"Come on Ichigo! What are you doing?" screamed Hitsugaya. "I'm coming", replied Ichigo. Ichigo rushed to his brothers, who were waiting outside. Everyday, Ichigo and his brothers, Hitsugaya and Byakuya hunt in the nearby forest. They used to catch a lot of animals but since the druid war, most animals fled to the northern forest. When they were lucky, the most they got was a hare or some birds. Most of the time they returned home with a half eaten carcass or empty traps.
"Do you think we might be able to find a deer today?" asked Hitsugaya.
"No one has seen any deer in this forest since the druid war. And even if we find one, with our shooting skills, we'll probably miss it by a few ten meters", replied Byakuya.
"Why do you have to be so pessimist? It's been at least one year since the druid war ended. Maybe the animals have come back", Ichigo said, trying to keep Hitsugaya's hopes up.
They continued on arguing until they reached the forest. As always, Hitsugaya gets to check the traps because he was the youngest and the worst hunter. Byakuya and Ichigo hunt the animals. Most of the time, they just take a stroll. Suddenly, they heard a loud high-pitched sound. "What was that?" asked Ichigo alarmingly.
"It sounded like a black river bird. Pretty rare but not edible. We could sell it in the market", said Byakuya.
The sound was heard once again. They followed it until they saw the bird. It was beautiful. Its feathers were as dark as the night. It was eating a small squirrel on the ground.
"How can we kill such a beautiful bird?" Ichigo asked.
"Don't judge things by their appearance. That bird would take out your eyes if it could. Now stop talking or it will fly away," Byakuya said.
They both sneaked behind the bird and took out their slingshots. They pulled the string and aimed at the bird. Suddenly, just before shooting the bird, a wolf pounced on the bird. It was so fast that the bird barely had time to open its wings. Byakuya instinctively drew out his bow and aimed at the wolf's head. Ichigo screamed in terror. The wolf noticed the boys and jumped on Byakuya. He fell on the ground with the wolf on him, ready to bite off his head.
Without even thinking, Ichigo took out his dagger and plunged it in the wolf's neck. Still it was not dead. Before the wolf could bite off Ichigo's arm, Byakuya stabbed it with an arrow. The wolf gave a last howl before dying.
"You just saved my life," Byakuya said staring at the wolf's dead body.
"And you saved mine"
"Let's go home"
"Wait. If the wolves are back maybe the other animals are back too"
"Maybe. But let's go home now. It's getting late. Wolves hunt in packs. This one's pack must not be far," Byakuya said, pointing at the corpse.
"No. I'm not coming. For one whole year we've been living in poverty and hunger. If we wait, the hunters from the city will kill all the animals. Think of it. Our life will change. All the animals must be hiding in the deep part of the forest."
"We nearly just died and you want to go deeper in the forest?! Strange things happen in the deep forest. Many people have died there. Those who return talked about lions as big as bears"
"These are just stories that dad used to tell us when we were still a child. Only a fool would believe it. I'm going with or without you"
"Fine by me. It's already night. Hitsugaya must be worried. Beware the demons. Don't say that I didn't warn you", Byakuya said, leaving Ichigo alone in the dark.
"Demons. How can he believe in such things," Ichigo said to himself as he went deeper into the forest.
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