A Sika doe deer takes a few leaps in her steps, putting some distance from where those human children are causing such a ruckus to herself, before she sees a stream. Because of her old age, nearly fifteen years old, she's prone to get tired very quickly. She still has some kicks and swiftness in her hooves, but must be on edge at all times.

She knows it's only a matter of time, before she succumbs to her death. However, like all living things, she'll do whatever it takes to stay alive. And only when her body gives up on her, will she accept her fate.

She lowered her head to the calm, moving water and proceed to lap her tongue in the water, quenching her thirst for water.

Unknowingly for the Sika deer, a figure watches from the bushes and the shadows of the trees, crouched low to the ground and slowly walking out.

It was Sierra, as her human-self, walking on all-fours and stalking the Sika deer.

'She's going to pick up on my scent. As soon as she does, I'll chase her away from the Wild, Wild Pussycats' territory and then, I'll swiftly end her life.'

Better morph. She's starting to pick up on you.

As Antiphonus stated, the Sika deer raised her head and sniffed the air.

The fourteen year-old morphed into her wolf-form and, letting out a snarl to startle her, the doe leap into the water and sprinted towards the other-side of the river.

Sierra, immediately, followed suit, sprinting through the waters and charging into the woods.

'She has a limp in one of her legs, indicating her health is poor because of her old age. Her heart rate is a few beats off, and her vision had diminished.' She thought, examining the doe's choice of action and listening in on both her breathing and heartbeat. 'She doesn't want to die, but knows it's only a matter of time.'

As interesting as this hunt is, best not use too much energy on chasing her. You may be training, but you need to kill and consume her.

'I know, I know. Just need to position myself at the right moment, so that I can give her a swift, painless death. Just a little bit further, and then I'll make my move.'

The Sika deer grew tired, unable to shake off the white-wolf, which she knew isn't an actual wolf at all, that chases her. She's not as young as she once was, so even if she stands her ground and fight, she wouldn't last for very long.

And so, like many creatures in their Fight-or-Flight mechanism, she chooses flight.

Just as she shifted her body to make a sharp turn, Sierra saw her opening.

...With a swift pounce, her fangs clamp over the deer's neck, closest to where her head connects with her throat, and the two rolled to the ground.

On the first roll, the deer flung her legs, trying to kick her off.

On the second roll, one of her hooves grazed her shoulder and kicked a bruise to her right-thigh.

On the third roll, the white-wolf landed on top of the deer, pinning the weak doe with her whole body, as the herbivore struggled to get her captor off.

...With a single chomp, Sierra broke the doe's neck.

The Sika deer's eyes grew big from the bite... Then, her body went limp.

She died within Sierra's fangs.

As soon as she felt the deer stop moving and no longer breathing, the white-wolf extracted her fangs from her kill. Her fangs, mouth and muzzle coated in the deer's blood.

She slowly panted, feeling the adrenaline course through her veins, mind and heart.

The white-wolf slowly walked towards the head of the Sika deer, staring down at her lifeless, cold eyes.

Sierra stared down into the doe's empty eyes, as she morphed into her human-self. The lower-half of her face stained in blood, but made no attempt to clean herself.

...Then, on her knees and gently lifting the deer's head in both hands, she laid her forehead against the animal's.

"May you live on within the hearts of your herd, your spirit guide the lost, and always know that your life had been lived as you were born into." She whispered, before she pulled away and laid her lips against the center of her forehead that her own had rested against. "As I feed upon your meat and wear your pelt, I swear to honor your spirit."

Blah, blah, blah! That's great. Now, hurry up, skin it and eat it! The blood is going to dry, and the body is going to attract attention of predators!

The fourteen year-old let out an annoyed sigh, but pulled her head away from the deer.

...Then, with her left-hand still holding the head, she pulled out a small-stone knife from her pocket.

It appeared old, as if was a few centuries old, but still strong and sharp, as she's able to cut into the fur with ease and began skinning to her top-half muzzle to remove the fur from the top-half of her face. Then, when she reaches the ears, she pulled the pelt back a bit to get a better view and angle of the flesh and bone, where she went to severe the tie of the connection of the ears from its skull*.

And as she continues to skinning the top-half of the Sika deer's pelt, she made certain to keep a firm grip on the knife. And not just because it's covered in blood and staining the hone-hilt that belonged to a buffalo.

...It belonged to her grandfather, Souza, who left it to his daughter, Cindy, within his will and asked of her pass it down to her own children. Josh, Kyla and Jeremy had all decided to let Sierra keep it, since she's more of a natural with using tools and has more reason to carry a knife to defend herself when/if she's not an animal.

Twenty minutes later, the smell of copper spread in the air, as she reached the rear of the doe. She laid the skin underneath the deer when she finished the first half of the body to skin, so no blood would get on the fur and none would touch the ground, as she focuses on finishing her task at skinning the deer, all while avoiding on cutting any part of the sinew*.

Her stomach growled at the smell of the deer's blood, and the sight of her muscles and organs was increasing the rumbling in her stomach.

You can stop, you know? The blood is still fresh, and it's been over an hour since your last hunt. Best you hurry along, and eat. You're using up too much time and energy on skinning your kills, and the blood from your last kill is almost gone.

Sierra snarled lowly at the air, which would scare off most into believing she's gone insane and has gone feral.

'You promised to let me do this, Antiphonus. The blood will still be there, when I'm done. Now, shut up and let me finish. I'm almost there.' She growled, before continuing to remove any connection of the pelt to the deer's body.

And just a few slices of her knife, the piece she wanted to remove from the Sika deer was finally removed and, with half of the doe's body laying on top of the pelt, the other half is out in the open, ready for any predator to come out from anywhere and eat her.

...Like her.

Done, now? Good... Now, go ahead and eat, Sweetie.

...She didn't need to be told, twice. Even if she did, she wouldn't go back on what she promised to the Black-Blood.

On what they've discussed.


Flashback: One in the Morning...

It didn't take much of an effort for Sierra to change into her P.E. suit. Let alone, grabbing her gloves and shoes to put on and, to help her place her mark in case she wonders off too far and is still a bit tired from being up early, her grandfather's knife.

None of the girls woke up, allowing Sierra to quietly leave the room, without making so much of a creak to alert anybody she's up and quietly opening and closing the door of their room.

Still, in the hallway and within the building, she knows better than to think nobody would be able to hear her and be loud with each step she takes. Even if her shoes will muffle her steps, she's not going to take any chances.

So, sticking close to the wall and on the tips of her toes, Sierra quietly stalks down the hallway and head for the direction of the closest window.

'They don't have any special alarming systems for the windows and/or doors, since they own this part of the land and probably don't have visitors around. Still, they probably lock the door and I'm not going to take any chance on leaving through the front door in case any of the Wild, Wild Pussycats are close to the front door.' She thought, as she neared the window at the end of the hallway and a good distance from their temporary rooms.

She moved the mechanism to unlock the window, pulled it back to feel the cool, night air blow against her face and stroke through her hair and took in a big, deep inhale of air. Then, jumping on the windowsill, she morphed into her Philippine-Eagle form and, leaning forward outside of the window to spread her wings, she took off flying.

'I may love Winter, but Summer nights are a wonderful time to fly.' Sierra thought, enjoying the feeling of the air brushing against her feather and body.

Sorry to cut your fun short, Sweetie, but we need to talk somewhere in private and I don't wanna worry that you'll be too distracted in the air and crash.

Because of her time morphing into birds and flying, it was almost impossible for her to get too distracted when she has to focus all of her senses and attention on what's going on around her. Though, he did made a good point that they need to go somewhere private and not have anybody see her; being the only Philippine-Eagle in the air, in the dead of night, will make it super obvious to the others that it's her.

She looked around below her, trying to find a good spot to talk with Antiphonus, until she zoomed in on the mountain-hill that was a few miles from the Wild, Wild Pussycats building.

'We'll talk there,' she informed.

She monuvered her body to dive down, folding her wings back a bit to gain speed towards the hill, before opened her wings and hovered over the ground.

As soon as her talons touched the ground, she morphed back into her human-form.

She stood up straight, stretched her arms over her head and let out a big yawn.

Once her mind is more focus and not as drowsy than she felt earlier, she communicated with Antiphonus.

'All right. We're alone,' she thought. 'Now... What is it that you wish to tell me?'

...Before I start to tell you on what I believe is a possible conclusion to how to help you, I wish to ask of you to keep an open mind to what I'm going to tell you. Because, as soon as I tell you on what we're going to do, you'll believe that it's either very farfetched and crazy. And, yes, believe me, I, too, think that it sounds insane. But, like I will keep an open mind of your heritage and belief of your Native American Culture, I ask that you do the same for me. And, if you wish to debate on whether or not we should or shouldn't do it, we'll do so when I tell you on what my conclusion came up to. And whatever we agree and/or disagree on, we'll figure out an ultimatum that'll satisfy us both to help you with your health and training. So, do we have a deal?

Sierra folded her arms over her chest, thinking about what the Black-Blood is asking of her. Seeing that he's being very reasonable and no harm of discussing it, first, she nodded her head.

"Deal," she said. "So, what have you concluded on what I should do, that you believe that I won't go along with?"

You're going to get blood from hunting animals and you're going to digest their meat and blood, while in your human-form.

...If not for her promise to keep an open and him promising to talk about it, she would've thought he was crazy and wanted her to become a vampire.

"...You want me, to hunt animals and eat them, all for their blood?"

While in your human-form. Also, you have to eat it, immediately; the fresher the blood and sooner you eat it when their heart stops, the better its quality to help your stomach. Also, if you find any kills/carcass that's over twelve hours old after death, it won't count or do. That means, you can't cook the meat. So, you'll have to eat them, raw. Since you're an Animal Quirk User, I reckon that it wouldn't be too much of a proble-

"Wait a second." The fourteen year-old cut off, a bit nervous. "You want me to eat them, as a human...? Just to get their blood?"

...Yes? That's right.

Sierra rubbed her arms with her hands, beginning to walk around in a circle.

"I'm not against eating them as a human. It's just-... Why do I need their blood?"

...

A familiar situation told her that this is a similar discussion she and Izuku had encountered... With a similar answer as to why she doesn't know he's doing it, let alone that he can do.

"...It has something to do with your abilities, doesn't it?"

Antiphonus chuckled within her head.

You caught me.

She raised an eyebrow to his answer, as she continues to walk in a circle.

"Start explaining."

Right... So, remember about the original Antiphonus' father's Blood Control Quirk? Well... There's something else that I hadn't mentioned that he could, also, do with his Quirk that I can do, as well.

"And it's because neither of us asked on what else either of his parents can do with their Quirks, that you didn't tell us the first time." Sierra replied, growling lowly.

...Yes. But, I swear, that I wasn't trying to hide it from you guys on purpose. More like hoping to surprise you both, when the time was right. And, right now, seems like a good time than any to tell you, first... That, and probably because you might have been given the signs of said surprise, that I'm going to have an open mind about your beliefs and heritage.

Curious to his words, the fourteen year-old decided to hear him out.

"...Go on." She instructed, as she started to walk, again.

Anyways. While his father can control his blood at will, what others don't know is that can control other people's blood, too. The only problem, is that they have to be inside of the person's body and the blood has to be fresh for him to control it. So, his father got an education as a Hematologist at a hospital. What his coworkers didn't know, is that he was, illegally, taking acertain amount of blood from healthy patients, mixed their blood together according to their blood-types in a unused PVC blood bags, and selling them to the Blood Bank for extra cash. He was a brilliant man, with a interesting Quirk, but he wasn't a great man. Let alone, an ideal father to have, who sometimes uses his own son to practice his Quirk on and selling some of his son's blood to drug dealers.

Sierra growled lowly to the news of the original Antiphonus' past.

"Unfortunate upbringing, leads to unfortunate results to younger generations."

Don't we all know it. Now, because he can control the blood, itself, everything within the blood and the bloods' purpose basically bend to his will. And so, to his suspicions, he would use his Quirk to have the blood speed up its ability to fight off infections, carry oxygen throughout the body... And, even, to speed up the body's ability to recover from certain injuries to itself.

The fourteen year-old stopped in her tracks, progressing with what Antiphonus just told her, making the gears in her head turn as to what he was implying that they should do.

"...You want me to get their blood in my stomach, to use to help the recovery speed in my stomach?" She asked, confused. "But, how can you use the blood in my stomach, when you made it clear that you have to focus your entire attention on the poison in my back and prevent the seizures and effects from going any further?"

It is true, that I can't separate my actions on two things at once, if it involves keeping my host, or hosts, alive from a serious situation... But, what I didn't tell you, is that whenever new blood enters yours or the Kid's body, I can control it however I want it before I, naturally, turn it into another part of me. As you two should already figure out, I'm more of a parasite that clings to a specific host to survive. The more new blood enters your body, the longer I can control it before it becomes a part of me.

It was interesting new information, something that she and Izuku should've thought about or even discuss about. Though, given his past on how Antiphonus was used by the original Antiphonus, may have lead them astray to assume of his limits. Still, she sees an issue or two to this revelation.

"The average human can hold from 1.2 to 1.5 gallons, approximately ten units of blood in their body. Even devouring to get even a fourth extra of blood, especially from animals and when I'm not bleeding out, can results in negative effects to the body and, even, to ones health." She informed, recalling some medical information she learned from Inko and Jeremy. "With my low blood sugar and low blood pressure, some extra blood wouldn't be too bad if its once or twice. But, continuously for hours and with my smaller, physical built, can still have me with some breathing problem and other health concerns. And I'm not one to have heart problems, like others would suffer through."

That is correct. If either of you were given extra blood, that would be a problem... But, remember: I'm a Quirk, and now your current blood. If you still had normal blood, that would be an issue. But, not with me. I can use the new blood however I want to use it, before it becomes one with me. What I can also do, if the body isn't losing blood and doesn't need extra blood, I can simply absorb it into me as a source of energy and store it inside of me. Now, that doesn't mean you can live off on only blood as a substitute for food whenever you want, but it'll help keep me replenish. And if you do end up losing blood, I can draw on the extra blood as replacement blood. So, having extra blood stored up won't be necessary, but it'll be good to have around if it's required.

It was something of a shock that the fourteen year-old found to be very helpful and useful to her and her brother... Still, she doesn't feel comfortable on having to hunt and kill animals, just to help herself.

Antiphonus felt her hesitation and unease, which puzzles him on why she's not on board with his plan.

Something else bothers you on wanting to go through with the plan. What is it?

Sierra stopped in her tracks, and let out a deep sigh.

"...I don't want to go kill animals, left and right, just to help myself." She answered, growling lowly. "I have hunted and killed in the past, during the Hunters Moon Gathering... However, -She lowered her head and gaze down.- I had, also, taken the lives of animals, young and old, during my abuse from Arsenius and the villains."

...Okay? What does that have to do with-?

"He injected a flesh-eating serum into baby rabbits, causing them to scream, begging for death. Some, even, went to attack each other, attempting to end their young lives... I was in the room and, not wanting them to suffer and hear them cry, I-... I ended their suffering... I couldn't-..."

...You felt guilty on killing the babies, even though it was a mercy killing?

She sniffled, wiping at her eyes when the burning of tears began to form.

"They asked me to kill them, to put an end to the burning and pain. Yet, they were still babies. I didn't wanted to become a murdere-"

You didn't murder them, Sweetie. Arsenius and those bastards decided to play a fucked up game with you and had you make an adult choice on what to do to spare the animals they tortured, even when you were still just a baby, yourself.

Her nails dug into the skin of her arms, quivering a bit, as she slowly knelt to the ground on her knees.

"...I still remember the taste of their blood in my mouth, as I stood over their bodies." She whispered, as she placed a hand over her mouth. "I couldn't stand to hear them scream and cry... And the next thing I knew, they all went silent and I was standing over them, with my face and hands covered in blood. I didn't remember morphing into an animal... Until they showed me the videos."

Videos?! Fucking hell?! They recorded the whole thing?!

Sierra clenched her eyes shut.

"They wanted to see my progress, during their little experiments on me. See if there are any ways to make an Animal Quirk User to do evil, whether by will or by force." She revealed, hunching over the ground and using one hand to keep herself from laying on the ground. "It goes against the Law of Nature. Goes against Instinct, itself, to take the life of an innocent life. It took years, to my first time attending the Hunters Moon Gathering and some of the older Animal Quirk Users, to convince me that it's okay to hunt. So long as Instinct allows it, which means following the way of nature. Going after the sick, weak, old and/or any overpopulated creatures that try to temp predators to risk their lives."

Antiphonus went quiet for a moment. Most likely, pondering to this revelation.

...If they had recordings of you, then they must've had recordings of-...

The fourteen year-old opened her eyes, staring down at the ground, as she kept the other hand over her mouth.

"Antiphonus?"

...Sorry. Just-... Forget it. It's not important, right now. I can see on why you're hesitating to go along with the plan. I don't, really, get it, since I'm blood, but I can understand it from another view point. However, what I do understand, from the original Antiphonus' knowledge of understanding, is Survival of Fittest. And, if you're going to survive and work alongside the Kid, then you're gonna have to do things that you wouldn't normally do.

"...I know... But, still. It goes against the natural order, if I walk the path of a glutton and kill every animal on sight. Plus, according to my Native American heritage, it's considered disrespectful to the animal and their spirits." Sierra countered, removing the hand from her mouth and pushed the top-half of her body to sit up straight on her knees. "This is why that I can't fully go along with this plan. Unless, of course, we can find a compromise on both of our parts to satisfy us both."

...Well, why don't we?

She raised an eyebrow to his suggestion.

"Make some compromises, to go along with your plan?"

Of course. There's no harm on doing so. And, remember, I asked you to keep an open mind of the plan, which you are doing. Just as I'm keeping an open mind to your belief and heritage... Which brings up to the most important topic, that should tell you to go along with the plan: Seeing and/or hearing owls, recently seeing water turning into blood, food mostly taking form of dead carcasses of animals. They could be warning signs that your body is getting weaker and, to your own suspicious through your beliefs, are dying. Though, they could be mistaken to being mere coincidences that just happened to come around in the exact moment you make such assumptions... But, if you look at it in a different form of perspective, it could be giving you signs on what you need to do to keep up your strength.

Her eyes widened in shock, immediately getting to her feet.

"...By signs, you mean... Premonitions?"

Yeah! Exactly! If you think about it, it would make a whole lot of sense to why the sight of beverages hadn't changed as your food would before I came around. And the omen as owls, it's probably informing you that your health is at a dire state and will end up being dead, unless you figure out the illusions that's trying to tell you how to improve your odds of survival. I know it's still seems far-fetched, since the water and beverages turning into blood just started, but it's still something to consider and to try. If we're wrong, then we'll find another way to change the visions. So, what do you say, Sweetie? What should we make a deal on, that'll convince you to do this?

...

...

...

...A spark of hope leaped in her chest.

...For the first time in so long, Sierra found something that's the closest to a truth to help her.

"...I'll only hunt for the sick, weak and old. I'm willing to hunt for overpopulated species, like rabbits and squirrels, but I wish to avoid expecting mothers and/or younglings. I have to limit hunting down a certain amount per hour, so I have a schedule to focus on my training and give the predators a chance to hunt, themselves. Finally, after each animal I hunted, as tradition amongst my tribe, I wish to be allowed to pray for them and, to honor their spirits, skin them for their pelt and dance for them. Plus, if I have their pelt spread out, I'll be able to prevent the blood from spilling to the earth when I feast upon their flesh. But, there are some parts from some preys that I can't cut or eat, due to the beliefs of Cherokee that my tribe are allies and friends with. It's also because of my request to remain loyal to the Cherokee tribe, that some animals that are considered sacred to not be hunted or killed. That is all that I wish of you to allow and permit of me to uphold, and only then shall I see reason to go along with your idea. Now, what do you wish to compromise over?"

She knew it was a lot, but she hope that Antiphonus would agree to her request and suggestions.

She heard him chuckle in her head.

...Wow... That's a lot of requests. I mean, I did say you can make compromises for us to figure out on what to agree on. But, I wasn't to be given a grocery list-sized amount of requests.

Sierra winced at his response to her compromise.

"If it's too much, and aren't in any agreement to my requests-..." She started, feeling her heart plummet.

...Then, once again, Antiphonus laughed inside of her head.

I'm kidding, Sweetie! Wow! And just when I was hoping that the both of you are improving by thinking for yourself, even a little bit.

The fourteen year-old glared ahead, annoyed by the blood's teasing.

But, seriously, Sweetie. I don't see your deals to being unreasonable. Even if I'm just blood, my sense of reasoning from the original Antiphonus is just like of he was here. In fact, I'm surprise that you're not asking to hunt for fish, when I haven't told you to hunt only land animals.

The teen held her chin between her thumb and index finger.

"I would've suggested fishing, but because the main focus is getting a certain amount of blood to you heal the damage before it becomes a part of you and that I don't see the river turning into blood as I would beverages, I assumed that you wouldn't want me to focus on fishes."

I wouldn't had minded if you wanted to hunt for fish, if it were from time-to-time. But, to focus on fishing as the only source for food, that would've have you waste a lot of energy on doing. Even if you were a skilled at catching fish, you would need a lot to get even a decent amount of blood. Plus, too much Mercury isn't good for your body.

"True." Sierra agreed, though is glad to know that she can fish if it's too get an extra snack and doesn't require too much energy. "Besides that, are my conditions close to your liking that you're willing to work around?"

Antiphonus hummed in her head, thinking about it.

Hmm... Your conditions are, surprisingly, reasonable and willing to accept. But, given to some of your requests that ask for some of your time, if we're going to do all those things, then you must agree to my own conditions and demands.

Sierra knew the Black-Blood would want her to do something in exchange for her cooperation and, so long as what she must do isn't too tasking or putting a lot of pressure to do, she'll do whatever Antiphonus asks of her to do.

"Go on."

First, to the animals that you'll choose to hunt. Again, because I'm blood, I don't really care about the natural order and population and shit. But, if it's that important to you, I'll let you go along with it. But, depending on the animals you'll hunt and consume, it'll decide on how much you must eat per hour. For example, if you focus on hunting down rabbits, you'll have to consume ten to thirteen of them per hour. While for Squirrels, about eighteen to twenty-one of them per hour. But, if you waste too much time on one specific prey, you must switch your search on another nearby prey.

Seeing that his suggestion to being accurate and educationally understanding, Sierra nodded her head.

"Okay."

Good. Secondly, I'm willing to let you choose not to hunt for the younglings and/or females carrying babies, since it makes you uncomfortable to take young life away from your past experience from those bastards and want to respect your belief on being pro-life. Antiphonus, himself, wanted to avoid hurting children and tries to keep his distance from women. Especially, when they're pregnant; he was a mama's boy and had respected mother for helping him with his Quirk, thus was raised to respect women. It was men that he had no problem killing, though he had gotten in a few tussles with some female heroes and had injured them to near coma-like states. For those reasons, I won't force you to do something you don't want to. But, if you're running low on energy and get sick, I can't make any promise to not intervene when leaving you to decide on what to do when entering Survival Mode, or Instinct, or whatever state of mind you're in.

Again, the teenager sees his point to being validated, and nodded her head in agreement.

"Got it."

Great. Now, for the last, large part of the agreement... Again, I don't really care much of whatever choice of religion, belief or whatever shit you put your faith in. Just, make it short. As for skinning them, while I'm not really interested on you wanting to keep souvenirs of your camping trip, I'm willing to agree to let you do so in order to keep as much blood from dissolving into the ground. I don't really care if you don't want to eat every part of your kills, but you need to eat the heart, liver and kidneys. Mostly, the heart, since it contains the most blood and the sooner you eat it after killing the animal, the fresher the blood will be and stronger the cells are to help me heal your body. As for wanting to dance for them to help their spirits, or whatnot, we can't keep doing it every time you kill; you can't use too much of your energy by dancing, when you need it to train your human body and find more prey.

That, Sierra knew would be an issue. Fortunately, though, she had a proposition.

"I'm not going to dance, every time I claim their life and honor their spirits. Just, at night, before I go to bed." She informed, hoping it'll convince the Black-Blood to reconsider. "I know that I need to focus my energy on training, while as a human. Plus, my tribe prefers dancing at night to honor their spirits. That, and Dad may not allow me to take all of my pelt skins home with us. But, I'm going to find a way to contact my grand-uncle and have him take the pelts for himself and his pack... And, if he chooses not not to and/or can't keep them all, to find a way to send them to my family in Nevada."

...You don't know where they live?

The fourteen year-old shook her head, staring down at the trees below her.

"My siblings and I were never given the chance to see them in person, let alone talk to them and learn about our tribe from them." She answered. "Not even Mom knew them in person, but Grandpa Souza taught her about all he knew and raised by the Shoshone Tribe and their ancestral history. I was even told, before he died in the line of duty, that he was planning on taking her and Aunt Susan to go see them. -She lifted her gaze to the air, staring up at the moon that was almost full.- Mom was hoping to find ways to make contact with them, and even take us to go see them, once she's able to do so."

...I see...

Thinking he was going to refuse, Sierra let out a tiring sigh.

"It's fine, if you don't want me to waste time dancing for the animal's spirits. Let alone, taking their pelts and finding a way to gain contact to my family-"

You can dance for them, and bring the pelts with you. So long as it's only at night and doesn't take too long, since you need to get as much sleep as possible.

She cocked her head to the side.

"You're sure it's all right?" She asked, worried that she's asking too much.

Sure, I'm sure. I may not give two shits on your guys' choice of beliefs or personal opinion on life... However, despite only being part of your lives in just these past eight days, I do care for you both. As such, I shall respect your choices and wish for us to fully be able to trust each other. And now, with all that being said, I believe we finished the deals and compromises to go forward with the plan... So, Sweetie, what do you say? Shall we go along with the plan, and see whether or not that those premonitions of yours will be laid to rest?

...

...

...Sierra turned to her right, where nobody stood.

...

...

...

...Then, she morphed into her wolf-form.

"...Let's see, if this plan of yours is the key to my survival."

End of Flashback...


Recalling their little discussion and meeting that morning, Sierra stared down at the expose muscles and organs of the Sika deer.

...Held in her blood-covered hands, is the non-beating heart, that's still covered in blood.

This would be the thirty-seventh heart, today, that she would be consuming... As a human.

Any normal human would be disgusted at the sight of her, eating an animal like some feral human that was raised in the wild. To Animal Quirk Users, they would see another one of their own, starving and consuming an animal, as part of the natural order.

And with nobody within her class or member of the Wild, Wild Pussycats to see her like this, the fourteen year-old leaned in and consumed the heart. Not caring for the taste of copper, or the feeling of uncooked meat being torn by her strong teeth.

...And, as soon as she felt the pieces of the doe's heart in her stomach, her stomach growled. Not out of discomfort... But, hunger!

Alongside the urge of hunger, a sudden growth of energy built, as she reaches and consumes the kidneys and liver of the deer.

It wasn't until she ate part of the deer's back and shoulder, when she pulled away from the deer's body... And, gently rolling the doe's body off of the pelt and tying the forearms around her neck, with the skin of her head covering her head, face and hands covered in blood, she felt a sudden strength she hadn't felt in so long, even when she shifts into animals.

Alright. You're good to go and proceed your training, for forty-seven minutes. You ready to go?

Sierra took in a deep breath... Then, slowly turned towards the forest, on her hands and feet.

"...Ready." She growled.

One moment she was standing with the remains of her kill, and the next she sprinted away on all-fours, leaving behind the body for any other predators to find and feast upon.

She'll find other preys to hunt and feast on, later. Right now, she must train.


Hours Later: Sunset...

"Now. Remember what I said? We're not serving your food, anymore!" Pixie-Bob cheered, staring down at the thirty-nine students all gathered and present, while she and Ragdoll stood behind a large set of food.

...All of which, exhausted and drained from today's training.

"If you guys wanna eat, you'll have to make your own meals!" Ragdoll informed, beaming up at the tired students and pulling out a packaged meal. "Staring with, Curry!"

All too tired to argue or whine and knowing it was best to agree, the students bowed to the two ladies.

"Yes, ma'am."

In response to them answering her revealing to making curry, Ragdoll jumped and laugh.

"Whoa, do you guys look exhausted!" She pointed out, tears forming in her eyes. "But that doesn't mean you can coast by making sloppy cat food."

Iida, just as tired from running for so long, perked up to Ragdoll's statement on them not being allowed to slouch and make inedible food.

"Oh! I see. An important part of saving someone recovering from a disaster, is providing for their physical needs, as well as spiritual." He deducted, bringing his energy back up on the important topic at hand. "Ah! This is a great opportunity! -He then turned to his exhausted classmates, both from Class 1-A and Class 1-B.- Let's make the most delicious curry in the world, everyone!"

Not everyone was as pumped as Iida, but they all responded to his request to make food, as Ragdoll giggled at the students.

"Yeah, okay."

Aizawa watches from the side, not really showing much emotion. But, is really relieved that somebody was taking the reigns and pushing the other students to do a task on their own.

'Thank you, Iida.' He thought.

Then, he went over to Pixie-Bob and Ragdoll. He needed to ask them something very important.

"Ragdoll. Pixie-Bob. -The two women turned to him, curious as to what he wanted to ask of them.- Any sign of Sierra?"

Ragdoll perked up at the name of the only student not present.

"Oh! That feisty kitten of yours!" She cheered. "She's been staying within the perimeters nearby the training area, and appears to be heading her way back here!"

"She's been working hard on her own training, Shōta." Pixie-Bob informed, sounding very proud. "Though, I must say, for her to figure out what this training camp is about, on her own, is very impressive. -She smirked up at the thirty-one year-old.- Makes me think she's a lot like you."

The Eraser Hero let out a deep sigh of relief, though scolded himself for not informing the Wild, Wild Pussycats a secret he kept hidden from everybody. And, knowing it's best to tell them, sooner than later, he revealed to them as to why the girl is like him.

"...That's because, she's my daughter."

...

...

...The two girls simply stared at him.

...

...

...Then, each grabbing for a piece of his uniform, pulled him inside the building and to spill more beans about the girl.

As soon as the adults were gone, the teenagers of both Class 1-A and Class 1-B went to work on making their own dinner.

Half of the students went to cleaning and/or cutting the vegetables. The others went to the grills, to start the fire, tenderize the meat and cook it.

Izuku, being part of the group to clean and cut the vegetables, looked out towards the woods.

'Antiphonus...' He thought, wanting to know where his sister is.

She's on her way, Kid. She's bringing in some souvenirs she brought from her training, is all.

The sixteen year-old raised an eyebrow to the Black-Blood's answer.

'"Souvenirs"? What do you mean by souvenirs?'

You'll just have to wait and see, for yourself.

"Hey, Midoriya! We need those potatoes chopped!" One of the students called out from a few tables to his left.

"Uh, r-right!" He called out, continuing his task at peeling the potatoes and chopping them into proper pieces.

A few minutes later, Antiphonus gave him a heads up.

All right. She's back... Just, don't freak out.

Izuku glared at the potato before him.

'...Why would I freak out?'

Well... You'll see.

"Ahh!"

"Oh my god!"

"Sis! What happened to you?!"

Hearing the cries from some of the students, Izuku got out of his seat and ran to the commotion that was coming from the farthest tables near the woods.

...Then, when he saw a buckskin-mustang, muzzle and hooves covered in blood and back carrying skins of some animals, did he sees why Antiphonus told him to not freak out... Which would be hard to do, when he sees Sierra's face and forearms covered in blood and was panting a bit.

Instinctually, he ran to the horse.

"Sis!" he called out, standing beside her and wrapping an arm over her neck. "Are you okay?! What happened?!"

The horse stared down at him, snorting at him a bit, as she stomped one of her hooves.

"...I'm fine," she whispered.

When some of their friends ran over to check on her, they were surprised to see the multiple pelts and furs of animals on her back.

"What are these?" Hagakure asked, lifting one of the deer pelts up and seeing boar's hide underneath it.

"Are those... Animal furs and skins?" Ochako asked, a little disturbed at some of them having blood on them.

Kōda, being one of the fews to come up beside her, raised his hands and formed words to her.

Were they old, sick and/or weak?

In response, Sierra nodded her head to him.

...Did any of them suffered?

That, she shook her head, swishing her mane from side-to-side.

Normally, because of his Quirk, Kōda isn't a big fan of animals being killed and/or hunted down, hence to him being more of a vegetarian. But, he does, also, understand survival of the fittest and natural order. And, for the fact he knows that Sierra doesn't kill on purpose and didn't take the life of any younglings or expecting mothers and that none suffered before they died, did made him feel a bit more at ease.

Still, the sight of blood covering her face and arms, was still a bit alarming to him and the others.

"Are you bleeding? Where are you hurt, Sis?" Ochako asked, bending down and scanning the horse's forearms for any signs of cuts.

Again, the mustang snorted, swishing her head.

"It's not my blood." Sierra answered, as she pulled away from Uraraka for a bit and kneeled on her forearms to shrug the pelts and furs off of her back. "The only wounds I gained, are some bruises and sore muscles from constantly moving all day, while training."

Once the pelt fell to the ground, the horse morphed into her human-self, appearing as the fourteen year-old girl of Class 1-A. Though, her face and hands being covered in blood was still unsettling.

...Still, even when in her gruesome appearance, the others were just relieved to see her okay.

And, as the responsible one, Iida marched up to her and gave her a stern glare, chopping a hand in the air.

"While we're all happy and pleased to see you've made it back to camp, your choice to head out on your own, without telling anybody on where you were going and not participating training with us, and coming back in such an unsuitable state is most unacceptable!" He scolded, as he then pointed a finger at the pile of pelts and furs. "And to bring in piles of furs and pelts, where food is being served and made, is against multiple health code violations! You must dispose of them, immediately. Then, after that, you must go wash up and help us prepare for tonight's dinner!"

Knowing there was no point arguing with the Class Rep, Sierra nodded her head.

"Yes, Class Rep." She answered, giving him a salute and bending down to gather the eight pelts she chose to bring with her.

Wanting to help, Izuku bent down and gathered a few into his arms.

"I'll help her put these elsewhere, and to wash up." He informed the Class Rep, who nodded in approval and went back to the grills.

"Everyone, resume your duties and chores!" He ordered, raising a hand in the air and leading the others to follow him back to the tables and grills.

The two god-siblings sighed in unison, then turned to stare at each other.

"...You're not getting rid of these, are you?" Izuku asked.

"...Nope." Sierra answered, smirking up at him.

"...You went hunting, while training?"

"...Yep."

The sixteen year-old then glared down at her. Or, more specifically, at the blood on her face.

"...Antiphonus had something to do with you hunting. Wasn't he?"

Sierra beamed up at him.

"...Affirmative."

'...Antiphonus...'

I swear, Kid. This is going to help her with her stomach, which should improve her health and put some weight on her. If you want to participate with us, tomorrow, it should help you on repairing torn muscles and back up blood in case you lose any.

Izuku winced at the thought of eating organs from animals that hadn't been cleaned and/or cooked, and covered in blood.

'I'll pass,' he thought. 'Just, do let me know if there's any changes with Sis. Both good, and bad.'

Of course, Kid. Now, let's go take these pelts out back, so they'll be ready for the dance, tonight.

The sixteen year-old raised an eyebrow to the news.

"'Dance'?" He repeated, turning to Sierra. "What dance?"

The fourteen year-old turned to her brother, as they started to head for the other side of the building.

"You know after hunting animals, it's tradition for us to wear their pelt on us and, around the circle of a bonfire, we dance to honor their spirits and show our respects to them."

His emerald-green eyes widened at the information, forgetting the culture his god-sister is following within her Native American heritage.

"That's right," he realized. "It's custom to skin for the pelt and/or fur of the animal the hunters of the tribe would bring down and, to show respect to the animals, dance while wearing their pelt. As if they were the animal, themselves, in a way to honor their spirits."

Sierra beamed at her brother.

"That's it," she confirmed. "So, after dinner and before bed, I'm gonna be dancing in each pelt, so that their spirits will be honored. And after that, I'm gonna send a message to Night Thorn and see if he'll take the pelts for the Night Flower Hero Agency or to send them to Nevada. I would take them home and give them to my family for the next family gathering, but I don't think Dad would like to have animal skin at our house. And Josh, Shikaka and Moo wouldn't know what to do with them, even if they want to keep something that's a family heritage."

Izuku chuckled at the thought of their teacher's face glaring at the pelt his daughter made, while struggling to say yes or no to her request to take them home.

"Yeah. He would probably appreciate on not having animal smells in the house, or thinking a bear is sleeping in the living room."

Sierra giggled at his joke, getting him to laugh with her.

As they head out to the back to put the pelts somewhere to dry and safe for tonight and return to help make dinner with the other students, neither of them took notice of Kōta watching at them and their classmates, eyes full of anger and disgust.


An hour later, and everybody was wolfing down their food, with gustoo. The food they made wasn't as good as how Mandalay and Pixie-Bob made their dinner yesterday, but it was decent and everybody was so hungry, they didn't care that much on the flavor.

While the others ate, Izuku was inside with Sierra, who was checking on her animal pelts after helping the others to make dinner and just finished washing their hands after handling the pelts, again.

Izuku was putting on his shoes, when he heard Mandalay's voice called out.

"Kōta! Time for dinner! Where are you?!"

Beside him and putting her own shoes on, Sierra noticed the sound of small footsteps heading for the woods. And, recognizing the scent of dirt and cotton, she pinpointed the boy that Mandalay was calling out.

"He's heading for the woods." She informed Izuku, gently nudging her elbow against his arm and jerking her head towards the boy walking away from the Wild, Wild Pussycats' base.

Izuku had a look of worried, recalling the conversation he had with Mandalay on what happened to the five year-old's parents.

"You're going to go follow him, aren't you?" Sierra asked, giving him a look that told him to not do it. "He clearly doesn't want to be around us, and seems completely fixed of his opinion towards heroes. Plus, if you've forgotten, he tried to punch you in the scrotum and will probably try to do it, again, if you go to him."

And if you do, Kid, I'm not going to help you dodge the next one, if he attacks you, again.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Izuku replied, rubbing the back of his head. "But, you know me, Sis. I have to at least try and reach him. Besides, the way he talked about us showing off our Quirks, is very unsettling."

The fourteen year-old knew that it would be pointless to talk her brother out of it... And yet, she wasn't going to prevent him from going.

"Do as you wish, Izu." She said, patting him on the shoulder. "If he doesn't listen, then it'll be best to give him some space and try again, later, when he calms down."

The sixteen year-old teen raised an eyebrow to her suggestion.

"You're not going to go with me and help, Sis?" He asked, a bit surprised that she wasn't going to help him talk to Kōta.

The fourteen year-old shrugged her shoulders.

"It's not really our business to dig our noses into, Izu. This is Kōta's journey, and it's his choice on how he wants to view the Hero Society, as is. Because of this, it's not really my place to meddle into. However, if you want to help convince him that not all heroes are the same and heal his wounds, I won't try to stop you."

Izuku winced at her words, remembering that Animal Quirk Users won't go snooping in on other people's issues, unless it's their own pack mates having issues or if the lives of others are in danger.

Because he's a Blood-Bond Kin, he isn't obligated to follow the Law of Zodiac. Though, regardless if he does follows Animal Quirk Users law or not, he's still under the protection of their law.

Even though Izuku wants to help Kōta, he still wants Sierra to help him, too.

"Well, if he hates people with Quirks, wouldn't that mean he hates his own Quirk, too? Thus, is rejecting himself and isn't using his Quirk, at all, since his parents' deaths?" He countered, hopping it'll get her to see reason.

The girl rested her chin in-between her two fingers, thinking.

"It's likely that he does hate his own Quirk, and isn't using it at all. Which, if he continues to do when he gets older, will leave him vulnerable and Quirk too weak to aid him in combat, or could make it difficult for him to control if he attempts to use it." She conducted. "Since his parents both have Water-Quirks, it's highly logical to assume that his Quirk is a Water-Quirk, as well. Though, with a likelihood of possible dehydration issue in the future, rejecting his Quirk isn't a real matter that's dire towards his life."

Izuku knew she had a point, and it's certain that she wasn't going to help him talk to Kōta to change his opinion towards heroes and Quirks.

...Then, Sierra let out a tiring sigh.

"But, while he may reject his Quirk, the fact that he hates a Quirk that he inherent from both his parents and not using it to live up in memory of his parents, whom he clearly loved with all of his heart, is an important matter that can't be ignored."

The sixteen year-old gasped, eyes beaming with hope at his sister's statement of the issue.

"Then, you'll help, Sis?" He asked.

The fourteen year-old smirked up at him, folding her arms over her chest.

"...I suppose I'll help," she answered.

To that, Izuku grabbed for both of her hands.

"Thanks, Sis." He replied.

Then, she pulled one of her hands out from his grip and held it to his face, her index-finger pointed straight up.

"But, I'd rather you try to talk to him, first, Izu." She informed, giving him a serious look. "If he still refuses to listen to reason and not accept what you're trying to do for him, only then shall I go talk to him. But, only tomorrow night. Right now, I need to prepare for the dance. If you like, after you're done trying to talk to Kōta, you may join me; you'd be a perfect soul connecter with the deer, fox and ram."

Izuku thought about, then shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe," he answered. "Though, best if you inform Aizawa-Sensei or at least one of the Wild, Wild Pussycats on where you'll be, before you head out. You might end up having him conduct a search party for you, if you leave without telling, again."

She flashed him a Cheshire-like smile.

"Ragdoll and/or Pixie-Bob will use their Quirks to track me down, so Dad won't be so worried."

The response she gained was an eyebrow raised, as he filed his arms over her chest and tapped one of his shoes to the ground.

"Sis..." He gently scolded, but still sounded very serious. "You can't keep pulling your disappearing act all the time, with or without Antiphonus' help. You really had our friends worried, when you didn't show up for Aizawa-Sensei's announcement on what our training will be about. Not only that, but you haven't eaten dinner, yet. Why don't you go eat with the others, before you go dance for the animals?"

Sierra let out a tiring sigh, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry, Izu, but my training requires me to only eat what I'm able to hunt. This is to, also, see if avoiding human food will help Antiphonus heal my stomach ulcers, faster."

Her sixteen year-old brother looked a bit surprised by the news.

"What?"

It's the truth, Kid. By consuming certain parts of the animals and getting as much fresh blood as possible, without the content, grease and chemical of human-made food in the way, I'm using new blood to help her body's natural ability to heal itself before it becomes a part of me, which will help her gain some weight and handle human-food, again. So, for the entire time of camp, she's eating nothing but what she hunts. Since you have a knack to keep damaging your body from using One for All, you're free to join us on the hunts; there's plenty that she leaves behind, and our training helps use all of your muscles and movements of the body. Plus, extra will probably help repair some muscle damage if you ever use your Quirk.

Izuku winced at the thought of eating animals, with their muscles and organs exposed and having to eat them, raw and without cooking them.

"Maybe another time," he answered. "...If you're going to take off, already, and dance for the animals, just... Be careful and let me know when you get back to the Wild, Wild Pussycats' headquarters, if you finish and get back before I finish my attempt to talk to Kōta."

...What he wasn't expecting, was her to hesitate to his request.

"I would, Izu... But, I was thinking about sleeping outside, underneath the moon and stars. I mean, we're suppose to be camping and I was hoping that we were all going to pitch tents or at least build our own shelter, as if to learn how to survive in the woods, while training on improving our Quirks."

That did sounded like fun to Izuku and from all his time training for hours, he completely forgotten that they were on a camping trip.

"That does sound like fun, and relaxing." He commented, liking the idea of everybody to sleep outside and not being cooped up in a warm room. "Though, I don't think Aizawa-Sensei will allow us, since we need to focus on our training."

She stayed quiet for a moment, then flashed him her cat-like smile, again.

"Maybe, on our last day of camp, I can ask him if we can camp out. As a way to have us relax and enjoy being out in the woods, before we head back home for the rest of Summer Vacation. -She then pulled out her grandfather's knife, twirling it around a bit before tilting it from side-to-side.- I can, even, insist on teaching everyone some of my family's traditional way of fishing and dancing around the flames to honor the animals, too."

The thought of fishing and dancing around a campfire did sounded like fun to Izuku. And, because this is part of his sister's heritage, he always wanted to try out her family's culture.

"Maybe," he replied. "That does sound like a lot of fun. Perhaps, Aizawa-Sensei will let us, since it'll be our last day of training."

Sierra beamed at her brother, then put away her knife and stretched her arms over her head.

"Well, I'm gonna head out." She announced, morphing into her buckskin mustang-form. "Do let me know, if you wish to join me. And in case we don't see each other for the rest of the night and/or morning, goodnight, Izu."

Before Izuku could respond back to her, the horse took off galloping towards the back of the Wild, Wild Pussycats' Headquarters.

The sixteen year-old had his right-hand out, then pulled it back when the buckskin mustang-morphed girl left him behind.

"...Night, Sis." He whispered.

While the emerald-green eyed teen contemplate on how to approach and talk to Kōta, Sierra came to her eight skinned-pelts hanging on tree-branches.

There's another reason why you wanted to be outside, isn't there?

The fourteen year-old went towards a bear-pelt and, after getting underneath it and with her teeth, pulled the pelt back on her back.

"Not really," she answered. "...Though, it's another tradition my tribe does. And I'm hoping, after my dance, it'll show me some form of vision to help me figure out what could happen or if something is about to take place."

...Again, I'll never understand your heritage, but I'll still continue to support your choices and beliefs.

"Thanks, Antiphonus." The fourteen year-old replied, pulling a badger's pelt off of a tree-branch.


...

...

...

...When she finished her dance for the animals, she took the moment to have a short nap next to the fire, with the pelts surrounding her in a circle.

...

...

...And, to her shock, she did receive a vision... Just, not what she was expecting.

TBC


*:...Okay, I don't really know if some of the tribe would skin at the face, let alone to keep the ears on the pelt, like they would with some other animals. Let alone, how they would skin the animal properly. Heck, I'm positive that I'm getting this wrong. If so, let me know and I'll fix it.

Also, in case you don't know and that I haven't told you: My older half-siblings are Cherokee from their father's side of the family (They don't talk much of their ancestors, let alone know much about their Native American ancestors.), and may accidentally/unintentionally add Cherokee tribe/culture into the mix up with the Shoshone tribe (That I'm looking up on the internet). I swear, I mean no disrespect to anybody's Native American ancestors, their tribe and culture.

*: This is a Cherokee Hunting Tradition on Sacred Animals, that I find very interesting: Religious beliefs led Cherokee hunters to observe certain taboos to avoid when hunting. For example, wolves, eagles and rattlesnakes were considered sacred and not to be killed. On rare occasions, a tribe would need parts from these animals for ceremonial use. In these special instances, a special pack of hunters were sent to hunt and kill these sacred animals. The sinews, or hamstrings, of deer were not to be eaten. When a deer was killed, the hamstrings would be left on the remains of the body as a sign of respect to the animal's spirit.

RR