BPOV

I lay across my father's body and wept, he had managed to go from healthy to death in a mere 4 days, and now my mother and I would follow also. My mother sat on a kitchen chair completely oblivious to the world around her. At marriage 25 years ago she had bound her soul to my father's like every bride does and now would wither away within 3-4 days leaving me all on my own.

Standing up I washed the dried in tears off my face in the basin and with shaking hands picked up my father's spear. Kneeling before my mother I kissed her forehead and smoothed her hair,

"I'll be back soon" I whispered but her face showed no recognition of my presence "I love you"

Walking out of the room I closed the front door behind me and tried to work out what to do.

Now it would be my job to feed myself, this wasn't how it was supposed to happen, the world was supposed to have changed by now and I be happily married before my father passed, leaving me with a fine husband to look after me. I don't know how to hunt and I don't know how to keep myself alive in this messed up world.

I began my hunt through the wood, stepping gingerly over branches and attempting to see any hint of movement or sound around me. The hunt seemed pointless though as my heart was still back with my withering mother and my soul somewhat stunned from the loss of my father. After an hour or so I heard the unforgiving sound of the city hunters whooping and cheering not far from me and the ominous crunch of forest ground as they kept a steady pace running in my direction. I had not kept to the correct path and must have wandered into the cities part of the forest.

Casting my eyes around I found a large gap in one of the trees and climbing in side I closed my eyes and prayed that the goblin who owned this tree had only just left and I would have time to escape before he came home.

I did not know what I would do now; my family had lived as one of the out casted families, living constantly in fear of being found, rebels of the system. We moved to a new home every year so as not to be found but I would be unable to build a new home without my father's strength or claws.

I could not return to the city as an outcast for I would be hung for sure, yet I knew nothing of the system that I had escaped as a babe in arms with my parents 23 years ago. It was not something we spoke about often and when we did my mother would weep and my father would... well there is no point in dwelling on his previous annoyances as I would happily trade anything now to hear him rant about the stupidity of it all now.

I was drawn out of my thoughts by the trampling of hunters as they stopped in the clearing. They cannot possibly be very close or surely the mumblings I can hear now would come across as words I can hear, I could feel it building inside me, that feeling that had got me into trouble so many times and I wondered how long I could resist it for, perhaps this is why my parents ran in the first place, the curiousness that build inside me as the distant murmurs continued. What did they look like I wondered, I had seen my father a product of the city and of their kind but I also knew he was shorter than most, kept his claws filed down and has escaped before he had any more markings on his body.

I couldn't take it anymore, I was at my breaking point, how could they test my curiousness so much by remaining here for so long. Crouching down I peeking out of the gap in the tree and was confronted by what I could never have possibly believed only a matter of feet away from me. Ducking my head back in, I panicked as fear racked my body as the tones of their murmuring became sharper. Closing my eyes I held my hand over my mouth to still the ragged sobs that attempted to escape my body. Why, why was I such an idiot? A clawed hand stuck itself through the hole and began to feel around inside, It's thumb was roughly the same thickness as my wrist with its fingers only slightly smaller and it's claws stretched out at a length of around 20-30cm. Pinning myself to the back of the inside of the tree I couldn't get enough distance and one of its claws dragged its way up my arm and I only just managed to stop the noise that tried to erupt from me. Then the claw retreated and I heard more murmuring outside.

The noise seemed to die away and for a split second I thought that perhaps I had gotten lucky and had managed to escape the entire ordeal with only a damaged arm but before I could breathe a sigh of relief, the tree just above my head ripped in half and the seven or eight huge men of at least eight foot covered head to toe in tattoos peered down on me.

One of them reached towards me just as I blacked out.


I had awoken in a large wooden crate/cage and after throwing myself at the sides a few times I crumpled to the ground. The room was mostly pitch black with odd spurts of light coming from gaps high up above me in the walls. As my eyes adjusted to the light I found I was not alone but accompanied by 7 other crates with other people or things inside. 3 held other people like my father, lacking any sense of height or claws although all the men had a tattoo similar to my father's on their wrist. Another 3 held large men the likes of which had caught me but they had had their claws filed down to stumps.

The final one, the one next to mine held the only awake person in the room and he was staring at me. I could not work out what he was, for he seemed to be around 6 or 7 feet in height with tanned skin, but had hands and legs the same thickness of a regular human but long claws came out the end of his fingers and he was dressed in formal waistcoat, jacket and pants with a flat cap on his head.

"Boy, you've got yourself in a whole heap of trouble haven't you" he said smirking at me.

I didn't reply.

"I'm Jasper, but I'm only here for the night, where this is likely to be your last night my friend."

"I'm not your friend" I spat at him.

"Well don't be so hasty darling, for I've been watching you over there my darling and I reckon I've got a solid piece of advice for you" Jasper said as he pulled his cap off.

"And what would that be?" I grimaced as I pulled the rag that had been tied around my arm off.

"Now, now" he smiled, "you gotta play nice if you want my help, you know prove your worth saving and all"

Pulling my gaze from my blatantly infected arm I gazed through my crate into his at him. "Can you actually save me?" I said in a gentle voice.

"Maybe" he said looking more serious.

"How tall are you?" he asked

I blinked at him in surprise, I had never had anything to measure myself with but my father had once said he was 6 foot 9 and I came up to his chest.

"Erm, 5 or 6 foot maybe" I said unsure f myself.

Jasper threw his head back and laughed low and throaty. Indignantly I folded my arms and waited for him to finish.

"There is no chance you are 6 foot, honey" he chuckled. Standing up he motioned for me to stand also. "Well I am 7 foot tall and you look to be around... 5,2 if you're lucky." I had never known I was so small!

"Don't look dismayed my darling for anything more than 5,5 and you would never have been able to make it. See I figure you'd most likely be able to squeeze through one of those gaps in your cell my love; after all they are made for much bigger creatures than yourself. After that you want to swim through the water tunnel out to the dispenser, had you been any taller you would never have fitted around the corners." A grin sneaked out from behind his lips "Aren't I ever so helpful" he said smiling.


Sooo...what do you think?