Mirah shouldered the small sack that contained her few belongings and bid a tearful farewell to Wing-san. She turned her face from the apartment and contemplated her new life. This wasn't so bad. She had roamed the streets by herself for weeks, living off whatever goods she could steal or find, before Wing-san had found her. And she had only been ten years old at that time. Now she was older and supposedly wiser.
"Where must I go?" She said out loud.
The Hunter Exam. That was where she must go first. Although the title of Hunter meant nothing to her, she still needed the Hunter Card. Hunters had access to all sorts of information and if she wanted to find the man who had killed Netsuko, she would need to become a Hunter to obtain that information. How bothersome.
Before long, she had reached the city boundary, facing the murky forest that lay ahead. She would have to find shelter before nightfall, preferably some sort of cave.
Mirah tore through the thick underbrush, mulling over the strange things that had happened in her life.
She had not even the faintest recollection of her birth parents. Her earliest memory was of Netsuko, holding her gently and telling her what a clever girl she was. She knew that Netsuko was not her real mother. Something about the pale skin, bleach blond hair, and grey eyes didn't match up with the little bronzed Mirah. But for all she cared, Netsuko was her mother, not some nameless, faceless woman whom she had never met, who had deserted -- no, abandoned, her. She closed her eyes, remembering Netsuko's words.
"Don't look so unhappy dear. This was meant to be."
"Be strong Mirah. Like your father...and your mother."
You must leave this place…
A sudden thought occurred to her. Netsuko must have known that she would die! She winced at her own stupidity. Why else would Netsuko have given Wing the pendent instead of giving it to Mirah herself? But what did this mean…
She stopped. During her deep thought and revelation, she had failed to notice that the sun had already sunk below the horizon, gone to light up the other half of the world. Darkness had fallen, and she would have to find shelter or face the unseen dangers of the night. Cursing herself for letting her mind wander, she stumbled aimlessly through the forest, searching for shelter. There was an odd faint glow ahead. She froze.
Had someone followed her?
Cautiously, she crept closer until she could discern the shadows.
A campfire.
And one boy.
No, two.
They were about her age and not very threatening looking. Travelers, she decided.
She examined the nearest one. He was of average height, dressed in a queer green shirt and matching shorts. Next to him, lay a wooden fishing rod. Odd, she thought. His dark hair stuck out at a physically impossible angle, in fierce defiance to gravity, and he had a wide, cheerful smile on his tanned face. There was something about this boy that she couldn't pinpoint…something happy and wonderful. She felt stupid for thinking it.
The other boy was taller and looked older. He was pale. Very pale. His thin, skinny frame disguised wiry muscles underneath and he possessed a shock of silver, with a slight tinge of violet, hair, which seemed to defy gravity as well. The boy stood with his back to her, one hand in the pocket of his shorts and one tugging at the collar of his black turtleneck.
They seemed to be discussing something. The black haired boy had been speaking animatedly when he suddenly pulled out a small white card-like object and stared at it in an almost puzzled manner…wait…she squinted… Hunter…This boy was a Hunter! A sudden, brilliant idea occurred to her. If she took his card, she would save herself the trouble of going all the way to the Hunter Exam and getting one. Two weeks saved meant that she would be two weeks closer to finding the man who killed Netsuko. Yes, she would take it from him, and what use did he have for it anyway? She knelt quietly behind a leafy bush, waiting for her chance.
Time seemed to crawl as she watched them talking. Finally, the tall pale haired boy put out the fire and they promptly went to sleep. This was her chance.
She emerged from her hiding place cautiously, pausing to listen to their steady breathing and confirm that they were both fast asleep.
She stopped before the smaller boy, gazing at his peaceful features in sleep. How gentle he looked…now where was the card? She reached into his pocket, feeling for the card.
There! She found it and began to draw her hand out slowly so as not to wake him.
It happened so fast that even afterwards, she couldn't figure it out. One second she was kneeling over the sleeping boy, the next, she was pinned to the ground, sharp claws at her neck. She gazed into a pair of merciless, emotionless, indigo eyes.
***
I wonder who this might be…Tell me what you think so far!