Sorry! I guess I accidentally deleted this chapter. Haha I'll fix this AN eventually.
Meulin Leijon sauntered through the woods, singing a silly little song of her own invention. She leaped over logs, danced around trees, and basically made a fool of herself. But it didn't matter, because nobody was around to see her. She'd been living in the woods ever since her lusus had died to keep from being culled.
The oliveblood broke into a run and kicked off from a boulder. Once in the air, she grabbed a low-hanging branch and swung into the air. A whoop of laughter escaped her throTheat, and Meulin landed on the ground on all fours. She drew in a deep breath, about to burst into the chorus of her made-up song, when she stopped abruptly.
The metallic scent of blood filled her nostrils and stuck to the back of her mouth.
Immediately, the feral troll dropped onto a crouch and fell silent, moving rapidly and silently in the direction of the scent. It wasn't long before she came across a creek that bubbled through the trees. Lying on the sandy bank was a dying hoofbeast of the type that produced milk. It had probably been attacked by something and crawled into the forest to die. Delighted, Meulin unsheathed the claws in her gloves to put the poor beast out of its misery.
And who was she to say no to prey that had fallen so easily into her claws?
Meulin darted towards the hoofbeast just as a figure leaped out of the trees on the opposite end of the bank. The oliveblood immediately changed tactics, leaping between the figure and the hoofbeast, teeth bared in a snarl and claws at the ready.
The other troll blinked at her in surprise, clearly taken off guard. He was male, roughly her age, with short horns that were little more than bumps. He wore a colorless cloak over his shoulders, but the hood was down.
She hissed. "This is my prey!" she declared hotly.
The troll raised his eyebrows and retorted, "You didn't kill it, did you?"
Meulin hesitated. If he had killed it, then it was rightfully his. She was a huntress with honor, thank you very much. "Well . . . did you?"
The troll flushed, his cheeks turning red. So he was a rustblood then. "Um . . . no." When he saw the triumph in her eyes, he hastened to add, "But neither did you."
Meulin growled and swiped the air with her claw. "I don't care! It's mine, so back off!"
The troll held up his hands placatingly, revealing a sickle strapped to his waist. "I just want food for my m— custodian and I."
"I need food too," she replied, careful not to mention that she would be feeding only one mouth, "Go find your own hoofbeast!"
The troll took a step closer. His eyes hadn't turned the color of his blood yet — although if he was roughly her age then it would soon — so they were still black. She bared her teeth and raised her claws threateningly. "We can share," he offered, "There's more than enough to feed a few mouths."
"Exactly," she said, "Good enough to keep me from starving for a couple days." Meulin flipped her ragged black hair over her shoulder. "So scram!"
The troll took another tentative step closer, opening his mouth to say something else. That did it. Meulin launched herself at him, tackling him and sending them both into the creek. Water splashed everywhere, thoroughly soaking both trolls.
The other troll let out a yelp of surprise and shoved her off of him. Meulin flipped and landed on the opposite shore. Her feet touched the sandy ground for barely a moment before she leaped at him again, slashing at his arm with her claws.
The troll finally drew his sickle, parrying her vicious swipes as she drove him further away from the hoofbeast. Finally he shouted, "Alright, you can have it!"
Meulin danced backwards, a little disappointed that she hadn't even hadn't even managed to scratch him. Planting herself firmly between him and her meal, she said, "Good. Now get out of my territory."
The troll scowled at her. "It's just a stupid hoofbeast."
"I said go away!" She stepped menacingly forwards, and he hastily retreated, never taking his eyes from her. Once satisfied that he'd left, Meulin turned to begin devouring her meal.
Only later would she wonder what the strange troll had been doing in the woods, and why'd he'd been scavenging like she had been. He had said he had a lusus, so he couldn't possibly be hiding like she was. Or maybe he was a fugitive, but just for a different reason. Meulin shrugged. Either way, she'd have to keep an eye out for drones in case he turned her in.