Authors note: so, i'm having trouble planning out the next chapter, so for now, you'll get a lovely interlude. basically catching you up with whats going on in the world. enjoy.^^

crossing mountains isn't easy.

first off, breathing is hard.

secondly, the steep climbs and the lack of oxygen make not becoming exhausted a fairy tail.

thirdly, WHY ARE THERE SO MANY THINGS THAT WANT TO EAT ME?!

as you can guess, i'm having a bad day.

not only was parting from my friends and shadowpelt hard, but having to traverse a freezing mountain in the middle of summer is not fun.

haaa, i give up. perhaps i wasn't supposed to live in this world, and just got here by happy accident.

when i was born, i'd been the most adventuresome of my litter, added to the fact that we lived in a dangerous forest with beasts that love to eat the weak, and you have a recipe for trouble.

now, as you can probably tell, i survived. somehow.

but i have a feeling that can change real quick. especially in these godforsaken mountains.

as i said, lots of things try to eat me. wether it be snakes, bears, mountain lions, or just a really big snail, all of them want a bit of good Ol' talkir, and it's starting to get on my nerves. especially that snail.

i mean, come on! your a three foot long jelly pack! and you want to eat me?

sometimes, like i said, i get the feeling i wasn't meant to be in this world. everything i met tried to eat me, except for the members of my own species. so, you might get why having a huge, black cat with bloody eyes and wicked claws saying he didn't want to eat me made my day. and my life.

after a while though, i got this urge you know? like, maybe i do want him to try and eat me. for the longest time now, i'd been thinking in the back of my mind, maybe he just doesn't see me as worthy enough to be his food.

and that made me sad.

thus, i will do everything within my power to make him want to eat me.

is that hypocritical of me?

it may seem that way, but for me, it isn't. all my life, i have been protected. saved. stopped from doing something stupid by smart people.

now, it was my turn.

i thought this, but it didn't help me get away from the bear slobbering after me.

---

trees. road. bush. village. none of it mattered.

ssss, must keep going. just keep going.

this one is not used to being on it's own. all it's life, it has had siblings, and mother. then mother died, and she had her siblings.

now, she has no one.

ssss, this one has started to refer to herself as 'she'. perhaps it is a sign that i don't need others?

did i just use 'i'?

this one has trouble communicating with others. having always relied on common purpose to drive her and her siblings, she has never had the need to.

but, being on her own is necessary, if this one wants to be worthy enough to stand beside The King.

the king became stronger by killing the strong...where can i find something strong to kill?

---

walking through the forest, i felt like it was a dream. shadowpelt had left the forest in my care, and now that he was gone, all purpose that i used to feel felt... dead.

i needed something to wake it up. to get more excited. shadowpelt always seemed like he was enjoying himself, as though just being alive was fun.

perhaps...

i heard a scream.

far off to my right, i headed that way. on my way there, i passed through the kings clearing, passingly noting the blood pool that had dried in the middle.

shadowpelt risked his life, for what?

i ran through the forest, finally reaching the edge.

i was forced to cut my way through the webs encircling the forest to reach where i had heard the scream.

what kind of creature would be outside of the forest?

i crashed through the rapidly receding undergrowth to reach the scream.

i finally broke through the last of it, and my eyes were assaulted with sunshine.

momentarily blinded, i felt the need to jump to my left.

a split second after i had dodged, the place where i had been standing erupted in flame.

i quickly retreated behind a rock, counting on the fire to block any attackers view of me.

then i waited.

"is it there?"

"i don't know. go check. i hope we didn't char it too bad, otherwise it's pelt will be ruined."

i kept listening, but their speech dissolved into pointless arguments over trivial things.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

so their hunters, huh?

i kept waiting, using what shadowpelt had taught me. i could hear his voice, full of confidence, explaining to me.

"stay still. stay silent. never lose focus. these three things will guarantee that you will have an advantage in battle. if you can get the drop on your opponent, half the battle is over."

i waited like he said, silent. still. i felt like i could hear the mens breathing. i let no wondering thought enter into my mind, keeping it clear, like water.

water that would soon be filled with blood.

i tensed, but forced myself to relax. being high-strung already would only tire me out, and slow me down when the time comes to take action.

inhale.

"alright. i'll see about getting the pelt, wether it's charred or not, it should still be worth something."

i heard the footsteps coming closer, and sensed his heartbeat. slow, even. he was relaxed, and expected to skin a corpse.

he would be the corpse, come night.

he reached the rock, and bent around, looking behind the rock, and straight into my eyes.

exhale.

i leaped forward, and closed my mouth around his throat. the taste of blood filled my mouth, the metallic flavor caressing every inch of my tongue.

this is what my purpose should be.

i ripped the entire front of his throat out, and chewed on it. savouring the feel of human flesh sliding down my throat.

i hopped on top of the rock, and jumped toward the second assailant. an arrow wizzed past, clipping my shoulder, but i kept falling, and sank my fangs into his throat as well.

the warm taste. the meaty feel.

the high i got from killing humans!

i licked my lips, wishing i could wet them with more human blood.

out of no where, an arrow lodged in my leg. i yelped in pain, then turned to see a third hunter.

i dodged his next arrow, and the two that followed, but was too slow to dodge the third.

is this how i die?

i thought, as i watched the wooden shaft slowly spin, heading on it's way to my heart.

what would shadowpelt do?

he was always so full of life. so excited to be alive.

maybe that was because he spent most of his time risking that life.

if i know one thing, it's that he wouldn't stay still and die like a dog.

heartbeat.

i felt it, deep in my chest. it was like it knew it would soon be pierced by an arrow.

heartbeat. breath in.

that bastard... pushing me to save my own life even when he isn't here.

the arrow closed in, seeming to slow the closer it got.

what would shadowpelt do?

why, kill the enemy, of course.

i smiled. the way he used to.

i reached forward with my neck, and turned my head. then i caught the arrow in my teeth.

all fell still. the hunter sweated. the birds waited. and i felt that heartbeat...

thump. thump. thump.

but it wasn't mine. it was the hunters.

"i will extinguish your heartbeat."

i leapt farther than i had ever before, and ripped his left leg off.

he screamed, and i pinned him to the ground, and bit into his shoulder.

blood, oh that glorious blood!

i tasted it. i smelled it. i loved it.

more,more,more!

i kept biting, ripping and tearing, till his right arm resembled shredded paper.

after i had sated my bloodlust, i asked him a question.

"are you from roads end?"

he nodded, too scared and in pain to resist.

i smiled, then ended his misery. i'm merciful, after all.

i'd be merciful to roads end, to.

my smile grew wider, and i understood how shadowpelts mouth could stretch so wide.

he was just so happy, killing.

i would kill roads end. after all, shadowpelt had warned them what would happen if they allowed hunting to be done in the forest. technicalites like the hunters not being in the forest were not my concern. lawyers and historians could argue if i was in the right, but for now,

there was killing to be done!