"!!!?"
The overall reaction was one of complete shock.
"If we part ways like this," Hawke said, his voice tense, "it's practically certain that at least one of us will die!"
Yuka's frightened and tearful gaze was immediately drawn to him by the comment. Hawke instantly remembered the horrible nightmare; that cold voice in his mind saying, 'the strongest survives, law of the jungle, you're not the hero of the world.' He vividly remembered the cowardly abandonment.
"It's true that there's that risk..."
Tairo agreed seriously.
"And that's exactly why I'll be the bait."
The young boy's genuine courage deeply impressed Hawke; he naturally would have just accepted this selfish solution without question, but heavy guilt washed over him like an icy wave.
A critical thought suddenly came to mind, a thought he expressed in words before processing:
"If YOU are the bait and die, who the hell will guide the rest of the group?! Since you're the one who knows the whole way! Are you an idiot or something?! We'll all be doomed anyway!"
Tairo remained in absolute silence without any valid argument to counterattack. The beast growled once more, visibly more agitated now, with thick saliva already dripping abundantly from its enormous mouth. The situation urgently demanded immediate action.
"I will be the bait!"
Hawke declared softly, barely able to release the words stuck in his throat.
'Real-world heroes always end up dying in a pathetic and forgotten way...'
The entire group fell silent, each person processing the moment.
'Damn it! I hate when my stupid body seems to want to move completely on its own against my will! I have to stop immediately trying to play the sacrificial hero!'
"Damn, that's it then!"
Hawke spoke considerably louder now, his determination seeming to suddenly increase inexplicably.
"I WILL be the bait!"
Yuka looked at him with tears streaming down her face and shook her head frantically, a clear sign of rejection, pleading with him not to take this drastic action.
Kaira looked at him with a deeply sad look as if she had already lost him completely, her eyes also beginning to tear up as she sharply turned her face away to hide it.
"Idiot..."
She said softly and angrily, trying to hide her emotion.
'This is for you! Something insistently tells me that if I'm not the bait, one of you two will be left holding the bag. Most likely it's the old woman since she was going to be abandoned anyway eventually ; she would be caught quickly because she's slow, and if she didn't completely satiate the beast, which would CERTAINLY happen given her small size, they would need another bait soon after. Men are an absolute priority for the group's survival, aren't they?! Besides, we don't have any time for a democratic vote, nor to devise some complex plan!'
While in his internal monologue, Hawke somehow strangely and inexplicably felt that he genuinely could handle this , something like... deep primal instinct gave him irrational confidence.
"I'm NOT going to die!"
He declared with almost arrogant determination.
Besides instinct, he also had the genuine desire to return alive to them.
"Hey! Here!"
The old woman's hoarse voice made Hawke quickly look back in her direction. She had thrown the black club with surprising force, barely giving him enough time to turn completely. Hawke reflexively caught it in his hand out of pure instinct, and gave a genuine smile of gratitude. The old woman returned the smile with a toothless, proud grin.
"NOW! RUN!"
Hawke yelled loudly, and the great beast instantly responded to the sound with an extremely ferocious growl that reverberated.
The first to evade was obviously Tairo ; the leader who would dictate the direction of escape and who was still dangerously closer in the critical danger zone. The others followed him, running desperately.
Kaira pulled Yuka firmly by the hand, who staggered away on trembling legs.
Hawke heard the heavy footsteps of the others behind him, following in the same direction Tairo indicated.
Leaving only him and the beast face-to-face, each staring intensely into the other's eyes.
The beast surprisingly did not pursue the fleeing group, as the lone prey before it seemed to openly challenge it, which was interesting. It took extremely slow and calculated steps towards Hawke, having specifically selected him as its preferred primary prey.
However, the beast's attention was suddenly completely diverted by a shrill and desperate cry:
"HAWKE, YOU IDIOT!"
Kaira screamed with all her might, her eyes uncontrollably brimming with tears.
She had stopped abruptly, let go of Yuka's hand so she could continue alone, and recklessly and suicidally turned back while the rest of the group continued fleeing in the opposite direction.
"COME THIS WAY! MOVE! Don't just stand there! You're going to die, NO..."
Kuggi physically interrupted her with the help of Duggi, who had handed the old woman to Tairo to carry shortly before running back specifically to get Kaira. They both grabbed her arms and pulled forcefully.
This only intensified Kaira's explosive reaction even more; she violently bit Kuggi's hand that was holding her and began to scream more and more desperately:
"COME ON! GIVE ME BACK MY WINESKIN!"
While crying, she continued screaming.
"COME AND GIVE ME BACK MY WINESKIN, YOU IDIOT! You have it ; it's MINE!"
Desperate, Kuggi forcefully covered her mouth and finally managed to drag her away.
Too late.
Her had already completely captured the dangerous attention of the large saber-toothed tiger, which turned menacingly towards them and visibly prepared to chase after them.
'NO! You completely ruined the plan! What do I do now?!'
Hawke frantically tried to think of viable alternatives; get much closer to the beast and face it hand-to-hand? Maybe he could land a critical blow if it was distracted enough looking at the group. Should he throw the club like a spear? What if he completely missed the throw?!
His body simply reacted on pure instinct before his conscious mind could decide.
He let out an extremely loud, guttural, and primal scream:
"AAAAAARRRGHHH!"
Violently taking back all the attention of the saber-toothed tiger, which quickly turned back to him, instantly forgetting the group.
And he responded with an absurdly powerful roar that made the ground tremble.