A/N: Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at /works/21526237 on Nov 22. Based off a headcanon of mine, There is a strict 'don't go out the village at night' policy for young villagers all across Okoto. Umarak stalks the shadow, searching for any prey he can find, Okotans are his favorite. Because let's be honest, if he's called The Hunter because he was made to hunt the elemental creatures, then he's shit at his job.

"Don't go out in the woods at night, they said." You roll your eyes. "You'll get lost and The Hunter will snatch you up, they said." You parrot, flapping your hand.

Everyone in your village talks about The Hunter, but you know better than all of them. He's only a myth, a story to keep youngsters like you from having fun by themselves. Heck, that's the entire reason you're out here in first place; to prove a point. You'll tag that big rock a few kios from home and come back unscathed. Good luck trying to say Umarak is still real after that, Vizuna.

As long as you don't stray too far from the path, everything will be fine.

...Maybe you should have listened to your parents.

You thought you could take a shortcut to that boulder and skip a long detour, but now you can't find the path, and it's getting a bit chilly. Your only source of light and warmth is your torch.

You just need to find some high ground and you'll find yourself home before you know it, right?

...

You're lost. There's no point in beating around the bush. You're lost, simple as that.

You've went in all possible directions yet you always find yourself back to that same spot. You swear you must've passed that outcrop at least six times by now.

You grumble in frustration, why must your impeccable sense of direction fail you now?

A pebble sticks out in the road, you hurry up and punt it, watching it soar high. It bounces off a branch and lands out of sight with a 'clank'. You cringe, you just hit someone, on the head, probably.

You rush to the noise finding a tall man facing away from you, his head held low. You apologize profusely to the stranger, stammering that it was an accident.

He lowers his bow shooter and looks over his shoulder, red eyes stare from behind a dark mask. Antlers sprout from his head, a chain dangles from his shoulder plate, and numerous trinkets are attached to his person. At his feet stands a four legged crawling trap.

You freeze in place.

It's The Hunter.

Umarak The Hunter.

"Well, well, well," he walks forward. "What have we here?"

You back away from him, holding your torch so tightly you think the wood creaks.

"A misbehaving Okotan, far from his village, at night." He says, "You think you are better than the others, do you?"

"Uh..." you try to say something but you can't.

"That is what they all thought, before I taught them otherwise. Perhaps this time will be different." He places his bow shooter on his back.

"Let us play a game," The Hunter says, placing his bow shooter upon his back.

"W-wh, wha... what?"

"It is called 'catch the prey'," The Hunter continues, edging forward step by step. "You will run as far as your legs will allow, while I hunt you down in an attempt to catch you."

Shaking in your boots, you stumble and fall onto your back, nearly burning yourself with your torch. He doesn't react in any shape or form at your clumsiness while you crawl away.

"If you manage to evade me long enough to return to your village or if the sun rises, you win. And I will let you go," he says with a gesture, looking off into the distance.

"But if I catch you..." his eyes shine a deep red from beneath his mask. His voice turns low and somber. "Then you will disappear from Okoto without a trace," he swipes the air with his sword. "Your fate will serve as a warning to disobedient children, just like you."

Umarak lowers his blade, "I am in a merciful mood tonight; I shall grant you a head start of three minutes." He points to the horizon, "Go, flee while you can."

The hunter covers his eyes and begins to count, the shadow trap at his side clamps shut with every seconds. You scramble onto your two feet and run as fast as you can. His voice fades off into the distance, but you can still hear it, in your head. The shadow traps hiding amongst the foliage snap shut together, filling the air with an incessant ticking. You can't sit still, every seconds not spent running increases the chance he will find you sooner.

He wants you to run, you're a good runner, you're the fastest in your village by a mile. Even the great Toa Lewa had a hard time catching you when he visited one day. But The Hunter fills you with dread, you're not sure your legs can get you out of trouble this time.

You catch your leg on a jutting root and collapse, the traps snap twice in succession, almost in laughter. But you know better; one minute has passed.

You scamper back up and continue fleeing, you can't let him get you, you have to find the path and go back home!

In your panicked sprint, you spare the area fleeting glances, the trees, once welcoming and lush, are now menacing and malevolent to your terrified eyes. Branches jut out as if to stab the sky, roots raised to catch your leg. You swear you've seen the hunter from the light of his eyes for just a moment, but it's just fireflies, scattering away from your disturbance.

The traps snap twice again, only one minute until Umarak joins the hunt. The traps snap louder and louder, deafening any other sound.

You keep running, you have to. Your lungs are screaming for air but you can't stop, not for one moment. You push through branches and foliage, your torch the only light there is. You jump across a small ravine, sticking the landing but collapsing in exhaustion. You catch your breath, panting for air.

SNAP. SNAP. SNAP.

"Ready or not, here I come."

You're out of time, The Hunter is on the loose. And he wants your head.

Raucous snapping fills the air, the traps laugh as best they can.

You look over you shoulder. In the distance, it's him. It's The Hunter.

"RUN."

Your limbs gain life of their own, and they carry you further ahead, farther from him. You can't see him, but you can hear him. He's taunting you, saying there's no place to hide.

The branches above you creak, and there he is, readying a javelin. You narrowly dodge the weapon which embeds itself into the soil then flee.

Now you can see him, jumping from perch to perch. Over and over again, he jumps at you only to dive into the shadows at the last moment. Then he vanishes and everything goes silent.

He's just toying with you.

You come across an enormous tree blocking the path. You run its side only for an arm to reaches from a hollow to grab you by the neck.

He holds you up. "How disappointing," he tuts, shaking his head.

Thinking on your feet, your hand darts to the knife at your hip. You take it and plunge it into his wrist. Umarak drops you with a grunt.

You fall ungraciously and crawl away rubbing your throat and gasping.

Umarak simply stares at the knife then pulls it out without so much as a noise. He turns to look at you. "That was a mistake."

You're already up and running before he's finished speaking.

That was your only defense. If he catches you this time, you're dead meat.

You hear the revving of a barrel, then the ground at your side erupts into a burst of flame. You zig and zag, panting and sweating while narrowly dodging shots after shots.

One whizzes past your head and strikes a tree, which then tips over. You turn left and just barely avoid being crushed.

A blast from behind knocks you down. Your ears are ringing, everything is too bright.

You stumble in a daze, falling over as your vision finally clears. A hand then clamps around your throat to lift you face to face with the Hunter again.

"The hunt is over." He sneers. Umarak raises his blade high while you struggle in vain, "You lose."

"Neem? Neem, where are you?!" A voice suddenly calls out in the distance.

That voice, it's the Toa! He's here to save you!

Umarak looks just as amused as he is annoyed by the turn of events. "I've caught you, but now the Toa makes himself known. Hmph, today is your lucky day." He says, but then he raises his blade to your mask, "I will spare your life, but let this serve as a reminder of your mistake."

He drags it across your mask, leaving an arcing scar that span from one side to the other, cutting past both eyeholes and narrowly missing your eyes. Then he takes your necklace and affixes it to his chest. "I will be holding on to this."

Umarak lets you go, and you fall to your knees gasping for air. He twirls you by the shoulders then pushes you. "Run along now, child," he dismisses you with a wave.

You don't need to be told twice and run towards the sound of Lewa's voice, looking over your shoulder just in case he was lying. Umarak is stepping back into the shadows, the light of his eyes vanishing into the darkness.

You burst out from the foliage catching the Toa by surprise. He spins in your direction only to sheathe his blade and soften as he realizes it's only you and not The Hunter. He kneels down and you dive into his grasp, holding on to his armor as hard as you can, crying.

"Hey, hey, don't cry. It's okay, I'm here, you're safe now," the Toa reassures you, his arm links around you in a protective guard. Even as Lewa holds you close promising no harm will come your way, the tears just won't stop falling down.

"It, I was, it was-" you blubber, burying yourself deeper in his hold. Lewa holds your head and looks at the brand new scar. His eyes widen at the sight, "What happened to you? Who did this?"

"It was... it was," you begin to calm down, you catch your breath. "It was The Hunter-!" You break down crying again the moment you speak of *him*. Lewa's eyes narrow in anger at the mere mention of him. He holds you against his chest, sheathing his other blade and hoisting you up as he stands to his full height. "Come on, let's get you home," he says softly.

He carries you the whole walk home, yet you still can't stop shaking.

Somewhere on Okoto, The Hunter stalks his lair. Looking on at a knife, he huffs in mild amusement before placing it next to many other collected trinkets. Tonight was a good hunt.

Onward to bigger prey.

A/N: Umarak can travel long distances with his mask. He had no intentions of letting the kid leave, he was just feeding him false hope. Game was rigged from the start.