We were still walking through forest that I recognized.

Following the white-eyed hunter, I stepped over a mossy rock.

“My name is kind of hard to say in this language… So just call me Witch,” she said.

“Witch,” I said her name.

“Hm…” Witch chuckled a little at me. “You’re an odd one. But if you grew up so isolated as you’ve seemed to, it makes sense.”

Isolated… “Isold…?” I asked.

Was I not understanding because I was still hurting all over? I now also had a horrible headache…

“Isolated. Away from everyone. Alone,” she explained.

Oh. “Doesn’t everyone?” I asked.

“No. Not anymore, at least,” Witch said.

Huh…

“How many elders did you have, Rennalee?” Witch then asked.

“You mean like the snake? Just one, as far as I knew. A great-uncle-grandfather supposedly,” I said.

“Supposedly…?” she paused and glanced back at me.

I walked up to her and nodded. “I only recently met him. He hadn’t lived with us, at the house. I… honestly don’t know if there were more or other members of the family… there actually might have been. Supposedly I had an aunt that others had seen recently, but I’ve never met her,” I said.

“Huh… I’d say strange, but your kind is sometimes a little… weird,” she said.

Were they…? “You keep saying my kind… are you saying you’re not like me?” I asked.

“No. I’m human,” she said.

Oh…! “I didn’t know humans had glowing eyes,” I said.

She laughed at me. It was a neat sound that made my headache ease a little. “I’m a little special. Kind of like you. We’re both special in our own way,” she said.

Special… did she mean she was a… failure? Like I was?

“I didn’t realize humans were strong enough to hunt those like the elder,” I said.

“Most aren’t. At all. But… as mentioned, I’m special.”

Must be.

Though…

I hesitated a moment as she returned to walking.

Should I really be following her then…?

Not that she was human. Or one who hunted. Those things didn’t really bother me. Even if I knew my family would freak out of if they knew.

But… she was hunting that snake. Particularly.

That meant following her might eventually lead me right to that snake’s jaws again.

I grumbled a little and decided to just pick up the pace and follow after her.

She had called me her friend. I wanted to learn what that was. What it meant.

Plus…

Studying Witch, and the way her odd clothes and bags moved as she walked, I realized there was a lot to learn.

Going with her would likely teach me more than I could imagine… and… honestly right now, I think that’s what I wanted and needed.

Otherwise I’d just be alone. Wallowing in confusion and despair.

And I was tired of being like that. Tired of being sad and scared… and tired of being alone.

“Witch, are you able to track the snake?” I asked.

“Hm…? Oh. Right… uh… no. Not really. I can sense it, but trying to actually track it is beyond me. For something so big it rarely leaves any kind of trail,” she said.

“Sense it…?” I wondered what that meant. Maybe she meant by smell.

“I had somewhat hoped she would have gotten hurt fighting you and your family. Particularly your elder. Though considering we didn’t find any traces of your elder’s death, and you didn’t witness it, there might still be a chance,” she then added.

“Honestly it’s hard to imagine hunting that thing… if it killed my uncle like I think it did, I’m not sure how anyone could,” I said.

“Your uncle?”

“The strongest of us… not including the elder, of course,” I said.

“Hm… You’d be surprised. Even the strongest foes end up falling eventually, and when they do it’s usually to someone they least expect,” Witch said.

Sure… but that snake…

It had swallowed mother and my little sister instantly. And although Fellisee had been hurt and exhausted, I knew better than to think she had been weak.

And if it had also killed Glennessa and uncle…

Though… maybe she had a point. After all didn’t uncle and Glennessa die away from the snake? In front of me? That meant they had escaped it. They had fought it off, maybe.

Maybe they weren’t as feeble compared to the snake as I had thought.

If so maybe I too shouldn’t have given up so quickly and cowered… maybe instead of running I should have tried…

A slight breeze blew past us, and between the smell of the woman and the forest… I noticed something.

Perking up, I turned my head as to face away from her. She didn’t really stink, but she had a smell I’d never smelled before and so it overpowered other smells. Particularly ones I was accustomed to.

I stepped a few steps away from her, to better angle myself away from her as the wind carried what I was I trying to focus on.

Yes. I hadn’t been mistaken.

The smell was unmistakable.

“It’s my brother,” I said.

“Your… brother…?” she whispered as she stared out where I was looking.

I couldn’t see him but it was obvious. That was definitely my older brother’s smell.

Pointing in the direction I figured he was at, I nodded. “My older brother’s scent is coming from there.”

“How far away?” she asked.

“Hm… probably a few minutes,” I said as I measured the distance.

“Shall we go?” she asked.

“Depends. I don’t smell the snake, but now that I think about it… I’m not sure I’d recognize the thing’s smell even if I did,” I said.

“Ah… you’re worried he’s in danger are you? Well not to sound too callous but I kind of hope he is, so I can finally deal with her,” Witch said.

I shifted as I glanced at Witch’s glowing eyes. They had definitely gotten brighter.

“I’m… not worried about him,” I said stiffly.

“Hm? Is he strong then?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I thought he was, once,” I admitted.

“You uh… speak as if you’re not really on friendly terms…” she said.

It took a tiny moment to comprehend what she meant, and once I did I nodded. “I’d like to avoid him, if I can.”

“Really…? I’d be fine with it… but you’re right. She was hunting your family for a reason. I’d like to at least check to see if she’s over there too,” she said.

I nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay,” she agreed and stepped forward, heading for the direction I had pointed.

Witch picked up the pace, and began to run with a small trot. I easily kept up with her, since her running wasn’t actually that fast.

Either she was weighed down a lot by all the stuff she carried, or she was being cautious in our approach. Likely the latter.

It didn’t take long for us to find him. Especially thanks to the fire he had started.

Sitting in front of the fire, I noticed the chunks of meat being cooked over it. I didn’t see any deer carcass nearby, but he must have hunted one.

And…

“What the…? You’re alive? You?” Older brother remained seated as he glared at me in shock.

“No snake,” I said to Witch as I looked around.

Brother looked fine. He was naked, and I could tell by his hair and fur that he had recently cleaned himself off in a nearby river. He did have a noticeable wound on his right shoulder, but it didn’t look bad enough to even bother worrying over. He hadn’t even bandaged it.

“Interesting. I can see why you think you’re thin-blooded,” Witch said as she studied brother.

Brother sat up straighter, his ears fluttering as he looked at her… as if he had just now noticed she was even there.

Which was impossible to believe, not just did she stand out because of her clothes but her eyes too were very startling.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Who the hell are you…?” he asked.

I noted his tone… and realized we probably shouldn’t have approached him.

“Let’s go,” I said quickly, turning to grab Witch by the arm.

“White eyes… white snake…” Brother stood, and I reached over to grab her. To pull her away and run.

I should have thought ahead. This reaction, this result, had been so obvious!

“What’s wrong?” Witch however wouldn’t budge. Even when I stepped away, tugging on her, she only shifted a little.

Should I try to pull harder…? But she had said she was a human… I didn’t want to hurt her or…

“Colluding with the thing that ate our family? You’re joking, right?” brother asked.

Closing my eyes, I spent only half a heartbeat to absorb and accept the tone he had just spoken with.

That was the tone he used when it was over. When the only thing that could happen now was violence.

“We need to run!” I shouted at Witch, and was about to pull her away, but she simply smiled and slipped her hand out of mine.

“That’s a comment I cannot ignore. You’re alluding I’m in cahoots with that creature…?” Witch turned to confront older brother without a hint of worry.

Older brother lowered his head, and I noticed the way his tail flicked. Near the tip.

He was half a moment from pouncing at her.

“Brother wait! She’s hunting the snake too!” I shouted as I hurriedly put myself between her and him.

Yet even though I did so… it hadn’t mattered. Brother’s eyes never even acknowledged me. He simply glared at the woman behind me.

“Hunting? What do you know about hunting?” brother said.

Not much at all, I guess. “Please calm down, brother. Everyone else is dead, we need to,” I started to speak but he ignored me.

“I’ll enjoy eating you. I hadn’t wanted deer right now anyway,” brother said as he stepped closer, focused on the woman behind me.

Wonderful. He was completely serious.

“I’m starting to understand your family dynamic then. Can’t say I’m shocked, but I had hoped for better,” Witch said behind me.

I bit back a retort, since I hadn’t wanted her to say anything foolish in the moment.

“Brother…!” I shouted.

“I’ll teach you a lesson after,” brother said with a point at me as he stepped forward towards us.

Groaning as I realized I was about to have to fight him, I hoped the aches and pains throughout my body weren’t a sign of my current condition and strength.

If my body was as weak as I felt this was going to go very badly…

Then brother crouched a bit… and my heart leapt into my throat as he charged at us.

Unable to even consider options, I too took a stance. I had to step forward and to the left, not to avoid his attack but rather to properly angle myself. He had charged straight at Witch and not me. His hands extended towards her, to grab at her head and neck.

Thanks to him ignoring me completely, likely because he thought I wasn’t worth worrying about, I was able to angle myself perfectly. I side-stepped, shifted, and then shot a fist out towards his face as he rushed past me.

Although his eyes never left his target and even though he hadn’t paid me any heed… he had still noticed my attack. His ear twitched, and he ducked at the last moment. My fist rushed past his head, hitting nothing but hair.

I didn’t hesitate or stop though. Opening my closed fist, I grabbed a handful of his hair and immediately pulled. Not to pull out hair, but to pull him away from his target… who he had still been charging at.

He swung, and we both grunted as I pulled his head towards me and twisted. I tried to actually fling him away, to put some distance between us, but about half way into the throw he suddenly got heavy.

His head, and his whole body, stopped getting pulled by me. The clump of hair I had grabbed tore and ripped out, with such loudness it made me flinch…

And then I was standing right in front of him, and he was looking down at me.

I was twisted around, thanks to my attempt at throwing him. I had a clump of his hair in one hand, and the other outward. I had neglected to really consider what would happen if he didn’t allow himself to be thrown by me.

“Bro—” before I could say anything, his fist blocked out my sight.

Although I hadn’t been awake to feel the blow, or the fall, I woke up in time to roll around on the rocky ground… and hear the scream.

The scream made me panic. At first I thought it was from me, somehow… but the voice was completely off. So then I started to panic that it was the woman. That my brother had gotten a hold of her and was doing something terrible…

But as vision returned and I rolled over and up… I realized the screaming wasn’t from a woman at all.

Sitting up, I coughed the blood out of my mouth and nose as I watched my brother writhe on the ground nearby.

He was letting out a crazy shriek of pain. One I’d never before heard before, from anyone. Not even myself. I hadn’t even realized men could scream like he was now…

It hurt the ears.

Reaching up, I flinched at the feeling of burning pain. My nose was broken. And by the feel of it, likely so was half my face.

He had hit me. Square in the face.

I was lucky I was still alive… but likely it hadn’t been because of luck.

He had simply not hit me with all his strength. Because he hadn’t wanted to kill me.

He knew the rest of the family was dead… so…

Coughing again, I flinched and scooted away as brother rolled even closer. His arms were flailing, grabbing grass and dirt in the process. The clumps of earth he flung in his fit went everywhere as he rolled around.

It was like he was… on fire or something… or maybe covered in those strange mites that dug in and burrowed into the skin. Some smaller forest animals reeled and shrieked like he was doing now when they fell into one of those mite nests.

But he wasn’t a small animal. And he wasn’t covered in fire or bugs.

“What…?” I spoke, and regretted it. My nose filled with pain at the effort, and I flinched as I felt hot blood burn the inside of my nose and the back of my mouth.

Great. Broken noses burnt and hurt for days…

“I must say this is quite tiresome. I’ll need a very long bath after all this.”

Looking away from brother, I found Witch. She was standing a few feet from him, and she was shaking her head at him with crossed arms.

“You’re okay…” I whispered in awe.

So she really was a hunter…!

“Hm… and you are not…” she said as she noticed me. Witch stepped around my brother as he continued to wail.

I tried to stand up at her approach, but fell back down to my butt. I had lost my balance in the attempt… maybe I was hurt more than I thought…

“Hold still,” she said as she stepped over to me and knelt a little.

I nodded as I watched her reach out to me. At first I thought she was going to help me up, but instead she placed her hand on my forehead. As if she was going to pat me, or something.

Then I felt something warm. Something hot. Coming from her palm.

“Witch…?” I asked worriedly as her hand, and my head, suddenly got very hot. The same kind of hot one got when real close to a fire, or under the brightest summer sun for a long time.

“There. It’s a good thing you take to it so well,” she then said as she pulled her hand back.

Blinking at her, I felt the heat begin to dissipate. It didn’t take long for my head to even start to feel cold, particularly in the ears and nose and…

Nose…!

I reached up, and was shocked to feel that it wasn’t burning anymore. At least, not the way it had been.

Touching my nose, and wiggling it, I quickly understood she had done the same thing as earlier to me. She had helped me. She had healed my wound.

I still felt the pain. I still felt the burning sensations but…

Breathing out quickly, I removed as much of the blood stuck inside of my nose as I could… and once I did, I found myself able to breathe just as easily as I had been moments ago. As if brother had never hit me.

Standing up, I gaped a little as I breathed in and out… mystified by the strange swiftness of what had happened.

“Um… thank you,” I said to her after I confirmed once more I was healed.

“Hm…” she nodded with a smile and turned back to brother… who was still rolling around.

His screaming wasn’t as loud as it had been, but he was still making noises. Huffing and groaning in horrible pain.

“What’d you do to him?” I asked. I didn’t see any wounds on him… he really shouldn’t be acting like so, based off his appearance.

“The opposite of what I did to you. I’m not as strong as you and your kind… not physically. But I don’t need to be, as you can see,” she said with a gesture to him.

Right… that’s for sure…

If she could heal wounds like she did, and yet… also cause such pain and damage… with but a touch…

I gulped as I realized she might very well be more dangerous than the snake was. Maybe the snake had a good reason to be hungry for more power.

“Is he dying?” I asked as I watched him roll away, over some rocks.

“Not yet. I debated killing him outright, but… I’d rather you not hate me, yet,” she said.

Hate her…? For killing him…?

“I’m sorry he attacked you,” I said to her.

“Don’t be. Your kind is sometimes… quick to anger. I should have figured they were like this, especially right now with the snake killing so many of you. I take part of the blame for this,” she said.

Part of the blame…? How?

I shook my head at her.

If anyone had any blame it was me.

The snake had been obviously hunting our family for some time now… and I had failed to see and notice.

Plus several of them… well…

I had killed younger brother. Mother and sister died because they had been fighting each other over me, and as such were unaware of the threat nearby…

And then I had stabbed my grandfather myself…

“If this commotion hasn’t brought her here though, she isn’t nearby,” Witch then said as she looked around.

Oh. Right. Snake.

I too looked around, and as I did I noticed one of the pieces of meat brother had been cooking was now burnt and burning itself. It’d not be long until the large piece of stick it was stuck on would fall into the fire, ruining the meat completely.

Oddly, even as brother screamed in agony, I couldn’t resist the idea of eating. I was hungry.

“So uh…” I looked away from the fire, and the cooking meat. To hopefully keep myself from stuffing my face as my brother screamed in agony.

“Yes. What shall we do?” Witch asked, understanding what I meant.

Doing my best to ignore the smell of the meat, I glanced at my brother. He was farther away now… yet still writhing around on the ground. Was he trying to roll away from us as to escape…? Or was the distance growing between us simple happenstance?

“So… he won’t die?” I asked.

“He might… but I’d doubt it. His screaming has lessened enough that chances are he’s fighting it off. If he had stopped struggling so much, I’d worry, but he’s still rolling around with great effort. He’s strong, like you said,” she said.

“That’s too bad,” I said.

Witch glanced at me, and I noted out of the corner of my eye the way her glowing eyes narrowed at me.

Sighing, I wondered what to do.

My older brother was a very vindictive man. He was like father. He was the type to chase after us if we just left him here. Glennessa once spat on his food and he had waited many moons for an opportunity to do the same to her.

“Are you actually considering killing him…?” Witch asked.

My ear fluttered, since I had noticed her tone. That had been a very strange voice just now… was she upset that I was actually thinking about it?

Shifting a little, I sighed and was about to shake my head.

There was no point to kill him. We could just run and hide… and if she was able to do this, then maybe he’d think twice of following us and trying again anyway.

Yet right as I shook my head… brother suddenly went still and quiet.

“Oh…? Well I’ll be,” Witch stepped forward.

Stunned, I watched her walk over to brother… and then kneel down next to him.

He remained motionless… not even making a sound as she reached over and touched him on the shoulder.

“He’s dead,” she said, sounding as shocked as I was.

“You’re kidding…” I mumbled as I hurried over.

“He’s not reacting. He’s gone,” she said as she patted his shoulder, as if to imply she was trying to hurt him again.

His expression was stuck in the moment of agony. It actually made him look a little… pitiful.

“Hm… he’s soft,” she said as she ran her hand along his chest, through his fur.

I frowned at her and the way she touched him. That was weird.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“Yes. I am as well… I uh… I really didn’t mean to kill him, Rennalee,” she said as she glanced up at me.

“I was apologizing to you, not him. You shouldn’t have had to do it. I should have done it,” I said.

“Oh…” she frowned but said nothing more.

Sighing, I glanced away and back to the small campfire he had just been sitting at.

Well…

Gulping at the sight and smell, I sighed again. “Should we go then?” I asked.

“Yes. She can travel quite a distance, quickly, especially if she knows I’m right behind her. We shouldn’t dawdle,” she said.

“Dawdls?” I asked.

“Dally. Linger. Take our time,” she explained.

Oh. Right.

As Witch stood, done touching my dead brother’s body, I glanced again at the fire.

If he wasn’t going to eat them…

Stepping away, I went to the fire. To eat whatever meat hadn’t been ruined and burnt yet.

It was fitting that my oldest brother at least fed me for the first time in his life, before passing away.