"You're late, as usual," Rafa said, calmly reclining in his saddle, not far from Leon's house. Dawn was timidly throwing its first spears through the dark gloom.

  "I'm sorry," Leon began...

  "And you apologize as usual, even though you fundamentally don't change anything." A smile crossed his lips.

  "Then I'd better not continue with my usual phrase..."

  "That it won't happen again?"

  Leon grinned.

  "Catch!" Rafa threw a spear with a finely polished handle and a narrow, long blade, impeccably abraded and sharpened. The spear had a blue tassel on the top. Leon caught it skillfully—it was brand new.

  "Happy birthday, boy," Rafa smiled, seeing the look on his face.

  "Wow," he said, gazing at the blade. "Thanks, old man!" He grinned from ear to ear. "You didn't have to bother..."

  "If I had to, I wouldn't have done it. Ready?"

  "Always."

  "Let's go then; it'll dawn soon."

  Terrun Forest felt denser in the darkness as they ventured deeper. The towering trees grew more imposing, completely obscuring the starry spring sky. Amidst them, Rafa and Leon seemed small atop their powerful stallions, but their excitement rivaled the might of the centuries-old trees.

  "Did you make it to Lunary last night?" Leon's voice echoed through the woods.

  "Would I miss a performance like that?" Rafa looked at him significantly.

  "You shrewd old fox," Leon laughed. "I didn't see you."

  "Of course you didn't. You had eyes for only one all night, and after that, you were too flushed to notice anyone, so to speak."

  "Every wolf clings to a pretty, young she-wolf; it doesn't notice scruffy old wolves," he said with a shrug, pretending to be serious.

  Rafa laughed loudly as his mighty body swayed in the saddle. "You're good, kid, you're good. The score is one to one."

  "I would say zero to one, but so be it..."

  "You really don't like to lose, and this isn't even a defeat. I didn't teach you anything."

  "What does that tell you?"

  "That you're a bad student?"

  "No, that you're a bad teacher."

  "Remind me to beat you up later."

  "Did you catch anything last night?"

  "I'm too old for those games," Rafa smiled.

  "Women in Terrun don't think so..." Leon grinned.

  "I guess I'm used to different women."

  "A woman is a woman, old man."

  "Oh, boy, you're so unaware of your ignorance," Rafa said. "I suppose that's why you stuck to that she-wolf out of so many last night?"

  "Oh, these are low blows... But you're right..."

  "I know a thing or two," he said with a wink, "even if I did drop out of the game. Just make sure you don't get burned by the same fire twice—the second time, it hurts twice as much. Wiser men learn to blow on spring water after being burned by tea. And you..."

  "Are you saying I'm not wise?"

  "No, I'm saying you're stupid."

  Now Leon chuckled, and the echo of his laughter resonated indefinitely.

  "What's the current result, may I ask?"

  "You're still poorly positioned. Athos, hyah!" Leon urged Athos, leaving Rafa and Hurricane behind.

  "Hey, cheater! Hyah! Hyah!"

  The sun warmly beckoned the dawn, and the path ahead became more apparent. After a long ride, the forest finally thinned out. The day was getting born. The high tree alleys were replaced by considerably lower trees, which got smaller at each subsequent foot and eventually turned into low underbrush scattered across the grassy vastness.

  Rafa and Leon slowed down as soon as they emerged into the clearing, transitioning from a gallop to a light trot and then into a leisurely stroll.

  "They shouldn't be far away..."

  "There," said Leon, "look over there!"

  And indeed, in the distance before them, a herd of buffalo grazed peacefully, unaware of the looming danger.

  "You know the plan?" Rafa asked, shivering with excitement.

  "As always," Leon grinned.

  They crept forward slowly, buying time before the herd spotted them and grew agitated. The scent of bovine dung lingered in the air.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "On my mark," Rafa said when they were close enough. "Ready?"

  Leon nodded confidently.

  "Hyah," roared Rafa, forcing the Hurricane into a lightning gallop as Athos and Leon followed right in their footsteps.

  Noticing them, the herd fled, their eyes wide open, grouping into a densely packed formation, thus trying to prevent the enemy from weaving through them. Behind their huge, powerful bodies, which made the very ground tremble, flew pieces of torn-up soil and grass, crashing down on two riders who bravely chased them.

  Leon and Athos veered away, changed direction, then closed in again, trying to confuse and break the herd. Hurricane and Athos moved at an incredible speed, agile as if hunting to satisfy their own hunger—like powerful, wild cats.

  Finally, a few heads began to lag behind—just what Leon and Rafa had been waiting for. Seizing the opportunity, they boldly closed in on the straggling cattle from both sides, trying to cut them off completely.

  Frightened, one of the males tried to defend himself, charging briskly at Rafa with his sharp horns, the massive hump on his back looming over his neck like a mountain.

  But this time, his courage cost him dearly—Leon intercepted him, cutting him off from the herd entirely.

  "Just in time!" Rafa shouted.

  The buffalo tried to turn and run back after driving Rafa away, but it was already cut off. Leon and Athos, waiting for it on the other side, became its new target. Lowering its head once more, it charged at them, its sharp horns poised to stab the stallion.

  Leon and Rafa held their weapons ready—their spears longing to thrust into its hot flesh. As the buffalo charged toward Athos, Hurricane closed in from the side. Seizing the moment, Leon reacted with lightning speed—just as the beast turned back toward Rafa, he drove his spear straight between its ribs.

  "Hoo-ha!" Rafa roared as the buffalo spun, thrashing in a desperate attempt to free itself from the fatal stab. Its lungs were punctured, and the ground beneath it turned a deep crimson.

  "That's my boy!" Rafa laughed thunderously, his voice echoing across the field.

  Leon grinned. "I learned from the best," he replied, soothing the powerful stallion. "Whoa! Well done, boy," he stroked his neck, lowering his face into Athos's mane.

  "Your father would be proud," Rafa said, and the smile vanished from Leon's face.

  "Thanks, old man."

  "The two of us were such a good team in buffalo hunting that I didn't think anyone would be able to replace him, but what do you know," his blue eyes gleamed in the sun. "You do have something of his after all," Rafa said, grinning, but he quickly caught Leon's look. "Sorry, kid... I didn't mean it like that..."

  "Don't worry, Rafa..."

  "I meant to say he trained you well for hunting."

  "No. Both of you trained me well. I never hunted more than does with my father. It wasn't meant to be."

  "I'm sorry he's not with us now..."

  "Me too."

  Twitching on the bloody ground, the buffalo took a final breath through its punctured lungs, then made two sudden jerks before it completely calmed.

  Leon and Rafa sat on their stallions, staring at the carcass before them, but their thoughts drifted far away, carried by a river of memories. Their eyes grew watery.

  "Come on, help me skin it," Rafa finally broke the silence.

  "You know how much I hate this part," Leon said disgustingly.

  "But you like it when we charge for every pair of boots, don't you? Come on, jump off!"

  Leon assisted more by holding the carcass while Rafa skillfully skinned it with a sharp dagger.

  "Someday, you're going to do this; you're resisting in vain."

  "I'm happy that someday isn't today."

  When they finished and tied the skin, they loaded it onto Hurricane and headed toward Terrun, leaving behind a skinned carcass to roast and stink in the sun. The first flies have already swarmed, drawn by the scent of sticky, fresh blood.

  It felt good when they reached the dense canopy and shade of the forest, trotting silently most of the way. Leon was pensive.

  "You're getting better at this, I have to admit..." Rafa began.

  "Did you know?" Leon interrupted him with an unexpected question.

  "Did I know what?" Rafa was taken aback.

  "That I wasn't his son."

  "I did," he said without hesitation. Still, he wasn't looking at Leon, who expected him to look back at him.

  "Why didn't you tell me?"

  "You never asked."

  "I mean earlier. Why didn't you tell me before? While Bruno was still alive?" There was a hint of disappointment in his voice. Rafa heard it too.

  "Leon, in the years to come, when you become a mature man..."

  "I am a mature man..."

  "I don't just mean being able to satisfy a woman," he added. "I mean the moment when you truly become a mature man, in the fullest sense. You'll realize that not every battle is yours, and you shouldn't be the messenger of every truth. Besides, each of us has a secret of our own."

  "Do you think it's braver to keep quiet? That it's wiser to lie?"

  "Silence and lying are different, and I didn’t lie to you."

  "It amounts to the same thing..."

  "Only if you're a fool. This is neither about bravery nor wisdom. Least of all, wisdom. I wasn't the one who should have told you. Bruno did, when he felt ready, just as it should have been."

  "No one thought about me..."

  "I believe it's the exact opposite. That you were the reason he kept quiet. He didn't want to hurt you."

  "Or he didn't dare to admit it to me."

  "He dared to accept you, to raise you and bring you up as his own blood. He dared to nourish you and make a man out of you. He dared to love you and give you everything he could. Isn't that enough?"

  The color of Leon's face turned rosy. His gaze was no longer as confident or angry as it was moments ago. Rafa was telling the truth. The truth that defeated him.

  "You're right. I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me," he finally admitted.

  "There's no need to apologize. I understand how you feel."

  "Just when I think I'm over it, anger always defeats me."

  "Anger is a perfectly normal reaction to what lives inside you. But it's not the anger that defeats you; it's the darkness you have trapped in yourself. You have to learn..."

  "To control it? Believe me, I'm trying."

  "No, not to control it—to release it," Rafa said.

  The forest held the sharp scent of damp earth and the bark of old trees, the odor of two horses soaked in sweat, and the freshly skinned hide that would soon become shoes.

  Leon was thinking about Rafa's words. He regretted that, once again, his heart had overcome reason, that he had spoken from the lair of his vanity, that he had returned with ferocity and hurt to the place he decided to forget—to forgive. And what we have forgiven others, we no longer have the right to resent.

  "Rafa, who was that man in the workshop?" he asked, recalling a strong, light-haired man.

  "A customer," he replied briefly.

  "I've never seen him before... I thought we weren't accepting unknown customers?"

  "We don't."

  "So how..."

  "I know him. It's nothing to worry about."

  "All right."

  Briefly, silence fell between them again. All that could be heard was the dull beat of hooves. Once they reached the edge of the forest, Terrun appeared before them shortly after.

  "Rafa," Leon said uncertainly, then fell silent.

  "Yes, Leon?"

  "Speaking of secrets," he paused again. "There's something I haven't told you..."

  "I'm afraid it will have to wait..."

  "Why?"

  Rafa, smiling, looked at the house not far from them, nestled on the edge of thick foliage—Leon's home.

  "Then I'll see you later," Leon said absentmindedly, spotting her.

  "You don't have to come; I don't intend to open the shop. I have more important things to do today; I have to prepare."

  "Is there anything I can do to help you?" Leon asked.

  "Thank you, but I think you also have more important things to do. Besides, I have to do this alone."

  Leon smiled tensely.

  "All right, old man, as you say. I'll see you in the morning."

  "Remember my words: when you get burned by the same fire twice..."

  "... the second time, it hurts twice as much."

  "Good luck, boy. Hyah!"

  Hurricane surged into a strong gallop while Athos and Leon approached their home hesitantly. Leon dismounted with difficulty, but not due to fatigue or stiffness—Ariana stood before the entrance.