13– Genesis

The bear shifters were known for their revengeful hearts, despite the fact that everyone knew they could shape shift to bear forms.
Other supernaturals feared them and avoided them like they were plagues. Any offense picked with them always ended in some sort of blood shedding and lives losing battle, to which the offender had always been the loser.
They were fierce, they were hateful and vengeful and honestly, kind of annoying. Nothing called 'diplomacy' existed with their king and their kind knew nothing called 'dialogue'. It all had to be death till death with them, hence, making them a non-ally to everyone.
However, despite their love for war and death, they were also good hunters. They had many successful expenditures to their name, due to their stellar hunting abilities and tracking skills.
They could smell a threat from a mile away, track it down and kill it before dawn even peeked behind the clouds. They were that efficient. It was the reason why every one was shocked when the kaayans beat them to their own game and sent king Alok, a terror known far and wide running for his life.
King Alok, with his heart full of revenge and hatred, had launched a war against the kayaans all because of the death of his son who, despite the illicit act he'd committed, had been killed by their Savage hands.
Maybe if he'd known that he would lose the war, he would've bid this time to plan properly and strike when least expected. The bear shifters were hunters, not warriors. That was what king Alok had not realized then.
Though they hunted, they did so under the cover of the night or in the forest, they hunted in their safe zone. They didn't necessarily fight because they were all bark, no bite. All words, no action.
That was what made king Alok feel insulted when his messenger, whose head still hung in the gallows for bringing the bad news, had carried word to him that his son was dead. His first son, for that matter.
Already boiling with grief and rage, the king bided his time, waiting for the dead body to show up, which happened the next week after the Prince's death.
Holding the remains of his son's body close to his chest, the king had bellowed loudly that the kayaans would pay for their crimes and had sent war to them.
Unfortunately, the king had not found out the reason why his son had been killed or even bothered to find out before he'd waged a war.
With his large army and his weapons, he charged across the river that divided the two Kingdoms from each other, commanding his armies to destroy and kill with no mercy. They were to kill every soul that breathed, that walked and talked.
— Before the first war —
Before the first war began, the two clans, the mayans and the bear shifters maintained their distance and never got in each other's way. While the kaayans stayed in caves and secluded themselves away from the world, the bear shifters roamed free and about in forests and around the Riverside. They loved to hunt and they loved to have open burn fires. There was never a reason for any of them to have a war because they were so different and so far away from each other.
While the men of the bearshifters were vicious hunters, the mayans were well calculated people who fought based on how much information they had gathered on their opponents. The mayans were rich in culture and had beautiful women for high priestess and worshiped and devoted their lives to the Moon goddess. The bear shifters bare no resemblance to that kind of devotion, they didn't believe in that.
The bearshifters were ruled by king Alok and his family. He had an heir who disappointed him in every aspect but who shared a strong bond with his father.
Prince Chad was a bad son in all aspects, he lied, he stole, he cheated, he flirted, he womanized and did all sorts of atrocities but whenever his father would try to caution him, he used his excellent manipulative ways to avoid every punishment. As much as he was a bad son, he was a charmer in all ramifications and that was his greatest attribute. If not his only.
And now, he was playing his charms again, hoping his father could be convinced.
"Father, you heard Gasket, there was a sighting at the borders," Chad patronizingly said, edging closer to his father's throne and giving the man his most responsible look.
"So?" King Alok gruffly asked, not at all interested in whatever Chad was saying. King Alok was already used to Chad's lies, wrapped in sugary sweetness all meant to deceive and coerce. He'd fallen for it too many times to not realize what his son was doing.
Warily, he watched Chad play out one of his tactics and prayed for more self control around his son.
"No one crosses our borders, father, absolutely no one but this person has been sighted, twice." Chad stated for emphasis, hands on his hips.
"I don't believe that should concern you, Chad," king Alok curtly said, not at all fazed by the hurt look that came on Chad's face. His son was a manipulative shit and king Alok was more than aware of it.
"But it does concern me, father. For all we know, this could be a threat. Maybe a spy sent by the other supernaturals, maybe a kayaan spy because gods know it wouldn't be the first time they've tried to spy on us." Chad dramatically said.
" A spy?" King Alok's suspicion was aroused now. Chad was right. It hadn't been the first time they'd caught a kayaan spy on their borders. They hadn't killed the spy because of simple orderliness that they wanted to maintain.
"Yes, father. There's a possibility that it might be a spy but Gaskic says he's not sure. You know how my informat can be a little rusty," Chad said.
" So what do you propose?" King Alok leaned forward in his throne, interest already caught.
Chad secretly smiled. His father had eaten not just the bait but had swallowed the whole line and sinker and he wasn't even aware of it. Chad knew that there was no sighting. It was all a ploy that he'd cooked up in order for him to be able to achieve something.
"I wanted to go see for myself," Chad said, casually walking around, intentionally avoiding his father's burning gaze. He'd stirred up the curiosity and now, he would drag every word just to create some sort of theatrical panache.
"Maybe scout the area and keep watch there. It would be a good leadership thing to do, right father?"
King Alok found himself absently nodding his head before he realized this and scowled. But the thought nagged him. What if Chad was right? And so, king Alok gave his consent.
"Alright, you may go. But," he threateningly said, narrowing his eyes for emphasis.
"You must come back within a day and give a report. No slacking, Chad, I'm serious," king Alok said, watching as his son nodded, bowed and cheerily skipped out of the throne room, leaving his worried father behind.
On getting to the border, Chad had done exactly what he'd said he'd do, even though it was all a lie. There had been no sighting but here he was, setting up a tent and mounting a scout team to scout an area that was still perfectly secure.
It was almost Dawn when they actually discovered someone lurking near their border. It was a woman.
Faster than lightning, the scout guards seized her at his command and brought her on her knees at his feet.
"What is your name?" He'd asked, noticing from her waterpot which had been tossed in the dirt and her coloring that she was a kayaan woman.
"What is your name?" He asked this time with more force than before. Why the hell was kayaan snooping in their business again? Chad couldn't tell why they were lurking around .
The woman mumbled some unintelligent words and then, Chad felt stupid because they didn't speak in any understandable language. It was really stupid, Chad thought.
As she stared at the woman, not knowing what to do, an idea crept into his head and he evilly smiled. Even if she wanted to scream for help, no one would hear her.
"Come on, let her up," he said to his men, " we're going to have a little fun," he said, still smiling as he led the woman who had maybe picked up on his evil intent, began to shriek as he led her into the bushes.
****
If there was anything the mayans lived to do asides staying indoors was to go outside once in a while by the Riverside and catch fishes, that was the only time that the bearshifters and the mayans ever saw eye to eye and when they mostly went it was a group of men as the kaayans always protected their women.
They had a five head groups, a group of five men for each who took turns depending on their batches to go to the Riverside and catch fish. Every Time they went, their confrontations with the bearshifters were mainly just from the eyes but today wasn't like every other day.
Their leader Mbaka had won the title of the best Fisher for two years straight for Every Time he came back from his trips with his group, they would bring a bowl of the biggest of fishes. It wasn't by chance, it was by well planned strategies that mbaka's father had handed down to him from early childhood.
As they took the journey to the Riverside that stood so close to the mayans borders, he started to hear some uncomfortable sounds. It wasn't unusual to hear such but at the time when they got there, there wasn't supposed to be anything in sight asides from a few animals and a lot of forests.
As they got to the Riverside, the sounds intensified and that got the herd of five to stand still...
"Did you hear that?" Mbaka asked in a deep thick kaayans accent.
"We most certainly did," one of them responded.
" Maybe it's just the trees?" Another responded. Mbaka shook his head as a no, certain that it wasn't just the trees.
They heard the sounds again and this time they drew their staffs and their knives out, Mbaka shook his head violently and charged into the trees where he heard the sounds. The others followed.
The sounds were starting to resemble shrieks and screams from a girl, the intensity and the depth, Mbaka was so sure that he recognized the voice, the more reason why he had charged towards the trees in full force.
As he ran, the trees and shrubs slapt and scraped his skin. He didn't care, he needed to help whoever it was. She sounded hurt and in severe pain and kept on screaming in agony.
He let her voice lead him to where he needed to go and he kept praying to the Moon goddess that he would reach there in time.
Adrenaline rushing through his veins, he started to chant their battle song out of habit and training, as every kaayan was trained to be able to defend themselves in times of need.
Sensing that he was getting close, he started to chant a bit more, earning the chorus of the others. They spread out and came all at once in a defensive position.
Their eyes went wide in shock as they saw the cause of the noise, mbaka's eyes turned red with rage at the atrocities that were happening right as he came out of the bushes.
Prince Chad didn't know what to do, he had been caught pants down and knee deep in her, literally. He knew this was the end of him as they all charged towards him, eyes all red with unspeakable rage