jirro.
Jirro dodged each over-telegraphed blow with ease. When he saw a clear opening, he took it. He delivered two jabs followed by a hook to one man's stomach, causing him to keel over.
The third bandit took one exaggerated swing at him, and Jirro jumped clear over the man. As soon as he made contact with the ground, he transitioned into a strong kick that sent the man skidding through the dirt.
Jirro felt proud of himself, he defeated them exactly as he intended. Until a hyena lunged at him.
It knocked him over and climbed on top of him. Jirro held it back as it snapped its vicious teeth inches away from his face. Aero bounded over and kicked the hyena, knocking it over and causing it to scurry away. The other hyenas followed suit and ran off as well.
Jirro felt like an idiot for assuming the hyenas wouldn't get involved. It gnawed at him to make such a simple mistake. His father trained him better than that.
The townspeople arrested those bandits and waited for the authorities to come by. The people of the town were astounded by how strong the kids were, something they were used to hearing. They knew they were stronger than most.
The sun was still high in the sky. If the kids hurried, they'd be able to get back home before the night fell.
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