Sometimes, Erell could swear her younger brother had no brain at all.  Perhaps it was genetics, a throw-back to some dim-witted ancestor.  More likely it was the hormones involved in adolescence.  Either way, he was very quickly driving her insane.  Today was no exception.

Erell frowned as she saw her brother coming out of their hut with his best spear, bow, and a full quiver of arrows.  "Where are you going with those?" she quizzed lightly.

Liro turned to face her, and Erell could have sworn she saw a flash of dismay and guilt travel across his features as she approached.  She smiled wryly and his shoulders straightened in warning.  At 15, Liro was too big now to reach out and ruffle his hair like she would have done even last year; he'd probably have scowled fiercely if she had tried.  Her baby brother had done so much growing in the past three seasons, but he was still all elbows and knees, just like Grandmother had said their father once was.

Their mother had died in a rockslide when Liro was five years old, and Erell twelve; their father followed not long afterward, the stupidity of the hunting accident the final end to what all even now agreed was the emptiness of a broken heart.  At thirteen, Erell had become mother as well as sister to the boy and for all his teenaged years now, she could not help but still see in him the child of six who had used to climb into her bedroll after a bad dream.  Of course, the half-guilty/half-defiant look he was giving her now didn't help dismiss the impression.  This should be interesting.  Erell raised an eyebrow and waited for her brother's answer.

"I'm going hunting," Liro told her.

Erell frowned.  "Hunting?" she repeated.  "For what?  The stores are full.  We have no need of any meat or hide."

Liro rolled his eyes.  "No," he admitted, then rushed onward.  "Meika, Tasli and Roren said they bet I couldn't bring down a stag on my own.  They know I'm a better hunter than they are!  But they said I always got the good kill because you came with me."

Erell's eyebrows rose again.  "So . . . you're going to prove them wrong."

"Yeah."  Liro's eyes shone with excitement and anticipation.  "I'm going to bring down that big stag, the one we saw last seven-day.  It will make a fantastic meal for the evening, and plenty of hide for the tanners, and ---"

"And a nice big rack of antlers for you to show off to your friends," Erell completed.  The first two uses were merely excuses, and she knew it as well as Liro did.  She sighed.  "Liro . . . you know the rules.  Father taught them to me, and I taught them to you . . ."

"Yes, and you taught me everything else," Liro said, rolling his eyes again.  There was more bitterness in the motion now than annoyance.  "You're the best tracker and hunter in the tribe, Erell.  Everyone knows that. Meika, Tasli and Roren know that.  But it's supposed to be the  man who's the hunter!"  Erell's eyebrows rose sharply and Liro blushed.  "All right, that's not really true, but . . . but Meika, Tasli and Roren keep saying that I can't do anything by myself, that I always depend on you, ask your permission.  It's true -- and I'm tired of it!!  You can't keep me in the hut all the time now, Erell, I'm not a child!  I'm a man, and I need to have a man's duties!"

Erell stared at him.  She had known the boys were teasing him, it seemed the privilege of being six months older, but she hadn't realized Liro would let it affect him like this.  "Liro, I don't keep you in the hut all the time!  I haven't for over a season, you know that!"

Liro's expression didn't change; still defiant, still puffed up with adolescent anger and pride.  But Erell had more than her fair share of stubbornness.  Her lips firmed and she placed her hands on her hips.  "And as for duties, Liro: they go hand in hand with responsibilities.  You know that too.  Your responsibilities as a man and as a hunter are to follow the rules, kill only when there is need.  There is no need now.  And that, as well, you know."  Liro glared at her, but made no move to back down in any way.  "Liro.  The spear and the bow, back in the hut.  Now.  Please."

"No."

Erell released an exasperated sigh.  "Liro.  Do I have to remind you the reason we follow those rules?  The penalty for breaking them?"

Liro's chin lifted.  "Those are just stories.  She's not real."

Erell shook her head.  "Liro, do you remember what Grandmother used to tell us?  That in every story there is at least  some grain of truth hidden within?"  Liro shrugged.  Erell smiled softly.  "There is a force which protects the animals of the Mydlands, Liro.  I've felt it every time I've gone hunting, and I know you have too.  If those stories  are true, then why risk it for the satisfaction of impressing three hotheaded boys?"

Liro glared at her a bit more, then finally sighed.  His shoulders slumped slightly.  "I know," he admitted.  "It's just . . . I hate it when they say I only get the kills because of you.  It's not true, Erell!  I'm as good a hunter as you are, almost!  I know I can track just as well!"

Erell smiled as she advanced and touched her brother's arm.  "I know.  And they know it too.  They only say those things to get a reaction from you, Liro.  They like teasing."  She cocked her head and looked up into his big blue eyes; not a very big length to look, for Erell had inherited height as he had, but it was still higher now than it had been before.  "I'll tell you what," she offered.  "At the next hunt, you can go alone.  Or take Meika, Tasli and Roren with you.  They want a show of your hunting skills, give it to them.  It's only a few seven-days away -- certainly not more than a month.  What do you say?"

Liro stared at her.  "Are you serious?"  She had never let him go alone on a hunt before -- Erell had always accompanied him, even if she let him do more and more of the tracking, and his arrows found their mark closer and closer to her own.  This would be a milestone of confidence indeed: Erell had gone on her first hunt as primary when she was 17.  Come to think of it, he didn't think even Father had been primary at 15 summers old!

Erell grinned at him.  "You have my pledge on it, little brother."

Liro's face broke into a huge smile, rivaling the sun for brilliance.  "Really?"

"Really!" Erell assured him, laughing.

Liro stood still for a moment, undecided at what to do, then suddenly enveloped her in a bear-hug, spear, bow and all.  Erell laughed and hugged him back.  Liro released her and ducked into their hut to deposit his weapons, then whirled back out and down the village's central path.  "Wait 'til I tell Meika, Tasli and Roren!  They're never gonna believe this!"

Whooping and laughing, Liro bounded away, reminding Erell of an eager pup.  A few villagers dodged quickly out of his path, then aimed laughing glares at Erell.  She laughed and went to finish the task she had been on before meeting Liro; Keri's horse was limping slightly, and the old woman had asked Erell to ask the healer for a poultice.

~*~*~*~

Liro's enthusiasm at telling his friends the news lasted until their own jealousy made it past their shock, and turned good sense into outright meanness.  Meika smiled slyly and commented, "Wow.  So your big sister is letting you wander off on your own for once.  Guess she's almost ready to untie those guard-strings."

Roren picked up on the jibe and added, "Yeah.  And only a few seven-days to go."

"Hey, maybe by then," Tasli threw in, "she'll be letting you cut your own food too."

Liro glared at them.  "Erell isn't like that!  You're just jealous because she's the best hunter in the tribe, and she trusts me to do a hunt alone this young!  None of  your families will let you.  None of the other families even let girls hunt alone until Erell brought back that big stag when she was 17."

Meika sneered.  "She probably had help from one of the other hunters."

"Yeah," Tasli agreed.  It still rankled that his older brother had been beaten out of the congratulations over first primary kill by a girl.  "Just like she keeps helping you.  She'll probably help you on that hunt in a few seven-days, too."

"That's probably why she wants you to wait," Roren chortled.  "She wants to set something up so you don't embarrass yourself."

"No!!" Liro shouted.  "That's not true!  Erell doesn't do that!"

"Oh yeah?" Meika challenged.  "Then prove it.  Go and get that stag on your own.  Today, like you were going to.  Better yet, get two stags."

Liro stared at him.  "Two?" he repeated.  "But --"

"But what?" Meika asked.  "Afraid you can't do it?"

"No!  It's just -- the rules --"

"The rules were made for children," Roren snorted.

Liro glared at him.  "You know the stories.  Erell says we can't break the rules, or---"

"Oh, so you're being frightened off by children's stories, now?" Tasli sneered.  "I don't think you can make a kill at all.  You're too weak and scared."

The last word was drawn out tauntingly; Liro rankled and pushed one hand hard against the other boy's shoulder.  "Am not!"

"Oh yeah?  Prove it!" Meika repeated.

Liro glared at him, hands balling into fists, then nodded.  "All right, I will.  And just so there's no doubt . . . you three will come with me."

The three boys exchanged looks, then grinned.  "Deal!" they chorused.

Liro nodded sharply.  "Come on then.  We shouldn't waste good light."

He turned and marched back towards the hut he shared with his sister.  They were just children's stories, he told himself fiercely.  There was no such thing as a demon who could suck the life-force out of a trespasser, leaving only their empty skin behind.  Curupira was not real.  "Just stories," he muttered, ignoring the laughter of the three teens who followed him.  "Just stupid  stories.  And I'll show them who's weak!"

All told, he was more afraid of seeing the disappointment in Erell's eyes -- but he had been challenged, called weak and scared, and damned if he was going to back down now!  He ducked into the small hut and grabbed the spear, bow, and arrows he had laid on his bed.  When he came back out, the three older teens were already jeering.  Liro firmed his shoulders and stalked towards the forest, his "friends" close behind.

The forest was calm and bright, birdsong cascading around their ears.  The birds were familiar with humans, even ones bearing weapons.  They and the other animals knew the cycle well: every three months the hunters would come for food and supplies, take the slower or older animals.  Cull the herds and keep the strongest alive.  There were still 3 seven-days to go before the cycle repeated.

Liro forced away the waves of anxiety, the bone-deep knowledge that this was  wrong.  He had been challenged, the boys were right behind him, and he couldn't turn back now.  He wouldn't.

He found the tracks he was looking for easily; he had seen them a hundred times when Father, and then Erell, had brought him on the hunt.  Liro smiled tightly.  It was the big stag, he knew it by the scar on the hoof, and the depth of the impression.  And beside him had trotted his mate, and a smaller animal, probably their year-old fawn.  Liro relayed this to the three boys, who tried to look interested and not just jeering.  They didn't succeed.  The four teens wound deeper into the forest, following the tracks that only Liro could see clearly.  One time, Meika suggested that he was leading them in a circle; a furious look from Liro silenced him.

An hour later, they found their prey.  The big stag stood in the center of a clearing, his mate and fawn a short distance away.  He stood proudly, an impressive rack of antlers adorning his head.  He was huge and dangerous; Liro's father had missed his mark on a stag like this, and the enraged animal had gored him to death.  Liro was not unaware of the possible symmetry now.

Roren peered over the crest of the hill and shook his head.  "There's no cover up close.  And the wind is to their advantage.  You'll never get close enough to make the kill."

Liro glanced at him only for a moment.  He smiled tightly and unslung the bow from his back.  "I am close enough to make the kill," he answered.

The other boys exchanged openly disbelieving looks.  They had heard of his sister's prowess with the bow, but no boy of 15 could make a shot like that!  They muted their jeering only slightly, but stayed low as Liro stood slowly.  The hunter notched an arrow to the bow and drew back slowly.  He had been shooting since he was a child; the bow had been his father's preferred weapon, and the one his sister excelled at.  He silenced his mind and focused, hearing Erell's voice in his mind, remembering the instructions repeated season after season until his mind stopped thinking and his body took over.

Perfect stillness.

He steadied the bow.

Perfect oneness.

He focused his vision and sighted along the shaft.

Perfect aim.

He released.

The stag let out a soft grunt as the arrow hit perfectly.  Through the eye turned towards them, straight to the brain.  No risk of hitting bone while aiming for the heart, leaving the animal wounded and terrified.  Death was instantaneous, painless.  The stag fell.

The boys were silent.

But Liro's anger and pride were not.  He notched another arrow while the doe was still turning to face her fallen mate.  She completed the turn and the arrow left the bow before she could do more than startle at the sight and smell of the stag's blood.  Again through the eye.  Again the prey fell.

The yearling turned, the smell of blood assaulting its nose, and bounded.  Liro tracked it with his eyes, moving to follow, another arrow notched and ready.  Perfect stillness.  Perfect oneness.  Perfect aim.  The yearling gave a short scream of fear and pain, then fell.  Liro moved quickly, knowing it wasn't a killing shot.  The beast was wounded, in pain, and it was his responsibility to end it.  He barely heard his friends behind him as he ran.  When he reached the yearling, it was floundering on the ground, trying desperately to get up.  Liro circled it carefully, readying his spear, until he was in front and had a clean shot to its heart.

Then he looked into its eyes, and he knew just how terribly wrong he had been.

A single blow, just as he had been taught, and it was over.  The hot smell of blood poured over him, and Liro turned away, disgusted.  

Meika, Tasli and Roren came bounding after him, cheering and whooping in approval.  Liro looked at them in silence, then turned away and leaned heavily against a tree.  "What's the matter?" Meika asked, slapping his shoulder.  "That was incredible!  Three kills, Liro!!"

"I'll never doubt you again," Roren told him.

He was laughing.  They were all laughing.  Liro looked over his shoulder and saw them prodding the yearling with their feet.  Tasli yanked Liro's spear from the creature's chest and heaved it into the air, blood spattering the ground around them.  "To Liro!  This one will be legend!"

Liro looked away again.  "Yes, legend," he said bitterly.  "A testament to my skill and prowess.  And my courage," he spat.

"Oh no," a soft voice said.  It seemed to come from everywhere, from the very trees and grasses.  All four boys startled and looked around, trying to spot the source.  "No, these kills will not be the testament.   You will."

Liro felt a hand fall on his shoulder and turned as it pulled.  Behind him, stepping out from around the tree where she could not possibly have been hidden, was a girl little older than they were.  And yet, Liro knew deep in his heart that she was far, far older.  Brilliant blue eyes stared into his own, blazing with unconcealed fury.  Liro's throat went dry.  "Curupira," he whispered.

She nodded, beautiful and ferocious, innocent and deadly, all at the same time.  A sharp-nailed hand wrapped about his throat and pushed him back against the tree trunk.  "Yes," she murmured.

Liro didn't fight.  He knew what he had done, he knew what he had called upon himself.  He whispered, "I'm sorry."

Curupira paused, but only for an instant.  There was no pleading in the boy's tone, only acceptance, sorrow, regret . . . as if he truly meant the words.  "You broke my rules," she informed him.  "You killed without provocation, without need.  And I have a reward for such a brave, skilled hunter as you."

Liro didn't know what the other boys were doing; distantly, he was aware of them backing away.  His attention was focused solely on this beautiful girl, on the demon who was not just a story after all.  His eyes never left hers, never wavered from the spell, as her mouth neared his own.  Their eyes remained locked, blue on blue, both equally brilliant but one terribly mortal and the other more terribly not.  Her lips were soft, warm, almost inviting.  And Liro never struggled as he felt his life-force pulled away, until there was nothing left but the darkness of eternity and the empty skin of what had once been the beginnings of a man.

Curupira stepped away from the skin, feeling the boy's life-energy flow through her for just a moment before it passed on to the Doorway Between Worlds for judgement.  For that brief moment, she almost caught his name, and the truth of his emotions.  Then it was gone, and she turned away, puzzled.  For a moment, she almost believed the boy had truly meant his last words.

The three other boys stared at her in shock, mouths hanging open.  Curupira smiled and stepped forward.  The boys screamed.

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