“Or a hog.” He laughed as well at the way she said hog.
“Well, if we’re not going to hunt . . .” her voice trailed off as though she was uncertain about her next words.
“What is it?” he encouraged.
“Maybe you could show me more with your whip?” She gave him a hopeful expression. “It’s so fascinating to me. It’s like a rope you can aim.”
He chuckled at her enthusiasm. “Indeed. Yes, I would be happy to show you more. I think you need your own whip. You can amaze all your subjects with your skills.”
She scoffed. “My father would love that.”
“You’re a grown woman, Satori. And a Princess.” He leveled a look at her. “You will have a whip.”
She laughed. “I’ll need to learn to use one first.”
He popped the snap that held his whip to his waist and pulled it off, letting the braid unfurl to the ground. He held the handle out toward her and she accepted it. Kais walked about 8 feet toward a large tree. He pulled out his knife and plucked at some of the bark until there was an obvious bare space about the size of his spread hand.
He made his way back to Satori and pointed at the mark. “Hit that.”
Satori laughed at him, and the sound traveled the length of his spine. “I can’t hit that.”
He shrugged. “Why not? I can.”
She shot him an incredulous look. “You’ve been doing this quite a bit longer than I have.”
“The only difference between us is practice.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “With practice, you can do what I do. So, practice.” He moved out of the way of her and the whip and waited.
Tentatively she cracked the whip a few times before trying to aim at the spot on the tree. She missed by leagues every time. But that was alright. Kais wasn’t lying when he said it was only practice. With enough practice she could do what he did. And she seemed to have a natural affinity, she just needed to work on her aim.
Satori let out a frustrated grunt, and Kais smiled. He approached and she shoved the whip at his chest. “You hit the mark.”
He took the whip and moved a safe distance from her. Pulling his arm back, he sent the tip flying, hitting the mark directly in its center. When he looked at her, she was shaking her head.
He handed the whip back to her. “You’ll get it.”
She rolled her eyes, shaking her head, and then something drew her attention. She turned her head, focusing. Kais followed her line of sight but saw nothing.
Satori squinted. “What is that? Do you see it?”
“I see nothing, Princess,” Kais said, squinting in the direction she was looking.
She began walking silently in the direction she had been looking, Kais following. Then she stopped.
“Shala,” she breathed.
He stepped up behind her and finally saw what it was that had caught her attention. “Well, you do get to see a hog today. A very dead hog.”
An enormous, dead boar lay at their feet, mostly covered by brush and leaves.
“It’s so big.” Satori stared, eyes wide. “How did we miss it?”
“I don’t know.” Kais’ eyes ran the length of the animal that must have weighed the same or more than he did. “It’s over here pretty far and mostly covered.”
“How long do you think it’s been here?”
“Can’t have been here that long.” He pulled in a breath. “It doesn’t stink.”
Suddenly a small gasp escaped Satori, and her hand shot out to Kais’ arm. “I know why it doesn’t stink.”