A/N: Thanks very much to Valiowk, Hyel, and Aerinha for reviewing. I'm sure this story is going somewhere, even if I'm no longer sure quite where. Updates from now on will hopefully be more frequent (although I'm not putting anything down in writing in case someone tries to hold me to it).

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Chapter 2: The Greatest Hunter on Earth

A few valleys away, in the forest, the girls knew nothing of their mother's brooding. Nor, when it came down to it, would they have cared much if they had. Dinner parties, and fancy dresses and good behaviour were all far too boring. The only thing that really mattered in life was the hunt. Speaking of which, Merope was sure she could see something moving in that clump of trees on top of the next ridge… She signalled to Sirius to circle behind the ridge and flush out whatever was there towards them, then, after a moment's thought, sent Procyon to do the same from the other direction. Normally they would have more dogs with them, making it easier to run down their quarry, but unfortunately a minor epidemic of worms had broken out in the kennels. Only their two favourite dogs, Sirius and his younger brother Procyon, who had separate kennels of their own and were fed straight from the table (much to Pleione's despair), were spared. Nevertheless, they would cope. It might even make it more fun.

A short distance away, Orion, the Greatest Hunter on Earth, was busy turning the air around him blue with cursing. Three days hunting, three miserable, lousy, humid, bug-filled days, and all he had to show for it was a scratch down one arm from a thorn-bush and some new bruises. And he was on the verge of losing a bet. Not that it was really his fault – surely he couldn't be held accountable for any foolish proclamations made under the influence of too much alcohol… although Aechylon hadn't seen things that way. So now he was stuck out here in the wilderness, searching for something that probably didn't even exist, and rapidly losing his temper, along with his bet. And still no sign of that blasted unicorn!

With a yell of rage, he snatched up his club from where it was lying at the base of a nearby cypress tree, and hurled it high into the air. (Although he didn't know it, the flicker of motion as the club just cleared the canopy caught the watchful eye of Merope, down in the valley below). Orion smiled with satisfaction as he watched the club crash through foliage on its way back down, eventually landing in a nearby bush with a resounding thud. He felt much better for that. Striding over to reclaim his weapon, he parted the branches, only to find an extremely dead hare lying beneath the end of the club, a surprised expression still visible on its face. He smirked in pleasure – he'd finally made a kill! Just went to show, a little destructive mayhem never hurt anything. Well, except for the hare.

Now for the unicorn…

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As always, thank you very much for reading, and if you liked it, please feel free to review.

- iridescent mists -