The moon glowed in an ominous presence. The landscape grew eerie, the shadows of the trees seeming to stretch further as each minute passed. Their bare branches appeared more like hands stretching to grab onto anything, or anyone. The autumn breeze was no more and the breath of winter had taken its place. Snow blanketed the ground, bringing a sense of balance to this otherwise intimidating, empty forest. There was a pathway to exit this somber village, and it was the only way to leave.

In the dead of night, a young woman crept out, seeking a more adventurous life. She had taken one of the horses out of her family's stables and left towards the path. She had nothing but her bow, quiver, a thick, warm parka, and a satchel with a little bread to last until she reached the next village. She thrust the reigns forward, signaling the horse to move from its trot to a sprint. The cold wind stung her cheeks as the horse galloped, and her eyes began to tear up from the wind. At this moment, she wasn't feeling any regrets or any form of a conscience by continuing with this act of rebellion. The steed's pace began to quicken, causing her hair to whip around and the wind to whistle in her ears. For a while, all she heard was the sounds of the horse's hooves crunching in the snow and the jingle of a few coins in her satchel.

She wasn't exactly sure where she was going to go, but she didn't care. Once she felt like she was a safe distance from the village, she pulled on the reins and the horse returned to a steady trot. Of course she was a little afraid because she knew that if she were to be caught by someone who knew her, she would be forced to return. She snorted at her own thoughts and dismissed them. She wouldn't allow that to happen. She couldn't. Not if she wanted to lead her own life. Her fears faded away as she became anxious and almost eager to face new dangers. She was tired of being protected and watched all of the time and she most definitely did not want to be a house-wife; she couldn't even imagine herself as such. Instead of learning to cook, clean, and be a "good wife," she indulged herself in learning how to fight with a sword and hunt. It was frowned upon by the other girls and older women. At times, even her mother muttered about her probably having been meant to be born a man. She, though, didn't see anything wrong with being a girl who knows how to fight and hunt, even though she was ridiculed for her boyish behavior. Not that it bothered her; their opinions didn't matter too much to her.

Her thoughts were broken when her horse suddenly stopped and reared back. She gripped the reigns with all her might so she wouldn't fall off, and when her horse finally settled down on the ground again she patted its side to let it know that everything was okay, looking around and trying to spot what had startled the horse. Her eyes wandered in frenzy, and when they finally found what the culprit was, she drew her bow and grabbed an arrow from her quiver. Two lone wolves stared back at her menacingly. Their amber eyes glowed and reflected the moonlight, giving them a near demonic presence. The larger one had midnight black fur, and it began to bare its teeth when it saw her draw her bow back. Her heart began to race and her horse fidgeted its feet, ready to run at the moment's notice. The other, smaller wolf, with a coat that matched the crimson leaves in autumn, walked protectively in front of the larger wolf. She lowered her bow, and the black wolf stopped growling at her and whined. They weren't going to attack, she realized. They were just roaming, and her horse was startled by their presence. The wolves turned away and sprinted back into the bare woods.

She watched them leave until she couldn't see them anymore. She clicked her mouth and, the horse's ear flicking in response, it began to walk again. She had seen many wolves venture into her village and take livestock, but there were never any incidents that involved humans. Although the reputation that many people expressed about them still made her weary. A loud howl broke through the night, and she smiled. She liked their songs, and she still felt safe when she listened closely and knew that the howl was far away.

She continued on the path until dawn began to break, when she felt a sting in her heart as she knew her parents would find that she was missing and would begin to search frantically for her. She shook her head. She shouldn't feel guilty about leaving; it was her own life, right? She was going to leave soon anyways; she was seventeen summers old. Nobody needed to look after her anymore; she wasn't a useless, weak little girl anymore. She lifted her head in a pride, feeling better by her confident thoughts. Then the thoughts of an annoying blond friend drifted across her mind.

"Naruto…" She whispered.

She loved him like a brother because he was always there for her. She could have fallen for him, if it were not for the beautiful girl he fell in love with: Hinata. She was a close friend of her too. She was the exact definition of beauty and grace, while Naruto, being a complete moron at times, was almost blind to Hinata's feelings for him. It had taken Sakura ages to thoroughly convince him that Hinata was head over heels for him. She wasn't jealous of Hinata, she was happy for her, because Hinata was happy.

Another face flashed across her mind. This time it was of a beautiful, obnoxious blonde headed girl with long hair. Her best friend, Ino was more like a sister than she could have ever wished for. She shook her head again trying to be rid of all these thoughts that were making her want to turn back around. She couldn't dwell on the past any longer because that's all it was going to be to her now, the past. No "if"s, "and"s, or "but"s.

The sun was beginning to rise, but the temperatures still remained icy. Her breath still fogged, and she had grown tired. Relief flooded her vision when she saw a post stating that a village was up ahead, hopefully containing an inn for her to stay. Sakura knew she couldn't stay there long, because it would only allow the worried search party to catch up with her. She would only stay long enough to get enough rest to continue on her journey.

She could see smoke up ahead from the chimneys of a few houses. Soon, the whole village came into view, fairly larger than her home village. Even though daylight had just broken, people were already bustling to and fro. Children were throwing snow at each other while their mothers eyed them carefully. The buildings were small, but each had a different structure to them. Some were made of wood and had a flat roof; others were brick with chimneys and had a more regal appeal to them. She assumed the ones with brick were wealthier, there being so few. There was a well in the center of the village and some women were already waiting to draw some water from it.

People glanced at her as she rode on the path, but they didn't pass any second glances. They simply saw her as another weary traveler. Just a few buildings away, she saw an inn with a post in front to tie her horse to. The front door swung open and an elderly man stumbled out, but he couldn't regain his balance in time, and fell. Sakura was a bit concerned for him, so she hopped off her horse and went to his aid. His face was buried in the snow and was clearly heavily intoxicated. He began to laugh, so she helped him up to make sure that he wasn't hurt. He had long, white hair that reached down to his waist-line, and was poorly dressed for the weather. He wore a red long sleeve shirt, but it was tattered and worn with holes; his pants were gray and in the same condition. Lastly, his shoes had holes in them exposing his feet to the harsh cold. He clumsily brushed off the snow that clung onto his pants and shirt. Sakura was still holding onto his left arm, afraid if she let go that he would fall down again. He realized that he was being held steady and looked at Sakura with a smile across his face.

"S'anks for he'pin me up." He slurred, and began to stumble away, hopefully for his home. She blinked as she watched him walk away and her head snapped back to the door when she heard it open again. Now stood another man with spiky, white hair that covered his right eye. He had a cloth that covered his mouth and nose, and was better dressed than the older, drunken man; she assumed that he was the inn-keeper.

"Sorry about that," he mused, "He's a regular that comes to the bar in here. He's harmless, really."

"You let him drink all night?" She asked bewildered.

"No, he passed out a while ago. He drank enough to keep him in that state for a good while." He scratched his head nonchalantly.

She felt a warm breath on her face and shivered. Her horse had walked up beside her and nudged her. The man seemed to take notice of this and raised his hand up.

"Sorry little lady, unless you're staying at the inn, you can't tie your horse up here." She had been right; he was the inn-keeper.

"I plan on staying here for a little while." She began to fish out her coins from her satchel. "How much for a room?"

"20 per night." He answered. She walked up to the man and placed the coins in his hands. He looked down at the coins, pocketed them, and turned around. "I'll wait for you behind the counter to give you a key. Go ahead and tie your horse up."

She walked her horse over to the post and tied it securely so he wouldn't get loose. She knew that even if he did get loose, he would be obedient and stay; she had practically raised him from a fowl, after all. It nodded its head and snorted, and she giggled in response, patting the side of his face.

She turned back around and walked inside the inn. It was fairly nice for a worn down inn, she thought to herself. The floors were aged, but there didn't seem to be any holes in them. There were chairs with skins covering them set around a small bar that had a little alcohol behind on the shelves in the back. A fire was blazing in the center of a pit in the middle of the floor, with benches around for people to sit and warm themselves with. There was another counter in the lobby area where the man had set her key out for her.

She picked up the key, looking around to see where the man went.

"Your room is the last one on the left." He spoke from behind her.

She jumped, startled by his sudden presence. She heard him chuckle as she turned her head to glace behind her. His visible eye was crinkling in amusement.

"Thanks…" She muttered as she walked away towards her room.

She opened her door and gazed around. There was a small bed resting on a wooden frame, the covers on it looking like they were made of warm buckskin, but there wasn't a pillow to lay her head on. There was a small dresser to place extra clothing, but other than that there wasn't anything else in the room. It was still decent for a cheap inn. She sighed and sat down on the bed to kick off her boots. She sat them neatly on the side and took off her parka, then placed it and her satchel in the top dresser drawer. She moved over to the wall to place her bow and quiver against it. She shivered, having only left on a grey long-sleeved shirt and black pants that didn't provide much warmth. She went to the desk and blew out the candle. Pulling back the blanket, she laid down, trying to ease her mind into slumber. She knew she couldn't rest long, but any rest was better than none.

She awoke a few hours later, sat up, and glanced around the room. It was still dark, but she could see the light from the fire through the little cracks in the door. She moved her legs to the side and stood up to stretch. The floor felt cold on her bare feet. She figured it would be a good time to go ahead and get on the move again. Yawning, she put on her boots, parka, and satchel. Then she latched her quiver and grabbed her bow. She looked in her satchel to see how much money she still had.

"One hundred-twenty…" She murmured. It was a decent amount, but it would be spent soon if she didn't find a way to make money. She was a great hunter with her bow and she knew skins were even more valuable in the winter. The problem was finding someone willing to trade or buy from her. People usually didn't buy skins from women; it was just the way things worked.

This village was a night's travel away from her home village, so she knew she was pressed for time. She had to keep moving to keep safe from being found. She opened her door and used her key to lock it again. Through the windows it appeared to be mid-day, so she had to get moving in order to stay ahead. She knew Naruto wouldn't give up, and even if his horse became exhausted, he would continue searching on foot. She placed the key on the counter and then proceeded to walk outside.

The temperatures were colder than yesterday and she shivered, every breath she took fogging. She looked over at her horse, and noticed that he had been fed, bits of hay scattered around his area. She mentally noted to thank the inn-keeper in the future as she untied the reigns. The horse snorted and nudged her shoulder. She pulled herself up onto the saddle and continued on a pathway out the village. Her horse's steps crunched loudly through the thin layer of ice covering the snow. The path that was leading her out lead to a bridge over a frozen river and around it was blanketed with snow, making the picture serene. As much as she would have loved to gaze at it longer, she had to keep moving forward.

As she walked, she noticed that the trees had large icicles hanging off of their limbs; if she wasn't careful, they could be extremely hazardous. She clicked her mouth and the horse began to gallop, kicking up snow as it picked up speed. The steps were leaving deep tracks in the snow. She realized that she would need to find a way to deter her pursuers from their course, but she feared getting herself lost in the process. She decided she would continue straight for a while, and then look for a game trail in the woods, and double back. Hopefully, they wouldn't catch on and continue heading deeper into the woods.

It wasn't long until she spotted one, and she felt like luck was on her side. She pulled the reigns to the right and the horse followed her instruction. The sun was still in the middle of the sky, so she had time to make a good distance before doubling back. To her surprise, the game trail led to a smooth dirt path. It wasn't a natural occurrence though; someone had to have cleared the snow. But why? Deep in her mind she knew she didn't really want to find out. She decided to go ahead and turn around. Then, there was a crunch of snow nearby; her horse grunted and started to back up. She slowly began to take her bow off her back, looking around and hoping to spot anything moving in the brush. To her relief, it was a doe with a fawn. They stopped and stared at her wide-eyed.

There was another crunch of snow, but this time it sounded to the far left of the fawn. A streak of black ran across the path, taking the fawn with it and leaving the mother lying on the ground motionless. She gasped with disbelief. She didn't know what had just happened, but she didn't want to stick around to find out. She jerked down on the reigns and the horse didn't hesitate to start running full speed back down the path. Her heart was racing at the sight of the beast. The creature seemed to be unnaturally gargantuous. She found her way off to a game trail that was farther down the road than the trail she first turned on and veered right to keep the horse galloping full speed. She was terrified; the speed alone was unlike any creature she had any seen. She was afraid of being its next meal, so she leaned down to reduce wind resistance, hoping it would help the horse run a little faster.

She kept that pace for a while until her horse began showing signs of exhaustion, but she wasn't ready to slow down just yet.

"Come on, just a little more." She urged, but her horse began to slow its pace. She turned her head and she didn't see anything chasing her, but she still kept her guard up. Her horse's breaths were short and rapid, and she was almost worried about it collapsing from exhaustion. She couldn't stop and rest, she had only been out for a few hours and the possibility of something chasing her was very real. Maybe she was being paranoid and there wasn't anything chasing her after-all. In all fairness, she wasn't even sure what had attacked the deer. For all she knew it could've just been a small bear. She calmed her nerves with that idea and her heart slowed its pace. The horse finally slowed down to a walk, but remained strong and kept going. "When we get to the next village, we'll stay longer so you can rest." She promised her horse. She felt a little guilty by over-working him. He snorted somehow seeming like he understood her.

It wasn't long before the sun began to set, and the sky turned to a beautiful array of colors. She had made a decent amount of distance from the last village, and signs of another soon came into view. This village seemed to be about twice the size of the other one, perhaps big enough to be called a town. The snow on the path began to smooth out into cobblestone and her horse's shoes began to click on the ground with each step. Her horse even seemed to relax as soon as his feet were out of the cold snow. The buildings in this town were larger than the previous village. It was busy with crowds of people, all making small talk here and there. Although, the atmosphere still seemed to be the same. As she continued deeper into the town, signs of poverty were showing. There were a few people panhandling and she even saw a woman follow a man around, begging for any spare coin. Her heart felt heavy at the scene; if she could spare any, she would, but she couldn't allow her feelings to get in the way of her mission.

She continued to wander for an inn, but couldn't seem to find one. She saw a small forge on the side and there a man was working. She hopped off of her horse and held onto the reigns, leading it over with her.

"Uhm, excuse me, sir?" She questioned cautiously, hoping he wouldn't be upset with her disturbing his work. He didn't seem to hear her as the hiss of hot steel being submerged in cold water filled the air. She opened her mouth to ask again, but he cut her off.

"What do you want?" He asked rather rudely.

"Could you please tell me where an inn is-"

He cut her off again, "A little farther down the road and to the right."

She would've scoffed, but she figured it wouldn't be a good idea to push it. He was at least kind enough to answer her question.

"Thanks…" She muttered sarcastically. She turned to the direction he had told her and began to walk down the road. Soon she spotted the inn. She was at least a little thankful that he had given her the right directions. She tied her horse to the post and walked inside. The inn was a lot larger than the other one, with two stories to it, but when she opened up the door, it was decorated similarly to the other. Although, the other one had a bit more class to it.

Along the walls there were the heads of hunted game. There was a fire pit, but there wasn't a fire going; instead, the light came from candles that were strewn in random places across the room. It didn't have a very welcoming feel to it, but she realized the whole town didn't seem very hospitable. There was a bar, although unlike the other it was filled to the roof with liquor. There wasn't anybody behind the other counter that held the keys to the rooms. She walked over to the counter and knocked on it.

"Hello? Anyone working here?" She asked. There were the sounds of shuffling and someone stepped out of the first room. The man was grizzly in appearance, and he looked like he was dealing with the symptoms of a hangover.

"Rooms are 30 a night." He stated without her even having to ask.

"Well then, everyone is just dapper in this town aren't they?" She thought to herself as she reached in her satchel to pull out some coins. If she was going to stay here for long, her money would be gone in four nights, and that was without the cost of food. She would have to find a way to make some money. She placed the money in the man's hand and he gave her the key. He didn't even bother to tell her which one was her room, so she had the joys of guessing which one was hers. She went to the third room on the right, and she guessed the right door. She heard the click of the door being unlocked and opened the door.

There was absolutely nothing in the room but the bed itself and a tattered old blanket. "So they can afford all that booze, but they couldn't bother with some nice furnishing?"She mumbled to herself.

She decided she wouldn't worry about money until tomorrow, when she would go around searching for some work. It was almost dusk anyways, and normally people would start to head inside. She wondered if it'd be a good idea to actually to try and hunt for some skins tomorrow, but the image of that creature stirred in her mind. She shivered from the thought. She did not want to confront anything like that again. She was certain that she was a good distance away from where the creature attacked, so she figured she might be safe for a while. She mentally made a note to ask if anyone had seen or heard anything like that. It was a harmless question really, and hopefully someone would not assume that she was just mental.

She placed her bow, quiver, and satchel by the wall. She left her parka on and just decided to lie down and sleep. She wanted this day over, and move onto the next. Already she had been almost attacked by two creatures, and she was praying that it didn't become a habit.

She felt like she had just fallen asleep when she heard a door fly open and frantic yelling.

"It's happened again!" She heard someone scream.

She jumped up, grabbed her bow and arrow, and opened up her door. A woman with brown hair in a pale green dress was standing in tears in the lobby, and standing next to her was the inn-keep holding onto a silver pistol.

"What happened, Ann?" The inn-keeper asked the woman.

She was sniveling as she tried to speak, "M-my husband and I were locking up the stables when it came out of nowhere."

"What came out of nowhere?" Sakura chimed into the conversation, curious if it was related to the creature she saw today.

"Oh, it were a creature from hell itself! A beast larger than any wolf that I had ever seen came and took my husband away." The woman began to cry some more at the memory of her husband being drug away right before her eyes.

"A wolf? Are you sure, Ann?" The inn-keeper asked her with impatience evident in his voice. Sakura noticed that in his left hand, she could see the gleam of bullets that had not yet been loaded into the gun. She was slightly concerned if he was going to go after the creature.

The woman named Ann nodded and sniffed. Sakura began to feel sorry for her, but she knew it was already too late if something was strong enough to drag a grown man off by itself. She choked down her own fears for a moment and looked at the inn-keeper.

"I'll come with you." Sakura spoke up again.

"What is the metal at the end of your arrow?" He asked.

"Silver, my father ma-"

He cut her off, "Good. Come on we don't have much time." He rushed out the door, and Sakura had no choice but to quickly follow if she didn't want to be left behind. As she stepped out the door, she saw a crowd of men waiting.

The inn-keeper cleared his throat, "Gentlemen, there has been another attack, but this time it was on one of our fellow men instead of our livestock. We're going on a wolf hunt!"


AN: Been wanting to do a story like this for a long time. Please review even if you don't have a FF account. I'd really like to know what you think so far! ~Wahyah