Disclaimer: it all belongs to AAR. Or Jessica, depending on the universe you're from.

Jada Austen: No, I didn't know that! Thanks for telling me; I wondered when it took place. As you can see, I changed it. Where did you find that? It's been a while since I've read Hawksong, I'm in the process of moving all my books out of my room, and I think it's at the bottom of a bin somewhere.

Lannan: Thank you, I've always wondered about that. And it looks right, now that you've mentioned it.

DarkAngelB: Thank you very much. And here's your next chapter.

Griffinkhan and Almondgirl: When's Beta Appreciation Day?

Chapter Two: Predator

I can remember the day Alexander told me of his abilities. It had been a warm spring day, in early March. Alexander and I had been out in the garden planting; our father was busy pulling stumps out of a nearby field. I had been digging a hole in which to plant pumpkin seeds when a shadow fell across me. I looked up to see my brother standing there.

"What is it Alexander?" I asked, wondering why he had stopped working. It was important to get as much planted as possible so we could have food this winter. The last had been hard on everyone.

"I need to tell you something, Rachel," he said. He looked and sounded so solemn that I immediately became wary. Alexander had never looked like that unless he was preparing to confess to wrongdoing of some sort. Usually it was a small infraction, and I never took it very seriously.

"Well?" I asked when he just stood there. He opened his mouth to say something, but at that point, Lynette called him from the house. She needed his help with something. Alexander shut his mouth and went to help her. I went back to my planting.

Later that night he approached me, and told me he was damned. I demanded to know why, and he explained. I found it hard to believe at first, but after a couple of demonstrations, I believed him.

Looking back, I wonder what he must have felt like, growing up. The church was preaching about damnation every other week, and my brother believed in the church and God with all his heart. I think it was perhaps because of those abilities. The witch trials in Salem had been only a few years before Alexander revealed his abilities to me. I can recall, even now, the adults talking about those who had been accused of witchcraft. None of them had even given thought to the idea that the witches might be innocent of crime. It was almost as if they were afraid to believe it.

Fools. If you cannot adapt, if you cannot change your mindset, you will never survive. Look around; the world is in continuous change and motion. Adapt and survive, or cling to the past and die with it.

Even my brother adapted. His saying that his abilities were gifts is proof of that. I do not know if he still believes in God; it is possible he still does. However, how do you explain the fact that you are immortal? How do you explain the abilities?

Is there a god? If so, he has damned me years ago. I care not for God, and He cares nothing for me. How can he?

These thoughts are pointless. They will get me nowhere, and in the meantime I need something to do. Though my kind does not need to exercise, it is nevertheless harmless, and gives us something to do.

I change into suitable clothes and leave for the nearest jogging trail. I do not like the gyms humans build, as there is too much going on. The television, the music, the smell of sweat, it is all overwhelming. I prefer the natural environment. I am a predator, a thing of nature.

The woods especially are invigorating. When I was Rachel, I was often afraid of them. Who knew what horrors lay within? Wolves, cougars, Indians… all were there, and all capable of killing me.

Now I do not fear the wild. I know I can live and thrive there, as I am physically, mentally, and emotionally strong enough to do so. The fight with Aubrey proved that beyond a doubt.

I arrive at an isolated part of the trail, and I stop to listen to my surroundings. The woods are a paradox, seemingly sleeping, yet so alive. Their very being pulsates with life and vigor, food and energy for the taking.

This was the way it was, and it is the way it should be. I do not know when nor how Siete was made or born, but I instinctively feel as if I belong here, in the state of things. Humans tend to forget that they are a part of the world too. They act as if they do not need to fear predators, and in many ways they don't. Perhaps that is why we were created. To teach humanity that they are not inseparable from the world they live in, that it is not theirs alone.

I move on and finish my jog before transporting home. It was dusk when I awoke, and now it is night. I shower and change into my regular clothes before leaving for the night.