~Chapter 5- The Bog Woods~
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Deep within the Bogs Woods lived a small Phantine tribe, a couple dozen men and women living amongst the trees, just as their ancestors had. The Phantine people were characterized by their tusks, trunk, large ears, circular feet, and typically bulkier frames.
Their garbs were predominantly orange, with the men leaving their chests exposed. The village was populated with homes made from whatever the woods would yield. The Chief's home was the largest, with a series of logs acting as its walls. Various leaves and shrubbery were wound together to form a roof.
Around the perimeter of their little community were groves of fruit and vegetables. As herbivores, there was a lack of any sort of meat in the Phantine diet. But many of their groves had been picked clean, they'd been enduring hard times lately
A young Phantine with a pink tint to his skin named Nout, traveled through his village. He wrapped his long trunk around his neck like a scarf, taking care to avoid his tusks. Most Phantines filed their tusks down to a blunt edge to avoid accidents.
He found his father, the massive Chief Cmar, standing outside their banana grove. All the trees had been picked clean, with a few peels left lying around. They must've come through last night. An ape had been picking off their crop.
This particular ape was a sizable one, even larger than Cmar himself. At night, it's been passing through their village, taking its fill of their crops before scurrying off into the trees.
Cmar's pale pink chest heaved as he looked upon the emptied grove. He clenched his stubby fingers into a fist. Perhaps if he challenged it, they would leave their village alone.
"What're we going to do?" Nout asked meekly.
Cmar wanted to provide wisdom to his child, but he was unsure himself. One day, his son would take his place as chief, and he needed to set a good example for him. He needed to show strength.
Cmar gripped his son's hand, "Come with me. I'm going to teach that ape not to steal from us."
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A tremor in the ground woke Aero from a heavy sleep. He immediately stood, assuming that Modi, Emil, or those bandits had found them, but there was no sign of them. Another loud boom echoed from deeper within the woods, waking Corri and Jirro.
The children jumped between the trees toward the noise and found a battle going on. One was a Phantine, a large one, standing at about 3 meters tall. Twice the height of any of the kids, and larger than they'd ever seen before. His opponent was a wild ape, larger than even the Phantine.
The Phantine warrior used his blunt tusks and fists to batter his opponent. The two traded blows, each strike wild and weighty. Aero watched closely; he could tell the ape was the stronger of the two.
The Phantine warrior was struck in the forehead and began to stagger. The ape wrapped his arms around his opponent, lifted him into the air, and threw him into a tree, uprooting it from the ground. The Phantine was clearly beaten.
"Father!" A smaller Phantine with a pink tint to his skin, ran through the forest towards the fight, his trunk wrapped around him like a scarf.
"Nout! Get out of here!" The Phantine warrior yelled out as he struggled to his feet. The ape's attention turned to the Phantine child, the one called Nout. The ape beat its chest and charged at him.
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Aero and Jirro couldn't just watch. They jumped from their perch in the trees. Just before the ape could trample him, Jirro grabbed Nout and jumped out of the way.
Aero jumped on the back of the ape, gripping its fur to hang on, and climbed to its head. The black-haired boy delivered a quick punch to the ape's eye before promptly jumping off. It began to swing around wildly, knocking over several trees.
Jirro brought Nout to the tree Corri was watching from. The Phantine boy must've been around their age and was only a little shorter than him.
"Th-Thank y-you!" Nout stammered in an uneven voice, both terrified and grateful.
Jirro smiled at him, "No problem! Stay here. My cousin and I will take care of this."
Jirro headed back towards the wild animal and rejoined Aero. The ape recovered and looked about its surroundings, finding the two boys standing together.
Without hesitation, it charged at them, and the two of them jumped meters into the air to avoid it. The ape couldn't stop itself and collided into a tree. In frustration, it gripped the tree, uprooted it from the ground, and threw it aside.
Aero smirked. The ape was strong but dumb. He looked around the area and found a giant tree. Very solid. That would do.
Aero stood in front of it hollered to the ape, "Hey! Over here! Come get me!"
The ape shifted its gaze on Aero and snorted. It beat its chest in a show of dominance and charged. Aero couldn't stop smiling as the ape charged closer and closer. Once it was close enough, Aero jumped out of the way and watched as the ape careened face first into the tree. There was a loud thud as it fell to the ground, unconscious.
"You okay?" Jirro asked as he checked on the bruised Phantine warrior.
The Phantine knelt and got back up to his feet, "Yes, I-I'm alright."
"You really shouldn't have been trading blows with something that much stronger than you. You've got to fight smart," Jirro commented. He couldn't help himself but tell the warrior what he did wrong.
Aero tapped Jirro on the arm, "Don't be a jerk, Jirro!"
The Phantine Warrior gave Jirro a perplexed look, "No, he has a point. I suppose I was being overzealous. I am Chief Cmar, who are you?"
"Jirro, and those are my cousins, Aero and Corri," Jirro answered, gesturing to his family.
A terrible shriek filled the woods. The three turned and saw the ape back on its feet, beating its chest once again. Chief Cmar readied himself.
As the ape charged again, Aero stood front and center and clenched his fist. He narrowed his eyes and stared down the beast. With a roar, Aero punched the air and a bright red light burst from his fist.
When the light reached the ape, it rocketed back. The beast was confused and terrified. It had been hit without being hit. The ape turned tail and ran away through the foliage of the woods.
Aero was out of breath from using Focus again, "Emil said to be careful about using that," Jirro pointed out.
Aero ignored his cousin's lecturing. He created a Focus Burst far more powerful than Jirro had managed. He was probably just jealous.
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