She was being hunted. That was obvious to her. Humans always thought they were stealthy but no matter what they brought to the table, she could find them. Her ears told her everything. She wasn't surprised however. She was always being hunted. She was unique. The only one of her kind. Why wouldn't you want to hunt her? To claim the right of extinguishing her race. That or just claiming a unique rug for your floor and a head for your trophy rack. No doubt that would make quite a few humans thump their chest in pride.

She of course would not give them the chance to live out their fantasies. She would run. That's how she escaped the jaws of death again and again. It's how she survived. It kept her out of danger. No one could keep up with her when she was in a full sprint. She wasn't going to run right now however. It was just one man but she knew he was getting ready for something. She needed to choose the best moment to make her escape.

So she idly ate some fruits from a tree. It wasn't hard for her. She was rather large in her beast form. A Taguel. That's what she was. She'd like to think she was fearsome. Her size made it easy for her to stomp humans into a fine paste. However, she was akin to a large muscular rabbit. Even if she was more lithe, her form made some people think little of her. How could a rabbit hurt them, they would think. Then they would attack.

She killed them when they did. They never paid attention to her little pieces of armor, dignifying her traits as a warrior. It wasn't a full set. She couldn't move properly with a full set of armor and she didn't need to. She was strong in and out of her beast form. Strong and fast. She'd use that for herself when the hunter attacked. She could kill with her feet and she could kill with her 'human' hands. Either way, they wouldn't stand a chance.

However, she wondered if the hunter would do anything. They had been tailing her for a while. Perhaps they were waiting for her to sleep or walk into a trap. Couldn't be a trap. She had detected no humans here yesterday in this area and there was only one today. Could he just be watching her out of curiosity? It was possible. She was the last of her kind.

That being said, she still wouldn't lower her guard. He could still be wishing to hunt her tomorrow. Perhaps he'd bring a larger group now that he knew she was here. She would not run from this area. It was her home. She would fight like she had done many times before. A Taguel she was and Taguels did not run. At least, she thought not. She never got to spend much time with her kind before they were all killed off.

Was her kind full of weak cowards? Is that why it was so easy to wipe them out? She didn't know. She didn't like to think about that. She liked to think that wasn't the case. That they were excellent warriors. They just lacked the numbers to back it up. It was all she could do when those thoughts came to be.

Right now she was going to focus more on the hunter. Wait for him to make a move or leave. It was his choice. His life. She wouldn't cry over him after she stomped him to death or broke his neck. She was stained with much blood over the years. Metaphorically speaking. She made sure to keep her fur squeaky clean. A small bit of pride on her part.

She kept on feeding. The Hunter kept watching her. After a while it felt rather awkward to just stand there and eat. She didn't like being watched so attentively. She hadn't even heard him nock his bow yet. Was he not hunting her? He didn't have a crossbow either. She hadn't heard him unsheath a sword. He was just keeping his distance. He was far enough away that if she charged at him, he had enough time and space to get away. The forest was too thick in that area to reliably use her beast form. Troublesome. She could keep up in her 'human' form but she wouldn't do that. She was still more vulnerable in that form.

Then, to her confusion, the hunter left. She turned her head and looked in his direction. For hours he had been staring at her. For hours he had done nothing. He just ups and leaves? Perhaps he was truly just scouting her out for others but to do so for hours was strange. She would never understand humans.

Panne the Taguel sighed and hopped away. It was not worth her time to worry about humans. If he came back to hunt her, she would kill him and his posse. If not, then she would forget he ever existed. That was how her life worked.

The tavern was bustling today. Men and a few women were drinking their fills and laughing up a storm. You could barely hear yourself over all of the chatter. That was the typical atmosphere of the place at this time of day. It was the perfect place for hunters and traveling businessmen and women to take a stop to rest and have a good time. The waitresses of course had to watch their step. Not because of wandering hands, though that did happen, but more the feet of their customers. Since they tended to leave them hanging out and many a new waitress had tripped a few times. The more experienced waitresses could make it around them quite easily.

One of the waitresses tonight however was new. She was carrying a large tankard of beer. Her dress, like the rest, was black and white. Frilly in a lot of places. A fashion trend which had taken off a long while ago and stayed for waitresses and maids. Her curled blond hair bounced as she walked.

The young woman nervously made her way around the men, "Sorry. Just have to get-oh!"

One of the men had his leg out and she tripped on it. A small scream spilled from her lips as she tripped and hurdled to the ground. The tankard being thrown from her hand as she let go. She prepared herself to hit the ground.

She never did. She blinked a few times before looking upwards. She blushed as she did. The man who had helped her was slim but well built regardless. His face was handsome, framed by golden locks. She idly noted the pointed ears but paid them no mind. His face drew most of her attention.

The man quickly helped her up and patted her shoulders. He quickly looked her up and down. She could tell it wasn't because he was checking out her body. He was just making sure she was okay. That got her to relax. His eyes were so kind. She could get lost in them.

"Thank you," she smiled up at him.

Before anything else could happen, a gruff voice spoke up. The two of them turned to look at the speaker.

"Hey you," it was a gruff looking man with plenty of scars adorning his exposed arms. A nasy one seemed to hook around his right cheek. He was currently soaking wet as well and the waitress guessed that it was from her own mug, "Watch your clumsy ass, will you?"

The waitress gulped, "I'm sorry. It was an accident."

"You're not that sorry," the gruff man growled and took a step forward, "If you were, you would have been watching your step better and not ruin my favorite shirt. How are you going to repay me?"

The waitress shivered. She didn't like how he looked at her. It held quite a few emotions and none of them were good. However she didn't have to look at him for long. The kind man who had helped her got in between them.

The gruff man blinked a few times, "Oh, you're that knife eared bastard I've been hearing about. Seems they were right about your freakish ears. Why don't you get those covered up for everyone else's sake. You might stab someone's eyes out."

The kind man held his ground and said nothing. He stared at him with a determined gaze, ready for anything. He didn't have any weapons on him that the waitress could see. Yet, she was sure he had other ways of fighting.

"Cut it out," an older waitress spoke up, "You start a brawl and you'll pay for the damages, Grild."

The man now known as Grild, snorted. "Fine. You owe me a free beer then." He went back to his posse and sat down.

The young waitress sighed in relief, "Thank you, stranger."

The kind man nodded and then headed upstairs without saying a word.

"Ah," the older waitress spoke up, "Seems you met the new guy."

"Who is he?" The young waitress asked.

"Don't know," the older waitress said, "He just arrived about a week ago. He's been helping out everyone in the town so we don't pry. It's not good to look a gift horse in the mouth after all."

The young waitress nodded. Maybe she could get to know him better in the future. She'd like to think she could. There weren't as many handsome men around as she would have liked and he topped the charts in that regard easily.

I hope you all enjoy this story. It's my entry into another one of Alex Kellers contests. Can't wait to read your reviews.