Some time ago, during the full moon prayer.

  The sounds of praying echoed all around her; she had done her part for a short moment, with the first man or woman she saw, not that she cared to notice which was which. However, what she cared about, what she always did, regardless of anything else, almost religiously, was her practice.

  She had her hand tightly wrapped around her bow, pulled back the string, hearing it tighten, her hearts pulsed, her breath rapid for a moment as the sound of wood bending creaked in her ear. She regained control and breathed so steadily that she appeared not to do so at all, before letting go, hitting the mark almost dead centre. ‘Not good enough.’

  An arrow almost hitting its mark wasn't going to cut it, not out there, where Doka watched with vigilance, ready to cover any in his red robe of death. Again, she would not let her bow rest until she achieved the desired results, no matter how tired her arms were or how much the string dug into her middle finger. She didn’t even care that it had left a permanent mark; if anything, she took a certain pride in it, unlike the cowards too afraid to commit to it.

  The arrow flew and hit near dead centre beside the first, only this arrow wasn't hers.

  “You should have aimed for my back, disgrace,” Nokmao hissed, letting go of the bowstring and missing again. “Why are you here?”

  “You tried to let me die,” Split replied, standing beside her as they aimed for the same mark.

  “Good luck proving that, but do tell your brother, and let him go berserk,” Nokmao sniggered. “He was only one bad temper away from being put down. I’ll take a certain glee in that when I hit his eye. Besides, men should not be commanders, too soft, and submissive; that’s why Amito made them as such. ”

  “He is a commander,” Split replied, missing another arrow.

  “Is this why you’ve come at this time to sharpen your blunt skills?” Nokmao questioned, taking a certain glee in it. “You never did so before; what makes you think it will make any difference now. I promise next time we step outside, I’ll be the one to kill you.”

  “When?”

  Nokmao let go of her arrow, but it went a little off course, splitting the top half of another. She took another arrow, notched it, and then aimed. “What do you want to know? How long I’ll let you live?”

  “No.”

  “Did you come here to annoy me?” Nokmao hissed.

  “No.”

  “Then, why did you come here?” She questioned pulling the bow string back as far as it could, the wood threatening to break.

  “To end this,” Split simply replied as both let go of the string, their arrows spearing through the air as both hit the mark at the exact same time.

  “Hahe! Are you saying what I think you are saying?” Nokmao laughed, staring Split down.

  “Say when?”

  “Noktato’s hatching.”

  On the very day after all had gone down below for the tradition.

  ‘So she decided to come after all,’ Nokmao thought as she threw a bag onto the ground at Split's feet. “There, put it on. It’s the same clothes and tools as mine.”

  Without a word, she threw off that filthy thing she called a tunic and got properly dressed in a hunter's clothing with all the tools, bow, quiver, dagger, knife, and shortsword.

  In complete silence, both headed out into the forest, where no one would see them, where no one would interfere. Of course, the moment they stepped out, the battle had already begun; all either of them was waiting for was the first one to make their move.

  Split knowingly kept a distance from her, while she kept a loose grip on her dagger, as they wandered deep into the swamp. “Of all your undesirable qualities, I will admit this: you are a hunter, you understand me as well as I understand you.”

  “Why did you speak?” Split sighed.

  For a moment, an utterly silent moment, both stood still before she instantly dove under the water, a moment before Nokmao’s skinning knife could connect, instead hitting a tree in the distance.

  ‘Honestly, it would have been disappointing if I had won so soon, at least now we get to have a proper hunt,’ She couldn’t help but smile, her bow ready with an arrow in the same hand, ready to be notched. ‘You always did like to do things on your own. You probably think that’s an advantage, that you are stronger because of that. However…’

  Suddenly, from the darkness, Nokmao heard the unmistakable sound of a bow string getting pulled, moments before the arrow pierced the air. It would have killed her if she hadn’t caught it with her bare hand, the tip drawing first blood.

  “My eye, really, well, your brother has always been how to get under your scales!” she said loudly for her to hear, her hands shaking with excitement at the thought of when she could finally wrap them around her throat. “Ever since we were all shedlings, he was the funnest one to fight, easiest one too, but I don’t have to tell you, you were always his saviour. How truly shameful you’ve become, relying on him for protection.”

  Out came another arrow that she caught, this one aimed at her tongue.

  ‘Well, enough taunting now.’

  Quickly, she moved through the terrain, darting from tree to tree as she closed in on her prey.

  Not too far in the distance, the water roared with weak ripples dying out near her. ‘As I thought, keeping your distance, of course, why wouldn't you. That’s what we’re taught, and I have no chance of catching you, so why wouldn’t you—‘

  Another arrow suddenly came flying out from the dark, this one aimed at her chest, but like before, she caught it. ‘But you know as well as I, you only have so many arrows. And I can keep doing this for as long as I need until I’m close enough.’

  Like a predator, Nokmao relentlessly chased her prey, following the ripples, the sound, and most telling, the arrows. Regardless of where she aimed, as long as she was chasing her, not one of them would ever dig in deep.

  ‘It’s only a matter of time, Split, until you don’t have any more. So how long will you keep onto each one?’ She wondered with a growing smile. ‘How long until you can’t run anymore?’

  Enthralled with the chase and her prize, nothing else mattered as she caught arrow after arrow. In her pursuit, it didn’t matter if they were aimed low, high, or even plunging down straight through the trees… though eventually, they stopped, for a long good while.

  ‘You still have five more, so what will you do now?’ She wondered. ‘Use the rest, hoping I won’t catch one, or maybe charge in when I’m close and catch me off guard. That might work, and you might get lucky, but my skills are far better—“

  Right then, an arrow came through the darkness, like the others, except this one was aimed at her back.

  She reached behind and caught it by the shaft, but unlike before, she was the one being chased now, as she pulled the bloody tip out of her back and, before another could be notched, pressed her it up against the closest tree, grunting in pain.

  ‘I enjoyed myself too much.’

  True, she might have indulged in the fantasy of her being a predator, and Split being the prey, but she knew below the surface, the truth was it was a battle of two predators that could end in an instant.

  ‘So no more arrows. You are watching me, aren’t you?’ Nokmao internally asked, the silence, her answer. ‘Hiding in the darkness, only seeing my form. How close, though? I should see you too then… No, you are the right distance. We are still both her students.’

  At best, she should only be able to see her from in the darkness, but among these trees, she would blend in. Certain of this, she made no quick movements as she slowly lowered herself down along the trunk until she was submerged.

  No ripples were created by her movements, a feat of patience and utter control any hunter should take pride in accomplishing, ‘Not that you tried to achieve this.’

  Her breath silent as the dead, she sneaked closer and closer around from where the last arrow had come from. Of course, she wouldn’t have stayed in the same place, but now it was only a matter of her finding Split.

  With her hearts beating, she slowly surveyed the area until, in the distance, on some above-water muddy ground near a tree, something caught her eye. It was hard to make out from a distance, and the light, but it looked like a quiver with a couple of arrows in it and her blue-scaled hand dangling under it.

  ‘So that’s where you are hiding. Did you go up there so you wouldn't make as much sound, and I would pass you? And now you are waiting for me to move, aren’t you, but have you waited so long your arm got tired?’ She momentarily wandered, coming to a stop. ‘But being stuck there has you so exposed. Were you hoping for that arrow in my back to kill me? Well, regardless, let me return the favor.’

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Nokmao notched her arrow underwater, the sound drowned out, and slowly she rose up, aiming.

  This was the essence of a true hunt, one decisive moment.

  She didn’t even lift the bow enough for the drops to fall as she held her breath, aiming precisely and let go.

  Her aim was true, and she hit Split right in the side of her neck; however, for the briefest of moments, her eyes played a trick in the dark. ‘What? No, I must be imagining… There is no way my arrow tore her head off…’

  It was only for a moment. But her brief thoughts of hesitation and confusion were all that was needed.

  ‘You zillo, you tricked me!’ It was then that she realized she’d stepped into the jaws of a beast about to close. For anyone else, the arrow could have come from anywhere, but for her, it could only come from one place.

  Without thinking, she spun around, and only in a fraction of a moment before any thought could occur, her eyes noticed movement in the dark.

  One decisive moment, one wrong action, was all it took for it to end, but even then, it wasn’t over. With only a moment before she could even think to move her body, she already did so, aiming her arrow right in the center of where Split stood and let go.

  In the instance when the arrow flew, they met, striking a spark that illuminated all for one moment, both seeing each other, both standing in the same stance, as when the arrow met, they changed course and instead of killing, they crippled, breaking the bows and cutting the strings.

  Nokmao drew her short sword and dagger as she ran ahead, ‘Clever, holding off on shedding your scales, but now the fight’s turned in my favour.’

  She dove into the water, fully prepared for this to become a battle of endurance; however, with range no longer being an option for Split, she went on the attack. However, Nokmao had figured as much ready despite her speed as their blades crossed and blood flowed.

  ‘How fast you can be,’ she thought, her dagger dripping with water and blood. ‘Your best chance of beating be was with the bow, so what will you do now?’

  Split swam around within her sight, no longer much of a reason to stay hidden as long as she kept out of reach. She was floating on the water, the top of her head, back, and tail the only things above, as both watched each other unblinkingly.

  Nokmao stood up and gestured to the dark circle in the water. ‘Speed like yours must be nice. Anyone else would be dead, but you got away with a shallow wound. So then what now?’

  With water erupting beneath her tail, Split swam off among the trees, the echoes of splashing and dying ripples telling her all too clearly which direction she was. ‘Of course you don’t intend for it to be that way for long.’

  Knowing her all too well, Split dove under the water, the sounds disappearing, and the ripples weakening.

  Ever so slowly, Nokmao began turning around in a circle, her eyes closed as she heard all sounds around her from the gentle wind and rustling of trees and leaves, feeling the rippling water while her weapons were at the ready, waiting for the predator to strike.

  ‘There you are!’ She turned to her side and struck the water with her dagger, defending with her blade; however, even as fast as she moved, she wasn’t ready for Split crashing into her with her blade pointed ahead.

  As the tip of her dagger reached the water, their swords connected with such force that Nokmao was thrown back, barely able to keep her footing as the sheer force was too much for her to handle with just one arm.

  In that one decisive moment, she managed to deflect it as much as possible, saving herself from getting run through, but getting a large gash at her side.

  Gritting her fangs, hissing and growling in pain, Nokmao was filled with anger. ‘You knew you couldn’t beat my reflexes, so you chose to force your way ahead! That’s you through and through!’

  Even if she had wished for more time to manage her pain, Split wasn't about to let her, as she kept swimming, keeping most of the speed she’d gathered, the only moment she slowed down the time it took her to go in a wide arc. And it was far less than it would take for her to get up on land.

  As the second attack came her way, Nokmao defended with both blades, managing to deflect, but getting knocked off her feet.

  Getting back up, she had even less time to think before the third, fourth, fifth, and so on. Yet amidst each piercing strike, Nokmao began to notice something familiar each time Split rushed by.

  With her sword held in front, like so, she looked like an Ubbi. ‘I have to admit, I didn’t know you had a taste for vengeance.’

  Whether or not that was true or a coincidence mattered little. It didn’t stop the attacks or offer another way to avoid them entirely. At this point, her only course of action if she didn’t want to be skewered was to simply last longer than Split.

  It was the most sound course, yet one that had Nokmao hiss and growling, and not from the pain. Because when she managed to outlast her, she’d be nothing more than a living corpse, unable to move, and she wouldn’t be a hunter; she would be a scavenger.

  ‘That’s not how it’s supposed to end, I won’t let you have that final victory!’

  With her mind set and unyielding like stone, yet her arms burning and screaming, she was ready to go on the attack once more.

  Split was easy to predict, even underwater; the ripples at the surface showed her approach. Nokmao faced her head on, flipping her dagger and holding it in a reverse grip.

  Split rushed closer and closer with more and more speed. ‘How eager you are to kill me, but I am much more than you!’

  Raising her sword above her head, she hurled the big lump of metal at Split. When it hit the water, it lost most of its momentum, but she was certain it made contact, and no matter how much pain she could endure, no normal creature wouldn’t flinch for a moment when they felt pain.

  And that one moment was what she gambled on as she held firm on her dagger, diverting her shortsword as much as she could, enduring the pain of another bleeding gash as her sword ran along her side, but with her other arm free, Nokmao reacted quickly while the pain was still fresh.

  She speared her arm under and quickly locked it around Splits between her neck and shoulder. ‘Caught you!!!”

  She didn’t even pretend she had the strength to make her stop. Instead, she let herself be ripped along as Split lost balance and hurled around with Nokmao coming along under the water.

  For one moment, as their speed slowed down, there was nothing, no sound, even no ripples, but only for a moment until both managed to orient themselves, Nokmao from her body going so fast and Split for having a passenger.

  And once the moment passed, both burst out of the water, breathing heavily, while for the first time since the hunt started, glaring into each other's eyes.

  Now Nokmao had the advantage, her body pressed up against Split’s, her arm holding the dagger, free, while hers were locked, not that a sword would have done much good this close.

  She went for a stab, but of course, she blocked with her own dagger, the tip of Nokmao’s sinking below her flesh, slowly digging deeper, while Split struggled to push it back, only delaying the inevitable.

  Yet even so, she struggled, twisting her body using her legs, throwing Nokmao off balance as she pushed back and slid the steel along her blade for a moment as she went further, aiming to plunge it into her neck.

  With her reflexes, she easily defended, as the steel grinded against each other, but as they did, Split snapped her maw at her, barely managing to avoid the beastial attack, given their closeness.

  Had this only been a battle of daggers, Nokmao would have won in a flash, but being forced to be close and tied together to restrain the sword complicated things. Not only did she have to focus on the blade, but her fangs and legs, as both struggled, trying to throw each other off, and around.

  Even if she could move first, all of it at the end came down to strength.

  In that matter, she was not worried. Her body was trained and pushed to its limits more times than she could count, but even so, ‘Why can’t I beat her? Why can’t I overwhelm her?’

  It frustrated her to no end as steel continuously clashed, maws snapping at each other, and their legs slammed around and against each other, trying to get the upper hand, neither succeeding.

  ‘All this work… all the effort, and I can only match you,’ she growled. ‘I see… this is what she saw when you were chosen, me and you, only you are born better!’

  So badly did she want to kill her, but the battle at this point had turned into one of endurance, one in which Nokmao didn’t know how tired Split was, and one in which she was wounded more.

  No matter what, this had to end.

  As the clashing of daggers intensified, blood raining from shallow wounds, Nokmao, seeing and opening quickly, flipped it, no longer aiming for a vital area of the body but her hand.

  With intuitive moments that filled her with a sense of nostalgia, amidst her sea of rage, she swung her blade around Splits, and stabbed her hand a moment before Split did the exact same, both grunting and losing their dagger, falling into the water.

  ‘OH, you ZILLO!!!’ She screamed in her head. ‘Of course you would use her technique!’

  Rage obscuring the pain, she, with her bleeding hand, reached over, overextending herself as Split caught her snout in her maw, with her fangs sinking in, but it was a sacrifice she willingly made as she grabbed Split’s skinning knife and jabbed it up under her throat.

  At the last moment, Split managed to grab her hand and hold it somewhat in place, at least away from her neck.

  As their struggle once more ensued, Nokmao was the one this time to try and throw Split around, managing to catch her off guard, as they struggled in the water.

  ‘Die! Die! DIE!!!’

  Everything around them didn’t matter now as she put all of her strength into it; however, it left her blind as Split used her legs, swimming both of them into a tree. For a moment, pain caused her to flinch, and Split ripped her arm out as far as it could. Yet that weak force alone wouldn’t stop her as she kept pushing the knife.

  Split had to have known that, as suddenly she pushed both of them up against the tree, both sets of arms going halfway around.

  And then, with her grip firmly locked around her wrist, she began beating her arm against the trunk, trying to get her to let go of the knife.

  She wasn’t in a position to resist much, but could return the favour as she twisted her body and forced Split's arm that was still holding the sword to slam against her trunk as well.

  Neither relented nor stopped, slamming against the tree, for an uncountable number of times, until both grips slipped, and neither was armed anymore.

  For one moment of reprieve at the small combined victory and defeat, both locked eyes, knowing this didn’t end here.

  Nokmao was the first to move, pushing off the tree with her foot and knocking them into the water, but before their backs hit the surface, Nokmao let go of her grip on Split’s shoulder and arm.

  Now with a free hand, she was the first to strike, sending her fist directly into her face, and though she was the first to hit. Split wasn't far behind, elbowing her in the stomach.

  Now, even underwater, their attacks showed no signs of relenting, as they punched, blocked, kicked, and bit anyone where and everywhere they could.

  The only thing that got them off each other was when both kneed each other in the groin, recovering for a moment, keeping a distance from each other, before getting right back to killing each other.

  Such a brutal, offensive fight, in which neither relented until death, could easily have resumed, uninterrupted, until the end, but as any hunter knew well, strength and speed were nothing without intelligence and a bit of cunning.

  All those loud sounds, all that blood in the water, it was unavoidable that they would draw the attention of an opportunistic predator, who would lie in wait for them to be weak, exhausted, and easy prey.

  The Aldrachi was such a predator, watching and then, as the two closed the distance, ready to crash into one another, it slithered under the water's surface, kicking with its stubby legs and gliding with its fins, going as fast as it could as it broke the water's surface and attacked with its wide maw as they closed in on ech other.

  However, the Aldrachi could not have known that the two it considered prey were experienced hunters, who even in the midst of battle noticed it, suddenly stopping up both and glaring into its eyes, filling it with fear that froze it completely.

  If fear alone could kill, it would have, but the emptying of its bowels was a close second, as it swam away.

  Though successful, it was not but a hollow victory.

  ‘The first one, huh…’ still within her sight, Nokmao didn’t rush toward Split but simply raised both of her arms, locked her fingers, and waited.

  This was to be the end.

  As hunters, they had both proven their skills and tools were equal; now, the only thing that truly differentiated them, their magic, of which of the two was the better, they were about to find out once and for all.