All was quiet during the night in one of the most expansive forests in Mistral, snow covered every inch of the landscape for miles around in all directions. A brisk wind cut through the trees, a breeze so cold it felt like small knives cutting your skin. Strange how a forest could be so cold, even during the months of fall...well, the twilight between fall and winter anyway. It seemed all manner of nature was ready to succumb to the bitter embrace of the snow, and to wait until they could be unearthed and bloom once more, brighter than ever.

...At least, almost all of nature.

Where most animals will have already gone into hibernation months prior to the beginning of winter, others did not have the luxury of being able to go long periods of time without food. Rabbits to name one.

A lone rabbit hopped about, its white fur blending in with the snow covered ground as it looked around for food. It paused every few moments to bring its nose up and catch the scent of anything that could be nearby.

The rabbit foraged for some time, but with such little time left before it had to rest for the night there was little for the rabbit to feast on; not even a blade of grass fortunate enough to remain uncovered by snow.

Hop, hop, hop, the rabbit went about. From one edge of a stream, to a rock, to the other side it jumped. It's little legs jolted vigorously to push it along. Hop, hop, hop, it looked around to see what little there was.

A few more hops and a new scent would be caught by the rabbit's little nose. A sweet aroma filled its nostrils, and thus it took to finding the source. The aroma was mellow, like a rich sap from a tree,

And then it finally found something: a fallen branch off a pine. It might have fallen a couple hours ago, maybe a day ago, it didn't matter. The Rabbit took it for what it was worth, and it munched down on the little leaves. In an instant it became oblivious to all other things around it.

What the rabbit didn't realize was that it had left a trail, and that something else was looking for something to eat too.

A few paces past the stream another animal prowled, her snout low to the ground, gauging the scent that smelled fresh. The tracks were just made, and they reeked of something this animal knew was small. She brought her snout back up into the air, the scent continued on the same way as the tracks.

Paws of fine grey fur stepped light and with care, for her instinct told her that whatever left these tracks wasn't too far away. So she followed them.

The tracks led to the stream, and she could see another set of tracks on the other side, and she could still smell its prey too—it hadn't touched the water. She was hunting something very agile, but so was she, and she was stronger too.

She stepped back a couple feet, and with a running start she made her way to the edge of the stream. She jumped clear over the stream in a single leap, and silently landed on her front paws the second she touched the ground.

Her heart was beating a little harder now, but that only sharpened her focus; her senses were strengthened, and now she could tell the scent was getting stronger. She kept following it, a little more vigorously now, but still trying to keep a careful pace. She knew her prey was very close now.

She kept following the trail for some time, a little ways longer than anticipated but she knew hunts like this could go for miles. Fortunately, she knew this hunt would be short.

Then her ears shot straight up into the air. The scent she'd been tracking was now accompanied by the faintest crunching sound from up ahead. She was very close now, she knew she was.

The prowess of the predator had taken over. No longer was this about tracking; it was about the ritualistic duel that would be the hunt, and then the chase.

And there it was: a rabbit. It was eating, but little did it know that tonight the evergreen leaves it feasted on would be its last meal.

Adrenaline began to flow through her body as she crouched down, eyes dilated, maw forced shut, and even her heart became simultaneously mute and racing. Every muscle was at her command, waiting for the order to be given. As low as her legs would allow she crept her way closer to the rabbit, coming up only a few feet behind it...maybe this would be an easy ki-

*SNAP!*

...Or not.

The rabbit paused to look around for the source of the sound, and it's eyes landed upon those of a predator ready to eat it: it was in the presence of a wolf.

The wolf stood absolutely still. It was a game of patience now. Would the rabbit run, or would the wolf be fast enough to take it down? There was no telling, both were as still as statues. The wind blew through once again, shaking their fur, testing them to see who would crack under the pressure of the cold—fear and anticipation was proving to be an immovable force, and neither animal was about to let a simple gust of wind ruin this moment now.

Then one of them broke.

The rabbit took off running and the wolf chased after it. As fast as it's little legs could carry it, the rabbit slipped on past trees, though open logs, across streams, over rocks...anything to somehow outmaneuver the wolf.

But the wolf was not slowed down. She had the rabbits scent, and this would be a hunt that could go all the way into the night if she wanted to, she certainly had the stamina. So she ran, and ran, and ran, her paws hammered the ground harder and harder so she could keep up with the rabbit.

A mound of rocks was in the rabbits path, too wide to go around, and no way through; it would have to climb over. Without a second lost the rabbit hopped onto one stone, then another, and another, until it finally made it to the top and leaped off to the other side.

Again, the wolf was not going to be slowed down so easily. She jumped and flew clear over the mound, and landed on the ground running once more. The rabbit hadn't gained any distance from her, and the wolf knew she was beginning to catch up.

But the rabbit knew she couldn't keep outrunning the wolf forever, so she started to slow down, just enough so the wolf would be ready to sink her maw into its back...but just before then, the rabbit turned and started running another direction. The wolf ended up sliding sideways and tumbling into the snow.

The wolf was determined though, and she scraped her paws at the ground until she was back running again. She'd lost some ground this time, but she would make up that lost ground soon enough.

The chase continued on for a couple miles. Twists and turns at many points, the occasional log or stream or rock to jump over, ice that froze over and made running a complete nightmare, trail bridges, abandoned carts, small openings into chasms underground…

Then there was a ravine; a massive divide between two cliffs, and no bridge to be seen. There was a fallen tree splayed across the drop, nothing else, and the ravine spanned for miles. If the rabbit had any hope of escape, it would have to take the log.

Like the rocks before it the rabbit leaped onto the tree. It was a straight shot to the other side, and so it skipped its little self along while the wolf caught up. Chunks of ice and piles of snow fell off the tree, shattering and breaking up into smaller bits as they hit the rocks below, but the rabbit remained atop the tree.

The wolf had finally caught up, coming to a halt at the edge of the ravine. She scanned the area beyond looking for where the rabbit went. Her mouth was flooded with saliva, small icicles hung from her jaw, only melting slightly by her breaths, which too came out a frozen vapor. What didn't help was the rabbit was there, directly across from her, and starring at her from the other side. She could see the rabbit twitching it's ear, taunting her with unspoken teases of its freedom, and it would take this moment to gawk at her with its beady black eyes. Then the wolf's attention turned to the tree.

She could see the tracks the rabbit left behind, but the wolf doubted she could make it across like the rabbit did. The trunk of the tree appeared rotten and decayed beyond all recourse, only to be staved off by the cold. Regardless, it was worth a shot.

The wolf set its front paws atop the tree, it seemed stable enough, at least at the moment. The rabbit watched as the wolf tried to mimic what it had done, and it's ears fell once the wolf stood on all fours on the tree.

Front left paw; back right paw; front right paw; back left paw. Slowly but surely the wolf stepped along the tree, but she could feel the weak bark give way to her weight. And then…

*SNAP!*

In an instant, the wolf used all the strength she could muster to push against the falling tree, saving herself while the dead tree plummeted to the rocks below. Once again the rabbit stood triumphant by its cleverness.

Once the wolf caught her bearings again, it caught eyes with the rabbit once more. She made circles in the snow, plotting whatever way she could think of to get to that rabbit, any way at all that would see this chase end with her having dinner. With the ravine stretching for miles in either direction, and the tree gone, there was only one way the wolf could think of to reach the rabbit again...she would have to jump. One third and final jump.

She stepped back. This jump had to be perfect if she were to survive. Once she was a few yards away, she looked straight at the rabbit; the only thing that mattered to her.

The wolf had begun to run, with even more determination than before, and more power than she thought she could remember being capable of. Her vision caved in on that white rabbit. It was all or nothing now. Adrenaline fueled her primal rage as she ran faster and faster—and when she finally reached the edge...she jumped.

The rabbit watched in amaze as the wolf flew over the ravine. There was no fear in her eyes. There was not a hint of recourse to be seen. The wolf had taken a gamble so immense it was thought she may actually fall.

But by sheer grace, the wolf made it. She cleared the several meters from ledge to ledge, and now she was right next to the rabbit once more.

Of course, the rabbit took off running. The wolf once again gave it chase, now more determined than ever to finish this hunt. She would not give up. She would not slow down. She would not allow this rabbit to escape her. So she kept running, and running, beyond her tiring lungs and aching muscles, she would keep running until her heart beat so fast she could tell if it was pumping blood.

The chase continued on for another mile or two. The rabbit kept trying to turn in different directions to outmaneuver the wolf—but the wolf learned from the first time. The rabbit tried going through the water so the wolf may lose its scent upon getting out of sight—but the wolf kept chasing close, too close for sight to be lost.

The rabbit tried hiding within a log—stopping dead in the middle—and waited for the wolf to pass. Maybe the wolf would give up? The log was not quite as rotted out as the tree back at the ravine, but nothing was certain until the rabbits instincts told it so.

The wolf stopped as well. She knew the rabbit was around here somewhere, and so she sniffed around to refresh the scent—it was still very strong, and the aroma was still present. The rabbit was still here.

She found the tracks once again, and the wolf was pleased to see that the rabbit had indeed not gone too far; it was inside a log. Of course the wolf would try to get to the rabbit again, but she had an idea before then.

The rabbit remained where it hid, knowing that if it started running again then it wouldn't stop. For the longest time it could hear the wolf pawing around, the sounds of rocks being rolled over one another; snow being dug up; some branches being broken it seemed...but the rabbit remained undiscovered.

For a moment anyway…

*CRUNCH-SNAP!*

The rabbit nestled itself into a little indent in the log as the wolf began ripping apart its shelter from the outside. Wood chips and snow fell inside while the wolf ripped into the wood with her powerful jaws. The rabbit would try to shrink itself furthermore as the wolf sunk its maw through the new hole she had made, but when that wasn't enough the wolf pulled out and began tearing the edges apart more until it was big enough for her whole head to fit through. The rabbit took its chance to flee as soon as the wolf reeled her head back and come back down with bloodthirsty jaws.

While the wolf tried to figure out what had happened, the rabbit ran out the other end of the log. It thought it was free, and safe to escape. But before it could get too far, the ground collapsed underneath the rabbit, and it then found itself tumbling into a hole. The wolf had made a trap. The rabbit tried to jump out, but the hole was just too deep.

The wolf had since stopped attacking the log after she heard the rabbit sprung the trap. It was a wild gamble that probably wouldn't have worked, but she was glad it did: but she wasn't about to celebrate yet, because she still needed to catch and kill the rabbit.

She walked over to the hole she dug, looking down and observing as the rabbit was trying desperately to climb out. The wolf could feel the fear coming from the rabbit, how afraid it was for its life, being made into another one of the wolf's many prey she had hunted over the years. She knew the ritual to end it though; a swift bite into the rabbits ribs, crush the lungs, compact the heart...it would die fairly quickly, but the pain is all there for that short time.

So that's what the wolf did...and the rabbit gave a quiet squeal as hungry teeth sunk into its soft, furry flesh.

One of the requirements of stalking the woods for prey was going for miles in search of it. Ending up running all the way back to where your home was...that was a stroke of good fortune. This was no different for the wolf as she carried her fresh catch in her jaws back to her home: a small cave.

The cave was exactly as would be expected for the home of a wolf: small, isolated, and the only real form of comfort was a patch of grass that somehow stayed green in the cold. This was all the wolf ever needed. This was her home.

The wolf made a couple circles around the spot of stone she would rest on as she ate, most habits were just natural—and so was resting on her elbows as she began to tear into the rabbits hide, chewing into its muscle that remained somewhat warm...the wolf savored the oddly soothing flavor of copper of the rabbits blood, still ripe with adrenaline and cortisol from earlier, it took away from the flavor a bit, but it was still satisfying.

The view from the cave was absolutely beautiful. Albeit, the opening was only about fifteen feet up, there was a clearing in the trees that created the perfect view of the shattered moon.

...Almost perfect.

*NEEEEEEAAAAAOOOOOOOW…*

Not mere moments after ripping apart the rabbits leg, the wolf would interrupt her meal to look in the direction the sound was coming from, folding her ears down a bit as it was incredibly loud. She didn't know what it was, but it was coming from the sky.

*CRA-BOOM!*

Then the wolf stood up the moment she heard the sound of the unknown object making impact. Her instincts kicked in and decided to investigate what had happened—and she took the dead rabbit with her, she wouldn't want to come back and it was gone.

The wolf followed the distant smell of smoke as she ran between many trees and large rocks on her approach to the crash site. She didn't know what to expect, but she intended to find out.

She climbed up a large rock leading up to a grand view of a spacious clearing in the trees, where there lied the most curious sight to see: a crashed aircraft.

The wolf stood at the edge of the rock in awe at the sight before her. Her jaw would be hanging down if she wasn't carrying the rabbit's corpse in her mouth.

The aircraft was a complete wreck. The wings were ripped from the fuselage, the windshield was shattered, fires filled the inner compartments in rays of yellow and orange, and plumes of black smoke rose from it all. There was a body hanging from the front end of the aircraft, lain through the windshield frame and badly burnt—maybe dead.

The wolf climbed down from the rock, stopping at a nearby tree so she could bury her catch in the snow. She had become wary of the area around her, and anything could happen. Why should a crashed aircraft put her dinner in danger? That was uncertain, the subjects were miles apart, but that didn't matter to the wolf: instinct was instinct, and even in the wake of a much greater tragedy, the wolf wasn't about to take the chance of her rabbit being stolen...so hiding it would be the best bet, the smoke would be enough to camouflage the carcass; two birds with one stone.

She checked on the pilot first, all her muscles tensed and ready to run in the event that something happened. The pilot was dead, the wolf could tell just by looking at him now that she was up close, she couldn't smell his breath for there was none, she couldn't see him blink for he couldn't: but all was irrelevant, because if he was alive then she would know without having to take any of the senses into account. So she moved on.

A different scent caught her attention, one unlike the smoke; a sweeter smell, like flowers…and a faint hint of honey. The wolf circled around the aircraft to find the source of this so-out-of-place smell, keeping her distance from one of the turbines that roared with flames.

Then she found the source; right next to the other turbine was a young girl. The wolf walked up to her, sniffing around to confirm the scent was hers—it was. She only appeared to have some bruises, no burns: but she did have a scar over her eye, which was very curious because it didn't appear to be from the crash. The girl probably jumped out moments before the aircraft crash landed. Besides the obvious list of questions, the wolf only had one question in mind...

Who are you?