A white striped Ayala with hazel fur and silver sharp horns pranced gracefully. The sight of it dashing through the snowy forrest with no trouble was such a beautiful sight to behold. However, why was such a graceful creature prancing away frantically?
Well, nature has its own plan for this creature.
Running at a frantic speed was a lone Wolf-beast with a dagger clutched tightly in her right hand horizontally. She was closing the distance at an unbelievable rate. Panic filled the poor Ayala's eyes as it tried desperately to run as far away as it could to any hiding spot, but this lone wolf was an experienced hunter.
With a sky-high leap off the snow, she plunged her knife straight through the creature's skull, ending it'a beautiful prance through the snow forrest in a bloody finale. While this lone wolf was a hardcore hunter, she still felt remorse for what she had done. She was pretty impressed with his speed.
"Forgive me," she said to the creature's corpse as she shut it's eyes closed. "I prey that you lived a long, peaceful life. Do not worry. Your death will not be in vein. I'll see through to that."
Up in the trees, a young boy with the eyes of a broken spirit watched the young wolf girl sending this creature off. His reason for being up there was because the lone wolf made him stay up there so he could learn first hand what an experienced hunter could do. While she's still unsure as to whether he could understand her or not, he ended up following her as she chased the Ayala through the forrest.
"Though we're fearless hunters through and through, that doesn't mean we feel nothing when we kill," Cyrene said. "It's simply how life works. A never ending cycle that can never be broken. Even though they were born to eventually die by our hands, we believe that their spirits still roam around the forrest, happily munching on the leaves of the trees. I just refuse to believe that these creatures are nothing but food for us. But who knows? Maybe that's just our wishful thinking, a way to make us feel less guilty?"
The Wolfpack were people that knew what needed to be done to survive. However, unlike Bandits who killed for sport, the Wolfpack killed to survive. They knew how life worked and what was necessary. And while they're merciless, they only kill when necessary.
"There have been many times where some of our people would walk up to these Ayalas and just stare at them. They, of course, would stare back. Watching us. Waiting to see what we would do. It's as if they know what we have to do. Then, they run. But I don't think it's because they want to stay alive. I think it's because they want to run freely while alive just one last time, and show us that their lives were worth every second to them. Hmm… Yeah, I believe so. They're too intelligent to not know why we come here, so they have to be aware."
The Wolfpack live quite a simple life. Or at least try to. They do what's necessary to survive, they chat, they laugh, they cry, they grief, and they play together. The Bandits, however, have made life terrible for them, and it continues to grow worse whenever they invade other races throughout the world. Eventually, if this continues, a world war would be at stake.
"I believe that there can be a world where we can all get along," Cyrene said to the boy. "But the Bandits don't want that. Therefore, they cannot be a part of this world if they choose to behave like this. It's just…unacceptable."
Her low growls and slightly unsheathed claws made her look menacing, like a true hunter ready to pounce on her prey, but she quickly composed herself.
"I won't let them get to me. Not this time."
The Bandits had brought so much devastation to the Wolfpack that it's a complete miracle that they're still able to live and want to live a simple life. And Cyrene also understands…
"If killing them is necessary, then I'm not gonna hold back." She said, clenching her dagger.
The boy watched her, no signs of emotion could ever be detected in those clouded emerald eyes. However, there was a slight frown formed on his face for a brief moment. An ever so slight face of both sorrow and understanding.
"I'm sorry, please forget what you heard," Cyrene smiled falsely. "I guess it doesn't really matter though. I might as well be talking to myself. I doubt you can even understand me. Damn…what am I even doing? How can I help you whenever I'm struggling myself? What can I even do?"
Self-doubt and rejection fogged the lone wolf's head. Emotions like this weren't abnormal, but a little rare for a Wolf-beast. While they can have instances of anger and frustration, they mature themselves to become a better person. And even though Cyrene was twenty, age is just a number when it comes to the mentality of any person.
"I'm an adult now, so I shouldn't be feeling like this… Why have I been so down lately? I wish I could figure that out. Heh…I wonder if you feel the same way to."
The boy suddenly hopped down the tree and walked up to the lone wolf. Her eyes locked onto his, curiously waiting to see why he would do. Then…
*Shizushizu…*
He brought his hands up to the girls fluffy ears and started to gently rub them.
"…eh?"
Cyrene was startled, but not upset. She didn't reject him, but instead just let him continue.
"Heh, are you trying to make me feel better? Or are you finally curious about my ears? Either way, this does feel nice…"
She smiled as his ears gently rubbed away the somber feelings this lone wolf had, as if ice was melting off of a frozen heart.
A few minutes passed until…
*DRIP.*
A wet droplet fell onto the snow, leaving behind a small little grey dot. A tear. However, this wasn't the lone wolf's tears. It came from the boy.
His fingers stopped moving on the girls ears. Instead, his arms dropped to his side and he fell to his knees, looking down at the ground as the tears turned into streams of salty water. Cyrene reacted instantly and placed her hands on the boy's cheeks.
"Hey, are you ok," Cyrene asked the boy with huge concern. "What's wrong? Please, you have to let me know!"
But the boy didn't say anything. His eyes were completely soaked as his hands were trembling violently as of he were standing in the middle of a road during a large scale earthquake. His eyes grew wider and his breathing turned shaky and frantic.
"Please, tell me what's wrong," Cyrene begged, almost starting to cry herself. "Please, just tell me…let me help you…please…"
Cyrene didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to heal a broken person, especially when this boy doesn't even speak or likely doesn't understand what she's saying. And as her desperation to save this broken boy grew, her heart continued to break as well.
'What can I do…to save this boy…?'
She closes her eyes and nuzzled her forehead onto his, trying to do whatever she could to calm him down.
*Crunch!*
The sound of a few pairs of footsteps crunched through the snow towards the kneeled pair. Cyrene quickly looked behind her and nearly unsheathed her claws instantly.
Resting right on top of the three men were filthy grey ears. The ears of a rat.
Bandits.
They were each holding an odd contraption. A horizontal metal bar with a steel lever on the side and a much smaller lever on the underneath part of it. There was a metal spear sticking out of it.
Cyrene had no fear shown on her face. Nothing that scared her. Nothing but an uncontrollable anger that drove her to tear these men apart. Her claws were unsheathed, revealing a black, steel sharp pair of claws on both her hands.
*POW!*
A loud ear-piercing bang shot through Cyrene's ears, with a horrible ringing sensation following. Suddenly. She felt both cold and warm at the same time, with a wet liquid flowing down her arm. This sensation was on her shoulder and…
'…wait…where'd the spear go…? Is that….a chain…? Where's it go…ing…?…!'
The spear was attached to a chain from the odd horizontal bar one of the Bandits was holding. The long chain led all the way towards her…shoulder…with a sharp, metal rod stabbed deep into her shoulder.
A true hunter never feared anything. They felt remorse, but never fear. They were merciless, hardcore hunters. That's how it's always been.
And unfortunately, this lone Wolf-beast girl was feeling exactly what it meant to be hunter by one.
"Ehh…r…rraaahhUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"