Chapter 1
In a large forest, surrounded by nothing but trees, the night was silent. The only sound was that of nature, leaves blowing in the wind, bushes rustling, critters chirping.
But that was disturbed as the sound of a snapping twig and frantic footsteps echoed.
Somewhere, sprinting blindly through the forest, was a young girl, no older than ten. Atop her raven black hair that was riddled with leaves, and tangled with small sticks, was a pair of fox ears. Mud coated her arms, shirt, and pants. Her sky blue eyes were red with exhaustion, and her face had tear streaks. Her feet were bloody from stepping on so many pointy objects in the woods, but she wasn't concerned about any of that. Instead, she was focused on just getting away from the monster that chased her.
Leaping through bushes, jumping over logs, and running as fast as her legs would carry her, whatever she did, she couldn't shake the thing following her.
She wanted to yell out, see if anyone could even hear her, but her lungs burned too much from running to even attempt a scream. It was to the point that if the monster managed to catch her, she wouldn't even have the ability to let out a final scream before being killed.
Taking a glance back at the monster, the girl saw nothing but the trees and bushes she ran passed. She knew it was still giving chase, though. Even if she couldn't see it.
After all, that's how it got her brother.
It's unlike anything she's seen before. Even at such a young age, this girl had seen her fair share of the Creatures of Grimm. But this... thing. It was new. It wasn't like the others. Smarter. Faster. Deadlier.
Tripping over the root of a tree, the girl tumbled across the ground. Cutting her arms and legs, the girl pushed herself up, only to freeze in place at the low growl of the monster. She didn't want to look, but that didn't stop her head from slowly turning to glance at the creature that would inevitably kill her.
Looming over her at a height of eight feet, stood the Grimm, staring directly into the girl's eyes. It stood on it's hind legs, that appeared to be that of an animal's.
It's skin, black, and oozing, was like a blanket of darkness for the creature. Antlers were sitting atop its head, its red eyes staring hungrily at the girl. However, it didn't have a mouth, or a nose.
Raising its right arm, the creature had claws that were easily twelve inches long and sharper than a pro Huntsman's blade.
Turning away, the girl placed her hands over the back of her head as she tensed, waiting for it to kill her. But, as she laid in the dirt, waiting for death, it never came. Instead, a gentle hand was placed on her shoulder.
"You're safe now." A woman's voice said softly.
But the girl didn't move, still too terrified to even make out the voice she was hearing was that of a human's.
"What's your name?" The woman asked, kneeling next to the girl. "It's okay, you don't have to be afraid anymore."
Hesitantly, the girl raised her head just enough to peak over the dirt and to the source of the voice. Staring back at her wasn't the monster, but a grown woman.
Her gentle green eyes instantly calmed the girl. She wore a jacket, skirt and had a sword on her back. In her right hand was a mask, resembling a wolf. Her dark red hair was tied back in a neat ponytail.
"Are you okay?" The woman asked.
The girl shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Do you live close by?"
Again, the girl shook her head.
"Where are your parents?"
The girl's tears overflowed, running down her cheeks.
"They're... d-dead..."
The woman was taken aback by this.
After a few seconds, the woman continued her questions.
"Are you out here alone?"
The girl shook her head.
"I was... was with my-my-" the girl began to cry harder. "It killed my b-b-br...brother..." the girl buried her face into the crook of her arm. "I'm all alone, now."
The woman placed a hand on the girl's back, rubbing her back in an attempt to calm her down.
Suddenly, a loud whistle echoed through the trees. Upon hearing it, the woman whistled back.
After a few seconds, the girl moved back to sit on her knees, looking around the woods as footsteps approached. Soon, a man emerged through the bushes.
"Glad to see you took care of it." The man said, wearing a similar mask to the one the woman had. Instead of a wolf, however, it seemed to resemble a cougar. The man's black eyes were focused on the still dusting corpse of the Grimm.
The woman got to her feet, putting her mask back on.
"Who's the kid?" The man asked, gesturing to the girl.
"A foundling." The woman answered.
The man looked at the girl again.
"Foundling? Ai, you sure about this?"
The woman nodded her head, sternly.
"I won't leave her out here, Eddie!" Ai told the man. "Look at her."
Ai looked down at the girl, seeing she was still shaking with fear as her gaze swapped between the Huntsman and Huntress.
"Fine." Eddie shrugged his soulders. "The more, the merrier."
Eddie turned around and began walking away.
The girl reached out and grabbed the sleeve of the Huntress' jacket. Looking down at her, Ai moved down to one knee to look the girl in the eyes.
"What about... Zeke?"
"Your brother, right?" Ai asked.
The girl wiped her eyes as she nodded her head.
"Eddie is gonna look for him, okay?" Ai told the girl. "But we need to get you out of this forest and somewhere safe."
"Where's that?" The girl asked.
"Camp." Ai replied. "I'm gonna bring you back with me to my people. You'll be a new addition to the family. Sound good?"
"Fam...ily?"
"Mm-hmm." Ai nodded her head as she gave a gentle smile. "It's up to you, though. You can come with me, or I can take you somewhere else. The choice is yours."
The girl stood in silence for a few moments.
"I have nowhere else to go."
Ai closed her eyes as she slowly nodded.
"Alright. That settles it." Ai rose to her feet. "Once you step foot into camp, you're one of us. Now, what's your name?"
"K-Kuni..." The girl fidgeted.
"Alright, Kuni." Taking the blade off her back, Ai slashed horizontally then vertically, opening a rift right before them. "Come." Leading her with a hand on her back, Ai and Kuni entered the rift, stepping into a large camp that was surrounded by wooden walls.
"This is the Phoenix clan, Kuni."
Kuni looked around at all the tents that were set up, completely in awe.
"Welcome home."
End of chapter 1