Rayvn trudged through the high grass, trampling the thick, malachite strands beneath her booted feet. She was supposed to be tracking her leader, Jaguar, but she had met her end. Humans did not smell vampires, and few could sense their powerful auras. Rayvn could do neither, obviously.
With a frustrated sigh, she stopped and glanced around her. No being was in sight. Ordering herself to stay calm, Rayvn thought about the layout of the wooded area.
"What has he taught me about tracking?" She thought aloud, "Nothing I can remember... Which way did he disappear? Oh yes, facing east! At least I know I am on the right track. But where would he go? Maybe the high boulder there..."
Without uttering a single syllable, Rayvn ran in the direction of where she had imagined Jaguar to have gone. She passed none during the run, and her spirits sank. How could she do this?
"Sister." Raylet spoke from behind her, and Rayvn wheeled around, quick fear pulsing through her from being caught off guard.
"Raylet! What are you doing here? You are supposed to be watching how William is dealing with your group!" She snapped, placing her hand to her head and whipping away the sweat.
"So I am." He took a brief look-over of her. "Haven't got a clue, have you?"
Rayvn glared at him seethingly. "So what? I will find him!" Meekly, she added, "How far behind am I?"
Raylet laughed, smiling broadly. "Not too far behind, but I suppose you would be in a few minutes. Not to worry, very little track Jaguar in his training, and none normally. Relax and you'll figure it out... And if you don't, I suppose you'll be dropped from training."
"Raylet!" She scolded, but he was gone as abruptly as he had come. Violently, Rayvn stomped her feet to the earth.
"Great. Now how am I supposed to find him?" She thought, and looked helplessly around her.
In the distance, circling over trees in the wooded area, was a red hawk. For a moment, Rayvn almost ignored the fact, but then she remembered something Jaguar had said, "The Red Hawk has always led the ones not looking."
Was that the answer? That simple sentence he had muttered so lightly? Without stopping to argue it out, Rayvn ran towards the wooded area, her legs eating up the distance. Who cared if it was him? Wouldn't it be clever for him to disappear and reappear right where he had left them?
She didn't care, this was her only chance. It didn't matter at the moment if she found him or not, at least she was trying. At least she was running for what she thought was the finish line.
Rayvn came to a halt, gasping for the sweet, crisp air of the morning, before she spotted him, sitting quite innocently on the rock, the red hawk perched on his shoulder, it's head tilted to watch the one soaring above against the pale blue sky.
"What a pleasant surprise. I hardly expected you to arrive first." Jaguar said softly, turning to look at her with approval.
"You--!" She growled, but cut herself off and sat on the rock beside him, catching her breath.
Silently, they sat side by side, careless of the others presence. Idly, Rayvn laid back on the cool gray rock, stretching tiredly. She looked up at the hawk still circling, and shook her head before looking back up at Jaguar.
"We just wait, then?" She asked, yawning.
"Simply." He nodded, and she continued to stare up at the sky.
Hours must have gone by, and Rayvn's eyes where drifting shut. Neither had said a word to the other, but Jaguar quickly changed that.
"Do you feel them? One is approaching now."
Rayvn sat up groggily, blinking the sleep from her eyes. Slipping silently from the rock, she stretched and smoothed out the black shirt she was wearing, and straightened up the baggy cargo pants as much as possible. She pulled her hair roughly back into a neat pony tail, and was sitting unruffled on the rock when the first vampire jogged into the area.
He cursed violently, and hissed words not fit for the dirtiest ears. Grinning smugly, Rayvn lifted her eyebrow at him tauntingly.
"Second Yarvei. Take a seat." Yarvei instead leaned against a tree, his short blonde hair amess, his black clothes wrinkled lightly, and soaked likewise with sweat.
And so it was sunset, the sky navy with blotted stars, before the last arrived.
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