Chapter 2

Bow

The trek towards the science fair was peaceful and relaxing.

He would make small talk with Entrapta from time to time but both had stayed in a peaceful silence. He took out a map from within his travel pack and looked at it. "Alright,"he said to Entrapta. "According to this map we should be on the right path to the science fair."

She nodded. "Do you think your invention is going to win this year?"she asked him. "Yeah,I'm pretty confident this year in my invention."Bow answered,puffing his chest. "Interesting,"Entrapta remarked. "Would you say that the percentage of you winning and your confidence level has risen higher over the last two years?" "Um...Yeah I would say that. Wait,why are you asking that?"he asked.

He looked over at her and saw Entrapta writing rapidly on a small notepad. "Ok what are you writing?"he asked. "Well,according to Mermista's response,I've been doing some research about social interactions to further my understanding on how to interact with people better."Entrapta replied. "Um I'm not sure I follow."Bow said with a confused expression on his face. "It's really simple Bow. For example,if you ask someone a question and they answer it but they begin fidgeting,chewing on their lip or look around constantly,it is usually a sign that they're lying."Entrapta explained.

"And why are you taking note of these things?"Bow asked. "According to Mermista,she said and I quote: "'You need to like work on your social skills and like learn how to be more human.'"Entrapta said,copying Mermista's voice. "Besides,it'll be a fun experiment to try."she added. "Well,if you need any help then don't hesitate to let me know."Bow told her. "Sure thing Bow."she replied,not looking from her notepad.

Bow looked back at his map then looked in back of him and nodded happily with the progress that they had made from the town. Fifteen minutes afterward,they soon reached two pathways with a pole with multiple signs on it. "It seems we have to choose which path to take now,"he muttered to himself while he took another look at his map. "And the map is saying we have to take the left path."

He looked up from the map at the left path. It was dark and eerily quiet,like the calm before an incoming storm,and he could faintly hear the howl of wolves. Bow shuddered at the thought of having to go through there. He looked at the path at the right. It was sunny and was filled with the sounds of chirping birds. It was like a scene right out of a children's fairytale.

Unfortunately,the left path is the one that will take us to the science fair he told himself with a sigh.

He put the map away then grabbed the reins and gave Swift Wind a little kick but he didn't move. "Hey Swift Wind,come on we gotta go if we want to make it to the science fair."Bow told him. Swift Wind seemed to look at the path to his left for a moment then turned his head in the direction of the right path and looked at it for a while.

Then he turned in the direction of the left path and began to walk towards it.

"No Swift Wind. The right path is the way to the science fair."Bow told him,grabbing the reins and forcing his body to turn to the right path. Swift Wind pawed at the ground and pulled against the reins. "Judging by the horse's,or as you call him,Swift Wind's reaction and reluctance to do as he's ordered,I would guess that he's nervous about going on the right path or might even know something."Entrapta stated as she observed Swift Wind and wrote in her notepad. "Nonsense,"Bow replied as he continued to struggle with Swift Wind. "He's just probably scared of the darkness."

After a few more moments of Bow and Swift Wind fighting,Swift Wind finally stopped resisting and let Bow guide him towards the dark path. "Alright,I finally got him to stop resisting."Bow said triumphantly. Swift Wind snorted. "Well we better hurry then if we wish to get to the science fair on time."Entrapta said as she kicked her horse to a steady trot with Bow following right behind.

As they walked through the path Bow constantly looked around in fear,thinking that something was going to jump out from the darkness and attack them. Mist shrouded their view as they couldn't see very far in front of them and the branches of the tree looked like clawed hands stretching out to grab them. Come on Bow snap out of it he told himself. Nothing is going to hurt you.

But his pep talk didn't help him at all and he still kept watching the forest as they rode in silence.

"Um Bow,"Entrapta said as she glanced around the forest. "Are you sure that we took the right path?"she asked. "I'm starting to think that I might have taken the wrong path,"Bow replied. "We'll just turn around and take the ot-" Suddenly,a howl echoed across the forest,cutting Bow off.

Entrapta,her horse,Swift Wind and Bow instantly stopped.

"Please tell me you heard that too Entrapta."Bow asked,his voice barely even a whisper. "I did. And from the soundwave and echo of the howl,I'd say that the wolves are not too far from us."Entrapta replied unfazed in the slightest. "How are you not panicking right now?"Bow asked. She shrugged. "Alright,well let's just get out of here."Bow urged. He slowly backed Swift Wind up to turn him around but he accidentally bumped him into a tree and dozens of bats suddenly appeared and swarmed around him and Entrapta. Swift Wind and Entrapta's horse neighed loudly in terror as they went on their hind legs,kicking their front legs wildly,then went back on all fours and started galloping off with Entrapta in tow.

"Swift Wind,calm down!"Bow ordered him,grabbing the reins and trying to stop him but Swift Wind ignored him and continued running. Low tree branches whipped across his face as they ran through the forest. "Bow where are you?"he heard Entrapta call out. He looked over his shoulder to see that Entrapta was no longer in sight.

Where did she go he thought worriedly.

He turned his gaze ahead and noticed the mist was thinning. Oh thank g- Seeing something in the distance,he narrowed his gaze then gasped.

About a meter or so before them was a cliff!

I have to stop Swift Wind now!

He quickly grabbed the reins and,with all his strength,tugged on the reins. Swift Wind planted his hooves into the ground as he skidded to a stop. Please don't over the edge. Please don't go over the edge Bow prayed in his head.

He could feel Swift Wind slowing down to a stop and was about to sigh with relief when the cart carrying his invention bumped hard into Swift Wind. Spooked,he bucked and flinged Bow clean off him. He screamed in terror as he flew over Swift Wind and down the cliff. He landed heavily on the ground and rapidly rolled down the cliff unable to tell up from down,left from right. Slowly he stopped rolling completely and laid down on the ground on his back with his eyes closed,groaning in pain and trying to catch his breath.

"Ah!"he heard someone scream. He opened his eyes to see Entrapta rolling down the cliffside towards him. Before he could even move to get out of her way she crashed heavily into him causing him to yelp as pain shot through him. "Oh sorry about that Bow."Entrapta apologized. "No,no. It's fine."Bow said as he slowly got up,wincing in pain,then began looking around. They seemed to have fallen into a lower part of the forest as snow was falling down from the sky. Where in the world are we and how far did we fall he wondered. "By my calculations,it's safe to say that we won't get to the science fair at all."Entrapta said.

"Nonsense,"Bow replied. "We will make it. We just need to find a way to get back up there." He looked up at the cliffside and was just able to see Swift Wind and Entrapta's horse at the edge,neighing loudly. "It's alright Swift Wind. We're alright."Bow yelled,his hands cupped around his mouth,then turned to Entrapta. "Ok,let's see if we ca-" "Um Bow,you might want to see this."Entrapta said,pointing to their left.

He turned his gaze from her towards where she was pointing.

His eyes flew open in terror.

Six dark gray,yellow-eyed wolves were appearing from within the forest,snarling and growling. "Oh no."Bow whispered,slowly backing away. Swift Wind and Entrapta's horse began neighing,most likely seeing the wolves. "Bow,what do we do?"Entrapta asked him and Bow could've sworn that he heard fear in her voice. "We run!"he yelled. Without another second,he grabbed Entrapta's hand and dashed off towards the forest with the wolves trailing behind. As they ran,Bow turned his head back towards the horses and yelled,"Swift Wind! Get Adora!" before they disappeared deeper into the forest.

Catra

Is there not one thing in this insufferable forest that can bring me some sort of entertainment she thought angrily.

There were no more villages around the abandoned castle she called home for her to attack and very few people came into her territory to keep her wits about or simply just attack. The most fun she had in the last years was hunting for prey. Even that is no longer a challenge since I am twice the size of any creature here and have double the strength she thought.

That was about the only thing that Catra would ever thank that wretched enchantress for.

She raised her head and sniffed the air tentatively before catching the scent of a deer or elk. Hopefully,at the very least,this elk or deer will fight back. She sniffed the air once more before turning north and running full speed,constantly sniffing the air to stay on its trail. The falling snowflakes clung to her thick fur that wasn't covered in clothes making her tan colored fur look pure white. She knew that she didn't have to wear clothes but she decided to anyway. She weaved nimbly through the trees as her paws kept her from sinking in the snow. Minutes later,she began to realise that the elk or deer's scent was much stronger and slowed her run to a steady jog for a few minutes before the scent became overwhelming.

She placed her body into a crouch position and silently began stalking forward following the scent trail until her prey came into view. An almost abnormally large elk was a meter away from here,its fur looking pure white though she could see bits of brown fur here and there and huge antlers sprouting from its head,nibbling on some grass. Catra smiled. This one will be a good opponent and feast once I kill it.

With her stealth and the wind blowing downwind from her,she would be able to sneak up on it without a hitch. Slowly and carefully,she stalked toward the elk,her belly brushing the ground. She managed to cover half the distance between her and the elk before her back leg stepped on a small twig. The elk raised its head in alarm,looked at Catra then bolted. "Darn it!"she spat. She hurled herself after it,realising with a wave of disappointment,that the elk was limping.

Even the stupid prey here are a complete disappointment.

She gathered her strength and in one bound leapt from the ground onto the elk's back. Unable to support her weight,the elk staggered down on the ground. Catra placed a paw firmly on its neck,watching with a small smirk as the elk bucked and struggled to get free from her grasp but to no avail. "You want to be free so badly,"she whispered to the elk,not caring that it didn't understand her. "To live forever without fear of being killed and eaten. But no matter how much you try to live without fear,the world simply denies you that wish. Reminds you that it's simply the way your life was made to be...Just like it does to me."

Her claws unintentionally unsheathed from her paws and as she spoke she tightened her grip on the elk's and her claws dug into its neck causing it to shriek in pain. She could feel her anger slowly rising within her like a tidal wave and the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Don't cry,don't cry she told herself but she could feel the tears starting to well up more in her eyes. She turned her head to the elk and stared at it for a long time until she managed to calm herself down and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Unfortunately for you elk,today's the day you will be killed."she said before raising her paw and slashing her claws across its neck. Blood splattered onto the snow,turning it red,as the elk stilled.

She stood over the elk,breathing heavily. Weak a dark voice whispered in her head menacingly. You were always weak. "Shut up."she snarled to herself. She crouched down beside the elk and tore off a chunk of meat and began eating. The meat was soft,tender and full of flavor. Catra let out a little growl of appreciation as she continued eating.

She had eaten half the elk before a yell echoed through the forest. "Swift Wind! Get Adora!" Catra leapt into the air,startled with her fur bristled,as she looked around for the cause of the yell but found nothing.

What in the world was that she thought confused for a moment before realisation clicked in.

She turned away from the elk to one of the trees near her and leapt,claws unsheathed,and gripped the bark with her front paws and used her back legs to push her up the tree. Once she neared the branches,she cocked her back legs and jumped towards the branch,catching it with her front paws and pulled herself up onto it. She steadied herself on the branch before she looked to the next nearby tree and leapt onto that branch then leapt onto the next branch. She continued jumping from branch to branch moving like a shadow towards the main path in the forest.

There's no way that yell was caused by what I think it was. It can't be.

Soon after,she neared the main path of her territory that if anyone were passing by would take it. Staying in the trees,she sniffed the air but found no scent other than the stale scent of a deer. She looked down at the path and saw no footprints in the snow or,for the matter,any indication of someone being in her territory. Either the person is somewhere else in the forest or I'm finally going crazy after all these years Catra thought.

"Now is not the time for collecting data Entrapta!"a voice cried. Catra snapped her head to the side and what she saw was confusing. Two people were running and screaming as a pack of wolves was hot on their heels,chasing them. "This is the chance of a lifetime Bow!"the girl shouted to the boy,looking more thrilled by the chase than terrified like the boy was.

How in the world did these two managed to get in this part of the forest Catra thought. Also what kind of name is Bow. Does this dude like practice archery a lot?

The two strangers ran right past her,unaware. Not wanting to lose them,Catra turned to the tree in front of her and bounded branch from branch,soon keeping up with them. She then realised that ahead of the running strangers was a steep hillside. The two must've noticed because the boy,supposedly named Bow,yelled,"Keep running Entrapta! We need to reach safety soon!" Catra noticed that the trees ahead were coming to an end. Must be the treeline of the forest Catra thought. Suddenly,a strong scent hit her full on in the face that she nearly fell off the branch she was on.

That...that's my scent marker.

Quickly,she bounded from the branches,easily outrunning the two strangers,until she got to the treeline and was greeted with the sight of her home. She turned her attention to the hillside in time to see the two strangers rolling down the hill and once they reached the end hurriedly got up,nearly falling flat on their faces as the wolves abruptly stopped at the edge of the hillside,whining and growling after their lost meal but not daring to cross the invisible line due to this being her territory.

She turned her attention back to the humans who had pushed the gate open,quickly closed it behind them and ran towards the ruined castle without a second thought. Her curiosity instantly turned to anger. In all the years she had lived here,no one had ever dared approach her home nevermind enter it. How dare they enter my home like they own it she thought. Well,I'm going to make them regret doing that.

She cocked her back legs,like a crossbow being cocked,then launched through the air sailing past the iron gate and landed heavily on the ground. Immediately she walked to the castle front door and placed her ear against it,listening intensely for any noise. When she heard nothing she moved her head from the door and slowly pushed the door open,wincing as it groaned. Silent but swift she entered into her domain stalking through the long,dark hallway of the castle,sniffing the air to pin-point the two strangers' exact location.

"Thank the gods we found this abandoned castle otherwise we would have been dog food." Catra whirled her head to the right and realised that the strangers were in the chamber where both the fireplace and her chair was. "I know. The chances of such luck is less and one percent! I also would like to add that this chair is remarkably comfortable." She could feel her fur bristling at the thought of strangers in her domain sitting on her chair and the familiar rage boiling over her. However,she didn't want to kill them. At least,not right away. She wanted to instill some terror into them and have a little fun before she decided to dispose of them. She smiled at the thought as she stopped before the door.

Playtime's over.

She stood on her back legs and threw the doors open,the force causing a gust of wind strong enough to extinguish the fire completely and turning the bright lit room pitch black. She let out a threatening growl as she went back on all fours and slowly creeped towards the strangers. "I know you're here,"she said,making her voice as dark and menacing as possible. "There's no use in hiding." She could hear the two strangers muttering to each other in panicked voices and she allowed herself a small smile.

She silently stalked over to the chair,staying undetected,and stayed on the left side of the chair waiting until the strangers turned their heads in the opposite direction before revealing herself. The two strangers turned their heads in her direction and their expressions of pure terror was enough to make Catra grin ear to ear which only seemed to make them look more frightened. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"she growled stalking closer to them as they hurriedly got out of her chair,nearly tripping over each other,and backed away from her. "I-I I'm s-sorry,"the dark skinned boy,Bow,said,his voice trembling and cracking multiple times. "We were l-l-lost in t-the woods and…" "You're not welcomed here!"Catra roared,tired of hearing the boy babble and stammer.

"W-we're sorry."Bow apologised,grabbing onto the purple-haired girl's hand as he continued to stare at her. "What are you staring at?"she growled,standing at her full height and completely towering over them. "N-n-nothing…"tBow said shaking his head as he continued to stare at her. This boy has some nerve! "So,you've come to stare at the beast,have you?"she snarled,her voice rising in volume and anger. Bow and Entrapta looked at each other for a split second then hurriedly turned around to run but Catra was on them in a flash,jumping over them and blocking their path.

"Please,we meant no harm! We just needed a place to stay!"Entrapta pleaded. Catra found it shocking at first that though the girl had been chased by a pack of wolves earlier,Catra hadn't heard a single bit of terror as what she was hearing now. The shock quickly faded to pride that she could install fear in them then anger that they thought they could just come into her domain without her say! "I'll give you a place to stay!"she growled as she stood on her legs and,before they could process anything,grabbed them by the shoulder and lifted them up. "No! Please no!"they cried pleadingly but she paid them no mind.

You needed a place to stay and a place you shall get.