~Chapter 4 – Nout the Phantine ~

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 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. Chief Cmar'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 community were groves of fruit and vegetables. As herbivores, there was a lack of any sort of meat in the Phantine diet.

A young Phantine with a pink tint to his skin named Nout, traveled through his village. The son of the chief. 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.

His father was attending to his duties in the village, he'd selected more scouts to keep an eye on the periphery of their settlement after a recent bandit raid. No one was hurt, but one valuable was taken. During that raid, Nout was too afraid to get involved.

Nout took a walk to the edge of their community, and a Phantine acting as a scout stopped him.

"I'm just going for a walk."

"Okay... don't stray too far away."

"Yes sir!" Nout said before walking past him to the greater woods.

Nout walked the trails of the bog woods, before coming to a thin river that ran through past the trees. The deeper woods lied beyond that river.

He recalled a few of his Ralosians friends who would visit him from time to time, kids who were powerful for their age. One of them, a blonde-haired boy named Jirro, was able to jump across that river in a single bound. If Nout was as strong as him, perhaps he could've helped his village when the time came...

Nout stopped alongside the river and judged its distance. He could try.

Nout stepped back a good distance before breaking into a sprint. He jumped as he nearly came to the river. He made it about half the width of the river before falling in.

Nout blew water from his trunk as he rose from the water...

That wasn't that bad.

Nout swam back to the other side of the river and prepared for another jump. Once again, he plunged into the water, but he made it a little further this time. He kept trying to leap across in a single bound as his friend had, unbeknownst to what that was watching him from the other side.

Nout jumped from his side of the river, touching down on dry land on the other side. He nearly losst his balance and fell back into the river but centered himself and stepped forward.

"I did it!"

From the trees something dropped down into the river, creating a large splash. Nout stepped away, looking upon it. It was a hairy beast several times larger than him, with long muscular arms and short legs. An Ape.

The Ape stood from the river and beat it's chest before stomping it's fist on the ground. Nout screamed and ran, and the Ape gave chase.

Nout rounded a corner hard around a large tree, barely avoiding the trampling beast behind him. But just as he had, he tripped over a bramble of roots. The Ape pivoted and charged at him once again.

But before the beast could crush him, a figure darted to him, picked him up over his shoulder, and jumped out of the Ape's path.

The individual carrying him stopped beside a tree and set him down. As soon as Nout saw his blue eyes and blonde hair, he recognized him, "Jirro? What're you doing here?"

"That's a long story," The young boy replied.

Meanwhile the Ape was distracted. Jirro's cousins, Aero and Corri were darting around the creature. They were able to jump a few meters each time, avoiding the beast's powerful arms.

"Hey, come over here!" Aero bellowed at the beast, his rough black hair swaying as he retreated to a massive tree around them.

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 the ape careen face first into the tree. There was a loud thud as it fell to the ground, unconscious.

Aero knitted his hands behind his head and sauntered away, "You're plenty strong. Not very smart though."

Corri, Aero's red-head little sister asked, "Hey Nout! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Thanks to you guys," Nout stood beside Jirro, "So, why are you three here now?"

Jirro said, "There's been a lot going on, but we were hoping we'd be able to stay with your tribe for a little while."

"Sure! They wouldn't mind. But what for?" Nout replied as the three approached him.

Jirro was about to answer when they heard a rustling behind them. The Ape had awoken, angrier than ever.

"He's a tough one..." Jirro remarked, "Get ready to move."

The Ape started into another sprint towards them. The three Ralosian kids readied themselves, but Nout was at a loss on what to do.

Then, a figure leaped over the kids and stood between them and the ape. A large Phantine standing at about 3 meters tall, with orange garbs around him. Nout's father Cmar.

The Ape brought down it's fists on Cmar, but the Phantine Warrior withstood it. Cmar brought his blunt tusks forward and used them to batter his opponent, using his fists to follow up with quicker strikes. He used his trunks to parry blows and restrict his arms when the creature got too close. It wasn't often that Nout got to see his father cut loose like this.

Cmar managed to get underneath the Ape, lifted him over his and threw him into nearby tree, uprooting it from the ground as it struck. The beast scrambled to its feet and charged away through the woods. Cmar stood with his stubby fingers clenched and his chest heaving as it fled. He turned to Nout and the others.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah! Thanks Chief!" Aero thanked him enthusiastically.

Cmar took a closer look at Jirro and his family, "What are you three doing here?"

"Looking for help."