Chapter 2

My Childhood

When I was six months old. The Maiden of Truth found me. She was a nice old lady. Clucking over me, “I’ve been looking for you. Not easy to find, are you? You were late in the birth record too. Not to fret though, you’re not even a year old but Celentine will take care of you. You have a big responsibility you know.”

It wasn’t easy taking me from my parents.

“Are you sure this is the one?” They asked. Still knowing they can’t break the Book of Truth’s prophecies. “Show me the prophecy and I’ll make sure she’s the one you’re looking for by myself.”

The Maiden of Truth said she couldn’t show them the prophecy. “It’s secret. There are few who can even enter it’s room.” She gave a wink showing they would be proud.

A litter of three out of eight isn’t a bad turn out, but parents here always hope for more. Since then they had two more litters and eight total. “But she’s our first born, our eldest.” They continued to protest. And after some tears they gave up and gave into the prophecy.

The Maiden of Truth took me to my new home. It was deep in the forest of our little village. Trees overgrown and roots crawling through stones of the house. It wasn’t so much of a house but more like a temple. It looked like someone has been keeping it up recently, probably the last generation of the Huntress.

I didn’t think much of it then. Little did I know how much of an impact in my life this temple would have on me.

She took me down the two steps and knocked on the wooden door. I didn’t hear anything but the door suddenly opened. Another old lady, this one had scars on her face. The scars of battle she later told me.

She welcomed the Maiden of Truth and told her that she’s been getting things ready for my arrival. I could walk on two feet, eat solids and just barely talk. I understood more words than I could talk though, only being six months old.

Celestine took me in and started making me something to eat. “You’re skin and bones. You must eat what I give you and we’ll learn to hunt soon so you can eat more. I won’t always be around to give you food,” she said. “Then we will get started on your education. You must be smart to be a Huntress.”

The Maiden of Truth hoisted me up into a chair though Celentine and I both protested. “She should be old enough to jump, dear, or she’d better learn fast.”

The first thing I learned was the message that thing weren’t going to be as bad as they are now.

I ate, it was good food. Stew with meat and vegetables. Honestly it was better than my parents could do. They didn’t have much to begin with and relied on hope and love to get them through life. Kindness and friendship. I learned that from my parents and never forgot it.

I finished and started to climb down out of the chair. I started looking around while Celentine was washing the dishes.

There wasn’t much in the rooms. It was very neat and tidy, yet the only things I could find were wardrobes and cabinets, nothing left out of place.

It wasn’t cold, though it was nighttime. We lived in the jungle, hot and humid. As I went further into the temple I now called home, it was getting colder. The large grays stones that were used to build the house had quite the cooling effect.

The dining room had a fireplace with a long-since cleaned look to it, indicating it was never used. The only heat was coming from the outside afternoon air and the stove used to cook the stew.

After eating I ventured farther back and noticed various rooms. The ones that were open, were mostly empty. The ones locked I could only imagine what was inside, studies, storage, who knows? I noted that and kept my purpose up to at least try to enter those rooms, naive as I was.

The large stones formed a stairway down to another door. Also locked. What’s the big secret here? I thought.

Another set of stairs took off the to the right. I took it and found myself on the top of the temple looking down across the valley of the forest that we travelled through just peaking at our village. The village which all Xeno Felines originate. There are so many, I learned, yet our village is so small.

The view was spectacular, the sunset lighting up the sky in a dark orange, like me. Rolling hills of thick forested lands leading off to the horizon.

Celentine came over and watched the sunset with me. It was beautiful and though she’s seen it a thousand times it doesn’t get old. “Watch it carefully. Though the toils of the day may get you down it’s the things like this in life that take your breath away. It’s not always easy looking at life from this point of view but it’s the skill of doing so which makes a person happy.”

I looked towards the village again, it was the first time I noticed I was on the highest point around for miles and miles. Such a beautiful place, a beautiful home. I took the time to soak it into my young self and appreciate my heritage.

Celentine told me that without this village, there would be no Xeno Felines, anywhere, not only the planet, not in the whole galaxy. “But that’s a lesson for later.”

She told me to respect this village. “It is your home.”

And a home like no other.

We waited for the sun to set while I told her about my mother and father, my two brothers and the things we did at home.

It was finally dark, she told me it’s bedtime and we made it back inside. “Well Dawn,” she called me, “I was planning to have our first lesson today, but it looks like we had a nice one already. Maybe tomorrow we can go to the top of the hill and see the sunset from there. If you like this view you’ll love it from up there. Now, go to sleep little one, and tomorrow we shall learn and work in the same way our ancestor’s gave us a village to live in.”

She took me to my room. There was a bed larger than anything I’ve slept in. Even bigger than my bed at home where the three of us cramped up beneath our mother keeping warm on something not much bigger than a pillow.

Now I had a big bed, and one just for me to grow up in.

It was funny, I had no belongings that I brought with me. Just myself and the clothes on me. Which was a thin blouse, formal for a little one like me, and bit warm in the hot summer air of the jungle. Nothing in my pockets either.

I slept and dreamt of fairytales, the kind my mother would tell us before dozing off for the night. It was a nice dream, one where my siblings and I had ventured out of the village and all the while dodging poison arrows and attacks from the wild animals in the depths of the jungle. We found a lost temple with gold and diamonds, rubies, sapphires and a beautiful miniature statue of our Gods, Ares and Xeres, dancing with one another.

The light was beaming down on it from cracks in the ceiling. The wind would howl like a choir enunciating our arrival.

I walked up to the gold statue as big as life and looked at it right in their eyes. They were looking back at me. Xeres told me to be true and work hard, my brothers and sister were walking around it and looking at it just as it was. We reached out at the same time, slowly and in unison. We touched it, the dream blew up in a flash of light and I woke up.

The sunlight was coming in through the window to my left, it wasn’t bright but it was enough to tell me that the world is opening it’s eyes to me. Little me, becoming the Huntress. The one to keep my village safe and alive.

I walked out into the kitchen and Celentine was there. “Dawn, breakfast is coming up. Don’t go anywhere. We’ll have to eat and clean, then we do some chores and keep up the garden and eat lunch before it gets too hot. Afternoon, you study, and after that we can have dinner and eventually make it to bed.”

She saw putting a schedule down for a six month old child didn’t bother me. But I followed her and helped clean and do chores. I enjoyed it. I knew what the day would bring me.

We had breakfast. Jungle bird. She helped me pick the feathers off and told me what parts have the most meat.

Then we washed the dishes and started doing our chores. Easy work, I learned to sweep and swept the whole house. Apparently I was doing it wrong. “You sweep back and forth, swiftly but controlled. You waste your energy if you only use one of the strokes to push the dirt.” Celentine said, it seemed vague, but soon enough I got the whole house done.

Then we went off to the garden and started pulling weeds and grass that had grown over the last week. She taught me the names of the vegetables we grew in the garden and when they were ripe and what were edible or not, where the good herbs and spices come from. It was a lot to learn, better to start young she says.

“In the next year you’ll be smarter than any average adult in the village. You’re a bright one.”

I learned fast. I was still a child. Very young, and assimilating quickly everything Celentine told me.

We had lunch and she started teaching me how to cook. We had baked vegetables and meat cooked with the perfect spices. I was fortunate to have such food, and to have food. Most families in the village don’t have enough money to buy three square meals a day. Otherwise they keep a measly garden, enough for a few tasteful meals a week, when the season calls for it.

The first lesson I had, while watching the sun lowering that evening, was on history. I didn’t take it as history though. It sounded more like a fairytale to me. The beginning of time on this planet setting forth the beginnings of our race and the other tribes of Xenos.

“It began thousands of years ago.” She said as we started walking outside and traveling the beaten path up the small mountain to the top. “The nameless gods put forth two of each Xeno. Ours were Ares, female, and Xeres, male.

“There are many other Xenos, many of them. But that is another day’s lesson. Ares and Xeres were beautiful. They were the first of the Felines, the ones who started the whole race. Starting the race of life. They sacrificed themselves and their lives, their own determinism, to allow us to live. They lived a happy life and had twelve children, four litters of six with three living through birth each time.” A good turn out.

We walked, winding up the mountain still, we were on the other side now looking out to the east. There was a city in the distance, just noticeable by the aura of light in the distance. It looked like a huge city but it was so far away. I asked Celentine, “What city is that?”

“The City of Xenobia, my dear. Still, another lesson for later.”

“I want I know everything.” I said. I was very eager to learn I was still small. But like or unlike any child my thirst for knowledge was abundant.

Celentine continued her lesson of history, “They were a happy couple. Lived long and raised their children. Out of the twelve, their jobs were as follows:

“Darreth and Bravir, the King and Queen reign and being peace.

“Elo, the Maiden of truth, who kept to the Book of Truth and each prophecy given by their mother and father.

“Fanton, the officer and police, meant to keep the society in check and rid the bad souls born to us.

“Gendira, the vendor collecting and selling goods to our family.

“Gentor, the financier of the kingdom bringing forth money and a system of bartering with one another, including other Xenos.

“Baran, the farmer, growing food from his farm, keeping enough food on the table for the family.

“Cora, the Huntress, like you and I, keeping good meat on the table so we could grow strong.

“Samath, teaching the new borns how to talk and write and ensure our society advanced in the knowledge known to us.

“Helaine, the lord of law, keeping our kingdom safe with rules that thou shalt and shall not do.

“Goliath, the security of our kingdom, keeping us safe from the unknown world and breaches of our security.

“Epigus, the philosopher and historian, recording history so we can learn from our mistakes, which makes all the wiser.

“Helbrow, the entertainer, keeping our spirits up when the times get us down.

“Between the twelve they shaped the society you see and know in our village, thriving and successful. Their children were there helpers, their workers and managers. And some ventured out to the east to be in Xenobia, the city you see now.”

We were sitting on the top of the mountain now. The highest point for miles. Mist creeping in from the north and the sun falling for the day, in the west. The moon was out, though still too bright out to see fully, it was there, creating the paradise of Xenobia.

I started to cry. I don’t know why. I thought of my family and how privileged I was to be here. I’m sure none of them, even my mother and father, haven’t been up here. They don’t even know where I am.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it,” Celentine said, helping to keep my tears back.

I just kept soaking up the sunset and greenery around me. It was helping. I stood up and took a deep breath, “If they can do it and keep us alive, so that I stand here, I can do my part to keep it going,” I tried to say in my best tongue though I was still learning to speak.

She kept quiet for a moment, until I stopped sobbing and continued our lesson. She told me how the kingdom grew and grew from each of the sons and daughters of Ares and Xeres. Not all of them kept the jobs of their parents, most of them went to school and helped in the gardens. Many would become educated and take over their parent’s business, or find a new line of work, or once they were old enough would go and join the police force if trustworthy. The rest would go to be placed in security, patrolling our perimeter. Until they reached the borders of another clan sent down by the Unnamed-Gods. A few others would be found by the Maiden of Truth and brought to where they belonged, sanctioned by our Gods, Ares and Xeres.

We expanded inside our territory until the food ran out. The farmers couldn’t keep up with the population and the Huntress nearly killed off our main source of meat trying to feed everyone, until the merchants ventured out to make peace with the other clans and came back with food and gifts and little trinkets piled high.

They even sent out some of the financiers to help make an exchangeable currency with the other clans. It was perfect, we were expanding. Expanding into the future.

Three hundred years went by and our race was well known and with peace of all the others Xeno villages on the planet. Their populations grew too and thrived. It wasn’t always peaceful, there were wars and politics emerging, to keep everyone busy; and not to forget the beginnings of the city of Xenobia.

I had learned a lot and thanked Celentine for teaching me the history of the tribe. I was becoming religious and superstitious to our Gods, the grandparents of our grandparents, and would wonder about the unnamed gods who brought them to our planet.

It was far past sunset now and we had to walk all the way back down to the temple we called home.

The hike down was tiresome and spooky. I’d never been up so late. I heard all the night life of the jungle. The cawing and screaming of the unknown animals that populate our forest. I asked Celentine what they were and she told me, “They’re just animals, food for another day, nothing to worry about dear.”

We got inside and I went to my room. Quickly I checked the secret doors, still locked. It bothered me that I don’t know what’s behind them. Mysterious things unknown by a small child like me.

But it was time to sleep now. I ached from that hike. My head hit the pillow and I was already gone.

———

That night I dreamt of the world outside the forest, venturing out and seeing all sorts of species I didn’t know existed. It was beautiful, everyone was my friend and we got along together.

Ares and Xeres came down to greet me from the heavens to tell me how much of a good job I was doing. Expanding the village and helping everyone else survive. I felt so proud. I came back to tell my parents but I couldn’t find the house. I was alone.

I walked around the village and decided to walk up to the top of the hill again. I climbed it fast and agilely with the speed of a Huntress unbeknownst to me. I was at the top and simply sat and watched the dark horizon of the already set sun that I’ve seen for the last two nights. It made me feel lonely.

I cried, but told myself to grow up. Crying isn’t the way you handle things. Crying gets you nowhere. I stopped and climbed down to the temple I call my home. In stead I found the giant tree it was built upon and underneath, but there was no temple.

So I built it. Stone after stone. I carried each one and shaped each cubed stone brick to fit exactly. It was perfect. Exactly as it is now. I wandered into the house to find the same corridor leading down to the locked door hiding the unknown. There it was, the door at the bottom of the staircase. I jumped down with the agility of a Feline Huntress. I surprised myself. I reached the doorknob, it turned. I pushed open and a light came through the crack. I pushed harder. And I woke up. Back in my bedroom, the sunlight creeping it’s way into the curtained window.

I got up and made it to the kitchen.

Celentine was making breakfast again.

She asked me, “Did you sleep well? I sent you to bed quite late and you were quite exhausted.”

I told her, “I’m fine.” I thought about asking her what’s behind the locked doors. But I couldn’t. I could only imagine her telling me that I’m too young, or that it’s a lesson for another day. I didn’t ask and I didn’t find out.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Maybe they’re unlocked today? I’ll have to check later.

I ate breakfast and we started washing the dishes.

Celentine told me that soon I’ll be able to hunt and catch my own food soon. For now she had me picking herbs and spices from the garden, and before lunchtime I had learned how to dry and grind the plants for flavor. Too dry and the spice turns out tasting, well, dry. Too moist and it won’t crush under the mortar and pestle. It was a good lesson.

We had stew again for lunch, it was the easiest to do. We didn’t have any advanced cooking supplies or much of a stove. But a pot of the fire worked wonders.

I started helping more and more. I liked to help her. I couldn’t stand just sitting there waiting for her to serve me. It wasn’t me. I wasn’t a princess. I had to do something and help out, it’s in my nature. So I stood up and helped. Once it was ready I grabbed a couple of bowls and filled them cautiously and set them down on the table, waiting for Celentine to start eating.

We cleaned up lunch and started the next lesson for the day. Geography.

We headed up to the top of the mountain again. Seeing the beautiful sights and the now familiar path. I knew I would be able to climb this path with my eyes shut at some point.

It was afternoon. The sun was hot and I learned to bring a jug of water.

We sat down on the rock which had been shaped to make a bench.

“Our village is in the west side of the mainland,” Celentine explained. “The center is Xenobia City. To the east all the way on the other side of the mainland is the tribe of Canine Xenos. North of them, in the high cold mountains, are the Aves. The western and southern plains are home to the Equine. And in the South west, below us are the Apes, they’re not Xenos but they are close enough. They never speak to us, nor us to them. They have their own land unconquered by the rest of us. I recall they might have been cursed and sentenced to never leave their village.

“All around us is water. The Pisces Xenos live there and we buy food from them often, they sell fish and snails and oysters, delicacies if you don’t mind the salt water taste. I can take you to meet them sometime too. Then there are islands, smaller island where the the influence of the mainland Xenos haven’t made an impact and they haven’t made as much an impact to Xenobia either. On the islands are the Bovines and Ursine and others. And the ones in the center, Man, the ‘lucky’ ones, they’ve built a city and a thriving city at that.

“We all come to join and flourish in their city, evolve new ways of life and contribute to this planet’s economy and culture. It’s our outlet into the rest of the galaxy.” She stopped to take a sip of water and look out to the city again.

“We were and still are equal, the Humans don’t seem to think of us as lesser, if anything we think of them as the lesser race. We are as smart as them and, such as you, even smarter. A six months old baby human is pathetic. We are a great deal quicker than them, more adjusted to survive in the outside, the jungle, the cold. Our young learn to speak and walk and go to school before a year old. The humans walk after a year have gone by, talk after another year, read after yet another few years, sometimes learn to write after more years and finally go to school after five years of waiting for them to mature enough to carry a book bag.

“It is in your blood, your bones. The Nameless Gods created us to be better than the Humans in so many ways. They have their own advantages and we have our own. So they are at most your equal.”

She went into her anecdotal pose and spoke, “Don’t make them suffer or feel downtrodden, that is the weakness of the slave owners and ones who criticize one another. The slave owners become the slaves. Slaves to themselves at last.”

She stood there letting it soak in.

Geography and Philosophy. I retained it all and much to my advantage. I was thirsty for knowledge.

“Tell me more Celentine,” I pleaded. “I want to know more and more.”

“Dawn, I will tell you. But dusk is near and we should get a good night’s sleep. I want you to grow up strong and alert. Not weak and tired.” She stood up and started walking down the mountain. “There will be a lesson for another day.”

“Wait!” I said, “I want to see the sunset.” The sun was getting closer to the horizon.

She said, “You have many sunsets waiting ahead. You’ll be able to see it on the way down.”

I shrugged sadly, I've never seen it from anywhere but here. It’ll be a new experience walking in the fading dusk light.

We made it back home, watching the sunset all the way down. I walked real slow so that I could see the whole thing. I think I took an hour.

We got home and made some more stew.

“When can we go see the Pisces Xenos, Celentine?” I asked.

“Later, you’re still a bit young.”

“Please!”

She started thinking. It was at least a days walk.

“Alright, in a day or two.” She replied. “We need to plan ahead and get all the chores done ahead of time.”

“Okay, I’ll do whatever I need to.”

“So eat up and get a good night rest. We have a hard working day tomorrow.”

I went to bed, I wasn’t tired but I still went to sleep when my head touched the pillow. Soft blankets and a warm bed.

I dreamt again.

I was out on the islands, I took a boat and travelled across the ocean to the small island of various Xenos.

I landed finding huge men, all covered with brown fur, strong and mean looking. They had fur everywhere and big black nose at the end of a wide snout.

I ran up to them and asked one who he was, “Spenser.” He said. I asked how he got here and he told me the story of his clan, his village and his gods, “The Nameless Gods sent to Xenobia two beautiful Bear Xenos, Augusta and Valentin.” He told me in a rough voice. “They bred and gave us our forefathers and mothers. They gave us life and told us where to eat and sleep, they gave us the laws and said how we must live, we worship them and give them thanks every night around the fire before eating supper. Each of their children have a name but I can’t tell you as you’re a young Feline Xeno, not a Ursine like me. But you’re welcome to see our beautiful island. We call it Cyrus.”

I thanked him and went on my way. I ventured into the island where Bovine Xenos grazed, big, with short dark hair, horned heads and black staring eyes.

“Hello.” I said

“Hello.”

“How did you get here, to Cyrus island?”

He replied in the same way as the Spenser. A deep voice, booming from his neatly toothed mouth, “Our forefathers came down and gave us knowledge, where to sleep and where to eat, they gave us treatises and pacts with our neighbors. They were the greatest of them all and we worship them everyday for giving us this beautiful land and keeping us alive in such treacherous lands.”

I thanked him and went on my way. I went further and further into the island. I ventured through the wooded coastline by following a small stream which turned into wide grassy plains and the plains turning into deep dark trees filling the horizon on either side of me. I was scared, in a wide open field with dark forest all around. Celentine wouldn’t want me to be scared.

I jumped into the forest and started running for fun, jumping over the brush and fallen trees. I made it to another village. It was just like mine. Feline Xenos stalking the perimeter and other selling food or eating outside.

I walked up to one and asked who she was.

“I am just like you Dawn.”

She was just like me, yet different, her fur was thicker and more compact, mine was orange and not so thick.

“How did you get here?” I politely asked the Feline Xeno who oddly knew my name.

“We were born to the Gods Ares and Xeres, they gave us life and a planet to live on...”

Are they the same as I? But they’re all the way out on this island. I was confused. But she started telling me more.

“Ares and Xeres had twelve children.” She stopped to look into my eyes, “I can tell you this, only because you are a Feline, you don’t tell others.”

“Okay.” I said cheerfully. I don’t remember this disclaimer when Celentine told me, but it seems like the other Xenos agree on their tribal privacy.

“Twelve children made us into the village of strong Felines we are today. Our forefathers ventured from the main island to here. We grew and grew and we ate the meat of the buffalo and the bear, the wolves and the dogs, the birds, the rats, the fish. They fed us and kept us alive. While we are their herders we keep them safe, we told them the land they have belongs to them, their Gods gave it to them and we come at a price. We infiltrated their lands and resided in the high forest where they don’t come, because we told them to.

“We got rid of their pests and bountiful predators. We helped the wolves and bears catch fish to eat. We gave the fish food and told them where to be safe and procreate. And we rid them of their slow and weak ones, the animals who could run fast enough or think fast enough stayed in their kingdom, expanding to a better society.”

That’s interesting, herders: filtering out the bad so that the good stay and become better, for the real benefit of their overlords.

Still what interested me was that the same Feline Xenos live in the forest on this island too.

“And Dawn, where do you come from?”

“I live in the outskirts of the Feline village, I came here to visit, I was curious”

“Of course, we all are.” She replied. “And what do you do as a young Feline?”

“I am the Huntress. Celentine teaches me the stories of Xenobia and my history. But I never knew we were the same, we live so far apart. And I guess I can tell you this: we had two Gods given to us by the Nameless Gods, Ares and Xeres, they had twelve children and gave us life, a land to live on and knowledge of the worlds.”

She nodded curiously and turned away, seemingly finished, yet it suited my purposes.

I ventured inside the village. It was exactly the same as mine back on the mainland.

I walked through and people started staring at me, “That’s the new Huntress.” “She’s only a kitten.” The murmurs followed me wherever I went.

I walked towards the mountain where my temple would be. There it was, a large tree coming out of the side of the mountain. A stone temple sitting underneath the tree. A garden planted and kept up just as I left it yesterday. I walked inside and found a kitten curled up in her bed.

I walked more and more into the house.

I took the stairs leading down. The door. The handle. It turned and the hinges creaked and the woods scraped against the floor. The light poured out and Celentine called my name.

“Dawn.”

I awoke.

“Time to get up. It’s a big day today, remember.”

I remember.

I walked out of my room and started eating breakfast. “What’s on Cyrus Island, Celentine?” I asked. “The one you told me about yesterday, that has the Ursine and Bovines?”

She thought for a moment. Did she recall if she told me the names of the islands yesterday?

“Cyrus island,” she lagged, “has Buffalo and Bear Xenos, Bovine and Ursine. I can tell you on the way to the sea tomorrow, if you want.”

“Okay,” I said cheerily. “What do I learn today?”

“Today we’ll do our chores and I’ll tell you about the prophecy which brought you here.”

We finished up the food and cleaned our plates just as the last couple days. The chores were the same, gardening, pulling weeds and trimming the dead leaves off of the flowers. By the time we finished I thought it looked like the most beautiful garden ever. I was proud. Celentine was proud. Then we ate lunch.

“Dawn, after lunch I want you to sweep the kitchen quickly and I’ll tell you about your prophecy.”

I didn't forget. My memory was good. So was my discipline.

I swept the floor as fast as possible. Not missing anything, I was done in ten minutes. Celentine was surprised, so she checked under the table, under the rug and the corners and told me I had done a good job. “Just like a true Huntress, quick and efficient.

“Tell me my story.” I begged. I was more than eager to know. I had never heard it. I only heard of people talking about me.

“Your prophecy comes from the Book of Prophecies, Chapter 2, The Huntresses, Prophecy 888 which states…” She took out a book from the shelf and read it to me, “When the bodies of Ares and Xeres come together, light of the night shines through the treetops, eight will be born.” She looked up, now explaining the meaning of this nebulous passage.

“This was when you were born, a night on that special eclipse that happens once a year. You can sometimes see a planet out there we call Ares and the one close by, Xeres. Your mother had eight in the litter, and it continues: One the color of sunset, born a dime less than a dozen,

“Your fur is, as you see, the color of sunset, that’s why we call you Dawn. You were the second of the eight, but the eldest still,” she looked back down to the her page, “shall arise in the night to rid the world of the evil. The new Huntress of the old world. None shall slay the color of sunset, none shall order the Huntress but the order of the universe itself.” She looked up at me and smiled, “You’re such a good young Feline, you have potential.” She looked at me with all the hope of the prophecy, believing it will all be true.

“Can we go up to the top of the mountain again?” I asked.

She made a face that said she was too tired, “I have another place we can go. Let’s walk and I can tell you the meaning of the last phrase.”

“I get it, Celentine! It means that I kill evil and I’m unstoppable and I do what I want, not what other people want me to do.”

“Very good, that will do.” She said, looking satisfied, admiring me again for my thinking skills.

We walked out and she led me down on the path towards the village. It was peaceful. The midday sun shining down through the tree tops. We walked close to the village.

“Are you going to bring me to my family?” I asked.

“No, not today.”

I made a face. “When can I see them? I want to tell them all the things I’ve learned.”

“Soon, but we don’t have time today. So it will have to be when we come back from the sea.”

“Okay.” I said disappointedly. I loved them but I didn’t understand the separation that was put between me and my family. The Maiden of Truth said it was to do with the Book of Truth so I couldn’t stay with my family. “The training is tough and just as it has been since the beginning of the the entire Feline Xenos. The Huntresses start early and learn throughout their whole life.” I understood that, but I will make sure I go to see my family too.

We didn’t actually go to the village, there was another pathway that took us down further, it was getting darker and the trees were getting thicker, but Celentine kept us on the path that wound around the trees leading us to our destination.

We arrived at an open area, the light coming through the tops of the jungle trees. It was almost spooky, a clearing in the middle of the forest, nobody around, only animals, birds and frogs.

“There are frogs here.” She told me. “If you see frogs, it mean that there is water nearby. Remember that.”

The clearing was filled with stones, the same kind that were used to build our house. They were scattered all over, some piled high into towers or pyramids and others laying lonely by themselves.

“This is the training area, you’re too young to start any real training but I think you’d like to get used to it and know your field before the fighting begins.”

I climbed up onto one of the biggest stones I could find.

“I’m the queen of the mountain!” I sang.

Celentine laughed. “There’s so much life in you. I wish I had that when I was younger, I hoped I would maybe end up with more energy at my age.”

I jumped down and gave her a hug, “If you’re going to be my teacher my whole life, I’ll make sure to take care of you, I can give you all the energy you want.”

“I don’t think it’s going to be your whole life, I only have a few years left on me. I’m getting old.”

I played and jumped and even climbed a pyramid of blocks, all the way to the top. I had so much fun. It was the first time I’ve been to such a place, I had space to run and jump and hide. The only thing missing was my family, my brother and sister to play with. I’ll have to get them somehow. It was quite lonely with only Celentine, she could only run so much, though quite a bit for a lady of her age.

I remember what she told me about the Huntress putting meat on the table for the village, she must have still been doing that until I arrived. She’s old but not too old. I can see that her age has been slowing her down.

I ran myself out of energy and sat down on one of the stones. “Can we sleep here?” I asked.

“No.” She said. I’m sure she was quite willing to walk all the way up the path just to get into a nice soft bed.

I managed to catch my breath and we walked back up to the village and Celentine found some nice food to cook for dinner. “Watch this,” she told me as a small bird landed in our path.

It should have been impossible, the bird saw us and was right in the middle of the path twenty feet away. She jumped and as if running on air, she caught the bird while it was taking off, already ten feet from the ground.

I was surprised. I’ll have to practice to do that myself.

I thought about it as she told me that the technique and practice is all that it is. No magic.

I got lost in thought and found myself having arrived back at the Temple.

She told me the history of the training grounds. They were built for the army to practice as if on a real battlefield. That explains the scratches and broken stones all over. I didn’t care about the scratches. It was a good place to play.

She was telling me more and more. Everywhere we walked she told me something, things about plants and animals, telling me where is north and south, east and west. “This plant makes a salve for wounds, this one for bruises and the roots are edible. This one is poisonous to the touch but you can still eat it. It doesn’t bother the tongue if you fold it.”

Everywhere I went with her I felt just so much smarter. She even told me the same things more than once just for repetition. How much is a six month old Feline really going to remember if you tell her only once. Yet I remembered each time she told me.

I learned fast, and remember a lot. She even started testing me.

“What’s this one’s name?”

“Hemlock.”

“What does it cure?”

“Enemies.”

“A poison for the enemies, right. How do you use it?”

“It’s roots, you put it in their food or water.”

“Very good. Now don’t eat it yourself.”

“Yes, Celentine.”

I was learning. I learned about the animals too, the ones to eat, the ones with the most meat. The delicacies, the harder ones to catch, and though we didn’t see any I heard there were lots of animals that live underground.

Horses, I’ve never seen them. Dogs, neither. I mainly see other cats, Xeno and wild, monkeys, birds, rats, squirrels and other odd animals, some look tastier than others, but Celentine told me, “You can’t go and eat all of them, there will be none left if you do that. Be generous and let them grow, let them feed their young and you take their old.”

We made it back to the house and though the sun was still up, but just setting, she told me to go to sleep.

I didn’t want to. So she reminded me of the long walk we have tomorrow, we’ll start early and wants me to sleep. “Young kittens usually sleep twice as much as adults do. And you’re running around all day. Busy with chores, learning tidbits, listening to stories and climbing mountains.”

I was fine, not too tired, never. But I did go to bed anyways, my barren room, besides a set of drawers with only a set or two of extra clothes.

I went to bed but didn’t sleep for a while, I was still thinking about playing in the training grounds. I was. I was still there, playing and jumping over logs and stones. Someone else came and now there were two of us, jumping around and playing hide and seek, chasing each other. It was fun.

Then the other one had to go.

I said, “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.” But he walked away still, as if ignoring me.

More Felines came and started really training. They were the ones in the army. The ones our neighbors feared, the ones that expand our territory and keep it from being taken from us.

They were big, males and females. They trained, kicked and scratched. Roars and hisses erupted in mock battle. They were really fighting with knives and weapons concealed in their clothes.

I watched them closely, sparring and hitting the other in quick successions, kicks, punches, combined with feints and rolls, and grapples when taken by surprise.

Sneak attacks made all the others laugh while the one being attacked wasn’t looking. The one caught wasn’t happy but the rest thought it was hysterical. Until another one joined in and attacked another from behind, and another, and another. Suddenly the whole place was in mayhem and they were rolling all over each other, biting and clawing and scratching.

They were resilient. They really scratch and really bite, but no real wounds. It’s the nature of the species. Always fighting and practicing on your brother and sister.

One of them came up to me as I was sitting on the top of a particularly high stone watching the mayhem.

“Would you like to join us?”

“No thank you. I’m too young. Celentine told me so.”

“Nobody is too young to have some fun.” He waved me down with his hands, “Come down and try to take a bite out of my neck.” It sounded like a threat.

Everyone else was doing it and nobody was really hurt. Let’s try it.

I jumped down and ran around the big brute. I didn’t know what to do exactly but I was watching them all for the last few minutes. I had a plan.

I ran and he followed, I ran so fast. He was charging for me and nearly had my tail, I was scared. He couldn’t catch me so I had a chance. I dived under a log while he crashed into it, it stalled him for a minute and I managed to turn quickly, jump over his head and jump back, feigning from one side to the other, I grabbed his huge neck and bit into him. He roared like a dying Feline. It was loud and he was twisting in pain until I let go, and he them clobbered me, I was covered in two hundred pound of meat and bones, but I finally managed to get out from under him and get back on top.

I sunk my teeth into his neck again and dug in with my claws.

This time he jumped up, laughing and laid down to one side. He had a big grin on his face and I noticed the rest had stopped to watch us.

The crowd agreed, “She put up a good fight.”

“You couldn’t even catch her.” Another said.

I relaxed and got my fur back in order after getting back to my particularly high stone again.

They were done for today and they all left.

I sat there on top of my tower pointing out to myself all the plants and animals I knew. We were getting closer to starting our journey to the seaside. I was excited so I marched back up the path to the village and had a thought. Maybe I should go and say hello to my family.

I walked to the edge of the town, there was nobody outside. I wandered around the outside getting closer to my family’s house. There was a dog coming close to the village. Not just a dog, a Canine Xeno. I stopped dead in my tracks. To kill or not to kill. That is the question. He noticed me and started to walk towards me and I walked towards him. We both stopped.

“Are you the new Huntress?” He asked.

“Of course. Can’t you see the prophecy has chosen me?”

“I don’t know of no prophecy. But I heard there was a new Huntress.”

“Well here I am.”

He stood there and looked at me for a minute. Then he smiled, “You know, I think you’ll be a good Huntress.” He looked like he had nothing left to say and walked off.

“What are you doing here anyways?” I called before he vanished.

Turning around, he said, “I was looking for the new Huntress, obviously.”

“Why?” He must have been up to something mischievous. A Canine Xeno all the way over here from the East.

“Actually,” he hesitated and looked at the ground, “we needed to find the new Huntress to make a plan of battle, we want to take you out before you get to much older and experienced.”

“Really? And why do you start a war with someone before you even know them?”

“It’s the way things are. The Prophecy. Canines and Felines don’t get along. It’s in our blood. All the previous Huntresses stopped all of our plans and schemed their own schemes to get around us Canines. We don’t like each other.”

“That’s odd. I never minded Canine Xenos. Yet I’ve never met one until I met you.”

“Do you know how to fight?”

“I haven’t fought anyone,” she though of the episode at the training grounds, “until today. I was good too.”

“So you do know how to fight. And do your claws work?”

“They did, I can scratch a tree if you want me to show you.” I reached out and gave the tree a taste of the new Huntress, marking the tree in narrow vertical furrows.

“Have you caught anything?”

“I caught one of our men in the army. He was big too.”

The Canine looked more satisfied than he had before and started walking away. I hope he found what he was looking for. Maybe Celentine will tell me about them.

I remembered where I was and started walking towards my family’s house.

When I arrived I found the temple there instead of my house. I walked in and went down the hallway, down the stairs. I tried the door.